#and that opened the pandora box
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i overshared about moros i cristians in the dinner with the professors this is why I don't drink (apple juice)
#no but actually i'm kinda embarrassed#we were talking about ritual and commemoration#in spain#the spaniah professor talked a bunch about semana santa#amd i was thinking about moros i cristians but i didn't say anything cause i knew i cannot be normal about it#but then they were talking about this other tradition in italy and the soanish professor turned to me and said 'that reminds me of moros y#cristianos'#and that opened the pandora box#i ended up talkimg even interfamiliar gossip i'm the worst#but they were pretty interested like they asked me for the name of my dad's hometown and everything#anyways. i now want to fully commit to memory studies#like i felt so good in that dinner when they were discussing the field#like. i wanna be there. i want to do this for the rest of my life#this is my place
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Do you know this queer character?
Castiel is Queer and Agender or Genderfluid, and uses varying pronouns based on presentation!
#opening pandora's box with this one i've been blissfully unaware of supernatural my entire life and I don't really want to start but#the history of supernatural on this blog already is rough please have mercy#this is the most specific i'm willing to get with labels on this one#8 people submitted him dear lord#castiel#cas spn#castiel spn#spn#supernatural#tumblr polls#fandom polls#poll#queer#agender#genderfluid#varying pronouns#he/him#she/her#they/them#live action#lgbtqia#do you know this queer character
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pls pls heard me out...FIDDLESTAN! <3
ok, i got this ask ten days ago, and I've been thinking about it ever since. Because I got two other asks asking for fiddauthor, and I dON'T KNOW HOW TO LET THEM DOWN LIGHTLY BECAUSE I'M A FIDDLESTAN BITCH THROUGH AND THROUGH 😭😭😭😭 I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!!!!!
Don't get me wrong, fiddauthor is great and makes sense and everything. But listen. Billford and fiddauthor are multidimensional ships, they are good! But FIDDLESTAN!?!? that shit is the WHAT-THE-HECK-A-HEDRON!!!!!!! Even though it's literally 100% speculation, the implications are FUCKING CRAZY!!!!!!!!! I jumped between three ships so far during this gravity falls thing, each time thinking one is better than the other. I've decided that FIDDLESTAN IS KING!!!!!! I'm sorry. I could rant about them forever. I've been listening to nothing but extended versions of disco music for the past week. (YES THEY HAD A CRAZY ROMANTIC FLING IN VEGAS NO I WILL NOT ELABORATE!!!! (yes i will. I will elaborate at some point. it will be like ten pages or text. or I will draw it. idk.))
Here is a sketchbook doodle from like a week ago. I'm gonna post another fiddlestan thing in a few moments, but my style changes like I'm a completely different artist every week without warning, so I'm gonna leave this by itself!
He comes into YOUR house, he steals YOUR identity, and he fucks YOUR research partner!!! Fuck you!!!!!!!!!!
#i've noticed lately#after we've opened our eyes to some of fords assholeyness#some people are like 'hold on guys i think were being a little too hard on ford 🥺'#NO WE ARE NOT!!!!!!!!!!!#I hail from the iz fandom where everyone knows dib is fucking awful#and we LOVE him for it!!!!#will NOT shy away from admitting how terrible he is - it's why we love him!!!!!#ok enough rant#me typing on tumblr about this shit is like opening pandoras box#gonna close that up now for everyones safety#fiddlestan#gravity falls#stan x fiddleford#gravity falls fanart#ask#answered#anon#sketchbook
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can't come!
nsfw; reader can't come, guess who helps her! (aged up 21+) <3
You've had trouble with this all of your adult life.
And right now it's getting more than a little frustrating.
You're pent up. Needy.
Unable to come.
Through no amount of touching, fingering, licking or fucking can you achieve an orgasm.
You feel pleasure, sure. It's amazing.
But your girlfriends so often remind you that this kind of pleasure is different.
"It's not the same, trust me.."
"You'd know if you had an orgasm"
"Maybe you should try a vibrator?"
And with all of their help and advice in the world- hell, one particularly close friend even offered to.. you know.. do it for you- you still can't come.
