To wonder if Jesus Christ is swearing

I had a similar experience as a child. I found peace through my faith in the last few years. I am very much still learning too.
This thread has been great. I have learned a lot from all who have contributed. It is not easy to navigate. I find a lot of Catholic people in Ireland look for comfort or reassurance in Jesus like they would be a great friend, it is okay to not be perfect and drop the ball. A lot are reformed addicts who have been through the worst, are drawn to Religion they feel safe, no judgement, at peace with their faith. It takes all sorts, even those who use the lord’s name in vain (occasionally).

I guess what I mean is that I wasn't brought up as a Bible believing Christian for whom the Gospel was a central point of my life. I did make all of my sacraments and go to Catholic school and through that kind of got the gist of what it was all about, with some key references and familiarity with some Bible stories. I studied the Gospel of Mark for GCSE Religion amd learned about Jesus healing people and some of the symbology.

I think I learned more about the Religion than the big man himself. However you are right in that I absolutely did have a huge step up in terms of my knowledge compared to my Buddhist friend who came to Christianity knowing absolutely nothing about Jesus, except just her interstellar to want to know more. It was interesting to meet someone who really was starting from scratch.

My husband was raised Catholic too and he is actually a die hard atheist. I would say he is pretty unknowlegdeable about anything related to Christianity bar the basics but I would also say that he tunes a lot out: he doesn't want to know. I do think my Catholic upbringing instilled a foundation in there, yes.

I see what you mean. Is that not a common experience for many Protestants too though? Not all denominations focus only on the bible. Isn’t Anglicanism quite close to Catholicism in their tenets, for example?

I see what you mean. Is that not a common experience for many Protestants too though? Not all denominations focus only on the bible. Isn’t Anglicanism quite close to Catholicism in their tenets, for example?

I had a similar experience as a child. I found peace through my faith in the last few years. I am very much still learning too.
This thread has been great. I have learned a lot from all who have contributed. It is not easy to navigate. I find a lot of Catholic people in Ireland look for comfort or reassurance in Jesus like they would be a great friend, it is okay to not be perfect and drop the ball. A lot are reformed addicts who have been through the worst, are drawn to Religion they feel safe, no judgement, at peace with their faith. It takes all sorts, even those who use the lord’s name in vain (occasionally).

100%. If its perfection He's looking for, I'm the wrong woman.

Interestingly I had a very problematic relationship with alcohol that started in my teens. Around a year after I had started delving into the Bible, I started reading Genesis one New Year's Day and felt God come into my heart and tell me that the drinking was going to stop. I lost all appetite for alcohol that very day and have been tee total ever since (8 years now).

I have tried to have a small drink the odd time through the years and become violently ill if any alcohol enters my body at all. Its almoat like an allergy now. So God delivered me of something that had a huge grip over me for two decades. This has been one of the most transformative things that had ever happened to me for sure.

Then I had to tell everyone at home that not only was I a Protestant now but I didn't drink as well. Some people had a hard time dealing with the new me 😄 or the real me, as I now see it.

That’s a fantastic experience re the alcohol. I’m delighted that worked for you.

Sometimes I do feel a bit envious of people with a deep faith as it can be such a source of comfort in difficult times. I have a friend who has basically had a dreadful time of it. Amongst other things, her son has a rare disease that results in a lot of suffering but her faith gives her a lot of consolation.

To be honest, I don’t understand how she has faith in a god who isn’t doing anything to help her son but obviously I would never say that to her. Her life would be an awful lot worse if she didn’t have her faith.

Thats not a criticism of her or anyone else’s faith. I’m just musing. She is catholic but is someone I consider to be a good Christian in the sense of being a good person.

Edited to say - I can just imagine the reaction to you becoming a Protestant. It wouldn’t have been so bad if you’d gone for buddism or Hinduism or something else.

I agree that certain things do test my faith but so far I have always found a doorway in that situation where I see God in it.

I follow a Christian woman from NI on Instagram called Fiona Bishop. I had been following her for a while and she went quiet for sometime. She then came back online to say that her 19 year old son went to sleep one night and just didn't wake up. He had made the choice to be baptised three weeks before and they were all on top of the world. Watching her videos since his death had been humbling.

