#CW: Christianity

[glimblshanks]

I will say that learning about Christianity has helped contextualize so much about queer and leftist discourse for me like,,,

Why are some people so insistant on gatekeeping queer identity? Well, because they got kicked out of their religious community for being "not really Christian" when they came out as queer. Now, rather than actually deal with that trauma, they've decided to export it by policing queerness in the same way their ex-community policed who was allowed in the faith

Why do some leftists talk about "the revolution" like it's some big inevitable moment that they're waiting for? Because they grew up in Evangelical Christianity believing in the rapture, and when they became an atheist/agnostic/whatever and started reading leftist theory they applied that same mindset of waiting and belief to "the revolution"

Why would so many leftist rather not act at all than act imperfectly? Because they come from Christian backgrounds with an incredibly unnuanced, black and white view of morality where you get horribly eternally punished for doing anything wrong. If you apply that mindset to politics it can feel genuinely paralyzing to try and take political action that might be imperfect, because you don't want to be punished (by who? twitter?) for doing something wrong.

Like obviously these are very broad generalizations, and some of this is also gonna apply to people who weren't raised Christian because, at least in the U.S., we live in a culturally Christian nation where a lot of these beliefs get imparted in "secular" spaces like schools as well. But I swear the more I dig into Christianity the more I go "oh, this is where these very confusing political beliefs come from! That's why I don't get it!"

[stil-lindigo]

seeing clearer

(sequel to another comic of mine, the calamity.)

--

all my other comics

store

[jayjamjary]

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I had reasons.

[betty-bourgeoisie]

Starting a new, bird focused, denomination of nontrinitarian Christianity where we exclusively worship the holy ghost and condemn the father and son as false idols

[noseboopsanddandelionwishes]

I haven't talked with many people in my demographic about USA politics, but for myself, I think I am feeling a big betrayal. I wonder if others are too.

For me, I am living with the knowledge that the same people who told me that "character is all that matters" are Trump supporters. While the adults in my life espoused that they would put aside everything, even success, to do the right thing, they are so upset with not getting what they want that they are now happy to follow a bulldozer. And when confronted with any wrongdoing - it doesn't matter.

These are the same adults who were careful that any content we watched or read had redeemable plots, and impeccable morals, and encouraging endings. The same people who drilled into me that even if nobody sees it I should do the right thing. And yet they are jumping on the platform of a politician who bankrupted businesses, brags about immoral things, and speaks with vile words.

When I was told to look out for anyone who worshipped stuff of this world and it was important to follow the laws of the nation we are in, the ego of the party to put their slogans on flags and fly then with the American flag, to say Jesus is my Savior and Trump is my President, to always refer to the former President as "President _ " not former, to start campaigning for him before he was even a candidate.

Maybe it's just me - but I feel we were brought up to have character and search for it and to not blindly follow and then seeing that generation blindly follow, disregarding character, and do all of that, saying they are doing the right thing and they are just supporting him so they can get the benefits of his policy and protect our future, and I think I feel extremely betrayed. Betrayed that while I have been trying to live by these very careful concepts and ideals that aren't easy, the generation who instituted it in me is turning their backs on it, and not even recognizing it.

They raised us up right, but they abandoned it themselves.

Raise a child up in the way they should go, and when they are older, depart from it - and they will feel stranded and hurt.

[starkskypines]

thinking bout how dean’s everything is tied to cas. cas saved him over and over again. dean’s sense of faith is tied up in cas. they’re so interdependent it’s sickening. cas only believes in humans, in saving people because of dean. cas cares about a whole world because of dean. like?????? perhaps the most moving lines in all of spn are “He saved me.” And “I cared about the whole world because of you.” because dean doesn’t believe there’s anything in him worth saving and cas doesn’t believe the world has much to offer an angel. the other turned their worldviews upside down. they changed each other right down to their bones. there’s something so biblical about it all. their love seems like more than just what is defined in love. it’s something cosmic, something god-like. something like god giving up his son for all of humanity except you’re giving up all of what you’ve defined as yourself for one human. something like being a devout worshiper of someone with flaws that loves you back unconditionally. there’s some sort of salvation myth in destiel waiting to be told. and there’s every left turn where they should turn so toxic, so unstable, but they don’t. yeah it ends in heartbreak but what salvation myth doesn’t ultimately lead to despair.

