Wayside church of deliverance

Hello! My name is John and I'm a 28 year old man searching for a woman interested in pursuing a longterm, romantic relationship where we're both fully committed and open to conceiving a child from day one. No condoms, no birth control, only rarely pulling out, sex daily, etc... I'd love to build a large family with traditional gender roles, especially if my future wife is a bit crazy about always trying to get pregnant 🥰. Bonus points if you want to approach the relationship a bit "recklessly", like two young lovers with zero thought of pregnancy, just full of lust and commitment to a life together (I have a thing for "accidental" pregnancies 😅🥵)
About Me:
I work full time as a nuclear engineer at a research reactor while also working on finishing my PhD. When I'm not working or studying, I enjoy reading, playing video games (Xbox, Switch, and PC), going out to the movies, hanging out with friends, and enjoying the outdoors. Personality-wise, I'm a bit of a dork tbh, in that goofy Dad kinda way (bad puns, caring, old fashioned, hawaiian shirts, etc...). If you're into Myer-Briggs, I'm and INTJ (and a Hufflepuff for those Harry Potter fans out there lol). I'm also Christian, so hopefully you are open to raising our family in the church.

Hello! My name is John and I'm a 28 year old man searching for a woman interested in pursuing a longterm, romantic relationship where we're both fully committed and open to conceiving a child from day one. No condoms, no birth control, only rarely pulling out, sex daily, etc... I'd love to build a large family with traditional gender roles, especially if my future wife is a bit crazy about always trying to get pregnant 🥰. Bonus points if you want to approach the relationship a bit "recklessly", like two young lovers with zero thought of pregnancy, just full of lust and commitment to a life together (I have a thing for "accidental" pregnancies 😅🥵)
About Me:
I work full time as a nuclear engineer at a research reactor while also working on finishing my PhD. When I'm not working or studying, I enjoy reading, playing video games (Xbox, Switch, and PC), going out to the movies, hanging out with friends, and enjoying the outdoors. Personality-wise, I'm a bit of a dork tbh, in that goofy Dad kinda way (bad puns, caring, old fashioned, hawaiian shirts, etc...). If you're into Myer-Briggs, I'm and INTJ (and a Hufflepuff for those Harry Potter fans out there lol). I'm also Christian, so hopefully you are open to raising our family in the church.

Hello! My name is John and I'm a 28 year old man searching for a woman interested in pursuing a longterm, romantic relationship where we're both fully committed and open to conceiving a child from day one. No condoms, no birth control, only rarely pulling out, sex daily, etc... I'd love to build a large family with traditional gender roles, especially if my future wife is a bit crazy about always trying to get pregnant 🥰. Bonus points if you want to approach the relationship a bit "recklessly", like two young lovers with zero thought of pregnancy, just full of lust and commitment to a life together (I have a thing for "accidental" pregnancies 😅🥵)
About Me:
I work full time as a nuclear engineer at a research reactor while also working on finishing my PhD. When I'm not working or studying, I enjoy reading, playing video games (Xbox, Switch, and PC), going out to the movies, hanging out with friends, and enjoying the outdoors. Personality-wise, I'm a bit of a dork tbh, in that goofy Dad kinda way (bad puns, caring, old fashioned, hawaiian shirts, etc...). If you're into Myer-Briggs, I'm and INTJ (and a Hufflepuff for those Harry Potter fans out there lol). I'm also Christian, so hopefully you are open to raising our family in the church.

I joined the church in my early 20s. I felt like my questions were encouraged but back then I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Now, a whole category of inquiry is not just not welcome, it’s offensive! Baffling and hurtful. The main Mormon subreddit is aggressively managed.

u/aviana9 - Thank you for the Roman theatre of Plovdiv
u/lacuntessa x 3 - for the sticker bombed ferry card, Paris vs new York, and the Russian criminal tattoo card!
u/not in my wheelhouse - Hope it's a sunny day in your hometown!!
u/lavendarlarry - your handwriting is beautiful! Thank you for the poem!
u/magicalbricks - Thank you for the Ukrainian envelopes
u/qs420 - First time I've ever received a map! Thank you for that and the poem you spent me!
u/librariantraining26 - for the Sheffield shield card. My dad liked it a lot!
u/unseenbowl - for the dope Alice in wonderland card
u/excessivecharm - for the colorado postcard!
u/adhdbibliophile - for the Istanbul church card!
u/stephkempf - for the The Little Hiker card!
u/jane_q - for the Danny Kay and the five pennies card!
u/morumotto3 - Hope the hummingbird you found is living a happy life!!

