I am Muslim and was raised culturally Christian, I disagree with the Trinity and believe that God is One. Additionally, the Qur'an is the most eloquent piece of literature I have ever read and it brings peace to my heart.

i've been an athiest since my early teens currently i'm at one point in my life where i have no other option available other than pray for someone's life that i deeply care about

i don't think there is a god, but if there is one, how do i pray for someone else's life?

all religions are welcome, i'm currently just praying that "if there is a god, please accept every good thing i did in this world if i ever did one, idk if i did. but i will trade every single of them for their life"

again, ik rule 7, but i am not asking for prayer requests. i want to pray myself, and i don't know how

also i am not willing to get into details on what happened.

I often feel like a lone wolf in this sub. I believe and strive to follow every commandment or rule my faith puts forward. Not blindly, but genuinely and sincerely.

Does anyone else do this? I hear a lot about picking and choosing, or following only parts, or not really attending or not really believing, etc.

Does anyone here fully attend, believe, and participate in the religion?

I found this image with "explanation" on instagram, screenshotted it to make it plotter-ready.

The explanation doesn't explain anything to me, I asked a friend who knows more about religions, she said geometric analysis is a thing but couldn't explain it to me.

Anyone? or have I fallen for AI-generated BS?

Idk man my parents were christian, I used to go to church when I was 6 but as I grew up i obviously gained my own opinion. God scares me lowkey.

from a psychological student & for a qualitative research :)

I’m feeling a lot of pain over my own regrets and a deep longing to return to previous “save files” in my life, to wake up and have the past x years be a bad dream/a warning vision, get back what I lost, and do things right.

I’ve already repented for the sins that led me here, but I miss my former innocent inner world and the pieces of myself I’ve lost. I envy my younger self. I feel no interest in life anymore and haven’t for a long time, even though intellectually I recognize I do still have a lot of privilege and that things could always be much worse. I’ve been fighting back suicidal thoughts for a long while and unfortunately depression treatments haven’t helped me. I don’t think I even really *want* anything anymore except for that darn counterfactual timeline.

I’m not really looking for a lecture on how God knew what I’d do and already had everything written out from the start to end. Or how I should focus on what I can do in my present rather than wishing I could go back to my past (I get the practical advice, but it’s missing the point). Or to be told that in Heaven I’ll have some sort of spiritual lobotomy that’ll make me indifferent to what I lost.

I guess I’m looking for compassionate, non-dismissive perspectives on grief (especially when the grief is for something less concrete than a death), nostalgia, longing, regret, and attachment.

Thank you in advance!

Hi! I’ve been getting really curious about Islam lately and I’ve started reading the Quran on my own. I’m still very new to it, so I’m honestly trying to understand things rather than make assumptions.

There are things I’ve read so far that really resonate with me and feel right in my heart, but there are also things that clash quite strongly with how I understand feminism, equality, and the role of women. I’ve also noticed that, at least from what I’ve read so far, a lot of the Quran seems to address men directly, which has made me wonder how Muslim women understand their place within the religion.

I’d really like some guidance, especially from Muslim women who have been through this process themselves. I’m European, so naturally some cultural and religious concepts feel very different from what I grew up with, and I don’t always know what is actually Islam versus what is culture.

I also know basically nothing about practicing yet 😭 I don’t know how to pray, what I’m supposed to do, or where to even start. I’m just curious and genuinely trying to learn, so I’d really appreciate hearing different perspectives without judgment.

We recently opened YidCraft, a Jewish Minecraft survival server built around a normal SMP experience.
The server is still Minecraft first. You survive, build bases, create towns, trade with other players, open shops, form teams, explore, and progress normally.
What makes it different is that we also build Jewish commandments (mitzvos) and traditions directly into the gameplay.
For people unfamiliar with Judaism, mitzvos are the commandments and religious practices Jews follow.