[monstrouscrew]

a subjectively perfect aro experience is meeting your friends, a couple stable as our Sun among them, telling the cheapest dirty jokes, walking through the biblical Apocalypse themed exhibition, letting them both help you to untie the temporary cord you wear your extra soul on, bathing in soft hellfire and finding a HAND in the flames, then being carried by their car to the subway station with a WTNV episode instead of music. and knowing they're alright with your attitude and don't misread it.

no love required, sympathy and aesthetic attraction explained, and that's enough. (not) loving anyone in any way possible doesn't make anyone (less) human. this is how we are, too.

⚫🩶🤍🟢

[oxygenbefore1775]

now the only thing that i can think of today is viking Reiner, freshly christened and confused about the ways of Francian life that Jean tells (more so pantomimes/signs cuz of the language barrier) him

~like~ what do you mean slavery is a bad thing and I can't have thralls and I'll have to work my own fields myself from now on? what do you mean I have to go to church every Sunday and pay tithes to clergy I used to raid all the time? what do you mean no more human sacrifices? what do you mean I'll have to marry someone if i want to have sex with them and from point do it only with them? what do you mean no concubines? what do you mean laying with men is sinful and I can't do it anymore?

[theemmtropy]

Thinking about how Maul's forehead/nose markings resemble rosary beads, leaning into the fact that Maul dedicated his life to his indoctrination, only for it to fail him.

[in-her-aspect]

My top 10 Silly Songs with Larry from my childhood:

10. I Love My Lips: classic. Shaped how I see therapy. I know all the words, we sang it at summer camp.

9. Dance of the Cucumber: sexy, also a classic. If you could sing the Spanish part you were in hot demand for duets. My sister and I would sing gibberish, but it still counted.

8. The Pirates who Don't Do Anything: This one still makes me laugh. I can't believe this one only made #8, but here we are.

7. Song of the Cebu: This one kept me sane and also gave me a twisted sense of humor.

6. Larry's High Silk Hat: sophisticated, refined, references chocolate, novel--the only downside is that I never got all the lyrics down.

5. School House Polka: Gave me more useful information about English grammar than 10 years of homeschooling.

4. Endangered Love: If you don't love your SO the way Larry loved his secret TV obsession, you should reevaluate your relationship. Also, foreshadowed my own discovery of fanfic.

3. Monkey Silly Song: Learn this song. Sing it at random. Enjoy the utter confusion it causes in your friends and loved ones. Thank me later (You're welcome in advance).

2. Gated Community: is it the janky background sets? The lessons of kindness and sharing? The catchiness of the beat? I have no idea, but 11 year old me ranked this up there with The Phantom of the Opera.

1. Pizza Angel: this song has it all. Heartbreak? Yup. Romance? Kind of. Soaring vocals? Heck yeah. Concise storytelling? Of course. Floating pea cherub background singers? Clearly. Cannot recommend this song enough. Best part is that it doesn't matter what faith background or lack thereof you're from, this song is just about the simple love of a cucumber for his pizza angel.

Honorable mention-The Water Buffalo Song: I hate this song because it gets stuck in my head, but it's insane so I love it. Warning: the animation will give you nightmares.

(note: this is an abbreviated list, taken only from the Veggietales that came out in my early childhood that I was able to watch over the years, only from the "Silly Songs with Larry" bit. Out of the 30 or so that I've seen, these are my personal favorites.

[andthemouseroared]

🎤

False prophets and religious cults all have one thing in common:

They all preach salvation, but in reality they're selling lies and broken promises in exchange for obedience and submission.

