I read one thing here in the rules, that if I’m not mistaken, I am not allowed to talk about religion here. (this text originated on a forum with these rules) But; this isn’t going to stop me. Most people I see out in public don’t believe in the God of Christianity, to them, it just looks like another name, another set of rules, another book of myths. But I want you to just open your mind, for only a second. It doesn’t matter if you hate God more than anyone on earth, if you hate him so much, you mustn’t have him in your life. So you have nothing to lose if you just listen to me.
I want to really introduce you to the Bible. Most preachers, that preach passionately, miss one critical aspect. Imagine you’re talking to someone about a book they’ve been reading. You look at one page of it and you see something peculiar, and so you ask them about it. They tell you the reason Jake is so angry at Jennifer, is because of what she did. And so, you ask what she did. And then you ask why she did it, and eventually you climb this ladder of questions until you understand most of premise of the book. The thing with the Bible, is it truly is a big book. It was translated through so many languages, and there is many interpretations when you read some verses at a glance. And so if you argue one point about something in the Bible, the preacher argues one. But some of these people, since they weren’t introduced to the Bible, they have no understanding of God, his love, or his reasoning for his actions. Most usually borrow ideologies from other religions on why not to choose them, rather than us. And so this is what I will do now, I will do my best to introduce you to the Bible, and what it really means.
The Bible is the word of God. You may ask, how? How can God write a book, did it just randomly come into existence? Well, no. The Bible is multiple books, of recordings and testimonies from disciples of God. A disciple is a follower of God and his teachings. Matthew, is written by St. Matthew. The same goes for a lot of the books in the Bible. However, you may know that there is an Old Testament, and a New Testament. These cases are actually much of the same as the New Testament.
Now at this point, you probably have a lot of questions; or maybe you already came into this with plenty.
Let’s start with some simple things that can confuse people about God.
You may ask, why do we call him, "him"? Well, we wouldn't call God an "it", because "it" is used for rocks, inanimate objects, and impersonal beings. The English language doesn't have a word for a being that is personal, but omnipresent. We call God him, because we have to call him something. And so know that he is not some giant man with a white beard, nor does he take on that form.
Another question you may have, is if God really loves me, why would he send me to hell? Well, hell is not a place you are thrown into like that. Hell is not a direct punishment from God, it is the absence of him.
God does not judge you in any rude sense either, he is just, meaning it is more similar to justice, not judging. You must know, that God hating, is not possible.
What if, you don't hate God, you just don't believe there is one. You believe the big bang, and everything it caused, was pure luck. But then, I wouldn't ask you where did the big bang come from. I would ask where the very matter you are made of came from. The entire concept of matter, atoms, elements, math, science, biology, these are all things we take such for granted that we think that it was always like that. But God existed before he made time, before he made matter, which destroys the question of "where did God come from?". There are many things about God that we will never be able to comprehend as humans.
If you don't believe in God, then if you're repulsed by Christianity, why?
Now...We did plenty of talk about God, but you may also ask...Then who is Jesus Christ?
Jesus Christ is the son of God, he did not come down from the heavens or anything, he didn't just spawn in. He was given birth to by Mary, Jesus' mother. You may ask...Why is everyone a man? Well, why are you a man? Why are you a woman? Whatever you are, can you explain why? Jesus is God in human form.
This may confuse you though, if there is only one God, how is Jesus God? Well, there are 3 beings actually, called the Holy Trinity. Theres the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Son is Jesus.
Okay...But, you know what Jesus did, right? He died for our sins. So, what does this mean, and what is sin? Firstly, sin, is the act of disobeying God, and doing things that separate you from his love. It is important that I say, God's commandments are not rules, but warnings, because he loves you, and cares about you, and the wages of sin, is death. So before Jesus was crucified, people had to sacrifice animals, like unblemished lambs, lambs that do not have scars, or blemishes, of any kind. This sounds terrible to you, i'm sure, and thats because it is. That is why we have Jesus, because he was perfect, he was the lamb. Jesus lived a perfect life, of absolutely no sin. This is why it was enough, so that we never had to sacrifice any animals again.
But no, Jesus did not pass away or cease. He was resurrected, and ascended to heaven.
And so I want you understand a few things. There is not anything above God, especially your situation, or who you are. If you wish to be a different person, if you've committed terrible sins and you can't ever imagine changing as a person, he will change you.
I like to look at how God changes you different than some, or at least it's something I realized. He doesn't change you, he *changes* you. We humans understand change as a process, where something slowly alters from its previous state. But God does not nudge us in directions to change our mindset, he changes us as people, to our core, and he washes your sins clean.
And when you sin again, this is important...Never ever run from God or fear him. This is a common trick the devil uses, he convinces you that God will forgive you easily once you sin, and then once you sin, he acts like he won't ever. After you sin, always, always go back to God, never hide from him, as he is not angry, he is forgiving and loving.
You may have heard of multiple "branches" of Christianity. And you may ask; or at least I would ask if there is one God, one will, one son, why is there multiple versions of Christianity, and what is the right one?
Many churches of these branches change the Bible to reflect a different motive, permit a sin, or more.
Jesus Christ, while he was on earth, started a church. Of course, follow this one right? And so...which is it? Well, that would be Catholicism (Catholic). People make it out to look like we worship Mary, the mother of Jesus, but this is not so true. We respect and ask Mary various things, because she gave birth to Jesus, and people act like that deserves nothing.
Lastly, I want to give you a few things today, and I hope that all of this helps you, and enlightens you to the love of the Lord.
Here are two prayers I would like you to say:
"Our Father who art in heaven, hollowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen."
And lastly, this one, about Mary.
"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."
If you have any questions, please message them to me on the GDevelop forum privately.
Thank you for reading this, and remember, that I love you.