Christian Thought: Christian Theology & Philosophy
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  • Introduction
  • An Outline of the Bible
  • Verse Observations
  • The Ultimate Question
  • Theology
    • Cosmic Law >
      • Good & Evil/Pain & Suffering >
        • God Using Evil for Good
        • Sacrifice & Mortification
        • Judges: Irony & Meaninglessness
      • Spiritual & Physical//Natural & Supernatural >
        • Grace vs Work >
          • The Sabbath
        • Angels
      • (About) the Divine Plan/Fate & Free Will >
        • The Interwovenness of Human Lives & Their Inevitable Mutual Effects on Each Other – aka The Ripple Effect
        • Faith in God's Will >
          • Prayer
          • Tests to Determine God's Will or Approval
    • The (Actual) Divine Plan (Biblical History) >
      • Necessity of the Law & a Chosen Nation >
        • Importance of Sacrifices & the Nature of Holiness/Determination of Guilt, Under the Law
        • The Mosaic Law
      • Theological History >
        • Jewish Beliefs as Relates to Christianity
      • The Creation
      • Eschatology
    • The Attributes of God and His Character >
      • The Trinity
    • Sin & Salvation >
      • Original Sin
      • Predestination and the Elect >
        • Losing One’s Salvation/Falling from Grace/Apostasy/Perseverance >
          • Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit
      • Sin & Guilt >
        • Collective Guilt/National Sin
      • Reward & Punishment; Mercy
      • The Afterlife >
        • Heaven/the New Creation
        • Hell
        • Purgatory & the Harrowing of Hell
    • The Christian Life >
      • Receiving the Holy Spirit
      • Persecution & Hardship
      • Christian Ethics >
        • Marriage & Celibacy
      • Demon Possession & Activity
    • Determining the Truth of Christianity >
      • The Sinlessness and Perfection of God — Accusations against God >
        • Concerning Reward & Punishment >
          • Sweeping the Innocent Away with the Wicked/Many Suffer for the Sin of One >
            • The Innocent Punished for the Sins of the Wicked (to Punish the Wicked) >
              • Punishing the Children for the Father’s Sin
          • Harshness
          • Manipulation of Free Will (to the Person’s Damnation)
        • The Law of God Flawed >
          • Sins against Love (Revenge Seeking)
          • Unjust Warfare/War
          • Racism & Slavery
          • Sexism >
            • Theology of the Sexes >
              • Women’s Gender Role >
                • Submission
            • Male Chauvinism >
              • Unequal Opportunity/Deprivation of Rights
              • Polygamy
              • Women’s Chastity
            • Rape & Sex Slavery
        • Sins of People in the Bible (that Reflect Poorly on God)
      • Can We Take the Bible Seriously? >
        • The Creation of the Canon
        • False Prophecy/Broken Promises
        • Contradictions in the Bible
        • False Reasoning
    • Ambiguous/Strange/Bizarre Passages of the Bible
  • Philosophy
    • Spiritual & Physical//The Natural & Supernatural >
      • Mind & Body
      • Thinking & Doing >
        • Work
    • Metaphysics >
      • Reality
      • Generalities vs Exceptions
      • The Problem of Relativity
      • The Problem of the Distribution of Goodies (Randomness) >
        • Natural & Inevitable Inequality/The Unequal Distribution Wealth >
          • Communism
      • Cause & Effect/Human Action & Reaction
      • Beauty >
        • Art
      • Mathematics & Logic
      • Science & the Natural Laws
    • Epistemology/Faith >
      • Atheism
      • Idealism
      • Asceticism & False Religion
    • Man >
      • Created in the Image of God (Comparing Humans & Animals)
      • Sinful Nature >
        • Levels of the Will
      • Psychology >
        • The Conscious & Subconscious
        • Personality
      • Stages of Life >
        • Death
      • Society >
        • Hermitism
      • The Sexes >
        • Men
        • Women
    • History of the World >
      • How Ideas & Knowledge Spread
    • Ethics >
      • Good & Evil
      • Happiness
      • Love >
        • Romantic Love >
          • Sexuality >
            • Homosexuality

The Christian Life

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Walking with Jesus. (The Road to Emmaus)
How am I supposed to wait for the Lord's coming when there's going to be so many signs of his coming beforehand and when these things are far off (for example, the gospel is far, far from being preached everywhere)?

How is it that non-thinking Christians can exist? We’ve all met these kinds of people plenty of times. It’s a little hard to describe, but an example would be blaming every bad thing that happens on the devil. Or if any big thing comes up in the news, they’ll say it’s a sign that the end is near. Even Jesus said not to think like this: "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet." (Mt 24:6) They seem to know the reason for everything that happens, good or bad, and these reasons are always huge oversimplifications. There’s tons of examples out there, but these are just a few. And I think a lot of these people are sincerely trying to follow the Lord and do in fact do a good job of pleasing him, even if their non-thinkingness doesn’t. Some may even live good lives and know how to show love and mercy to others. However, their non-thinkingness is undignified and unbecoming of a believer. We’re supposed to grow in maturity, and yet these people are immature. And even though, yes, they can do much good and show lots of love, I know that their immaturity in this matter is a great hindrance to their overall spiritual growth and to that of others. It betrays a lack of knowledge of God, how he works and what he desires. This can only have serious consequences. So how can the Spirit allow them to grow in moral maturity, but their maturity in wisdom and knowledge is so embarrassingly stunted? Not to mention, the problem is so prevalent that it’s a huge reason that nonbelievers are turned off from following the right way.

Related: How can one have such a poor understanding of the Spirit, and yet the Spirit works so powerfully through them? I had a pastor who never prepared any of his sermons, because he believed that the Spirit would give him the words. And indeed, his sermons had no organization, didn’t stick to the point, and usually there was no point. However, in other parts of his life, the Spirit worked powerfully through him. He could talk to people just once or twice and they’d convert. He was surrounded by miracles. He had all sorts of stories to tell us about how the Lord had once again shown himself in the unfolding of people’s lives. So how come he couldn’t understand (at least in the area of his sermons) that it’s not just grace, but also work, that the two overlap in some mysterious way? I’m not saying that he should have been able to articulate this, but if he had understood it on even a subconscious level, that would have been good enough for me.

Can Christians be mentally ill? What about under extreme duress (as was Jung Chang’s father [from The Wild Swans] Not that he was a Christian, but he was a good man)?

Why was sharing things in common only to last a short time in the history of the church? This no longer happens, except in religious orders, where it’s mandatory, not voluntary (except insofar that one joins the order voluntarily). (Acts 4:32, 34-35)


Why would God give someone the gift of speaking in tongues but not the gift of interpretation to go along with it? (I Cor 14:13)
Isn't speaking in tongues a waste if you don't even know what you're saying? (I Cor 14:13-14) Then why would God give this as a gift?

​Why did Jesus at times only allow Peter, James and John to come with him? (Mk 5:37 [healing of Jairus' daughter], the Transfiguration)
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