[daggersandarrows]

rare personal religious post for me to make but like. being whatever it is that i am (and i don't really feel comfortable calling myself anything but a polytheist and a devotee of artemis) has made me realize that christianity simply does not value consent in any capacity. like the thing is is that you get told that you need to "choose" to follow god but the other option is eternal torment. that's not a choice. that is literally fucking coercion. you get told that god loves you unconditionally and wants you no matter what but the question nobody let me pause to ask is what if i don't want that? what if I don't want the love and longing of a being with supreme power over me who keeps telling me that without him i will be forever lost, that i will never find love like his, that my life will have no meaning? like do you see how i am not actually being offered a choice here??? you know what that fucking sounds like? that sounds like my abusive ex boyfriend. and my dad but let's not get into that

the thing about me worshipping and choosing to ally myself with a god(dess) who does NOT, in fact, love me unconditionally, who I'm actually not totally sure loves me at all (idk I've never asked), who actually just came to me with an offer of protection and power in exchange for service, is like...I GOT TO DECIDE? like a real fucking human being with agency? she didn't threaten me, she didn't promise my life would be worse without her, she warned me how hard it might be before she offered and not after. for the first time in my life i stepped into the arms of a deity who gave a shit about my informed consent. and I'm never going back to hollow, terrified, forced devotion again.

[mystalwartheart]

What's Jill spinning tonight?

[betty-bourgeoisie]

Alfred *standing in the middle of a hippie commune*: It's never easy trying to fight the power, Matt. We've been getting naked and telling parables for months, but for some reason, nothing has changed.

Matthew: Well there are probably more effective ways to protest.

Alfred: Sounds like someone needs a lesson about the power of parables.

Matthew: I assure you I do not.

[william-afton-in-a-terrarium]

William Afton Must Live

The springlock incident.

William Afton nearly wished he could say that hell was real. That when everything went blank, Henry Emily, for all the preaching he had done, would be right. He would fall victim to outreaching fingers of flame, hungrily lapping at his limbs and tangling themselves around him. Hell Would Render William Afton Nothing. That was meant to be the final chapter. Something so final, something so inevitable, it would be a page in the Bible. Something held so close and near to Henry's heart, that he would know the proverb word for word. A proverb, simply explained-- William Afton had met his doom, and his punishment was hell.

Instead, what he felt was not warm. The sun itself was not his new plane of existence. Flames were not wrapping around his body, where not warping the very air around them. Smoke did not render sight and breath impossible. No, something else did that. There was only cold. A feeling so burning that it nearly came from within. Frost crawled out from his chest, creeping out and adorning him with that near ironic feeling. A tingling, paralyzing, burning. It may as well have been fire, fire eating him up and swallowing him whole, but it wasn't. It was ice. A sign of near pristine preservation. A different kind of burning.

Perhaps that was hell. The preservation of eternal suffering. Taking his soul and freezing it to its core, ensuring that William Afton couldn't run. A wasteland, of endless nature, a subversion of expectation. Hell could be frozen. It could be made of snow that blinded vision. It could stiffen his fingers, each creaking movement of his joints a brawl against the colds pressing grasp. Maybe, Henry Emily was wrong. William would not be granted the mercy of fires endlessly destructive nature. He would be punished with eternal preservation. Isn't that what he always wanted?

An acute darkness coated his world. The kind that left him unable to seek an alternative stimulation, without a distraction from the burning parasite of frost. Ringing. The consistent tolling of a high pitched, ceaseless screech, the kind that made him want to crawl out from his skin and rip out the throat of whoever was causing it. An innate pressure kept said escape very impossible. It wrapped around his body like a snake's coils, writhing and constricting. Something that sought to see the remains of his sanity spilled across the floor, intermingling with pools of blood. Fangs pressed into his flesh, hooked into his skin, injected frost into his veins. The small, uncontrollable jerks of his limbs would only worsen the creature's grasp, ripping and tearing at flesh from within. He could feel the way they sat within him. The way his flesh rubbed against teeth that would never release him.

Pressure collapsed his chest in on itself. Sent his ribs spiking into his lungs, crushed bone into fractured shards, and filled his organs with blood. He couldn't breathe. It was an oddly sudden realization, the pressing discomfort of suffocating claws begging for air at his throat. For a moment, he didn't react. Nearly, he was complacent. Tired. Overwhelmed by the frigid nature of collapsing pain, trying to do anything about his situation seemed impossible. It may simply be easiest to lull back into the numb feeling of weightlessness. To accept.

