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elleaitch22 · 2 months ago

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Terms of Endearment

Chapter 1: A New Face at St. Paul's

Pairing: Paige Bueckers x Azzi Fudd

Summary: Azzi Fudd is careful. Her life is sorted into a thousand little boxes that no one can get into. She seems perfect – her principal loves her, parents adore her, and her students hang on her every word. No one knew the skeletons in her closet, and she had planned to keep it that way. Her armor is impenetrable, at least until a new student, Soleil Bueckers, enters her life. Soleil is warm like sunshine, but her mother is cold like ice. Paige Bueckers is powerful, intimidating, and cold. Her walls thick, tall, and impervious. But when Azzi helps her daughter, she becomes intrigued. Their connection is forbidden. Their pasts are haunted. An arrangement is struck. Rules are made. But everyone knows – rules are made to be broken.

A/N: This is my first Pazzi fic, please be gentle. If you have tips/suggestions, I would love them!

Warnings: Homophobia (not by anyone of value)

Word Count: 1.5k

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“Good morning, Ms. Fudd!” Mrs. Turner, a first-grade teacher, chirped as they passed in the hallway.

Azzi forced a small smile, sipping her latte. Too strong. Too bitter. Definitely will wake her up for the first day of school. She made the moronic choice to drag herself into a late shift last night, in her defense, teaching didn’t exactly pay the bills. Her budget was already tight after decorating her classroom and stocking up on supplies.

She sent up a quick prayer for the patience, grace, and a smooth school year before pausing by a glass case to check her reflection. A gentle tug smoothed her flowy, rainbow-striped skirt. She checked that her shirt met the school's strict cleavage rule, pulled a few wisps of hair from her bun for softness, and swiped on a bit of lip gloss. She flashed herself a bright smile.

That would do.

Her classroom felt like a flower shop, potted plants, paper blossoms, and soft colors everywhere. Bloom where you are planted. That was the theme she had chosen intentionally. Even if one child left believing they were worthy and loved exactly as they were, it would be worth it. Too many Christian schools left you with the opposite impression. She was just about to fluff the fake daisies by the interactive board when she heard footsteps echoing in the hallway.

Showtime.

The first thirty minutes of the day flowed like clockwork. Azzi soothed crying preschoolers and tearful parents alike with the same gentle confidence. No one wanted to say goodbye for six and a half hours, but Ms. Fudd had a gift — she made parents feel secure, and children feel like they were about to embark on the best adventure ever.

She was just gathering her students for circle time when there was a knock at the door. Another student, late. Azzi plastered on her softest smile.

The door swung open.

And for a moment, just a moment, Azzi’s whole world went silent.

My God, she’s beautiful.

She caught the thought and stopped it short. No. Not today.

She was tall. Taller than Azzi, something uncommon for her. Wide-legged navy pants, a crisp button-down, an oversized blazer. Jawline like a knife. Perfectly piercing blue eyes. The perfect fit of her clothes showed that she has a skilled tailor. She screamed wealth and oozed power.

Azzi swallowed against the sudden tightness in her throat.

Focus, Azzi. Jesus.

A small face peeked out from behind one pant leg, clutching the fabric in a death grip.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Azzi said gently, kneeling to the girl’s eye level. “My name is Ms. Fudd. What’s yours?”

The girl had the same striking eyes as her mother, her features a softened version of the woman above her. Thumb in her mouth, she peeked out shyly. “M’name’s Soleil.”

Azzi’s eyes widened, delighted. “Wow! Did you know Soleil means ‘sun’ in French?”

Soleil gasped, whipping her head toward her mother. “Mommy! She knowed my name in the othew speak!” Wide eyes turned back to Azzi. “Do you know the fancy speak?”

Azzi laughed softly. “Oui, Soleil. Je parle français.”

Soleil squealed with joy. “That is weally cool! We can be fwiends now!”

A smooth, low voice cut in. “You’re not gonna tell Mommy bye, Lei?”

Azzi stood, her hand automatically extending. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. Azzi Fudd.”

The woman’s handshake was firm, if not half a second longer than necessary.

“Paige Bueckers.”

Paige Bueckers.

Azzi knew that name. Everyone at St. Paul’s knew it. Everyone in Chicago knew it. The woman whose daughter whose admission had been met with waves of backlash. The Pilates moms had already been gossiping about them this morning, shaking their heads and whispering in clipped tones. Ms. Bueckers walked through scandal and rumor with her head held high, looking exactly as untouchable as she was.

Paige Bueckers is here, in Azzi’s classroom.

“I submitted everything already,” Paige said briskly, breaking Azzi’s train of thought. “She’s allergic to gluten. Only Nika Muhl and Kamorea Arnold are authorized for pick up.”

Then Paige knelt – her voice impossibly soft and warm. “Okay, Sunshine. Mommy’s gotta go to work. Be a good student for Ms. Fudd, okay?”

But Azzi was barely listening. Her heart was thudding too loudly in her chest.

Soleil threw her arms around her mother’s shoulders. “I love you, Mommy.” She grabbed her mother’s cheeks, placing a small kiss on her nose. “Can we get ice cweam and watch Moana with Auntie KK and Auntie Ice at home?”

Ms. Bueckers touched her forehead to Soleil’s. “Of course we can, lovebug. But you have to have the best day at school.” She stood back up. “I’ll see you later, Sunshine.”

With that, Soleil turned to Azzi and grabbed her hand. “Have a good one.” Azzi smiled. The expression was not returned, only met with the tiniest nod. The tight blonde bun was the last thing Azzi saw before her door closed.

She led Soleil back to the class gathered on the mat. The blue-eyed girl sat right next to Azzi and popped her thumb into her mouth shyly.

“Okay, boys and girls! Let’s get started!”

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The day moved soft and slow. There were thirteen children in Azzi’s class, but none as friendly and kind as Soleil Bueckers. She was warm, bright, and confident. She may have had her mother’s face, but none of her steel. She didn’t mind getting close with the other students, and she made sure no one felt left out.

When Azzi read Same, Same, but Different on the rug, Soleil told her classmates that being different was a good thing and that being like everyone else was “bowing.” The only important thing, Soleil said, was that “we awe all people, so we should tweat evewybody kind and pwetty.”

When three o’clock came, Ms. Bueckers stood out among the cluster of nervous parents. All of the mothers outside of Azzi’s classroom were as far away as permitted.

The whispers started as soon as the Bueckers family was out of earshot.

"That’s her daughter?"

"Are we sure she’s safe having a mother like that?"

"I don’t want Thomas around people like that."

Azzi steeled herself as Mrs. Harrison approached, plastic smile in place.

“Is Jacob in the class with that girl?” The woman asked sweetly.

Azzi tilted her head, returning the sugar with steel. “We have seven girls in our class. Which one are you referring to?”

"You know,” Mrs. Harrison hissed. “That girl with the lesbian mom," she whispered.

Azzi’s smile sharpened. "I don’t discuss the private lives of my students’ families. Especially not in front of small ears. I wouldn’t want to indoctrinate them!”

Mrs. Harrison flushed. Azzi softly shut the door behind her.

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“Mommy, you listening to me?” Soleil’s voice was full of sass, her little brows furrowed in the rearview mirror.

Paige chuckled, catching her daughter’s expression in the glass. "Of course I’m listening, baby. That sounds like a really good book. Do you want a copy for home?"

"No thank you! Ms. Fudd put it on the bookshelf. She told us it’s a libwawy, so we can take a book home if we want." She took a big spoonful of cotton candy ice cream. "Is Auntie Nika gonna be home? I wanna watch a movie."

Paige pulled up Nika’s location with one hand and grinned. "She is home! Maybe you guys can have some mac and cheese while you watch."

The rest of the ride was filled with Soleil’s endless chatter, her words tumbling over each other with excitement. Paige listened, smiling softly. She remembered being that carefree once, before everything changed. Before life demanded armor.

She pulled into the private parking deck, an additional level of protection she had paid extra for when she brought Soleil home from the hospital. Within minutes, they were in the elevator, Soleil wrapped in her arms, sleepy but still talking.

Nika was already chilling on the couch when they stepped off the elevator. Paige sent Soleil to her room to change while she did the same. She kept the sweats low on her waist and padded back into the living room.

