#based on the article

[greater-than-the-sword]

Gender in the Age to Come

A reply to a tumblr mutual in light of James B. Jordan's "Restoring the Office of Woman in the Church"

In order to respond here, my discourse in this post will necessarily take the form of somewhat esoteric musings. I apologize for this to everyone else. It is not my intention to be esoteric, but I am responding to a set of very niche and almost mystical claims.

As well, I do not intend this post to be a speculation about the exact nature of the resurrection bodies, since I do believe that is beyond the scope of what is revealed to us in the Bible. Sorry if that disappoints anyone.

Essentially what I set out to disprove here is the notion that manhood or masculinity is inherently corrupt, violent, a result of the fall, doomed to destruction, or even transient and temporal in a manner that stands opposed to the allegedly superior eternality of feminine qualities.

(Although this may not be your intention, it's hard to imagine how this wouldn't devolve into straight up female superiority brand sexism. But I digress.)

We thankfully agree that James B. Jordan is wrong when he says that the verse stating "woman is the glory of man" means that woman is a type of improved man. That's because of the context of that verse which also says, "Man is the glory of God" (yet as you astutely pointed out, man is not an improved God.)

So, what DOES it mean that woman is the glory of man? I think Jordan hits way closer to this later on in his essay series when he points out that glory is a type of situational relationship evoking the idea of emanation or generation. (obviously that's not ALL it is but I will get into this.)

It's clear to me that Jordan is a man of great wisdom and insight, however he does make some mistakes and he also clearly comes from a very high-church denominational background which colors some of his views.

As much progress as Jordan makes toward explaining some of the more esoteric verses on gender in the Bible, he does still neglect to explore some of the most interesting verses on gender, and does not explore how they might interact with the framework he has set up.

That is what I aim to do here. Although I have a number of quibbles with Jordan, mainly I want to take his best ideas and run with them to their logical conclusion.

My proposition is essentially that masculinity is about the imitation of Christ.

Is man's masculinity not the image of God? If this were not so masculinity would be a result of the fall, but it is not.

Will man not continue to be God's image for the rest of eternity? Or will he relinquish a part of this image?

Is God's image not a gift? Does God take back his gifts? Surely not, because, "the gifts and calling of God cannot be revoked". (Romans 11:26) [We are speaking here of spiritual giftings rather than material ones of course.]

Let's go through this point by point.

Consider the role of masculinity prior to the fall. Of course many things about Adam can be said to represent humanity in general rather than males in particular, but there is one very obviously gendered thing Adam did prior to the fall. (Yes, Jordan is correct in that the Bible is implicit that Adam conveyed God's commands to Eve, but I am talking about something that's actually spelled out in the text.)

Adam had a role in the creation of Eve.

Hardly anyone these days wants to juice any meaning out of this part of the text for fear it will make women look inferior, but it is juicy. And when male inferiority is on the table, it is worth looking into.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:11-12,

Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.

And from there straight into the verses that Jordan covered.

It is interesting that Paul mentions man's labor in creating woman on an equal footing, which seems odd on the surface when you think that Adam's role in the creation of Eve was completely passive and not comparable to the labor that thousands of women do daily to create new men, but Paul seems to think it is both noteworthy and comparable that woman was created out of man, and it's worth asking why.

If you like esoteric analogies, consider that Adam was put to sleep or "died" metaphorically speaking, sacrificing himself to create Eve. But after that time he again rose, with new "glory", that is, the woman.

So Adam underwent a symbolic sacrificial death that Eve might be created.

Woman did not do this. Only a male did this. Therefore this scene is a viable candidate for a defining masculine trait.

Sure, this is a pre-fall world. So Adam feels no pain, and the thing which he must sacrifice is not something that he will ever miss. But the symbolism is undeniable.

While imitating Christ, man not only dies, but also is resurrected and glorified.

As was our Lord, the ultimate Man. In whose image you are made.

For Adam that was not literal death, and glory meant getting the rewards of experiencing marriage. Therefore, if a man is 'made for death', he is made for resurrection and glorification as well, is he not? And isn't that too a part of his masculine nature as much as the sacrificial symbolic death which preceded it?

Now, I posit the imitation of Christ is a goal of an eternal nature and not merely temporal. In eternity when men are resurrected in glory will their masculine aspects not be more completely fulfilled by having this happen to them?

Clearly the purpose of men isn't to destroy life but to protect it. And ultimately even create it.