Maybe it's just not possible???
But your current boyfriend seems to have a plan in mind.
You know what he can do to you, with his hands and mouth.. and the way he fucks is just gentle and rough enough to make you whimper and bite into his shoulder.
But still no O.
So one day he sits you down and explains something to you.
About his 'power'.
Sure, he's told you about it before. You know what the deal is. He's a fucking sorcerer with the most beautiful markings on his face and he can barely speak to you without being concerned he's going to hurt you.
I can do it.
If you want me to.
He types out on his phone screen and shows you.
"You can do.. what? Toge?"
Let me show you.
Lie down please.
He has been so cautious with you- a non sorcerer.
A cute, sexy non sorcerer, who he cares about a whole lot.
He didn't want to scare you off with the way his mouth works.
So he lays you down gently and gets you warmed up, kissing you, touching you, feeling between your legs and starting to dip his fingers under your panties.
He drags them down slowly and gives you that look, asking for permission to take this a little further. You nod and watch him smile, kissing your thighs and ending up with his lips grazing your clit.
Such a familiar place- he studies your body and spreads your lips with his tongue, eyeing you up and down to see your reactions.
Then he hears that short, sharp breath when his tongue connects.
It never gets old.
But now, this time will be different.
"mm--" he hums into you and you loosen up, spreading your legs a little wider.
He gets closer.
"mm mmhmm--" you can hear the excitement in his soft moans. And he gets so greedy, his grip on your thighs getting tighter, spreading you open a little wider.
More. More. More.
He needs more of your body, more of those sounds.
"mmhh-" fuck, he's going to lose his mind in a second.
But no. He's gotta focus.
Now he can feel your body reacting to every tap and dip of his tongue.
Your breathing is getting so shaky, your face is flushed and your legs feel so tense.
With any girl he's been with before, this would be his cue to push her over the edge. A few more taps of his tongue would do. Maybe he could slide his fingers through your pussy lips, dipping them in to give you something to grip around.
But no.
You're close.
But you're not there.
So he pulls his lips off you with a sloppy, wet, sucking sound.
He disconnects his tongue but replaces it with his fingers.
Soft pads grazing your entrance, enticing you to get even wetter.
He looks up at your pretty face, your eyes half lidded, full of lust and desire.
So much desire.
To...
"come"
The word falls from his lips so casually.
But the power behind it leaves you reeling.
"ah- ah- w-w-w.... wait- Toge- oh--"
Your body is overwhelmed by the trembling.
He holds onto your legs to stop the shivering and shaking, watching you enjoy your first orgasm.
He wants to tell you what a good girl you are.
How pretty you look right now.
He wants to ask how it feels, although he's pretty sure he understands from the way you're moaning, nearly screaming his name and grappling onto the sheets of your bed.
"Toge- Toge---" you pant out his name, breathing laboured. You're on your way down, but you can still feel the pleasure tingling through your body, especially focusing around the bundle of nerves it all came from.
And you're amazed.
How did he do this?
Why.... Why hasn't he done this before???
"Toge--" your breath is returning to you slowly, just enough oxygen getting back into your brain to form a sentence-
"Toge- that was.. that was ah- amazing--"
He watches you sigh and collapse into the bed.
Weary that you're a beginner to all this, he debates for a few seconds before opening his mouth again.
But fuck it, the demons won today.
"come"
He does it again.
And again.
Needless to say, your first experience with this new found pleasure is unforgettable.
And your boyfriend? You might just have to hang onto him, seeing as he's the only person who can make you come.
toge
#jujutsu kaisen#jjk x reader#jjk smut#jujutsu kaisen smut#female reader#21+ toge#toge#toge inumaki#inumaki toge#inumaki x reader#toge x reader#this was inspired by someone's freaking tag that i read haha#getting a little unhinged#with toge#u opened Pandora's box
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“But at what cost?”
