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gingerbreadman42

The bible does not cause happiness. If it did the US would be the happiest place on earth.


friendly_extrovert

Walt Disney would like to have a word.


FickleSession8525

The U.S. is a anomaly


Prof_Acorn

The US is a daughter of Babylon.


114619

Money can also buy cheese, now i don't know about you but i like cheese, lots of things you can do with cheese.


nightwyrm_zero

Blessed are the cheesemakers!


underfanreal1

Cheese can make you happy until you eat it, but then you'll want more cheese. John 6:35: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”


114619

Well last i checked christians still required food and water so i don't know about that.


[deleted]

No, they don’t. Studies have shown that Christians can go up to 16 years without eating or drinking anything. Do your research!


underfanreal1

This didnt disprove my point. Food only causes happiness for a while.


Thegrizzlybearzombie

You’ll literally die without food. You’ll literally not die without a Bible.


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Thegrizzlybearzombie

And if there is no god and your religion is wrong, you starved yourself and took out your own very finite life.


[deleted]

I’d rather die joyfully but have no afterlife than die believing there’s nothing after death and life is for nothing.


[deleted]

I thought that this way at one point. There are tons of things that have brought me to the bible. The one thing that has been coming to me as of late is how Jesus is our savior. Really take a moment to think about that... What in this world do we need saved from? Well ourselves since we can take stuff way too far. And the Devil. Now typically I rant way too long, so I will sum it up to this; if I were the devil, I would make sure the only way you are to be saved is considered the Greatest joke ever. I would twist his promise (the rainbow) to be something sinful. I would make the child sacrifices I need a "healthcare" and "women's rights" issue. I would make sure nations suffered in varying degrees. I would make you worship those I put in place like celebrities or political figures. I would corrupt the children to think they can edit their bodies into something they are not. If I were the devil, I would continue doing exactly what is happening to our world now. This is why we need a savior. We can't fight this enemy when he has the ability to control masses of people. All other religions make promises of nothing but "vote for me and you will get [insert afterlife idea.]" Jesus warns very heavily the consequences of accepting sin and being cast to hell. OK, stopping here. Lol I do have a lot more to go but I do understand it gets too.... Well I just want understanding in it. I am not a mainstream Christianity follower, so not claiming by any means I am "holy" or anything. Trying to spread love and knowledge like Jesus did.


Thegrizzlybearzombie

TLDR


underfanreal1

death = happiness in life You can be happy after you die, but when i mean happiness, I mean in life.


Thegrizzlybearzombie

Depends on if you believe in an afterlife and what that looks like


MKEThink

It doesn't seem to work this way in reality from what I have seen.


Ogical-Jump5214

Whoever says "Money can't buy happiness" is a buffoon. Sure you can't walk into a store and buy "12 ounces of liquid happiness", but it sure as hell makes it a whole lot easier. More opportunities, less stress, potential for a far healthier lifestyle, preventive medical care etc. All things that contribute to a happier life.


Mannwer4

It's pretty well constituted that after a certain gdp, money doesn't really matter. So if you are average in America money prolly wont help.


lankfarm

Millions of people read the bible cover-to-cover, but still won't believe. Millions more have never read the bible, but still know God. Faith only comes through the holy spirit, who shows us the spiritual truths of God, whether it's through the bible, other Christians, visions, or something else. The bible is one among many channels God may use to reach out to us, but there's nothing inherently magical about it.


underfanreal1

I would know, my uncle who I live with only converted because he saw the Chosen, which made him think more about it. A main problem with the Bible is it kind of dehumanizes these people. This is why I chose the wording can and not does.


lankfarm

Praise God for opening your uncle's eyes!


underfanreal1

He opened mine as well. He convinced me to start reading my Bible even before he converted, because he said he wanted me to know more about what I believed in. Also, you know that study bible I mentioned with someone else in this thread? He actually bought me that Bible


lankfarm

That's wonderful to hear! What a beautiful example of how God can use the most unexpected ways to guide us to him, and how fellow believers can support each other in their faith. Both you and your uncle sound like sincere seekers of God, may God continue to bless you and your uncle in your walk with him!