She says that she feels like she wants to praise Jesus even more because its through him that she will be reunited with her son one day. She trusts that God took her son for a reason that she doesn't fully understand but that his joy in the arms of the Father surpass any earthy provision she could ever have given him. She is sharing her grief journey very candidly and openly. He only died in April or May but she still says that God is good. Even I struggle with this but I remember that plenty of Christians have endured terrible tragedy but their axis of belief is that God is with them amid the pain as a comforter, as opposed to having anger at him for not stopping it, although many do have fleeting moments of anger too. Jesus said 'in this life you will have trials and tribulation, but be of good cheer as I have overcome the world' (paraphrasing from memory).

Some others take the view that we live in a fallen world with pain and suffering built into the experience and that God uses the evil for good. That its better to endure the agonise of life with God's comfort and protection than without it.

When I think of the cross Jesus died on, i also think about the intersectional nature of those two pieces of wood. The horizontal meeting the vertical and how so many opposing themes co-exist in one moment. Humility/glory, God/man, human/divine, sorrow/joy, life/death, etc. I don't mean in a dualistic sense, but in terms of how for the Christian, it all comes together under Christ. For me, it isn't a vague 'everything happens for a reason' kind of platitude, but just a much deeper tapestry and when I lean into it, some kind of spiritual treasure is underneath it. Some I experience in the here and now and some will be stored up for me in eternity.

Being Christian can be incredibly difficult at times, I won't lie, but there is such weight to it too. I have wanted to turn my back on it when the going has got tough (and it has) but I always come back to it because I feel a deep sense of truth attached to it that I can't turn my back on, even when I try.

Anyway that's more waffle for you but just to explain my limited Christian experience of and response to suffering in the world.

And oh my goodness, yes! If I said I was going to be any other faith system nobody would have bat an eyelid. You do not grow up in a Northern Irish Catholic home and become and teetotal Born Again Christian! I do suspect that I would have invited less disdain if I'd stepped into functional alcoholism and started chanting Hare Krishna 😄

I agree that certain things do test my faith but so far I have always found a doorway in that situation where I see God in it.

I follow a Christian woman from NI on Instagram called Fiona Bishop. I had been following her for a while and she went quiet for sometime. She then came back online to say that her 19 year old son went to sleep one night and just didn't wake up. He had made the choice to be baptised three weeks before and they were all on top of the world. Watching her videos since his death had been humbling.

She says that she feels like she wants to praise Jesus even more because its through him that she will be reunited with her son one day. She trusts that God took her son for a reason that she doesn't fully understand but that his joy in the arms of the Father surpass any earthy provision she could ever have given him. She is sharing her grief journey very candidly and openly. He only died in April or May but she still says that God is good. Even I struggle with this but I remember that plenty of Christians have endured terrible tragedy but their axis of belief is that God is with them amid the pain as a comforter, as opposed to having anger at him for not stopping it, although many do have fleeting moments of anger too. Jesus said 'in this life you will have trials and tribulation, but be of good cheer as I have overcome the world' (paraphrasing from memory).

Some others take the view that we live in a fallen world with pain and suffering built into the experience and that God uses the evil for good. That its better to endure the agonise of life with God's comfort and protection than without it.

When I think of the cross Jesus died on, i also think about the intersectional nature of those two pieces of wood. The horizontal meeting the vertical and how so many opposing themes co-exist in one moment. Humility/glory, God/man, human/divine, sorrow/joy, life/death, etc. I don't mean in a dualistic sense, but in terms of how for the Christian, it all comes together under Christ. For me, it isn't a vague 'everything happens for a reason' kind of platitude, but just a much deeper tapestry and when I lean into it, some kind of spiritual treasure is underneath it. Some I experience in the here and now and some will be stored up for me in eternity.

Being Christian can be incredibly difficult at times, I won't lie, but there is such weight to it too. I have wanted to turn my back on it when the going has got tough (and it has) but I always come back to it because I feel a deep sense of truth attached to it that I can't turn my back on, even when I try.

Anyway that's more waffle for you but just to explain my limited Christian experience of and response to suffering in the world.

And oh my goodness, yes! If I said I was going to be any other faith system nobody would have bat an eyelid. You do not grow up in a Northern Irish Catholic home and become and teetotal Born Again Christian! I do suspect that I would have invited less disdain if I'd stepped into functional alcoholism and started chanting Hare Krishna 😄

Some others take the view that we live in a fallen world with pain and suffering built into the experience and that God uses the evil for good. That its better to endure the agonise of life with God's comfort and protection than without it.

