#I think there is a difference between being an atheist

[the-dao-of-the-zerg]

I think a lot of religious people, especially vaguely spiritualist lefties, ARE actually fairly agnostic about their beliefs: this is what works for me, this is what "speaks" to me, this is what *I* believe. Conversely, as the image says, the difference between an atheist and an agnostic is that the atheist is willing to insist this is a factual, scientific, settled matter. (Conversely, the agnostic is perfectly willing to go along with the vaguely spiritualist lefties.) I would dare say "The Christian God is the only God, Islam is false, the Jews are all lying to you" IS actually quite incendiary and unpopular, just like "God is fake, the Christians are lying to you, Catholicism is a hollow shell used to exploit children" is also unpopular.

The offensive quality here is insisting that other people are wrong.

---

To be clear, I say all of this as someone who thinks God is fake, and everyone else is empirically, factually wrong.

I will also insist there's one correct answer to the Trolley Problem, Newcomb's Paradox, etc., and I get called annoying for that too.

People really don't like being told that they're wrong!

There's something about atheism that I've repeatedly tried and failed to put into words on several posts on this blog but I think I finally got it.

Atheists are the only religious minority who, even (or sometimes even *especially*) in ostensibly progressive spaces are not allowed to ever act like they're sure of their beliefs.

[randomnameless]

and of course the worse bit is that the leader of the religion is actually an Atheist cause God never answered his prayers.

If you played the game, that's not the worst Idore did lol

But bar the general implication that someone is using faith to push his own agenda that has totes none irl comparisons, there's the fact that Idore, in a way, manipulates his people and uses their trust to further his plans, getting rid of every Rozellian and ultimately seize control of Norzelia.

Then comes the game's "your religion is based on nothing!" very terrible take, and while the game doesn't spend a more seconds than necessary talking about post war Hyzante in the non Roland endings, how the fuck are we supposed to buy the "uh akshually they will be alright because Layla will develop medicine and they will continue on living!" nonsense?

To avoid dragging further irl events, I'd say this reminds me of the very emotional moment in FMA, when Bradley shits on Ishval's culture and beliefs, saying their God doesn't exist, since said God isn't striking him on the spot for leading an operation that basically consists or eradicating Ishvalians in Ishval.

Guess what happened after Bradley made Ishvalians realise their God "wasn't real" with the few survivors of this "war"?

That's why I love to think of future AUs in the Benedict ending, because it has all ingredients for darker gens - Gustadolf'n'Cornelia's kid notwithstanding, now you have Hyzantese who live in slums and are lower than trash being riled up by Idore out of all people, who also preaches to everyone left behind by Serenor/Benedict's joint rule, Roland is so going to be used as a rallying figure to gather all disatisfaction in the land by, maybe, Idore himself and give or less 15 years, the continent will be plunged in chaos, again.

a bit like eventual Jugdral 3rd gens AU

[stickandthorn]

I was thinking about that post about redemption I just reblogged, and I think it’s worth pointing out just how difficult and time consuming it would to de-radicalize or “redeem” Lilliana. And I think Essek’s redemption in campaign 2 is actually a really good example of what I’m talking about.

First of all, what the Nein did to redeem Essek was not slowly and politely talk him through why what he did was wrong. They didn’t even know he did anything wrong. What they did was continually reach out to him and give him a support system of friends he did not have before. Notably, friends who he could be comfortable sharing his worldview around: he was an atheist* in a theocratic society who had to hide his worldview in order to have any social, academic, or governmental standing. The mighty nein were probably the first people he could be himself around, and creating a change in his personal life is what led to a change in his ideology. Notably, he did most of the actual deconstructing of his ideology on his own, some before the big betrayal reveal and a lot after. The Nein helped with that directly a little, but the main thing they did was offer him a personal connection he had stakes in, and a people in his life with different world views he hadn’t seen up close before.

This is pretty true to life, in the real world, most people who leave radical or bigoted groups leave at least partially because of a change in their personal life. Even if they do leave because of someone directly challenging their worldview, it’s usually someone they care about who challenges them in a non-aggressive way. It’s still personal.

Secondly, this took a lot of time. I can’t remember exactly how long they spent in the Dynasty, but they befriended Essek over a really long period of in game and out of game time. The cast spent actual real world hours talking pretty much one on one with Essek, and the party spent weeks, maybe even months slowly getting to know him and bringing this support structure into his life. Essek spent even longer actually thinking through and deconstructing on his own. The change in his worldview between the ship and the outpost really shows this, he did a lot of the thinking that led him to change by himself over a lot of time we weren’t there for. They could not have gotten him to actually change his mindset, fully realize what he did was wrong of his own free will, in anything approaching a short amount of time. This was a time consuming process.

All this to say: this is the kind of effort it would take to legitimately de-radicalize Lilliana. She has been in the Vanguard for ~25 years, she most likely joined when she was in her early to mid 20s, and she gave up all personal connections, even her daughter and her husband to join. Not only has her entire ideology been built around this being the right thing to do, her entire personal life is contained within the Vanguard. It’s most likely where she gets any housing or money or really anything from. It is her whole life, and she believes wholeheartedly in it. The level of time and effort it took to get Essek to organically change his mind is most likely the level it would take to get Lilliana to change hers, if not more.

