#Absalom Adams

[moviemosaics]

Honeydripper

directed by John Sayles, 2007

[tournament-of-x]

The Tournament of X

Contestants Index: A

Abigail Brand

Absalom

Absolon Mercator

Adam-X

Aero

Akihiro

Alani Ryan

Alchemist

Alex Summers

Alice MacAllister

Alisa Tager

Alison Blaire

Amahl Farouk

Amara Aquilla

Amass

Amelia Voght

Andrea & Andreas von Strucker

Angel

Anna Marie LeBeau

Angelica Jones

Angel Salvadore Bohusk

Angelo Espinosa

Anole

Apocalypse

Aquaria Nautica Neptunia

Arclight

Arkady Rossovich

Armando Muñoz

Armor

Artie Maddicks

Ashley Crawford

Askani

Asp

Aurora

Avalanche

Azazel

[dilutedh2so4]

What do we think of this? Explanations below 😭

Jezebel x Ahab - The Phoenician princess Jezebel was married to king Ahab of Israel as part of a political alliance. She was key in the attempt to replace the Israelite state religion with her own, killing a few people along the way. She also got Ahab the vineyard he wanted (..through some murderous means..) when his own negotiations failed. Definitely the top in that relationship ;)

Jesus x Judas - something something, must you betray me with a kiss, something something, do what you are here to do, something something, he went and hanged himself

Eve x Lilith - Now, in the Bible, Lilith is only actually mentioned in Isaiah (as an evil spirit), then expanded upon in later tradition (to explain the two Creation accounts in Genesis). In this later tradition, she was said to be Adam's first wife who wouldn't submit to him, so God made another from his rib: Eve. I don't think they ever met, but I have seen some fanart, so here they are

Ruth x Naomi - MY OTP. Canon, because I said so. Tragic, because basically all their male relatives die and then Ruth has to marry Boaz for security. Ruth 1:16-17 my beloved 💔

Jacob x Leah - Put this here as a joke about the fact that Jacob always preferred her sister Rachel over Leah herself, and was tricked into marrying her by Laban.

Mary x Joseph - Two thirds of the Holy Family: the ever-compassionate Mother of God (in Christianity) and the step-dad who Stepped Up. See Matthew 1 & 2, Luke 1 & 2, or the (apocryphal) Protoevangelium of James for more

Devorah x Jael - Doesn't make sense as they never actually meet, but when you have two gaslight-gatekeep-girlbosses in the same chapter, they gotta be together. Don't usually recommend reading Judges (for your own mental health), but maybe look into Judges 4 just for them ;)

David x Jonathan - Where to begin? With how Jonathan's soul was said to be bound with David's, and how he loved him as himself? (1 Sam. 18:1-5) Jonathan risking his life to help David escape King Saul's wrath? (1 Sam. 19 and 20) The pair weeping and kissing before they part? (1 Sam. 20:41) David, in his mourning for [spoilers] Jonathan's death, calling his love more wonderful than that of women? (2 Sam. 1)

Absalom x Mephibosheth - David's son and Jonathan's son, whom David adopted. The two fans are @anniflamma and @sir-davey

Daniel x Darius - King Darius the Mede and the eunuch from Judah he falls for at first sight. Or something. Idk, ask anniflamma

Judith x unnamed maid - It does make sense, I swear. Probably unpopular because it's in the Deuterocanon, and also you have to be really looking for it -- but it is there, I promise!!!

St Paul - Just see 1 Corinthians 7

Don't take this too seriously lol, it's all in good fun :))

Feel free to add what you would have done differently / your own propaganda!

[13eyond13]

How many of these "Top 100 Books to Read" have you read?

(633) 1984 - George Orwell

(616) The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

(613) The Catcher In The Rye - J.D. Salinger

(573) Crime And Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

(550) Catch-22 - Joseph Heller

(549) The Adventures Of Tom And Huck - Series - Mark Twain

(538) Moby-Dick - Herman Melville

(534) One Hundred Years Of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

(527) To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee

(521) The Grapes Of Wrath - John Steinbeck

(521) Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

(492) Pride And Prejudice - Jane Austen

(489) The Lord Of The Rings - Series - J.R.R. Tolkien

(488) Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

(480) Ulysses - James Joyce

(471) Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

(459) Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

(398) The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

(396) Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

(395) To The Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf

(382) War And Peace - Leo Tolstoy

(382) The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway

(380) The Sound And The Fury - William Faulkner

(378) Alice's Adventures In Wonderland - Series - Lewis Carroll

(359) Frankenstein - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

(353) Heart Of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

(352) Middlemarch - George Eliot

(348) Animal Farm - George Orwell

(346) Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

(334) Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut

(325) Les Misérables - Victor Hugo

(320) Harry Potter - Series - J.K. Rowling

(320) The Chronicles Of Narnia - Series - C.S. Lewis

(317) Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

(308) Lord Of The Flies - William Golding

(306) Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison

(289) The Golden Bowl - Henry James

(276) Pale Fire - Vladimir Nabokov

(266) Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

(260) The Count Of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

(255) The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Series - Douglas Adams

(252) The Life And Opinions Of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman - Laurence Sterne

(244) Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

(237) Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackery

(235) The Trial - Franz Kafka

(233) Absalom, Absalom! - William Faulkner

(232) The Call Of The Wild - Jack London

(232) Emma - Jane Austen

(229) Beloved - Toni Morrison

(228) Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

(224) A Passage To India - E.M. Forster

(215) Dune - Frank Herbert

(215) A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man - James Joyce

(212) The Stranger - Albert Camus

(209) One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey

(209) The Idiot - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

(206) Dracula - Bram Stoker

(205) The Picture Of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

(197) A Confederacy Of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

(193) Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf

(193) The Age Of Innocence - Edith Wharton

(193) The History Of Tom Jones, A Foundling - Henry Fielding

(192) Under The Volcano - Malcolm Lowry

(190) The Odyssey - Homer

(189) Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift

(188) In Search Of Lost Time - Marcel Proust

(186) Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie

(185) An American Tragedy - Theodore Dreiser

(182) The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

(180) Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse

(179) The Magic Mountain - Thomas Mann

(178) Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe

(178) Tropic Of Cancer - Henry Miller

(176) The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton

(176) On The Road - Jack Kerouac

(175) The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

(173) The Giver - Lois Lowry

(172) Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

(172) A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess

(171) Charlotte's Web - E.B. White

(171) The Ambassadors - Henry James

(170) Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace

(167) The Complete Stories And Poems - Edgar Allen Poe

(166) Ender's Saga - Series - Orson Scott Card

(165) In Cold Blood - Truman Capote

(164) The Wings Of The Dove - Henry James

(163) The Adventures Of Augie March - Saul Bellow

(162) As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner

(161) The Hunger Games - Series - Suzanne Collins

(158) Anne Of Greene Gables - L.M. Montgomery

(157) Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand

(157) Neuromancer - William Gibson

(156) The Help - Kathryn Stockett

(156) A Song Of Ice And Fire - George R.R. Martin

(155) The Good Soldier - Ford Madox Ford

(154) The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

(153) I, Claudius - Robert Graves

(152) Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys

(151) The Portrait Of A Lady - Henry James

(150) The Death Of The Heart - Elizabeth Bowen

[kaleb-is-definitely-sane]

