Hello all,
I've been thinking of buying a study/ journal/ application Bible: all in 1 maybe( mostly in NIV,but IDK if that's a good choice though).

I want to truly understand the scripture I read, that's the main goal, not just read it vaguely.

Open to suggestions. Thanks:)

Cain murders Abel, and doesn't get executed. Instead God protects him.

Then God makes a law, don't spill blood or your blood be spilt.

It's that pattern I find concerning - to say God is reacting to human behaviour "oh they commited murder, time for a law for that" until it gets to "don't eat shellfish" - to say that's God re acting makes God seem like men just making a religion or rules.

Rather if God is gradually installing laws to eventually reach the stage of fulfilment in Christ - this is what I thought.

How come he doesn't just give the whole law to Adam , then gradually lead humans to the point of Messiah and fulfillment?

Furthermore, as Paul says the Law increases sin... Yet Jesus says the world was so bad at the time of the flood and compared it to his return "no life would have been spared" ... If the people before the flood were so wicked to be wiped out ... How is that possible if there was no law to increase their sin?

What the hell, my stomach turned upside down. After this he loads the concubine on a donkey, cuts her LIMB FROM LIMB AND SENDS HER PIECES ALL AROUND ISRAEL.

WHAT IS HAPPENING

I was raised orthodox christian but ever since I can remember I did not believe in God. I do not know why, my family is religious. I tried so hard to believe. But I’m struggling.
In the last month, I have become a ghost. I am utterly miserable. I believe this is God punishing me, and I know I stated I do not believe in God, but my thought process is confusing. I am very confused. I am certain He is punishing me, if not the God I know then someone else. And I do not even know God. I have no relationship with him. By the “God I know” I mean the God I was taught to worship. The God I have abandoned, and never served. He is punishing me for my sins. I am being punished, or controlled. And God does not control me. I have free will. So if it is related to God, I am being punished. I have no other rational explanation for this, it must be God’s doing. I believe I am in a sort of crisis, and God is calling me to Him, He wants to save my soul, but I am ever so wicked and tainted and cannot bring myself to believe. I don’t know why I believe God is reaching me if I do not believe in God Himself! I am so confused, I am in a horrible state. I do not know what life is worth if I am to just be eaten by worms one day. Why must one lead a miserable life just to die and be eaten by worms? That does not make sense. Why must I bother staying alive, leading this absolutely agonising and useless life, if I am to just be eaten by worms? The devil himself has cursed me. How am I to believe I will burn in hell, that God is punishing me, that God is trying to reach me, and yet not believe in God?! Please, I am so confused, so unwell, I feel unreal and I don’t know what to do. I want to save my soul, I don’t understand why I can’t get myself to believe. Perhaps a demon is controlling me. I don’t know if demons can control people, I am certain I am being either controlled by something or punished.

I'm referring to the 1917 apparition from May 13th to October 13th in Fatima, Portugal.

Some months earlier, a group of mediums published in a major newspaper that they have received information regarding the upcoming apparition. They got right both the date and place. How?

From my understanding, demons use mediums to communicate something, but, as far as I know, demons can only go back (to the past) to harvest information, they can't go to the future, only God can.

What are your thoughts?

I recently had a conversation with a woman who said she would rather marry for money because she would rather cry wiping her tears with money in dubai than with a very poor man in a poor house. I would rather do none of those. And if I would marry someone just for money, my conscious would go against it and that would be shallow, marriage is deeper than that. What do you think it?

Pretty much the title. To clarify, I'm talking about the act of slaving/enslaving, not "being a slave".

Edit:

Looks like I'm getting a mix of answers, including

1. Yes

2. No

3. Yes, but it didn't used to be

4. Depends

5. Yes, but I don't think the Bible is describing slavery/it's so different from how I envision slavery that it doesn't count.

I am an agnostic individual, who, in my heart, believes there is a greater being. I just don't think that there is a possibility that any religion is "correct."