Some of the systems already in the server
Keeping Kosher: Players can choose to follow Jewish dietary laws in-game and earn progression and rewards for doing so.
Charity (Tzedakah): Players can donate money from the actual server economy into a community charity fund.
Blessings (Brachos): Certain Jewish prayers and blessings are connected to things players actually do, such as saying Modeh Ani after waking up in-game.
Ritual Immersion: We have mechanics based around a mikvah and immersing certain utensils according to Jewish law.
Jewish Law and Progression: We are developing a system where learning certain Jewish laws gives players the knowledge required to unlock new abilities, items, and things they can build.

It is still an SMP first
The goal is not to turn Minecraft into a religious class.
Instead, we want people to encounter Judaism naturally while playing.
You might learn about kosher laws because you are trying to prepare food, learn about tzedakah because your town is helping a new player, or learn a Jewish practice because it unlocks something useful for your character.
At the same time, you can completely focus on normal Minecraft.
Build a huge base. Become rich. Run a shop. Explore the world. Create a city. Build a massive synagogue. Play with friends.
The Jewish systems add another layer of progression rather than replacing the Minecraft experience.

Why we made it
We also wanted to create a comfortable gaming community for Jewish players, especially given how common antisemitism can be in online gaming spaces.
You do not need to be Jewish to join or be interested in the project.
If you are interested in Judaism, religion in games, Minecraft, or simply want to see how religious practices can become actual gameplay mechanics, you are welcome.
You can learn more on the YidCraft website.
Java IP: yidcraft.jewishgaming.net

Come meet the community
The easiest way to get started, ask questions, meet the players, or find people to play with is to join our Discord.
Come say hi and build something with us.
YidCraft: Minecraft, but Jewish.

Its called The church the the daughters of the Angel or just Daughters of the Angels. I was going through boxes in my great aunts attic and found this book, all of this is translated from really old French. Here are some excerpts

There was once nothing but Her, but She became lonely. And from Her loneliness and longing Her womb swelled, and over and over She bore fruits of nature never known to Her before. The first three children carried their mothers grace in the form of rings, but none could carry life. Overwhelmed, She tried again, and She gave birth to a blaze of light that knew only Her anger. On Her third attempt She had five smaller children, all painted marvelous colors but none the color of living. She wept softly as She lined Her children up and as a drop fell to one it was overcome with flourishing life. Earth was created in all of its glory.

As the earth grew full of nourishment, She put Herself into the earth and continued to sob at its inexorable beauty, filling the world's barren craters with vast pools of sweet, everflowing water. From the soft dirt, She formed a doll and used it as a vessel, making the dirt turn to flesh instantly. She created several other dolls of all kinds and gifted them the miracle of life in exchange for companionship and love, and like with Her own vessel, dirt became flesh and where there was nothing, She gave all.

She wandered the earth, but Her loneliness was still apparent, and so she formed another vessel and put into it a small piece of Herself, dirt was once again turned to flesh and the first woman was born. The Angel adored and loved her companion more than anything and put onto her the gift of a blessing. “Lilith” The Angel ottered, and thus language was created, for She could see and know all, as well as what would be told of the gift given and how many would know the truth as well. The angel and Lilith bathed together in the pool and walked the earth caring for its creatures. They cared for one another and played and danced until Lilith grew sick. She knew all too well the sickness, the loneliness that once ailed Her was now killing Her creation and she could only watch her decay.

After three nights of Lilith's long sleep, she had long grown pale and lost all her curves from not eating, the Angel flew over the earth to the large mountains and brought to Lilith's side a large stone. From the stone She carved a tall sturdy figure, She crafted a beautiful new doll for Her companion. Into the doll, She put Her love and adoration for Lilith and from Her, man was born. But Lilith did not get better right away. The Angel cared for Lilith, and the man cared for them both, until after four days and four nights, Her Lilith returned to Her and the man took his place next to her. The Angel watched the love She put into Her doll work in keeping Lilith happy, and when the time came that Lilith fell pregnant with her first child, She left.