Hii i needed some classic book recommendations even tho im currently reading crime and punishment by fyodor dostoevsky cant seem to finish it reader's block ig if thats a thing? So im just tryna find books which would get me back at reading. Greek/classic Literature/ dark academia/ classic thriller and mystery into these stuff right now so yeah!

Sorry for sending such a big ask lol.

Hey Anonie. No problem lol. Now, I haven't read all those I'm about to list, but I know people (and have read people) that have and like them greatly so: (in no particular order)

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Othello by William Shakespeare

Aurora Leigh by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster

The Bakkhai by Euripides (Anne Carson translation)

Medea by Euripides (I unfortunately don't have a translation to recommend)

The Oresteia by Any of the 3 Greek tragedians Honestly (see above)

The Iliad by Homer (Fagles translation)

The Odyssey by Homer (Fagles translation)

The Aeneid by Virgil (Fagles translation)

Omeros by Derek Walcott

Wise Children by Angela Carter

The Remorseful Day by Colin Dexter

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott. Fitzgerald

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

The Woodlander by Thomas Hardy

Adam Bede by George Eliot

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

Middlemarch by George Eliot

Mill on the Floss by George Eliot

Romola by George Eliot

Tess of D'Uberville by Thomas Hardy

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

The Theban Trilogy by Sophocles

The Turn of the Shrew by Henry James

Daisy Miller by Henry James

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

The Mystery of the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

King Lear by William Shakespeare

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Hearts and Lives of Men by Fay Weldon

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Ulysses by James Joyce

Beloved by Toni Morrison

@maryoliverdotcom @memory-the-unconscious do yall have any suggestions??

[most-hated-blorbo-bracket]

any chance of an updated list?

Of course!!

Also, this is the NEW and FUCKING IMPROVED LIST, I alphabetized it so it’s even better than before >:3

Currently, we have 340 unique characters (if I counted right) and 487 total submissions. The top three most submitted fandoms are Homestuck, Danganronpa, and One Piece, excluding submissions that were spelt wrong or spelt differently. The top three submitted characters are Haiji Towa, Vriska Serket, and Stella Goeta (stella has so many submissions it’s funny)!

Finally, this is the raw, unedited list of characters submitted so far. Just because they are here doesn’t mean they’ll be in the tournament; it just means they’ve been submitted, regardless of media or what character they are!

as always, list under the cut!

This first list is for characters with two or more submissions. Characters who have three or more submissions will get first dibs in the tournament!

Akechi Goro

Akio Ohtori / Himemiya

Anakin Skywalker

Ansem the Wise

April O’Neil (2012)

Ardyn Izunia

Ayin

Azula

Bill Cipher

Boston

Bramblestar

Buzz McCallister

Caillou

Chibiusa

Childe

Cici

Cullen Rutherford

Darkstalker

Dazai Osamu

Dio

Dio (Zero Escape)

Donald Trump

Donquixote Doflamingo

Dr. John ‘Jack’ Seward

Drannus

Eichi Tenshouin

Elias Bouchard/Jonah Magnus

Eridan Ampora

Evan Hansen

Every Genshin Impact Character Ever

Glenn Quagmire

George Wickham

Greg Heffley

Haiji Towa

Happosai

Her Imperious Condescension

Higashikata Josuke

Huey Emmerich

Ibara Saegusa

Izzy Hands

JD

Jace Herondale / Wayland / Lightwood / Morgenstern

Jin Guangyao

John Gaius

Julia Mazzone

Junko Enoshima

Jurgen Leitner

Katsuki Bakugo

Kokichi Ouma

Kristoph Gavin

Kromer

Kusaka Masato

Kylo Ren

Kyubey

Lance Dubois

Le’garde

Live Action Buggy

Makima

Mal

Marvin Falsettos

Meenah Peixes

Merlin

Micah Bell

Michael

Minoru Mineta

Mr. Bungee

Pierce Hawthorne

Pierre

Princess Daisy

Ranpo Edogawa (Beast)

Regal Farseer

Ronaldo

Rose Quartz

Santa Claus

Sasuke Uchiha

Scrappy Doo

Sentinel Prime

Shiver

Shou Tucker

Simon

Simon Laurent

Sosuke Aizen

Spamton

Stella Goetia

Teddy / Kuma

The Maverick

The Metatron 

The Once-Ler

Thistleclaw 

Tony Stark

Tsumugi Aoba

Ty Betteridge

Val Velocity

Viren

Vriska Serkat

William Afton

c!Dream

Ōchi Fukuchi

The next list is for characters only submitted once. If you want these characters to have a higher chance of being added to the tournament, feel free to submit more propaganda for them!

Absalom

Abyss Sibling

Adam

Agamemnon 

Airy

Akane

Akito Shinonome

Akito Sohma

Alastor

Alexander Hamilton

Ali Lectric

All For One

Aloise Trancy

Anatole Kuragin

Angel Dust

Anne Hathaway

Any Character From Welcome to Nightvale

Anyone From The Locked Tomb

Aranea Serkat

Ashfur

Astarion

Asuka

Bella Swan

Ben Jackson Walker

Betsy Wolfe

Billy

Billy Hargrove

Black Pete

Blackbeard

Blitzo Buckzo

Booker

Box

Bro-Strider

Buck Cluck

Buzz (cheerios)

Byakuya Togami

Caesar Clown

Caliborn / Lord English

Captain Kuro

Cersei Iannister

Chloe Bourgeois

Chris McClain

Chrollo Lucifer

Cicero

Clara Oswald

Coco

Cozy Glow

Cynte

Damian Wayne

Dan Moroboshi

Dean Venture

Dean Winchester

Detective Saracusa

Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd

Disembodied Voice

Don Flamenco

Dr. Henry Miller

Drew

Duke

Edelgard

Elias Ainsworth

Elias Ainsworth

Elon Musk

Equius Zahhak

Erebus

Eric Cartman

Erlina and Brugaves

Eugene Coli

Every Single Country In 1993

Everyone In Romeo And Juliet

Father / Dwarf In The Glass

Feferi Peixes

Five

Five Pebbles

Floch

Foreman Oyun

France (Hetalia)

