I have a few conundrums I've been mulling over. Not necessarily important ones, but I'm an on-and-off Christian trying to stick with it this time, and these always bother me.The first one is, although not explicitly a sin, would God find it a problem to

Email
Comment *
File	Select/drop/paste files here
Password	(Randomized for file and post deletion; you may also set your own.)
* = required field	[▶ Show post options & limits] Confused? See the FAQ.

Embed	(replaces files and can be used instead)
Options	Do not bump (you can also write sage in the email field) Spoiler images (this replaces the thumbnails of your images with question marks)
Allowed file types:jpg, jpeg, gif, png, webm, mp4, pdf Max filesize is 16 MB. Max image dimensions are 15000 x 15000. You may upload 5 per post.

File: be8956a500b38dd⋯.jpg (42.12 KB, 600x300, 2:1, invertebrate_horseshoe-cra….jpg)

Christanon 07/18/19 (Thu) 21:57:59 8bfcec No.821633

I have a few conundrums I've been mulling over. Not necessarily important ones, but I'm an on-and-off Christian trying to stick with it this time, and these always bother me.

The first one is, although not explicitly a sin, would God find it a problem to do more charitable work to animals than humans? By that I mean volunteering at an animal shelter instead of a homeless shelter or giving out food at a food bank. It ties into the question of whether animals and pets go to Heaven, because if they do not, it's pointless. Not saying they should suffer, but I don't think it's hard to differentiate those who cannot be saved by choice and those that cannot be saved without a choice.

The second question is if you don't start a family due to fear. Say you get a significant other, have a good marriage, and decide to have a kid. That kid turns out to be severely disabled to the point where they cannot ever function in normal society. You can't go to church because the child needs constant care, and your faith in the lord wanes because you see that another person is suffering because you helped give birth to it, and Jesus said that he made the child disabled to test faith. Why would He allow a family to suffer their whole life only for them to be unable to enjoy life because they're taking care of a family member? I find it difficult to understand because we only have one life on this Earth, and as much as God is good, there is no guarantee we'll see our families and pets and friends in Heaven. The only guarantee is God.

Christanon 07/20/19 (Sat) 13:22:37 d3ea37 No.821921

>>821633

First one. No not really if that was all you could do God will understand. St. Francis of Assisi is a good example of this. He helped his fellow men don’t get me wrong but he spent most of his time in nature with animals their is even stories of him conducting mass for the animals of the woods while they sat at attention. Such was his live for all the creatures of God.

Second is more interesting. I feel fear is the real issue here and to overcome that you need faith in the Lord. You are worrying about things that have not even occurred and most likely wouldn’t occur unless you have a preexisting medical reason to assume it would. Have faith in the Lord and the life to come where you and the child would end up in heaven and you would meet him as God intended him to be perfect.

You need more faith and you need to conquer your fear and anxiety.

Christanon 07/20/19 (Sat) 13:55:46 1bd754 No.821924

>would God find it a problem to do more charitable work to animals than humans? By that I mean volunteering at an animal shelter instead of a homeless shelter or giving out food at a food bank

The first one is good. The second one is better. You know what's worse? Not doing either. Be careful with stop doing something good just because you could theoretically do something better. Confront evil where you find it. Helping animals is better than not helping anything. On the topic of animals and souls, I have no idea. They're God's creation, and unlike us, who ate from the Tree of good and evil, they act in accordance with their own nature, in accordance with God's will. Maybe they're saved by default, if in a different way than how humans are saved?

Regarding the second question, I think you're getting the wrong idea about Heaven. You're thinking about it all in a way too physical manner. Try to think of Heaven more as a "state of the soul" and God as a principle of being, an energy, rather than a being (since He transcends so much our common understanding of what a being is). And, if you actually get to Heaven, you can save others through sincere mutual love. To those who love a lot, a low will be forgiven.

It also seems that your conception of God is too similar to that of the philosophers. The Christian God is not a demiurge; He came to Earth to die, and die in the cross, to save us all by His suffering and humiliation. Ours is not a God who arbitrarily condemns us to suffer but one who's with us through that suffering.

Try to live out your faith and develop a personal relationship will God (usually done through daily prayer). It'll help you understand a lot more things about religion. Religion is not something you just understand logically, is something you live out, something holistic that involves much more than just the intellect. Look up to those who you find holier than you and imitate them. That will help you deal with your conundrums.