#and my life has not provided a ton of evidence for faith in anyone *else* saving me.

[kirby-the-gorb]

[fairuzfan]

Can you help me break down my family's arguments? It's just that they're on Israel's side

And they say that Palestine deserves what is happening

Their arguments are:

"But Hamas started, taking people hostage, raping women and killing children. Israel is just fighting back. If someone did the same to you I would kill their family."

"But the hospitals on Palestine are Hamas' bases"

"But cutting off energy and telecommunications in Palestine is just to prevent Hamas from communicating"

"But Gaza is a place promised by God to the Israelites, Israel is taking what is rightfully theirs"

"But Hamas was trying to make an exchange between the lives of the hostages and Gaza with Israel and Israel did not accept it because Gaza is theirs, and Hamas should have released the hostages instead of exchanging their lives"

Hello, thanks for asking. I'm going to generalize these arguments a little more just to make it more widely applicable.

"Well Israel is just taking revenge/defending itself"

Well a couple things. Taking revenge is not an actual reason for people to attack other people. Just naturally, it's not a good ideology we should ever live by.

About claims that it's defending itself: Israel is a military powerhouse dropping TONS of bombs, I mean literal TONS. To say that anyone is defending someone with that level of ammunition and pure destruction, is just cruel. No one should experience that even in an equal footing type of war. Shouldn't we strive to protect people? Isn't it right to help others?

Now for your specific case, if they're arguing that they would "kill their family" as revenge, I'm not gonna lie, I think you're going to have to delve into that with them and dismantle that idea by emphasizing revenge is never justified.

You should center the humanity of Palestinians and emphasize that they should never experience such horror in their life.

"The hospitals are Hamas bases"

There is absolutely no evidence provided of this other than Israeli propaganda. I'd show them this video, which is a testimony from a European doctor.

There's also this pamphlet they released saying that they "know that Hamas is safe" and still willingly bombs the people of gaza anyways.

You should center the humanity of Palestinians and emphasize that they should never experience such horror in their life.

"Gaza is promised by God to the Israelites"

Why is it necessary to enforce one's religious beliefs on someone else? Why must the Palestinians experience violence in order for Israel to exist? Besides, if it was "promised" to them, does that mean God is allowing them to kill people indiscriminately? Does God, the most loving Being in the Universe, ever condone such acts of horrific violence on people? I speak as a Muslim that grew up being taught that Judiasm, Christianity, and Islam are quite similar religions, so I doubt that any of these religions would condone such large scale violence.

I'm not an expert of actual religious scripture of different faiths, so I can't provide quotes or anything like that, but I'd argue that God's main purpose in our lives is to remind us to love each other.

You should center the humanity of Palestinians and emphasize that they should never experience such horror in their life.

"Hostages—"

I'm not sure what the argument in your specific case is, but I think any argument having to do with hostages does not make any logical sense. Wouldn't Israel want to protect the hostages? Isn't bombing indiscriminately dangerous for everyone, but especially the Hostages?

But even hostages aside, Palestinians shouldn't have to suffer en masse! They've been sectioned off into the largest open-air prison for 20 years! It's just plain cruel to blame them for the genocide they face when they've been victims for 75+ years!

I'd recommend introducing them to this resource that explains the history of Palestinians from around 1948 to now:

There is also this that has scholarly research for and by Palestinians:

Let me know if any of this is useful. Good luck, and thank you for sending this in.

[shaunawritesstuff]

“This Ministry of Giving”

“Thank you God for this gift too wonderful for words!”

  I’ve always wanted to be rich.  You know, just have tons of money in the bank, available to me for whatever, whenever.  Like in the old Disney movie, Pete’s Dragon, “Money, money, money by the pound!”  I know I’m not the only one, here.

  Have you ever thought of giving as a ministry?  I’m not talking about giving here and there.  I’m not talking about giving tithes or giving used clothes to the homeless shelter.  I’m talking about money. And a ministry of giving it.  

  (2 Corinthians 9:1, the Apostle Paul mentions this ministry of giving and he’s specifically talking about money.  “I really don’t need to write to you about this ministry of giving for the believers...”)

  We usually think of things like doing nursery, teaching Sunday school, playing on the worship team, cleaning the church, outreach ministry, etc … but is anyone a part of the ministry of giving?  I can see the conversation something like this, “What ministry are you a part of? …. I give money.” …. blank stare… “Cool…”  I mean, really, who says that?  

  I do know one person in my life that does actually say that and as far as I know, does truly give his money when needed.  I also know one other couple that would give you the shirts off their backs if you needed them, but I don’t believe they would say they have “this ministry of giving.”

  Jesus was talking to his disciples in Matthew 10:8 and said, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.  Freely you have received; freely give.”

  That’s it right there!  That’s what I’m talking about!  I am so quick to pray for people, to heal the sick, and yes, I’d give you my shirt if you needed it without hesitation… but to give money as quickly and freely as I pray for people…. That right there is a goal! A dream!

(When you get a chance, read 2 Corinthians 9 again and notice “this ministry of giving.”)  

  It’s so easy to say that we can’t “afford” to give… but really, we can’t afford to not give.  I want so much that this ministry of giving would reflect me… that’s why I’ve always wanted to be rich.

  2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God will generously provide all you need.  Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.”

  We don’t have to be rich to give.  This has always been evident in my life.  Even when our family budget (on paper) said that we would be $k’s short, month after month… we’ve always seen the faithfulness of God.  We have always made giving tithes, offerings, missions offerings and whatever else God showed us to give a priority and He has always generously provided all that we need, with plenty left over to share and with even enough for our enjoyment.  

But this!  This “ministry of giving” is definitely a “ministry” I want to join!

  My Prayer:  Lord, this ministry of giving stirs up my heart.  Let it, also, stir up the one reading this.  Enrich us in every way, so that we can always be generous.  Cause us to be the givers, the people you created us to be.  That the needs of believers everywhere would always be met. That the Good News of your saving grace and healing power would be expressed and preached to those who are seeking you.  May your Kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Lord, be glorified through us.  

In the name of Jesus, Amen!

[luke-shywalker]

Yes it is me, and also now I'm curious about the cult stuff.