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu

Gamzee Makara

Georg Weissmann

God

Goeffry St. John

Gordon Blackwall

Graham Spector

Gra’ha Tia

Haiji Senri

Heath cliff

Henry Miller (OC)

Henry the Eighth

Himiko Toga

Hisoka

Hiyoko Saionji

Holly Blue Agate

House

Huey Laforet

Ianthe Tridentarius

Il Dottore

Inspector Tobias Greyson

Itsuki Shu

Izumi Sena

JJ

Jacopo Bearzatti

James T. Kirk

Jayne Cobb

Jiren

Joe Destefano

Johnny

Jonah Magnus

Jonathan Groff 

Judith Ford / Natalie Cook

Judo

Julia

Julie-Sue

Ken

Kevin

Kusunoki Muu

Kyouichi Saionji

Ladd Russo

Lady Catherine de Bourgh 

Lebreau Fermet Viralesque

Light Yagami

Liontari

Lotor

Louie

Louis

Luke

Mahiru Koizumi

Makoto Itou

Marie

Marlon

Mary Keay

Master Crown

Matou Shinji

Matpat

Me

Medusa Gorgon

Meredith Rodney McKay

Michael Scott

Miguel O’Hara

Millions Knives

Moash

Moeka Kiryuu

Monokubs (Except Monodam)

Mori Ougai

Morris

Mr. Collins

Ms. Valentine

Muu Kusunoki

Muzan Kibutsuji

Mystery Hunter (Jeremiah Hartley)

Nagito Komaeda

Nanami Kiryuu

Narumi

Natsumi Sakasaki

Nefera DeNile

Nickel

Nikola Tesla

Noor Pradesh

Ocelot

Octavian 

Ogai Mori

Orochi

Otto Apocalypse

Paul Von Oberstein

Pencil

Petyr Baelish / Littlefinger

Prince Louis

Queen Scarlet

Quiche

Quill Kipps

Rafal (FEE)

Rafal (SGE)

Rafe Cameron

Randy

Raven Queen

Rebecca Costwolds

Redd White

Riley Finn

Roger

Rohan Kishibe

Roland

Roshi

Rumpelstiltskin

Ruruka Ando

Sakazuki Akainu

Sandy

Sanji

Sebastian Mechaelis

Sheldon Cooper

Shen Jiu

Shiki Tohno/Nanaya

Shinonomes (both)

Shredder

Sigma Klim

Silver Spoon

Skizzleman

Slayer

Solf J. Kimblee

So Sejima

Splinter

Stark Sands

Steven Universe

Stormcaller

Subara Akehoshi

Tatsumi Kazehaya

Teruhashi Makoto

Teruteru

The Eleventh Doctor

The Entirety Of Homestuck

The Groke

The Little Palace Mistress

The Mage

The New Ninja

The Old Palace Master

The Operator

The Pale King

Tim Drake

Tom Wambsgans

Tomaru Sawagoe

Touichiro Suzuki

Trishna

Tumblr Staff

Valens Van Varro

Verstael Besithia

Victor Frankenstein

Vivienne Medranno’s Impsona

Voice In The Calm Ad On Spotify

Volgin

Wanderer/Scaramouche

Wen Chao

Whiteout, Clearsight, and Benjamin

Will Shuester

Willy Stampler

Woodes Rogers

Xisuma

Yoshiharu Hisomu

Yu Ziyuan

Yumichika Ayasegawa

Yuri Briar

Zeke Jaeger

Zenos Galvus

Zhou Zishu

[echologname]

Repentance

Clearly, God doesn't want us to shy away from our mistakes and wrong doings. It's natural to let fear and shame control us but we still have to be humble and admit our faults, that we're not perfect and we mess up. That's why we NEED Jesus and God's grace. Adam and Eve hid from Him, sinning was bad but then they chose to not even come to Him and separated themselves from Him. King David is famous for being the good shepherd boy, the guy who defeated all of Israel's enemies, and wrote Psalms. But he was still human who lost some battles with sin like sleeping with a married woman and fearing he would find out, had him killed. I suppose hiding our sins makes everything worse, because it's a prideful act, it's covering up sin with more sin.

I think to doubt God's Grace is to doubt His love. When you hurt someone you love, do you give up and not try to make it right? If so, then, do you really love them? You don't even care to mend your relationship with them. God gives us free will because He loves us and wants US to CHOOSE Him just as much as He chooses us. So, asking God for forgiveness and to help us not do it again is a really big thing to do.

God could have destroyed Adam and Eve soon after they sinned and remake humanity that won't bear the curse they brought, but He didn't, He had mercy on them and all of humanity ever since.

So, all you have to do is come to God with a regretful, sincere heart and admit where you took a wrong turn (it's a good learning opportunity for you too). And say you recognize now that it wasn't good, thus, rejecting your sinful actions (it's the first step to rejecting the ways of the world and following Jesus) and ask God for forgiveness and to help you be led by His Spirit away from sin and anything that doesn't please Him. He's faithful and just to forgive, He wants to fix our relationship too, in fact so badly that's why Jesus went through Hell so we wouldn't have to. Once you confess what you are guilty of, God will throw your sins into His bon fire and they'll be destroyed forever.

He loves you and WANTS to forgive you if you'll let Him.

2 Samuel 14:14 (after King David's son Absalom killed his brother, Amnon):

All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him.

[the-hem]

"Food and Faith." The Rape of Tamar, Part 1. From 2 Samuel 13.

Tamar is the "Tallest, most fruitful date palm" which represents the Free Market Economy in Judaism.

The noun תמר (tamar) means palm tree but it's not immediately clear from what verb it comes, and thus how the ancients saw the palm tree — in the Bible all trees (oaks, figs, olives, and so on) relate to certain aspects of the wisdom tradition.

Female judge Deborah had her seat under a palm tree, which seems to suggest that the palm tree related to a kind of popular court.

Noun תמר (tomer) also means palm tree but secondarily refers to a kind of sign post or pillar. Nouns תמרה (timora) and תימרה (timara) refer to palm-like artistic expressions; the first word describes an image of a palm tree and the second a palm-like pillar.

