#divine right of kings

[enbycrip]

[originallymarysue]

Uh.. looks like someone broke the ketchup bottle... :/

(DW He didn't kill anyone, the blood is just symbolism)

[wolf-tail]

Given the astounding stupidity and imcompetence of both the Imperials and the Stormcloaks, my admittedly shaky grasp of Skyrim religion and sociopolitics, and my raging princess complex and main character syndrome (I pay every bard I see to play "The Dragonborn Comes" and love killing dragons in villages bc the citizens always shower me in attention) I believe that The Last Dragonborn is fully capable of bullshitting their way into claiming divine right of kingship.

[kimberellaroo]

Something I've suddenly thought of in light of Lidia Thorpe's protest, and the nature of the pledge of allegiance to King Charles:

Technically, Atheists and non-Christians probably should not be expected to pledge allegiance to a monarch.

The entire existence of a monarchy depends on the concept that a person has been granted the divine right of kings, a right to rule granted by God and backed by the church. In Britain's case, that would be the Anglican church.

Therefore believing Charles has an inherited right to rule requires a belief in a Christian God who bestowed the right upon his family line, and trust in the authority of the Anglican church to confirm his position.

His legal position as head of state in Australia is based on the assumption that he is a king. His position as king is based on a religious assumption.

As a secular state, a secular government, the law should not be dependent on the assumptions of any one religion.

To require elected MPs and Senators to pledge allegiance to a monarch requires them to indirectly acknowledge the authority of a Christian God and church over them, despite personal religious beliefs. Arguably, that's a religious freedom and rights issue.

If the existence of God can be questioned, so too can the existence of kings.

[asyoulikeitnow]

We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.

- Ursula K. Le Guin

[progressivemillennial]

A good reminder on Black Friday, the most capitalist of days! Just because we are born into a capitalist world doesn't mean it has been or will always be a capitalist world, nor does it mean that there isn't something better for humanity than capitalism.

[originalleftist]

July 4th is going to feel different this year.

America has had many dark times. There have been countless betrayals of the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence, including by the slaving r*pist who wrote it.

But never, in the 248 years since it was written and we cast off King George, has America had a ruler who was above the law. Until now.

(This is not a dig at Biden- he did not ask for the power that SCOTUS has given the office of the Presidency, they did not mean it for him, I've seen him get more blame from Democrats and Leftists for not behaving like an autocrat to fight MAGA, and this SCOTUS would probably try to add a "Applies only to Republicans" exemption if he did. But the fact remains that, by law, the President of the United States is now, formally, above the law.)

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

Isn't it convenient that the one worthy enough to pull the sword from the stone is always an adept swordsman? If they're not yet, they will be soon enough. You never see a diplomat or an adviser or a wise pacifist prove their worth, it's always a warrior, a knight, a general. To be ruler, you need more qualities than the ability to kill/send others to kill for you; the fact that the crown is personified by a sword speaks volumes about what characteristics writers seek in their leaders.

[maypoleman1]

30th January

Execution of King Charles I

The Execution of Charles I by Unknown. Source: National Galleries of Scotland website

On this day in 1649 King Charles I was executed following his trial for treason by Parliament. Charles had gone to war with his own legislative body in order to impose the Anglican religion and in defence of the Divine Right of Kings. Charles lost the war and, ultimately, his head too. His reign was followed by republican rule and supporters of the new Commonwealth would celebrate the anniversary of the death of the King with the Calves’ Head Club feast every 30th January at the club of the same name. At the feast, calves’ heads, a symbol of idiocy, were served, representing the former King’s policies; a cod was also served, representing Charles himself alongside a pike, its mouth stuffed with fish, representing Tyranny. After the feast a toast was raised to the execution with the words: ‘To those patriots who killed the tyrant!’ The Restoration saw the end of the Calves’ Head Feast, and the veneration of the beheaded Charles as a Protestant saint. The Feast of Charles was marked as an Anglican religious feast until 1859 and several churches are still dedicated to Charles the Martyr, the oldest being located at Peak Forest near Buxton, Derbyshire; Tunbridge Wells in Kent, and Falmouth in Cornwall.

[futurebird]

America is lucky to have citizens who are the descendants of slaves. All men being equal regardless of their pedigree isn't just an abstract theory when your ancestors are slaves.

It is a material fact of your day to day existence.