And they don’t have that time. Lilliana is actively doing harm now, she is helping the Vanguard release Predathos right now, they simply do not have the time to redeem her. It sucks, but pragmatically speaking, it is simply not worth the time and effort. Essek gave away the beacons in the past, but also, the Nein did not know he did that for their early friendship. If the Nein had known, they probably would not have put in all the work it took to get him to change. They probably couldn’t have. Lilliana might be able to be redeemed in theory, but so can a lot of people who do very bad things. Focusing on that redemption process is prioritizing Imogen’s complicated feelings over the harsh reality that this is a war, and Lilliana is a key figure in that war doing a great deal of harm. It sucks, but I do think it’s time to move on, and I think Imogen is now leaning that way.

*atheist is a loose term here, it’s hard to be an atheist in a world where gods are proven to exist, but it gets the point across

[lunawagner]

Study Results (2/2)

For the previous post---> Click

Before beginning, let me clear something: We've compared groups as having lower or higher means related to each other, but that doesn't mean their means are high or low in general, that is, compared to the general population. For instance, there were Caleb mains who said they scored high in agreeableness and consciousness, so surprised by "low results," but actually, all groups have average or high means in these aspects, as you can see in numbers. They are lower or higher just compared to other groups, not in itself~~ As I said earlier, we all had low to average extraversion, average conscientiousness, high openness to experience, neuroticism, and agreeableness

For the future: If we happen to get a 6th LI, I might do this again with the HEXACO model or Szondi test lol

Play Time and Love Interest Choice Players who stated that they've been playing the game for 6-9 months(time 3 in table) showed a significant preference for Sylus. It matches with Sylus' release date, so I think the data shows those who started the game just because of Sylus (expected 16%, observed 26%).

Also, players who have been playing for less than 3 months(time 1 in table) preferred Caleb over others. Likewise, it's probably related to his release and the people who came for him. (expected 19%, observed 27%)

The most interesting one is that, compared to others, people who have been playing for more than 12 months(time 5 in table) significantly preferred Xavier as their primary love interest (expected 33%, observed 40%). However, it might be because of the community we get the data from and the fandom involvement of long-term players.

Alpha and Beta Factors

Alpha Factor= Agreeableness+Conscientousness+Stability(reverse of neuroticism)

Beta Factor: Extraversion+Openness to experience

The group didn't have a significant difference in terms of Beta Factor. For Alpha Factor, Caleb mains(M=191, SD=27) had statistically significant lower scores compared to Sylus(M=198, SD=25), Xavier(M=198, SD=27) and Zayne mains(M=200, SD=27).

Morality

It’s similar to the emotionality results, and honestly, I’m skeptical that the differences in both are due to pure chance, except for those between Zayne and Caleb mains. (Yeah, I know I laughed about it in the previous post, but let’s be serious for a moment). So, I’m reporting this just for the sake of reporting.

Other little things:

People who answered that they've been diagnosed with a mental illness had higher neuroticism and openness to experience scores. Neuroticism being high, yk, the most natural thing, but openness to experience?? Then it came to me: it's ADHD girlies. Many of the previous studies didn't find an association between openness to experience and mental disorders, yet some studies suggest that openness to experience is related to ADHD and neurodivergence.

People who said they are spiritual but not religious and agnostic had higher openness to experience means compared to other groups. (related research: Being agnostic, not atheist: Personality, cognitive, and ideological differences / Being Spiritual but Not Religious)

Poc participants reported less mental disorder diagnosis compared to non-poc participants. (protective power of collectivism and community support or differences in accessibility to mental healthcare)

Play time and knowledge of the story content were positively correlated. Obvious outcome, but good to check for participant honesty

99% of participants were females assigned at birth. 87% of participants preferred she/her as their pronouns. 64% of participants were aged between 18-24, and 31% were between 25-34

84% of participants were from the middle class.

65% of participants were people of color (I love you <3)

In terms of religion, percentages were balanced and between 10%-20% for Christians, Muslims, SBNRs, Agnostics, and Atheists. Other religious affiliations had fewer participants.

Thanks to everyone for participating!

Tag List: @xavieslittlestar @m00nchildwrites @dadddybangtan @gingers-random-junk @cloudyasteria @eoe-1379 @kwtdrn @punksausages @satorusfrontallobesilverhair @xanxann01 @dandellien @auraficial @fictionalmenlover5 @bundle-of-sunlight @starryfilled @cupcakefactory @rayamalaya @mandapanda16 @nouerzzz @jonggunkitten @fckkntired @dreamienebula @tiffyelefano @bbnique @maybeyougotmewrong @starrychxn @situationsheep @maimaily @irlsammy @meowumis @piranha-teeth @svnflowery @soapsoftheworld

[captainjonnitkessler]

people bitch about atheists being mean...but it's like you fuckers bitch when we're nice to!

athiest should get to say "religion has no place in public schools" without immediately getting jumped for being 'intolerant'

athiest should get to say "i don't believe in what you believe and therefore i don't think i should be persecuted for that" and suddenly the bullshit spinning 'pilgrims came here for religious freedom and that is beautiful' crowd are all up in arms and suddenly not so gung ho about freedom of religion

there was a magazine cover i saw that was all "IS THIS THE END OF SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE?" and my response was to laugh. god is in our pledge of allegiance and legislators regularly quote the bible as 'reasons' against queer people, against abortion... do you really think there's ever actually separation of church and state?

i grew up knowing that i would never be president of the united states, not because of the color of my skin, not because of what's between my legs, not because of who i love...but because i was athiest. that has been the reality of this country since its inception, and it's kinda adorable that anybody thinks differently

okay vent over. being born and raised athiest doesn't really prepare you for just how deeply isolating it can be to exist as on out in the world. so yeah, thanks for existing

Genuinely I think most people who talk about "militant" or "evangelical" atheists are literally just talking about atheists who don't couch their every sentence in apologies for being an atheist.