Since the word "palm-like" does not necessarily mean to look like a palm, but merely to imitate some kind of signature quality of the palm, it's debated what a palm-like item might actually be.

It appears that the palm tree reminded the ancients of a social focal point that was spontaneously and organically established (rather than by some decree or violence or trickery).

A palm is like paths that form in an open field with a well at the center, or it's like the effects of a free market, which drives society to unknown heights that no single trader could have imagined.

What does it mean to rape the free market? 2 Samuel was written around 550 BCE, when the Jews and Greeks were starting to mix and read and write and think together. The concept of democracy, the free market, class warfare were emerging as critical topics in academia and public practice.

The Greeks contended with these ideas using strange stories. While the stories of the Jews were certainly strange too, they contained one element missing in the rest: all the characters are human. The rape of Ganumede by Zeus, for example, commentary for and against sex with ephebes is an example. "Zeus did it, so why not?".

The story certainly changes when the gods are absent and the rape takes place between a brother and a sister as we will see. Even still, as with the Greek versions of such things, alas, this one is not meant to be taken literally:

13 Now David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. And Amnon, her half brother, fell desperately in love with her. 

2 Amnon became so obsessed with Tamar that he became ill. She was a virgin, and Amnon thought he could never have her.

3 But Amnon had a very crafty friend—his cousin Jonadab. He was the son of David’s brother Shimea.[a] 4 One day Jonadab said to Amnon, “What’s the trouble? Why should the son of a king look so dejected morning after morning?”

So Amnon told him, “I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”

5 “Well,” Jonadab said, “I’ll tell you what to do. Go back to bed and pretend you are ill. When your father comes to see you, ask him to let Tamar come and prepare some food for you. Tell him you’ll feel better if she prepares it as you watch and feeds you with her own hands.”

6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. And when the king came to see him, Amnon asked him, “Please let my sister Tamar come and cook my favorite dish[b] as I watch. Then I can eat it from her own hands.” 

7 So David agreed and sent Tamar to Amnon’s house to prepare some food for him.

In Judaism, familial relationships have symbolic meaning stemming from Adam and Eve. Men are commitments, females are habits. When they are both noble in purpose, a genealogy is formed.

The entire purpose of Judaism is one unbroken genealogy of nobility from Adam onward in faith, subtely, reality, personally and globally. If Adam and Eve make something good together, so will Cain and Abel, etc. except we know this is a process that is not without hazards. Abel was an idiot, Cain was a genius. They fought and Cain won.

To outwit the sibling that is not worthy and succeed is how the genealogy is built. The Torah emphasizes this process of elimination between siblings quite a lot. It is continued by God and the Synagogue, which together produce lots of little bouncing baby Jews.

Here, the siblings are not brothers, they are brother and sister and the competition, the survival of the fittest is decided by trickery and a rape.

What is a rape in Judaism before we get all messed up about it? The rape of a man or woman in the Torah refers to the loss of that person's voice by force. Ancient Greeks and Jews differed on this a great deal. Women in Greek culture were nothing. Oppression of women was usual and customary, there were few restrictions regarding the mistreatment of women.

The Torah and the Mishnah however, all speak of compensation and lashes in some case as punishment for the rape. What is really supposed to happen, however is the oppression that allowed the rapist to silence the other woman's or man's voice has to be lifted.

Rape in the Torah and Tanakh refer more to the pre-existing conditions of the rape than the rape itself. The Mishnah says "This...shall not enter your mind."

So the story of the Rape of Tamar seems to be about a pattern of abuse in society that originates in the Court of the King as a thought rather than an act. Let us see what kind of thought that is and how it pertains to silencing the voice of the Free Market:

v. 1. David= persistent beauty

son Absalom= "father of peace"

Tamar= the open market

Amnon= faith

"Faith in the open market leads to persistent beauty."

v. 2. the Gematria value is 846, ח‎דו‎‎, heydo, "lively, able to speak."

Amnon, faith, therefore felt as if it was not going to find its voice and lusted for the Marketplace.

=Free Speech

v. 3.

Jonadab= to volunteer

The verb נדב (nadab) means to give, donate or volunteer, and by implication to be noble. From it derive the noun נדבה (nedaba), freewill offering, the noun and adjective נדיב (nadib), generous or noble, and the noun נדיבה (nediba), generous deed.

Shimea=to report, but this could mean rumors as much as free speech

Amnon is a prince, and what do they do besides act like shmucks? Princes are supposed to descend into the depths of human suffering on behalf of the people and emerge victorious. Princes are supposed to be the heroes of the people. The King is in charge, the Prince is the lifeblood of the kingdom. Princes represent humanity's most intense and profound fantasy.

This one, Amnon, faith, however is having a few problems.

v. 4. The value is 11146, קיאםו, kiamo, "because of the burden"

The substantive כי (ki), expresses "a temporal, causal, or objective relationship among clauses expressed or unexpressed" (in the elegant words of HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament). It's used more than 4,000 times in the Old Testament and can most often be translated with "that" or "in that (= because)" or "in that (= when)".

Both the verbs עמש ('amas) and עמס ('amas) mean to load or carry a load. Noun מעמסה (ma'amasa) means load or burden.

"The burden of the Prince is always Mashiach. The Free Market and the burden of Mashiach on humanity are one and the same."

v.5. Food is always the impetus for one's conduct. If one consumes the Torah, one's conduct for example, is expected to be non-violent. The appetite for non-violence feeds the habit for consuming the Torah and then the food and the appetite reciprocate in creating the energy needed for the ongoing effort to curb violence.

The value for v. 5 is 11151, קיאהא, kiaha, "the cause for a fellow member of a social economic node (a "house") within a broader economic whole."

Faith in the government and the market is not enough, there needs to be a cause. What is the cause?

v. 6-7, the value is 10008, י'ח, Eighteen. 18 is the numerical value of the Hebrew word "chai" which means "life." It is a Jewish custom to give monetary gifts in increments of 18, thus symbolically blessing the recipient of the gift with a good long life.

So if we want to have faith, we need free speech, we need a voice and a marketplace for it. The reason we would create such a thing is to bless humanity with a long and blessed, violence and oppression free way of life.

More on the Rape of Tamar to follow.

[biblicalmama]

“VICTUM MENTALITY,”

"Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, 'Do you want to be made well?' The sick man answered Him, 'Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up....'" John 5:5

There must be something attractive about developing a victim mentality, or else there would be less of it in our world today. It is such a pervasive malady in our society that we would do well to investigate whether we too have ingested the poison even to the point of souring our relationship with both God and man.