In the book of Acts, the Early Church is clearly portrayed as a radical egalitarian community. E.g. all sold their belongings before entering.
However, by the time of the earliest surviving churches - the Copts of North Eastern africa, it is quite clear the church had radically evolved. E.g. We have elaborate and ornate byzantine paintings, and quite a mystical view of the Faith.
I find this transition fascinating because its route is less obvious than it becoming the state religion of Rome. Does anyone know about this period of history / branch of Christianity?
Edit: to be clear I am asking about the history of the coptic Church.

I was raised in an ultra conservative, traditional southern baptist family. I was homeschooled through high school, most of my friends were from the small church we went to. I’m naturally introverted and pretty solitary, so the few chances I had with women in my teens I was so naive or terrified nothing happened. The escort today has been the third person since I’ve started talking a bit more about how I was raised to ask if it was a cult. Yeah, kinda…
I left that state and headed west a couple years ago. I’ve had a pretty cool job, rebuilt(building) a new world view, and traveled all over the country. I’ve gained a lot of life experience…except when it comes to women.
I decided to go this route more because I couldn’t come up with a good reason not to, instead of a particular reason that I should. I’m going back to school this fall and wanted to get the first time out of the way. I’m heading out on another long road trip tomorrow, and when I started thinking about this a couple weeks ago just kinda said fuck it. What a way to start the summer
I stumbled across the sexworker and related subs which got this ball rolling, I followed their advice for finding a provider and read a bunch of threads from other dudes that have gone this route. I found a preferred provider and a back up that checked all the boxes for being legit in a nearby major city (I’m in the US). Booking and screening was a breeze, and then I just had a week to wait.
Overall, it was thoroughly enjoyable. The concept of kissing kinda grossed me out, but it blew me away. Making out was the best part, like seriously way better than I’d have ever guessed. I also didn’t have much expectation for a blow job going in, but again it was great. She gave it bareback which surprised me, then I got scared I’d nut in her mouth on accident.
We fucked in a few different positions, I guess I was just too nervous and eventually went limp. Ultimately I think the act (she was good, but I’ve been saying “but really?” to myself since her first response “I’d love to meet with you”) and getting psyched up for it all week just fucked with me psychologically.
I had a lot of fun, I wondered a couple times during the booking process if I wanted to follow through or just ghost. I’ve learned at this point never to say never, but I don’t have any immediate plans to see her again or another sex worker. Ultimately the goal is to make some new friends and have a relationship, this wasn’t a life changing experience. Im sure I’ll still be nervous around new people, and have to force myself to get out there, but at a minimum it’s a monkey off my back, and maybe it’ll be motivation to get in therapy, continue to grow, etc etc.

I have been moved out and married for almost 4 years. I left the church in January and told my family in April. At the beginning of May, my spouse and I moved into my parents basement because I got a really awesome internship nearby where they live. It hasn't really been too bad and it'll only be for a few months.
However, I have PTSD from some stuff that happened in HS (see a previous post of mine if you want more details) and being home has been a bit triggering. I also feel a lot of guilt about not participating in church stuff with my family and it makes me feel like I am a teen again, sneaking around and afraid of upsetting my parents.
My parents are pretty chill about me leaving. I know they're really upset but they just pretend like it's not a thing and they do NOT want to talk about it. There have been a few times where they seemed visibly upset when they learned about me drinking coffee or when they see me wear clothes that wouldn't have been possible with garments, but they don't ever talk to me about it.
I just feel anxious and triggered like all the time. I'm not sure what to do and say so that I can move past this feeling.
I also really want to be supportive of my husband. He is PIMO now but still participates in all the church stuff with my family, mostly because he is a people pleaser and a creature of habit. It shouldn't upset me, because he was (and is) supportive of where I am with the church. It just kind of sucks because all of his pretending makes me feel more like an outsider and a bit more lonely. He doesn't believe any of it and yet he is currently at church with the rest of my family, which makes him look like the brave hero who goes to church despite me.
Idk it's probably not that deep but I just don't know how to stop feeling like this.
Sorry this was long lol

