- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Coaching Changes
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
The battle of religion and freedom, between church and grace
Posted on 11/15/25 at 8:53 am
Posted on 11/15/25 at 8:53 am
You may very well TLDR, but I really want to share something of great importance I believe, especially today…
As a young believer I can remember when first coming to Christ I experienced true freedom, liberty, peace, and joy as I was set free, and reading scripture confirmed it to me over and over, and I grew in feeling closer and closer with the Lord as I felt immersed in His presence. I remember the stark contrast of the nature of whom I had begun a walk with in Christ to the Christ I had been told via religion, namely being raised Catholic, and they honestly couldn’t be further apart.
I knew that I had to join a church body and become a part of it, and wanted to get involved to share this amazingly good news and hope I had found and so I started attending different churches and denominations to find out where God wanted me to go and grow as a Christian. I attended Southern Baptist where I wanted to be and was baptized, and then later word of faith churches that were scary and pretty culty and unscriptural, and then charismatic that felt a lot more experiential than biblically substantive, and then finally an AOG church that hung to about 95% of scripture, but then worked in doctrines that just didn’t line up with scripture, but in all of them, there were things that were added that never sit right and yet I had allowed to introduce rule keeping to grace, and condemnation to the love, freedom, and liberty I had found in Christ.
The video below best illustrates what’s going on, and the difference in between the truth in scripture and man’s religious institutions, especially in the lens they use to get you to view scripture and Jesus, almost always plucking scripture without using context to bring clarity to what is being discussed, and if you’re not careful, even as I was not careful, they will not only change your lens, but they will shipwreck your faith in the process. The great news is that you are still saved by the same unmerited salvation and grace of our Lord Jesus who died for all of your sins, and you will never forget your first love, the one who you experienced and who set you free, so I am convinced you will return to as I have. The bad news is the loss of time and unnecessary burdens and mistruths you will have to get right as you study the scriptures and get away from the religious additives and back to the truth God tells us in His word.
The skinny is that man and his religious institutions will find a way to screw up even the good news of the gospel, and introduce dogma to poison the truth in scripture, BUT GOD is real and so much more powerful and with open arms there to accept you back into His peace and truth. While religion uses you to put butts in the seats, God Loves You and has much bigger plans for you, mostly to love you with the love and relationship only God can give. That’s why He came to us. That’s why He paid our penalty for us on our behalf. He did not come to condemn you, and tell you everything you were doing wrong, but to love you and have a real personal relationship between you and the living God, who is the embodiment of actual agape Love.
Believe Him, not man. Man is a liar, but God cannot lie. He IS the truth, and the real truth is that He loves you right where you are, so much so that He died to prove it. He does not want to make you better. He wants to make you perfect, and the only way to perfection is through Christ, the way, truth, and life. Believe Him.
As a young believer I can remember when first coming to Christ I experienced true freedom, liberty, peace, and joy as I was set free, and reading scripture confirmed it to me over and over, and I grew in feeling closer and closer with the Lord as I felt immersed in His presence. I remember the stark contrast of the nature of whom I had begun a walk with in Christ to the Christ I had been told via religion, namely being raised Catholic, and they honestly couldn’t be further apart.
I knew that I had to join a church body and become a part of it, and wanted to get involved to share this amazingly good news and hope I had found and so I started attending different churches and denominations to find out where God wanted me to go and grow as a Christian. I attended Southern Baptist where I wanted to be and was baptized, and then later word of faith churches that were scary and pretty culty and unscriptural, and then charismatic that felt a lot more experiential than biblically substantive, and then finally an AOG church that hung to about 95% of scripture, but then worked in doctrines that just didn’t line up with scripture, but in all of them, there were things that were added that never sit right and yet I had allowed to introduce rule keeping to grace, and condemnation to the love, freedom, and liberty I had found in Christ.
