/christian/ - Christian Discussion and Fellowship

>>570962

*Should read that I have repentant feelings

>“Are you a sinner? Do not become discouraged, and come to Church to put forward repentance. Have you sinned? Then tell God, ‘I have sinned.’ What manner of toil is this, what prescribed course of life, what affliction? What manner of difficulty is it to make one statement, ‘I have sinned’? Perhaps if you do not call yourself a sinner, you do not have the devil as an accuser? Anticipate this and snatch the honor away from him, because it is his purpose to accuse. Therefore, why do you not prevent him, and why do you not tell your sin and wipe it out, since you know that you have such an accuser who cannot remain silent? Have you sinned? Come to Church. Tell God, ‘I have sinned.’ I do not demand anything else of you than this. Holy Scripture states, ‘Be the first one to tell of your transgressions, so you may be justified.’ Admit the sin to annul it. This requires neither labor nor a circuit of words, nor monetary expenditure, nor anything else whatsoever such as these. Say one word, think carefully about the sin and say, ‘I have sinned.'”

>St. John Chrysostom, On Repentance and Almsgiving, Homily 2

>“In the words of the psalmist, ‘As you lie in bed, repent of what you say in your heart’ (Ps. 4:4 LXX), that is, repent in the stillness of the night, remembering the lapses that occurred in the confusion of the day and disciplining yourself in hymns and spiritual songs (cf. Col. 3:16) – in other words, teaching yourself to persist in prayer and psalmody through attentive meditation on what you read. For the practice of the moral virtues is effectuated by meditating on what has happened during the day, so that during the stillness of the night we can become aware of the sins we have committed and can grieve over them.”

>St. Peter of Damaskos, “Twenty-Four Discourses”, XXII Joy, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 3)

>>570962

>I’ve spent many years thinking about Christianity, moving away from it during dark times, coming back to it

This is a lot of people's relationship with Christianity, it's good that you're coming to know God now though.

>I’ve spent a lot of time looking a historic Christian art. I love it and feel a connection to another world, maybe Heaven, through it, as well as God.

the Icons (images of Christ and the saints) are actually described as a window into heaven in Orthodoxy, so that makes sense that you would feel that.

>What does it mean to repent? I feel like this is what I’m supposed to learn next. I can’t explain why well. I saw it mentioned somewhere recently, and remember never understanding it, but now I have what may be repentant feelings.

"Repentance is the feeling and act in which one recognizes and tries to right a wrong, or gain forgiveness from someone whom he wronged. In religious contexts it usually refers to repenting for a sin against God. It always includes an admission of guilt, and also includes at least one of the following:

a solemn promise or resolve not to repeat the offense;

an attempt to make restitution for the wrong,

or in some way to reverse the harmful effects of the wrong where possible."

To repent is to realize what you did is wrong and having a desire to change, you definitely are showing signs that you already know what repentance is

Have you looked into visiting a local church? And how much have you read of the Bible?

>>571021

Thanks. I haven’t considered visiting a local church. I remember church as a kid, and feeling like it dumber down things to appeal to a wide audience. I’m more interested in it on a deeper, philosophical level. Jordan Peterson says he doesn’t go to church because he thinks pastors are not telling the truth enough.

I haven’t read much of the Bible. I’ve just skipped around here and there. I’ve watched all of Jordan Peterson’s biblical lectures, which I find interesting.

I also work at a catholic university, and it’s been completely feminized. They talk about social justice all the time. That makes me weary of church.

>>570962

Go to confession. I am very similar to you, I have not been to confession for 10 years. I feel like unless I do it I will not be at peace with God. And being in mortal sin makes it hard for us to get close to God, we continue sinning and can't break the circle without confession. Being in mortal sin means we're severed from God and even our prayers are not heard.

The Church has undergone very regrettable changes over the past 50 years, but we still have the sacraments. But just be careful if you go to confession, confess everything, don't listen to priests who tell 'well that's not that big of a sin' or something like that. I remember my first confession, I felt so light, me and my friends were running and jumping in front of the church, we felt as light as feathers.

>>571117

>Jordan Peterson says he doesn’t go to church because he thinks pastors are not telling the truth enough

>Jordan Peterson says

Go to CHURCH. Talk to a PRIEST. They can help you along.

>>570962

Look around for a good church to be a part of. I was originally part of a 'modern' Catholic church and felt disconnected once I started searching deeper into the musings of the Saints. I looked around and found a more traditional, smaller church that's always packed during Mass and appeals to my search for Truth more. If you search, you will find.

>>570962

If you believe in Jesus Christ - that He lived a Perfect Life, fulfilling all the commands of God, and He died in your place, taking the punishment on your behalf, and that He rose again in 3 day - and that He did all this for you, personally, and you trust in what He did and ONLY what He did for your Salvation, then YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN.

>>571117

Also have you looked into denominations at all?