The Story of How Shywalker Almost Got Involved in a Cult

A.K.A. College is Weird and Scary

My story begins with me walking on the quad one day, when two girls randomly come up to me and tell me they’re conducting a survey. I agree to answer their questions, because why not? They proceed to ask me how I would rank religion, academics, and health according to how important they are in my life.

I’m a Christian, and my faith has become increasingly important to me in the past few months (which is another story). So I tell them that I would rank religion first. As I had kind of suspected, it turned out these girls didn’t really have a survey at all, and once I mentioned I was a Christian, they never mentioned the “survey” again.

Instead, they started asking me if I had found a campus fellowship yet. When I told them that I had joined one called Cru, they said that was nice, but they invited me to theirs as well. (Which should’ve been the first red flag. Most of the Christian fellowships on campus are friends with one another, and would never try to pull you out of one to come to theirs.)

The girl who was doing most of the talking emphasized how their fellowship, which I will call NS, had a strong focus on studying the Bible. She explained that most of the other fellowships focused too much on hanging out with friends, and not enough on reading the Word. She told me that one of their small groups was meeting later that day, and asked me if I could go to it.

I said I could. Then this girl asked me for my phone number, so I gave it to her. (Don’t give your number to strangers, y’all.)

Later that day, I went to the Bible study that this girl had invited me to. There was a teacher there who was legitimately friendly and had a good sense of humor. The other students in the group seemed nice. And yes, we studied the Bible.

There was a common thread running through the students in NS. Many of them said they had visited other campus fellowships, but thought there had been too much focus on community and not enough on Scripture. Or they had been turned off by student-led Bible studies, in which everyone was free to discuss their own interpretations (and possibly make wrong ones). These students all wanted a teacher, a leader, which was provided for us in NS.

I never had any intention of leaving Cru, but I figured there wasn’t any harm in attending two different fellowships. You can never have enough God, right?

I went to NS twice a week for about a month. All along the way there were tons of red flags that I never picked up, either because I’m a friggin’ idiot or because they’re really good at subtlety. For example, in all the time I was there, we never just sat down and read through a chapter from the Bible. The leader would lead us through a curriculum, posing questions that were almost riddle-like, and then point out single verses without context to show us the answer. The group was designed in a way that didn’t invite discussion or questions—pretty much you just sat there and listened to the guy. But it didn’t feel weird. It felt like having knowledge revealed to you.

Any time a low-key weird idea came up that made me think “huh,” it was glossed over so quickly that I didn’t bother to think about it again. And when I asked the leader a question once, he gave me a smooth answer, but also told me I would understand more in later classes (thereby suggesting that I should come to said later classes).

Here are some ideas NS focused on while I was there:

the parables of Jesus and the book of Revelations are important

the Pharisees didn’t recognize Jesus when He came, because they were interpreting Scripture according to their own faulty understanding

you must be discerning of what people say, and watch out for false prophets

After I had been coming to NS for about three weeks, our leader told us that our small group would later transition into a larger class. This larger class would expand upon the topics we had learned in small group, and would be held off-campus. He said it would be a big responsibility, but that we would enjoy it. And then he handed us applications to fill out and told us we would each undergo an interview before we could attend the large class.

The application had no information about the class, yet I signed it anyways, because that’s what everyone else was doing. (Yeah, I drank the Kool-Aid. Don’t sign contracts that don’t say a single darn thing, y’all.) And then I waited for my interview, which never actually happened for some reason; the girl who was supposed to interview me texted me and then never texted me back.

All this time, I had simultaneously been going to Cru. And among my Cru friends, I began to hear things about sketchy Bible studies. Specifically, NS, the one I was going to.

Frankly? I was…offended. Literally, I was offended. I didn’t believe there was anything weird about NS. I thought it was very insightful; I thought it presented Biblical information in a way that I had never heard before.

But I also trusted my friends in Cru, and when one of my closest friends gave me a very anxious phone call about how one of her friends had had a bad experience with NS and how I should be careful, I decided to do some digging on the web, ‘cause that’s what I’m good at.

Except I realized I could literally not find anything about NS on the internet. Which didn’t seem suspicious to me at first; I just figured they were a really small start-up group that hadn’t established itself yet.

A different friend had told me that NS had been on campus for several years, but that it had changed its name multiple times for some reason. I searched up the other names, and added the word “cult,” and as I was conducting my research this one name kept popping up: Shincheonji.

Shincheonji is a religious group that was started by a guy called Lee Man-Hee in South Korea in the 1980s. It teaches that:

the parables of Jesus and the book of Revelation contain cryptic, hidden messages that only Lee Man-Hee has the power to interpret, and understanding these messages is crucial for salvation

Revelation has happened already, Lee Man-Hee is the first angel spoken of in Revelation, and anyone who does not acknowledge Lee Man-Hee as a messenger of God is interpreting Scripture according to their own faulty understanding

anyone who opposes Shincheonji is a false teacher, testing followers’ faith

It…seemed to line up in a way that really frightened me, but it also just seemed ridiculous. A Korean cult? Surely not here? Surely not here in the ol’ U.S. of A.? Surely not here on my boring ol’ college campus where I’m just trying to live my life and get a degree and not die?

Let me be clear. Shincheonji is not a cult because they believe something different from me. Shincheonji is a cult because they are deceptive and manipulative and pretend to be something that they’re not in order to gain followers and influence their thinking.

Through more skillful Googling I was able to find testimonies of people who had been involved in Shincheonji. I found out that Shincheonji frequently recruits new followers by masquerading as mainstream Christian fellowships, and then slowly indoctrinating its recruits until they believe what Shinicheonji believes. They form close relationships with the recruits, and then use emotional manipulation to prevent people from leaving and to prevent people from questioning their beliefs.

I did some more research on NS by making a post on one of my college forums, and I found out that other students before me had gone to this group. They had been weirded out at best, and emotionally damaged at worst. The reason why NS keeps changing its name is because people keep spreading the word about how sketchy they are. And I found out that the “larger class” is literally held in an abandoned warehouse a few cities away. What the frick.

I told two of my friends from NS what I had found. One of them believed me, said she had gotten weird vibes too, and resolved not to come anymore. The other didn’t believe me, and scolded me for not having enough evidence and for blindly believing whatever I was told. (Ironic.) Given what others had said about emotional manipulation, and backlash against people leaving, I decided I wasn’t going to tell the leaders at NS anything. I simply blocked all their numbers and never returned.