Available as a print on my Etsy Shop
#doctorsiren#greek mythology#icarus#orpheus#eurydice#epimetheus#prometheus#digital art#my art#procreate#yet ANOTHER portfolio piece#in some versions of Pandora’s Box/Jar. Epimetheus is the one to open it#he’s the god of afterthought </3
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Pros of this Episode:
Annabeth ripping into Procrustes every time he speaks by threatening to cut off his head. She is Done TM and I am so proud of her
Percy being a New Yorker once again, lying through his teeth, and calling them suckers. Also RIP to “it was a big bathtub” but “I mean…we’re all dying…to some extent” SLAPS
Grover and Percy looking at each other after finding the Master Bolt like “oh shit oh fuck oh shit oh fuck” I felt that
Hades and his Fruity Little Vibe, being so flamboyant and over-the-top but also still nice in his own way, You go Glen Coco
Sally. Everything with Her, Sally and Percy, Sally and Poseidon, Sally and the bitchass principal, Sally. Sally Jackson. End of story.
Cons of this Episode:
So I’m not a fan of- *gunshot, I am killed instantly*
#the scream I scrumpt when Annabeth yelled at Crusty from the back room#also Cerberus’ character design was adorable#you’re not getting my criticism after I posted about last episode#I’m not opening Pandora’s box thanks#percy jackson#pjo#percy jackon and the olympians#pjo tv show#percy jackson and the olympians#percy jackson tv show#pjo spoilers#percy jackson the lightning thief#pjo series#grover underwood#annabeth chase#sally jackson#hades pjo#hades#Poseidon#poseidon pjo#procrustes
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So I may have got The Book of Bill and it has me in a slight tiny itty bit of a death grip hyperfixation where all I've been able to imagine is his pathetic toxic ex ass
This pathetic triangle has once again parasitically wormed his way into my brain after years of absence
Also he totally would try and gaslight Ford and say he probably just lost the shirt when he stole it if ever asked where the shirt went
Ok so I could've put a ton of things in that last, panel, so I did, with some joke suggestive ones as the last two below the cut
I'm going to explode him with stock video explosions a bajillion times over
#art#digital art#gravity falls#bill cipher#the book of bill#billford#I'm strangling this bastard in my mind#Not like he'd want to stay considering what I've imagined him doing#I feel oddly cringe and self conscious#But I always do when presenting not dsaf to my probably 100% dsaf audience#And I feel extra mega cringe because my permanent Feral brainrot is mixing with the tbob brainrot#If you ask me about that you will open Pandora's box and I couldn't be happier#Seriously I imagined it too much and it accidentally turned into a whole ass au I think#God I'm so cringe#But I am free#I enjoy talking to myself in my tags#Hi me! It's 4:30 am go to bed
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hey there. you can now digitally purchase and read my shortbox comics fair 2024 comic "PANDORA OPENS THE BOX OF CATASTROPHES" right here. thanks for the support. i'll be a part of sbcf again this year and i'm very excited for my next project!
#comic#pandora opens the box of catastrophes#greek mythology#art#pandora's box#all my other comics i've made are on there now too lol. for free tho
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Ok, so here me out here
#The intrusive thoughts won out and I drew Mommy Halsina#BG3#Baldurs Gate 3#Halsin#not gonna lie I am fearing for my life a bit#itll be like opening pandoras box on live television I dont know whats gonna happen but future me can deal with the consequences of this#but I personally think she is super gorgeous and strong and gentle and ughhhheverything she is everything to me
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Pherson of the Year - Round 1 Match 25
Who has contributed more to phannie culture in 2024?
#am i opening pandora's box with this?#who knows#everyone gets to relive the trauma with this one#dan and phil#phan#poll#pherson of the year#silverfoxphil#jedus
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old man yuri
dialogue and caption credit to @pupppppppy
#THANKS PUPPY YOU OPENED PANDORAS BOX#witch hat olruggio#wha olruggio#wha qifrey#witch hat qifrey#witch hat#witch hat atelier#crowcraft#qifrey#olruggio#orufrey#I mean. it IS
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Thinking about submissive Luke 🫣
luke’s trying so hard not to show his submissive side, desperately trying to maintain his dominance, but the way you'd bounce on him at such a fast pace with your hand tangled in his curls would just make it so incredibly difficult for him to not lose control, and eventually he'd succumb as whimpers and whines and moans would slip from his lips so desperately. "fuck, baby. feels so fucking good, just like that."
he’d start letting you take control, basking in the fact you’re the one in the lead right now. his whines would only spur you on. he’d start being even more vocal than he already is, telling you how good he’s been and how patient he was, waiting all day for this. he’s never been one to let you take the lead in the bedroom before, but he’s surprised as how much he liked watching you use him to get yourself off, thinking to himself about testing the waters a little more in depth next time.