Soleil was still talking, curled up against Nika. "You look weally pwetty today, Auntie Nika! But Mommy — don’t you think Ms. Fudd is the pwettiest in the world? She’s like a pwincess!"

Paige blinked. "Uh, sure, baby. How about I make the mac and cheese and popcorn, and you two start picking the movie?"

Ms. Fudd. Azzi Fudd. Azzi Jazlyn Fudd.

Paige had already done the research. Background checks on every single employee at St. Paul’s. Education history, prior employment, social media scans. Photos online – candid ones, tagged ones – yes, Azzi Fudd happened to be stunning. Like, stupid beautiful. Big, doe eyes. Rich, honey-brown skin. Lips like they were made to pout. Tall. Confident. Body like a sculpture, if the sculpture had incredible taste in skirts.

So yes, Paige did think Ms. Fudd looked like a princess.

And no, she was absolutely not about to admit that in front of Nika. She’d rather shave her head.

#paige bueckers #azzi fudd #pazzi #pazzi fics #paige x azzi #terms of endearment

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eccentricecologist · 9 days ago

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A list of satanic/underworld imagery Kris has going on

Satanic

They wore red horns around as a child and have red eyes, both traits physically associated with the Devil

Their entire family consists of goat monsters, and if Ralsei really is based on the monster Kris wishes they were, the connection to goats is even stronger

Associated with the dark, like Susie and Ralsei, who also have Satan parallels, just much less than Kris

Fights the Angel's Heaven, again, like Susie and Ralsei

Associated with lies and deception, in small ways (pranks) as well as big (being a double agent)

Related to the former, but by being a double agent and, as hinted in the Sword Route, in the Weird Route, they also function as a betrayer

Less obvious than Spamton or the Knight, but Kris also makes deals with others for power, specifically with Tenna, if the Sword Route dialogue is any indication, and just like most faustian bargains, they end up screwing over their Faust (they deal so much more damage to Tenna than normal, implying a greater killing intent). Probably why the route seemingly favored by the game for beating Spamton NEO results in getting the Dealmaker

The thing that made me realize how much Kris has satanic imagery: Apples, in a clear reference to the Fruit of Knowledge, most commonly referred to as an apple. There's the apple-scented shampoo, and there's also the apple eating scene in Chapter 4 that seems to be highly symbolic and meaningful, but we don't know how yet

Both Kris and John Milton's Lucifer yearn pointlessly for freedom from an eldritch being (the SOUL and God, respectively)

While we're the ones who force them into it, the Weird Route involves them corrupting an innocent (Noelle) by making her use ice magic. In the Divine Comedy, Lucifer is half frozen in ice

Speaking of the Divine Comedy, to round out the last 3 circles of hell (deception and betrayal having been covered above), their last name is an anagram for "murderer", and the Weird Route sees them embody fully embody violence towards others and violence against God (trash can beatdown of the eldritch being known as the SOUL) and violence against oneself (apple core eating, and their HP is also reduced by previously mentioned trash can beatdown)

Again, more linked to the SOUL than them, but they are associated with physical light, like Lucifer, in Chapter 4, in a way that Susie, another Lightner, is not

This one is very possibly not intentional, as Deltarune seems to be influenced by Christianity in particular rather than all Abrahamic religions, but Kris' foremost quality is their loyalty, and in Islam, Iblis becomes Satan because he refuses to bow down before humans, in essence because he's too loyal to Allah to accept the importance of humanity to Him.

Similarly, I don't think it's intentional, but the name "Satan" means "opponent" or "prosecutor", and Kris is defined by their opposition to the SOUL. In the Normal Route, where we are neutral to good, Kris is most prominently a follower of the Knight, but in the Weird Route, that role takes a backseat as Kris is now the hero facing us, the new Big Bad

General Underworld imagery (once again, it might not be intentional, but if it isn't, it is a pretty interesting coincidence. Or a testament to how successful Christianity was at syncretism, I don't know)

Their blue skin in the Dark Worlds makes them look like how corpses are represented in some cultures

They have a dog motif going on, likening them to Cerberus

They remove their heart often, similarly to how mummies were emptied out of their innards before being embalmed

Their slow movement in the first two chapters and hunch when the soul is removed is reminiscent of many undead creatures, most relevant here being the ghoul/Westernized zombie

#deltarune #deltarune spoilers #kris dreemurr

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mybeautifulchristianjourney · 3 months ago

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Living His Word

In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. — John 14:2

Jesus was about to leave His disciples by dying on the cross. Although He was about to leave them, He was not about to forget them. In fact, it was just the opposite. He was about to leave them so He could go and prepare a special place for them. He was about to do this so that "where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:3). Jesus, in other words, kept His disciples in mind, cared for them, and made sure they would always have a place with Him in the coming ages.

Where is this place that Jesus had in mind? It is, of course, in heaven. Jesus was going to return to heaven from whence He came. This place is referred to as the "New Jerusalem" in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 21). Since Jesus was going there to prepare a place for His disciples, one might say that the New Jerusalem was under construction. The many mansions referred to in our verse for today would be built for the disciples in preparation for when they died and went to heaven themselves.

Although the place Jesus was preparing for His disciples is in heaven, it will not stay in heaven. One day it will come down to earth. How do we know this? We know because the Apostle John saw it come down in a prophetic vision. He described it in this way: "Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" (Revelation 21:2). There will be heaven, with all its mansions, on earth.

What was true for the disciples of Jesus back then is true for His disciples throughout the ages. He's still preparing places. He's still preparing places for all of us. The New Jerusalem is still under construction. As the gospel message spreads and new converts are brought in, there is a need for more mansions. The construction won't end until the full number is brought in.

If you're a Christian, then you need a place in heaven too. Like He did for his first disciples, Jesus is in the process of fulfilling that need. He's preparing a mansion for you -- that where He is you may be also.

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duffyyy911 · 2 days ago

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Why Denji is an allegory for Jesus Christ (2/3)

This part 2 to my original post, please go read the first if you haven't!

Let’s swivel back to Denji for a moment. We should look at both the fight that Denji had to struggle against in Part 1, and the fight that is being foreshadowed to come in Part 2. Both of these devils, Conquest and Death, are also imperative as to why Denji is an allegory for Christ.

Denji fought against Makima, an incarnation of the abomination of Conquest. Conquest is not just a term to refer to what happens after a war. Conquest is the complete and total dismantling of social, cultural, economic, and moral structures. Conquest is not only the undoing of humanity, but entirely created by humanity. Conquest, as a concept, is the embodiment of man-made rules that keep everyone in perpetual soul-death.

Conquest does nothing but exalt the sinner and spit on the saint, because human defined rules are inherently flawed. In fact, the reason as to why Conquest as a concept is inherently anti-Christian, is because it is the exact opposite of the Kingdom of Heaven. Conquest is a human made concept for a human made structure in order to support human made concepts and exalt human made deities. I actually adore Makima because she’s one of the very few examples of someone who is truly an antichrist, the abomination of desolation. But in a way, she will fall to her own nature when it is utilized against her. The conqueror will be conquered by new conquest. A new ruler.

Makima, as a whole, is an eldritch entity living in a Godless world. Or, at the very least, a world where she cannot perceive God. If Makima cannot perceive God, and she believes herself to be the most superior being in existence (due to her nature as Conquest) then she would only come to the conclusion that she, herself, is God. Yet Makima has taste, and class, and she’s not that on the nose when it comes to symbolism. I see Makima’s obsession as trying to make herself emulate the fear of God, and his majesty, but she is incapable of his love and mercy.

I am one of the very few actual Makima fans, but I know in my heart of hearts that Makima is actually one of the most naive and unprepared devils. You need to understand that the majority of the facade of Makima is the fact that she has infinite power, and infinite confidence. Makima has a generalized idea of how to save the world, her perfect utopia, yet she hasn’t really ever discussed what it is.

She has no idea what her utopia will look like, she has no plans, she merely trusts in her own self-instilled confidence that she is competent enough to just ‘figure it out’ when she owns the entire world. To me, Makima is one of the deepest thinkers in the entire series. I think she could talk so deeply about social subjects that the world could pass away before she stopped. Yet, I don’t think she’s thought once about what happens when she actually can say “I win” in a meaningful way.