I'm not going to pretend to believe in your faith to make you feel better, I'm not going to follow your religion's rules because you're more comfortable that way, I'm not going to hem and haw and say that I'm not so "arrogant" as to think I know for sure that God doesn't exist when you don't require the same humility from religious people who say they know for sure that he does, I'm not going to politely agree to not talk about the bigotry and oppression that your faith perpetuates because it makes you sad to think about. If you think people are allowed to be unapologetic about their religion, then I get to be unapologetic about my lack thereof.

And yeah - atheists are unelectable. We're rated as less trustworthy than rapists. We've been painted as groomers and rapists and murderers for decades if not centuries. A huge part of why the New Atheism movement was such a big deal is because it was one of the first real organized secular movements specifically aimed at bringing unapologetic atheism to the forefront of the discussion. We can argue all day about what the movement was and wasn't and why it fell apart, but at the end of the day "actually it's good to be a skeptic and we should criticize religious hegemony and people who choose to reject science in favor of faith and ideology, especially in politics" was an important fucking message! Maybe if we'd paid more attention to it at the time instead of whining about how atheists who sue city councils who open meetings with prayers just hate religion, we wouldn't be trapped in this christofascist nightmare!

[nullusreimorio]

Degrees of Lewdity AU: Actor AU

Yes, you heard that right, folks! DoL:ActAU will now be a thing in my blog.

Re-reading this made my brain go BRRRR, because in my head a random person getting their costume's head off is that funny, and from there it all spiraled down.

The Whitney breaks Syd's glasses scene in particular is stuck in my head, because I imagine that at some point, right before Whit can grab the glasses, Syd would scream to wait, making Whit shit himself cuz dude what is happening. The director screams cut, of course. "I'm so sorry, these are my real glasses-" while laughing, and taking them off to give into custody before putting on the props, with Whitney just wheezing in the background.

The genderbent version of LIs would mostly be people that really resemble each other, except for the Kylar duo. They are twins who love to scare other people by just staring at them (it is a running inside joke on set).

Bailey is actually a sweet parental figure off-character, always making sure he didn't actually hurt the other actors (think Jason Isaac in Harry Potter as he switches between the cruel Lucius Malfoy and actually caring for Tom Felton, asking him if he's ok and apologizing when he did in fact hurt him by accident)

Another running gag on set is Harper just.. being there. Smiling at everyone with cold eyes, bombing pictures and selfies. Sometimes they stay in the background of the scene, looking directly at the camera. They say it's funnier to stay in character. Off-character they are very fun to be around, but they enjoy unsettling people. Them and the Kylars are sometimes banned from being in the studio if the scene doesn't need them.

GH got tangled up in the fly system. Everyone laughed and took pictures and videos, but promptly eliminated them at GH's request. They are shy.

The Averys enjoy their role very much. What they don't enjoy is having to drink grape juice or scented water instead of actual alcohol. They do get a nice glass of wine once off-set are over.

Whenever the Wrens are in the studio, F!Whit, M!Robin, the Wrens, F!BW, the Edens, F!Avery and the Baileys get a bit too much into playing cards. Blackjack, Durak, Scopa, Rummy, Machiavelli... the list could go on. They always manage to rope technicians to play with them as well.

Everyone hates the Kylars because their makeup doesn't need much time, while everyone else (ESPECIALLY GH, BW and IW) need enough time to always look polished/roughed up, depending on the situation.

M!Jordan is actually atheist, and whenever he has to talk like a true Christian guy, once his line is over he mocks himself. He enjoys wearing his costume off-set just for shits and giggles, and other actors often visit him in the confessional just to say "I'm sorry daddy, I've been naughty~" "Jail for a hundred years. NEXT"

F!Jordan and Ivory Wraith are actually cousins, and sometimes M!Jordan and Ivory Wraith swap costumes to see if there is any difference other than Jordan's massive tits.

Aaaand that's it, for now! As of now this is how far my brain thought while in the middle of exams, I will slowly add more into it. I don't know if it was already done, but thinking about these jackasses actually play-pretending makes me feel better ^^

[ponkydraws]

BBC Johnlock rant;

What? A rant on a show that was popular in 2014 tumblr in the year of 2025? Yes, I’m an autistic queer 16 year old with a passion for literature and art, what else would I get up to?

Here’s a couple things that have been itching at me and I feel like I need to scream into the void seeing if anyone will listen. Yes, this is Johnlock.

Spoilers ahead, obviously.

1. Sherlock’s attraction to Molly and Irene. Now, I see a lot of fans of the show under the impression that Sherlock is attracted to either Molly or Irene, and personally I think the show made it very clear that’s not what’s going on.

Molly - Sherlock possesses the ability to mimic romantic attraction at need (see Janine), although even in those cases he won’t go any further than kissing, i.e “waiting until marriage” despite being an atheist. Molly’s attraction to Sherlock is evident from their first encounter, Sherlock seems to be aware of said feelings but actively and purposefully refuses to acknowledge them. When Molly asks if he’d like coffee he simply takes advantage of the wording of the question to reject her proposal without directly addressing the actual question - “black, two sugars please”.