First, let's define what we are talking about. There seem to be three distinctions which grow increasingly powerful over a person. A victim is anyone who has experienced a loss, injury, or misfortune as a result of an event. A victim mentality moves the loss within the victim; it is the desire for empathy and allowances in light of a person's perceived innocence in causing the loss, injury or misfortune. Then, a victim complex is a pattern that defines a person's complete outlook on life.

Next, what makes nurturing a victim mentality so attractive? All men are victims in one way or another, but that fact does not give any of us permission to nurse a victim mentality, nor install a victim complex. As a wise person once said, "Even victims have responsibility." One of the conveniences of cherishing a victim mentality is that it feels like it gives you a pass from any responsibility. The victim feels he is not responsible for anything. If anything he thinks he is the object of unjust, immoral, and undeserved aggression. The victim likes the attention and empathy it brings, and gains satisfaction from telling his story. He reserves the right to complain and expects a pass from criticism. The victim mentality continues to "victimize" the victim because he sees himself as powerless to change his situation and he sees the world as "out to get him." It is a small step to attributing all his misfortunes to someone else's misdeeds. Esau and Absalom illustrate some traits of the victim mentality.

Even criminals evidence victim thinking. They often believe themselves to be moral, even when engaging in a crime, thinking they are reacting to an immoral world run by authorities that single them out for persecution. Children also have a propensity to see themselves as victims of parental rules, and seek to make their parents feel guilty for enforcing the rules. Rules do not make rebels, they merely reveal them. A lesson for one and all is that others do not "make" you do anything. Responsibility rests squarely in the individual human heart. It is not so much that we need counselors as much as we need repentance.

Victimhood often indulges in playing "the blame game." The earliest illustration of this is in Genesis 3:11–13: "And [God] said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tee of which I commanded you that you should not eat?' Then [Adam] said, 'The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.' And the LORD God said to the woman, 'What is this you have done?' The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.'" It is in our fallen nature to blame our sin and our misfortunes on our fathers, mothers, teachers, friends, and anyone within our view.

One of the beautiful hallmarks of western law finds its roots in the Scriptural principle that a father cannot be punished for the crimes of the sons and the sons cannot be punished for the crimes of the fathers. But we like to find solace in shoveling the blame upon others. Jeremiah 31:29f reads, "In those days they shall say no more: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.' But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge."

There was a saying in that day that essentially meant "You can't blame me, it is because of my father's failure." God's plain truth is that a man is responsible for his own sin. Romans 14:12 reinforces this truth: "So then each of us shall give account of himself to God."

Our Lord faces down what appears to be a case of victim mentality in John 5 in dealing with the paralytic man. Our Lord's question seems odd, at first. "Do you want to be made well?" How odd to ask a man who has been sick for thirty-eight years, who is waiting by the pool where healing miracles are reputed to take place. I suspect there was a little bit of victim mentality deep within the sick man because his answer was not "Yes!" It was "I have no one to help" and "I get there too late."

Jesus challenges him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." He healed the man when he took up his responsibility to obey and trust the Savior.

Of all who have walked this earth, our Savior had every excuse to play the "victim card" (Hebrews 4:15f). He was ridiculed by his brothers (John 7:3ff), mocked (Matthew 9:2ff), forsaken (Matthew 26:31), falsely accused (Luke 23:6ff), and crucified (Mark 15:27ff).

God's solution to victim mentality is to face your past and deal with it (Hebrews 12:12–15), take responsibility for your own actions (Luke 15:17ff), forgive as you are forgiven (Matthew 5:12), trust God and His promises (Romans 8:28ff), and serve others (Philippians 2:5ff). Trust and obey.

[simthelightfantastic]

As you can see, everyone's making good life choices.

[comicwaren]

From Cable #152, “The Newer Mutants: Chapter 3”

Art by Jon Malin, Jesús Aburtov

Written by Ed Brisson

[tournament-of-x]

The Hole

Announcement!

The Second Half of Round One will begin in two days on Tuesday, September 12th, at 8AM EST! The Second Half of Round One will consist of 32 matches, and each matchup will be open to voting for one week.

The lineup for the Second Half of Round One is as follows:

Match 33: Micromax vs. Shinobi Shaw

Match 34: Lodus Logos vs. Mr. M

Match 35: Betsy Braddock vs. X-Man

Match 36: Glob Herman vs. Melter

Match 37: Jetstream vs. Emplate

Match 38: Gideon vs. Johnny Dee

Match 39: Rain Boy vs. Shadow King

Match 40: Nicodemus vs. Jamie Braddock

Match 41: Roulette vs. Tag

Match 42: Cerebella vs. Jamie Madrox

Match 43: Evan Sabahnur vs. War

Match 44: Flatman vs. Sabretooth

Match 45: Namora vs. Gorgon

Match 46: Trinary vs. Layla Miller

Match 47: Nanny vs. Masque

Match 48: Justice vs. Hellion

Match 49: White Sword vs. Avalanche

Match 50: Magma vs. Sobunar of the Depths

Match 51: Fantomex vs. Harry Leland

Match 52: Blob vs. Omega Red

Match 53: Angel Salvadore vs. Benjamin Deeds

Match 54: Absalom vs. Maverick

Match 55: Gentle vs. Weaponless Zsen

Match 56: Saul vs. Moira MacTaggert

Match 57: Mikhail Rasputin vs. Tarot

Match 58: Black Tom Cassidy vs. Skin

Match 59: Maggott vs. Famine

Match 60: Wiz-Kid vs. Mastermind

Match 61: Catseye vs. Graymalkin

Match 62: Adam-X vs. Sebastian Shaw

Match 63: Morph (Kevin Sidney) vs. Egg

Match 64: Bliss vs. Blindfold

Remember, this tournament is a contest of popularity, not a contest of abilities. As always, asks and propaganda are both welcomed and encouraged.

Contestants Index

[dancing-on-the-waves]

How Many Have You Read?

