#Apologetics Talk

[butchfalin]

the funniest meltdown ive ever had was in college when i got so overstimulated that i could Not speak, including over text. one of my friends was trying to talk me through it but i was solely using emojis because they were easier than trying to come up with words so he started using primarily emojis as well just to make things feel balanced. this was not the Most effective strategy... until. he tried to ask me "you okay?" but the way he chose to do that was by sending "👉🏼👌🏼❓" and i was so shocked by suddenly being asked if i was dtf that i was like WHAT???? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?????????? and thus was verbal again

[mindfulldsliving]

The Impact of Calvinism on Modern Christianity

When we think about Reformed Theology and Calvinism, a common perception emerges that these beliefs are simply extensions of Pauline Christianity. Critics argue they introduce a false gospel, one that diverges from the teachings of Christ Himself.

Apologetics Unveiled: Dissecting Reformed Theology and the Calvinist Doctrine When we think about Reformed Theology and Calvinism, a common perception emerges that these beliefs are simply extensions of Pauline Christianity. Critics argue they introduce a false gospel, one that diverges from the teachings of Christ Himself. We aim to explore these claims and understand their implications for our…

[infernal-lamb]

Draw Neves at the bar , trauma dumping to heket (she's the bartender)

HFSLKJGKDGJLJKLDS pls this is so funny to me. Neves is a mess when she's drunk. she is now Heket's burden....here she is telling a very silly story

[jq37]

Last episode, Eugenia Shadow said that Kipperlilly is a lot like Riz if he'd walked a darker path which has me wondering if Oisin is meant to be Adaine without the boldness to get out from under the thumb of her parents. We know he's rich with ancestral dragon gold and we suspect said dragon ancestor is up to shenanigans between the KVX logo change to blue and the dragon fight in the promo. There's no way to know yet because we've only gotten glimpses of him this season, but I can easily imagine their paths diverging because while Adaine has always been stubborn and contrary and amenable to patricide under the right circumstances, Oisin toed the line and did whatever was expected of him.

[artist-issues]

every now and then I play with the exercise of "what if we're wrong" because sometimes I get bored and also as an actual exercise. I usually apply this to Christianity/religion, matters of the after life, or about other people.

So sometimes I poke at the big question, if Christianity isn't real, what does that mean? And I don't usually go the route of atheism or bad sci fi, just that the religion is proven to be fundamentally inaccurate to reality, so what does that mean?

Anyway it wasn't until I was reading a really good sci fi story, where this one dude explains to some aliens the concept of "Love your enemies, do good to those that hurt you" and of course the aliens are like what? (Because in the sci fi narrative the universe is functioning under a Dark Forest Theory) And the dude explains its from one of earth's greatest teachers. And the aliens are like, if the inhabitants of the universe could believe that, this universe would be a different place entirely.

And it was at that point where I realized bro... even if it's not accurate, practicing Christianity is still worth it, for a human being. Loving your enemies means loving them like humans. The Poor, the Meek, and those who mourn, those are promises and comforts that we shouldn't toss aside even if heaven isn't real.

I don't know, this is just a terribly simplistic because I'm not the best at putting my English thoughts into english out loud, but that crack gave me a touch of useful coping. I asked my dad, if aliens are proven to exist it doesn't automatically mean christians stop practicing and believing, right? And he said obviously not.

I don't know but have you ever engaged in such a question " what if we're wrong?" And if you ever have what answer had you arrived at?

EDIT: As @atwas-meme-ing correctly pointed out in the comments section of this post, who cares whether or not I’ve played this game: God answered the question through Paul in his letter to the Corinthians: “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” 1 Corinthians 5:19.

There’s no “good moral teaching” to be found in Christianity if Christ wasn’t God, or if God didn’t exist, or if eternity weren’t real. My rambling logic is below the cut.

I mean, I play that “game” all the time about other things, and sometimes I do it for work. I’ll take two established characters and a setting me and my friends have agreed on, and I’ll “run a scenario.”

But the thing is, once my brain picks out something that doesn’t make sense, or that wouldn’t be in-character for the characters to do, the whole scenario grinds to a halt and I have to start over. I can’t suspend my own disbelief once I notice that something doesn’t line up. Even if I really liked “where the scene was going” before I noticed that thing. Whatever I’m getting stuck on because of it’s out-of-character nature unravels the parts I like, too.

All that to say I can’t even run a scenario in my head where “what if all this isn’t true? What if it fundamentally doesn’t line up with reality?”

I can’t. Once or twice I have tried. But I hit snags immediately. I’ll go, “pretend all of this Christian religion really is just a centuries-old conspiracy humanity’s been patching up the holes in.”