And much like humans, it is the exact same way. The issue is that we, as mortals, are not instilled with the unwavering confidence as somebody who has an absolute guarantee that they’ll never see death truly. Humans are fickle, and fallible, and constantly worried about things that don’t even exist. There’s a reason why the Nothing Ever Happens Chud meme is so popular, because the majority of people are fear-driven workers. It’s not even a recent phenomenon, it is just human nature.

Denji’s defeat of Makima was his human nature. The reason why humans are made in the image of God, and what that means, is that we have the capacity to detect evil when we see it and to detest it. It was our curse to know good and evil from our transgressions, but we were at least armed with the capacity to flee from one and run to the other. (Though, many flee to evil, for it’s the easiest path.)

Yet, at the same time, Denji’s mourning for Makima is also his human nature. His ability to take someone that has hurt him so badly, that has done so much wrong and evil to him, and to say “I miss them” and “I forgive them.” THAT is why we are made in God’s image. Denji’s greatest superpower isn’t being Chainsaw Man, it’s his unwavering noble heart and his ceaseless humility. Denji may be a cry baby at times, and throwing pity parties in the recent chapters, but that’s real true atonement. To truly atone for sin, it needs to hurt you as badly as it hurt the people you did it against. That’s what regret is.

#csm #chainsaw man #chainsawman #makima #csm spoilers #control devil #chainsaw man spoilers #chainsawman spoilers #denji hayakawa #csm denji

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man-squared · 3 months ago

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An Unedited, 4AM Piece on Queer Religion [you can tell this is a 4Am post]

Disclaimer: Religion isn't bad, being religious isn't bad, liking queer things a lot isn't bad. Any concept, any religion, anything can be twisted to hurt others. This post is to highlight and share that queer people/LGBT+ are not Pure Beings that Can Do No Harm. It is also to highlight how a lot of (usually culturally Christain) queer/LGBT+ people run away from specifically Christianity into a new religion (while claiming to be atheists, or anti-theists). I am an atheist, culturally Christain, and white. I cannot speak on race (though I have opened the discussion for it) or other religions (which I don't feel like I know enough about to comment on at all).

A lot of queers have created their own religion out of queerness, for better or worse.

A significant ways can be seen in the way We (I and you are not immune to this behavior) is the Iconification of celebrities, peoples, and identities. Chappelle Roan, Lil' Nas X, Judy Garland, Sappho, and many others (even Jesus himself) have been lifted into the thrones of Queerhood. It is largely not their faults, and it does not make them bad people or bad queers (for, I argue, there is no such thing as bad 'queers' but just people with the ability for bad regardless of sexuality, gender, or political ideology). But it is as if they must be loved by all queers and can do no wrong. They are erased of their humanity and placed in the position of god(s). The same thing happens with our identities. A woman is pure and saintlike, a lesbian is the epitome of queerness, transgender people always have the say on all things gender, and whatever else may bless our queer discourses. Hell, we can even see the way queerness is whitewashed in many ways and our Heroes are commodities of strict, white boxes (please someone more equipped come talk on this). SDiane A. Bogus wrote, "This is a distinction of nationality and culture, not of race, for Sappho, as a Greek was probably a woman of color. Judy Grahn, in Another Mother Tongue, has described her as 'small and dark.' Obviously, this is not well-dissemated information; in fact, it is ignored, as is the obvious dark skin of the historical Jesus, who nonetheless hangs on the cross lily white, stained red, red blood" (The Myth and Tradition of the Black Bulldagger).

It is not 'sinful' to enjoy these figures and be these identities. They are neutral beings and neutral identifiers. They come from the need of art and definition, which is very human. The problem arises when we become so starstruck and so scared of criticism that we strip any and all traces of humanity, so one is either God or the Devil.

Adrienne Rich was a feminist writer and activist. The well-known term 'compulsory heterosexuality' was coined by Rich. Rich was also friends with transphobic people, who wrote libelous articles and books on trans people. She is not a bad person, but she leaves a bad taste in mine and others' mouths when she is mentioned. Rich herself (at least from my perspective) has not been comodified as a queer/feminist saint or god, but I have seen people praise her terminology as Bible. Compulsory heterosexuality is put on a high shelf and gazed at lovingly, but also I have witnessed people slap the hands at other queers who try to add onto or critique it - as if the theory of compulsory sexuality in general begins and ends with 'comphet' and all words written on the topic have already been etched into the holiest of stones.

'Comphet' is not bad terminology. It is a very helpful concept for many queer people, including but not limited to the lesbians we can thank for the theory surrounding it. It explains how queer people are expected to date, marry, be attracted to, and have sex with the opposite gender (e.g. boys/men with girls/women) to the point that many queer individuals conform. They have crushes on unattainable (often fictional) men, for instance. One can see why this concept is very beneficial.

However, it makes no sense to limit and guard it. Angela Chen (in her book Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex) expands upon comphet with the term compulsory sexuality - the idea that everyone has a sexuality (and acts upon it). Aromantics and other a-spectrum people have come up with the word amatonormativity to describe how society assumes that everyone will (eventually) be in a monogamous romantic (and often sexual) relationship and that relationship is the most important one that one will have in their life.

If we were to listen and be limited by the people screaming that comphet I'd purely a lesbian concept and 'non-lesbians' do not need to speak on it, then perhaps these other concepts would never be theorized about. And instead of being about the language we use to understand ourselves, our pasts, and our surroundings, we would have created another pillar to bow down to with no room for growth or deviation.

I'm not quite sure why I typed up this whole piece on Queer Sainthood, but I think it's something to think about. I saw SDiane A. Queen's quote on Sappho being whitewashed not unsimilar to Jesus and I thought about the other ways we change the humanity and race of Queerness in ways that the Christian world does to Christianity and their own idols and concepts.

Are we unreligious queers really free from religion, or have we created a new one to be comforted by (so we don't change or question) and to hold power over others?

(I don't really have a resources page for what I talked about. Most came from my head or a quick Google [duckduckgo] search, and I was already reading some of Dagger: On Butch Women when I came across Queen's quote. But if anyone wants me to dig deeper into this - like actually find quotes from Ace by Chen bc I own the book, lmk.) (I don't think I'm saying that religion isn't human, but I understand if it might come across that way. Go ahead, add what you think. Expand, detract, explore.)

TLDR: Some queer people have created a religion out of queerness. The queer celebrities and (in)famous figures their gods or saints, the terminologies and concepts and theory their Holy Bible, and the identities their own sainthood. It's important for us to discuss this. We cannot remove humanity from queerness and create untouchable people and concepts. Queerness is as much of the bad, dirty, and hurtful things as much as the pure, light, and joyous things.

#man² #queer #trans #religion #queer theory #theory #trans theory

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xgenesisrei · 5 months ago

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The Blindspot of Contemporary Mission

I want to highlight one massive “blind spot” concerning mission which prevails in many churches...

We seem to have forgotten that the primary way the church impacts the world is not through its programmes, or by multiplying religious professionals, or starting more mission agencies and ecumenical commissions; but, rather, through the daily work of Christian men and women in offices, schools, factories, village councils, research laboratories, company board rooms, and so on. These are the contemporary sites of Christian mission.

I was in Malaysia a few months ago and I spent a memorable morning with a handful of committed Christian politicians who were MPs representing different opposition political parties in that country. They came from a variety of church traditions, including Roman Catholic and Pentecostal. I asked them “What is the biggest source of frustration you experience in your work?” I expected them to say something like “The compromises we need to make as party members”, but instead they were unanimous in their answer: “Our church”. They did not receive any support from their churches, whether in the form of regular prayer, financial assistance or volunteers to help in implementing social policies or just running their offices. One woman told me her church raised huge funds to send cross cultural missionaries and young people on short-term “mission trips” to other parts of Asia. But their work as politicians was not considered as “mission”. The only time the church leaders showed any interest in what they did was when Christians themselves suffered political harassment.

Theological education has to be re-oriented radically around the lives of “lay” people, not the agendas of clergy and mission societies.