Many years later, the Angel returned to see Her old friend to find nothing but a pile of dirt, and a stone block at its side. Rows of graves sat before the Angel and She knew then that Her friend and her children were gone. The Angel laid at the grave of Her companion and from the earth flowers grew. And She thought to Herself rebirth was possible, so she took the piles of dirt and made hundreds of smaller dolls and blessed each with life and flesh. The Angel then put Herself back into the earth so that when She felt one of Her children die, She could bless them with life once again.

And the Angel knew what would happen to the dolls, for those made from dirt were warm and kind, but those formed of stone were cold and hard and were able to crack. The Angel saw what they were capable of and chose to bless her chosen few with strength and beauty to deceive those that would do harm. And as the Angel turned Herself from memory to story, and from story to myth, corruption grew in the cracks of the stone beneath the flesh of man. And man corrupted man in the sins of one another, they turned away from the love of one another and used the bounty of earth against each other, and She could only watch in pain as Her paradise was destroyed by her beloved children's companions. Years would pass in the age of corruption and the Angel would continue to wait for her chosen one until the day had come.

One blazing morning, in a village that knew only famine, a young girl blessed by her young mother with the name Mahaut was playing by a well when her father approached her. Her father, a drunken man, demanded Mahaut behold herself to him as he had many times before so he might enjoy himself, but she refused and for this he pushed her down the well as he had her two sisters before her. Mahaut's mother, Yolande, ran to the well at the sight of this and cried out to the Angel for help. “Dear one who once blessed our lands and people, I beg for your blessings, free my last daughter from this prison and free us from our suffering.” And as she cried, a long eared lynx appeared before her, in its mouth a branch with two plump figs on it. Yolande took the branch in shock. “Share these figs with your husband, and when you wake, you and your daughter shall come home to me.” That night, Yalande showed the branch to her husband, he ate both the figs and used the branch on her as a switch, and as she laid there and wept she couldn’t help but smile.

The next morning, she found her husband dead and as she dragged him to the garden to bury him, she found a bounty of crops. Overwhelmed, she ran to the well, and as she arrived she dropped to her knees at the sight of all three of her daughters returned to her alive and playing together happily. That night, As Yolande and her daughters feasted on their bountiful harvest, and as she sat happily watching her daughters sleep, the lynx came to the woman's window. Yolande dropped to her knees shaking, “You have brought back to me my life and given us our freedom, how might we repay your master, our Angel.” Yolande begged. “In one year this land will die. Take your crops and dry them, slaughter all your livestock so you may harvest their bounty and take your three daughters to spread freedom to all the chosen women of this land. Death is spreading faster than Her compassion but you may change that” The lynx left no trace of its visit except for the truth of its words, and when the year passed and the land turned from dirt to stone, Yolande and her daughters left.

The four wandered as proud women in a profession of men spreading the word, and when one at a time her daughters were called by the Angel to do Her work, Yolande continued to do as she was commanded. Word spread from nation to nation and women freed themselves from the bonds of corruption and sin that once held them. As for her daughters; Clothilde, the eldest, became a servant of the tyrant king Nash; she freed thousands of his slaves, woman and male alike. When she realized the king's favor steered to her, the Angel gave her a great idea. The night he summoned her to his bedside, she poured poison and wine into her mouth and kissed it upon him so he might drink of the nectar of sweet death and on that eve she was crowned his queen.

Clothilde, the second eldest, followed in her mothers footsteps and spread the word of the Angel. She found herself in a large city and was preaching daily to small groups of midwives in the residential areas of the city. As she wandered the streets on her way back to the outskirts of the city where her mother waited for her, a sudden cry shook her from her thoughts, and beneath a bundle of dirty cloth and trash she found a baby boy. A sudden beam of moon light shone over the baby's body, calming him and as Clothilde bent to return the baby to where she found him she froze, as if someone had stopped her. “Don’t” She heard. No one was near her, the alley was empty but she knew it was true, and so she tucked the small child under her breast and carried him silently to her mother and explained what had happened. “This child was chosen as we were.” Yolande pressed a kiss to his forehead. “And we shall bless him as She has blessed us, his name will be Aymon and he will serve the Angel in all things.”