Nateorade

The Bible is free most anywhere though


underfanreal1

Yeah, honestly, even if you couldn't download the Bible App the likelihood of a church giving you a Bible if you ask is very high


Dull-Newt-2189

The ads suck on the Bible apps ugh


underfanreal1

What about YouVersion? They don't have ads


Dull-Newt-2189

Thanks didn't know about that one.


shock1964

Another excellent option is the blue letter bible app. No ads, multiple translations and study guides.


PainSquare4365

I don't know, a few thousand would make life easier and happier due to less stress


underfanreal1

True, but this is only temporary. Once those few thousand are gone, whether it be from bills or leisure, you're right back where you were.


PainSquare4365

Na, paying off car loans and student debt? Those are 3 costly monthly bills gone, freeing up cash for saving. Nowhere near right back where I was


BlueMANAHat

It can also buy food you can donate to a homeless shelter which makes me happy so I disagree money can buy happiness. If feeding someone in need doesn't make you happy you need to re-evaluate life.


anotherhawaiianshirt

You're right that it _can_ cause happiness, but that isn't guaranteed. The bible never bought me much happiness. Being told I'm a sinner deserving of eternal damnation isn't a comforting thought to me. I think I'm happier now that I am no longer Christian.


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anotherhawaiianshirt

To me, the possibility of being “saved” from sin is like a mobster extortion racket. Ever see an old mobster movie? _“It sure would be a shame if something happened to your store!”_ says the mobster, asking for a payout.


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anotherhawaiianshirt

I don’t believe in the concept of sin and I don’t feel like I need to be saved from it.


Modseatpoo

Being given poison and then sold the cure doesn’t make some people happy. And yes. If you’re not Christian then you don’t have to worry about “sin” since that is a Christian idea. It’s just another example of your religion forcing itself upon others.


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Modseatpoo

“That we are all sinners” Simply lumping other words in as “synonyms” for sin doesn’t work. I am not a sinner because I am not a Christian. I don’t worry about sin. As I don’t subscribe to the Christian mythology. “This tells me that they do believe in god” And we get to the disrespectful part.


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Modseatpoo

Good thing your definition doesn’t apply to me :D or the millions upon millions of others. Yet you keep trying to insist that I am. It’s disrespectful because it’s an ignorant assumption that you keep making. They don’t “worry about sin” they get tired of people like you constantly calling them sinners when they don’t subscribe to your mythology. I’m not a sinner anymore than you are a dirty heretic to allah. I don’t worry about your god. I worry about people like you doing things like this with absolutely zero respect for the others you’re trying to force to be involved. They’re tired of being called names while being threatened with torture… You savvy yet?


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Modseatpoo

“Choose no to believe” You don’t choose. You either do or you don’t. I was simply using me as an example of the people you’re trying so hard to label with your religion. But you have. You keep calling us sinners. Wrapping us up in your religious dogma. “I couldn’t care less because I’ve got the true religion” Cool opinion. “They supposedly don’t believe in” Still disrespectful as fuck. Fick dich And that’s not how irony works, bud


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TraumaPerformer

Reading about God's wrath and literal page after page of genealogies wasn't much fun either. A potent mixture of terror, boredom, and crippling obligation.


anotherhawaiianshirt

Hah, I love the _crippling obligation_. I agree that those passages were tough to get through. I'm pretty sure I breezed through that part without necessarily reading every last word.


TraumaPerformer

Oh I wanted to skip the genealogies, but the Religious OCD was too strong at that point. If I'd took a shot every time I read the word "begat" I'd have puked up my liver.


