#eastern beliefs

[mishkakagehishka]

And like idk how you guys aren't terrified of seeing your identities become profitable. There was a short period when quasi-slavic fantasy was all the rage and i was shaking screaming crying looking at all the "baba yaga is ALWAYS evil" and other misrepresentations and just. A very protestant-ised look at the mythology and all. And the names, my God, the names.... there's a character literally named lusty-dear out there because i guess it just sounded slavic enough.

[emilija04acer]

Navigating Friendship and Faith: My Recent Experience

Recently, I found myself in a bit of a dilemma involving a close friend and her evangelical church. It all started when she invited me to a wedding celebration at her church. During the event, the preacher mentioned that they had recently discussed turning people to God. At first, I joked about it with my friend, but soon I realized it might not be a joke after all.

She recently invited me to a Christian camp, and I didn’t know how to respond. Initially, I agreed to go, but then I lied, saying my parents wouldn’t pay for it (it costs 70 euros for two days). She was disappointed but later told me that the leader would allow me to come for free or at a very low cost. Now, I feel like I’ve dug myself into a hole.

This situation has been emotionally challenging for me. On one hand, I deeply value my friendship with her. She’s an amazing person, and we share so many interests and experiences. Losing her friendship over this would be heartbreaking. On the other hand, I feel uncomfortable with the pressure to participate in religious activities that don’t align with my beliefs.

To give you some context, I am an atheist. My family background is culturally Catholic and Orthodox, and we only observe religious holidays in a cultural sense. My parents, coming from different denominations, decided not to raise my siblings and me religiously to avoid arguments about our Christian upbringing. This has shaped my perspective and beliefs, making me hesitant to engage in religious activities.

I find myself torn between wanting to be honest with her and fearing that honesty might hurt our friendship. It’s a delicate balance, and I’m struggling to find the right words to express my feelings without causing offense or misunderstanding.

The thought of losing a friend over something like this is really upsetting. I keep questioning whether I’m overthinking the situation or if my concerns are valid. It’s been weighing heavily on my mind, and I wanted to share my experience here in hopes of finding some clarity.

Have any of you faced a similar situation? How did you handle it? I’d love to hear your thoughts and advice.

(should I post this on Reddit?)

[silentchamp]

what is their idea of the afterlife? does it scare them?

Despite his father's Shintoist and mother's Buddhist background, Red hasn't thought at length about what the potential afterlife is like. What he was taught was a blend of both religions/lifestyles--and to a degree he has thought about reincarnation. He prefers not to dwell on what life is like after he dies, considering he prefers to live in the moment; he isn't scared at the promise of death itself, but moreso that he won't be able to see the world for what it is before his time is up. The champion has brushed with death enough times that he is familiar with it's gaze and frigid hugs, but he treats each of those moments as being told it isn't his time yet.

[turiyatitta]

The Enigma of Divine Identity

Unraveling the Belief and BeingIn the profound journey of spiritual awakening, there stands a pivotal revelation – the understanding of one’s divine nature. This recognition often confronts the traditional notion of believing in a separate, external deity. When we cling to the belief in a God as an entity apart from ourselves, we inadvertently reinforce the very illusion we seek to transcend. It…

[nightlyponder]

all the arab and palestinian folk who my library serves saying that they would be more than happy for the library to also host israeli events are better than me.

[bruh-anator3000]

You know what, fuck you *headcannons ur favorite character as middle eastern*

[lokigodofaces]

Really bold of people to tell Eastern Europeans who lived through communist regimes that they're wrong about communism and that those regimes weren't bad or that they should be open to living under communism again.

[meatcrimes]

huge pet peeve of mine is when something very clearly christmas related is labeled “holiday”. like “holiday tree” “holiday nativity scene” or fucking “holiday ham dinner”. you’re trying to be inclusive but it’s not inclusive at all, you’re just universalizing specifically Christian things and erasing non-christians in the process. “holiday” no longer is inclusive, it becomes exclusive. i literally promise you not every religion that celebrates a winter holiday is going to eat ham

[junkartie]

In the most “i dont think being a part of any religion is inherently bad but i make fun of extremist muslims in the same way people in christian-dominated societies make fun of extremist christians” way possible some of these mfs be so insane 💀

[faithfromanewperspective]

don’t really want to elaborate but those ‘you’re going to hell’ posts really just show me how strange my outlook on life is

[floursack]

had someone try to say that western dragons were better than easter ones bc they are more ... realistic???