#alliyaps#this is the first smutty thing i’ve ever written about luke#and i fear it’s like opening a pandora’s box#hockey#nhl#new jersey devils#luke hughes
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Whaddya think, should I let him in? Should I let him get under my skin? Well I did, I did, I did, I did
#disco Elysium#kim kitsuragi#harry du bois#kimharry#de#de fanart#i never do this. but they have done something to me.#blame my friend eden i drew some kims for her and it opened Pandora's box. anyway. them.#juha-art#kim midriff
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They Think Empathy Is A Sin Because They Worship Satan, Literally, Not Metaphorically: an esay.
OK so. I am going to do something inadvisable and make a lengthy post about something other than game design, because I can and I want to.
It's a long one. Like, extremely long. So, to avoid "Do you like the colour of the sky [gone quaker, gone tolstoy, christian anarchist edition]", here's a convenient break so you can scroll past if lengthy religious diatribes aren't your thing.
To begin with, some baselines. I am writing from a Christian perspective. More specifically, I would describe myself as a Liberal Quaker. To me, at least, this involves Christianity as a communal mystical practice, with unprogrammed worship (IE no clergy) and an entirely flat religious heirarchy. Values associated with this branch of religion include honesty, charity, humility and peace.
I adopted Quakerism as a religious framework because it was the one that worked for me. I was raised in, and still live in, a culturally Christian society; as such, Christianity provided a religious framework of symbols and meanings that I was culturally fluent with, whereas other faiths would have required a steeper learning curve since I lack that baseline familiarity. That said, I try to study and understand other religions: I would say that what I've learned of Islam and Budhism - while I'm far from an expert - have been valuable to me.
Politically, I lean hard to the left and hard towards anarchy/libertarianism. I would describe my politics as antifascist first, and then largely anarcho-communist after that, but I'm a pretty big-tent progressive. I'm also a british trans woman who keeps ending up voting Lib Dem for lack of better options, if that gives you any context.
Now, let's define some terms as I understand them and intend to use them. These are all metaphors or symbols, that we can use poetically to better articulate certain ideas. I use Christian imagery here, because that's what I'm fluent with; if I was instead fluent with Jewish or Daoist or some other religious culture, I'd be expressing my ideas with those symbols instead. So.
God: A manifestation/personification/symbol of absolute perfect goodness. God is Love. That is God is absolute unconditional love for all of creation.
Jesus/Christ: Jesus is a representation of God's love for us humans taking tangible effect. Jesus is a sacrifice God made on our behalf to rescue us from Sin. Jesus is inspired by the historical figure Yeshua of Nazareth, a 1st-century Jewish religious thinker who was quite popular and then executed by the Roman occupation.
Sin/Original Sin: Sin is simple, it's when we do bad things that hurt people. Since God loves all of us and doesn't want us hurt, God doesn't want us to Sin. Original sin is part of us; the fact that we are capable of Sinning simply because we're human.
Satan/The Devil: Satan is the force that urges us to Sin.
Heaven/Paradise: A state of goodness, where - since we have escaped sin and embraced God's wishes for us, we do not suffer.
Hell/Damnation: The state of rejecting God and personally embracing Sin, and therefore suffering.
When I talk about these things, I do not mean them in the literaly sense that a fundamentalist might. I do not believe that there is an actual literal guy called Satan who is red with stylish little horns and a goattee who spends all day tempting people and poking dead souls with a pitchfork.
Rather, these are social constructs. By way of analogy, gender and money are social constructs; they're concepts that have no inherent existence in a world that's ultimately just atoms and energy in a vacuum, but because we believe in them and lend them social weight, they gain power in our lives. In the same way the concepts of God, Satan, Sin, etc clearly effect the world. Saying 'Sin' isn't real is like saying your bank account isn't real; it has a tangible effect on the world, so it's useful to discuss it.