1 The Red and the Black - Stendhal 2 Penguin Island - Anatole France 3 Main Street - Sinclair Lewis 4 Babbitt - Sinclair Lewis 5 Absalom, Absalom! - Wm. Faulkner 6 As I Lay Dying - Wm. Faulkner 7 The Sound and the Fury - Wm. Faulkner 8 The Divine Comedy - Dante 9 The Aeneid - Virgil 10 One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich -  Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 11 We -  Yevgeny Zamyatin 12 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley 13 1984 - George Orwell 14 Mother Night -  Kurt Vonnegut 15 Fearless -  Eric Blehm 16 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo 17 The Idiot -  Fyodor Dostoyevsky 18 The Brothers Karamazov-  Fyodor Dostoyevsky 19 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy 20 The Bible - God 21 Dead Souls - Gogol 22 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck 23 East of Eden - John Steinbeck 24 Canterbury Tales - Chaucer 25 The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkein 26 Plague Dogs - Richard Adams 27 Little Dorrit - Charles Dickens 28 Bleak House - Charles Dickens 29 The Last of the Mohicans - James Fenimore Cooper 30 The Deerslayer - James Fenimore Cooper 31 Of Human Bondage - W. Somerset Maugham 32 Black Beauty -  Anna Sewell 33 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austin 34 The City of God - Augustine 35 The Gulag Archipelago -  Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 36 Don Quixote -  Miguel de Cervantes 37 Bonhoeffer -  Eric Metaxas 38 The Federalist Papers -  Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay 39 Common Sense - Thomas Payne 40 The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich - Wm. L. Shirer 41 Macbeth - Shakespeare 42 Hamlet - Shakespeare 43 Frankenstein - Mary Shelley 44 The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck 45 The War of the Worlds - H. G. Wells 46 The Invisible Man - H. G. Wells 47 The Time Machine - H. G. Wells 48 Lenore, or the Raven by E. A. Poe 49  The Fall of the House of Usher - E. A. Poe 50 A Descent into the Maelström - E. A. Poe 51 The Masque of the Red Death - E. A. Poe 52 Giants in the Earth -  Ole Edvart Rolvaag 53 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad 54 Charge of the Light Brigade - Alfred Lord Tennyson 55 Paradise Lost - John Milton 56 Faust - Goethe 57 The Red badge of Courage - Stephen Crane 58 Maggie: A Girl of the Streets - Stephen Crane 59 The Jungle - Upton Sinclair 60  Germinal by Emile Zola 61 Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand 62 The Book of the Just by Eric Silver 63 The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang 64 The Wave by Todd Strasser 65 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown 66 The Republic of Plato 67 Rolling Pennies in the Dark by MacKinnon 68 Witness by Whitaker Chambers 69 Foxe Voices of the Martyrs 70 The Ugly American by Lederer and Burdick 71 In His Steps by Charles Sheldon 72 The Mouse That Roared by Leonard Wibberley 73 Democracy in America By Alexis de Tocqueville 74 Aesop’s Fables 75 The Dark Room by Rachel Seiffeert 76 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 77 The Call of the Wild by Jack London 78  Moby Dick by Herman Melville 79 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 80 The Iliad by Homer 81 The Odyssey by Homer 82 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray 83 Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev 84 You can’t Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe 85 The Red Badge of Courage  by Stephen Crane 86 The Devil and Daniel Webster by Stephen Vincent Benet 87 The Diary of a Madman by Gogol 88 The Crucible by Arthur Miller 89 Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad 90 The Turn of the Screw and Daisy Miller by Henry James 91 Mutiny on the Bounty by Nordhoff and Hall 92 War and Peace by Tolstoy 93 The Octopus by Frank Norris 94 All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque 95 Animal Farm by George Orwell 96 To Hell and Back: The Last Train from Hiroshima by Charles Pellegrino 97 Dresden 1945: The Devil’s Tinderbox by Alexander McKee 98 The Ox Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark 99 The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder 100 A journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne 101 The Year of the Rat - by Mladin Zarubica

[wqp88888]

Nickname

Abbreviation

Proper Name

Abe

Abrm

Abel, Abraham, Absalom

Abner

Abraham

Addy, Atty

Adam

Al

Albert, Allan, Allen, Alfred

Alec, Alex, Alick, Ally

Alexander

Alf

Alfred

Andy, Andie

Andrew, Alexander

Archie

Archibald

Arnie

Arnold

Art

Arthur

Baldie

Archibald

Barnie, Barney

Barnabas

Bart

Bartholomew

Ben

Benjn

Benedict, Benjamin, Ebenezer

Benezer

Ebenezer

Bern, Bernie

Bernard

Bert, Bertie

Albert, Bertram, Cuthbert, Egbert, Halbert, Herbert, Hubert, Lambert, Osbert

Bill, Billie

Wm

William

Bob

Robt

Robert

Bram, Bramley

Abraham

Cal

Caleb

Charlie, Chuck (American)

Chas

Charles

Chris

Xian, Xopher

Christian, Christopher

Clem

Clement

Cliff

Clifford

Colin

Nicholas

Cuddie, Cuddy

Cuthbert

Cy

Cyprian, Cyril, Cyrus

Dai, Dave, Davie

David

Dan, Danny

Danl

Daniel

Dand, Dandie

Andrew

Daniel

Donald

Derick

Frederick

Des

Desmond

Dewi

David

Dick

Ricd

Richard

Dixon

Benedict

Dobb

Robert

Dod, Doddy

George

Dodge

Roger

Dom

Dominick

Don, Donnie

Dond

Donald

Donald

Daniel

Doug

Douglas

Drew

Andrew

Dump

Humphrey

Duke

Marmaduke

Eben

Ebenezer

Ed, Eddie

Edgar, Edwin

Ed, Eddie

Edwd

Edward

Ed, Eddie

Edmd

Edmund

Eli

Elliot, Elias, Elijah

Elmo

Erasmus

Eph

Ephraim

Erik

Frederick

Ern

Ernt

Ernest

Ewen

Owen

Frank, Frankie

Fras

Francis

Fred

Fredk

Alfred, Frederick

Gabe, Gaby

Gabriel

Gary, Garret, Garth

Gareth, Gerard

Ged

Jedidiah

Gene

Eugene

Geoff, Giff

Geoffrey, Jeffrey

Geo

George

Gerard

Jarrett

Gerry

Gerald, Gerard

Gervase

Jarvis, Jervise

Gib

Gilbert

Gord

Gordon

Gorry

Godfrey

Greg

Gregory

Guido

Guy

Gus

Angus, Augustus, Gustav

Hab

Herbert, Robert, Halbert

Hal

Harold, Henry

Hank (American)

Henry

Hank (English)

Hankin

Harry

Harold, Henry

Heck

Hector

Henery, Henrie

Hy

Henry

Hez

Hezekiah

Hick, Hitch

Richard

Hodge

Roger

Hobb, Hop, Hopkin

Robert

Hy (American)

Hy

Henry

Ike

Isaac

Izzy

Isadore

Jabe

Jabez

Jack

Jno

John

Jake (American)