He tries to use Molly as a John substitute but finds that he cannot stop thinking about John anyway, and even in that situation he makes Molly appear more like John rather than keeping her acting like herself. In The Final Problem Sherlock is forced to make Molly say the words “I love you” or she (allegedly) blows up. This is a manipulation tactic of Eurus’, where she exploits her brother’s emotional attachments. But the challenge is meant to upset Molly - not Sherlock. Sherlock is distraught because despite having a different set of emotionality he doesn’t want to hurt his friend. He breaks her casket because he is upset he has hurt his friend. And despite having only 3 minutes to make her say “I love you”, he buffers for an unnecessary long time to actually say it himself. This is because he DOESN’T mean it.

He feels bad for having to reopen a wound of Molly’s because he is not telling her the truth, he is being forced to taunt her with a flicker of hope that’s not there.

Irene - this is just my own personal interpretation of their relationship so you don’t have to agree with me but I found it quite clear that Sherlock is not attracted to her romantically. He strives to impress her. He feels intimidated and fascinated, he’s so keen on their conversations because he has found an equal and he’s testing her intellect (and she’s doing the same to him). Irene uses seductive techniques to try to throw Sherlock off his rhythm, and successfully so. Except it appears that she’s using them for shock factor, not to actually seduce Sherlock. Again; throwing him off his rhythm. He is still objectively trying to deduce her and even says “if I wanted to look at naked women, I would borrow John’s laptop” implying that he doesn’t want to see her naked, but the situation is what it is.

There’s a clear difference between Sherlock’s reaction and John’s reaction to Irene being naked. John feels exposed and uncomfortable because he recognizes the situation as sexual. He immediately looks down, either out of embarrassment, shock or because he doesn’t want to be caught staring down a naked woman. Even when she directly addresses John, he seems to make a point to look her in the eyes. Sherlock, despite understanding the motive of her method, is still viewing her from an objective perspective. He is looking everywhere, not because of attraction, but because he is trying to understand what she’s doing. When trying to deduce her, he finds that he can’t find anything out - so he switches back to John and has no trouble deducing him at all.

Sherlock is not comfortable around Irene, but he is drawn to her intelligence. He feels a need to prove himself to a fellow genius, and to detect what she’s got in return. Even Irene points out how John and Sherlock supposedly are a couple, insisting she’s right even when John denies. Later in the show, John brings up Irene a couple of times in an attempt to peak Sherlock’s interest but it still seems like John is more interested in the relationship between Sherlock and Irene than Sherlock actually is.

All of these women acknowledge either Sherlock and John’s relationship or Sherlock’s lack thereof with them

“You look sad. You look sad when you think he can’t see you.” - Molly

“Somebody loves you” - Irene to Sherlock, and looks at John, “we’re not a couple” “yes you are” & “I’m not actually gay” “well I am. Look at us both.”

“I wish you weren’t…whatever it is you are.” - Janine to Sherlock

Even John’s girlfriends acknowledge how John prioritizes Sherlock over them, i.e “you’re a great boyfriend. Sherlock Holmes is a very lucky man. No, it’s heartwarming. You’ll do anything for him.”, “don’t make me compete with Sherlock Holmes” and even Mary taunts both John and Sherlock for their clear affection towards each other - “I don’t shave for Sherlock Holmes” & “see, neither of us were the first”

In conclusion, Sherlock can be manipulative when it favors him and he can mimic attraction if needed, but it is not genuine. In all of these cases, the care displayed for them was directly tied to a case, as to where the affection he displays towards John is unwavering and unaffected by whether or not there is a case. Why? Because he doesn’t view John as a tool, nor does John view him as one.

John makes a difference in Sherlock’s life because he is not getting anything out of him other than genuine human connection. He praises Sherlock when he’s impressed and scolds him when he does something wrong. Sherlock, who is clearly not used to being addressed as a regular person, is obviously surprised by this behavior as displayed in the first episode, i.e “fantastic..” “are you aware you’re doing that out loud?” “Sorry” “no it’s…fine..” & “that was…amazing” “really?” “Of course it was” “..that’s not what people usually say”

John treats him like a person, he doesn’t tiptoe around his intellect worried he’ll do something wrong, no, he grabs him by the collar and redirects him when he’s not acting properly. And John is the one to uncover his flaws. Sherlock prides himself on being this genius detective whose intelligence cannot be penetrated by the weak forces of emotions - but that’s not right. He’s very emotional. Both John and Mrs Hudson are aware of the fact that Sherlock is emotional, and acts emotionally. “Not Sherlock, no, he’s more…emotional, isn’t he?” - Mrs Hudson

What emotion does Sherlock display when John gets married to Mary or talks to his commander? Jealousy. He’s obviously distraught about the whole marriage thing, so much so that both John AND Mary are aware of it. When John meets his old commander, Sherlock seems skeptical of him and doesn’t like how John is acting around him. Mary says how “he’s the most unsociable man he’s ever met” to which Sherlock replies “HE’S the most unsociable man he’s ever met? Well that explains why he’s prancing around him like a puppy” which kind of implies that John finds himself drawn to unsociable people - and that Sherlock has actively noted that trait because he does it around him, too. He also leaves the wedding early, and like Molly says, he looks sad once John is not looking at him.

Another case of emotional behavior is when Moriarty tells Sherlock “I’ll burn the heart out of you” to which Sherlock replies “I’ve been reliably informed that I don’t have one”. Moriarty counters with this with “oh, we both know that’s not quite true.”

And what happens a few episodes later? John ends up in a bonfire. “I will burn the heart out of you” and then the show tries to burn John. Hm. This can also be tied to Sherlock’s previous statement of “funny how fire exposes our priorities”.