But then that little simulation-checker in my brain goes, “then how do you explain people dying for it? That many martyrs aren’t likely to have allowed themselves to be tortured and murdered for something they knew was a conspiracy.”

And I go, “well, pretend they died because they didn’t know it was a conspiracy, they believed it.”

And the sim-checker goes, “but the original disciples of Jesus, ground-zero of the faith, were all martyred. Not just people who learned from them and came after them and could’ve been hoodwinked: the starting points, themselves. They would’ve had to know it was a conspiracy, if it was a conspiracy, and they still willingly died for it.”

Maybe I’ll pivot and go, “pretend there isn’t objective truth.”

And the sim-checker goes, “there isn’t truth…objectively?”

Maybe I’ll pivot again and try, “pretend that everyone really does just measure morality based on what they’re used to, what their individual society’s trained them to associate with pleasant feelings and reactions.”

And the sim-checker goes, “Okay, where did those societies get the training manual? Where did it come from? Why do so many different societies’ and people groups’ ‘association with pleasant feelings and reactions’ around the world have so many things in common?”

And the answers to all that leads me back to Christianity. Even if I go the longest way round I can think of.

And eventually I quit running those scenarios. Because guess what?

Where’d the ability to run scenarios come from?

How did I get that? How did you?

See, the thing is, we go, “what if all of this isn’t true?” But it’s right there in the question. “Where did you get that desire? The desire for “truth?”” Is it to keep yourself safe, like the natural animals have an instinct toward, or is it to keep yourself sane, because you need some sense in this life to make it through? Sure. Maybe. But why? What’s “sane?” What’s “safe?” Sanity presupposes order. Why do you, and all humans, naturally lean toward wanting things to be “the way they’re supposed to be?” Where’d that come from, that idea of “supposed to be?” And Safety presupposes good being found in avoiding pain and damage and fear. “Good?” Where’d you get that idea?”

The further you dig, even into your own psyche, the less you can run any scenario that has God absent entirely. And no wonder. He designed it.

One more thing.

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” - C.S. Lewis

I used to lean into the idea you’re saying here. “Even if it’s not true, I’m going to live like it is and believe it just in case. Besides, it makes me better, and makes the world better.” That’s not belief at all. That’s ends-justify-the-means thinking. The teachings that Jesus gave which “make the world a better place” are utterly worthless if they’re coming out of the mouth of a liar. Because why should anyone believe Him? Why should anyone “turn the other cheek,” or “do unto others?” Because it makes us “better?” Who gets to define “better?”

The answer, of course, is Jesus does. The One who taught those sayings. But only if He’s God. Only if He was telling the truth. If He wasn’t God, what right has He, to tell us to give away our possessions to others and let them abuse us and give our lives up? If He was a liar, all of those “good teachings” would be tainted and untrustworthy. Besides, like I just said, they’re all only able to be called “good” teachings if you accept that there is one objective, universal “good.” And we’re right back to “where did Good come from?”

All roads lead back there, to Him. But we humans like to do this thing with God where we pretend there could be any reality outside of Him. It sort of makes sense, how we got that way. After all, when was the last time you noticed oxygen? How often during the day do you consciously inhale and exhale? As often as it happens automatically? How often during the day do you notice oxygen touching your skin or moving your hair or drying your eyeballs? As often as those things happen automatically? No. But it’s ever-present. Without it, you couldn’t live, let alone notice anything. But oxygen has always been around and everything in our lives interacts with or can only exist WITH it. God is much more than that, but that’s as close as I can get to communicating: He’s so good, and He’s so constantly there, everything, all the time, that it’s easy for us to take Him for granted, forget Him entirely, then use our two-pound brain matter to say, “He might not exist.” You might as well say, “imagine a world with no matter.” 🙄 “Ohhhh kay. Then it wouldn’t be a world.”

[foxstens]

you can make the argument that not every single scene in a fictional work has to have a Point, and i would agree

however i can't think of many such scenes in aftg (maybe because it's in neil's pov)

and even then i just think that andrew choking kevin should be considered pretty significant

due to kevin's situation he was andrew's priority for most of the year

andrew patted him down to check for injuries

andrew punched matt for punching kevin, twice

andrew drugged neil because he didn't trust how neil looked at kevin

andrew did hurt kevin once previously, during trk when kevin shoved him into the lockers

the difference being:

this suggests kevin isn't worried that andrew will seriously hurt him (shoutout to matt for getting ready to interfere if a fight broke out :'D)

whereas post-choking we get this:

this suggests he thinks andrew would do it again or something in that vein

and yet apart from this it doesn't appear to change their relationship

do you see my problem

[apologetic-artist]