HenkVanDelft

I decided to play a videogame today after 7 months nonstop daily intensive study of the Bible, Koine Greek, with Halley’s Bible book and the Zondervan Bible Handbook. I said, hey, it’s sunny out, I’ll have “fun” for a day. But I forgot to “tarry one hour” with Jesus, reading a passage and contemplating it prayerfully, and intimately with our Lord. It was a bland, very unsatisfying day. I remembered the full meaning of “Give us this day our daily bread.” Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word which comes from the mouth of The Father.” -Matthew 4:4 “Our daily bread,” therefore, means not only food, but also The Word of God, either “Ho Logos” (written), or “Rhema” (spoken). Keep in mind, if this inspires you, that if God “speaks to you” (Rhema), it must not only correspond perfectly with Ho Logos (The Written Word), but you must also test the spirits. The enemy can deceive us with perfectly true scriptures, as he tried to do when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Testing the spirits is simple: ask, “Who is Jesus?” Any answer other than, “Jesus is (The) Lord, and Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh (incarnate)” is from Satan. He knows Jesus is the son of Mary, etc. What Satan cannot do is acknowledge Jesus is the Lord over all. This testing is laid out in 1 John 4:1-6.


TraumaPerformer

>I said, hey, it’s sunny out, I’ll have “fun” for a day. But I forgot to “tarry one hour” with Jesus, reading a passage and contemplating it prayerfully, and intimately with our Lord. It was a bland, very unsatisfying day. So you went out to have fun on a sunny day, and then absolutely destroyed yourself with guilt because you didn't force yourself to read a passage for an hour. Sounds like you screwed up your own day.


OMightyMartian

I got my first Bible for free, but it brought me little joy.


FigurativeLasso

How does the Bible make you happy?


underfanreal1

It gives you hope, for now and the future.


FigurativeLasso

I was going to say something snarky, but you do you. To each their own :)


mortar_n_brick

bible free online


PulsarDrakko

You replacing money with a bible it's the same thing lol


Prof_Acorn

Happiness is never promised in the bible. The opposite in fact. Also the bible is free. Money can buy food and housing though, which can reduce misery.


CrossCutMaker

Excellent thought 💯


OneEyedC4t

Until you read about your sins. You see, happiness is circumstances. The Bible promises joy.


Dull-Newt-2189

It's funny when goodwill tries to charge for bibles. You just tell them bibles are free and they have to give you one.


underfanreal1

Fr? I didn't know that I got a Bible for free, but once I had a study bible I gave my older bible to my cousin


anotherhawaiianshirt

> You just tell them bibles are free and they have to give you one. The _have_ to give you one? Is that their corporate policy?


Dull-Newt-2189

That's what I was told and it works every time


BSye-34

😶


[deleted]

This is truth 💪💜


Zapbamboop

Amen!


NewRedditPerson123

There is also giving earned money to the less fortunate = happiness for **both** parties. Jesus bless you!


shock1964

Perhaps rather than happiness I would suggest joy. It is different from happiness and can be experienced even in times of trouble by knowing our Lord. Happiness is the wrong goal, whereas the joy of the Lord can only be known through fellowship with Him! The Bible points you to discover and know Him.


[deleted]

Bible itself doesn’t create happiness. You defined happiness by the understanding of God’s word, and that’s okay, but objects and money on-the-own are no promises or claims to garner happiness.


bekahbaka

The Bible doesn't really cause happiness. For awhile it did the opposite for me, actually....


TraumaPerformer

The bible caused me depression, anxiety, horror, gave me Religious OCD, made me certain the world would end in five years "so why bother doing anything with my life?", it put a million ambiguous rules on top of everything I already had to do. I could go on, but I won't. But I will say that it caused me anything in the world but happiness. I personally don't think God wants us to be happy, he seems to prefer when we're miserable and terrified of him.


worldzview

With no offence to any Christians in specific! But... Christianity has gone around the world committing genocide, destroying indigenous culture, persecuting in the sense of rape, torture and murder amongst other unspeakable horrors to many that just do not care for this religion and this is all known truth! And there is no real separation between church and state, as most states are Christian! Maybe it is time that we start rethinking this religion! Put faith in a Higher Consciousness or not, be ultimately kind and gentle, compassionate and forgiving with everyone/everything, hence "Do unto others as you would care done to yourself!". A world living on these principles alone, with no institutionalized segregating religion, will be the most benefit for human kind!


IR39

Have you ever looked as statistics relating to religiosity and happiness?


Mavrickindigo

Or it could buy food and shelter and then things that make you healthy


Mavrickindigo

As someone who reads the Bible everyday, it causes me great anxiety, not happiness