And out of the culture forged from such idealism and contradictions comes fearlessness when faced by Great Men, and Things That Simply Are Not Done. If freedom can be a matter of law, a matter of ink on paper, and idea made real, then obviously, great men can be held to account.

That mythology of "divine right" never glinted in the former slave's eye. And from former slaves their children and others learned and unlearned the pernicious mythology of kings.

Of *course* you can send a former president to prison. Don't be such a silly-billy. Stop wringing your hands so hard! You are going to pull off your fingers if you keep at it like that.

[antibigotwhumpblog]

Crucifixion Pt.6

(Prev, Next, Masterlist)

Cw: Whump, Toxic Christianity

Heleigh had never heard of such an act of bastard magick before. She cringed from fear as he approached her, and planted his lips on her forehead. There was a loud snap, and then white agony as a cascade of cracks exploded around the room. She tried to scream, but her voice was robbed from her. Her legs malformed themselves over and over again till they were nothing but a shredded snake's skin on the ground. After a minute, her voice returned to her. She released her anguish in one horrendous cry. Her body was drained of the energy to do anything but slump against her binds. The man watched the scene hungrily but also did not hesitate to resume himself. He narrowly avoided the floppy, jagged pile of flesh and bones to press the syringe once again into her stomach. Her eyes trailed his fingers, and a soft chorus of no escaped her mouth. His face twisted furiously, and he pushed the fluid into her system. She sobbed. He injected two more after that and then returned to the table behind her. Angels weren't meant to get sick. Humans were the only sentient beings with a body system beyond their souls. Still, Heleigh head got painfully foggy. Her eyes and nose started to burn, and her eardrums start to pound. She swayed in her binds. Her stomach started to feel ghastly. The color drained from her face. Suddenly, actual vomit erupted from her throat and spewed out of her mouth. Angels were supposed to be holy. Instead, the acid burned her throat tissue and covered her mouth and body. She groaned pitifully. Her world was a myriad of black and smelled putrid.

The human scoffed, "You make me sick."

He hurled a stone at her head. It clonked against her skull and busted it open. Harrowing pain bounced against the wall of her head. He started to chuck rocks at her without hesitation. She moaned after each one. Vomit erupted out of her as her organs complained. The intense ache that became her being drove her mad. He ran out of rocks eventually. Heleigh tasted and smelled only iron. She was completely drenched in her bodily fluids. Her anxiety spiked as she waited for the next method of torture. Instead, he chucked an incense holder down at her feet. He kneeled next to her. Heleigh was too exhausted to say anything. Her wings had subsided to sting dully, but beyond the headache and throb of her body, she could feel the frail flesh dying. She was forced to pay attention when he slapped her. The sharp tingle mixed with the agony. She refocused her eyes on him. He had an incense stick next to her nose.

"This is incense dedicated to Bahal," He told her.

Heleigh sputtered, "No-no. Child, God hates idols-" She groaned and coughed, "-Seek his forgiveness."

He placed the stick in the holder directly underneath her and lit it. The smoke entered her nostrils, and she exploded into a seizure of hacks. The burn withered through her body, and she screamed. She wheezed. Vomit, acid, and blood covered the air. The man had moved again. Suddenly, ear bursting trumpet filled the room. The Song of the Devil. She screamed louder than she ever had in her immortal life.

[nelc]

We live in capitalism.

Its power seems inescapable

— but then, so did the divine right of kings.

Launching my first art blogs with a small comic based on the amazing words of Ursula K. Le Guin!

[coolmaycroft]

The Devaint art forums are not the place I'd point out for deep discussion but sometimes you're surprised.

[aezterx]

[nicolagriffith]

The Supreme Right of Kings

The Supreme Court’s ruling on Trump’s immunity from prosecution just turned POTUS into a monarch. Not even a constitutional monarch but one, as in the days of old, with absolute power. I fear for democracy. I fear for the world. I do not exaggerate.

The Supreme Court just turned the President into a monarch. Not even a constitutional monarch but an absolute monarch. A monarch not subject to the law. When one cannot be prosecuted for something—anything—committed while in office, the Constitution becomes not worth the parchment it’s written on. This ruling is the worst ruling I know of. I cannot imagine anything more likely to destroy…

[rustchild]

desperately craving weird surrealist arthurania. Knights with no faces wandering through the mists. Seams between Christian and pre-Christian Britain gaping like open wounds. Beafts and visions. Maybe a monk. Maybe the monk is gay