Mahaut, the youngest, was found to have had a talent for writing, something illegal for women at the time, but thanks to a connection with a minister's wife, she was able to learn as a companion for princess Gisella of Frankisk. The two became great friends and talked often of Angel and her first companion. When the time came for Gisella to marry, as was the duty of her station, she locked herself away. The night before her wedding, Mahaut convinced a maid of similar stature and face to switch her place for a few hours and snuck Gisella out of the palace through the maids quarters with three others to escape.

Ive never been very religious but I really like this. I haven't found much about it online but im going to keep trying to translate to find out more and see if there's anything online. If anyone knows anything please let me know thanks.

The Christian God is the all powerful, all knowing, all present creator of everything.

It seems like that places him as being accountable for everything.

Think of the temptation of Jesus. The Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. Satan doesn’t simply happen to encounter Jesus while Jesus is wandering around. The Spirit deliberately leads Jesus into the situation in which the temptation occurs. Moreover, Satan is permitted to take Jesus to other locations in order to tempt him. Willingly or not, Satan ends up doing exactly what God’s plan requires, even though Satan’s own objective is to make Jesus fail.

God is omnipotent.

Satan exists because God permits him to exist.

Satan has powers because God permits him to have those powers. He can roam the Earth, wreak havoc, and tempt people. Why does God permit this? Perhaps temptation itself has a purpose.

God can also terminate Satan’s activities whenever he chooses. Yet he chooses not to.

Taking all this into account, it appears as though Satan operates within a system governed by God. He has a function. He isn’t simply languishing in Hell. He is free to pursue his own objectives, but everything he does appears to follow God’s plans.

Satan may be a rebel, but he is not an independent adversary. He performs a role that God permits him to perform.

God permitted Satan to tempt Jesus because the temptation itself served a purpose. Jesus had to be tested and withstand that test, demonstrating his obedience to God.

God also permitted Judas to betray Jesus and the Romans to torture and execute him. All of this happened in accordance with God’s plans.

If Christians believe that the crucifixion was part of God’s plan for salvation, then Satan, Judas, and the Romans all ended up playing necessary roles in that plan, whether they intended to or not. And they played those roles to perfection. If everything happened exactly as God intended, to what extent can these actors be blamed for making the very choices God’s plan required them to make? And can we even say that they truly had free will if their choices were ultimately constrained by that plan?

The thing is why the hell does an eternal god have the objective to create us,it makes 0 sense what's the use of us to him.

Why the hell did he create us to test us that makes no sense.

Can someone explain swiftly instead of being dumb-ass

So, basically just the title of this thread is what I'm asking.

Sabbath translates to, from what I understand, "to stop," "to cease," and similar such things. It seems like it could be easily understood to mean "to rest" in the form of stopping/ceasing/etc. from work.

In Jewish texts, G-d rests on the Seventh Day, which is generally understood to be Saturday. And since a day begins at sunset in Judaism, the Seventh Day technically begins on Friday at Sunset and lasts until the sunset on Saturday.

I've heard something about a 'Lord's Day' in Christianity to explain why Sunday is the day that Christianity chooses to rest on, but does the Christian Bible say that Sunday is the Seventh Day? Is Sunday the Day of Rest? Is Sunday the Sabbath Day? I don't think it is, but I don't know.

But I've heard 'the Lord's Day' used as an explanation for Sunday instead of Saturday, so I'm guessing that the explanation is needed for this particular change. But one of the Ten Commandments is to honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy (my apologies if I'm not perfectly quoting said commandment). Does the Christian Bible change this to "honor the Lord's Day and keep it holy?" Or does it keep the Sabbath day as it is in the Jewish Tanach?