Moriarty is aware of how much John means to Sherlock and actively uses him as a tool to manipulate Sherlock. He tries to make Sherlock feel bad by telling him how many people will be upset by his death, but Sherlock does not react until John is mentioned. He tells Sherlock how his friends are in danger and Sherlock immediately goes “John!”.

In the final problem, Mycroft tries to manipulate Sherlock into making shooting him a lot easier, so he starts berating John. Not Sherlock. John. He tries to rile up Sherlock enough to get him to pull the trigger so he insults John in front of Sherlock. Sherlock recognizes the technique which means that he’s well aware that Mycroft is using his relationship with John in an attempt to manipulate him.

Romantic or not, Sherlock clearly loves and values John more than anything or anyone, even more than his own life. He would die if it meant John could live. I can easily write like 15 of these but I’ll start with this bite sized analysis. Thank you.

[servantofthefates]

If life is an experiment, your Uranus is your laboratory.

Uranus in the First House: Your Body

You will likely go through various rebrandings in your life. From nerd to glam. From emo to CEO. It will take you a while to discover what you want your physical vessel to look like.

Uranus in the Second House: Your Wallet

You will likely go back and forth between having an excess of money and having none at all. It will take you a while to figure out the right ingredients for financial stability.

Uranus in the Third House: Your Words

You will likely go through various makeovers in how you speak. From punk to poet. From high street to high-end. It will take you a while to discover how to communicate your true self.

Uranus in the Fourth House: Your Home

You will likely experience an unstable home life. That could mean moving around a lot, or your family changing frequently (e.g., through marriage). It will take you a while to find home as it should be.

Uranus in the Fifth House: Your Joy

You will likely have changing hobbies and interests as you grow. Even to the point of being ashamed of what you previously liked (e.g., a band, a celebrity). It will take you a while to discover what your soul enjoys.

Uranus in the Sixth House: Your Lifestyle

You will likely have drastic changes in routines that relate to your identity. From vegan to carnivore. From fitness buff to couch potato. It will take you a while to realize how you want to experience life.

Uranus in the Seventh House: Your Relationships

Your taste in connections (romantic and more) will likely keep evolving. From light to burdened. From friendly to brooding. It will take you a while to realize what you want and need your people to be like.

Uranus in the Eighth House: Your Morals

You will likely have changing definitions of what is wrong. From seeing things like Satanism and death penalty as evil, to thinking they are good, for example. It will take you a while to define your principles.

Uranus in the Ninth House: Your Faith

You will likely have different beliefs throughout your life. You might keep switching from one religion to another and to none at all. It will take you a while to form a true connection with a higher power.

Uranus in the Tenth House: Your Reputation

You will likely have different ranks in society throughout your life. From pleb to socialite. From royalty to nobody. It will take you a while to decide how you want the world to see you in this lifetime.

Uranus in the Eleventh House: Your Community

You will likely be a part of vastly different groups throughout your life. From religious fanatics to agnostic intellectuals. From celebrities to nuns. It will take you a while to discover where you belong in life.

Uranus in the Twelfth House: Your Pain

You will likely have different ideas of what hurts. You could go from crying at the sight of war-torn countries to shrugging about their plight. It will take you a while to decide on what is fair and unfair in this life.

In Whole Sign Houses, my Uranus is in the Ninth. I was raised Catholic. But in truth, I was mostly agnostic. At a fairly young age, I discovered Greco-Roman paganism from my elders who practice it in semi-combination with Christianity. Then in college, I had to pretend to be an atheist around judgmental religious fanatics who hated witchcraft. Now I am a practicing pagan who follows my ancestors' writings over my living elders' teachings. Can you also feel your Uranus manifesting?

Related: If life is a battlefield, your Mars is your weapon.

[unsolicited-opinions]

This is an indirect answer to a poorly-phrased recent Ask.

On being a Jewish atheist:

While other atheists don’t identify themselves with their birth religion, why does a Jewish atheist continue to actively identify as Jewish? While other atheists don’t necessarily highlight ethics, why are ethics of such central concern to a Jewish atheist? While other atheists don’t necessarily emphasize the primacy of reason in human endeavor, why does a Jewish atheist see reason as redemptive? While other atheists may be indifferent to the flourishing of those who share their birth religion, why does the well-being of Jews remain of paramount concern to the Jewish atheist? These questions indicate a type of atheist with a pronounced ethical sensibility, committed to a reasoned moral universalism that would eliminate all boundaries between peoples, and yet who is acutely responsive to the particularism that goes by the name of “Jewish identity.” Jewishness matters to such atheists, in a way not logically entailed by — perhaps not even entirely reconcilable with — robust universalism, despite their abiding faith in the redemptive value of reason.

[ultimate-marysue]

I love the idea of Batfam members being religious but in a very private way. Most of them know Bruce is Jewish, they grew up in the manor so they have celebrated Hanukkah together plenty of times. He also celebrated Christian holidays for some reason, although Dick only remembers Christmas and Easter Egg hunts when he was a kid. Tim realizes why when Damian joins them and now they're also celebrating Islamic holidays.

When Dick joined, Bruce decided to celebrate the holidays the kid was used to celebrating for his sake. When Jason joined, all catholic holidays were added because he didn't want to offend his cultural practices. The set a Nacimiento together and Jason adored the little Niño Jesús figurine (he stole it when he came back from the dead). They also celebrated Día de Muertos and other Mexican holidays, and each year Bruce would make an ofrenda for Jason and his parents after the boy died.