Does this mean that I think God, Sin, etc are just made up arbitrary symbols? No. I happen to believe in them. I happen to actively choose to believe in them, because I want to invest them with meaning in my life. This is why it's called 'faith' and not 'rational observation'. But even if they were purely arbitrary ideas, then I think that - like other purely arbitrary ideas such as 'human rights' and 'love' - they're worth believing in anyway.
Lastly, the Bible. I like the bible. It's an old historical text with some incredibly beautiful writing in it, that conveys some potent and meaningful messages. It is very obviously not an account of literal fact, but interpreted through a lens of metaphor or poetry it has a lot to teach. Not everything in it is perfect - it's a historical text that has been translated and retranslated repeatedly - but IMHO you can get a lot out of it, and its writers were, as a general rule, onto something.
You will notice that these ideas are wildly counter to the culturally conservative evangelical christian mainstream. They are, however, entirely unremarkable within the framework of liberal theology.
OK. These should be our base assumptions going in. Perhaps you disagree with them; if so, that's nice for you, but here I'm describing my worldview, not prescribing what yours should be.
It is perhaps notable that I've got this far in and only just finished defining my terms.
SO.
I have observed in the past that there are - effectively - two different, largely incompatible, religions both called Christianity. On the one hand, we have what I believe in, a belief structure that champions such virtues as mercy, forgiveness, peace and humility. On the other hand, we have the mainstream conservative evangelical christian right; this version of christianity values things like obedience, authority and (most of all) punishment.
These are fundamentally incompatible belief structures. As a stark illustration of this, consider what these two christianities want for wrongdoers. One branch wants them to repent, atone and be forgiven. The other wants them to be punished and suffer for their transgressions.
I am going to differentiate between these two beliefs. Because it's my essay and I'm on my side, I will call my beliefs Christianity, and the other side Christian Fascism.
I would argue that my values are more fundamental to the underlying message of Christianity (as derived from the teachings of that guy Yeshua I mentioned) than the other approach. In no particular order:
we have the parable of the prodigal son. Here, Yeshua teaches his followers that when somebody fucks up and then changes their mind, this is to be celebrated and they are to be welcomed back. The message of reconciliation and forgiveness is obvious.
we have the parable of the good samaritan. Again, the message is clear: we must seek to do right by even our enemies.
there are many other stories and teachings attributed to Yeshua with similar messages. Forgiveness and redemption are constant themes in his teachings. He praises the humble and the downtrodden consistently.
However, most importantly, we have the central facet of Christianity itself; the crucifixion. What happens here, and why?
God comes to earth as Jesus, and - after spreading his message described above - is publicly tortured to death in one of the most horrific execution methods available at the time. This sacrifice is made, knowingly, to absolve humanity of Sin. All of humanity. No exceptions. God loves us, He wants us to be forgiven when we sin, so he suffers and dies for us to offer us a way out.
It's right there. John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." God loves the entire world so much that He made this sacrifice, so that whoever wants it can be saved. No exceptions. Whoever you are, God loves you, and sent Jesus so you can be saved if you want it.
This is the single central pillar on which the entire rest of Christianity is built.
So, yes. The 'no true scotsman' argument gets used in discussions around Christianity, but in this instance I firmly believe that it is, in fact, possible to say that somebody is doing Christianity wrong, because the central message of Christianity stands for something (mercy, redemption, charity, etc) and when somebody acts in opposition to that, then whatever they are doing is not christian.
(an analogy: suppose somebody called themselves a communist, but in practice they voted for right-wing parties, assisted the owning-class over the class interests of the workers, espoused anti-communist rhetoric, and never did anything communist. They could claim all they want: the truth remains that they are failing to be a communist through their actual behaviour. likewise any other set of principles).
So. Christianity is not Christian Fascism. Christian Fascism is, instead, fascism wearing christianity as a disguise. They are not, meaningfully, christian, they just want you to think they are. They might believe it themselves, even.
