@hyperiacob Christianity, in its most literal sense, is the belief in and doctrine based off of Christ. What one person believes to be false, another may believe to be true. You can't just discount an entire group of people simply because you don't agree with all of their beliefs and practices.

Well in one of those 7 added books it says they can pay money to get to heaven

Also they believe they can pray after death , its inconsistent

Imagine, if you will, that you had been raised believing that to be true. So long as it does not detract from you doing your best to live after the teachings of Christ, could you not consider yourself Christian?

In my opinion, the ones who are not Christians are those who would set aside the teachings and examples set by Christ to feed their pride. There are people who fit that description in every denomination.

Even if the leaders of a religious group were the corrupt ones, that does not mean that the memebers of the group are all like that.

Fair point

Out of curiosity, how is praying after death an inconsistency?

So we can post bible verse here right?

I assume so, but I'm not a mod.

I hope so

“Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
Luke 16:24‭-‬26

This proves their verse is wrong when saying dead people can pray

I don't see how that specific verse means that dead persons cannot pray. After all, Christianity teaches of an afterlife, take it the form that it may. If there is a form of conciousness still present in the afterlife, wouldn't that conciousness still be free to call out to God?

Romans 14:9 states that Christ became the Lord of both living and dead. If the dead could not do anything, why would there be a need to be Lord of living AND dead?

Additionally, 1 Peter 4:6 states that Christ preached to the dead, what would the point of that be if there were no way for the dead to communicate in return?

You forgot that he preached to the dead during the 3 days he died

Just out of curiosity what are you, I'm a pentecostal

Also living and the dead, because he can bring the dead back to life

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a Mormon.

And while it's true that those were during the days He was dead, it still doesn't mean that he was not a divine being communicating with the dead. Isn't prayer simply a communication with a divine being?

Yea, you build a relationship with God through prayer

Also can faith alone save?

Faith without works is dead according to James 2. However, we are not saved by the merits of our works alone. We need both in order to be saved.

Our works are not enough to satisfy the demands of justice. Man is fallen and we all fall short through sin. It is our faith in Christ that brings us to perform the works necessary for salvation and to trust in His grace to make up for what we ourselves never could.

I love that

Yes I agree

Faith gives you works. And it’s that. you’re led into working for the Kingdom of God. You don’t give yourself the stage , you are placed there

So faith alone can save

An example of Faith alone can save is the thief on the cross

Btw its getting late I'm going to go to sleep

Have a good one.

I kind of love that this is here. Huh. (Sorry, new and just poking around, at the moment.)

My favorite Latin phrase, from the Lutheran reformation, still holds true. sola gratia, sola fide, sola Christus, sola scriptura

Grace alone, Faith alone, Christ alone, Scripture alone

And the passage “Faith without acts is dead,” is taken wrong so much, I feel. More people need to know that the phrase means that a Faith that produces no actions is meaningless. Having faith will lead you to want to do good works, to show you’re a person of faith. Just believing without doing though, shows dead faith

I agree. Simply having faith is not the saving grace. The passage in James 2 also says (paraphrased) show me your faith without works and I wil show thee my faith by my works. Faith is merely a stepping off point on the path to heaven, without faith we would have no reason to participate in any of the saving works, we need to live our lives in accordance with our faith through our works.

Eph. 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast." Titus 3:5, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"

As I stated above, neither one will work without the other. Faith without works is dead, however we cannot simply work our way to Heaven. Man is fallen and it is by grace that you are saved, after all that you can do.

Of course, this has been the subject of quite a bit of debate. If it weren't, we wouldn't have multiple Christian denominations.

But when it means faith is dead I agree with thafes crew that it just means its meaningless. Why else would Paul say all who call upon the name if the Lord shall be saved. He knew that it was only by grace and grace alone, none of his good works could have ever gotten him to heaven. The greatest things a Christian can have are faith hope and love.

Has anyone here grown up with Christian parents that didn't go to church or teach you about the bible at home? I did and was lost and was at one point an atheist. I am a relatively new Christian with a lot to learn yet, but wondering if anyone else had a similar experience and what changed for you.

I had always gone to church, until recently

Haven't found one small enough nearby

I preferred smaller ones cause you can have a closer connection with everyone in the church

I am interested in finding a church near me once I don't have to wear a mask in anymore. I've been watching service's online since March. I started going to church at a bigger church that had several campuses but want to go elsewhere now