Cass wasn't religious when she first joined, but I could see her taking interest in some Buddhist practices and philosophies. Bruce would encourage her exploration of different beliefs but wouldn't push her to choose anything.

Tim is a hard cold atheist. Which is funnier the more gods he meets. Bruce respects this and he -like every other child- is exempt from participating in religious celebrations. He avoids the actual religious part, but a party is a party so he's usually up for it.

Duke is agnostic but he likes to join his siblings in their prayers and celebrations. It doesn't hurt and he has a particularly great time praying with Damian and going to church with Jason.

Damian is Muslim and he has a little prayer mat for Alfred the cat because he insists on joining him. Everyone thinks it's adorable. At first he was a bit uncomfortable in the manor, not knowing if his cultural practices would be accepted or if he was expected to assimilate. Thankfully everyone is very supportive and he's particularly thrilled to explain his religion to Duke and a very curious Cass. He's also surprised by how much Jason knows of his religion and they often talk about the differences and commonalities between Abraham I religions.

Dick and Steph don't give much thought to it, but I can see them trying out other less known religions and coming to the same conclusion of: meh. Babs is also an Atheist capital A, but she loves pretending to be a Satanist or Wiccan to spook Bruce and Alfred.

[thyfleshc0nsumed]

I'm struggling with 12 step real fuckin hard right now. I've always had disagreements with many of NA's ideas, even if I've found it helpful for me personally. I think a lot of it is good and useful and true, like especially the "I cannot control anything besides the actions that I take" kinda stuff. Definitely not unique to twelve step or anything, like thats more or less the foundation of like half of all spiritual thought ever, but still, it's laid out in ways that I've found useful in practical terms.

But idk. They can say it's a spiritual and not religious program all they like, but the program is fundamentally objectivist in most of its beliefs (not like, the Ayn Rand kind of objectivism, just like, the opposite of subjectivism) and that sort of objectivism requires something to originate the objective ontologies. In the program, boundaries between things both physical and metaphysical exist in an objective matter. And sure, I've met very few members whose "god" refers to Our Lord And Savior Jesus Christ, but at the root of it, they still believe in some theistic master of the universe, even if it is a secular one.

Meetings just piss me the fuck off nowadays. I go in and say "I'm fucking struggling here, I'm an atheist, like a real fuckin atheist, like actually an atheist for real, and the answers that the program gives that work for everybody else don't fuckin work for me on account of my belief in a purely physical universe," then some fuck goes "yeah, I had trouble with the god thing too, I mean i'm also an atheist but I was told to not let it worry me and trust the process. My god is the group/process/universe/whatever," and its like, no you stupid motherfucker, I do not have a fucking god at all and I need one to actually work this fucking step that I'm on.

And don't get me wrong, there are many things that appear and in some ways might as well function as a god due to the limitations of the human mind, but its no different than staring at static on a television and seeing images in it. The images aren't actually there outside of our perspective, our fucking brains are just being given too much data to properly process it all, so it imposes already processed data onto it. And right now, it feels like the program and every member I hear from is just saying "no, those images really are there, trust the process and you'll see them too," and its like FUCK!!!!!!!!! The problem isn't that I'm not seeing the images, I DO see the images sometimes, the problem is that I fucking know they aren't there in any non-subjective sense!!!!!!!!!! I can't un-know what I know!!!!!!!!!!!!!

idk. Im just struggling. I tried a lot of shit to get sober and NA was the only thing that fucking worked. There is some personal truth i've found in it, both in the nature of my addiction and in the nature of life without drugs. But as I get more and more and more time, it feels like it keeps working for me less and less and less. And idk what to do about it. idk. I wish I believed in a god.

[charlesoberonn]

just saw your cult post and i wanna add something a bit controversial? (probably not for this website tho but yk)

im from a religious country in the middle east, and until i was like 16 i hadnt heard the word "cult" and i had no idea what it was.

when i looked into it and read about it tho, i realized that islam (the religion of my country) IS a cult. and then i went around online asking my other ex-religious friends about what they think and some also told me that they think their religion was a cult too. and no im not talking about like obviously culty religions (mormons, evangelists, etc), im talking about whats considered the norm for a religion to be practiced. whether it be islam, christianity, or any other one.

i started wondering why not ALL religions count as cults when they literally fit the bill to a tea, and tbh the best explanation i found was that, they ARE cults but they are so old, have so many members, and are so entangled with our cultures that people just accept them.

i told this to someone who was an atheist herself and even she got defensive and said that its not okay to call peoples religions cults "if its not hurting anyone" so i dont say it to anyone because i dont want to be an asshole and i accept everyone no matter what religion yk?

but that all being said, i still wholeheartedly believe that ALL religions are cults (im talking about organized religions tho btw. like native people having their religions is a completely different thing that i cant comment on because i dont have enough information about those)

i think that if you are in any religion then you are in a cult and you should leave, i know its controversial, but it is what i think yk?

I see where you're coming from but I think this is dangerously reductive.

The problem is that you're thinking in terms of a 'cult-not cult' binary that doesn't work to describe the nuance of real life groups.

What makes a cult are the methods of control they use on their members. A cult, or high-control group, will use extreme and predatory methods to try to control their members as much as possible.

The difference between a religious cult (for there are non-religious cults) and religion is the level of control and the harmfulness of the methods the group utilizes.

I don't know about what religion is like in your country, but not all religious groups are high-control groups. Many of them don't try to control or exploit their members.

By equating all religions to cults you're not only making accusations of harm against groups that don't deserve it, you're also muddying the distinctions for people, allowing actually harmful groups to pass themselves off as harmless.