I just want to know:

If I live my life, believing in A god, thanking it, talking to it, knowing it is there, and I live a life that is devoted to being selfless and good, not according to the Bible but according to inherent humanoid morality, would your Christian God send me to hell for not worshipping HIM specifically, or reading the Bible?

I have wondered about this my whole life.

So I know a lot of people talk about this, but I guess I never understood what blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is until now. And I’ve done this and I’ve done this and I’ve done this, of willingly send against the Holy Spirit telling me not to so many times and I’m just now reading that’s what blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is and I’m starting to wonder is the reason that I’ve been struggling for seven months trying to come back to Christ and don’t feel any closer I don’t feel the Holy Spirit anymore, I don’t feel conviction. I feel numb. I know that what I did was wrong and I wish I didn’t deliberately sin and sin against the spirit telling me not to. Have I committed the unforgivable sin????

When in 2002 or 2001 when shein her collab song said "you can live, you live was that biblical?

Also when she said "God said take it by force, he not going to give it up, take it by force take it by force!, begin to speak those things that be not as tho they are, everything (choir: "everything the enemy stole from you"

Now I debunked the the "begin to speak those things that be not as tho they are"

But the other part is that biblical or not?

Because the only thing I can think of is that atheist preaching "child the kingdom of heaven suffer violence and the violent take it by force" I know he's paraphrasing "the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force" verse

The reason I say like the songwriter said " I shall never for get when the Lord saved me"

Being in a Pentecostal church for 13 ish years I know where I was in terms of location when I heard this song and I felt something when she got to that verse.

Apparently an atheist find all atrocities in the Bible (homopobia/transpobia, misogyny, violence, contradiction, inaccuracies (historical/scientific), and anything else.

IGNORE THE YOUTUBER. FOCUS ON THE MAIN ISSUE. I CANNOT FIND THE WEBSITE UNFORTUNATELY.

Note: This is just a personal question. What is your personal response to this?

I really don’t understand this, I’m sorry if this is dumb but in the 28 verse I just find kinda immoral and gross, go easy on me please I’m trying to understand Christianity because my family is Christian, but I’m trying to figure out if this is what I WANT to believe in. Again please go easy on me I’m not very educated on the Bible.

Note for the non-philosophically-inclined: I’m using necessary to mean that something could not have been different.

The modal collapse objection is basically this

P1- Per Divine simplicity, there are no distinctions between God‘s existence, essence, will, knowledge, or actions. I.e. God is identical to his essence, God is identical to his actions, etc.

P2- Under classical theism, God is necessary

P3- Since God is necessary, and he is identical to his actions, his actions (including the act of creation) are necessary

P4- If creation is necessary, then it could not have been different, meaning that God could not have created a different world or failed to create this one

C1 - All true facts are necessarily true

C2 - Since there are no alternative ways the world could have been, we have no free will

C3 - Since God‘s actions are necessary, God has no free will

I wanted to ask if God had emotions but I think that's been expressed in the old testament. I know we like to think of God as all loving but if God has emotions that also means he can be lead by said emotions.

Some argument can be made that God made everything so he does have said right and final say over what he does with us but if he decided to wipe us out today would that still be benevolent. I think of this and look at the old testament and what had transpired, was that the best possible way of going about those situations as an omnipotent and omniscient being?

Concepts like Hell and heaven exist but if you already know the outcome of who's going to hell then what's the point? It's not free will if the result is already decided.(I'm getting sidetracked) Creating life just to put people in heaven or hell doesn't seem benevolent to the damned.

(Now you could say he changed in the new testament, so then God wasn't always doing things for the benefit of people more so you could say we were created due to whims)

Okay so for context; I've been baptized for a few months now and I am struggling with a lot still. I do believe Jesus Christ died for our sins mainly because I believe in God and his word. Lately I've been seeing a lot of people on social media and in some passerbys mention what they would reply to God with if he asked them why they should be let into Heaven. Their responses usually align with their own actions and not what Jesus' sacrifice did for us.