Now that I’m out, I can see all those shiny, shiny red flags. And I can see how NS and Shincheonji work now.

they target students who are already Christians, or interested in Christianity, and make them feel like they have a “lack of knowledge” that only the group can fill

they target students who want a leader to look up to and learn from

they create skepticism toward the other campus fellowships and paint them as judgmental, frivolous, fake, etc. so that you only trust their group

they start out with mainstream Biblical teachings that are technically correct, but that lay the groundwork for later Shincheonji teachings

they build your trust and emotional connections with the leaders so that you are unwilling to question them

they warn students to be careful about false teaching (which basically means don’t believe anyone who tells you anything opposite to what we tell you)

Cult? Cult.

I still see people from NS going around campus with their “surveys” and trying to bring people into their group. And every time I do, I just…pray real hard and hope no one is getting hurt by them.

And, yeah, that’s my story of how I accidentally joined a cult. Ta-da.

[lisagintexas]

September 16, 2019

We harvested again on the mountain here from 6:15 am -1 pm with a lunch break. Before going out to the harvest I took a few picture of the camp to share.

This is the tent where we eat and sometimes have meetings.

Here are a couple of pictures of staff housing.

This is a new more permanent building in the works for staff, but it is just a shell and they still need $60,000 donations to finish out the inside. Some of the staff housing becomes moldy in the winter because it lacks good insulation so this is why they are building some better housing. Still just a metal building that will be finished out and two families will live in it.

This is a building with a community hall in it for meetings, and used in the winter for the men to eat in when they come to do pruning. The big tent is taken down in winter. Half the building is used for offices.

Theses are the rows of toilets, women first, then men.

And here’s a picture of the laundry room and the building on the left where many of the volunteers stay.

This is Gunner, the camp dog. He’s great! Chases away wild pigs, somehow knows who is a volunteer and never barks at them, yet barks at anyone else who comes near the camp.

Here’s the entry to the camp with a new sign!

After harvest we got our last load of laundry done, and hung it out to dry on the clothes lines. It doesn’t take long at all for clothes to dry with the dry breeze and sunshine.

We had a celebration dinner and farewell party in the evening. Pretty table decorations, good food, and a glass of wine. Rabbi Yonadav from Har Bracha came by to say farewell. One of the lead men from the Shomron Regional Council came to speak to us. About a year ago the Samarian Regional Council started supporting HaYovel by paying for the tour buses that they rent. This year because Israel is going through elections for a second time they lost their funding. But elections are tomorrow and they hope to start helping them again very soon. It is through the backing of the Israeli government that they receive grant money to help HaYovel.

Zach Waller did a recap of all the we have heard and accomplished the last three weeks. It truly is amazing how many people talk to us and share in some way. Just an amazing experience to hear and learn from all of them. Zach also shared some of our accomplishments as a group. In three weeks we gave over 2000 hours of volunteer work, we harvested 90 US tons of grapes and about 1 ton of olives. Today we harvested an amazing 18 tons of grapes with the relatively small group of people we had in the vineyards.

What joy it is to be apart of the restoration of this land and to be a part of fulfilling a prophesy that was written 3000 years ago. It was said today that God’s plan will happen for Israel regardless of what happens in the political realm. Politics may cause it to go slower, but it will still happen! We are living in a significant generation. The world does not recognize what is happening here in the holy land. But being here and a part of it all is the most amazing thing! I know that what the prophets have said will come to pass. It can take generations or can happen very quickly. But which ever it is, it is fun to be apart of what we see was prophesied so long ago even if we are at the very beginning of it. But you never know, things can happen very quickly. Time will tell and we will stand with Israel and bless Israel in our generation!

Tomorrow we go home. It is bittersweet! I miss my family...of course especially my grandkids!! I love my life at home with all my family and friends, my work and home life. But I so love being here in the holy land. I cannot explain why I love it...it just feels like home. I love being apart of what’s going on in this land. It’s like being a part of something that really has meaning in life. The Jewish people are amazing in how they live their faith. Their love for God is evident in everything that they do. I love seeing the restoration of the land here and I want to be apart of it. I live and breathe Israel through podcasts when I am home and look forward to my next trip.

I’m so excited that HaYovel has the opportunity to soon start planting lots of trees in the land. There is a company that is partnering with them who buys and owns lots of land in Israel and will be providing trees for HaYovel to plant. There are also plans hopefully in the not to distant future to help the land become fertile through livestock. I am so excited to see these processes help turn the land of Israel into a restored land. So much of it is still desolate. But God promises to make it a beautiful land again and to be apart of its restoration is my desire. How amazing that it is occurring in my generation!

Please pray for the restoration! Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! Elections are tomorrow, and it is my hope and prayer that a government is formed that will bring more righteousness and sovereignty to the land of Israel. But, no matter what happens, God has promises for his people and his holy land and they will come to pass!

[zucca101]

Response: The 3rd

Mmm. I'm going to avoid wasting any more of my time and giving you more opportunity to spout your patent nonsense while inviting people to seek me out and harass me from now on, but here goes (hint: if you -actually- didn't want this you wouldn't post it out in public, fucko.)

Sorry but… did you just use the phrase ‘patent nonsense’ in the same sentence as ‘Inviting people to seek me out and harass me’ after not one, but two disclaimers I put BEFORE the thing began, not just urging, but demanding that people NOT seek you out?

I knew the public school system is FUBAR and all, but I didn’t think reading comprehension had suffered *that* much…

Further, you blocked me. What was I supposed to do? I knew you skim this blog so I figured I’d make the rebuttals here while protecting your anonyminity. And considering nobody has guessed so far, I’d say I’m doing a pretty decent job.

Seriously, they think you’re someone else entirely. Someone who I’m on great terms with these days ;P

It's really telling you managed to provide literally no evidence behind your claim that Sargon is somehow left-wing, especially when all his stated views within the past few years fall right into the modern day conservative mainstream.

What do you want me to do? Link you videos you won’t watch or articles you won’t read?

