#and the traps progressive christians fall into

[many-sparrows]

[jingerpi]

struggling to word this rn but there's something to be said about how focus of Islamophobia is misdirected at atheists. like sure there are a lot of islamophobic and generally bigoted atheists but I'm pretty sure if we're going to point fingers about Islamophobia, Christians need to be first.

like yeah atheists often misguidedly apply their critique of religion or particulars of Christianity to Islam and fall into racism, some of them are even just straight up racist even without that, but Christians aren't misapplying anything, they're not falling into the trap of a wider bigoted society, they are the bigoted society, they're hateful warmongering colonizers and imperialists and ideological support for these things can be found directly in their scriptures, they're only able to feign progressive ideas because they have such control over culture in the imperial core, and they use that control to single out their opponents as uniquely bigoted for doing the very same things they want deep down. it's a kind of "the enemy of my enemy is my scapegoat" setup, and it's really weird to try and get a grasp on

[reddstiches]

I normally don't state my opinion in text posts, but I want to ask something.

When it comes to politics (US, unfortunately, I am American), I see a bunch of people stating they'll they won't vote for Kamala due to the Palestinian genocide. Okay, I understand. I've been in this fight for over a decade, educating on the Palestinian's plight that has been happening since the 1940s. The prisoners, the Great March of Return, etc. (I've also been knee deep in educating about the ulterior motives of the "War on Terror" and how it was a step by step plan by Western countries to destabilize the Middle East for Big Oil but that's a whole different post)

What is your plan? How are you going to overthrow the Militarized American Government? What steps are you going to take to change how it works?

Not to be a bitch, but if you don't vote, Trump will become president and the Palestinians will be genocided regardless. In fact, it would be at a faster rate due to him and his constituents. There wouldn't even be talks of a ceasefire or any aid. All aid would cease, and the Trump administration would expedite the process of turning Gaza into a parking lot. (Trump's words, not mine)

Plus, Americans would also suffer. Leftists like myself know that a Kamala presidency is just stalling for time, a band aid on an already corrupt deal, but we don't want to fall full tilt into fascism. We are so close to 1930s Germany on the far-right that it is frightening, staring down the barrel of a gun. (In fact it would be worse due to the US having the biggest and most advanced military in the world + nukes.)

In 2016, many voted 3rd party or didn't vote at all due to Hillary Clinton being the democratic primary and not Bernie Sanders.

In 2016 I begged and pleaded for people to vote blue (as a band aid) I knew as poli-sci student that a Trump presidency would overturn Roe V Wade due to the status of the Supreme Court at the time. All he had to do was stack it. I knew hate crimes would rise as he gave a voice to racists and bigots. I knew he would go after the LGBTQ+, marginalized communities, and asylum seekers. He campaigned on hate, and it killed millions of Americans in the pandemic. I mourned for the progress (as little as it was) we had made as a country as it was announced he won.

Because of moralist inaction in 2016, my neices and myself now have to fight for rights our grandmothers won. Because of inaction, our country was set back decades.

So what is your plan? What revolution are you going to put in place from your living room?

The government would slaughter its own citizens to uphold the status quo. There has to be a plan. (See BLM protests 2020 and Free Palestine protests 2023-2024)

The White Christian Nationalists are united in their beliefs of stripping the little rights away that we do have. They don't care about you and your beliefs.

You are so focused on moral grandstanding that real-life consequences are beyond you.

You all are so focused on doing no wrong, that you forget to do what is right.

Sometimes you have to play the long game. Because we are losing battles, yes, but that doesn't mean we lose the war.

I refuse to let it all burn to make a point. I care about my fellow Americans, my fellow LGBTQ+ brothers, and sisters trapped in the South, women dying in hospital parking lots, and POC being racially targeted, the refugees just looking for a new life.

I refuse to let a Trump presidency implement the last few steps of Project 2025. If I can stall and help build a community to support my countrymen (gender neutral) I will.

I will begrudgingly vote for Kamala Harris and continue to fight.

[saras-devotionals]

Quiet Time 9/27

What am I feeling today?

I’m feeling guilty. I woke up later than I wanted to and it kinda really messed up the plans that I had for my day. I should’ve just denied myself and gotten up and out of bed when my initial alarm went off. Also feeling a bit overwhelmed. But at the same time relieved! God has really been helping me through a lot and showing me a lot of grace and mercy and I love that!

Bible Study: Idols of the Heart

Let us remember who we are. We are a chosen people, holy and set apart. We are the bride of Christ who is making herself ready for His return. We are to keep ourselves for Him and Him alone. When we forget the WHY of our lives, we lose our way and allow other things to grab at our hearts.

Paul tells us that we must put the deeds of the flesh to death. Don’t try to tame it, don’t try to control it. You must kill it.

What was physical in the Old Testament is spiritual in the New Testament. Remember the first commandment:

And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.3 You shall have no other gods before me.” Ex 20:2-3

We may say that we have no idols or other gods that we worship and that we only follow Christ. Let us do a pit-stop check. You may be right. How about the idols of the heart?

Remember you are not common; therefore, you cannot live as if you are. We are reminded repeatedly that we are strangers in this world. And yet, this is how many Christians live. They want the perks of prayers answered, etc., and they want to flirt with their old ‘boyfriends’.

IDOLS OF THE HEART

So, what are some of the idols of the heart? There are many and they keep us from fulfilling our calling and thus weakening our influence on the world.

What is an idol?

Anything that we desire more than God or that takes the place of God.

The Greek word is epithumiai — over-desire.