This story is repeated all over the world. My wife and I work primarily with Christian in secular occupations, helping them to live out the Gospel and communicate God’s truth and justice in the fields of science, business, the arts, medicine, education and so on. These men and women who engage “Christianly” with the public square are at the cutting-edge of mission. They face huge ethical challenges thrown up by, say, new medical technologies or new social networking media, genetic engineering, venture capitalism and hedge funds, anti-terrorist legislation, euthanasia, climate change and biodiversity loss. These all call for deep missionary engagement and missiological reflection... But Asian mission studies dissertations and the bulk of articles in mission studies journals focus on historical studies of religious sects and denominations, traditional tribal cultures or exotic new religious movements.

It seems that we have been blinded by the neat divisions we have been drawn between theology, ethics and mission. Those boundaries need to be deconstructed. We have been reminded in recent years that all theology is mission theology, that the church does theology “on the road” and not just in the library or the pulpit. But then theological education has to be re-oriented radically around the lives of “lay” people, not the agendas of clergy and mission societies. Social and political ethics has become the locus of evangelical proclamation.

-Vinoth Ramachandra, PhD (University of London)

Source: “A Brief Reflection on Edinburgh 2010”

#mission #missional #missiology

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justinspoliticalcorner · 11 months ago

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Elaine Godfrey at The Atlantic:

Delivering hard truths is Allie Beth Stuckey’s job—a job she was called to do by God. And after a decade, she’s gotten pretty good at it. “Do I love when people think that I’m a hateful person?” Stuckey asked me in an interview in June. “Of course not.” We had been talking about her opposition to gay marriage, but Stuckey opposes many things that most younger Americans probably consider settled issues. “I’ve thought really hard about the things I believe in,” she said, “and I would go up against literally anyone.”

The 32-year-old Texan hosts Relatable With Allie Beth Stuckey, a podcast in which she discusses current events and political developments from her conservative-Christian perspective. Stuckey is neither a celebrity provocateur in the style of her fellow podcast host Candace Owens, nor the kind of soft-spoken trad homemaker who thrives in the Instagram ecosystem of cottagecore and sourdough bread. Stuckey is a different kind of leader in the new counterculture—one who criticizes the prevailing societal mores in a way that she hopes modern American women will find, well, relatable.

The vibe of her show is more Millennial mom than Christian soldier. Stuckey usually sits perched on a soft white couch while she talks, her blond hair in a low ponytail, wearing a pastel-colored sweatshirt and sipping from a pink Stanley cup. But from those plush surroundings issues a stream of stern dogma: In between monologues about the return of low-rise jeans, Stuckey will condemn hormonal birth control—even within marriage—and in vitro fertilization. She has helped push the idea of banning surrogate parenthood from the conservative movement’s fringes to the forefront of Republican politics. Her views align closely with those of Donald Trump’s running mate, J. D. Vance, and fit comfortably in the same ideological milieu as the Heritage Foundation’s presidential blueprint Project 2025, which recommends, among other things, tighter federal restrictions on abortion and the promotion of biblical marriage between a man and a woman.

I first became aware of Stuckey in 2018, when a low-production satirical video she made about Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went semi-viral. It wasn’t particularly funny, but it made a lot of liberals mad, which was, of course, the point. Back then, Stuckey didn’t have a huge fan base. Now she has 1 million followers on her YouTube and Instagram accounts combined. She runs a small media operation of editors and producers—and recently recorded Relatable’s 1,000th episode.

[...]

Stuckey’s is a movement that has felt ascendant in the past few years, especially since the fall of Roe v. Wade, which has emboldened social conservatives like her to seek new territory to conquer. Relatable is a glimpse into that crusade. Stuckey sees herself as a sisterly Sherpa helping Christian women navigate the rough terrain of America’s polarized society. “What she is doing is exactly what Phyllis Schlafly did,” Jonathan Merritt, a religion writer and the author of A Faith of Our Own: Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars, told me, referring to the activist who rallied conservative women against abortion and the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s. “She’s just able to do it with the amplifiers of modern social media and the internet.” Stuckey is resisting what she views as a strong leftward drift in American society. “It’s easy to be a progressive. Everyone’s gonna affirm you and validate you and applaud you,” she told me. “The last thing a woman wants is to be excluded.” Stuckey, however, is comfortable swimming upstream. She wants her followers to be, too.

Conservatives have prescribed many remedies for what ails American culture. Stuckey, for example, would like people to stop having premarital sex, and for drag queens to stop reading stories to children. And right now, what she would really like is an iced honey latte—but only 12 ounces, because it’s already late afternoon. Stuckey had been reluctant to meet me, she said, because I was a journalist from outside the conservative-media universe. But she finally showed up—sans press handler—at a coffee shop in a North Dallas suburb. She wore another long floral dress, and her dark eyebrows were knit in a slightly suspicious frown.

[...]

At the San Antonio conference—the eighth annual Young Women’s Leadership Summit, held by the conservative group Turning Point Action—signs outside the bathrooms read GIRLS ONLY. The current iteration of the conservative-women’s movement is a hot-pink goulash of subcultures: evangelical traditionalism meets crunchy homesteader vibes—with a little MAGA rancor sprinkled in. At the conference, a clinical social worker addressed the crowd about the harms of day care for young children, and so did Alina Habba, Donald Trump’s lawyer, who talked about facing attacks from “fake news” outlets. Speaker after speaker vouched for the advantages of temperature-based ovulation tracking, holistic remedies for pain and depression, and all-natural fertility supplements. The most in-demand piece of merch at the event was a tote bag decorated with cutesy jam jars whose labels read Strawberry Jams But My Glock Don’t.

Attendees in their 20s and early 30s, predominantly wearing sundresses and shiny hair ribbons, told me that they felt judged by their peers for wanting to have babies and be homemakers. Some said they were relieved when Turning Point’s founder, Charlie Kirk, assured them in his welcome speech that college “is a waste of time.” Here is where people like Stuckey see an opportunity to promote an alternative—for women to embrace an older idea of womanhood with new verve. This retro brand of womanhood is feminine, not feminist. Stuckey told me that of course she wants women to have equal rights and protection under the law, but the notion that women “need to be liberated” and “go into the workforce,” rather than stay at home and have kids, “has actually led to a lot more misery than freedom.” Her push toward traditional womanhood is an attempt “to reassess some of the girl-boss culture that has permeated even some conservative spaces.” Of course, as a female employer, she is the definition of a girl boss. But this doesn’t strike her as hypocritical. “When I think of a girl boss, I think of this kind of domineering woman who puts her career first, who is independent at all costs, who don’t need no man,” she said.

Women should put family first, as she does with her three young children, Stuckey told me. “Whether you have an Etsy shop, whether you have a crocheting business, whether you have a podcast, or you’re a writer, I don’t think those things are bad,” she said. “But especially in these little years, I just think that they need to come after raising your children.” (When I asked Stuckey who watches her children while she’s in the studio, she declined to offer details but added that her husband is not a stay-at-home dad.)

Women in Stuckey’s DMs are constantly asking her how to advocate for their own socially conservative views. “Everyone knows if you want to learn the best way to win an argument or a debate, it’s by listening to Allie,” Alex Clark, a Turning Point commentator and Stuckey’s friend, told me in an email. “I hear pretty regularly from Millennial women who consider themselves to be newly conservative that they credit Allie for their transformation.” Some recent episodes of Relatable include “Can Christians Say No to Sex Within Marriage?” and “Feminism Is Gender Dysphoria.” Despite the abrasive titles, Stuckey says that she always aims to defend her positions first using a scientific argument, and then to “buttress that with what’s theologically true.” Her critique of gender theory, for example, starts with the fact that most humans possess either XX or XY chromosomes. Then she’ll explain that God makes people in his image—and that God doesn’t make mistakes.

Unlike the many commentators primarily focused on owning the libs, Stuckey has “an integrity, a sincerity,” Amy Binder, a sociology professor at Johns Hopkins University, told me when I asked about Stuckey’s appeal. “There’s a sophistication with Allie, shot through with knowledge about the Bible, and linking it up to the choices women are making today.” Owens, who has had Stuckey on her own podcast, told me that Stuckey is the person “you hope your daughter will grow up to be” because of how well she “embodies the Christian values she espouses.” American culture is saturated with themes that Stuckey finds morally repugnant. She gave up going to Target because of the store’s prominent Pride section, and she lost faith in the fashion brand Anthropologie when it shared a video of a man modeling a woman’s dress. Stuckey enjoys reading the latest in fiction, but Colleen Hoover’s novels are “basically porn,” she told me. And music? “I can’t sit there and listen to Billie Eilish without being like, I’m sad for Billie Eilish,” she said. (The singer recently came out as bisexual.) “The only topic Allie and I may disagree on is Taylor Swift,” Clark told me. “I am a diehard fan.” (One of Stuckey’s latest episodes, “Ex-Psychic Says Taylor Swift Promotes Witchcraft,” explores “occult glorification” in the music industry.)