ALL his stated views do not fall on the Conservative side, amigo. Roughly 40% of his political opinion I disagree with. But he’s intellectually honest and someone on the Left who I trust. He defends Liberalism, saying it’s not all SJWs and economic illiterates, and I’m inclined to agree with him.

I also never implied the ACA was perfect, but it's an improvement over the system that was in place beforehand, even if the fact it puts loads of money into insurers' pockets and still leaves tons of people uncovered is a massive problem.

I never said you said that the ACA was perfect. And almost exactly like Net Neutrality, it’s a solution in search of a problem, funded by massive corporations who have managed to fool you and millions others into thinking that monopolizing themselves is in the country’s best interests.

Our Healthcare System is the envy of many.

Out Health Insurance system was pretty meh.

You’ll get you argument from me that it needed improvement. But that was not the way to go about it…

The ACA did not address the problems sufficiently and now it’s fouled things up because it was designed to fail so that things would be pushed towards a Single Payer system.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-obamacare-fail-health-care-insurance-medicine-0911-jm-20160909-story.html

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/may/28/obamacare-failure-not-caused-by-trump/

I’m not obfuscating a bloody thing here, friend. It was literally incapable of success.

If you were to actually look up the history of the bill, you could see you can blame the Republicans for that one.

You mean how the Bill was made entirely by the Soros-funded foundations?

Don’t even go there. I was following this thing since it was a twinkle in Obama’s eye.

"I’d love to see citation for that which doesn’t reek of Socialist claptrap." Y'know that part about how you don't want to have your views challenged? Yeah, this is what I was talking about.

I’ve had my views challenged, friend. The challenges always come up short. What I mean to say is that if you can find citation that doesn’t read like it’s appealing to emotion, envy or actively and dangerously disregarding the pitfalls of Socialism’s history, then lay it on me. But I think those criteria effectively nullify the attempt.

"Speaking from second hand experience myself, I’ve had friends and friends of friends who NEVER got real jobs and instead collected food stamps they bartered for room and board." Well, there you go. Second hand experience. You don't know if any of these people actually had any viable career opportunities in the first place, let alone obstacles they weren't open about (at least to you), or if the whole thing just looked too hopeless to bother with in the first place at a given point, as tends to happen once you've been unemployed for a few years - nobody's going to hire you.

Actually I do know. Half of the friends and friends of friends I spoke of had college degrees. The other half were completely able of body and mind. Apart from one being exceptionally lazy. And considering the friends (Save one) confided much in me, I would indeed have known if they had some great hurdles apart from simply not knowing how to adult. That’s not capitalism’s failure. And being fair, that would easily also be socialism’s failure as well. That’s a failure of parenting. And when the Socialist State assumes partial parental responsibilities, they share in the failure.

"And…. And you think COMMUNISM or SOCIALISM will let you art the way you want to?" As a matter of fact yes, because communism or socialism as a concept does not equal what ended up happening in China, the USSR, Cuba, Venezuela, etc.

What tickles me pink is that you name so many of them. Nazi Germany, the USSR, Cuba, Vietnam, Venezuela… they all try Socialism tailored to their land, culture and people and every single frakking time, it fails and people die by the literal truckload.

There are some countries that might indeed be Socialist, but their small size permits them to remain so insular. And I could link you plenty of studies that show even those mini Socialist utopias are on downward spirals. Denmark? Heh heh heh… Sure.

The problem with Socialism, and by extension, Nazism and Communism, is that it is anathema to human nature and socio-economic realities.

It ALWAYS sounds great on paper, but when the rubber hits the road, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

PARENTS ARE EATING THEIR CHILDREN IN CHINA.

But that’s not “real socialism/Communism.”

Sure. >_>

You really seem to have a hard time understanding this, so instead riddle me this: how on earth would being guaranteed a living, in and of itself, translate to censorship? (hint: it fucking doesn't.)

Being guaranteed a living so long as you do not create artwork that does not damage the state, lest your artistic license be revoked.

Where have I heard that before….?

Oh right! Those places you named that are TOOOOOOTALLY not Socialist…

"Heh, the one I had in mind at the top of my list when mentioning those hundreds of artists is a very prominent one. He works a daily job, he makes money with his art, and he makes art for its own sake." Cute, but by far most artists can't juggle a schedule like that without it coming at the cost of either of those, or their own mental health.

But… they *do*. That’s what I’m saying. And there are MANY artists who *love* to create for others. Even the great artists of old were paid for their work. Are there unreasonable customers? Absolutely there are! But it’s a huge internet.

"And considering they saved the life of an IRL trans friend of mine, I am STRONGLY disinclined to believe smear stories." One person they got it right with, versus hundreds they left dying on the streets. Hmm.

I’m gonna need some citation on that one, ol’ chum. Not saying you’re full of crap, but…

The official position of TSA is thusly:

Scripture forbids sexual intimacy between members of the same sex. The Salvation Army believes, therefore, that Christians whose sexual orientation is primarily or exclusively same-sex are called upon to embrace celibacy as a way of life. There is no scriptural support for same-sex unions as equal to, or as an alternative to, heterosexual marriage.

Likewise, there is no scriptural support for demeaning or mistreating anyone for reason of his or her sexual orientation. The Salvation Army opposes any such abuse.

In keeping with these convictions, the services of The Salvation Army are available to all who qualify, without regard to sexual orientation. The fellowship of Salvation Army worship is open to all sincere seekers of faith in Christ, and membership in The Salvation Army church body is open to all who confess Christ as Savior and who accept and abide by The Salvation Army’s doctrine and discipline.

Wait, hold it… sorry man, I forgot the reading comprehension thing… I’ll help you out. What it means is that while they strongly disagree with homosexuality (Transsexualism by extension), they don’t turn people away.

The fact that you refer to Islam as "the Death Cult" (lmao) is pretty telling too, tbh. Really shows you don't hate Muslims!

Have you ever cracked open the Quran? Or the Suras? Stop kidding yourself. And I don’t hate Muslims. I hate Islam. Here’s a religious concept that the majority of Christians are famous for… and I mean REAL Christians, not the strawmen you see in your magical glowbox: ‘Love the Sinner, hate the Sin.’

And considering the fundamental dictates of Islam is to kill or subjugate non-beleivers and… GET THIS… GAY PEOPLE… then my hatred of Islam the ideology is not so difficult to understand.