Idols of the HEART – the word of God says the heart is the wellspring of life (Prov. 4:23), and out of the overflow of the heart comes all kinds of greed, etc. (Matt 15:19)

So, while we may look at someone and say, “Oh, they are power-thirsty, they are a control freak, they love pleasure, etc.," those are only the fruits of idols of the heart. Behaviour is a product of beliefs which are the ROOT of the issue.

Dealing with the idols of the heart is not about behaviour modification but heart transformation. When the heart is in the right place, the behaviour automatically follows. Whenever you see a behaviour change (good or bad), you know something has changed in a person’s heart.

Some idols can even be good things. The key is we over-desire them.

Timothy Keller writes, “God was saying that the human heart takes good things like a successful career, love, material possessions, even family, and turns them into ultimate things. Our hearts deify them as the centre of our lives, because, we think, they can give us significance and security, safety and fulfilment, if we attain them.”

So, an IDOL is anything that we make the ultimate thing in our lives, over God.

REFLECTIONS

Can you recognize the things you have desired more than God?

Definitely men and relationships. I know in the past that’s been a really big struggle for me and I had to work through that a lot. And although I’ve made a lot of progress, I don’t want to fool myself into believe that I’m completely safe from falling into that same trap.

There’s a guy I’ve met at church and I like him a lot. We went on a date and I’ve convinced myself that he likes me too. But I want to be super careful! Because I can catch myself thinking about him a lot, or replaying moments between us, or even fantasizing a future - and that’s not okay! He shouldn’t be on my mind so often and I don’t want him to become a heart idol for me. God needs to be my absolute top priority, always on my mind and I’m going after Him with 100% of my heart!

Ask the Holy Spirit to start showing you those areas that are still not surrendered to Jesus.

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭11‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.”

I was given the advice in regards to lust and desire to absolutely fight it to the death. To pray really hard over it and hate it with all my being because it’s something to be disgusted by. Lust disgusts God, all our sin disgusts God and I need to feel the same way and put it to death instead of feeding it every once in a while, while I feel the urge come it. Because temptation leads to sin and sin leads to death!

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭15‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”

Here is Jesus speaking about what defiles us. Whatever comes out of our mouth comes from our hearts and these can be evil thoughts, the one standing out to me is sexual immorality. Again, I need to fight that sin to the death, because either I kill it or it’ll lead to my own demise.

[suzannahnatters]

Flash Fic: Strange the Living

Some time ago in the City of the Dead was a man who believed himself to be alive.

The first sign of Matthew Strange’s delusion was his arrival upon my doorstep at one o’clock of a stormy November evening: hatless, rumpled and soaked from the rain.

I welcomed him into the hall, where he stood shivering although there was no wind to stir him. “It is so cold!” he said.

Strange had for some time been studying the prospect of resurrection. That evening, having retired as usual to read in his library, he found himself distracted by unfamiliar sensations. He took to the streets, yet his agony only became more intolerable as the evening progressed. At last, happening to pass my house, he sought my counsel.

I saw nothing to suggest that Strange had undergone resurrection. His cheeks were pale and withered, his feet so worm-eaten that he was compelled to use a walking-stick. He therefore explained that he felt. His throat was parched, his bones rattled from cold, and his feet ached. Most alarming of all was a bitter pang originating from no particular source, which he said caused water to stream from what was left of his eyes. I studied his face, but the moisture might well have been the rain.

“Forget these chimerical pains,” I told him. “Make up your mind that you are quite dead, and do not spend your days trapped in a delusion.”

Strange only sent me a despairing look.

From that date the madness of Matthew Strange only increased. He shut himself into his empty house and hung crepe from the knocker of his door. On the rare occasion anyone saw him, he was clad in deepest mourning.

“You look well preserved,” I greeted, upon meeting him in the street one gloomy evening. “I take it you have gotten well again?”

“I am well,” he said, with a rather wild laugh. “It seems I am the only one who is.” 

I decided to humour him. “Why, what do you mean?”

“Just this: that I have found others who claim to be living. But it’s all a hoax, my friend. They are as dead as anyone else.”

“That seems uncharitable.”

“But they do not feel,” he said. “Snow falls, and they do not shiver. Fresh dead arrive each day, and their hearts do not break. They cannot smell their own corruption. They are dead, or next to it.”

“Naturally; but why spend your days in seclusion? One cannot always be mourning.”

“A dead thing cannot weep at all,” he said. “But I live, and therefore I mourn them.”

Strange’s words disturbed me, for as I hurried away, I began to understand them. Surely the thought of death had once been terrible to me! Was it not dreadful to be infested with worms and bloated with stinking gases? Perhaps Strange was right to mourn! Perhaps there was something wrong—unnatural, even—about this city! –The sensation was intolerable. I was glad when it passed.

----

I wrote this flash fic for the Pilgrim Artists' Festival, a small Christian festival of art, music, and words which runs every year in Tasmania's Huon Valley. The theme for the 2021 festival was "The Lord's Prayer", and I spent a lot of time contemplating what I wanted to write in response. I was most drawn to the petition, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" and this is my meditation on those lines.

Until 2 September, the 2023 Pilgrim Artists' Festival is open for submissions of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, art, and music from Christian, Nicene-Creed-affirming artists, including children and adults, anywhere in the world. This year's prompt is "Beauty in the Everyday" and there is a 500 word limit on literary entries. There are also dozens of prizes available - check them out and submit here.

