I posted this elsewhere as a comment, but I thought I would post it here for feedback. I want to hear what people think of my view.

It is okay if you disagree with me; I am just sharing how I view God and spousal relationships. My goal in this post is to share my thoughts rather than to preach.

I am a Christian. I also do not understand how Christians can choose to marry a person not of their faith, although I'd love to hear from folks with differing views. I would not, but it is not out of a prejudice. I will try to explain why I hold this view.

My greatest fear is marrying someone who then apostacizes. I don't want my heart to break that way, to love someone so personally and deeply and know they will cease to be.* I hope I do not choose a man who will become an apostate. I hope not to make a hasty choice, but I have a limited pool as a gay Christian, and it is stressful.

It isn't that I would have any qualm with a difference in tradition or culture that would come with a partner from a different faith, but that I'd love them knowing they would die. That is a great and terrible grief, and is the same grief I believe God felt for every person**; the grief that compelled him to send Christ.

I will try to explain annihilationism if anyone is interested. If not, feel free to stop reading here.

I see God like the sun***; we must be with Him to live, but we are imperfect vessels. As such, His light will ablate our souls. Only through Christ's sacrifice are we made holy to stand in such light without being unmade by it. And in such a way, I believe those who refuse salvation**** burn in that light and cease to be.

That said, do not confuse me for the hellfire and brimstone sort. I believe the best way to show people God's love is to love others. My faith leads me to strive toward being a good person. I wish all Christians saw it that way.

*There are multiple beliefs about Hell/Hades/Sheol/Gehenna. Mine is annihilationism, which I have briefly surmised here. A good pastor I appreciate who shares this view is the progressive pastor Paul Drees. You may find he runs counter to the Christofascism that is so much of "evangelical" American church culture today. James Talarico also has good sermons in this more Christ-like vein of Christianity, although I do not think he is an annihilationist.

**I believe that God is Love Itself (1 John 4:20)—how can he be without grief at our suffering? No one has so much sorrow as the God who witnesses the death of his beloved children by the billions. God is Love who mourns.

***He is called Heaven's Sun and Morning Star in Scripture.

****This concept of refusal of salvation is core to Arminian Christianity.

there are over 3000 people mentioned by name in the Bible. From the people everyone knows to the obscure people mentioned in passing what people/peoples do you wish were talked about more and find their part in the Bible or their life outside of it worth talking about

This is a message from a year before her death we lost a true and wonderful person to both the Christian community and a ally to the LGBTQ+ community

Bit late on this but I found it a funny read

Hello all,

I went to a different church than I normally do for Sunday service today because a friend of my was preaching. This made me wonder how many churches have you attended? I’ve been to a single one for a majority of my life for Sunday service what about it you?

I've never played it, but I just saw this YouTube short about it.

Apparently, it's well done, and very respectful, if not a little bit janky.

It was apparently made by 5 people.

I hope everyone has a good Easter this year here’s a piece of scripture for the day

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

Matthew 28:5-8

Something that's stuck with me for a while: the word Satan isn't actually a name.

It's a Hebrew title or role — ha-satan (הַשָּׂטָן) — meaning adversary, accuser, opponent, or something like a prosecuting judge. It's a function, not an identity.

Yet in most contexts I've encountered (ie books, horror movies, etc), "Satan" gets used as if it's just a synonym/unanimous for the Devil, or interchangeable with Lucifer, Beelzebub, etc.

That's a bit like calling someone "the Prosecutor" as if that is their name — rather than their role.

What's interesting to me is that this distinction actually shows up in the Hebrew Bible pretty clearly.

In Job, ha-satan reads more like a member of the divine council with a specific adversarial function, not a singular embodiment of evil.

The conflation with Lucifer (itself a mistranslation/interpretation from Isaiah 14) seems to have happened gradually through later Christian tradition.

Weirdly/funnily enough, the anime High School DxD — of all things — actually handles this more accurately than most sermons/media I've seen / heard.

The show uses titles like "Satan Lucifer," "Satan Leviathan," "Satan Asmodeus," and "Satan Beelzebub," treating Satan as a rank or title held by different individuals rather than a single being's name.

(Link for the curious: https://highschooldxd.fandom.com/wiki/Four_Great_Satans)

I'm curious how people here think about this.

Do you draw a distinction between Satan-as-title and Satan-as-entity in your own faith or reading of scripture?

Has the blurring of that line had any theological consequences worth examining?

Not trying to be provocative — genuinely just a concept I think deserves more attention.

SOME MORE INFORMATION:

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/bible-interpretation/who-is-satan/

https://hebrewwordlessons.com/2019/06/16/satan-adversary-is-not-a-name/

https://www.bereanunderground.org/p/satan-in-hebrew-bible

For Western folks at least today is Palm Sunday and the first day of Holy Week. I hope everyone has a good week and a good Easter next week

by Stephanie Koithan

After the pastor of Trump Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's Nashville church said on a podcast that he wants Texas Democrat James Talarico dead, the U.S. Senate hopeful has responded with a message of love.

Evangelical Pastor Brooks Potteiger, who's been described as Hegseth's closest spiritual adviser, repeatedly attacked Talarico last week on the podcast Reformation Red Pill, HuffPost reported. The show is hosted by congregant and former pastoral intern Joshua Haymes.

"I pray that God kills him," Haymes said of Talarico, who represents the Austin area in the Texas House. "Ultimately, that means killing his heart and raising him up to new life in Christ. If it would not be within God's will to do so, stop him by any means necessary."

Potteiger concurred, adding, "We want him crucified with Christ."

On the podcast, Haymes also said that he puts Talarico in the category of "public enemies," or those you "are not called to love.

However, rather than answering hate with hate, Talarico - a Presbyterian seminarian - responded with a message of love.

"Jesus loves. Christian Nationalism kills," Talarico said Wednesday in an emailed statement. "You may pray for my death, Pastor, but I still love you. I love you more than you could ever hate me."

The 36-year-old Talarico, who's running for Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn's seat in the upper chamber, is a former San Antonio schoolteacher who planned on becoming a pastor before entering the political arena.