I mean, I could produce an entire laundry list of examples where Christianity (which you defend as somehow Better™ for LGBT+ folks) has directly lead to death of us, but I may as well talk to a wall.

But you won’t. Because it doesn’t exist. With the exception of Westboro and The Lord’s Army which is in AFRICA (And riddle me this, hypocrite… if #notallmuslims is a thing, then why can the same sentiment not be afforded to Christians? Answer: Because you can reasonably expect to harass and abuse Christians without fear of life-threatening reciprocation. Je suis Charlie Hebdo), outright hostility towards homosexual people is not  common among them. Disagreement? Certainly. Voting in line with that disagreement? Oh yes. State-sanctioned murder?

NO.

Yes. Christianity in general disagrees with homosexuality. There are cases of acceptance and tolerance aplenty and cases of violence as I laid out.

But violence is not the socially acceptable norm.

In Islamic tenants, as reflected by the DAILY MURDER of homosexual people, it is not only socially acceptable, but demanded.

I know this of your dishonest self... Deep down, in your heart of hearts, you would rather live in a Christian neighborhood than an Islamic one if forced to choose.

The thing you keep forgetting is that a religion is characterized by the behavior of its adherents, not what the scripture itself says - scripture of any religion contradicts itself too much to be followed 100% by any person, by definition is subject to interpretation, and that is what counts.

What the Hell do you think I’ve been TALKING about here?!

Alright pal, let’s get down to REALITY…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/13/here-are-the-10-countries-where-homosexuality-may-be-punished-by-death-2/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/13/the-islamic-states-shocking-war-on-homosexuals/

https://www.advocate.com/world/2016/5/27/12-countries-will-kill-you-being-lgbt

http://www.truthophobes.com/islam-kills-homosexuals

And you and I both know it’s not just ISIS murdering homosexuals.

Does Islam have a problem with homophobia? Sure, but so do so many other religions including Christianity, and in the case of Islam specifically, I simply lack the cultural context to know what I'm doing in order to stop it, so instead resolve to help and listen to people who would know what they're doing in this regard; queer Muslims and queer people of other religions (or none) with cultural ties to Islam.

Yes, but you don’t see Coptic Christians pushing homosexual people off of buildings, beheading or hanging them.

Do you?

And you sure as the sky is blue and black don’t see it here in the states.

A relatively few murders based on sexuality? Yes. But if you’re going to make the argument that the actions of the few do not reflect the whole, then the same MUST also apply to Christians.

Or you are guilty of having double-standards.

And I’d love to hear the perspective of LGBT Muslims who are close enough to these countries to understand the severity and who are bold enough to stick their heads up, but the problem is that Fatwa is declared on them if they do so.

Such as the Muslim man who wished a Happy Easter to his Christian customers and was murdered by other Muslims for it.

And they KNOW it. So they keep their heads down.

THAT is real oppression.

You yourself, and I am as grateful for this as I’m sure in the back of your mind and the depths of your heart, you are as well, have never known true oppression.

Inconvenience? Yes.

Disagreement? Yes.

Your identity being on trial? Yes, that too.

But identifying as LGBT+ in America is not a Death Sentence. And CERTAINLY not from Christianity as a whole.

I don't pay attention to Riley Dennis, but "very prominent" is some pretty big words for someone with 35K subscribers who isn't generally considered worth discussing in the circles I'm in. The fact that you pretty much constantly look for the fringe (and the fact I hadn't heard about her until today implies that you had to be actively looking for this), make a strawman out of that and apply it to everyone who comes off as vaguely leftist to you is, again, pretty telling.

I wasn’t making a strawman. I said that there are Trans people who demand sex from people not interested and the implication, which I apologize for not expanding upon, was that it gives the wrong impression.

You and I both know that such is not the opinion of the majority of Trans people. But regardless, you said literally no one, and I pushed back saying yes, yes there are.

If I had to recommend trans youtubers, try ContraPoints.

I’m more a Blaire White follower, but I’ll check them out.

I'd love to see you explain how anthropogenic global warming isn't real, though.

Didn’t say it wasn’t real. I didn’t even take a stance. I said that anthropological global warming was what’s contested. And frankly, there’s convincing arguments on that side.

The response of BIG names on the other side? Your side? ‘You should go to jail for disagreeing with me.’

Where'd all that extra CO2 over the past two centuries come from, unicorn farts? Magic? Don't bother blaming livestock, you know just as well as I do that those animals wouldn't be here if not for us either.

You’re… You’re bringing up the hockey stick?

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11646-climate-myths-the-hockey-stick-graph-has-been-proven-wrong/

http://manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2016/12/22/how-to-tell-whos-lying-to-you-climate-science-edition

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamestaylor/2015/02/09/top-10-global-warming-lies-that-may-shock-you/#5c6f67b153a5

Also dude? People have been appealing to the common need to put a halt to this since the '60s, I don't know what rock you've been living under. If literally your only concern here is money, then honestly this discussion is over, since we clearly operate on completely and utterly irreconcilably different principles, and I may as well be talking to someone from another planet. Sure, the neoliberal take of expecting all the effort to come from civilians is pretty dumb when 78% of our carbon dioxide output comes from commercial and industrial activity, but that doesn't magically make the question itself less urgent.

See above. It’s not just about money.

"“I can’t work because there’s some rich guy out there who has more stuff than I do!!!! HARUMPH!!!!!!!!” Do you hear yourself…?" Again, literally not what I said, but whatever helps you sleep at night. You're really not that great at this whole reading thing, are you? That wasn't even part of the same argument. You proposed that everyone has an equal shot, I counterargue that that is clearly not the case since some people have access to resources that drastically reduce the amount of work needed to attain the same standard of living, sometimes even to zero, and you just get mad and rant about envy politics or whatever. You're not making a lick of sense at this point.

Forgive my harsh phrasing there, but you disregarded the point I made. And in this day and age, a rich person has to work hard to STAY rich, because the money will run out one day. And in so doing, they employ many people who were not otherwise employed.

And let’s define ‘Rich�� for a moment… the business owner whose business makes $1,200,000 net may sound rich, until you take into account employee salary, taxes, business expenses, HOME LIFE on top of that and in many cases, family expenses… suddenly you realize how much of that income no longer remains in-pocket.