Other Pilgrim Artists' Festival flash fic: The Gardens of Hades

[swearyshera]

You can't really get away from the religious / Christianity undertones with this, the "stained-glass language" as it were, but I would like to put a bid in that I think what She-Ra got at with the canon on this stuff was something of a specific form of it - a popular form, but there are actually many shades of "Christianity" out there. I've known Progressive Christians and Liberation Theology folks who are the absolute opposite of the authoritarian views. (There are LGBT+ ministers out there, in liberal churches, is what I'm saying). There are also people like me who are ex-evangelical, but who kept certain aspects of the belief system to become Progressive / go our own way. Granted, the authoritarian types, the Evangelical-authority structure that Prime represents, they don't think of the "liberal" or "leftist" Christians as actual Christians and tend to gatekeep authors and speakers out of "Christian" venues. (It's basically the reason like Rob Bell, a pastor who wrote a book arguing that Hell doesn't exist got drummed out of mainstream theological circles, to say nothing of what they do to LGBT+ believers and allies). I am sorry for rambling, but this is a long-term interest of mine. I'm an ex-evangelical in a long deconstruction. I've also been going through a fresh round of the Deconstruction That Never Ends as a part of my grief-process (I'm the person who lost a loved one this week, previous ask), so it is on the forefront of my mind. I just... in response to others, I do want to put in a word that describing Prime's ways as symbolic of "Christian" is... not inaccurate at all and is very on-point, but to warn that to fall into the trap of* all* things under the broad "Christian" banner are emblematic of that is kind of like saying "All Muslims are ISIS" or "All dogs are Dobermans." I do think the "Christian Left" needs a new name because "Christian" is essentially ruined, but we have not found it yet. All Dobermans are Dogs, but not all Dogs are Dobermans, I guess. I find, personally, that Prime represents a specific thing. He's the God who is worried about what's in your pants. He's a God who believes that suffering purifies. He is the God who will send you to Hell for not living to his perfection. Some of us who believe in a higher power and might even still call ourselves "Christian" for lack of a better, modern term stopped believing in that God long ago. (And want to murder him with as much extreme prejudice as future-Hordak with neck-grab strangle abyss-drop). You can guess at what scene I am most looking forward to in Sweary She-Ra. Make my boy Hordak shine. _freedfromthegalactichivemind

Nate has said a couple of times, I think, that Horde Prime and the whole storyline surrounding him was inspired by his own evangelical upbringing, so it's very much not a coincidence that much of Prime's world is a reflection of that particular type of Christianity. Personally, I grew up as Roman Catholic, which is a rather different type of Christianity to Evangelicalism, so this kind of outward, 'repent or go to hell' preaching is a little alien to what I'm familiar with. But there are still parallels.

The reason I haven't explicitly mentioned religion in the comic is twofold. The first being that I just don't have enough experience with the type of Christianity that Prime represents to make it (for want of a better word) faithful. It would either be a poor imitation or an exaggeration. And yeah, religion means a lot to some people - I mean, this is tumblr so you could all be out there like 'God is dead and I killed her', but I think there's a chunk of you who don't want to see the sledgehammer 'Religion bad' message it would end up as. The other reason is that I don't have an axe to grind against religion - I'm not religious now, but I've never had reason to say 'the church is awful and we should take it down'. Maybe I'm lucky, I dunno. So I focus here on the things that I do have stronger opinions about - the rise of anti-lgbt hate (shown in Prime's story), and the importance of persevering and showing that it really does get better if you just hold on (shown in Catra's).

And yes, Prime does represent that specific type of God used to strike fear into people to obtain obedience and compliance. And this scene, the 'purification' is a perfect example of that. I genuinely don't think Prime is too bothered by Catra calling Hordak by his name, I don't think he needs to go through the whole memory wipe thing for that. He does it as a show of power to scare Catra into obedience and compliance with his wishes. It's bad enough at face value, what Prime does, but when you consider that he's needlessly torturing a living being as a threat to someone else... ugh, that's utterly horrific.

Anyhow, I am not nearly knowledgeable enough to be debating religion and its portrayal in SPOP. All I can do is tell you things from my point of view and how I reflect them here. But one thing's for sure, I think we're all looking forward to Prime's defeat!

[littleapocalypsekitten]

So, I feel like ranting a bit about something that annoys me. So, a youtuber I watch frequently for politics and interesting religion-stuff took some calls and talked about Islamophobia and some contradictory things he' said. He is an atheist youtuber, but known for tolerance and being all "I don't care if you're (moderately) religious, I want allies to go after the fanatics." At the same time, he openly wants everyone who is religious in any way to "wake up and realize that it is all false." You have no idea how condescending I find that.