I would argue that even a man's capacity for violence isn't the defining characteristic of masculinity but an auxiliary characteristic that springs out of this central defining characteristic.

One might argue, "How can the believer's eventual death, resurrection and glorification be a male fulfillment if all women also die?"

A couple counter arguments:

You might as well argue that Jordan's theory of feminine "responsiveness" is not uniquely feminine since all believers submit to Christ.

All people have in them some germ of both masculine and feminine traits.

Essentially, if as you believe "death is masculine", then so is resurrection and glorification - you can not have the 1st be true without the 2nd also being true.

In the age to come, I posit that redeemed humanity will inherit both the masculine and feminine gifts, but the blessings we've already been given are by no means revoked. Women, having experienced death, resurrection and glorification with Christ; and men, having experienced spiritual marriage and unity to Christ, will both have achieved both masculine and feminine aspects.

Therefore, in the next age, everyone will find a way to share in both masculine and feminine. It is unclear to me whether we will all be therefore genderless from that point on or if some people will still be more masculine than feminine much in the way we are on earth where in our personality people have both masculine and feminine attributes.

After all, may I remind you that "The Bride" is not the ONLY metaphor used to describe the Church in eternity, we are also said to be "kings" who will "rule together with Christ" and "share in his likeness".

Remember that we relate to Christ not only as receivers of him but also as imitators of him.

Or do women not also have a calling to imitate Christ's sacrificial nature? Can women not protect at times? Just as men submit to Christ's headship.

(For one example not mentioned in the articles, Esther was a Christ-figure when she risked death to protect her people.)

On earth the "exceptional cases" of non conformity to gender roles in the Bible exist seemingly to prove that women are also ultimately inheritors of the masculine aspects of the divine nature just as men are of the feminine.

Genuinely I truly hope this helps. I have some other comments on Jordan's work as well, for example his part 3 seems to imply that pastors are intrinsically more masculine than other men, which I thought was very strange. But there are things about his insights that I liked very much. For example, would you believe me if I told you this was the first take on gender roles that I've ever read which defines femininity as anything remotely approaching analytical or rational? Having long considered myself "masculine in temperament" I find this perspective both refreshing and validating.

Anyway, hope this helps. I am powerless to prevent you from somehow twisting this in a blackpilled manner, but I don't think it should be.

[reasonsforhope]

By the way, I would literally bet money that we're going to successfully keep global warming below 2 degrees celsius.

Would I bet my whole savings on it? No, not yet. But the way the data is trending, in two or three years, I very well might.

[tarantula-hawk-wasp]

Earth’s hottest day ever recorded by human instruments

Better way to phrase this is : top 3 hottest daily average-global-temperatures ever recorded by human instruments were this week.

[necr0mancers]

star wars journalism

[intersectionalpraxis]

"For the study, the team at the University of Georgia prepared the drink using one tea bag per cup steeped for 10 minutes, with no additions such as milk or sugar. They found that all five teas reduced the virus by at least 96 per cent within 10 seconds in the mouth, while black tea reduced the virus by 99.9 per cent." "Inactivating Covid in the mouth works as the virus often infects and replicates inside the oral cavity, passing through the middle part of the throat before reaching the lungs. Malak Esseili, a virologist with the University of Georgia, who led the study, said: “At this stage, we are not suggesting tea as a stand-alone intervention against Covid, because the virus also replicates in the nose and may have already reached the lung by the time a person tests positive." “But tea can be an additional layer of intervention that the patients and their families can easily adopt on a routine basis.” She added that “having something that is accessible, easily prepared, and suitable for all the family would be ideal” to protect against the virus." "The results come after a study published last year in Japan found that drinking a matcha latte or a green tea could “effectively inactivate” Covid. Scientists at the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine found that chemicals in tea could bind to the spike protein sticking out from the surface of the virus and prevent it from infecting cells."

I am such a huge tea lover and this is incredible! I hope we get more studies about this in the future too!

[da-janela-lateral]

To be part of something big.