This is so well put, @Darkdiamond, and I agree with this understanding about suffering. I’ve had to come to terms with what happened to me as a child (CSA at the hands of my F and others) and it’s been hard to understand why God would allow such things to happen. But I can say that, looking back, I remember being very aware that God was with me during those times. My DSis, who also went to it, had the same experience.

My DM has been devastated to find out about this and her faith has really been tested. But, as she says, ‘to whom else shall we go?’ So she has also kept hold of her faith.

I love what you said about the Cross of Jesus and the horizontal and the vertical. It’s very helpful.

That’s a very good description that helps me understand. Hasn’t convinced me that religion is for me but that’s ok too and while you are obviously passionate about, you are not being pushy which I appreciate.

I am so sorry to hear about the abuse you suffered and the subsequent trauma your mother went through when she found out. I cannot even imagine. I do believe that God was with you in your suffering

I actually used to see a fantastic Christian therapist who took me through some traumatic memories of my own from childhood. We invited Jesus into the memory and I could strangely see where he was when the trauma was happening. The new memory took the sting out of the original one and I quickly felt that the pain of the memory was greatly reduced.

Also, a few years ago I was having an absolute meltdown over a situation that I felt God wasn't helping me with. I cried out and had a mental flash, like a movie montage, of all of the painful times in my life where I didn't realise that God had intervened to ease or shorten my suffering, things I hadn't understood before.

He is in there among the pain with us. I do believe that.

I’m loving this thread too. I always enjoy reading other people’s faith stories, it’s lovely to see how God works in other people’s lives.

I was brought up Protestant, though I went to an Anglo-Catholic convent girls’ school. I came to faith as a young child, despite my childhood not being a good one.

Interestingly, the specialist college my DD1 (17) goes to is Catholic in ethos.

For those who want to discuss their faith, there's Christian Mumsnetters

@GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing

The other gods aren't really lost. They're still being actively honoured and engaged with by pagans, witches and occultists.

I’ve actually been really interested in seeing the posts of those who do believe in the Christian faith and those who don’t. This has mainly been a really respectful and informative discussion.

I’d really be loathe for those with a Christian faith be shunted off to only discuss it on the dedicated board, as then they’d only be discussing with those of the same faith, and the same for those of any other religion.

This conversation has been interesting because it’s on one of the main, high traffic boards, so please don’t try to police it away.

I’ve actually been really interested in seeing the posts of those who do believe in the Christian faith and those who don’t. This has mainly been a really respectful and informative discussion.

I’d really be loathe for those with a Christian faith be shunted off to only discuss it on the dedicated board, as then they’d only be discussing with those of the same faith, and the same for those of any other religion.

This conversation has been interesting because it’s on one of the main, high traffic boards, so please don’t try to police it away.

It has been a really good discussion, hasn't it? I like the idea of the Christian Mumsnetters but I have seen it interloped upon by bad faith posters too many times so I don't go there. Maybe things have changed though!

Most of my family and friends aren't believers but they are always so courteous with their questions and I am always happy to answer. If I ever feel that someone is trying to lay a trap for me I don't engage and it has happened the odd time. I love digging around and delving into a topic but when I feel someone is just there to embarrassed me or make a point the conversation can't really go on, because the other person doesn't really want to know. I really appreciate @BeanNaGealai for being so respectful and not just trying to ram rod me. All people value being listened to ❤️

Yes, it has been a very interesting and respectful conversation. I’ve certainly learned a lot. Thank you.

I’ve actually been really interested in seeing the posts of those who do believe in the Christian faith and those who don’t. This has mainly been a really respectful and informative discussion.

I’d really be loathe for those with a Christian faith be shunted off to only discuss it on the dedicated board, as then they’d only be discussing with those of the same faith, and the same for those of any other religion.

This conversation has been interesting because it’s on one of the main, high traffic boards, so please don’t try to police it away.

Thank you!

And thank you from me, too. I’ve really appreciated the discussion on here. 🙂

I'm interested in the topic of the thread which is swearing but it has gone off topic into a discussion of individuals' personal faith and life. Those who find that interesting are free to start a thread about it.