[spacetimeaccordionfolder]

its sunday and i'm thinking about how Navani kept praying to the Almighty throughout the stormlight archive after finding out the Almighty is dead/ is Honor/ is one of many* other powers (three of which are on her planet) and her husband starts believing in a "God Beyond" who may or may not also be dead considering the comments her daughter's boytoy jester Wit who knows a lot of things keeps making and I'm also thinking about the interaction we get between her and Szeth in Rhythm of War with "do you hate me" "yes" "good" and also the revelation that she prayed for Gavilar's death, and like two hours later Szeth killed him. She hates Szeth for accomplishing something she prayed for, and she still prays to the Almighty. Hey Navani, why do you keep praying to the Almighty? Well you see once I prayed for my husband's death and then guess what happened two hours later. Yeah I have complex feelings about that and hate being in the same area as the assassin who killed him. Yeah i'm going to go burn another glyph asking God for something.

*yeah we know there's 16 shards but does she? I cannot recall.

The different views of religion we see among the characters in stormlight and in the cosmere itself is so interesting. Jasnah's an atheist, Kaladin's agnostic, Navani and Dalinar each firmly believe in one God but they believe in different ones, the way different ardents talk about the Almighty, Sazed's whole thing with religions- especially in Hero of Ages trying to find hope in something. There are people who are perceived as Gods/ religious figures who hate it and those who use it to their own advantage. There are people who become gods that are expected to give themselves up for those who worship them. Some of those gods who ran from that in trying to be people again. A dragon raised in a culture that views dragons as gods, who doesn't want to be worshiped, but holds part of the power of probably actually God. A thief who sets up his death to start a religion - not knowing he would actually linger after death and end up being attached to a god's power, still lingering and being seen as a god centuries later- in order to inspire people to fight against a tyrant viewed as a god. There are people who hope and pray to a long dead god that maybe he will remember them. Kaladin's questioning if there is a god and if god is good, cruel, or simply doesn't care and deciding that perhaps if there is a god, that god is found in the way we care for each other, but really he's trying not to get killed by the Fused currently so he'll leave thinking about religion to those who have the time and care about it more.

[dshksh]

Teen or adult christinaa..

Oh boy, anon, you asked for it.

Alright, so after Christina had her own "hunting trip" (I still haven't come up with an idea of what that event might have been for her. Would've been interesting if that happened between her and her mother instead of her father. Still have no idea, but she definitely had a major traumatic thing happen to her.) she, just like Orel, saw that her parents are (shocker), not decent people.

To cope with that, she becomes a bookworm and distances herself from everything happening around her, especially involving her parents. Her parents wouldn't notice that, since they were so caught up in their unpleasant marriage. She gets into psychology, reading a lot of books dedicated to it.

As for her and Orel, she would try to isolate herself emotionally and ignore her feelings for him. She knew that they wouldn't meet in years (due to living in different towns), so she tries to suppress her love and focuses on studying. College was an escape from her feelings and parents. Also, I think Christina's dad was really overprotective of her, which caused her to experiment a LOT in college. College was a big opportunity for her to not be as influenced and controlled by her parents as she was at home. She does end up having a few love affairs, but they don't last that long due to her being emotionally distant and still in love with Orel.

She finally meets Orel while she's still in college, almost accidentally. Orel is studying to become a teacher, and his college is doing a practice exchange of some sort with Christina's college (like sharing extra psychological knowledge with future teachers, so they would understand kids more). She doesn't recognize him at first, but when she does, they exchange numbers and talk a lot (mostly Orel, lol). At first, Christina is really cold towards him, but when she sees that he is still a good old-fashioned Christian and a nice guy in general, she grows fond of him.

As for her faith, when she first met Orel after so many years, she would be an atheist. But once she starts spending more and more time with Orel, she regains her faith.

Christina and Orel end up in a relationship with a lot of issues. They have unrealistic expectations of each other due to barely knowing one another and not having experience with emotional intimacy. Christina ends the relationship and focuses on graduating. Both are heartbroken.

She does graduate and ends up having a decent job as a psychologist. Her interest in psychology came from her wanting to understand her parents and the reason behind their actions.

They make up after a few years again, when Orel decides to go to therapy. Christina is there. She is the shrink that Orel visits. He bails and decides to cancel all the appointments.

Christina realizes that she is ready to confront her feelings and initiates the meeting with Orel. Orel gets extremely anxious and doesn't answer her message for weeks. When he has the courage, they meet and dot the i's. Finally have a meaningful conversation about their feelings and problems.

Orel was the one who insisted on her going to therapy. She ignored most of her feelings towards her own parents and childhood (towards Orel as well). Therapy helped her become more aware of her own emotions, yet she still remained her emotionally distant and cold appearance.

Orel gets a job in the town Christina lives and works in. They eventually make up and go to couple therapy. They still have a bunch of problems, but they cherish one another, and this love helps them to be better people.

[lokavisi]

Hey I have a question

I feel like there's a lot of saneism directed towards the spiritual and especially polytheistic communities, mainly in regards to any communication one might have with spirits or deities etc.