First, the take on Islam. (I personally do not have much familiarity with the religion), but this guy I watch seemed to fall into the trap of seeing Islam as "especially dangerous" - (the video was titled "Islam is a problem, how to solve it") which I clicked on because it seemed... kind of out of character for him to have a video titled that. He made clear that he didn't want to see Muslims hurt but saw the religion a above-and-beyond dangerous, like a bit more than Christianity. My first thought is that he only feels that way because he was formerly a form of Christian (JW) and because he lives in a society where it predominates, so, of course, like most Americans, he's not going to see the background-radiation he lives with as nearly as "dangerous" as the foreign thing he is unfamiliar with and which get a lot of war-coverage and propaganda against it. He seems to think that Islam is mostly terroristic, has fewer moderates. Second... it's the take on other religions as an "I'll work with you, but wake up" attitude. The idea that the entire world will be a better place once everyone becomes atheist. Blah! Not with some of the jerks I've known. I truly believe that the solution to religious extremism ISN'T pushing the world toward no-religion, it's fostering and encouraging BETTER religion. Also, just a good, humble, general uncertainty on all our parts. Back when I was more religious than I am now - back when I was Evangelical rather than Progressive/Universalist in my own religion (Christian-based, although I am questioning now), I encountered a lot of people who treated me like I was stupid for believing in a God at all. I encountered people who said that if I wanted to be respected as an intelligent, full human that I needed to give up my faith. This was "the world" that I was warned about on Sundays. I saw people who wanted me to conform to the world. I saw a danger to my soul. Predictably, I dug in, and was like that for a long time. Do you know what got me to mellow out? Not "Be an atheist / be a wan deist." It was... other forms of Christianity that I'd discovered. I disliked what I felt like I "had to believe" and sought out, on my own, online generally, other ways to do Christianity. I discovered the *concept* of LGBT+ Christians, for example - that Church was wrong about being gay being inherently a rebellion against God. And not just "I'm gay but I'm chaste" people, but you know, people who scholared out some of the probably-original-words of Scripture with arguments of them being mistranslated over the centuries. The same with the concept of Hell, which I'd believed in for far too long not just because of dogma, but because of depression, low self-esteem and ideas I had about the inherent cruelty of Nature. (Yeah, I'm weird). I saw people arguing against Hell USING THE BIBLE. (Talking of original languages, and of scriptures that even in English seem to counter the eternal torture idea). The people telling me "just be atheist" scared me, pissed me off and got me backlashing. It was the "Keep your faith, but you're allowed to do it kinder" that got me, well, kinder, more open, and more questioning. And, no, it does not (nor should it) inherently lead to atheism. I've seen atheist into fostering moderate religion because they think they'll eventually "save" the religious people. And on the fundie side, that's exactly why they warn against moderate religion ("you'll lose your faith and lose your meaning.") I DEPISE the idea that both drawn up "sides" seem to think of it having a single direction. Humans are more complicated than that. From one "side" (fundie) there's a scare-tactic. From the other, they may think they are being favorable, but they are being insulting.

[autistic-ben-tennyson]

Tumblr falls into this trap a lot with Judaism acting like it’s the “leftist religion” compared to Christianity. Yes, the majority of American Jews are left leaning due to most being Reform, but there are reactionary Jewish communities and denominations and progressives shouldn’t be surprised when people like Chaya Raichik or Ben Shapiro exist. The Jewish relationship with god can’t be simplified down to “wrestling with god” either as Jews have different beliefs. Acting like Judaism is the perfect affirming religion erases people who left orthodox and fundamentalist communities and have trauma from that.

while it is important to acknowledge that religion is not this universal block of toxic christianity and that other religions have different, and often healthier, fundamental ideals, it is also important to acknowledge that there are religious abuse survivors from ALL RELIGIONS. i trend i am seeing a lot on tumblr is this idea that non-christian religions are inherently less toxic, and to some extent there maybe threads of truth in it, but religious abuse is not dependent solely on the religion practiced. the religion involved can impact that the severity of the abuse, especially when you look at it’s cultural saturation and how that affects the victim, but ultimately it is HOW it is practiced and how the LEADERS USE IT TO EXERT POWER AND CONTROL OVER THEIR COMMUNITY. this is why even religions and spiritualities that can be considered fairly simple or healthy can still have people coming out of it suffering from religious trauma. to claim that certain religions are free of abusive situations or concepts is incredibly dismissive to survivors from those communities.

 it is so important not to idealize any religion, which is very easy to do when you look at it next toxic christianity, because no practice is universally harmless (because peoples perceptions and experiences are not universally consistent!) and no community is universally non-toxic. where there are places of power in a community, there will always be people who abuse that power, so we must respect and support survivors regardless of what religion they are coming from.

[dankusner]

Review: ‘Tammy Faye’ musical on Broadway pokes fun of some all too easy targets

NEW YORK — Cable TV in the early 1980s had no more hypnotic oddity than “The PTL Club,” otherwise known as “The Jim and Tammy Show,” wherein an oily host and his mascara-loving spouse peddled their prosperity gospel via satellite, telling viewers who craved, say, a new car that Jesus wanted them in the driver’s seat.

All they had to do was pray and send Jim and Tammy Bakker a big check.

I remember flipping channels past the Bakkers in lonely hotel rooms, compelled by the contrast they offered to the doom-and-gloom evangelists with whom they shared the upper reaches of the cable numerical system.

Jim and Tammy Faye were a lot more fun than Jimmy Swaggart, Pat Robertson, Marvin Gorman and, God knows, Jerry Falwell, all now either fallen or dead or both.

Tammy Faye Bakker is dead, too, a truth made clear in the first scene of an internally conflicted new musical that carries her name, even though the felonious hubby who betrayed her with Jessica Hahn (a setup, perhaps) is still very much alive, still hawking dubious products in Jesus’ name.

“Tammy Faye,” which features a score by Elton John, lyrics by Jake Shears and a book by James Graham, comes to Broadway from London, replete with its fabulous original star, Katie Brayben, and director Rupert Goold’s sneering and superficial production, feeling like the work of posh Brits poking fun at the American underclass without much clarity or purpose.

At times, this feels like “Enron” with North Carolina substituting for Texas.

On the one hand, “Tammy Faye” wants to poke fun at the three-ring circus that was cable evangelism without worrying that any such satirical show inevitably falls into the trap of punching down, given that the marks of all these hucksters were mostly less-educated Americans.

(In some cases, that was true of the preachers themselves, who were just trying to talk a good game and make a buck.)

To some degree, watching New Yorkers watch this show is an education in why elite Democrats just lost an election.

These are easy targets.

On the other, the show wants to elevate its heroine from the clown car in which she rode, positing her as a kind of Dolly Parton-Princess Diana hybrid, eschewing the homophobia and power agendas of those who surrounded her and embracing a growing gay following that actually saw her as a fun, camp icon more than some kind of sincere leader.

So fully separating Tammy Faye from Jim is a bit of post-facto quarterbacking, frankly.