Jacob

Jamie, Jim

Jas

James

Jarrett

Gerard

Jarvis

Gervase, Jervise

Jed

Jedidiah

Jeff

Jeffrey, Geoffrey

Jerry

Jerh

Jeremiah

Jerry

Jery

Jeremy

Jerry

Jere

Jerome

Jon

Jonn

Jonathan

Joe, Joey

Josh

Joseph, Josiah

Jock

John, or any Scotsman

Josh

Joseph, Joshua, Josiah

Ken

Kenneth

Kit

Christopher

Larry

Laurence, Lawrence

Lem

Lemuel

Len

Leonard

Leo

Leopold

Les

Leslie

Lew, Lou

Lewis, Louis

Mac

Malcolm

Manny

Emanuel, Immanuel, Manuel

Matt

Matthew

Max

Maximilian, Maxwell

Mickey, Mike, Miles

Michl

Michael

Monty

Montague

Morie

Maurice, Morris

Nab

Abel, Abraham

Nat, Nate

Nathl

Nathan, Nathaniel

Ned, Neddy

Edward

Nick

Nichs

Dominick, Nicholas

Nobb

Robert

Noll

Oliver

Norm

Norman

Numps

Humphrey

Nye

Aneurin

Owen

Ewen

Oz, Ozzie

Oswald, Oscar, Osbert, Osmund

Paddy, Pat

Patrick, or any Irishman

Perce, Percy

Percival

Perrin

Peter

Perry

Peregrine

Pete

Peter

Phil

Philip, Theophilus

Phippin, Pip

Philip

Rab, Rabbie

Robert

Rafe, Ralf, Rauf

Ralph

Randy

Randell, Randolph

Ray

Raymond

Reg, Reggie, Rex

Reginald

Rich, Rick

Rd, Ricd

Richard

Rob, Robin

Robt

Robert

Rod

Broderick, Roderick, Rodney

Rolf

Ralph

Rolley

Roland, Rowland

Ron, Ronnie

Ronald

Rory

Roderick

Rube

Reuben

Rudy

Rudolph

Russ, Rusty

Russell

Sam, Sammy

Saml

Samson, Samuel

Sacha, Sandy

Alexander

Seb

Sebastian

Sepp

Joseph

Si, Sy

Josiah

Sid, Syd

Sidney, Sydney

Sim, Sym

Simon, Symeon

Solly

Solomon

Stan

Stanley

Steve

Stephen, Steven

Stew, Stu

Stewart, Stuart

Taddy

Adam

Taffy

David, or any Welshman

Ted, Teddy

Edward, Theodore

Terry

Terence

Thad

Thadeus

Theo

Theodore

Tim, Timmy

Timothy

Toby

Tobias

Tolly

Bartholomew

Tom, Tommy Thos Thomas

Tony Anty Anthony

Val

Valentine

Vic

Victor

Vince

Vincent

Vib

Vivian

Waldo

Oswald

Wally

Wallace, Walter

Walt, Wat

Walter

Wes

Wesley

Wido

Guy

Wilf

Wilfred

Will, Willie, Wilkin Wm, Willm William, Wilbur

Zac, Zach, Zack

Isaac, Zachary

Zac, Zach, Zack Zachh, Zachs Zachariah, Zacharias

Zeb

Zebulon, Zebediah, Zebedee

Zeke

Ezakiah, Ezekiel

[most-hated-blorbo-bracket]

Update on how many unique characters you’ve received?

As usual, super long list, so here we go!

These characters have two+ (2+) submissions, and are likely to be included.

Vriska Serkat

Eridan Ampora

Shiver

Kokichi Ouma

Haiji Towa

Minoru Mineta

Simon

Boston

Bill Cipher

John Gaius

Regal Farseer

Ayin

Kylo Ren

Mal

Jurgen Leitner

Merlin

Darkstalker

Kyubey 

Ty Betteridge

Sasuke Uchiha

Dazai Osamu

Glenn Quagmire

Rose Quartz

Makima

c!Dream

Izzy Hands

Akio Ohtori

Katsuki Bakugo

Bramblestar

Michael

Don Quixote Doflamingo

Elias Bouchard/Jonah Magnus

Ansem the Wise

Kusaka Masato

Azula 

The Metatron

Evan Hansen

Stella Goetia

Pierce Hawthorne

Le’garde

Lance Dubois

Santa Claus

Meenah Peixes / Her Imperious Condescension 

Greg Heffley

Tony Stark

Donald Trump

Jace Herondale / Wayland / Lightwood / Morgenstern

Teddy / Kuma

Mr. Bungee

Julia Mazzone

Sentinel Prime

William Afton

Cullen Rutherford

Shou Tucker

Junko Enoshima

Ardyn Izunia

Sosuke Aizen

Happosai 

Simon Laurent

Caillou 

Ōchi Fukuchi

Jin Guanyao

Micah Bell

Cici

These characters have been submitted only once, and have a lower chance of being accepted.

Michael Scott

Detective Saracusa

Paul Von Oberstein

JJ

Box

Damian Wayne

Cersei Iannister

Shredder

Splinter

John ‘Jack’ Seward

Akane 

Abyss Sibling

House

Nickel

Julie-Sue

Tim Drake

Xisuma

Dr. John ‘Jack’ Seward

Hisoka 

Gra’ha Tia

Elias Ainsworth

Trishna 

Erlina and Brugaves

Five Pebbles

The Entirety Of Homestuck

Willy Stampler

Miguel O’Hara

Medusa Gorgon

Gamzee Makara

Rohan Kishibe

Teruhashi Makoto

Gordon Blackwall

Rebecca Costwolds

Dio 

Anakin Skywalker

Sigma Kilm

Caesar Clown

Shiki Tohno/Nanaya

Mori Ougai

Asuka 

Marlon

Pencil

Touichiro Suzuki

Alexander Hamilton

Georg Weissmann 

Dean Winchester

The Operator

Kromer

Scrappy Doo

Foreman Oyun

The Eleventh Doctor

Any Character From Welcome to Nightvale

Will Shuester

Marie

Silver Spoon

Jayne Cobb

Byakuya Togami

Prince Louis 

Coco

Princess Daisy

Light Yagami

The Pale King

Yoshiharu Hisomu

Himiko Toga

Sebastian Mechaelias

Mystery Hunter (Jeremiah Hartley)

Muzan Kibutsuji

Clara Oswald

Ranpo Edogawa (Beast)

