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I've been thinking a lot about my nearly 15 years away from the Greek Orthodox Church.

I've come to this conclusion - I don't know if I would have the same ethical values without that upbringing. It's easy to think I would when I had that foundation since birth, but I no longer think it's that simple.

I've been around a lot of secular people. Not all, but many are in a dark place. People who are missing something from their lives. Ones who didn't have an upbringing similar to mine.

I've begun to wonder if these people would benefit from religion in their lives. Some type of positive power to pull them out of the darkness.

I'm not saying I've found Jesus. I haven't.

But more and more I want to be around the people who have.

Because I can't really be around these other people any more. My wife & I have cut most of them out of our lives at this point.

We prefer to spend our time around positive people who are working on building better lives. Building families. Nearly all of them are religious.

We're both very logical people. Religion and logic were like oil and water to me.

But when I look at the state of the world, it's not hard to see the positive impact religion can have on people. That's a very logical conclusion I'm coming to.

Also, I miss a lot of the Greek cultural stuff that I grew up, and it's intertwined with the church. It would be strange, but I'm accepting the idea that returning there, even as someone who isn't religious, feels more right than not going.

Still working through this but wanted to share.

Because bitcoiners are how I got here. The ones having families, going to church, and being decent human beings. Those are the people I want to be around.

The alternative is despair and darkness, and I am not going down that road.

✌️🧡

Javed AB 2mo ago 💬 1

I am very glad to have come across this post. I do not know many Christian people. There are those who might be officially Christian, but they have no real relationship with their religion. It is similar with Muslims, because many identify as Muslim but have little connection to the Quran.

I was speaking with my wife and expressing my sadness that I can only think of one man who truly calls himself Christian and actually follows some Christian practices. He is extremely kind and even fasts.

She asked me why I felt sad about that. For context, we are Muslims. I told her that it is better to have more Christians than people who have no moral compass at all.

Please do not misunderstand me. There is only one God, not three. But religious people, tend to care about others and strive for justice, mercy, and the general good.

By the way, I am also a highly rational person, and from my wrestling with the Quran, there is nothing that makes more sense than the idea of a single, all-powerful, and merciful God. It was the Quran that inspired me to become more interested in math, chaos theory, and the simple yet powerful ability to ask questions in order to understand — something people often avoid because they are afraid or do not want to admit the limits of their knowledge.

All in all, please go ahead and read the Bible. Do not think that morality has become obsolete. From my understanding, morality, justice, and honesty are what raise human dignity and bring true peace and satisfaction.

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Discussion

cavemanf16 2mo ago 💬 1

FYI, Christians the world over hold to “one God, three persons”; three gods is a certainly heretical view. That specific distinction definitely matters to us Christians. Cheers bro!

Javed AB 2mo ago 💬 1

I really appreciate it when more people believe in one God.

Now comes the part where we might disagree. No offense intended at all, and I don’t want to engage in any disrespectful discussion. I just want to share a small part of my view:

As a Muslim reading the Quran, I find it impossible to think that Allah could in any way be compared to humans. Allah is free from mistakes. Humans are the creation; we make mistakes all the time. Allah has no needs whatsoever, while we humans depend on food, sleep, family, happiness, and so on. We are completely dependent.

Allah was not created; we are the creation.

Allah is the Master, and we humans, all of His creation, can only come before Him as slaves. But Allah is a loving and caring Master, not to be confused with a human master.

When you count and reflect on the attributes of Allah, and then compare them with the attributes of humans, it becomes very clear that Allah cannot be compared to anyone or anything. His example is that there is no example for Him.

So first, comparing God with humans, to me, shows a lack of understanding of who Allah is.

Second, the Quran makes it extremely simple and comforting for me. I don’t have to struggle to understand how one God can be three persons or entities. It’s very straightforward: one Allah — that’s it, done. Nothing can be compared to Him. He knows everything, and He alone decides what will happen on the final day.

I also want to emphasize that the Quran comes to defend the Torah and the Gospel. So, I naturally have respect for people who believe in the Torah and the Gospel. With all due respect, I simply wanted to share the thoughts above.

cavemanf16 2mo ago

Thanks for the clarifications! One more brief one from me: Christians would say that we (humanity) were given the breath of life by God when Adam and Eve, our first parents, were created by God. Therefore, our personhood, and even our relational nature, comes from God first. Describing God as “One God in three persons” is a first principles issue. Our personhood is derived from Him, not merely a limited human description of Him.

So our disagreement remains, sure, but just wanted to clarify the Christian view. And as a fellow Nostr nut like me, I’d welcome a friendly real-life chat a sharing coffee together if ever we meet!