But this is a musical, after all, and it’s certainly true that the grim, sexist men in suits were very threatened by Tammy Faye, who genuinely did good things during the AIDS crisis and who figured out much of the same stuff that would later build the stardom of Oprah “You get a car!” Winfrey, a proponent of the prosperity gospel, redux.

That part of the show, thanks to the honesty and richness of Brayben’s lead performance, is the more interesting one.

The more general satirical wash, and it is a tonally constant covering, grows tiresome as the show progresses.

“Tammy Faye” feels like it comes from abroad, as indeed it does, because you never believe that any of the creators have any real skin in the game.

Some of the actors, in search of depth, fight against all that, especially Michael Cerveris, whose Falwell comes with a few surprises.

But Christian Borle, who plays Jim Bakker, maintains an ironic tone throughout;

he’s part in, part out, reflecting the overall tone of the production more than the character.

“Tammy Faye” has its fun moments and, for those of us old enough to remember, it certainly makes its case that the 1980s airwaves got taken over by a bunch of robber barons and hucksters, bilking ordinary folks by playing on their fears.

But while John’s score certainly matches that era, it’s hard to find a song that you really can attach to the kind of emotional core that Broadway musicals always need.

At the end of the night, you start to realize that the show has created such a garish and unnerving landscape that it is near impossible for any true heroine to emerge.

Maybe that’s a fair description of how all this was in real life.

Tammy Faye got as close to saving herself as any lost soul in her position could have managed.

[notmuchtoconceal]

Is it a needy parasite to be living with your dad? Or is even more of a needy parasite to be a free and independent "LGBTABC123 drone" who rebelled against the cisgender mandate that largely shapes life for 99% of people on earth?

Or is it even moremore of a needy parasite to need the normalizing comfort of cisgender norms so badly -- while these norms find themselves performing themselves on top of you like an enchanted male dress has a good time rollicking about upon a white worm, one who's just a component in a machine designed long before the machine designed him, a component so easily made into a tool for his masters -- that he goes the extra mile and demonizes queer gender rebels to obtain a sort of 'extra credit' for being a good boy who respects his designers? Especially if the typical parasite, like all the cis and non-cis gay boys he finds himself typically self-superior to, truly craves only the best facsimiles of real straight men -- the men he'll never be -- just like a Christian can only crave those who come closest to God, being that God himself is designated as "available, but truly unavailable for the likes of you, being that you're not on the same level..."

Or is it even moremoremore of a needy parasite to want to be signing up for a Mars mission to infect a fresh planet with carboncopy humans and a nonculture that revolves around conforming to the external gender patterns normie parents had in mind for the likes of you long before they had even successfully taught you to dress and comport yourself in a gender normative way for them?

Do you think Hitler talked about needy parasites, or was that more of a Stephen Hawking-spawned idea? Was it discovered by Arthur Eddington, perhaps?

Has a semi-intelligent person ever ranted about needy parasites, or is it just the dumbest, most sheltered, tedious and repetitive fuckwits on earth who tend to truly to flush marginalized people down toilets?

How many times do you have to say the same thing before you actually fully believe it enough to lay it to rest? When you finally lay to rest your denunciations against the needy parasites, and just fully bask in and internalize your own self-seen Greatness, perhaps then you can hasten to the point where you move more gracefully and naturally in the direction you're headed -- the direct of a tool of purely unwitting service to his designmasters. Feels like the current juncture comes across like a clueless, disgraceful tool that's still convincing itself that it's been, being, and progressing as a very good boy for chiseling properly -- properly in the manner it was 'naturally' intended to chisel. True to 'itself'. In other words, the product of a meme of a meme of a meme rooted in conservatism and gender performing itself in a conservatively sound manner on top of the tool.

At this molasses rate, it will be a long time before the "pick me girl" denunciations are laid to rest and the tool can chisel gracefully.

After all, no natural male who's actually mastered just living for itself in the greedy way that is said to be its due, right and natural... no such male ever circles back to chide gender rebels in such a resentful, tiresome way.

So glad you're free and independent, bro. Glad you've gotten closer with your dad, too. It can be rough when you're surrounded by and forced to reply upon those who lack understanding.

You can use your freedom and independence to make the world a better place for those brave souls unafraid to live as their authentic selves. As I'm sure you know well, authenticity is authenticity, and even if rebellion can be commodified and repackaged and sold back to you, it sounds like you're keen enough to avoid falling into that trap.

Still obsessed with Elon, huh? Never change, man.

You are, of course, in error in thinking I'm demonizing gender rebels. Your errors are kneejerk reactions which invite projections, though from how it sounds, you're definitely getting better at this.

I used to feel sorry for how much pain you were in, but you're such a tough cookie, you don't need my pity, however you may crumble.

I suspect you may be in too much pain to sympathize with those who truly think differently from you, for it seems you struggle to comprehend anyone can be a man and not fit inside the same mold.

I think a lot of gay men who hate their own masculinity also feel alienated from their femininity, and you're correct in implying this is a direct consequence of the systemic biases they grew up with.

Gender experimentation is a must for everyone, and a healthy degree of androgyny a state of completion.

Ultimately, its up to each individual to decide their own ratios.

You have far too much integrity to play wordgames to hide your defensiveness behind the uses and abuses of ideology.

You're hardcore. Solid. The envy of the world, my friend.

Wishing you the best, in love, career and in family.

God knows I'm gettin what I'm due. ;)

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Devotional Hours within the Bible by J.R. Miller

The Apostles Imprisoned (Acts 5:17-32)

The sin of Ananias and Sapphira and the swift judgment that followed, did not check the progress of the Church. “Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.” Every one of us casts a shadow of influence on other wherever he goes.

