Hi all, new here

Hi all, I am 33 years old and live in the U.S. I have attended a Baptist church regularly for the past 6 or so years. Due to recent life event, I'm now questioning some of the doctrines. My grandma, who is Hindu, passed away and I got no support from the church or my Christian friends. The whole experience was a bit shocking (dealing with both the passing and reaction from Christians). Anyway, God gave me peace about my grandma so I'm no longer worried about her. Now, I'm more focused on reading the Bible and deciding for myself. I find myself leaning more liberal now on quite a few issues, but not sure if it is scriptural.

I would compare any doctrine with scripture but realize also that most churches or denominations have imperfections in their doctrine and practices. I am glad that God gave you peace with Grandma. I am not the least bit surprised about the lack of Christian support. Hopefully, you didn't get any condemnation. Your focus is correct in your reading the bible. Glad to have you as part of our community. Welcome to CC.

When God comforted you in the loss of your grandmother, you're on the right path in being led by His spirit to find peace in such a heartbreaking time. Especially when you felt abandoned by members of your church.
God's mercies surround your grandmother.
I hope this forum is a blessing in your journey.

Hello, I'm new here also.

Sorry to hear about your grandmother. It seems God is leading you to the right place, the Bible.
What kind of issues?

Hi TheIndianGirl,

Amen, God is truly guiding my friend. You might be thinking 'where is God?'. But I been through similar experience as you.

I also had been searching for more depth in the bible. In my experience I had been praying for more than 5 years for wisdom and understanding. And during those five years there are ups and downs.

But God came through when I was just about to give up. Stay in the word of God and keep on praying. Matt 7:7

You could do a lot worse than Catholicism. Its a very underrated denomination.

Hello TheIndianGirl welcome to Christian Chat. I hope you'll enjoy your stay here.

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On salvation, I think nonbelievers will be judged on what they know and/or will have a chance to fully know Jesus either during their last moments of life or maybe even after death. God wants everyone to be saved, so I think He will fully reveal himself. I'm talking about fully revealing Himself. I'm not talking about the quick 30 second gospel, and then then asking do you accept Jesus? God is not a trickster. I think a lot of Christians are quick to say nonbelievers go to hell, but when you ask them is Ann Frank/Holocaust victims in hell, the same people don't want to answer the question. Their lack of response/avoidance shows a crack on who they believe goes to hell/heaven.

After my grandma's passing, because I did not feel a lot of love/support from Christians, I now feel less strongly about homosexuality. I think we should be more accepting. But, I am not sure how scriptural this is, and I recognize officiating a gay marriage is a big deal.

I think yoga class, for fitness purposes, is okay. I think listening to non-Christian music is okay. I think we can attend non Christian weddings, funerals, etc. I think there is a lot of fear mongering on the small issues. I don't think everything is demonic. Thoughts, anyone?

Hi TheIndianGirl,

My understanding is that everyone get chance to know God while they are alive. Thereafter the judgement. We might be surprise of some people that made it to heaven. You are right, God will judge everyone on the amount of light we have received.

And there are many testimonies of people from different creeds, culture, religion that God lead into the truth.

God is absolutely fair and nobody can say God is not righteous in His decision to exclude certain people out of heaven. God is very patience, longsuffering, of tender mercy and I believe God gives chance after chance until that individual has rejected truth so far that they begin to believe the lie.

And it not God that exclude them. They choose to exclude themselves. If God ought to allow them in heaven they would not want to be in God's presence. God is a consuming fire for them that perish.

Welcome IndianGirl and so nice to have you join us. The good news is that not all of us are judgmental as we are commanded to 'Love our neighbor as ourself'. Hope to see you around the forums here, God bless!

welcome sister and I pray God's blessings in your life <3

I hope you don't abandon the most important doctrine: That Jesus Christ died for you so you can have eternal life with the Father. When you have decided you don't want sin in your life and you accept the free gift of salvation, you accept the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ. No other doctrine is more important. No church denomination takes precedence over the Gospel.

I am so sorry for your loss. There are many people who pass away every year, but there are none as uniquely qualified to be your grandmother. Make no mistake, she was one of a kind. There will never be another human being created who can take her place. It's just too bad your church didn't recognized what a uniquely challenging time it was for you.

You are not alone, though. The modern church leadership has decided in recent years that it is much better to fill the seats than to disciple its member. And part of discipleship is caring for the individual disciple. So many are leaving the church because of this.

But I have good news, you are still His disciple even if you aren't currently active in an institutional church. I would just remind you, as the Apostle Paul reminded the early church, to not forsake your meeting with other Christians. I would encourage you to either find a suitable church home, or at least join a small bible fellowship in your area. You may have to start one yourself. I hereby give you express permission. Just be sure to bring your bible! In the mean time, I would encourage you to frequently engage with those on this forum. I love how the people on this site are willing to talk about God. I couldn't find that going to "church." How sad.

I'm glad you are still reading your bible. I would encourage you to stay focused on the four Gospels, for now, and just hang on every word Jesus spoke. I am curious, however. What is it you have to decide for yourself? Is there a major decision you feel you have to make concerning God?

I would encourage you to completely ditch the politics. After all, Jesus didn't worry about overthrowing the Roman government. Instead he told his disciples to preach the gospel in spite of it.

Anyway, I hope I've offered some encouragement for you. Unlike church pastors, my door is always open. If you want to correspond, I am here for you. You don't need to go through ten gatekeepers. You don't even have to fill out a phony contact form.

In closing, I have found that serving others is a great way to move forward from difficult situations. May God bless every aspect of your life.

Hi. Welcome to the site. I hope you have a blessed time here. I can answer your first question. I believe it's found in Hebrews 9:27.

Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment, so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.

Yes God wants everyone to be saved. But not everyone will be saved. The Bible makes this fairly clear, I think. The Bible does make it clear that the free gift of salvation is offered to all. This is because it is God's desire that everyone comes to a knowledge of the truth. However, after death, we no longer have that decision because our destiny is decided. We have the opportunity to choose Christ while we are alive here on earth.

Follow the Word of God.. Do not be a follower of people.. When people follow imperfect people their foundation will become shattered once the people they follow let them down.. Humans are human.. God is God.. Don't get the two mixed up.. Become a follower of God.. Read His Holy Bible and believe Him and trust in the Way He has made for us to be Redeemed..

In your first post you mention being disappointed with the lack of support from your church and your Christian brothers and sister...

I'm reminded of something said to me about 3 years ago by a fellow congregant at a church I used to attend, he said: "People behave badly in groups". Ultimately I believe its about each person developing a relationship with God through his Son and our Savior Jesus Christ...not through our relationships with fellow believers, whether in a church setting or otherwise. A good church and good brothers and sisters in Christ are very helpful of course, we all need encouragement. But ultimately my view is that its about our relationship with God, and its a personal relationship not a corporate one for me.

I've had the some of the same questions you have about who is saved....not specifically about Anne Frank, but that is a really good one to ponder. Here's the way I approach it, I have nothing to say or do with Anne Frank's salvation, or anyone else's other than my own.

I think its to your credit that you are not sitting in judgement on Anne Frank or anyone else....we're all image bearers and Jesus was pretty darned clear from my reading of scripture about how we're to treat one another.

As for yoga, non-Christian music, weddings and funerals etc....I believe as a Christian you bring that with you wherever you go, be it to yoga class or a celebration of life or marriage.

My final thought is that we live in a broken world, and we're all broken people....I don't think it helps to expect perfection or anything close on this side of the veil. Be blessed.