As a relatively new pagan myself, I'm having a bit of trouble unraveling that in my own mind and accepting my own experiences as anything more than coincidence for fear of "sounding crazy". I'm wondering if perhaps you have any advice or recommendations as someone who seems confident in their spirituality enough to discuss it online? I would appreciate any wisdom you have to share

Hello! I have ADHD and have struggled to type out a coherent answer that doesn't stray too far off topic, so I hope I actually answer your question. (Though do not hesitate to follow up if you need!) This is all how I see things, so feel free to take what resonates and leave the rest. :)

I have spent lots of time myself wondering if my beliefs or experiences sound "crazy" to others for any number of reasons. I have depression and ADHD, I know plenty of atheists who think religion is not necessary, and I carry religious trauma from the Christianity I grew up with.

I've recently had an experience that made me doubt so much of the work that I've been doing over the past year and a half of my life. But something that I've been coming back to over the past week or so is that everyone, no matter their beliefs, will always see things differently than you. Even the people who agree with you on something or have a shared experience are still having their own individual experience with it that is unique to them. This is not a problem, but we (in the general sense) like to make it one and insist there is One Correct Way to do, hear, or experience spirituality or any of its many facets (like receiving messages from deity, for example). Part of my own work this past week has been starting to unravel some of that thinking in myself. Between being raised in a religion that insisted their beliefs were The Truth and having serious rejection sensitivity, I recognize that I sometimes feel the need to assert my "correctness" out of fear that I'm wrong and will be looked down upon for being so. But the truth is, as far as I can tell, there is no one correct way to have faith or generally do any of this stuff.

All that to say, as difficult as it may be at times, it's important to recognize that no matter how truly unique our experience is, it is still valid. No one but you knows what you experience. Only you know what it is you truly believe, and that belief shapes your understanding of your experience. What matters at the end of the day is what it all means for you personally (and that you're not actively and intentionally harming others). Other people have their own experiences and their own beliefs that shape their understanding of things, and to them your experience might sound "crazy" (whether saneism is a clear contributing factor or not). If it feels real and right and true to you, then hold on to that. Your path and your experience doesn't have to make sense to everyone, nor does it need everyone's approval. Like I said, I've recently been shaken up (which I think we admittedly do sometimes need to reassess our values/beliefs every so often), so it's a bit of a constant battle to really believe that deep down. But I know that is ultimately what I believe. I know what my experience is and I'm happy to share it with people on the off chance it resonates with them and we can connect over it. And if it doesn't, it doesn't. Sometimes it hurts, but if Loki has taught me anything it's that being true to who I am is the greatest thing I can do in this world that loves to change us into something we're not.

I am not always confident, and it's ok if you're not either. That doesn't mean your experience isn't real. The best we can do is work through the baggage and shadows getting in our way, follow our intuition, and be our truest selves. Whether this was helpful to you or not, I do sincerely wish for the best for you and I'm happy to chat anytime. <3

[exploring-the-cosmos]

Eddie Diaz, Queerness, and Faith

So I've had this idea floating around in my head all day following the most recent episode and with Buddie canon seemingly closer than ever, I thought I'd share it with y'all.

An interesting storyline I would absolutely LOVE for them to explore with Eddie is his relationship with Catholacism/Christianity as a whole and his sexuality, both in childhood and as an adult. I think it's inevitable that his relationship with religion would be brought up if they decide to go the route of Eddie being a repressed gay man. It's kind of unavoidable given his family history and his resurfaced Catholic guilt. I mean, growing up in Texas in the Catholic church as a gay kid??? As a queer atheist, it sounds like my own personal hell.

That being said, I think it would be really cool to see Eddie's journey to self-acceptance coincide with a restored faith in God and the church. It's not a storyline I've personally seen very often with gay characters (the only example I can think of atm is Eric from Sex Education), and I think it could be a really valuable form of representation for both progressive forms of Christianity and queer BIPOC Christians.

I don't think it's realistic given Eddie's decades-long repression for him to have this realization of feelings for Buck and just be okay with it without taking the time to interrogate all of his past relationships (romantic, familial, and religious) and how they have contributed to his repression. I would love to see him come back to LA post-feelings realization and for him to have more conversations with Father Brian about all of this. I want there to be a conversation between them about how Father Brian can reconcile being a gay man (because let's face it, he likely is, despite being celibate) and his faith in God, as well as being an active participant in the church who is guiding other people in their faith. I want to see the juxtaposition of Eddie growing up with a faith that is, at it's core, based in guilt and shame, to stepping into a faith based in love, acceptance, and affirmation (as, imo, Christianity SHOULD BE but all too often is not). I want more bonding and one-on-one conversations between Eddie and Bobby about faith, too. It would be really nice to see them bond more over something they have in common outside of their profession, especially with Bobby being a father figure to Buck.

I think his relationship with Buck could also be a way to explore inter-faith relationships. Now, I could be completely off-base with this, but Buck strikes me as a character that, while superstitious, is not religious. There hasn't been anything I've seen up to this point, that I can remember anyway, that suggests Buck believes in God. If it is the case that he is an atheist or agnostic, I would love to see how they navigate their relationship surrounding the topic, especially given the long and difficult history surrounding homophobia in the church. I don't even necessarily mind the topic becoming quite contentious (between them or brought on by external circumstances), but at the end of it all I want to see them get to a point where they approach this potential difference with love and mutual respect.

Idk I think it would just be really cool if they made this decision with Eddie's character. I know I've seen a few clips of Ryan in interviews talking about his own faith journey: growing up in the church, becoming distant from it as he got older, and then later coming back to God and religion. It would be awesome to see him being able to pour some of his own personal experiences with religion into this character, especially with how their journeys with faith would be kind of paralleled (though not entirely the same).

Anyways, if anyone wants to send me pre-existing fics or even write some based on this premise, I would love to read them 😊