[dingodad]

please god i need to know what U think of the whole “jadebloods are all female!” thing because i got into homestuck in 2019 around the time of friendsim and (retching) Lanque so i always assumed they were explicitly intended to be an all-female caste. however, re-reading the comic this year, i couldnt find a mention of it other than virgo and the Space aspect being really feminine, but i think kanayas journey with motherhood is more kanaya-centric than All-Jadebloods centric??

on one hand, it makes sense given that alternia has very real gendered oppression, so what’s better for that than CATHOLICISM?? on the other hand, i always saw kanaya as being transfem coded, because it connects so well with roxy yknow.. homestuck fans love to insist that certain characters just have to be cis women (kanaya, jade, roxy)

(as an aside; was “long hair was butch on alternia” a one off joke? i like speculation about alternia’s fashion opposing earth, lol)

most all of our basis for explicitly gendered interpretation of Alternia comes from act 6 intermission 3, where Aranea tells us that "jade 8loods were also an almost exclusively female caste". so the door has always been open for there to be "some male jadebloods". but it's a mistake to view this as having anything to do with any kind of "biological sex". the whole idea of biological sex among trolls is a smoke screen. the jadebloods' assigned gender at birth is "jadeblood". this is what makes them a feminised caste.

Caliborn doesn't have a clue what biological sex is. Aranea will tell you that there are boy cherubs and girl cherubs, but for your own sanity you need to cast this idea out of your mind: cherub sex takes place between good and evil cherubs - which is determined by their blood - and anything else is just roleplay. Caliborn's attitude toward sexing is that the ones he likes are boys - that's all the thought that goes into it. and that's the mindset we need to be aware of when we delve into understanding troll gender. there are some trolls who have breast tissue and some who don't, but they aren't "mammaries" in any sense, so there's no reason to believe they're actually sexual characteristics of any kind; maybe this is what Lord English chose to base his gender schema on, but the idea that this means there must be "male trolls" and "female trolls" is completely imagined for the narrative convenience of the human reader.

when we read that there are "male-dominated" highblood castes and therefore by implication female-populated lowblood castes, it's not by some coincidence of biology: the highblood castes are male-dominated BECAUSE they are highblood castes. each caste has a role to play in Caliborn's Alternia, and just as the highblooded roles are those of patriarchal domination, the lower castes must take on roles of feminised submission; and in the case of the jades in particular, this means breeding duties. the fact that this also comes with the expectation to wear makeup and pretty clothes is just more roleplay.

so tl;dr what i think of "the all jadebloods are female thing" is that it is very obviously true but in a way more 5 dimensional gender studies way than anyone else tends to mean when they say it

my pet "long hair was butch on alternia" headcanon - which is a joke but in the way all headcanons about alternia should be jokes of some kind - actually kind of relates to this lol. bc i figure that if gendered expectations of female trolls includes working in disgusting underground caverns filled with genetic material, it's going to be practical to keep your hair close to your head where it won't get dirty, in much the same way the feminist image of the short-haired woman became popular in the west during and after world war 2, wherein a lot of women had to start wearing their hair close to their heads to avoid scalping themselves in the factory machinery they suddenly had to start working with. hence kanaya dedicated to her assigned feminine role and wearing her hair short vs. porrim rebelling against it for feminist reasons and thus wearing her hair at a length that would be totally impractical for wading through gene pools.

[lilithofpenandbook]

Imagine the reason Severus Snape agreed to join the Death Eaters wasn't any of the reasons everyone else had of hating muggleborns and muggles and agreeing with Voldemort's ideaology

And it wasn't because he wanted to lash out and hurt people because he was hurting like the other bitter kids

And it wasn't because he was forced into it like other weaker kids

Imagine it wasn't for any of those reasons.

Instead, it was for knowledge.

Severus Snape, the boy who invented curses, hexes, and spells. Severus Snape, who knew more of those in his first year than any of the seventh years. Severus Snape, who rewrote text books.

He joined the Death Eaters because he was tempted by knowledge. Knowledge of dark, forbidden magic. Knowledge of terrible, frightening power. Knowledge of things he had never had the chance to learn.

Imagine it was Lucius who approached him, knowing that Severus was a genius who wasn't satisfied with what Hogwarts taught and wanted more, wanted the freedom to explore and learn and experiment in ways that shocked people. Or perhaps it was his housemates, who decided that, poor he may be and impure his blood is, Severus was a formidable weapon to whichever side he ended up on, and they decided to convince him to join them before Dumbledore asked Severus to join him. And they promised Severus he would be free to experiment and learn as he pleased without the limits Hogwarts had enforced.

And he agreed, and became Voldemort's most precious student. He was but a boy, the youngest of the Death Eaters, yet his talent was equal to Bellatrix Lestrange herself. The two were of the most talented that Voldemort taught and he couldn't help but notice the small boy who was equal to an adult, who could grow to become the most powerful wizard to ever live. Unfortunately for him, the boy's heart was too gentle, too tender to be put on the field just yet, and his tongue was too smooth and his mind too sharp for he easily slipped away in times of action. He was a scholar, a poet, an artist. Not a soldier.