But the bitterness of the rulers was not allayed by the judgment. They grew more and more fierce. The narrative goes on: “The high priest rose up, and all they that were with him. … and they were filled with jealousy .” The word “jealousy” gives us the key to this whole incident. The apostles were received with favor by the people. Multitudes were thronging about them with their sick, brought to be healed. It was the wonderful success of the gospel that so enraged the high priest and his party. There are some people who cannot bear to see other people succeed or to hear other people praised. Even in churches are sometimes found those who are embittered and aroused to jealousy by the prosperity of other churches. Instead of rejoicing that souls are saved, that the poor are helped, that evil spirits are cast our, that good is done they criticize, talk bitterly, and oppose the efforts which are so manifestly of God.

A godly Christian minister put it down at the end of a year, as one of the year’s lessons that he had learned to rejoice in the prosperity of others. No lesson is harder to learn, and none is more beautiful in life. We are all too apt to be jealous of those who are more honored in life and work, than ourselves.

The rulers had not yet learned that walls do not make a secure prison for Christ’s friends. “They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out.” There is no use trying to fight against God. He who sits in heaven laughs when rulers take counsel against His anointed.

Joseph’s brothers thought they had got the boy out of the way when they had sold him as a slave but the Lord only laughed at their plot and took him into His own hands, making a mighty man of him.

The princes chuckled when they got Daniel into the lion’s den but the laugh was turned when he came out unhurt and they themselves were cast to the hungry beasts!

There was fiendish glee in certain quarters when the three Hebrew youths were cast into a fiery furnace. Their stiff knees would be limbered now. But that laugh was turned too, before the end came.

Haman chucked when he got the gallows built for Mordecai. He would soon be rid of the old Jew who had been in his way so long. But he fell into his own trap!

The rulers crucified Jesus and sealed the stone and set a guard about His grave. But they only brought derision upon themselves; while by their act they exalted Jesus to a place of highest honor and glory.

Just so here, the rulers cast the apostles into prison, bolted the doors, and set their guard but an angel came quietly by night, took the prisoners out, and left the keeper standing guard over an empty prison! Wicked men do not have all things their way in this world. There is a God who is just and true, who keeps His hand upon all the affairs of the earth, who takes care of His own and guards them as the apple of His eye. This is one of the most precious truths of the Bible, for the suffering and imperiled servants of God. They are absolutely safe in the hands of God!

The angel who brought the apostles out their prison had a message and a commission for them: “Go, stand in the temple courts, and tell the people the full message of this new life.” The angel did not tell the apostles to flee away and hide from the rulers. That is what escaping prisoners usually do. But these men were set free, not to go away from danger but to continue their work. Then, they were not to go and talk about their trials and hardships, to excite sympathy among the people. They were not to say a word about themselves at all but were to declare the words of “this new life,” eternal life, the way of salvation. They were not to go and speak in quiet places, away from danger but were to stand in the temple, the most public place in all he city. They were to speak to the people that is, to all the people, poor as well as rich, ignorant as well as learned. It is a suggestive name, by which the gospel is here called, “Life” this Life. Jesus Christ came that we might have life and that we might have it abundantly. The apostles were prompt and eager to obey the angel’s bidding. They hastened to the temple about daybreak and began to teach.

The high priest did not know what his prisoners were doing. Full of rage, he was eager to have them punished, and called a full meeting of the court, and sent officers to bring the apostles from the prison. “But the officers returned, saying: We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside!” The high priest was sure of his victims. He had them safely locked in the guardhouse. It was a startling surprise when he learned that the prison was empty! There is an old Bible promise which says, “The Lord knows how to deliver the godly.” There is a promise also which assures us that “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation make also the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” Satan is very shrewd and cunning, and by long practice has learned to do his work well. But God is stronger and wiser than Satan and knows how to deliver His own out of Satan’s hands!

At length the apostles stood before the court and were accused of having disobeyed the command to speak no more in the name of Jesus. To this Peter answered, “We must obey God rather than men.” This should be the motto and life-principle of every one of us. This has been the martyr’s motto in all Christian centuries. Bunyan, when condemned to three months imprisonment for preaching the gospel, and told that if he did not promise to abstain, he would be banished; nobly replied: “If I were out of prison again today I would preach the gospel again tomorrow, by the help of God!” Not many of us will be called to assert the principle in such circumstances of peril; but in life’s ordinary business, in its common affairs, in school, at home, at play, we shall every day have opportunities to follow conscience, to do what God commands, without being swerved from duty by what men say. It would be very fine to do some such heroic thing as the apostles did here but it is fine in God’s sight to live faithfully and loyally in the midst of the countless little temptations of the most commonplace life!

“God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel!” Here we have the whole gospel. Jesus was the Messiah of God. He was rejected and killed by those He had come to deliver and save. But God raised Him up and exalted Him to the throne of glory. There He is not only King of kings but also the Savior of all who will believe in Him. The two words, “repentance” and “forgiveness”, are full of meaning. We are not saved merely from sin’s power but from sin itself. That is, we are pledged to give up our sin. Repentance means this. Then forgiveness means more than merely wiping out the penalty; it means also the putting away of sins themselves!

[mysticalmagician]

"...State Duma member Oleg Matveychev said that unless Trump's conviction leads to civil war, America should officially be declared 'a fascist country'..." State Duma member Oleg Matveychev should reexamine his mind, for I see little intelligence and understanding in it. He also ought to take a look at what the meaning of fascism is, perhaps in a dictionary, which I am sure he has never touched before. His views and thoughts, along with all of the other people mentioned in this article are fascistic themselves; fascism has been defined in many ways by many people in the past, but a preferred definition would be by Lawrence Britt, detailed in one of his writings; in it, he defines the primary 14 characteristics of fascism as a way of defining it, in studying multiple fascistic regimes throughout history. I'll add a link to this as well below, and encourage all to read it. One of these characteristics is a controlled mass media, which these people, including Oleg Matveychev, are a part of, spreading lies and propaganda for their benefit and the benefit of their authritarian leaders and government. What a disgrace to humanity all of these people are! Have some fucking shame and morals! You all dare to call yourselves Christians, yet you do not follow the word of Christ in any form at all! You should all be ashamed of yourselves.