Stuckey described one audience she hoped to reach as women in the “mushy middle”—tuned-out Christians who see themselves as apolitical. She hopes to bring them into the fold and move them rightward. But she seems at least as devoted to stiffening the spines of women who already agree with her. During her monologues, her tone is blunt and mocking; she rarely laughs, and when she does, it’s usually at the expense of someone on the left.“Her following is looking for someone to help them articulate what they already believe in a concise and compelling way, and she does that,” Merritt said. And the already persuaded keep coming back partly for the scolding. “The meanness of a person like Allie Beth is attractive because it is a catharsis for conservatives.”

[...] Seeking the restoration of traditional gender roles is not new for the conservative movement. But these days, calls to take back womanhood from the feminist left are getting louder—arguably, louder than they’ve been since the late ’70s, when Schlafly helped kill the Equal Rights Amendment. This time around, the network of conservative commentators is sprawling and well financed, thanks to projects like Kirk’s Turning Point Action and Morton Blackwell’s Leadership Institute. Ahead of November’s election, conservatives hope to use gender and sexuality as a wedge—a way to peel off voters disillusioned with the Democrats. Although the Dobbs decision knocking down Roe two years ago was highly unpopular among American women, it seems to have emboldened social conservatives—forcing them to both reassess their goals and imagine new ones. “Even on gender and abortion,” Stuckey told me, “I think most conservatives are too liberal.” One of those milquetoast conservatives is Donald Trump. Stuckey isn’t exactly a fan of the former president. Like many Christian conservatives, she didn’t appreciate Trump’s criticism of six-week abortion bans, and she thinks the Trump-led changes to the GOP platform on abortion and traditional marriage were “stupid.” Stuckey, who voted for Senator Marco Rubio and Governor Ron DeSantis in the 2016 and 2024 primaries, gets that Trump turns off many women. Some of her listeners are his supporters, but generally, she said, “my audience is not MAGA.”

Still, like many of her fellow evangelicals, Stuckey is pragmatic. Even if Trump doesn’t represent all of her views on abortion and sexuality, he will surround himself with people who do—people like Vance, for example. The president’s running mate “is definitely more my ‘vibe,’” Stuckey told me in an email after Trump announced his pick. “I like how he talks, how he writes, how he carries himself.”

The Atlantic did a story recently on Christian conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey being the new Phyllis Schlafly, with her culture war crusades against abortion, IVF, birth control, and LGBTQ+ rights being the focus of her Relatable program that airs on the Glenn Beck-owned BlazeTV.

#Allie Beth Stuckey #BlazeTV #Phyllis Schlafly #Antifeminism #Relatable #Birth Control #IVF #In Vitro Fertilization #Young Women’s Leadership Summit #Turning Point USA

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misfitlamb · 8 days ago

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Childlike Faith

“and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. So whoever will humble himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew‬ ‭18‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

‭‭I heard a story of a 7 year old girl Mercy and it’s the PERFECT example for this verse.

After a church sermon on Peter’s sermon in Acts 2:14-41, my 7 year old daughter came to me afterward and said, "Dad, I want to repent of my sins and be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

The simplicity and greatness of her faith. She didn't need to debate the finer points of how and when, exactly, the Holy Spirit would come. She just wanted to obey the passage to the best of her ability.

It’s clear to me and to you that Mercy didn’t have the biblical knowledge many of us do, but I wonder how many of us have the faith she has.

Mercy’s response is EXACTLY how our response should be to the Scripture. Why do we sometimes feel that we need to debate things endlessly, running through every possible hypothetical situation and answering every theological question first? When will we simply respond to the truth we have heard and then work through our questions from there.

These last 3 years of being a Christian I have come to realize that I have been doing EXACTLY the complete opposite of Mercy. I have pumped myself up with knowledge and unknowingly come out as being a cocky Bible thumping know it all. For that I do apologize to anyone who’s had that view of me since my conversion.

All this to say if your new to Christ, debating whether you should give this Christianity thing a try don’t jump into it trying to know it all and out wit every other Christian Atheist etc. Pick up your Bible go into a quiet place and TRULY SEEK God just you and Him. Yes we are commanded to go out and preach the gospel I am in NO WAY saying not to but just make sure if you are that your taking personal time out of every day to just sit and either read, pray, or bask in His glory!

“And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭13‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

“But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭4‬:‭29‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

#bible #christian blog #faith in jesus #christian faith #atheist #simple #motivation #love

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riverdamien · 9 months ago

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Who Is On Our Mind?

“Christian and Catholic Worker Gone Bad!”

"Who Is On Our Minds!"

Jesus and Martha

Luke 10:38-42 (Net Version)

"38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she approached him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.”

--------------------------------------------------------

This story begs for an ending the Gospel does not provide. Did either sister change? Did Martha apologize? Did Mary get up and help? Did anyone get lunch?

Perhaps no ending was provided because the ending is not about Mary and Martha but about us

Jesus is not weighing servers against contemplatives. He asks whose voice we are listening to--our own or his. He is asking what is on our minds: our overloaded to-do lists with praise of getting them done, I am asked so often how many people "you" have gotten off the street and are visibly disappointed or angry when I say all I do is listen. It would be awesome to be praised and rewarded with money, or do we do the works of discipleship we are called to do?

During this election season are we becoming angry with people who are voting on the opposite side, or not like how we demand they vote to be friends?

Are we unduly worrying about one candidate being elected "assuming the worst" and declaring we will move to another country if one side is not elected?

Are we saying harsh and unduly gossipy things about the candidates and the side the person is representing?

I have lost several of what I thought were excellent friends because I would not talk about who I was voting for, simply remaining neutral, or seeing me with a friend of the opposite party. I maintain relationships with people, regardless of their party or choice, because we all are good people, no one is negative or positive because of their political party! We all have the gift of making choices!

The "Forty Day Fast for a Free and Fair Election" invites us to join in forty days of fasting, and praying for peace in our election; for individuals of both parties to recognize we are all brothers and sisters; pray for the safety at all voting precincts; pray for our candidates and leaders to acknowledge the misery, hunger, and pain our people on the street suffer--pain does not stop with the "middle class"; pray for leaders who will recognize the suffering in Israel, Palestine, and Gaza; pray for leaders who will be non-violent in their actions and policies; and pray for ourselves to be present to each other during this election.

In our logo, I have added a new sub-title: "Christian and Catholic Worker Gone Bad". A Catholic Worker farmer suggested this to me. As I am reading The Poisoned Bible" a novel about the destruction and harm Christianity accomplished in the Congo in the 60s I am reminded of all the divisions we have in our world, and how destructive they are, and in "going bad," I am saying that all religious expressions are valid, coming from the same God of love, it is humans who are using them for destructions. My expression of Christ is one of love for all human beings.

There is a Muslim gentleman, in our photo below, who shared with me his fear of Christians and Muslims in San Francisco, so much tension, resulting from the events in the Middle East. He is afraid!

There is one God, with many streams flowing towards the River of Live! Each one of us is born with an inner fire. I believe this fire is the God within. It is an unquenchable divine fire. It warms us, encourages us, and occasionally asks us to dance.

Perhaps Jesus in our story of Mary and Martha is asking who is on our minds: our over-burdened selves or God's reign both workers and listeners or called to build. I would like to imagine in the end, both Martha the busy server, and Marty the quiet contemplative got the answer right! Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

==================================

Anyone interested in a "Gone Bad" teeshirt, please let me know, I will be looking into getting a few for our celebration!

------------------------------------------------------

May the work of

“figuring people out”

Never replace the work of knowing people

And loving people

And giving them room

To confound

And inspire

And surprise me

---------------------------------------------------------

30th Anniversary Celebration

Victor’s Pizza

6 p.m.

