Deuteronomy 17:11 says that we should “Act according to whatever (priests) teach you and the decisions they give you.” I am convinced a priest told me I am supposed to be anxious or to kill myself. Why would God say to listen to someone if what they say isn’t true? Is everything a priest says true? Im so scared I might kill myself.
When it comes to the Holy Sciptures, being that it’s God’s word, it would make sense not to leave it up to our best guess on how to interpret it but to really study it. All in all, no, you should never listen to anyone saying to kill yourself; priest or no a priest.
Hi there, not to play into your obsessions because I understand what it feels like to chronically worry about similar things. As a Bible teacher, however, Deuteronomy, was apart of the Old Testament which was handed down from Moses; that’s why it’s referred to as the Mosaic law. The Israelites were to obey these laws. Jesus ransom sacrifice “nailed” and replaced these laws by means of his perfect life. Therefore, although we can understand and get to know God’s thoughts and feelings from the Hebrew Scriptures, that law has been replaced and is no longer “in effect.” The scripture you referenced isn’t to be applied to any priest of our modern day; it only helps us understand historically the lives of God’s chosen people of the time. Just because something is said doesn’t make it true and just because you have a thought doesn’t make it reality. I know it’s scary and I’m sorry. You got this.
Just on a glance from what you wrote (I did not check the context of the quote, and context matters), my guess is it meant to listen to the priests IN GENERAL, not completely and blindly. There were corrupt priests back in the past, just like there are today, and I don't think God would want you to follow their teaching. God gets angry with bad teachers, and I don't think He would want you to listen to someone He is angry with. I think the priests and pastors are sort of like "babysitters", for lack of a better word, who help to watch over us and keep us on the right path for now, so for our own good we should listen to them -- but again, only in general, and not to the bad ones. Besides, 99% of priests would tell you NOT to kill yourself. Why should you listen to one that would tell you to? But I hear what you're saying, and I see how hard this must be on you. If you want to talk, I'm here to listen. :)
@Anonymous Sometimes I’m convinced a priest told me i’m not human and that i’m meant to be anxious or that I can’t accept myself. Not sure if this memory is even real. Even if it IS true, how can i accept not accepting myself if it’s not in my nature to ever accept myself (if that makes sense, i know ocd talks about accepting unknowns but what if God made me biologically wired to not accept myself). Then I’m like, oh if priests have some super power where they only tell the truth, does this make them some sort of supernatural creature? Ugh I’m sorry I’m so so irrational
@Anonymous I too am similar in the fact of believing in "biological hard wiring", and all the confusing thoughts and questions pertaining to it that you bring up. Mine might take the form of "if I am born to not be a Christian, how could I possibly repent if God already designed me otherwise?" So I totally get it, and what you are saying makes sense, and if you're irrational about this then that makes two of us.
@Anonymous Ugh I can totally relate. It’s hard
@Anonymous It’s hard sharing this with my boyfriend who is an atheist. He just doesn’t understand all my religious baggage
@Anonymous That sure does sound like it would be hard. It's hard enough for me to share such stuff with another Christian. So I'm guessing you have tried sharing this with him?
@Anonymous How do I know it’s supposed to say to listen to priests in general?
@Anonymous I don't know. Again, the Bible is pretty vague in places like these. If you haven't yet, you could talk to a trusted Christian about this and maybe they could help explain it; and/or you could also do some research about the verse and its context and meaning, perhaps reading the chapter that the verse is in, or even the whole book of Deuteronomy even, to see more of the context -- but don't just believe anyone's opinions of the verse, because none of us are 100% correct about the things in the Bible, so take it all with a grain of salt. Also, take all that advice I just gave with a grain of salt as well, because talking to people about it and doing research can easily become compulsions, so maybe do that stuff sparingly and keeping in mind OCD's behaviours? And I'm going to be completely honest about this: there are some really bad priests/pastors out there. Some have even said for people to do super wrong things, which other pastors have strongly disagreed with. The Bible says not to murder, and su1c1d3 is murder, so that breaks that commandment. There are some false teachers out there, and that's something the Bible warned us about. In the end, in all honesty there might not be a way to know what that verse means exactly right now. There are verses I have done a bunch of research on and still have no idea what they really mean. So I understand what you're going through, bud.
What do you mean not accepting yourself?
@Anonymous Like I am hardwired to always be jealous and even when I try to not be jealous i never will be able to because God made me that way
@Anonymous I get what you mean by being hard-wired. (It's confusing having three Anonymouses, but I'm the second one to reply to the original post.) So, what you mean is, it's pretty much how you were born and what's in your destiny, in your "genetics" (whether literally or metaphorically), that you are destined to be unable to accept
@Anonymous CORRECT! I am afraid a preist told me this and it is true because why else would God say to listen to priests if it weren’t true. Why didn’t he specify that “listen to” has exceptions? Is it implied? Sorry just word vomitting lol i appreciate you so much for listening
@Anonymous No prob, we are all listening here. :) Yeah, I wish the Bible was actually more specific sometimes. Seems like there's too many grey areas. And don't forget to try to read verses in their full context. And even then, it can all be super confusing. And maybe you can talk to a trusted person in your life about this if you decide to do so -- maybe a family member, priest, or pastor who you believe is very Biblically sound. But talk to one you really trust.
I have terrible ocd. Lots of different subtypes but the one that bothers me most is religious ocd. The advice I've been given is to go to only one priest for confession (I'm Catholic) and to listen to his advice. I've been doing that lately and I'm actually taking his advice (like, for example, that if I committed a mortal sin, I'd know for sure.. When there's doubt about whether or not I've done smth wrong, it's likely not mortal and I can recieve communion). I've read that this is good advice for scrupulous ppl. So I'm finally taking his advice but it's so scary! My biggest fear is receiving the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin.. But I need to trust what the priest is telling me. Any other Catholics in this situation? I'm proud of myself for actually taking his advice but it's terrifying at the same time..What if I'm fooling myself and can't admit to myself that I actually did commit a mortal sin, but he sees it as doubt..like, I don't know if I'm doubting I've sinned or if I'm in denial about sinning.. If anyone knows what I mean..I also realize that full will needs to be involved in mortal sin and the presence of doubt is often a sign that even if I did sin, it wasn't fully willful so that's why it's not mortal.. But I'm still unsure and afraid. But that's probably cuz I have ocd and anxiety. Lol.. I'm just wondering if anyone else has been in this situation.. And if it gets easier to listen to your confessor's advice even though it's scary and not what your OCD wants.
im scared. I keep compulsively praying for bad things or death on the people I love. I don’t understand why. It doesn’t make anything better. I’m scared that these prayers count. I seal them as I do with most of my prayers in Jesus name and with a double amen. I’m scared God will want to teach me a lesson and make something come true. I’m scared I mean these prayers, I’m petrified. If something happened, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself :( I don’t know where to go from here
I’m Christian, and I suddenly had a loss of faith. I’m praying constantly and as anxious and scared that God hasn’t chosen me for this religion, even though I believe in it whole heartedly. My brain is telling me these things, and saying how I would be fit for Islam or something else, even though I am perfectly happy being a Christian. I keep getting intrusive thoughts and feelings about not believing in my religion, and whenever I confess how I do believe, my brain tells me I’m lying or I feel otherwise. It makes me feel guilty and abandoned and alone. I still read my Bible and pray CONSTANTLY. Please help (sorry if this is hard to understand I am ranting)
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