And I’ll forgive the economic ignorance, because let’s face it… economics is not sufficiently taught in schools. I legit do not blame you.

"Sorry, sorry… you’re like the fiftieth person whose thrown that at me and it gets cringier every time I hear it… I apologize." Consider the following: maybe those other forty-nine people before me independently made the same observation from the way their own, and the people around them's lives have gone. Get out of your bootstraps dream, by far most people who make minimum wage don't ever climb above making maybe a couple times that at most, and opportunities to achieve even that have gone down in recent years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panel_Study_of_Income_Dynamics

Now, I contest that just because there are not many policies that promise economic mobility here in the States, that does not mean then that poor economic mobility is absolute. Young adults today still make on average, 60% more than their parents.

Grow up, get rich quick schemes don't work.

Schemes? No.

Entrepreneurs making new things? Yes. Yes they do work.

I also don't know what China you're looking at, but by far most of that rich history, heritage and architecture is still there, and it's not going anywhere - if you actually even marginally kept up with that country, you'd know this.

…

Hahahahha….! Oh God…. Wow… if you only knew…

Ever been there?

No?

Then shut your mouth about things you know nothing about.

Capitalism on the other hand has decimated the cultures of indigenous peoples in three different continents, by far most of their languages today either extinct or barely hanging on; even if that's not enough for you,

Liar. Or mistaken. Either way, WRONG.

Capitalism is not some pernicious bogeyman that sucks the wealth dry from the Noble Natives and delivers it to its masters.

That would be conquest, my friend. And conquest has not needed an excuse, economic or otherwise, to do what it does. Unless you want to talk about the plundering Socialist and Communist countries are guilty of…?

Here’s a little something that may help illuminate how wrong your philosophy is...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f6FZGjF8OA

Even elsewhere, it's destroyed so many cultural heirlooms - ancient sites in Mecca, all sorts of old architecture and nature across Europe to make way for homes for the rich, along with the ever ongoing problem of gentrification.

Again, that’s conquest, you poor, brainwashed soul… EVERY time conquest occurs, that shit happens.

You want to talk mountains of corpses? Alright, here's how many people capitalism kills each year: 20 million. Twenty million individual people who die of starvation, poverty, and lack of healthcare access in capitalist nations.

You’ve been full of shit before, but now amigo… gadzooks… this takes the cowpie.

Unless you wanna discuss how the emotion-driven notion to use ethanol corn from impoverished nations to make ethanol which doesn’t actually work as an efficient means of reducing oil dependency (Hybrids are way better) caused millions to starve, sure… let’s open up that can of worms.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/419354/corn-ethanol-boondoggle-continues-see-epas-latest-rule-robert-bryce

Al Gore’s corn subsidies have blood on their hands.

Since this is the same way y'all count the death tolls of previous attempts at communism, it's only fair to count these the same way, no? Also, the existence of markets doesn't equal to capitalism.

Perhaps, but they’re called Distribution Centers in Socialist countries. Private ownership is abolished under Socialism.

Both of the peoples you described took care of their sick and less fortunate, people didn't starve unless everyone was. Even the ancient Romans had social welfare in the form of bread being distributed among the entire populace - bakeries at the time were serious business, and there are plenty of historical accounts of harsh punishments following such crimes in the field as fraud.

Is that really what you want? Literal breadli-Ohhhh right, Bernie said it, so it must be golden.

Bernie is a shill and his spouse’s incompetence to run a university ran it into the ground. Birds of a feather and such.

The idea that absolutely everyone has to work for themselves didn't crop up until the Victorian era.

Wrong again, mi amigo.

And I’ve heard that one too.

You know damn well that ending poverty doesn't somehow alleviate humanity of all struggle, people still need to live with each other and that's going to cause friction no matter how utopian society gets.

And Socialism cures this because…..?

Ah, yes, because Socialism on paper says that Socialism will! How silly of me…

Cut the crap with this "virtue of poverty" type nonsense, you also know damn well I meant caring about people's basic welfare as a collective (read: not actively making life worse for others and not acting like people should somehow have to suffer), not thinking about literally every single individual person you don't know.

It's really not hard to just be kind to the world, and it'd save both you and everyone a lot of stress.

And making kindness compulsory under pain of death is the quickest way to ruin it.

I suppose I finally see why you keep accusing me of being filled with righteous indignation, though.

Because you’re addicted to the sensation of moral superiority which makes you feel better than other people as a means of combating some deeply held insecurity that spawned during your developmental years?

Yup.

By the way, consider switching careers; I hear IMAX is hiring these days.

Haha, me? Projecting? I’ve already told you that I leave the judgment of whether or not I’m a decent person to the people that know me. You’re the one that thinks that the line between virtue and evil is as childishly, one-dimensionally, idiotically black and white is a party line.

You’ve said goodbye already, so goodbye!

I hope that your fervor dies down and once you’re done being triggered, we can go back to speaking terms.

‘Till then, consider this the last farewell.

[piratequeenofpixies]

“Gods Reborn”

This is a short story I wrote last August using a prompt I found on Pinterest. Unfortunately, I was unable to pinpoint the artist behind the prompt, but if anyone knows, feel free to message me or comment, and I’ll credit :) Also, I apologize in advance for the wonky formatting. I’m posting this from my phone and copy-pasting from a Google document, so I’m not sure what exactly went wrong but clearly something did. Enjoy!

Note: there is a brief note of gore towards the end of the story.

Writing Prompt: “You wake up. Everyone has disappeared apart from you and your best friend. What does the world feel like?”

-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-

Morning dawns outside, but I would never have known it aside from the harsh glare of the alarm clock’s red numbers. The savage glow crowns Ainsley’s blonde halo of impossibly-straight hair with a glaring reminder of our situation. While she slept peacefully through the night--snoring like a stump-grinder--I got maybe two hours of z’s due to my inability to resign myself to the world’s imminent demise. It just seems like such a waste. A waste of life, of potential, of power.

A waste of humanity.

I groan, stretching, and roll out of the cramped space to land on my feet on the cool stone floor. Heading towards the hallway and, beyond it, the small bathroom, I take a moment to consider the gravity of our situation.