We started dating when I met him at 18. He helped me leave my abusive family and church and I was on my own but he took me under his wing. He was really amazing. His friends became my friends, he helped me find a job, he let me move in with him and his roommates. I honestly don’t know where I’d be right now if we never met. It feels like everything I have accomplished is because of him. I really love him and he’s a big part of my life.
After some time, he used to start petty arguments but it was just because he was insecure or needy. Whenever he was angry, it was always something deeper and usually something about him not feeling loved enough by me or not giving him enough attention. I did really love him so I would try to repair whatever issues we had and I still do. One time early on, he threatened to send nudes of me to my family because I talked to him rudely. We had a huge fight and I told him if he did that then I’d do something to him too. And he said that I couldn’t do anything but he could ruin my life by sending stuff to my family so they never talk to me again, getting me fired, kicking me out. He was right so I stopped. And in the beginning, he said he was always happy to help and he just genuinely cared. Obviously he helped me because we were together. Then he started to bring it up and said that he helped me a lot and I’d be nowhere without him and no one cares about me like him. It was exhausting.
A girl I used to know in high school reached out to me and wanted to catch up because she lives in my city and didn’t know anyone. I didn’t have many friends either, so I started seeing her and we got close. He had an issue with that and doesn’t like her because she said I could do better than him and I stupidly told him that, I tell him everything and I just thought it was something dumb and funny. Now he hates her. Every time I say I’m going to see her, he starts saying he doesn’t wanna be alone, he’s gonna miss me, and wants me to cancel. And when I come home, he gives me a huge attitude and asks if she told me to break up with him or if she encouraged me to flirt with men. And he told me that if I cheat on him, he’ll kill me.
He has an issue with sex now and says I seem like I’m not interested in him anymore. I swear I am and we have sex almost every day. He said I’m stressing him out mentally and I’m not doing anything different.
I told my friend everything and she told me he’s abusive. He tracks me which I don’t mind but I don’t like the petty arguments or reminding me of what he did for me. He started behaving a bit weirder since I made a friend and she thinks that he doesn’t want me to have friends. Maybe he just misses me when I’m not home? She said that fight when he told me he could ruin my life was him being abusive. I felt really weird about it but he said he’d never do that and he only said it out of anger. Afterwards, I was really emotional and made him delete all the nudes he had and we spent the night talking and clearing everything up and he promised he’d never do that to me. I was really relieved and felt great about us. The next day, he told me that he was thinking and wanted to break up because I take everything too seriously and I’m sensitive and a lot of drama and he doesn’t care about me anymore. He wanted me to leave and I felt very confused since we had a nice night. But he insisted that he wanted me gone and made me pack my things. I didn’t have anywhere to go and I didn’t have a car but he said he didn’t care so I was packing and he said that he felt unappreciated and that he puts me before himself. I told him that I always appreciate him but I want him to put himself first, not me, and to just tell me if I’m being inconsiderate or needy. Then after I finished packing my clothes he said he changed his mind and wanted me to stay.
He also doesn’t want me to have my own car, he said it’s a waste of money since we go everywhere together and I can borrow his car if I need to. She said that’s abusive because sometimes he says no if he doesn’t want me to go. He never put his hands on me but once when we were 19 and he was drunk, he pushed me because he burped in my face and I said ew. I also told her that we were planning the guest list for the wedding and he made a joke about me having barely anyone from my side, since I’m not in contact with my family. She said that is really sad and he shouldn’t mock me for it.
I don’t know if he’s abusive. I think he’s emotional. But we’ve been together for a long time and I love him. He taught me everything. I do not want to break up.

I noticed that I sometimes 'rate' old sources according to some assumptions I have. I would be curious about how do you deal with historic information, and how reliable do you think it is?
For example, I would (carefully and with lots of grains of salt!) consider ancient Greek sources as more reliable than 16th century European stuff. Why? The ancient Greeks were still closer to a a time when knowledge of plants and herbal treatments were common and widespread. The 16th century on the other hand would have been a time when herbalism was increasingly outlawed, when traditional healers were persecuted by the church, and long after remnants of old animist traditions had been destroyed by wars and displacements of people.
What do you think of this approach? Do you use similar considerations when using ancient information?