The video below best illustrates what’s going on, and the difference in between the truth in scripture and man’s religious institutions, especially in the lens they use to get you to view scripture and Jesus, almost always plucking scripture without using context to bring clarity to what is being discussed, and if you’re not careful, even as I was not careful, they will not only change your lens, but they will shipwreck your faith in the process. The great news is that you are still saved by the same unmerited salvation and grace of our Lord Jesus who died for all of your sins, and you will never forget your first love, the one who you experienced and who set you free, so I am convinced you will return to as I have. The bad news is the loss of time and unnecessary burdens and mistruths you will have to get right as you study the scriptures and get away from the religious additives and back to the truth God tells us in His word.
The skinny is that man and his religious institutions will find a way to screw up even the good news of the gospel, and introduce dogma to poison the truth in scripture, BUT GOD is real and so much more powerful and with open arms there to accept you back into His peace and truth. While religion uses you to put butts in the seats, God Loves You and has much bigger plans for you, mostly to love you with the love and relationship only God can give. That’s why He came to us. That’s why He paid our penalty for us on our behalf. He did not come to condemn you, and tell you everything you were doing wrong, but to love you and have a real personal relationship between you and the living God, who is the embodiment of actual agape Love.
Believe Him, not man. Man is a liar, but God cannot lie. He IS the truth, and the real truth is that He loves you right where you are, so much so that He died to prove it. He does not want to make you better. He wants to make you perfect, and the only way to perfection is through Christ, the way, truth, and life. Believe Him.
This post was edited on 11/15/25 at 9:08 am
11
Posted on 11/15/25 at 9:34 am to Mike da Tigah
A good post for sure. But, the good news is that man is man and has never needed saving. He is what he is and when he accepts this, he actually "sins" less.
There is nothing to be saved from. You were fine for eons before you were born and you will be just as fine after you take the celestial dirt nap.
If you need to believe this man-made western "gospel" of Christendom to help you cope with life and not shite on others, then I think it's great. It's actually good for the country that its citizens can put their faith in something. It is far superior to Islam and old school Judaism.
I would say in the main that most Americans need Christianity until they can accept what is said above.
There is nothing to be saved from. You were fine for eons before you were born and you will be just as fine after you take the celestial dirt nap.
If you need to believe this man-made western "gospel" of Christendom to help you cope with life and not shite on others, then I think it's great. It's actually good for the country that its citizens can put their faith in something. It is far superior to Islam and old school Judaism.
I would say in the main that most Americans need Christianity until they can accept what is said above.
This post was edited on 11/15/25 at 10:14 am
Posted on 11/15/25 at 9:39 am to theballguy
quote:
If you need to believe this man-made "gospel"
You type up one of these to instruct people to reject what you perceive as a different one of these. And then upvoted yourself.
An infinitesimally small circle of reasoning. Such that it is.
This post was edited on 11/15/25 at 9:41 am
Posted on 11/15/25 at 9:40 am to McLemore
There is no "good news" just as there is no "bad news". Actually, there is no "news".
And yes I wrote all that to tell people, that the OP post is more or less just a bunch of noise though obviously written out of love. But, if you need to buy into it to help you do good, then by all means, you should do so.
And yes I wrote all that to tell people, that the OP post is more or less just a bunch of noise though obviously written out of love. But, if you need to buy into it to help you do good, then by all means, you should do so.
This post was edited on 11/15/25 at 10:12 am
Posted on 11/15/25 at 9:44 am to Mike da Tigah
Thank you for sharing. We are truly saved by God’s amazing grace alone, through the gift of faith alone, in Christ’s work on the cross alone, for God’s glory alone, and not by any works of merit or religious observation.
Our obedience to God is out of thankfulness, not to save ourselves or to make ourselves appear better before God and men.
Our obedience to God is out of thankfulness, not to save ourselves or to make ourselves appear better before God and men.
Posted on 11/15/25 at 9:44 am to theballguy
quote:
There is no "good news" just as there is no "bad news". Actually, there is no "news".
And there is your own dogma. You telling us there is no good or bad news or news is its own “news.” Give it a name. You’re being pedantic and using fallacies to attempt to prove Christians wrong.
If you think man has been just fine since his inception, then your power of observation should be questioned. Nay rejected.
Posted on 11/15/25 at 9:46 am to McLemore
quote:
prove Christians wrong.
Christians are in error only when they start with the whole "you need saving" bs.
