Church makes me deppresed

[Lil_Kitty_Big_Bite]

 
I know I could never lie up to God's standards.

[SWM]

is that the catholic version of god?

[Joseph]

Forget about God's standards. Just be yourself. Be good if you wish, if not... try not to be THAT bad. That`s it.

[A Strawberry Filed]

This is more of a philo question, but if God created the Universe what makes one human think they know what God expects from them?

You need to do some soul searching and reanalyze those standards, maybe they are your standards not Gods .

[Enigma]

That's because God's standards are ridiculously high and meant to make you feel depressed and more vulnerable.  Just sayin'. 

[S. Earl Martin]

Interseting! I agree that church can make you depressed. It depends on the church and the message. On the other hand I have found churches that make me feel refreshed and alive. Maybe you need to try another church?

Second God's standards are the basis of law in most of the world. Not lieing, not stealing, not murdering. Makes sense to me. Also thru the blood of Jesus, God's Son, we are set free from the law of sin and death. This does not mean we can sin all we want, but it means are sins are forgiven. In another word's as long as we are trying to be obedient to God and we accept Jesus as our savior we are saved. We can not be saved by works. That is why we need to have another way to be saved.

We have free will. We can chose to admit that we are imperfect beings and accept the free gift of salvation. Or we can chose to go to hell. God does not send people to hell. They chose to go there because they reject God. All souls are eternal. They have to go somewhere.

[Enigma]

Second God's standards are the basis of law in most of the world. Not lieing, not stealing, not murdering. Makes sense to me.

Pretty sure the ideals of not lying, killing, or stealing existed long before the Judeo-christian idea of God was ever invented. 

[S. Earl Martin]

Second God's ...
Although this is a possibility. It can not be proved. I believe the concept of good and evil / right and wrong were the first attempt by God the creator to make human's aware of God's exsistance. This can not be proved either. It is just a personel belief.
Also the belief in God is not limited to Judeo-Christian's. Survey's have been taken that show a majority of people in the world believe in God or a devine creator. 

[S. Earl Martin]

The question is "how do we reach Heaven"? It is not when you go, but where you go that matters. The belief that when we die we just magically cease to exist contradicts the laws of physics and nature. There is no example of anything in nature ceaseing to exist. The air we breath is the same air that has been breathed for 1000's of years. The water we drink is the same water that ancient civilizations drank. When we die the essence of who we are has to go somewhere. What we own and everything else gets left behind. It is not when we die, but how we lived that is important.
So back to the question" how do we reach Heaven"? So many religions claim to be the only way. That only their followers are going to Heaven. Follow their rules and do it their way. Jesus put it so well when he decribed the religious leaders. He said" they put burdens on peoples backs that are to heavy to carry, but they won't lift a finger to help them carry them". God made it so simple to be saved.
First: Have faith in God. Understand we are imperfect and acknowledge we need God to survive.
Second: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
An example: I have heard before is this. A person is walking along a path carrying a heavy load. Two people are watching them. One offers to help carry the load. The other tries to trip the person carrying the load. Which one did the will of God?
I have encountered people who believe that only the name of Jesus can save us. Like it is some kind of magic word. I don't follow this same belief. God judges by the heart. God understands we are imperfect. As long as we are sincerly trying to serve God and do what we feel is right. I believe we will be judged as rightous. This is how the old testement people were saved. Now I also acknowledge that Jesus the Christ is the Son of God. That Jesus or Immanuel or Yashuah or whatever name you chose to use died in our place to give us and example of what God expects from us. However people were saved before His death on the cross. He acknowledged this. That the old testement prophets were still alive in Heaven with God. They got in without the blood of Jesus. Look in your heart. Do the best you can and don't hurt anyone if you can avoid it. That is the path to rightousness. When given a choice to do good or evil chose good. When we mess up ask God for forgivness. It is so simple. Peace and blessings be yours.

[Enigma]

Also the belief in God is not limited to Judeo-Christian's. Survey's have been taken that show a majority of people in the world believe in God or a devine creator.  

I was referring to the misconception that God's laws or the 10 Commandments are the basis of law in the Western world.  Do not lie, kill, or steal are basic tenants of any civilized society and existed long before Christianity.  

[S. Earl Martin]

Actually the ten commandments are the basis of law in the western world. Because the formation of the society was based on Judeo Christian beliefs. However these premises or beliefs are common sense and do predate Judeo Christian contact in other societies. Peace

[Enigma]

Then how come there are no laws relating to keeping the sabbath holy, honoring fathers and mothers, having no other gods, false idols, or using the lords name in vain?

[S. Earl Martin]

The key phrase is "based" upon the ten commandments. In puritanical times which was the basis of Christianity or in times when the Jews were trying to keep the commandments you would have found these. Today our culture has been influenced by different factors. Political correctness, other cultures, the media, entertainment industry, to name a few. This has resulted in some of the more strict laws being relaxed. Change in any culture is ongoing.   

[S. Earl Martin]

Before Christianity spread around the world many cultures practiced traditions that the Christians considered wrong. Beastiality, child sacrafic, canabalism, prostitution and many other traditions were banded by the church. Weather what the church did and how they did it was a good thing or a bad thing would depend on your point of view. There are some areas of the world even today that practice strict Mosaic law. These laws are still in effect and they are based on the ten commandments. The penalties are the same as they have been for 1000's of years.