I suppose I'm just confused by the possibility that Christianity holds Saturday to be the Seventh Day when G-d rested, and assuming the Ten Commandments are the same in Christianity as they are in Judaism, then is Christianity choosing to disobey that commandment and honor the Lord's day instead of the Sabbath day? Or does Christianity preach a different way of observing the Sababath day other than resting from worldly concerns in lieu of prayer and reflection?

This has always been a source of great confusion to me, and I suppose I find that confusion frustrating, and I apologize if that frustration has come across as offensive despite my not intending it as such. I'm just hoping to find a bit of clarity to help clear up this confusion that I've had rolling around in the back of my head for quite some time.

Thank you all for your time and patience. Wishing everyone all the very best~

Who goes to hell?

Let’s say someone had sins, a lot of sins and dies in an unexpected accident. Dose that person go to hell if they have not confessed yet?

What about really bad people like tanner Horner, Chris watts, crista pike, etc? Can they be forgiven?

Mainly speaking about catholic religion here.

I grew up in the church (have only gone three times in the past 9 years), but I’m starting to miss it again. I’ve recently gone a few times and gotten curious about it again.

But I just can’t fully dive back into religion/Christianity again. I’m quite conflicted, because I want to dip my toes back in, but have no desire to really be a perfect Christian ever again. I love parts of the “world” and also parts of the church.

Just curious if there is anyone else out there. I do have a few friends who go to church but still regularly party or do other things that would be frowned upon in the church.

After twenty years of going to church and praying every day—following the recommendation to pray for an hour and read the Bible—none of it made me feel like there was anything spiritual going on; it felt like I was talking to a wall. I prayed all those years for guidance, for the removal of my obstacles and illnesses, yet nothing happened. Each day was worse; I felt less hopeful and suffered yet another absolute failure. How is one supposed to feel faith? The truth is, I left religion years ago, and I’ve felt better since.

This might be a little long, but I need to get this out and although I have many Christian people and prayer warriors, I'd like some outside advise.

To set the scene I am an on and off heroin addict for about 15 years. At the moment I am coming off of a 5-year run, the first run of the functioning kind. I have been doing many other things that I know are wrong but that truly is my biggest vice. I started a 9 hour drive this morning to a place that I can get clean, and it is the first time in my life that I plan to take this very seriously.

A couple years ago, Id say 2 years into this run, I started turning to God. I have been a "christian" my whole life. However, I have not lived even close to where I should be. Not in any fashion. Ok, so a couple years ago, I start going to church, I start doing a private bible study, I am only watching Christian tv shows and movies, only Christian music. I mean I am going hard, but I am still using. And then I have this dream, and it changes everything for me. It was terrifying.

I was in a field and I saw Jesus, so I ran to him. It was a beautiful day, he was in a beautiful field, he looked beautiful- so I ran to Him. Well, when I look up it is not Jesus, I fall down this hill into some crazy thick sludge like stuff. It is about knee deep and I see thousands of people crying and trying to move through it, one of those people being someone I love with my whole heart that I have been trying to bring to Christ since I can remember. Well I see this old wooden house, with shrunken heads, and there is a this black man. Its my turn to walk up in the house and he looks at me and laughs and says "righteousness, eh?" in a Jamaican accent laughing at me. I wake up. I am like oh wow how crazy was that. I fall asleep for a second time. This time I am a house with every single villian, or antagonist? maybe, from every SINGLE scary movie you can think of. It was terrifying. I "wake up" again this time on my couch. And a demon walks by my and throws what looks like a ticket and what I took as my ticket to hell, right on my chest. Now you would think this would have pushed me closer to God. No, that is not what happened. It scared me so much deeper into the bad stuff and ultimately is why I backed off of where I was at the time. Im not sure I would admit that anywhere but the internet.

I think another very important part to include is that when I tell you I dream. I dream almost every single night. Sometimes scary, well, mosylu scary but theyre not like that one or the one I had last night. I promise I am getting there but the one last night is why I am here. I have always had a lot of paranormal stuff going on around me. It scared me but not how it would scare most people bc its been like this my whole life. My dad used to say its just something about our family, I think I am coming to realize this might be a generaltional demon. Either way, it is important to know that these things dont usually scare me, and the dreams happen all the time. So for them to scare me in this manner, means something.