Another example: terfs. Terfs are transphobic bigots who appropriate the name of feminism to advance their transphobic agendas. They want you to believe they're feminists. They might believe they're feminists themselves. But the things they say, and do, and seem to believe are profoundly unfeminist, and feminism as a movement has a duty to reject them. That terfs wear the mask of feminism doesn't discredit the actual feminist movement.
It's idealogical parasitism. Hollowing out one ideology and wearing its skin to advance the agenda of a different, opposing ideology.
Fascists do this a lot because the actual things they want are straightforwardly evil, and being evil on purpose tends not to be popular until you're, like, super indoctrinated, so they use appropriate the language of other movements as a trojan horse.
To my mind, there is a fairly simple litmus test for these things. There are two groups in the Bible that we are repeatedly, consistently, unequivocably told to treat well. One is Widows. The other is Refugees. These two groups were hilighted by the writers for a reason; they're vulnerable demographics with fewer social connections to support themselves, who can easily be neglected or actively victimised by a society that doesn't make an active choice to support them. When Yeshua says "Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me", they are 'the least of these'.
Luckily, widows are not in the modern day at the centre of a huge culture war. Refugees, however?
So. A good litmus test. How somebody believes we should treat refugees, and immigrants more broadly. The message of the Bible is consistently to help foreigners who come to your country, to provide for them and help them settle. Jesus doesn't make any exceptions about visas or 'legal immigration' or contributing to the economy. He tells you in no uncertain terms that you must help refugees, always, every time. If you disagree with that... you're not a Christian, you're a Fascist appropriating Christianity.
(There is a massive discussion that could go here about the bible's position on sexuality, queerness, divorce, etc etc. I cannot be bothered with all that. The christian-fascist reading of these verses tends to get the most visibility, because the translations of the bible with the most visibility leaned into these interpretations. there are other interpretations and other translations that don't have these problems. I could go into more detail, but I have better things to discuss. Two key points:
the bible was written in societies where the family was incredibly reliant - socially and economically - on the husband's support. If the husband casts aside his wife and family, or stops giving a shit about them, they're totally fucked. This is the same society where 'do not let widowed women starve if they no longer have a husband to support them' is reiterated constantly. So, many admonishments against adultery etc should be read in this light: your family rely on you, do not abandon them. Many other passages - eg sodom & gomorrough - are likewise condemnation of things like sexual abuse.
more importantly, remember, the central message of christianity is one of absolute universal love so powerful that Jesus personally sacrificed himself to save us. All of us. 'The world' that God loved includes the gays and the divorcees etc. That central message takes precedent over any edge-case reading you might find that suggests that God's love has exceptions.)
There is an asymetry in public discussions of christianity (and, I think, religion more broadly).
If you have a set of beliefs that value everybody's intrinsic worth, that values considers charity and mercy good, that tells you to embrace foreigners and outgroups more generally, you will tend to the left. You will tend to adopt other left-wing ideas alongside it. Among these are ideas like cultural sensitivity, inclusivity, etc. If you believe Jesus commands you to embrace foreigners, then you will do your best not to reject them or their practices, even if they practice a different religion to you. This is doubled when christianity is a culturally hegemonic force, and you wish to do right by the meek and the humble who are being oppressed (often by that hegemonic force of christianity).
What this means is that on the left - where those following the message of Christianity properly should end up - there is an understanding that making explicitely Christian arguments is alienating and disrespectful to those you should have solidarity with. So, as a result of following (Christian) moral principles, the leftist Christian will generally not express their principles in explicitely religious terms, even when they could do so.
Not so on the right. The right doesn't have a problem with making the outgroup feel alienated or disrespecting them. Often, it quite likes this. So, they will use christian language to express their ideas.
So, even if both sides are balanced in numbers - heck, even if the christian fascists are significantly in the minority - the majority of people being vocally christian will be the christian fascists. And this presentation will reinforce the issue.
If this pattern continues within christian circles as well as in public forums - and it does in my experience - then this likewise gives the christian fascists a dispropportionate influence over what christianity becomes. So, it becomes important that in internal discussions, christian fascism be vocally opposed, and opposed in explicitely religious terms.