No matter. Voldemort could wait. Eventually the boy would become a man, a man with a brilliant mind but no heart, if he was encouraged to seek knowledge even at the expense of others. It was Voldemort's own fault to assume a great mind would cancel a great heart.

And so Severus Snape sold his freedom, his goodness, for the pursuit of knowledge.

Only to sacrifice it all when the knowledge he shared was the thing that put the one he loved in danger.

[coffeelovinggayidiot]

Like all of tumblr, aparently: we 💜 love ✡️jews✡️ and we would 👊 punch nazis and we reblog five 5️⃣ different haukkah 🕎 posts a year we are like so progresive 💁✨️

Also all of tumblr, aparently: death to all jews 🚫✡️ if you're a jewish person who lives in IsNotRaEl then you're an evil 👺 bad jew and you deserve to be raped and murdered ☠️☠️ what? You fled to israel because we were murdering you by the millions??? Well you should have all died lol ☠️☠️ happy hanukkah btw 🕎

[fernsproutxx]

GR96

@fusionspruntcityjournal

So how do you produce electricity with living plants? Simply by using the natural processes that already occur. In short: the plant produces organic matter via photosynthesis. Only part of this organic matter is then used for its own growth. The rest is excreted via the roots. Around the roots, bacteria feed on the organic matter and they release electrons. If you’re able to harvest the electrons into an electrode, you can couple the first electrode to a counter-electrode and build an electrical circuit, like in a battery. The electrons flow back into the natural system via the counter-electrode, so it’s completely circular. Because we use the natural processes around the plant, nature is not harmed. It works day and night, summer and winter. It only stops when the plant and its surroundings completely dry up or freeze over.

Sedum Oviferum

Sedum pachyphyllum is a ground-hugging succulent that spreads by rooting fallen stems and leaves. The succulent also goes by the names “Cerise Moonstones” or “Mauve Pebbles”. The short and stumpy round leaves have a light silvery-purple color; positioned at a right angles to the stem and curve upward, which in the wintertime, the tips of said leaves will turn into a notorious red.

Sedum Oviferum is a succulent that is very easy to grow and maintain. It is a resilient plant that can tolerate drought, moist and dry soils, and when given adequate exposure to sunlight and sufficient water, Cerise Moonstones will thrive outdoors. The Sedum Oviferum succulent grows at its best with regular exposure to sunlight. If Mauve Pebbles are planted in an area in a garden that gets plenty of sunlight per day, you will be rewarded with bright coloured leaves and flowers. In winter and early spring, Cerise Moonstones actively grow and produce blooms featuring red-orange petals and sepals that have the same pigmentation as the leaves. The flowers produced by Cerise Moonstones have a bell shape and a sugary fragrance.

Subterranean Clover

Trifolium subterraneum is also known as the subterranean clover (often shortened to sub clover), or subterranean trefoil. The plant's name comes from its underground seed development, a characteristic not possessed by other clovers. It can thrive in poor-quality soil where other clovers cannot survive.

This species is self-fertilizing, unlike most legume forage crops such as alfalfa and other clovers, which are pollinated by insects, especially honeybees. It is also grown in places where the extreme ranges of soil type and quality, rainfall, and temperature make the variable tolerances of sub clover especially useful.

Functionality

GR96 are powered by any plant of choosing on their back pod (the one we are going to discuss has a giant Sedum Oviferum and multiple sub clovers to operate) which is held in place by five strong suction cups. They’re manufactured for community gardens (strictly only one per garden), but they can also be bought by high class citizens for private properties, though at a way bigger cost since they’re financed by the city.

They can use their hands as scissors, shovels, and for watering (hence the big forearms, for storing the water), the latter which they do by dipping their hands in a bucket, opening the valve on their forearms so they can fill them up and releasing the water from the pinholes on their palms. Their “eyes” are actually a screen that can show plenty expressions, but the two circles above that peripheral screen are the real environmental sensors. They also have the same sensors on their ankles for inspecting the lower plants and ground without the need of kneeling, and their feet are shaped in a way so that weight is evenly distributed, lowering the chances of damaging a plant if they were to step on it. The ear like protrusions are small solar panels, used as backup energy (they don’t have any communication properties). Their speaker aka their “voice” is the mohawk-like structure on the top (which also has their series barcode 128 on the lower back), but when they speak there are these strips at the sides of the face mask that light up with the volume. The mask (non removable) has a set of pipes that are used for analyzing the air quality and humidity of the area surrounding them.