Heath cliff

Inspector Tobias Greyson

Roland

Huey Emmerich

Tom Wambsgans

Yuri Briar

Jacopo Bearzatti

Quiche

Alastor

Meredith Rodney McKay

Every Single Country In 1993

Cicero

Val Velocity

Jiren 

Noor Pradesh

Blackbeard 

Kristoph Gavin

Morris 

Dan Moroboshi

Muu Kusunoki

Julia

Shen Jiu

April O’Neil (2012)

Johnny

Adam

Ronaldo

Makoto Itou

Ianthe Tridentarius

Disembodied Voice

Viren

Spamton

George Wickham

Floch

The New Ninja

Sakazuki Akainu 

Petyr Baelish / Littlefinger

Childe 

Wen Chao

Stormcaller

Chibiusa

Ashfur 

Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd 

James T. Kirk

Billy

Mikan Tsumuki

Teruteru

Orochi

Millions Knives

The Mage

Lotor

Otto Apocalypse 

Sanji

Woodes Rogers

Zeke Jaeger

Dean Venture

Absalom 

Aloise Trancey

Cynte

Akito Sohma

Pierre

Monokubs (Except Monodam)

Edelgard 

Chrollo Lucifer

Chloe Bourgeois 

Zhou Zishu

Wanderer/Scaramouche 

Elon Musk

Il Dottore

Goeffry St. John

Nikola Tesla

Louie

Ogai Mori

Astarion 

Mary Keay

Dr. Henry Miller

Booker

Voice In The Calm Ad On Spotify

Akechi Goro

Victor Frankenstein

Five

Riley Finn

Anyone From The Locked Tomb

Elias Ainsworth

Nefera DeNile

Angel Dust

Blitzo Buckzo

The Once-Ler

Moash

Zenos Galvus

Marvin Falsettos

Solf J. Kimblee 

Father / Dwarf In The Glass

Henry the Eighth 

Aranea Serkat

Bro-Strider

Caliborn / Lord English

Feferi Peixes

Skizzleman

Black Pete

Narumi 

Cozy Glow

Holly Blue Agate

Every Genshin Impact Character Ever

Drew

Dio (Zero Escape)

Matou Shinji

Chris McClain

Thistleclaw 

Rumpelstiltskin

Ruruka Ando

Sheldon Cooper

Buck Cluck

Valens Van Varro

Verstael Besithia

Kevin

France (Hetalia)

Tumblr Staff

Slayer 

Volgin 

Yumichika Ayasegawa

Roshi 

Chibiusa

Akio Himemiya

Ali Lectric

Rafe Cameron

Raven Queen

Duke

Sandy

Everyone In Romeo And Juliet

Bella Swan

Haiji Senri

Tsumugi Aoba

Vivienne Medranno’s Impsona

Buzz McCallister 

Eugene Coli

Live Action Buggy

Aizen Sosuke

Kyouichi Saionji

Ibara Saegusa

Yu Ziyuan

Mahiru Koizumi

The Little Palace Mistress

Eichi Tenshouin

The Old Palace Master

Rafal 

Jonah Magnus

Queen Scarlet

Nanami Kiryuu 

Hiyoko Saionji

God

Roger

Judo

Ken

Steven Universe

JD

[kabane52]

Abraham’s Family Dysfunction

The history of mankind is a family history. I am very partial to “the human family” rather than “humanity” because of the way the former captures the particularity and inherent structure of the human race. We are the children of Adam and Noah. That family has a branching structure and the life-creating sap of the Holy Spirit has given it everlasting life through the incarnation of the Son as a branch of that tree. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ was the climactic moment in an intensification of evil that had begun with the fall. We read that the crucifixion was according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. We read of the Torah making sin “sinful beyond measure.” The two seeds- the progressively sanctified and matured remnant of Israel through whom the nations are ingathered- and the progressively rebellious and hardhearted architects of Jesus’ murder- march together throughout the history of scripture.

Genesis anticipates the whole history of redemption. There is creation in Genesis 1-3, judgment by water in the flood, and judgment by fire in the great famine through which Joseph saves not a remnant, but the nations of the world. He reigns from Goshen, which is “like the garden” of Eden (Gen. 13:10) Joseph has been perfected and matured through suffering, and in him is the Spirit of wisdom. He has lawfully partaken of the Tree of Knowledge, and he perceives the rhythm of God’s royal dominion over the world: “You meant it for *evil* but God meant it for *good.*” And like the great story of Israel and Jesus, so also the story of the patriarchs is a family history. And in that family history we see many of the same dynamics we continue to be familiar with. Old wounds continue to scar generation after generation until the break is set explicitly. Adultery, alcoholism, even sorcery seems to run in families- sometimes a great sin continues to be covered up generation after generation until its severity grows so great that it must either destroy the whole tree or be dealt with through the Tree of the Cross.

Consider how this functions in the generations of Abraham:

-Abraham jumps the gun and produces Ishmael through Hagar. Then, having begotten Ishmael, he allows him and his mother to be systematically mistreated and expelled from the family home.

-Isaac has grown up in this context, the favorite of the household. Having learned from his mother’s breast that such treatment is perfectly normative, he replicates it in his mistreatment of Jacob. Esau is allowed to run wild, and when Isaac at lasts submits and blesses Jacob, Jacob is forced to flee for his life.

-Jacob, having been the mistreated younger brother, shows obvious favoritism to his younger sons, not to mention his preferred bride. Reuben sleeps with Bilhah as part of an effort to defend his mother’s honor. This is not to justify it by any means- but only to say that there are concrete family dynamics which make these crimes more intelligible than random acts of perversion. Just as Absalom’s rebellion originates because of David’s outrageous failure to defend his own daughters, so also does Reuben’s.

It was not the fault of Joseph that his father so publicly and obviously favored him, but it was folly on Jacob’s part to give him such honors and publicly set him over his younger brothers. David’s mismanagement of his household typologically corresponds to Jacob’s (David and Jacob have parallel lives). In the end, the family dysfunction that began with Abraham reaches its climax in the apparent murder of Joseph, just as in the great story the family dysfunction of Adam’s children reaches its climax in the real murder of Jesus Christ, the great “son of Joseph” (“is this not the son of Joseph?”) Yet just as in the case of Christ, in Joseph’s life it is the ultimate rupture within the seed of Abraham that produces the ultimate healing, a healing through which the nations themselves are gathered into share in the blessing of the reunified family. Joseph is first cast into the pit, then rises to rule the nations (and nourishes his brothers even as they do not realize from whom their bread comes), then is reconciled tearfully with his family.