The fascists are not doing christianity. They do not speak for christianity, and they are not representative of the entirety of christianity. Their hollowing-out-and-puppetting of christianity to promote evil is itself an act of evil; people like this are why we have the word blasphemy.
Seeing somebody spewing hatred that results in actual, material harm to actual, real vulnerable people, and claiming that this is done in the name of Christ, is a profoundly horrific and perverse thing. It makes me feel ill to witness it.
(A further thought: traditionally, Christianity has held that Salvation is through both belief and works. That you must not only want salvation, you must act on it - which is to say, be a good person. If you claim to be saved but continue to willfully sin, that isn't good enough. So, christianity is what you do, not just how you label yourself. There is a correlation between discarding the belief in salvation by works, and christian fascism. John Calvin's spanner remains in the works to this day).
A thought on Idolatory. What is idolatory? In my view, the treatement of a man-made, worldly thing with the same reverence as holy things. If there is an object or symbol that represents a worldly, human thing that you insist must be treated with reverence and ceremony - as if it was holy - then you have made an idol of that thing.
You know, when I first learned about the way americans treat their flag, I was horrified. Because that flag is an idol. It is so obviously and clearly an idol, and yet. And yet.
Patriotism and nationalism - the revering of the state - is idolatory.
The way we fetishise cops and the military is idolatory.
Even discounting that these symbols are things that do horrific evil as their stated goals, you have taken a human thing - a political body - and treated it like its sacred.
When we consider that an Idol can be a concept or a structure, and not just a literal graven image, we start to see idolatory everywhere on the political right. This is, after all, the entire concept of 'civil religion'. The american founding fathers are not saints, the american constitution is not a holy text, and the american flag is not a holy relic, and the treatment of these things like they are is obvious and flagrant idolatory.
Read up on Tolstoy's thoughts on christian anarchism, as a logical end point of these ideas.
A little diversion on the Antichrist. I dont think Revelations is a literal predictive prophecy, I think it's a warning. It describes - through poetic and symbolic language - pitfalls the faithful might encounter, and encourages them to stand firm against them, and promises that however dire things get, good will triumph over evil in the end. It says 'things will get bad, here are some specific ways they might get bad, but you should hold onto hope'.
Who is the Antichrist in this text? It describes a type of person. Somebody wealthy and politically powerful, who achieves a position of global power and unifies disparate nations under his banner. He isn't christian, but he makes a pretence at piety and convinces the masses to treat him as a religious figure, even as he perverts and distorts religion towards his own hateful ends. He's supported by powerful cultural entities, and combined with his charisma this makes his ascent to power seem inevitable. He is utterly, utterly evil, but he also has really powerful branding that people willingly adopt. He will rise to power in a time of turmoil, sickness and widespread disasters.
Remind you of anybody?
His mark goes on the forehead and the right hand. The red maga hat, and the roman salute. I know I'm doing a paradoelia here, but surely I'm not the only one seeing this shape in the inkblots?
In times like these, I keep coming back to Revelations, and its message that even though things will get really bad, there is always hope, and God's love wins out in the end.
So. The christian fascists are not doing Christianity. They are not following Christ's agenda, which is one of universal love, mercy, and redemption. So, what are they doing, and whose agenda are they serving?
I think you see where this argument is going.
I have not discussed Satan much yet, because while I'm cogniscent of Satan's influence, my faith focusses on Christ; on mercy and redemption and fundamentally goodness rather than evil. But discussing satan becomes pertinent.
Satan is not simply a red guy with a goatee scheming to take over the world like Bible-Skeletor. Indeed, satan is not really a 'guy' at all; it's a tendency. It's the urge to sin, the temptation to not be your best self, or to be your worst self. Every time somebody pisses you off and you have that little spiteful urge to fuck them over? That idea is satan. Every time you want to take something for yourself when somebody else needs it more? Satan.
It is, I think, useful to have a concept of satan that you can personify, so you can (internally) argue against those urges.