Guys, I can't right now. I LOVE dinosaurs SO MUCH, and I LOVE the Jurassic Park/World franchise. I can't wait for season 2 of Chaos Theory, I can't wait for the 4th Jurassic World movie, I'm currently reading the book Jurassic Park, I'm over joyed. I'm so JOYOUS :3

I WANNA TALK ABOUT MY STUPID DINOSAUR OBSESSION SO BAD

(JW The Game stuff under cut)

Anyways, look at these guys in my Jurassic World game X3

They're some of my favorite lookin dinos (especially Concavenator). My dream dino in the game is Bumpy from Camp Cretaceous/Chaos Theory :D

Also these damn hatching times ugh

Charlie (the raptor in the middle) and Gryposuchus (the one on the right) take 7 DAYS to hatch. The other one is at least 2 days, but still >:[

[idiopathicsmile]

i just—sometimes i love nerds so much. i love the enthusiasm and attention to detail that drives people to collect and share reams of hyper-specific knowledge. recently, for reasons of [REDACTED], i've come into a situation where it is important that i learn a bunch about the Fair Folk very quickly, and when i brought this up, the people i was talking to were like, "oh, you have to meet with our friend! they're an expert in this kind of thing!" like. i know people who know a Fae lore expert??? this is a real type of adult out in the real world you can actually meet??? it's just so fucking cool.

[yellowheartz]

THAT ONE OATMEALCRISP FIC, "MOLOTOW COCKTAILS", GOES SO WELL WITH THAT ONE KEVIN ATWATER SONG "WHY DID YOU INVITE ME TO YOUR WEDDING".

(I am so normal about Satou and Saiki.)

[nellasbookplanet]

No but I have thoughts on the reception of socially awkward characters like Keyleth and Yasha, and how many fans will only accept them if they appeal to their brand of 'acceptable' social awkwardness.

Keyleth took up space in her awkwardness. It wasn't cutesy and attractive, couldn’t be romanticized. She stumbled and fumbled and never stopped letting her voice be heard, even if she sometimes was wrong. And people hated that. How dare this female character be loud and daring in her flaws! How dare the narrative not punish her for it but rather let her grow powerful in her self!

Yasha, meanwhile, didn’t take up space. She was quiet. Shy. Disappeared in the group. And for the longest time, her character was largely left alone. Then she, too, dared to take up space; she started to heal, express herself in ways that were no longer quiet or threatening but still equally as awkward. And suddenly, there was the Yasha hate. I've seen claims that she has no personality simply because she's quiet, that her goofier moments are out of character, that her awkwardness in conversations is cringy, that she's only a good character when she sticks to the strong quiet type.

Keyleth isn’t cutesy in her flaws the way her character archetype often is. Yasha isn't the strong quiet type you would expect when first meeting her. Why would you want them to be? They shouldn’t have to adhere to these stereotypes to be appreciated as characters.

[toucansafari]

a couple of friends have told me that my obsession with baxter is "very cute" and i feel so 🥺🥺🥺🥺💗💗 because i know i talk their ears off about him even though they havent played his route and they're so patient and nice to me about it ;;A;;

[fatuismooches]

Hello!!

Idea from 🥀 anon about Pantalone having nightmares is such a yes. I think some of harbingers are prone ot nightmares. They try not to disturb you when this happens, but you wake up anyway and a lot of comfort awaits

Such as Pierro. You can't convince me he doesn't get nightmares about his homeland's downfall. Everyone and everything, lost in a mere second. It took him so long to open his soul for you.. So he's scared he'll lose you as well

Or Signora. She already lost one lover, of course he's scared of losing another. Including situation, where he loses control of her pyro magic and hurts you :(

Scaramouche, as much he doesn't want to admit it, is scared you'll leave him. That you'll be the next person to betray him.

Dottore can be among them too, if we're taking about fragile!reader. He'll never ever admit this, but he occasionally wakes up (when he actually sleeps, because this happens once in a blue moon) in cold sweat, dreaming about you dying and immediately checks your vitals. If reader is in coma, he sleeps even less, looking for ways to save you, but when exhaustion finally gets to him - Dottore dreams about you never waking up, your body slowly withering and how with each passing second the chance of saving you slowly drops to zero

But of course you're always here to reassure and calm down your lover♥️

-👾

(I'm not sure when this one will get answered, but anyway - good luck to all Neuvillette and Hu Tao wanters!! May you win all of your 50/50s!!💘)

Real, i think all of the Harbingers have nightmares to some extent!! Just some more than others 💔 Pierro is a yes. Besides the amount of work he has to do, another reason why he skips out on sleep is because of the nightmares. He sees no point in trying to sleep since he'll always end up waking up soon from the nightmares anyway. Rarely does he get restful sleep, but it's a bit better when you're in his arms. Yes, a bit better, though he's still prone to them. Pierro still thinks back to the peaceful days in Khaenri'ah, before everything was lost, his beloved homeland, his people, his memories. He still hasn't gotten over it, and now there's the added worry of something happening to you as well... it's a lot for him to deal with but he never shows you and only becomes vulnerable in the middle of the night when you finally catch him sneaking out of bed. Pierro probably won't be verbal about it but you can still guess what he dreamt about... Of course, the best thing you can do is hold him and whisper how you're here, how you'll always be here, you love him and you know that he won't let anything happen to you anyway.