November 9, 2024

WE ARE BEGGARS! WE REALLY NEED MONEY--Really Badly At the moment!

FOR FOOD, SOCKS, HARM REDUCTION AND OTHER SERVICES!

P.O. Box 642656

415-305-2124

[email protected]

pay pal

www.temenos.org

(Temenos and Dr. River seek to remain accessible to everyone. We do not endorse particular causes, political parties, or candidates, or take part in public controversies, whether religious, political or social--Our pastoral ministry is to everyone!

Homeless People Are Made In God's Image!

Come Join us in Protest Against the Cruelty of the City of San Francisco!

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Noon.

Polk side of City Hall

==================

Temenos Catholic Worker

P.O. Box 642656

San Francisco, CA 94164

Dr. River Damien Carlos Sims, D.Min, D.S.T.

“Christian and Catholic Worker Gone Bad!”

"Who Is On Our Minds!"

Jesus and Martha

Luke 10:38-42 (Net Version)

--------------------------------------------------------

This story begs for an ending the Gospel does not provide. Did either sister change? Did Martha apologize? Did Mary get up and help? Did anyone get lunch?

Perhaps no ending was provided because the ending is not about Mary and Martha but about us

During this election season are we becoming angry with people who are voting on the opposite side, or not like how we demand they vote to be friends?

Are we unduly worrying about one candidate being elected "assuming the worst" and declaring we will move to another country if one side is not elected?

Are we saying harsh and unduly gossipy things about the candidates and the side the person is representing?

There is a Muslim gentleman, in our photo below, who shared with me his fear of Christians and Muslims in San Francisco, so much tension, resulting from the events in the Middle East. He is afraid!

==================================

Anyone interested in a "Gone Bad" teeshirt, please let me know, I will be looking into getting a few for our celebration!

------------------------------------------------------

May the work of

“figuring people out”

Never replace the work of knowing people

And loving people

And giving them room

To confound

And inspire

And surprise me

---------------------------------------------------------

30th Anniversary Celebration

Victor’s Pizza

6 p.m.

November 9, 2024

WE ARE BEGGARS! WE REALLY NEED MONEY--Really Badly At the moment!

FOR FOOD, SOCKS, HARM REDUCTION AND OTHER SERVICES!

P.O. Box 642656

415-305-2124

[email protected]

pay pal

www.temenos.org

Homeless People Are Made In God's Image!

Come Join us in Protest Against the Cruelty of the City of San Francisco!

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Noon.

Polk side of City Hall

==================

Temenos Catholic Worker

P.O. Box 642656

San Francisco, CA 94164

Dr. River Damien Carlos Sims, D.Min, D.S.T.

#homeless #spirituality #povertyy #youth #homelessness #lgbtq;

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dfroza · 10 months ago

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A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures

for the 21st of September 2024 with a paired chapter from each Testament (the First & the New Covenant) of the Bible

[The Book of Revelation, Chapter 21 • The Book of Joshua, Chapter 16]

along with Today’s reading from the ancient books of Proverbs and Psalms with Proverbs 21 and Psalm 21 coinciding with the day of the month, accompanied by Psalm 94 for the 94th and closing day of Astronomical Summer, and Psalm 115 for day 265 of the year (with the consummate book of 150 Psalms in its 2nd revolution this year)

A post by John Parsons:

“What else does anxiety about the future bring you but sorrow upon sorrow?” ― Thomas à Kempis

====

The devil wants you to be afraid, to be very afraid, and indeed, inciting fear is the primary weapon he uses against us... The devil understands that fear profoundly affects the way the human brain processes images and messages: Fear colors the way we see and hear things. Fear makes us feel angry, unsettled, and unhappy. And since the mind and body are intricately interconnected, fear is the root cause of many physiological problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, clinical depression, and other ailments. Left unchecked, fear can be deadly...

Most of our negative emotions come from fearful thoughts, including anger, frustration, and rage. On a spiritual level, fear and worry can cause people to question God’s love, to doubt His promises, and so on. The devil knows that frightening people causes them to be unsettled, off-balance, and therefore vulnerable to all sorts of sickness, manipulation, and deception. Living in fear is a form of slavery (Heb. 2:15).

Logicians call illegitimate appeals to fear argumentum ad baculum, or the “appeal to the stick.” When someone plays on your fears, it is wise to discern whether there is any basis in reality for the supposed threat, or if the appeal is simply a rhetorical scare tactic intended to persuade (coerce) you to accept some sort of conclusion. Unscrupulous people such as advertisers, politicians, dictators, community organizers, social activists, and so on, regularly use fear to manipulate public opinion, of course, and they are only too glad to tell you exactly what you should fear. They are delighted to prey upon your anxieties and then offer you their supposed “remedy.” You know whom they serve, friends...

The war for truth began in the Garden of Eden, when Satan lied to Eve by saying that she would not die if she disobeyed God (Gen. 3:4). Satan cunningly played on Eve’s fear of being deceived to persuade her to disobey. Fear, then, is the emotional center of sin and the opposite of faith. The fearful are referred to as the “unbelieving” and those who “love and make a lie” (Rev. 21:8, 22:15).

God repeatedly tells us not to be afraid – not of man, nor of war, nor of tribulation, nor of various plagues, yea, nor even of death itself (Rom. 8:35-39). Indeed, one of the most frequently occurring commandments in Scripture is simply al-tirah, “Be not afraid.”

But how do we overcome our fear? How can we live our faith in the midst of a worldwide cultural slide into deception and insanity? How can we walk in peace while a worldwide tyranny is crafting a globalist police state wherein no one will be able to buy or sell if they are not wholly subservient to the dictates of an unseen power elite? How else but by wholeheartedly trusting that God is with us? The LORD will never leave nor forsake us, even if we are faced with difficult circumstances. The antidote to fear is heartfelt faith in God’s love for us (1 John 4:18). God saves us from our fears (Psalm 34:4, 2 Tim. 1:7). When we trust that God personally cares for us, we find comfort and courage to face life without fear.

[ Hebrew for Christians ]

========

Psalm 23:4a reading:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/psalm23-4a-jjp.mp3

Hebrew page:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/psalm23-4a-lesson.pdf

9.20.24 • Facebook

from Today’s email by Israel365

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

0 notes

trusswork · 10 months ago

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Merton on Zen vs Christianity

Thomas Merton says of Zen (particularly Buddhist or not) and Christianity, "[o]ne offers man a metaphysical enlightenment, the other a theological salvation" (Zen and the Birds of Appetite). The Zen Buddhist emphasis on the extinction of desire, one supposes, would judge unfavorably (while of course not judging at all ...) the endpoint Christian yearning for salvation, for validation, fulfillment, eternal life, freedom from temporal or eternal pain, etc.. And when Merton comments that Zen undoes the Platonic absolute/nonabsolute dichotomies of Christianity, it is a useful way to apply the Pali canon's forbidding of construal (more or less, of construal of opposites, which Merton accurately comments are left behind in Buddhism).

Merton's Zen gloss on "judge not, lest ye be judged" is murkier; yes, it may appear to speak against construal, but the idea that it is God who will ultimately construe, perhaps even as an instrument of retributive justice, makes little sense in Zen. Unless the point is, perhaps, that the one who judges will not see the divine aright as a result -- will wander under his sword, or at least miss his eye. The divine judgement will not so much be an active thing on the part of God, but rather a passive consequence of the mortal failing, as with a drunkard who cannot find the chapel where he might be mended.

*Schopenhauer on aesthetics, the rather impossible will-less free will, is also surprisingly useful to make connections with Zen. His liberum arbitrium indifferentiae has enough in common with Merton's "simple void where all is liberty because all is the actionless action, called by the Chinese Wuwei and by the New Testament the 'freedom of the Sons of God.' " And where Merton sees Zen and Christianity filling this void with the divine substance (a la negative capability in the arts), there is also a negative version: where the paralysis of too much choice does not emerge from an inability to decide among too many options, but from a lack of basis for deciding at all, where there is no constraint present or past, no basis for the formulation of a desire. (Ask an architect to build her dream house, on a any terrain, cost no object, and they may feel crazy; constraint and circumstance drives architecture.)