They would likely say that empathy, kindness, and freedoms and humans rights are all signs of weakness, in a macho attempt to appear strong. This is pure fascistic delusion by definition as well, and quite literally, is only a stupid and weak man's idea of strength. True strength and meaning lies in empathy, kindness, and love. Working together as a species despite out differences is what will bring strength to all of us; we can all help each other rise and to live good lives, but fascistic morons, such as Oleg here, are impeding all of our and our entire species' progress for their own selfish reasons, and for the selfish reasons of their corporate and government benefactors.

As Dr. Lawrence Britt lists and describes, the intertwining of religion and government is another characteristic of fascism; clearly visible in Russia. The protection of corporate power and supression of labor power is another aspect of fascism; something that is indeed occuring in the USA, but it is the policy and goal of the GOP, and of the party of Trump, rather than anyone else. The clear support for Trump, and therefore these policies and ideas, by these russian fascist propagandists and idiots, is a clear form of projection.

Powerful and continuous nationalism, supremacy of military, distain and lack of human rights, anti-intellectualism, all signs of fascism, and all very clearly present in the media and goverment of modern Russia. Oleg Matveychev himself, should be identified as a fascist, along with all other propagandists mentioned in the article. Trump was rightfully convicted for felony crimes by a jury of twelve of his American peers, as is right, and was found guilty by each one of them. This is not fascism, this is justice, truth, and courage. This is progress, and the work of actually good humans to maintain and progress our freedoms, lives, and rights. The future of humanity is empathy, love, and kindness, not hate and fascism. Let freedom ring, and let justice prevail.

Oleg Matveychev, if God is real, you better be worried. So goes for all other fascists reading this.

For any morally good people reading, do not fall into the trap of bullshit, Russian government propaganda, which is all entirely devised to increase our division, and cause strife and chaos amongst us in our country. Why else would they be hoping for civil war or for a criminal and fascist president? It is expressly propaganda to further enrich themselves and gain more power over us, and over their neighbors, and we must fight against it, and help our fellows and family not fall for such lies.

The 14 Characteristics of Fascism, by Lawrence Britt, Spring 2003 (ratical.org)

[wolint]

CORRECTION: OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH

CORRECTION! AN OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH

Proverbs 12:1-2

 

Correction is the act of bringing back from error or deviation to a just standard, such as truth, justice, or propriety. This can apply to the correction of opinions or manners. The Word of God is an instrument of correction, as clearly stated in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” Proverbs 3:12 also states that the Lord corrects those whom He loves, leading them toward righteousness and growth.

Correction and discipline should be rooted in love and guidance. We should all be humble enough to receive and give correction, as mandated by situations and necessary for progress and growth. Who loves their child more - the parent who allows the child to do what will harm them, or the one who corrects, trains, and even punishes the child to help them learn what is right? It’s never pleasant to be corrected and disciplined by God, but His discipline is a sign of His deep love for us. When God corrects you, see it as proof of His love and ask Him what He is trying to teach you.

People respond to correction in several ways: they can accept it with resignation, accept it with self-pity, thinking they don’t deserve it; be angry and resent God for it; or accept it gratefully as the appropriate response toward a loving Father. Whichever way we respond to correction determines the depth and quality of our growth.

Most people resist correction because of pride, and the idea that we don’t need another telling us what we know. But nobody is above correction. We see Paul in Galatians 2:11-21 publicly and strongly correcting or opposing Peter for what he was doing. Correction is very necessary and helpful when someone is compromising. Although Peter was a leader of the church, he was acting like a hypocrite. He knew better, yet he was driven by fear of what others would think. Proverbs 29:25 says, “Fearing people is a dangerous trap.” Paul knew that he had to confront Peter before his actions damaged the church. Just as so many of us must do, correct people without bias but in love, always in love. So, Paul publicly opposed Peter. Sometimes sincere Christians, even Christian leaders, make mistakes. And it may take other sincere Christians to get them back on track. If you are convinced that someone is doing harm to themselves or the church, try the direct approach.

Whether we like it or not, and we probably would not, we all need to learn how to give biblical correction to those who are in sin or in serious doctrinal error. Without correction, people, churches, and families tend to run into the ditch. In 2 Timothy 2:23-26, Paul shows Timothy and us how to carry out gentle correction. It applies to everybody, Christian and non-Christian, especially church leaders, because we all have relationships that require at times, if we truly love others, to offer biblical correction. Although it’s not a pleasant task, correction is part of biblical love.

When we give correction, we must never assume to know it all but ask questions to gain accurate understanding. Our correction should construct, not destruct. Be a strength by helping to find a solution that pursues the good of everyone involved.

Correction is an opportunity for growth! It is a gift for everyone, not only for you but may also be someone else’s provision. Remember Proverbs 16:18 - pride causes a fall without correction.

Prayer: Lord God, help me to be open to correction and to always accept constructive correction that will help me grow in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Shalom

WOMEN OF LIGHT INT. PRAYER MIN.