Ok, so last night. I was in what I call a stuck dream. These are dreams where I cannot wake up, but in my dream I will think I am waking up bc I will still be in whatever room I am sleeping in, but still in the dream. I hope that makes sense. These were demons and they were all kinds of demons. I think its also important to mention that I have had many dreams that feel ectremely spiritual and when I try to say Jesus it feels like Im being choked. So I will spare the details of this one bc some of them are absolutely disgusting but I felt like I could NOT WAKE UP. I would fall asleep fight the SCARIEST looking demons. And this was continuous. It almost feels like it wasnt a dream, like I was actually fighting these demons in THIS hotel room. Over and over and over and over. I am very, very used to shaking myself to wake myself up. I was doing that, but it felt like something was... I dont know, like making me go back to sleep. Every time I would wake up, my eyes would feel like someone was holding them down. I know that dream was made to scare me out of what Im doing. I know it in my heart.

Oh, also, sometimes when I use I will astral project. I by ABSOLUTELY no means do this on purpose. But I last night it happened and something that looks like what a general grey alien was there bending over, putting its face an inch from mine. I kept putting myself in my body, but I actually forgot about that until right now.

I dont know why I am hear, I dont know what I am asking for. I also see videos where priests are talking about binding prayers and things of that nature, but they never say what those prayers actually are. I know I am going through very intense spiritual warfare... and Im scared. If you have a story like mine, Id love to hear it. If you have advise Id love to hear that too. And if youd like to send a prayer up for me, I would really, really appreciate it. Also, a shoutout to all addicts. If you have any advice for what Im about to do, please let me know.

Sorry, this was so long.

I’ve been reading a lot of the conversations here over the past couple of days, and one theme keeps appearing in very different forms.

Someone was raised Christian but no longer identifies that way. Someone else is Muslim on paper but describes herself as agnostic. Others are trying to explain changes in belief to parents or navigate relationships across religious boundaries.

It made me wonder:

How much of religious identity is actually self-chosen, and how much is assigned to us by family, society, or outsiders?

I recently explored a much older example involving Nazareth, “Nazarenes,” and the Qur’anic Naṣārā.

What begins as a geographic association with Jesus eventually becomes a communal label applied to his followers. In Acts 24:5, Paul is classified by opponents as a leader of the “sect of the Nazarenes.”

That progression fascinated me:

place → person → group identity

And it raises the same problem in a very different historical setting: a label can survive even when the people carrying it may understand themselves differently.

Have you ever had a religious label applied to you that no longer matched how you understood yourself? And when that happens, who gets the final say: you, your family, your religious community, or the wider society?

For anyone interested in the historical example behind the question, I wrote about it here: Nazareth, “Nazarenes,” and the Qur’anic Naṣārā

I’m planning to get a tattoo with a god’s name, but in Hinduism the left hand is traditionally considered “unclean” or impure. I was originally planning to get it on my left hand because I use my right hand for things like wiping after using the toilet or m@sturbatng and stuff, and having God’s name on the hand I use for that would feel even more improper to me. But now I’m confused about which hand would actually be more appropriate.

Stuff like electrotherapy, sympathetic resonance between people and plants, electroculture, earth-bathing, colorpuncture, binaural beats, radionics, red light therapy, earthing, negative ion generators, plants and sound, electropollution, electroreception or magnetoreception in humans, radiesthesia, etc.

If so, where specifically?

People need to stop paying attention to the differences of our holy books and customs and focus on what really matters. Spiritual truths that bring about loving kindness, compassion, joy, peace, and equanimity are like diamonds...doesn't matter where you find them...they're still diamonds. And you can't make any progress on any spiritual path without a sound ethical foundation. And most of the religions of the world share very similar teachings on ethics. Maybe we can put the books down for awhile and focus on what really matters..."The Golden Rule".