Now, while I understand their responses being denied simply because they always seem to think its actions > faith, the people telling them they're wrong often only bank on the faith aspect.

I know I can never give up on God entirely, the only way I'd backslide far is if I gave up on myself and I genuinely feel like there's no way that would happen because I know I can never be perfect and God still loves me. I struggle to feel his presence but through testimony and the peace in life I've gotten since devoting my life to christ, I know he's here, that he loves me and I have a way out.

Now, while that is the case, it doesn't mean I shouldn't strive to be better, this is where I find fault in them denying the action based portion of being accepted into heaven.

To me, its a simple mixture of both, because of God and Jesus Christ's sacrifice, We were put into the position to keep our faith in him, practice his word and get into heaven. This might not be the best way to word it but let me give you a question to try see if I'm on the right track theoretically.

Person A: Believer, practices God's word
Person B: Believer, doesn't practice God's word
Person C: Knows about God but doesn't necessarily believe but lives a morally "good" life

Now, are you telling me that both persons A and B would get into heaven?
I know people like Person B. Some of them practice premarital sex, sex outside of their relationships, constant cheating, drugs etc. but at the end of the day will still tell you that they believe in God and are christians.

Its my opinion Person C wouldn't because of what scripture tells us (2 Peter 2:21: The text warns that for those who have known the way of righteousness and subsequently turn back or reject the sacred commandment delivered to them, it would have been better never to have known it at all.).

Please, I do apologize if my explanation is a bit wonky all over, I'm not in the best headspace to phrase this correctly. I do hope I got my point across well enough though..

Hypothetically, if the Bible was excavated in today's society, following a world where history was spearheaded by another major religion, how do you think people would react to it? Or, in the case that everyone is atheist, would people accept it? I'm so curious what everyone thinks!

Hello, a question has been bothering me lately, and I haven’t been able to find a logical answer. Basically, if the Bible contains God’s universal and unchanging moral teachings, how should we interpret passages like these?
1 Timothy 2:11–12 (KJV):
“Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.”
1 Corinthians 14:34 (KJV):
“Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.”
Ephesians 5:22 (KJV):
“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.”
These passages seem to reflect the social norms of their time, particularly regarding women. They seem odd placed for a Deity who is the source of all life in the universe. If they’re explained through historical context, why would an all-knowing God present moral teachings so closely tied to the customs of a particular era? It’s hard to defend in a sense of absolute Morality because we wouldn’t follow these teachings today? My partner isn’t divinely command to submit to me, nor do I expect her silence in the church, I just want someone who knows the Word?

Im an apostate, so yall can write this off if you want but I'd really like more perspectives on something. When I was growing up I thought the Bible perspective was to be apolitical, to be above all that and try to interact with the world through faith and love, not policy. But the more I think about it I believe the historical Jesus believed the new earth was coming and he'd be king and the disciples on 12 thrones and all that. He believed it was going to happen and he wouldnt need to lift a sword to get power, that God would intervene. I dont think he lost that belief until he cries out from the cross in mark. That being said I think his teachings tell us what he thought that world would look like and taught that vision to Peter and the guys and they carry it on after he's killed. We get a good look at the church they build in Acts. There's a portion of Acts 4 ill put in here:

32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

So I guess my question is, why most christians in 2026 seem to be such strict individualists as well as political authoritarians and not communists or even anarchists (the true "leave it up to God" ideology", when Jesus's teachings should lead someone behave PERSONALLY as communists and leave the political movings to God?

When you say God wants all people to be saved but not all people will be saved, are you saying God's desire to save everyone will ultimately fail?

If not, what exactly do you mean when you say God wants everyone to be saved?

I'm asking about God's ability to accomplish His saving purpose, not whether humans have free will or whether God forces people to do things.

My friend is a Satanist and I'm a Christian, is it supposed to bother me? because it doesn't and I don't know if that's wrong