For a moment, he would succumb to pressure. A constant, suffocating sensation that constricted endlessly. That would inevitably condense his body into shredded meat and shards of bone, rendering William Afton nothing. He would be ash, the crumpled remains of bone, without any sort of positive mark or legacy to show for it all. Not even a whisper. Truly, William would only be preserved in the eternity of death. For a moment, he would look that snake in the eyes, and they would understand that this was inevitable.

It was fear that truly grasped him by the shoulders and shook some sense into him. Dying. He was dying. Henry would turn that into another proverb. William Afton Was Always Going to Die. That he would be wrong about. William wouldn't submit to something so trivial as the inevitable. Inevitability was a falsehood, an ideology society indoctrinated pathetic people into believing. He was everything but willing to submit to others' whims. That included giving in to a false methodology of inevitability.

Breath. William needed to breathe. A sudden, gurgling breath would shake his chest, inhaling blood. His head would fall forward and over his chest, away from the wall, spitting out blood through a forcibly opened jaw. His body would twitch, contortions and writhing around fanged metal through shuddering breaths and choking gags. A search for oxygen of all things, a hunt for that which wasn't the proof of the metal husk that impaled him from every which way. He must live. William Afton Must Live.

How about that for a proverb?

Author Notes!

This was so fun to write!! I had a lot of fun mixing in a whole lot of small motifs, themes, references, and all sorts of figurative language. There's a whole bunch of little treats and allusions to my William's story in this particular AU, and go wild with the theories if you feel it!

[wildlyhopefulcreature]

The Red Church Door

*Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction. There is allegory, but the events in this story did not literally happen to me the way they appear in the story. CW: mild religious violence, Christianity, Transphobia*

The church door slammed in my face. The door was red, a giant, bloody stop sign as I sought community and support. I was stunned. I hadn’t imagined that any event would’ve led to the resounding rejection I had just experienced.

This was the only church in the town, and I’d gone there seeking help. I showed up as myself, wearing the only clothes I owned, along with the smells of the past… however long ago it was that I became homeless. I wore a coat, boots, and a beard that I desperately wished I could shave. I looked like what you’d imagine a homeless person to look like.

I was hoping for help from this church. I need food, shelter, and the chance to look like I want to. We’d gotten further than most places; they let me in the door, and they took the information I had to start getting me housing, or at least housing assistance towards housing. They talked about a food drive they had that would help me, and gave me some suggestions for food banks or housing places I could go to.

But in their information gathering for housing, they asked me a question that I couldn’t lie about: “Are you a transsexual or a crossdresser?”

I should’ve been able to lie about it. Everyone knows that Christian churches can be very bigoted against LGBTQ+ people. I knew that they could deny me care because of my being trans, and being a religious organization, federal law wouldn’t protect me from that discrimination. I could guess that they wouldn’t be accepting because of the very outdated language. Affirming people know that “trans or transgender” is more current, and the more informed ones know that those are adjectives and not nouns.

But I’d been kicked out of my family home because I’m trans, I was facing this whole situation because I am trans. And also, I was in a church, a holy place. And I couldn’t lie in a church, even a bigoted one. I couldn’t get housing by hiding myself again. I wanted to wear dresses, and be clean-shaven, and be a woman that people would be jealous of. And I can’t do any of those things if my housing depends on my pretending to be someone I’m not. And, even though I desperately wanted a razor, I was not going to put up with more bigoted shit. I’d rather have nothing than live the lie that I was a man again.

So I said, “Yes, I am trans.”

And the lady helping me paused for a second, processing. I hoped in vain that she would be alright and nothing bad was going to happen.

But she tore the papers she’d handed me out of my hands, and she pushed me out of the church with a grimace on her face. She threw my driver’s license after me, and slammed the door just as I stumbled back toward it.

And here it was, the red church door.

It had been inviting once. I’d learned that God loved me, and everyone, unconditionally. I can’t remember if that was from church or from my own experiences of God. But it was nice to have the community, and to have the formality of the worship services.

But I guess I’d have to worship in the grass surrounding the town. And I guess I’d keep the community of God with me.

I know they don’t have a monopoly on God. God is everywhere. I just wish more churches acknowledged God’s unconditional love, and treated me with the same.

I guess I’ll wander with no place to lay my head, just like the Son of God.

Originally written 11/19/2022