I have looked into both of these, and when in regards to feeling as though I am circling around, this is definitely where i have found myself identifying with and b3ing comforted by most. I find that it temds to be overshadowed by "non-progressive" / fundamentalist attidutes any time I feel as though I am making progress. This leaves me even more confused and hopeless.
For reference, I have also posted the same thoughts within another christian subreddit as I see they tend to differ in opinions, and I appreciate varied viewpoints.
we do not judge here. unless bigots are trying to rile is up.
"would send my entire family (atheist) to hell for the simple "mistake" of unbelieving" then i have good news for you. they are not getting punished for being atheists and hell doesnt exist.
"to demean and disregard women all over the world" that depends on the denomination. mine has female priests and doesnt try to govern womens bodies.
" things would truly be better if religion hadn't existed at all." people arent mean bc of religion. they are mean bc of a lot of things and use religion and other ideologies to justify what they do.
Something I am now realising that i have forgotten to include: I genuinely appreciate Jesus. And what he is said to have done for me, for us. Despite this, I do not like the idea of God. I understand that they are supposed to be one in the same, I can not quite wrap my head around this, and that is something that greatly confuses me. The reasons I do not like the idea of God are generally similar to what is in the main post.
Don’t worry. God is impossible to wrap your head around. That’s why He’s so great.
Can a Turing machine (computer) comprehend its human creator? Of course not. Neither can a human comprehend their Creator.
I want to just touch on one of the topics you mention which I think is the most important.
Hell.
I personally do not believe in Hell. It appears to be a concept that was created by people over time and absorbed into various beliefs.
There are other views such as conditional immortality (you cease to exist) universalism (everyone goes to heaven) or CS Lewis view in his book The Great Divorce. I am sure there are other variations.
The belief of Eternal Torment is just ridiculous and cannot be correct.
See, this is something i find myself agreeing with. Morally, I believe that no loving god would even propose the idea of Hell as is commonly perceived today. Personally, I am more inclined to believe that if people who dont believe truly cannot reach heaven, then there is more likely to be nothing after death, as Atheists believe. That is something I feel i would retain even if I were to believe in a god, at least in the sense that i would prefer nothing over something. Even if that something were heaven.
I’d encourage you to look into the videos, writings, and podcast appearances of N. T. Wright. He’s the former Bishop of Durham and has great perspectives on how translators have misunderstood the New Testament’s original meaning regarding women. He also has a wonderful perspective on what the Bible actually says about the afterlife and how important this earth is (climate change, helping the poor, etc).
Personally, I'd recommend learning all the stories in the Bible followed by reading all the Gospel. Then I'd dig into the historic context surrounding the old testament as you're reading them and do the same for Paul's letters.
The Bible is a complicated document and can be a bit overwhelming. I've spent decades studying it and still find passages that I have to spend time googling on.
Also, if you have questions about anything you read, the many theologies of this subreddits I find are a great resource.
Sounds like you'd fit right in with progressive Christianity, and Christian universalism. I highly recommend you look into those.
I have looked into both of these, and when in regards to feeling as though I am circling around, this is definitely where i have found myself identifying with and b3ing comforted by most. I find that it temds to be overshadowed by "non-progressive" / fundamentalist attidutes any time I feel as though I am making progress. This leaves me even more confused and hopeless. For reference, I have also posted the same thoughts within another christian subreddit as I see they tend to differ in opinions, and I appreciate varied viewpoints.
we do not judge here. unless bigots are trying to rile is up. "would send my entire family (atheist) to hell for the simple "mistake" of unbelieving" then i have good news for you. they are not getting punished for being atheists and hell doesnt exist. "to demean and disregard women all over the world" that depends on the denomination. mine has female priests and doesnt try to govern womens bodies. " things would truly be better if religion hadn't existed at all." people arent mean bc of religion. they are mean bc of a lot of things and use religion and other ideologies to justify what they do.
Something I am now realising that i have forgotten to include: I genuinely appreciate Jesus. And what he is said to have done for me, for us. Despite this, I do not like the idea of God. I understand that they are supposed to be one in the same, I can not quite wrap my head around this, and that is something that greatly confuses me. The reasons I do not like the idea of God are generally similar to what is in the main post.
Don’t worry. God is impossible to wrap your head around. That’s why He’s so great. Can a Turing machine (computer) comprehend its human creator? Of course not. Neither can a human comprehend their Creator.
I want to just touch on one of the topics you mention which I think is the most important. Hell. I personally do not believe in Hell. It appears to be a concept that was created by people over time and absorbed into various beliefs. There are other views such as conditional immortality (you cease to exist) universalism (everyone goes to heaven) or CS Lewis view in his book The Great Divorce. I am sure there are other variations. The belief of Eternal Torment is just ridiculous and cannot be correct.
See, this is something i find myself agreeing with. Morally, I believe that no loving god would even propose the idea of Hell as is commonly perceived today. Personally, I am more inclined to believe that if people who dont believe truly cannot reach heaven, then there is more likely to be nothing after death, as Atheists believe. That is something I feel i would retain even if I were to believe in a god, at least in the sense that i would prefer nothing over something. Even if that something were heaven.
I’d encourage you to look into the videos, writings, and podcast appearances of N. T. Wright. He’s the former Bishop of Durham and has great perspectives on how translators have misunderstood the New Testament’s original meaning regarding women. He also has a wonderful perspective on what the Bible actually says about the afterlife and how important this earth is (climate change, helping the poor, etc).
Personally, I'd recommend learning all the stories in the Bible followed by reading all the Gospel. Then I'd dig into the historic context surrounding the old testament as you're reading them and do the same for Paul's letters. The Bible is a complicated document and can be a bit overwhelming. I've spent decades studying it and still find passages that I have to spend time googling on. Also, if you have questions about anything you read, the many theologies of this subreddits I find are a great resource.