The idea of Zen and Christianity as indicating that void without articulating it directly, this has much to do with Wittgenstein's positing of the "pointing" function of language, and especially when we use John's gospel to try and theorize divine power/being of the Son, the Word, as a power of creating language.

#Buddhism #Zen #Christianity #Thomas Merton #arthur schopenhauer #ludwig wittgenstein #john keats

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fortressofserenity · 11 months ago

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It’s Too Late To Turn Back Now

Celestial said that America will be utterly destroyed, both from within and from outside forces, that I feel any American attempt at capturing the Philippine market would actually be too late these days. Given America’s growing debt, a forthcoming earthquake and an incoming civil war that will all undermine American industries and the US economy, entertainment being not exempt in some regards, that it would be too late to start a Disney store here. American brands might be popular for long, if God’s going to undo most of America’s influence, then it’s going to happen anyways because America does is largely no good.

Celestial said that America will undergo a civil war, get destroyed by Russia, turned into a Russian colony and then disappear for good, that I feel Philippine sympathy for America is utterly misplaced. I even think the Philippines will be judged for following Mystery Babylon a lot that no sooner or later, disasters will also occur in this country. America is Mystery Babylon in a way no other country is and ever comes close to, especially on such a scale like this. America’s ability to corrupt the entire world is frighteningly unparalleled, not helped by that it was a hyperpower. More than a superpower, it’s an extremely powerful state that dominates everywhere and anywhere else. That was America for a long while in recent memory.

For a while in the 1990s up to the 2010s, the world was politically unipolar if it weren’t for America’s absolute dominance. But it’s even more horrifying to think that America wouldn’t just be forgotten over time, but also made poorer and poorer if you believe her. If America is Mystery Babylon, then all those prophecies about America being undermined likely point out to Mystery Babylon’s true identity. I feel part of the problem with not recognising America as Mystery Babylon has to do with the nature of American Christian nationalism, in the sense of thinking America is God’s new chosen country. Thinking America is a Christian nation, even though it constantly does the opposite. They know America has done wrong, but you can’t point out that it’s Babylon 2.0.

This is not a good sign because it seems Christians would rather idolise the country, instead of seeing it for what God sees it as. It’s not that unpopular but it’s not something that many other Christians realise, despite what others like Dumitru Duduman have been saying, because I’m afraid they’re too worldly as to sleep under a rock. But regarding the parable of the ten brides, we should be aware of something were to come unexpectedly. The warnings are there, but we should be attentive to them. Otherwise we’ll realise it too late, I feel this is the Philippines’s undoing for following America a lot. Because the Philippines practises many of the same things America does (porn, LGBT, idolatry) that it will also be punished for it.

It will be judged for what it’s done, that God will make China conquer it for following Babylon a lot. We’ll never resist China because America will be taken away, we will even willingly follow China out of necessity because America will be gone. Not just physiogeographically but also geopolitically and culturally because America will be made into a Russian colony, most of the things America wrought are utterly corrupting, evil and unholy. A civil war is underway in America, starting with race riots before it escalates into further violence. America’s economy will sink much faster than expected, America will no longer export its products to the Philippines in a few months from now.

God will even make the Philippines turn to China more as a way to make this nation repent of its sins and renounce its ties to Babylon, China will even take this country as God’s punishment for the Philippines imitating and emulating Mystery Babylon. The Philippines will be warned for emulating Babylon in almost everything it does, that if Filipinos don’t renounce their sympathies for Babylon God will make China take this country in some way or another. If the Philippines continues to follow America, then it will be similarly judged and China will still conquer us.

Maybe conquer isn’t the right word for it, but it’s something the Philippines should heed to as America’s up to no good. America has corrupted the Philippines to the extent that in due time, the latter will also fall away from God en masse starting with not only the legalisation of divorce but also abortion and LGBT marriages because America made it do those things. America is apostate and the Philippines will be punished for following an apostate nation-state.

It rhymes but you should this by now.

#china #the philippines #philippines #prophecy #the bible #bible #end times #america #christianity

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mybeautifulchristianjourney · 1 year ago

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Today in Christian History

Today is Friday, June 21st, 2024. It is the 173rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; Because it is a leap year, 193 days remain until the end of the year.

431: When they discover that Patriarch Cyril of Alexandria intends to open the Council of Ephesus without waiting for the arrival of Patriarch John of Antioch, who is supposed to be its president (John has been delayed by flooding), bishops of the East sign a formal act demanding delay. Cyril will ignore them and condemn Patriarch Nestorius of Constantinople because of his christology and order John to break communion with him.

1579: Francis Fletcher, chaplain to Sir Francis Drake, reads from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer somewhere in California on “the first Sunday after Trinity”—the first time the English prayer book is known to have been used in the New World. A number of Indians gather to watch. Captain Drake's rough sailors, who have just plundered their way up the Spanish coast, lift their hands to heaven and pray God to open the eyes of the Indian idolaters “to the knowledge of him and of Jesus Christ the salvation of the Gentiles.”

1663: The men of Groton, Massachusetts, vote to make Samuel Willard their pastor “for as long as he lives.” Several years later an Indian raid will destroy the town and Willard will move to Boston where he will rise in prominence.

1691: John Flavel, a godly pastor in Dartmouth, England, preaches his last sermon, taking as his text 1 Corinthians 10: 12 “Wherefore let him that stands take heed lest he fall,” urging those who are careless of their Christian profession to show a deeper concern for their souls. He had written books urging full committment to Christ and was known for his passion in prayer. For instance, once learning that a sea battle was in progress and knowing that many Dartmouth boys were in the navy, he led his people in prayer and fasting. Not one of Dartmouth’s many sailors died.

1834: (pictured above) Cyrus McCormick, a Christian inventor and businessman from Virginia, patents the world’s first truly workable reaper. He will make a fortune from it, much of which will go to charity.

1837: Angelina Grimké addresses a large “mixed” audience of men and women in Boston, Massachusetts, the onset of bringing many women into active participation in the movement to abolish slavery, but also conclusively repulsing gender discrimination in her lectures.

1846: Death of Isaac McCoy, a missionary to American Indians. McCoy and his family had endured great privation and hardship in their pioneer life. He had been criticized for urging the transfer of Indians from their ancestral lands, but his writings show he was concerned they were being corrupted by contact with whites.

1853: The First Congregationalist Church in Chicago burns to the ground. Set ablze by enemies because of its opposition to slavery. The Congregationalists will dedicate a new, bigger church building just four months later.

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koasinag · 2 years ago

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What Peter and Jude Would Say to the Contemporary Church

New Post has been published on https://www.koasinag.com/what-peter-and-jude-would-say-to-the-contemporary-church/

What Peter and Jude Would Say to the Contemporary Church

July 07, 2023

by:

Matthew S. Harmon

vimeo

False Teaching

One of the things that makes 2 Peter and Jude so relevant to our contemporary situation is the fact that they address issues that the church still faces today. One in particular that comes out very strongly is dealing with false teaching. Both 2 Peter and Jude are written to address the problem of false teaching within local congregations. We’re all familiar with the presence of false teaching in our contemporary culture today.

One of the benefits of studying and reading carefully in 2 Peter and Jude is it helps us to understand, first of all, that false teaching is something we should expect. It’s not an anomaly. It’s something we need to be on the lookout for. We need to be constantly vigilant in paying attention to make sure we have a proper understanding of the gospel, that then enables us to recognize false teaching. And it’s not just the doctrine of false teaching that we need to pay attention to; we need to pay attention to how false teachers live their lives and how their lifestyles give evidence to their departure from the gospel.

Christ’s Return

Another key area where I feel like 2 Peter and Jude have something to say to the contemporary church is that in 2 Peter there’s a very clear effort to encourage believers about the seeming delay of Christ’s return.

I think many Christians either live in a way that seems to indicate that they don’t think much about the return of Christ, or they really don’t expect it to happen anytime soon. And for some that can be really discouraging. For others, they can live as if it doesn’t really matter that Christ is returning.

One of the beauties of what 2 Peter does is it reminds us of the hope we have of Jesus returning for his people and ultimately consummating a new creation where righteousness dwells. And that gives us remarkable hope no matter what circumstances we’re facing as we live in this fallen world.