“Self-Proclaimed ‘Prophet’ Insists the World Ends Friday, August 13,” headlines still blared just days ago, mocking the elderly man who had genuinely believed in the truth of his words. It had been his fervent belief, in fact, that had convinced me to do my own research, and even now I share in his faith. All the signs point towards the destruction of the physical world: my hours of researching apocalyptic texts in the local library, the numbers of religious sects suddenly pushing tracts and scriptures into pedestrian’s hands in a last-ditch effort to save souls, my deceased Uncle Simon’s prediction that the apocalypse would occur exactly four years after his death--it all matched, and because of it I feared for my life, and Ainsley’s. It was why I had the nuclear-proof bunker built, why I dragged Ainsley thirty-nine miles beneath the earth’s surface, why I used the entirety of my hoarded bitcoin--twelve years’ worth--to purchase the latest experimental tech in hopes that, somehow, we might be saved.

The fact that we aren’t yet dead is the only thing preventing a mental breakdown on my part. Yet. A very, very important word. A word I cling to with all my might, using it to focus on a future where we emerge from the ground, gods reborn in a new, restructured world.

I have studied, stressed, striven, and staked all my hopes on this bunker and the tech it contains. Ainsley, on the other hand...well, she’s just chilling in the hopes that when it becomes clear that we aren’t going to die, I’ll let her go back up to the earth’s surface to mingle with the rest of humanity.

Who will almost certainly be dead, but whatever.

When it comes to the end of the world, the only thing more valuable than survival is hope, of which Ainsley has buckets.

Hopefully I can keep us alive long enough that she can do something with all that hope.

…

We eat dinner in silence, Ainsley out of boredom and me out of growing desperation. None of my expensive technological purchases, meant to provide surveillance of the earth’s surface, have panned out yet beyond providing Ainsley with plenty of “proof” that I am wrong, but I am confident that soon, we will be supplied with irrevocable evidence in my favor. Seeing as this confidence--which Ainsley calls “selfish” and “arrogant”--is meant to keep us alive, I refuse to back down and return to the surface.

…

“Something’s wrong with your satellite feed,” Ainsley tells me in a irritated voice around nine p.m. It’s the first thing she’s said to me since before dinner. “I can’t hear the t.v. over that static.”

I sigh and head over to fix it. I’ve been sitting at the table for hours, made immoveable by my disgust for the waste to come.

“Something’s interfering with the signal,” I mutter, swatting at the cords and wires dangling from the surveillance monitor. There’s a reason I hired someone else to set all this up.

The monitor display has gone blank, pixels quivering in various shades of grey. It’s also producing an almost-unbelievable amount of white noise. I smack the side of the monitor twice in quick succession, and the noise stops, but the display remains the same.

“There,” I breathe, relieved, and turn towards the couch just as Ainsley gives a little gasp.

“Brianna--satellites are crashing into Earth!” she squeals, horrified, and I can only gape at her, bemused.

“That’s impossible,” I finally say, coming around the ottoman to join her on the couch in front of the t.v. “They would be incinerated before they even got close. Besides, the space-trash net is supposed to keep them away from Earth.” In reply she only points to the t.v.

On screen, a news anchor chatters away, her cheery clothes and too-bright makeup in sharp contrast with the gravity of her words.

“...the breach in the net is suspected to be due to the recent addition of several large new satellites, of the latest experimental line by StarStruck Space Surveillance, Inc., which were recently acquired by apocalypse fanatic Brianna Moore. Last seen driving towards the southeastern corner of Libya, where she allegedly had a contractor build her a ‘nuclear-proof’ shelter many miles underground, Ms. Moore has been declared guilty of involuntary manslaughter by the majority of world leaders in her needless endangerment of innocent lives. Brandon, will you tell us about the satellite damage?”

While the male news anchor picks up the script, the news station’s feed cutting away to a map of the world, Ainsley and I stare helplessly at one another, speechless.

“So, when you had that space contractor put the satellites in orbit...he didn’t close the breach?” Ainsley asks, and I can only shake my head slowly.

“He was supposed to,” I whisper, horror shaking my voice.

In front of us the map on the t.v. gradually floods with red silhouettes of satellites as the millions of tons of space junk humans have contained for over a century hurtles through the atmosphere and towards earth. One hundred and three years have passed since the Soviet Union first set Sputnik I in orbit, and now Earth is taking the toll of one hundred and three years’ worth of space junk. That much space junk could spell the end of humanity.

Which means that the end of the world...is my fault. A chill runs down my spine. Whether or not this ends for the better remains to be seen. Still, I can’t help but feel the slightest stirring of hope deep in my chest.

...

Minutes transition into hours as we stare, struck dumb by the carnage on-screen. Ainsley’s cried for a while now, her shoulders shaking with quiet sobs as the news feed displays the map of a world bleeding to death. Live footage showcases destructive missiles of space junk hurtling into Earth at lethal speed, crushing cars and houses, shops and people. One commentator, reporting live from the capital of Brazil, is speared through the chest from behind by a skidding satellite antenna before they can switch feeds, spattering the camera with blood. It is then that Ainsley jumps to her feet and flees, racing towards the restroom with one hand covering her mouth.

“Monitor, close channel,” I say boredly, shifting to a more comfortable position on the couch and stretching my legs out to rest on the ottoman. “Play classical music.”

Soft music begins to play, Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” filling the air with gentle rhythm and harmony. I relax and close my eyes, relieved to have the overly-negative news feed out of sight and mind. I don’t need that kind of gloom clogging up my otherwise-clear thinking; it would just be a drain on my mental resources. No, far better to ignore it and look instead to the future, when humanity can finally get a fresh start. No more baby steps, no more thwarted progress because “ethics,” just a blank slate and a world of potential.

…

I had to force Ainsley to stay in the bunker once it became clear that the apocalypse I anticipated was actually coming to pass. Somehow, with all her hope, she seems to think that we could have actually done something to stop it, to save humanity. But of course, I know better. While I was horrified at first, it was mostly at the thought that, perhaps, the satellites’ metal would shred the earth to pieces, and our bunker with it. Once I knew with a certainty that that would not occur, I was able to relax. I’ve thought well ahead, too. We have a seed bank, several long-lasting batteries, access to an underground spring, everything we could possibly need. I was even able to procure several hundred cryopreserved embryos and the experimental incubators in which to nurture them, so that humanity will not die off. Even once we die of old age, humanity will live on. But until then, who’s to say we will not discover another bunker, with other survivors? All the better.