Signora's confident nature never seems to reveal any weakness. She always holds herself to the highest standards and refuses to show any vulnerability. So while she doesn't frequently have nightmares, when they do come around, they hit hard and really make her sit and think. It's been a long time since Rostam's death, and she's mostly moved on... but that only leaves Rosalyne with another issue. Losing you. The nightmares have never been this bad until she got together with you. She's made an oath to protect you, to keep you away from harm unlike her previous lover, but what if she can't? Even worse, what if she ends up being your demise? She couldn't bear that. When you happen to wake up during the night after her nightmare, she gently chides you to go back to sleep. Of course, you comfort her in this rare vulnerable moment and whisper sweet nothings and reassuring words in her ear. The next day, she acts like nothing happened but she greatly appreciates your love.

It's quite laughable to think that a puppet could dream. Every time Scaramouche has a dream, he wakes up in tears and then grits his teeth as he digs his nails into his skin, a mixture of sobs and mad laughter. His dreams always start off happy. Peaceful. A reminder of good times. But they always end horribly. They always end with reality. Reality was pain. Suffering. Betrayal, from everyone he's ever cared about. His mother and his friends. And now you have been added to that collection. Betraying him, leaving him all alone in the end. The possibility can't seem to leave him alone. Though, it's not too big of a problem since he is a puppet. Puppets don't need sleep. But sometimes he falls asleep accidentally without realizing it, or when you usher him to bed with you, pleading and begging to the point where he can't refuse. It's really jarring to see him cry because you know how he usually is, but overtime you get used to it because you know how hurt he was in the past. In the beginning, he'll snap at you to leave him alone but some persistence will allow him to soften and cling to you as you hold him and stroke him gently until he falls asleep again.

Despite his sins, the only nightmares Dottore has ever had were either about his childhood or you, mostly the latter recently with your current state. He's modified his body to the point where he doesn't need as much sleep as the average person, but he still does need some, much to his dismay. As much as he tries to fight it, he does end up crashing for a bit. Sometimes it goes fine. Sometimes it does not. He dreams that you will never wake up. Another century will go by, and another, and another, and nothing ever happens. He continues to change, and change, yet you remain stagnant. No matter how hard he tries, nothing works. You disappear. And he never speaks to you again, never hears your smile or laugh, never feels your touch, never again. These dreams, they are so irrational he thinks. They are nothing more than a figment of his imagination. They aren't real, and reality is the basis of everything. So there's no reason why he should be so worked up over a dream, he thinks as his body is already moving to where you lie. He places your cold, unmoving hand on his cheek, only wishing you were actually here to comfort him like during the Akademiya days.

[gooodtoast]

I'm writing emo unreciprocated wincest fanfic but lol it feels sooo out of character to write Dean being mean in response to Sam telling Dean he's in love with him. Like I really feel that in no world would Dean treat Sam with malice in that situation even if he didn't feel the same.

[symphonyofsilence]

Learning about the Yunmeng Shuangjie and the Nieyao drama through Wei Wuxian's and Nie Mingjue's points of view.

[ardentpoop]

this too is sambenny fodder

[martyrbat]

detective comics #509

[ID: Bruce Wayne sleeping in his penthouse, his eyes squeezed shut as the narration reads, ‘Gordon's strained laugh sounds hollow, but it echos in the Batman's mind... and haunts his dreams...” Bruce awakens to a hand on his shoulder and before he can think, he's twisting it and holding it down. The panel expands, revealing the hand belongs to Alfred as he's almost toppling over! He cries out, “M-master Bruce—my arm!” as Bruce groggily realizes who it is. He lets go at once as Alfred moves to the end of the bed and holds his arm while stammering an apology, “S-sorry, s-sir... Sorry if I startled you.” Bruce looks at him with aghast as he cries out, “My god, Alfred—I almost broke your arm!” Alfred reasons, “You must have been having a nightmare, sir.” as Bruce sits up and puts his face in his hands. He weepily dismisses, “A nightmare—what kind of an excuse is that? Old friend... forgive me...” Alfred reassures, “Nothing to forgive, sir. Just bad nerves, sir.” END ID]