[aguineapigcouldntdothis]

this reblog is absolutely wonderful example of how people are extremely uneducated about judaism and how christianity uses omission and erasure for its own benefit. plus its amazing that you took the time to learn instead of remaining stagnant! your comment about the end about being good at critical thinking and how you studied complex subjects shows how even extremely smart people can fall into this trap.

a lot of people who only interacted with christianity, whether they are actually christian or not, have no clue just how different jewish people are from them. they also do not understand that those differences are amazing and we do not want to be like christians. jewish people are whole, both as individuals and as a community, we dont have any need for christianity. referring to what you said, we are not christians who are lagging behind. for religious jews, our faith is central to who we are, and all we need for our spiritual guidance is hashem. why would we even want to 'find jesus' if we already have what we need? secular jews also do not need to find jesus or g-d or whomever, for they have/can find deep fulfillment in family, relationships, friends, interests, passions, etc.

every so often i go to a class at an LDS institute. its one of the only spaces i can be thats predominantly mormon where i dont feel uncomfortable or unsafe (it was set up by a really great man aiming to improve lgbtq+ rights in the LDS church so its not coincidence that it's fairly progressive). i talk my ass off about judaism there because some of those people need to realize that other people exist, and even though i make comparisons between the two religions because that helps everyone else understand, i also emphasize that judaism is a lot different than what they've been led to believe. i also emphasize that im one guy and i dont know everything and i dont represent the whole community.

simply meeting people and talking to them can go a long way, whether its in person or online. just as you said, if we want to learn about judaism then we must learn it from jewish people. this applies to everyone, jewish or not, because no matter who you are there is always something new to learn.

not only does judaism heavily value having multiple opinions for a singular topic, whether amongst a group or within yourself, it also values realizing when those opinions are not based in truth and changing your viewpoint would likely be helpful. this is a skill many goyim need to learn very fucking soon.

[unbidden-yidden-deactivated20240]

Hi @psykulor,

Thank you for your thoughtful engagement with this post. I will answer your question, but first I want to say that I hope this can be a learning opportunity.

[I would also request to my followers that you be kind in your responses to my teaching reblogs. This post attracted a LOT of attention, which is great but also means that it's going to draw in a lot of folks who have not yet really unlearned a lot of antisemitism baked into the primary texts of Christianity and their interpretations over time, and I'd like to take this opportunity to talk about it with the interested demographic.]

So the problem here isn't the word "Pharisee" but rather invoking the concept of Pharisees as the binary opposite of what Jesus taught. Jesus likely was a Pharisee. Or, at least, the Jews he taught and traveled amongst almost certainly saw him that way. Importantly, Pharisees may have been the religious authorities for the Jewish community, but they didn't actually have real power. That would be the occupying Romans, who were pagan and too busy crucifying Jews for fun and to hold down rebellion to give even an iota of a shit about what the Pharisees (or, should I say, proto-rabbis) had to say.

Casting the Pharisees as the main enemy of Jesus and treating their relatively minor religious authority as having the same kind of major political power and hegemonic rule that right-wing Christians have in the US today is both inaccurate and antisemitic.

Unfortunately, this is an easy trap to fall into, because the New Testament itself does this in places. This is because it was written in retrospective after early Christianity had well and truly split from Judaism and had become a majority....... Roman gentile. Of course they're going to soften the colonizing role of Rome and try to recast what were mostly either healthy "arguments for the sake of heaven" or legitimate intra-Jewish issues into their main guy rabble-rousing against The Establishment [who are Jews].

I strongly encourage you and any other progressive Christians to read this article to learn more about this topic:

Progressive Christianity has a lot about it that is good and compelling, but Christianity will never be truly progressive until it has unpacked and reinterpreted the baked-in antisemitism that built and violently spread it. I've seen far too many otherwise excellent Christians - good, kind, and caring people by almost every measure - who fail really hard when it comes to allyship with Jews. There's a lot to unpack and a lot to rework and rethink. I would ask that everyone who saw my first two posts really sit with this follow up and consider what things your Christianity, your church, and your community might need to do to get there. And it starts by listening to Jews when it comes to issues of antisemitism and taking seriously what we have to say about it.

In general, I think it's currently really important for progressive Christians to be very loud about being both progressive and deeply religious Christians, and for everyone else fighting for progressive values to be supportive of them doing just that. I know that's like, idk, counter-intuitive or cringe or whatever, but seriously folks, the alternative is that progressive Christians have to be quiet about their faith to be accepted within broader secular and interfaith progressive advocacy, which means that the regressive asshole Christians (a) sound that much louder and (b) dominate the USian religious landscape all the more. That's a problem, for all of us.

We need people pushing back within the faith as well as outside of it, because that destroys any edifice that this is about Christianity and religious freedom.

You can be a devout Christian and also:

Openly, proudly, and without being forced to remain celibate or otherwise limit your full expression of self, identify as LGBTQ+ or be a supportive ally.

Advocate for full reproductive autonomy and comprehensive sex education.

Love and support people of other religious groups, non-religious people and/or atheists, by choosing to believe that a truly loving God would not pursue anything less than universal salvation.

Stand against evangelism and proselytizing as they have thus far been interpreted and used, because there are ways to interpret the Great Commission that don't promote colonialism and cultural genocide.

A steward of the earth, protecting God's beautiful creation and lovingly tending to it as the unique and incredible gift that it is.

A believer in science, rationalism, and human progress as part of God's divine plan for humanity.

A believer in history and someone who understands that the Bible can be both divinely given and open to interpretation (no really)(if you're confused, please talk to a knowledgeable traditional Jew)

An ally to Jews, who stands against supercessionism and antisemitism in the church.

And in before regressive Christians come shouting at me that (1) what do I know, I'm a Jew and (2) no lol you can't because of ___ reason:

My source is that I've personally met and talked to Christians of great faith and integrity - people who embody the closest forms of kindness I've seen to what Jesus himself advocated - who are each of these things.

It is 100% possible; you just choose to believe otherwise.