I think of the future, of our future, and am glad. We survived. We triumphed. Even the apocalypse couldn’t stop us. And now, soon, we’ll emerge onto the earth’s surface once again. We can repopulate the earth, enjoy our salvaged lives, rejoice in the new growth of a world we thought, for a short week, might be obliterated. With no access to the outside world, we can be sure of nothing, and guess at little more. But we will survive and triumph once more, as is humanity’s legacy, forever overcoming the obstacles placed before us.

We are humans.

We are gods.

…

When we finally step out into the sunlight again, the Sahara Desert’s sand is covered in grey hulls and silver spines, splinters and fragments of the satellites humanity relied on so heavily. Great hills and mounds of trash metal cover what used to be a starkly beautiful place, and Ainsley’s eyes are wet as she stares forlornly at our surroundings.

“We will rebuild,” I say confidently, meaning to comfort her, but she merely turns away. She doesn’t understand. Little matter, I think. She will see. She will know.

As it sets, the sun casts a swathe of scarlet blood across the metal terrain, bathing us in a violent red light. The color of a world sacrificing itself at our feet.

We are the gods now.

And nothing can stop us

-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-

Note: the MC’s POV is not my own. I don’t think destroying humanity is the answer; I merely was struck by an idea and decided to roll with it.

So, what do you think? I welcome feedback on my works so feel free to ask, message, or comment with tips/constructive criticism! :)

[idreamofteeth-blog1]

Masters in Oral Health Sciences

Let me start off by saying this program saved my life and restored every ounce of faith and confidence in myself as a student. Doing this program has been the most rewarding part of this journey and has made me feel competent and up to par with everyone else.

So if anyone is on the fence about maybe starting a Masters program like this, I highly encourage it. It is worth every penny and you’ll be one degree richer by the end of it :)

So what is Oral Health Sciences? (I’ll be referring to it as OHS from now on and in future posts). Well at my school, this Masters program lets you take actual dental school courses, in the dental school, with the dental students, taught by the dental school professors, and you get to take the same exams as the dental students. Not only do you feel like an actual dental school but this is the most accurate indication as to whether or not you’ll be ready for dental school in the near future. This was the main reason why I wanted to do this program. 

The first semester you’re taking 2 dental school courses: Dental Physiology and Dental Biochemistry. The second semester you have the option of taking either Dental Microbiology or Dental Pathology. On top of actual dental school courses, you’ll be taking Master school courses related to dentistry and the sciences, so we were enrolled in courses such as Evidence Based Dentistry, Head & Neck Anatomy, Infectious Diseases, Prevention in Dentistry, Biomedical Information, etc. So as you can see, all these classes are geared towards dentistry and to keep you interested on the career path.

And the best part is this: if you got accepted and decided to go to the same dental school that we did our Masters in, you were exempt from taking those courses as a first year student thus making the transition into dental school that much easier. As you can tell, this program already had a ton of perks in my book.

Ok so now lets talk about the rigor of the courses.

BOY WERE THEY HARD!!!! First semester is always a challenge for everyone. We were literally taught how to study correctly and everyone was still finding their own little techniques and habits that worked for them personally. We had tutors available, alums of the programs who were now dental students as support systems and TA’s, etc. We had every resource imaginable provided for us but, we were taking actual dental school courses and they were as hard as you can imagine. Our program director and every staff and faculty at the dental school were amazing. Not one person was discouraging and if you were struggling, they told us it was okay to struggle and were always there with open arms to help you figure it out. That was def new to me because I did not like my advisors from undergrad that much so I really appreciated this new environment. 

Personally, coming in with a degree in Molecular Cell Biology, I did not find Biochem & Micro difficult. What kicked my butt initially were Physio and Anatomy because I never took those courses in undergrad so I had zero background in those subject matters. But I kept at it. I went to every review session, had tutors, watched and read extra videos and supplements, and with my new study skills and a deeper motivation and drive, I eventually began to get it. And that was the best feeling in the world. So lesson number two I need everyone to keep in mind:

YOU ARE CAPABLE. YOU ARE COMPETENT. SOME PEOPLE WILL UNDERSTAND THINGS FASTER THAN YOU BUT IF YOU KEEP WORKING HARD, YOU WILL EVENTUALLY SUCCEED AND GET IT.

And I cannot preach that enough. In the beginning of the physio course, I was so nervous and doubted myself to the point that I would blank out while reading which caused me to not comprehend a thing I just read. That wasn’t good!!! It wasn’t because I wasn’t smart enough, it was because I was scared. So let me tell you all that a little bit of confidence will go a long way in this type of schooling. These classes are designed to be hard, to challenge you, but they are not impossible! Physiology is broken down into two semesters at this school (Physio I & Physio II) and I got a B- the first semester but I got an A- the second semester!!!! And that is what hard work and confidence will do, it’ll give you the grades you want so keep working at it. 

This year has been the most rewarding year for me. It’s been a year of many ups and many downs but overall, the good has severely outweighed the bad. I have cried many nights, I have thought that I wouldn’t make it through but here I am, out alive.

I have made AMAZING friends, future colleagues and got so blessed with such amazing advisors and professors. I have woken up every day for the past year determined, motivated and happy to be in this program. It was another way in for me, for every one of us doing this program, and I was so genuinely happy, even when it seemed impossible.

Academically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally I grew and I can now say that dental school will be less daunting because I did this Masters program. Doing a Masters program is not something to be ashamed of. Getting more education, another degree is only something to be proud of. You will gain endless knowledge that I cannot even begin to describe. At least for me, it has been the best thing I’ve invested my money in and have gotten so much out of it. So please, if you think you would benefit from a Masters program like this (I believe everyone can!), do it!!! Don’t let anyone or anything stop you!

**If anyone would like detailed study tips, please message me and I can detail my own. I think they’re pretty good and has helped me get almost all A’s my second semester so again, more than happy to help :)