As someone who walked away from seminary and active duty because of the 2003 invasion, I deeply appreciate hearing a thoughtful pastoral/clerical response.

Jehovah Witness?

Having grown up both High and Low Church, I appreciate the honesty from a pastor.

I'm assuming by your mention of the Armenian tradition that you aren't a Calvinist

I smoke weed every day. I wouldn’t dream of swiping on someone like you on a dating app because I’d be afraid you’d judge me or think I’m not with your time. Is this accurate?

There are no abnormally low temperatures in Odessa.

In winter, the maximum minus can be 10-15 degrees Celsius with rare exceptions.

Good thermal underwear completely solves this problem.

This gave me a peace in my soul I’ve been craving for ages. This is a brilliant answer. Thank you. ETA: I am interpreting from context that, regardless of our belief system, a person that genuinely wants the best for others, tries their best to be kind and giving, strives to makes a difference, tries to be kind and empathize when they can, even if they aren’t sure about whether or not Jesus is the ONLY WAY, they probably won’t be destined to burn in hell. Right? Like if he IS the only way, what happens to the rest of us that try to lead with love but are hesitant to group up with any religion?

At a bare minimum Tacitus confirms Jesus was a real person who lived in Judea, was executed under Pontius Pilate, and had group of followers called Christians who believed in a “mischievous superstition” that broke out after his execution. I’m trying to think of a good reason not to include Biblical sources, like Paul’s epistles (7 of which are undisputed), when trying to ascertain the beliefs of those who followed this “mischievous superstition” mentioned by Tacitus, but I can’t think of any.

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I love this memory of the Nintendo 64. Brought back some beautiful moments from my own childhood on Christmas Day. Thank you. 🙏🏽

Thank you for your vulnerability and honesty. I, to have found my most important spiritual experiences and deepening of faith have occurred when I allowed myself to express my anger directly towards God.

There are plenty of examples of pastors who have been convicted of sex crimes. Although many believe its just a Catholic problem, it is not. There is a larger proportion in the Catholic church, primarily due to the way it is structured and the hierarchy of power. Christian denominations, even the most popular ones, pale in comparison to scope and numbers of Catholics. Even within individual denominations, powerful Christian groups with large numbers of the faithful, tend to not share hierarchal power with the overarching body of leaders in that group. There is only one Pope and all power stems from his position down to all Catholics. But, for example, there isn’t just one Pastor that is at the top of all Evangelicals. Because of this redistribution of power, Christian groups are more apt to make decisions at either local or district levels when it concerns allegations. This leads to less cover-ups by highly ranking individuals to avoid controversy.

So as an ex-Christian who studied theology at a very expensive private university, the actual historical evidence that is “non-Biblical” is scant to say the least. What I have found is that there are a woefully few number of purely non-Biblical unbiased books, lectures, documentaries etc… that have sound historical evidence. Now as someone who still understands that the Bible is an important book of both historical and mythological sources, I understand why the discerning Christian is eager to include concepts and conclusions from the Bible in determining the veracity of the life of Jesus. It is really a brave and dedicated Christian who will not include the Bible in their defense of Christ’s actual life… but its what the rest of the world really needs to hear from in order to entertain the idea that He lived as an actual historically important person. ❤️‍🔥🌹

Most Christians will not recognize Jesus as He is Brown, Socialist, and LGBTQ… its that last part that many Christians will not accept… But for those that do, its been an amazing time to serve. ❤️‍🔥🌹

What do you mean by right and wrong? Who determines what is right and what is wrong?

The existence or non-existence of Santa has nothing to do with whether it is reasonable to believe Jesus was physically raised from the dead. You can’t use Santa to disprove Christianity.

Exactly my point.

You honestly think that makes a difference with these pedo freaks?

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Do you think Jesus would have like grilled cheese and tomato soup?

Do you believe that Christmas is secular? I was having this discussion in another thread and from what I can tell, a lot of Christian’s and atheists are inclined to see Christmas as religiously neutral whereas a lot of Jews (myself included) see it as very religiously slanted, and can often feel otherised by it. What’s your take?

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How did you come to believe in the particular version of the particular god that you do?

Thanks, I've never heard about that. I only read that the end of the earth will be on a thursday.

He said pastor not priest.