[remiruen]

the WORLD TOUR !!

[marieaqua]

If you’ve ever been told “don’t use ibuprofen for cramps! It treats inflammation it won’t help cramps!” and you have endometriosis, take the damn ibuprofen that statement doesn’t apply to you. The reason endo cramps are so bad is bc anywhere it’s stuck to is incredibly inflamed during your period. Tylenol alone isn’t going to do shit, mix some ibuprofen or naproxen into that. If you have nowhere to be or anyone/thing to watch at home take it with some Tylenol pm; it will knock you out so you don’t have to feel your cramps at all

(Quick edit bc this just got a lot of notes - I’m not saying to down a large amount of ibuprofen or any other kind of pain meds. The specific situation I’m talking about in this post is when someone with endometriosis gets the severe level cramps. Pretty much anyone with endo knows what I’m talking about; it’s a level of pain that going without pain medication would be more harmful than taking the meds. Also that I had been told by gynos in the past that the ibuprofen wouldn’t help cramps but now know that’s wrong, that’s why I made the post. I’m asking that everyone be normal about things under this post, not saying anyone hasn’t been so far but I’m familiar with the internet so just putting it out there.

Obviously work with your doctor on pain medication dosing and be safe with your usage. This post was made with a very specific situation in mind)

[firelxdykatara]

I am more convinced than ever that virtually no one in this fandom can read.

[leopardmuffinxo]

spare info on Davrin and Taash, BioWare? spare lore pleeeeease???

[reasonsforhope]

"A Ghanaian-English entrepreneur has designed an electric bike from the ground up that’s transforming short-range transportation in her home country, proving that problem-solving in Africa can be done in Africa, by Africans.

[Valerie Labi's] company, Wahu!, assembles each bike by hand, and they can travel up to 80 miles [128 kilometers] on a single charge. This means that a delivery rider for Glovo or Bolt can comfortably cover a whole day’s work without refueling.

Anyone who’s visited Accra, Ghana, in the dry season will remember the incredibly poor air quality. Poor roads mean that cars are stuck in second and third gears, and old cars traveling in second and third gears mean plenty of extra car exhaust.

Poor roads also mean exposed dirt, and exposed dirt means fine-grained dust. Combined with a lack of rain, the smog, dust, and car exhaust make the air in parts of the capital unfit for human health.

Wahu! bikes help alleviate all three of these problems, and despite her English nativity [Note: Super weird and unclear way to phrase it?] and education, the bikes were designed and manufactured in Spintex, Accra.

“By introducing electric bikes into Ghana’s transportation ecosystem, we’re not only providing a greener alternative but also offering speed and convenience,” Labi told The Mirror. “Our bikes are a testament to how service delivery can be seamlessly merged with environmental conservation.”

Valerie Labi is a true inspiration, and besides her transportation company, she got her start in the Ghanaian economy in sanitation. She holds a chieftaincy title as Gundugu Sabtanaa, given to her by the previous Chief of the Dagbon traditional area in the Northern Region of Ghana. She has three children, holds a double major in Economics and Sustainability from two separate universities, and has visited 59 countries.

Getting her start in Northern Ghana, she founded the social enterprise Sama Sama, a mobile toilet and sanitation company that now boasts 300,000 clients.

During her travels around the small, densely populated country, she also recognized that transportation was not only a problem, but offered real potential for eco-friendly solutions.

“It took us two years to effectively design a bike that we thought was fit for the African road, then we connected with Jumia and other delivery companies to get started,” she told The Mirror. “Currently, I have over 100 bikes in circulation and we give the bikes on a ‘work and pay’ basis directly to delivery riders.”

According to Labi, each driver pays about 300 Ghana cedis, or about $24.00, per week to use the bike, which can travel 24 miles per hour, and hold over 300 pounds of weight. The fat tires are supported by double-crown front/double-spring rear suspension.

The bikes are also guaranteed by the company’s proprietary anti-theft system of trackers. Only a single bike has been stolen, and it was quickly located and returned to the owner."

-via Good News Network, January 24, 2024

[colors-of-my-heart]

if Richie was alive and present for the summoning

Tinky: ohohoho boy a Spankoffski, I’m going to have the whole set in my toy box!

Richie: oh fuck get behind me Pete this guy’s got the fucking prison realm