Anyway. God loves us universally and absolutely, and wants us to flourish and prosper and do right by each other. Not doing that is Sin. So, here are some things that are sins:
the pursuit of material wealth and power at others expense (see; camels and needles, the meek and their inheritence, etc).
the defining of outgroups against whom cruelty is acceptably or encouraged.
the belief that some people are lesser; less deserving of God's grace and mercy, and so your own kindness too.
raising worldly human powers - states, laws, militaries, flags - into idols.
the - as established - blasphemous perversion of God's will towards evil ends.
These are pretty central patterns we see over and over again among the christian fascists.
They see the outgroup (queers, sluts, immigrants, muslims, people who get abortions, jews, leftists, and so on and so on) as lesser, as deserving of punishment, and they embrace the thought that God will punish them with eternal hell. (See that time pope franky said he hoped Hell was empty, and a lot of these people were furiously angry at the thought.)
They think 'prosperity gospel' isn't a blasphemous oxymoron.
They treat human authorities - cops, armies, nations - with reverence. They fucking love flags, they get extremely patriotic.
They take their hunger for power and their hatred, and they wrap it in the bible - they take God's name in vain - and sully holy things with their evil.
Plus, if we scroll back up to my tangent about the antichrist, there's a pretty good contender for the role currently, and they've embraced him whole-heartedly.
So, their worldview promotes sin.
And they are obsessed with the Devil.
But they don't see it as something they must struggle with; after all, they tend to reject the idea of salvation through works, and claim their saved because they're saved. According to them, rather than doing Christ's work making them christian, because they claim to be christian whatever they do - no matter how evil - retroactively becomes Christ's work. The things they do are good because it's them doing them, and the exact same things done by their enemies would be evil.
So they ignore that little satan-urge in their head, and displace it. They see Satan in everything else, in the outside world, in everything that isn't christian fascism. And then they do Satan's work, by seeking to punish the people they project this satan onto.
What does Satan want? He wants you to hate, he wants you to hurt others, and to profit at their expense. And their religion teaches them to hate and punish others and profit.
They serve satan. And they do it in the name of faith. They are clearly worshipping. So, who do they worship? They worship the one their actions serve.
That is to arrive at the thesis statement of this whole essay, and something I sincerely and wholeheartedly believe, in a literal sense:
the right-wing evangelical Christian mainstream worships and serves Satan.
And then what? I will confess, I am as fallible as any other human. These people - due to their hatred - hurt me and people I love. I am angry at them. I am incandescently angry at the things they do. There is a slippery slope leading from righteous indignation to hatred, and I am struggling emotionally to stay at the top of the slope, and not become actively hateful.
But rationally, how I want to feel? What my better self feels? I feel pity. Hell isn't a place with lots of bats and fire, it's seperation from God's love, and - even if they don't realise it - they turn away from God, and they suffer, and their spread their suffering. They are profoundly spiritually sick, and I want them to get better. I want them to fucking stop. I want them to step out of the dark place they've gone to and return to God's side, and to repent, atone for their actions, and find the same Mercy I want for everybody.
It's fucking hard to look at somebody who viscerally hates me for existing, and want them to recieve salvation, but I try.
I don't know how to fix them or save them. They don't want to be saved. They think our attempts to reach out to them are corruption. They think mercy is weakness and pity tempts you.
They warn each other not to give in to the sin of empathy. It's fucking heartbreaking.
#christianity#christian faith#the sin of empathy#christian fascism#jesus#tolstoy#quaker#theology#liberal theology#liberal christianity#please play nice in the notes#i am aware that i am opening pandoras box here#faith
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I’ve got beef with ToA for several reasons but the fact that Leo bonds with both Thalia and Reyna is actually very good and funny to me. You go boy. Befriend all of your boyfriend’s loved ones.
Him bribing Thalia with hot sauce is so <3
#barely anyone is able to keep disliking Leo and I think that’s so sweet actually <3#I can go into why I dislike ToA (especially Tyrant’s Tomb is. a book that exists) but box of pandora. Once open good luck shutting me up#valgrace#jason grace#leo valdez#ToA#trials of apollo#Thalia Grace#reyna avila ramirez arellano#leo x jason#jason x leo
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