/lit/ - Literature

Jesus Christ is king of the universe. The Catholic church is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father - nobody goes to the Father except through Him. All who reject Him, and His church, are bound to spend eternity in the state most ontologically distant from Him, which is called Hell. If you do your due diligence, and humbly open yourself to the guidance of the Holy Spirit (instead of leaning on your own "wisdom"), you will see that this is true. If you do not do your due diligence, and go to the end of your life (which could be today) without opening yourself up to the Holy Spirit, you will have committed the unforgivable sin - blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

Please do not waste time reading the opinions of people on the internet. Make an internal commitment that if the Holy Spirit is real, that you wish to be guided by Him, even if He takes you somewhere that you do not want to go. This is the only way to the Father.

"For as many as carry (in them) the Spirit of God are led to the Word, that is to the Son; and the Son brings them to the Father; and the Father causes them to possess incorruption. Without the Spirit it is not possible to behold the Word of God, nor without the Son can any draw near to the Father for the knowledge of the Father is the Son, and the knowledge of the Son of God is through the Holy Spirit; and, according to the good pleasure of the Father, the Son ministers and dispenses the Spirit to whomsoever the Father wills and as He wills."

>>19295464
I appreciate your honesty, and I appreciate your opinion being backed up by evidence. I hold to an earlier date of the Gospels than most scholars (as do many scholars, like Maurice Casey and James Crossley - who are both atheists, by the way), and apostolic authorship of Matthew & John, but I find that your perspective is reasonable. I appreciate having a reasonable discussion - what is most important, for me, is that we agree both perspectives are reasonable. I have no illusions that you will convert to Christianity because of anything I say, but I'm glad we could amicably discuss these things.

>>19295497
For me, it is the perfect fulfillment of the OT prophesies, especially the Psalms, Daniel, and Isaiah, which give me reason to believe that the Hebrew Messiah might exist - I find the fulfillment of Daniel 9 specifically very hard to ignore and explain away, as it is so explicit - and that, compounded with the case for the historicity of the resurrection of Christ and the reliability of the Gospel accounts (because I believe the case for apostolic authorship to be stronger than the anonymous-pseudepigrapha case), make (to me) an extremely convincing case. I have had this conversation with many people online and in-person, and it has always reassured me that this position, although not convincing to many people, is actually quite reasonable. So many people think reason and faith are incompatible, but it is not true at all. Indeed, I think the Christian position is the /most/ reasonable in light of all available evidence.

I was an atheist for a long time - but I truly believe now that the man Jesus was truly the Son of God, the divine Logos incarnate - He chose to be tortured and killed as atonement for our sins in accordance with these prophesies, and resurrected 3 days later. I believe He met with the apostles and ascended into heaven in their sight, in front of many witnesses, who then went all across the Old World, choosing to risk being tortured and killed rather than recant their testimonies or staying silent.

I may sound a bit boring, but this is the greatest thing in the world, to me. It is so joyous that it is almost indescribable. Miracles have happened to me since converting, and every day I thank the Lord for saving me from darkness. I hope one day you come to learn of Him too. All you have to do is seek, and you will find. He delights in leading us.

"God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast in His presence. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption."

Peace, and God bless you, brother.

>>18864761
I have read the Confessions of Augustine, it is an amazing work.
He says nothing about sex with one's wife being a bad thing. You are confusing sex within marriage, which is both licit and encouraged, with sex outside of marriage, which is sinful.
>Like, are there any good arguments against sex even outside of marriage? Any actual arguments, not just begging the question or appeals to nature?
Promiscuous sex in men and women is strongly correlated with a highly increased chance of initiating divorce according to various studies, which shows that the act of sex with more than one partner seems to impair some sort of pair-bonding mechanism. There is the obvious downside of potentially contracting sexually transmitted diseases, even with protection. Further, there is the obvious potential for unwanted pregnancies, which in many cases leads to abortion - the willful and conscious murdering of an innocent human being. This is not something to be desired, and something which I think would logically be considered morally wrong by anybody who believes in an objective morality. Finally, there is some compelling evidence to suggest sexual activity, especially at a young age, is correlated with self-reported rates of depression. According to a study primarily funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), findings suggested that:
"A full quarter (25.3 percent) of teenage girls who are sexually active report that they are depressed all, most, or a lot of the time. By contrast, only 7.7 percent of teenage girls who are not sexually active report that they are depressed all, most, or a lot of the time. Thus, sexually active girls are more than three times more likely to be depressed than are girls who are not sexually active.

Some 8.3 percent of teenage boys who are sexually active report that they are depressed all, most, or a lot of the time. By contrast, only 3.4 percent of teenage boys who are not sexually active are depressed all, most, or a lot of the time. Thus, boys who are sexually active are more than twice as likely to be depressed as are those who are not sexually active."

In conclusion, like almost every single other biblical commandment regarding morals, it appears that it is not just an arbitrary law, but rather something which was put in place for our own protection and well-being. This is not the kind of polemic you will often find among proponents of biblical morality (especially among Protestants), but it can be truly said that God put these commandments in place for our well-being, like a loving father who forbids his child from eating sugar before bed. We may not understand it at the time, thinking him tyrannical, but in the end, it is for our own good.

>>18864761
I have read the Confessions of Augustine. He says nothing about sex with one's wife being a bad thing. You are confusing sex within marriage, which is both elicit and encourages, and sex outside of marriage, which is sinful.
>Like, are there any good arguments against sex even outside of marriage? Any actual arguments, not just begging the question or appeals to nature?
Promiscuous sex in men and women is strongly correlated with a highly increased chance of initiating divorce according to various studies, which shows that the act itself seems to impair some sort of pair-bonding mechanism. Further, there is the obvious downside of potentially contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Further, there is the obvious potential for unwanted pregnancies, which in many cases leads to abortion, which is the willful murdering of an innocent human being - not something to be desires, and something which I think is obviously considered morally wrong by anybody who believes in an objective morality. Finally, there is some compelling evidence to suggest sexual activity, especially at a young age, is correlated with self-reported rates of depression. According to a study primarily funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), findings suggested that:
"A full quarter (25.3 percent) of teenage girls who are sexually active report that they are depressed all, most, or a lot of the time. By contrast, only 7.7 percent of teenage girls who are not sexually active report that they are depressed all, most, or a lot of the time. Thus, sexually active girls are more than three times more likely to be depressed than are girls who are not sexually active.

Some 8.3 percent of teenage boys who are sexually active report that they are depressed all, most, or a lot of the time. By contrast, only 3.4 percent of teenage boys who are not sexually active are depressed all, most, or a lot of the time. Thus, boys who are sexually active are more than twice as likely to be depressed as are those who are not sexually active."

In conclusion, like almost every single other biblical commandment regarding morals, it appears that it is not just an arbitrary law, but rather something which was put in place for our own protection and well-being. This is not the kind of polemic you will often find among proponents of biblical morality (especially among Protestants), but it can be truly said that God put these commandments in place for our well-being, like a loving father who forbids his child from eating sugar before bed. We may not understand it at the time, thinking him tyrannical, but in the end, it is for our own good.

>>18786986
It is necessary for Christ to descend into Hades and free the many rightheous souls (like Adam, Eve, Abel, David, etc) who have been waiting for Christ in there, and to destroy Satan's dominion over death by experiencing death Himself as the Logos.