I recently made a similar post on Catholicism, and was recommended by one of the commenters to come here. I should first mention that I am mentally ill and have an extreme case of OCD which quickly became scrupulocity starting in early high school. I recently had to take time off of school to attend a PHP (partial hospitalization program) which my OCD proved resistant to all forms of therapy tried. They have since recommended IHP but I don’t have time to travel across the country to live in a mental hospital.
I have been making sin lists for the past several months and taking them to Confession. The most recent one I calculated takes about 28 minutes long to read out loud, and that’s if I speak quickly. I made the mistake two days ago of taking the list to regular confession without realizing how long it was. As to be expected, the priest stopped me after ten minutes, frustrated, because I was taking up other people’s time. I felt guilty and scared as he gave me absolution that I didn’t deserve yet told me to read the act of contrition. I left in a state of shock.
At the time of writing this, I have called a different Church in my area (I’m afraid the two priests at the other church already know who I am) to make a private appointment. I have explained all the necessary details, including the length of the list. I know it won’t help. I’ll end up making another one within a few days.
I don’t know what to do in this situation. I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to go to this appointment I’m trying to make. I hate the Church and I hate myself. This is the only thing that forces me to keep coming back to it. I have asked God to please take my life over this multiple times. My family thinks I’ve lost my mind and and that I’m fabricating everything.
I’m exhausted over this. I’m also scared of the Catholic Church because I’ve seen how they treat people who are “different.” They say God has mercy, but I’ve been around long enough to realize that His Church does not.
I’m sorry if I’ve said too much. I’m looking for a way out. I’ve been told by some commenters on my Catholicism post that I was forgiven, and by others to make an appointment.
So if anyone sees this, say what you will. I’m not asking that you solve my OCD and scruples for me because I know now that even professionals can’t. To do that would be cruel. So please don’t try that. And respectfully, I would like to not hear again about God’s merciful love or how He suffers with me through this or anything to that effect. I’ve grown sick of hearing it. If faith the size of a mustard seed is all that’s needed, mine has been split down to an atom.
I just want out. Out of here. Out of this. I’m done, man.

Summer vacation has just started and I don’t have much to do, what can I fill my day with that is pleasing to god, all I have to do right now is sit around watch tv and play games, but I don’t want to do that all day, I want to do something that is for god. There aren’t any volunteer things that I can do where I live other than at church, but the person who takes me to my local church just had her 3rd of 4 eye surgeries, what can I do, any advice helps.

There are a few factors that have led me to start thinking a little bit differently about my approach to travel.
I've been lucky enough to do some fantastic travel over the past decade+. I've covered good chunks of 30+ countries on 4 continents. For these trips, I've mostly focused on "seeing the highlights." I feel like I've seen a lifetime of gorgeous churches/temples, ancient ruins, stunning vistas, white sand beaches, etc... I've eaten and drank my heart out. I've made intriguing (if transient) connections with travelers and locals. I guess this sounds a little like bragging, but there's a point.
My most recent trip was to Indonesia. My wife and I had two weeks, which is probably the most we'll ever have for a vacation again until we retire (thanks to American work culture). We did about a week of "highlights" in Bali, which was honestly underwhelming. I could see the potential charm of the temples and waterfalls and beaches, but it didn't really have any novelty to me. It could have been Tulum or Thailand or Sri Lanka or Crete or any number of places I've already been.
But then, we spent 4 days on a scuba diving liveaboard boat in Komodo National Park. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. It brought back all the joy and beauty of traveling and seeing the world with fresh eyes. It's already a memory that I'll cherish for the rest of my life. When I think about why it was so memorable, it seems like it was because it's just a thing that can't be replicated anywhere else in the world. Like eating the world's most delicious $1 bowl of noodles on a little plastic stool in a little town in the Mekong Delta. Or sailing a Hobie Cat solo around the North Sound of Virgin Gorda. Or rock climbing in Smith Rock, Oregon, or wine tasting in Franschhoek, or waking up early and having the gardens of Versailles to myself, or seeing lion cubs in Masai Mara.
Again, this sounds like bragging. I've been spoiled in two meanings of the word; the world has indulged me with beauty beyond anything I deserve, and my future enjoyment of travel has been somewhat blunted by my wealth of experiences. So it was with some trepidation that I just booked insanely cheap award flights to New Zealand (thanks delta). It was too good of a deal to pass up. But as I start to look into the "highlights" tour of New Zealand, I can't help but feel a sense of deja vu and ennui (pardon my French).
So what's the solution? Vow to staycation until I build up the urge to travel again? Maybe, but life is short, and family and career may limit my travel options in the very near future. Not to mention unexpected obstacles like pandemics, climate catastrophes, political upheaval, and my own health and fitness. Instead, I think I will try to chase that one thing, that irreplicatable experience that defines a certain point on the globe, and seek that out in every new place I go. Let's see if that approach works.
My question for you all is, how have you gotten over travel fatigue? That sense of dejennui? (Okay, I will work on my portmanteaus.) Has the focus of your travels changed with experience? And, selfishly, and specific recommendations for quintessential New Zealand adventures that can't be found anywhere else in the world?
TL;DR: I guess this is just another post about travel boredom and I'm looking for New Zealand recs.