Other than that, I think Christianity is great and I agree with you on the rest of it.
Posted on 11/15/25 at 9:47 am to McLemore
quote:
man has been just fine since his inception
Depends on what you mean by fine I suppose.
But when has man ever done things that he has not done before? the good and the bad? This is man. He is what he is.
Posted on 11/15/25 at 9:49 am to theballguy
quote:
But when has man ever done things that he has not done before? the good and the bad? This is man. He is what he is.
You have absolutely mastered the art of question begging.
Do you believe there is any transcendent standard or right and wrong? Or are you a positivist with nothing to appeal to if the majority decides what is right and wrong?
Posted on 11/15/25 at 9:53 am to McLemore
No need to ad hominem. You don't know me.
I have just mentioned things that are interesting to me and to help others if they choose to accept them. I do not identify with any group.
I have just mentioned things that are interesting to me and to help others if they choose to accept them. I do not identify with any group.
Posted on 11/15/25 at 9:56 am to theballguy
quote:
ad hominem
Huh?
If calling you a “positivist” is ad hominem then I guess I don’t know what positivism is and/or what an ad hominem is.
And re “question begging,” I believe “it is what it is” speaks for itself. Lol.
I was trying to get to the elemental issues.
This post was edited on 11/15/25 at 9:59 am
Posted on 11/15/25 at 9:58 am to theballguy
quote:The bad news is that we all sin against a holy God and are lacking peace with him because of this. We deserve to be separated from God’s loving presence forever.
There is no "good news" just as there is no "bad news". Actually, there is no "news".
The good news is that God entered into His own creation to fulfill the requirements of holiness for us, so that by His death on the cross in our place, He paid the price we owe so we can have everlasting life with Him.
If Jesus did not die for us, we are still in our sins and enemies with God. Jesus brought peace.
Posted on 11/15/25 at 10:01 am to FooManChoo
This is perfectly written out and wonderfully told. If you did this out of love, I thank you, brother God bless you.
God bless you.
Posted on 11/15/25 at 10:03 am to Mike da Tigah
quote:
I remember the stark contrast of the nature of whom I had begun a walk with in Christ to the Christ I had been told via religion, namely being raised Catholic, and they honestly couldn’t be further apart.
I find it so interesting and compelling that people like you, former Catholics ,
Hav a very well formed conscience and love for Christ.
Yall also have a very good ability to spot genuine error and flaws in “religion”.
I wonder why that is?
Could it be because you have Christ in your heart?
I wonder why you have him inside you
I wonder how that happened?
Where did it come from?
Posted on 11/15/25 at 10:03 am to Mike da Tigah
TLDR
Posted on 11/15/25 at 10:04 am to WheyCheddar
It's a very good read. As is foomanchoo's post. I highly recommend taking the time to read them.
Posted on 11/15/25 at 10:06 am to theballguy
quote:
the good news is that man is man and has never needed saving
Hmmm, do women need saving?
Posted on 11/15/25 at 10:10 am to Zach
When not using definite or indefinite articles, man is usually meant as "humanity".
But yeah women are their own kind of bedevilment
But yeah women are their own kind of bedevilment
Posted on 11/15/25 at 10:10 am to theballguy
Maybe, but he did ask me to do it.
Posted on 11/15/25 at 10:31 am to theballguy
Man doesn't need saving ?? Uh the historical record alone says thats BS- War, famine, crime, slavery, invasion, oppression- decade after decade, century after centruy.
THEN
August 1945 and Boom.
We are only 80 years beyond that time and here we are with a planet full of civy ending weapons. Do you really think we could go beyond even 2 centuries without blowing it all to hell? Honestly given the historical record.
Then you know nothing of human nature. Its doesn't change or become enlightened- it never has and never will on its own. Simple observation and the historical record confirm this.
THEN
August 1945 and Boom.
We are only 80 years beyond that time and here we are with a planet full of civy ending weapons. Do you really think we could go beyond even 2 centuries without blowing it all to hell? Honestly given the historical record.
Then you know nothing of human nature. Its doesn't change or become enlightened- it never has and never will on its own. Simple observation and the historical record confirm this.
Page 1 of 7
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News