Matthew S. Harmon is the author of The God Who Judges and Saves: A Theology of 2 Peter and Jude.

Matthew S. Harmon (PhD, Wheaton College) is professor of New Testament Studies at Grace College and Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana. He was previously on staff with Cru for eight years and is the author of numerous books, including commentaries on Galatians, Philippians, 2 Peter, and Jude. He also cohosts the Various and Sundry podcast. Matthew and his wife, Kate, live in Warsaw, Indiana, and have two sons.

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April 10, 2023

God is a God who speaks and delights to reveal himself. And so when God speaks, he is telling us something about who he is, what he values, what’s important to him, and what he is doing in this world.

Why Study the Book of Jude?

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In the book of Jude, our heavenly Father threatens the church to keep her from being dragged away from his love.

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Questions we should ask when studying the Bible to help us get at the true meaning of Scripture, and how to apply it to our lives today.

Why 2 Peter and Jude Matter to You Today

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In the midst of a world that often seems out of control, knowing our ultimate destiny is a source of great comfort and motivation to press on in the face of serious challenges and opposition to the gospel.

Go to Source Author: Matthew S. Harmon

#10 #are #be #Bible #Christ #comfort #Father #for #give #go #GOD #grace #help #help us #Hope #IS #Jesus #live #love #need #out of control #REVEAL #say #there #time #What #where #you

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pashterlengkap · 2 years ago

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Trans folks will someday be revered as the visionaries they are. Until then, the violence must end.

The Human Rights Campaign has reported that at least 30 trans and gender non-conforming people were killed in the United States in 2023. 87% were people of color, with 50% being Black trans women. 77% were murdered with a firearm, and 50% were misgendered or deadnamed by authorities or the press. First, let’s say their names: Savannah Ryan Williams Jean Butchart Kejuan Richardson Amiri Reid LaKendra Andrews London Price Lisa Love Dominic Dupree a.k.a. Dominic Palace A’nee Johnson Sherlyn Marjorie Chyna Long Luis Ángel Díaz Castro YOKO Thomas ‘Tom-Tom’ Robertson DéVonnie J’Rae Johnson Camdyn Rider Jacob Williamson Chanell Perez Ortiz Ashia Davis Banko Brown Koko Da Doll Ashley Burton Ta’Siyah Woodland Tortuguita Chashay Ashanti Henderson Maria Jose Rivera Rivera Zachee Imanitwitaho’ Unique Banks KC Johnson Jasmine “Star” Mack History is replete with groups and individuals facing colossal odds for simply expressing their truth, and for that, members of those groups were often forced to pay the ultimate price. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our daily newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Promotions (occasional) * Week in Good News (one on the Weekend) * Week in Review (one on the Weekend) * Daily Brief (one each weekday) * Sign Up Related: Americans once overwhelmingly supported trans rights. Anti-trans lawmakers have changed that. The political divide is creating “two Americas” for LGBTQ+ people. Abolitionists joined together to work for the immediate end to the institution of slavery and the cessation of racial discrimination and segregation. They faced steep opposition from many quarters, including a number of Christian denominations who asserted that sacred scripture not only condoned but mandated the practice of slavery. Young people conducted a number of sit-in demonstrations at Southern lunch counters to end Jim Crow laws of segregated public facilities, all while enduring the abusive taunts of onlookers and the crashing batons of local police. Demonstrators faced imprisonment and the imposition of permanent criminal records. Feminists formed a new wave in the fight for women’s suffrage against a high tide of obstructionism within a patriarchal system of male domination and misogyny, and an attitude that the enfranchisement of women would destroy Christianity and civilization itself. The Church convicted physicist and astronomer Galileo Galilei on the charge of heresy by insisting that the Earth revolves around the Sun, rather than, as per Church teaching, that the Earth was the immovable center of the universe with the Sun revolving around the Earth. Galileo spent the remainder of his life under house arrest. Joan of Arc, the teenager who helped defeat the English in her native France, became one of the greatest war heroes in French history. In spite of this, she was tried by the Catholic Church on the charge of heresy in rejecting Church authority in preference for direct inspiration from God, and most importantly, by donning men’s clothing. Joan died by burning at the stake. Alan Turing, mathematician, logician, philosopher, cryptanalyst, and one of the original creators of the computer was largely responsible for cracking Nazi coded messages, which many believe shortened the war by two to four years. Many also say he saved Great Britain. However, the British government chose to convict Turing on the charge of being homosexual and ordered him to undergo “chemical castration” by taking estrogen injections as an alternative to spending two years in prison. Turing took his life a few weeks before his 42nd birthday. Governments and powerful individuals have long devised ways of silencing opposition for the purpose of maintaining and extending their control and domination. They commit genocide upon the true human liberators, the profits, the visionaries who advocate for a just and free world. These… http://dlvr.it/T0Yg34

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lumierecharity · 2 years ago

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SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON: JESUS RIDES ON A DONKEY INTO JERUSALEM ON PALM SUNDAY

BIBLE LESSON THEME;

Jesus rides on a donkey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Matthew 21: 1-11

WELCOME TIME;

Have you ever seen a group of people who were very excited and shouting happily? Sometimes when someone famous comes by, everybody stops what they are doing, and cheers and claps. This happened to Jesus.

THE LESSON'S GOALS;

To honour and love Jesus as God's Son, as the people who cheered Him on Palm Sunday did.

BIBLE STORY;

Jesus was a preacher for about three years. Passover time came around. Lots of people travelled to the big city of Jerusalem to celebrate. Jesus and His friends were on their way there too.

Jesus sent two of His friends to the next town to get a donkey and her colt. When they came, Jesus sat on the donkey and rode into the city. A donkey was a humble animal for a king to ride. Jesus was fulfilling the old prophecy that Israel's king would ride into Jerusalem by doing this.

GAME ONE;

Everybody stand in two lines opposite each other. Shout and call with joy, while one of the children takes two coconut shells and hits them together; this forms a 'clip-clop' noise for the donkey. This is great fun for the children!

BIBLE LESSON CONTINUED;

News that Jesus was coming spread. It was a very exciting time! So many people wanted to see Jesus that it was like a parade. Some people threw their cloaks down to carpet the road, and others cut palm branches and waved them like flags in honour of Jesus.

The children and adults were singing and shouting as Jesus passed, and were delighted to see Him. Some were saying loudly, 'Hosanna!' a word which means "Save, please!" People showed honour and respect to Jesus, and He expects us to do the same.

We must show Jesus how special we think He is. Everyone was so happy to see Him; such a great Saviour came riding in humbly on a donkey. He came to save us from our sins and to be the King of our hearts.

GAME TWO;

The pastor or a supervisory adult organises a large picture of Jesus riding the donkey. Organise a group of children and their parents to go for a walk around a garden - e.g. the church garden - behind the leader carrying the picture. While they are walking the children and adults wave palm branches, and shout 'Hosanna'.

Enjoy the time and make it exciting for the children, explaining to them that this is what the people in Jesus' time did while he was riding into Jerusalem. If you are processing around the church yard, finish at the church door just before the beginning of Palm Sunday service.

GAME THREE;

Write bible verses on slips of paper. Leave the notes hidden around the garden (if it is a fine day) or around the hall (on a rainy day). Let the children have a treasure hunt. Pray together for the parish needs once all the notes have been found.

GAME FOUR;

Colour in a picture of Jesus riding into Jerusalem through the crowds on a donkey. A free sample can be downloaded from the Internet for resources for Sunday School teachers, photocopied and coloured in. Make sure it is one of the free samples, not a picture with copyright on it.

Alternately, there are great resource books for teachers with ready-to-colour in pictures from Christian bookshops. Have colouring pencils and erasers in boxes on the low tables for the children. Have an emergency pencil sharpener in your bag. Supervision is essential while the children work with colours.

SNACK TIME;

Have plastic tumblers of orange juice and edible palm branch biscuits you have previously made ready as snacks at the end of the lesson.

CLEAN UP TIME;

Make sure all have a suitable snack before you and the children clean up at the end of the Sunday School lesson!

Attribution to www.LumoProject.com, with thanks

Triumphant Entry

FreeBibleimages.org

With thanks too to freeclipart.library

#Jesus Lord Palm Sunday donkey

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