[silverislander]

zombie essay is taking me to some weird places. i'm out here defending the ancient kandarian demon summoning book

[turiyatitta]

Absolute Monism

Unraveling the Tapestry of OnenessThe vast universe, with its manifold entities and infinite complexities, often bewilders human minds. Philosophers and thinkers from time immemorial have grappled with questions about the nature of existence and the ultimate reality. One profound idea that surfaces recurrently is that of Absolute Monism: the belief that beneath the apparent multiplicity, there is…

[el3venthcommandment]

yeah ermmmm i’m in that cardiff afterlife for sure. being back home is a trip my parents treat me like i’m made of glass

[determinate-negation]

Did the majority of Jewish people and institutions support Zionism pre-1948?

no, very far from it. i dont have time to give an in depth response, theres a lot of history here but ill give some bullet points

some interpretations of judaism have always opposed a jewish state in any form and many jews were religiously against zionism from when it first started becoming a political movement

(there are still a lot of religious jews who are anti zionist on religious grounds. the satmar hasidic dynasty is an example. this is separate from political groups like neturei karta)

religious opposition to a jewish state was so strong that without zionism constituting itself as a specifically nationalist movement drawing on other 19th century nationalist movements it probably would not have become successful

assimilated jews in europe, which herzl himself was, were divided on zionism. many assimilated middle class jews were liberal nationalists of their own countries and rejected zionism. many other european jews were socialists and rejected zionism as a form of nationalism and imperialism.

among european jews who were generally poorer and more religious, zionism became more popular in response to the active extermination of jews in eastern europe. still, it was not the dominant belief in eastern europe. eastern european jews were very involved in socialist and radical movements, many specifically saw socialism as the only answer to european antisemitism. the jewish labor bund in particular espoused a type of anti zionist diaspora politics.

most anti zionist and socialist jews, especially eastern european ones, especially the working class, were murdered. thats part of why its not so common anymore

post-war and in the context of the red scare, american jewish institutions basically threw left wing anti zionist jews under the bus, let people lose their jobs and get blackmailed, and started focusing on relations with israel

there has always been jewish opposition to zionism both on religious and political grounds and it was a hotly debated topic and not something people agreed on. you can read more here

i have reading guides under my tag resources

edit: this is just pertaining to european jewish history and american jewish history, and mostly of ashkenazi jews. the history of arab jews is different but to be very brief, there was not widespread support among arab jews for zionism before the nakba and founding of the state of israel, and the israeli govt and zionist organizations were very active in trying to create conditions for arab jews that would encourage them to immigrate to israel

[edenfenixblogs]

Oh wow. This is really antisemitic, @iblewrichardspeck

You are deeply antisemitic person.

And guess what? Having a Jewish grandfather doesn’t change that.

Your knowledge of Jewish history and culture is nonexistent to the point that I won’t even bother to confront most of it.

I encourage my allies to step in and address your nonsense with reason and links to credible sources.

Two huge standout points of your lack of knowledge that I want to point out though:

Most Jews in Israel are NOT in fact European or Ashkenazi. Do literally one Google search.

“Jews have always had a right to safety in their homeland.” I want you to know that I am pretty well regarded as a person who keeps their cool in situations like this. So I want to be explicit that my ability to stay calm right now is an act of superhuman will. I want to scream at you and cry because of the amount of death and pain you are erasing with this outright, easily disproven lie. Jews do not and have not ever had safety in their homeland of ISRAEL. Nor have Jews ever had safety in any of the locations where we have made a home. Judaism and jewish life has never “thrived” anywhere, at least not for the last 2000+ years. We have always been a target of attack and displacement and genocide. Always. Without exception. The idea that Israel somehow took all the Jews of the Middle East away from their homes where they were peacefully chilling out is nonsense. The middle eastern (who are the majority btw) Jews in Israel came to Israel after being expelled from their nations of origin or murdered for refusing to leave. Poland? Yeah. It had a swell Jewish community about 1200 years ago. It’s a shame about the centuries of ghettoization and you know that pesky genocide you might have heard about. Ethiopia? You mean the place where Jews had to be smuggled out of by Israeli covert forces because of the danger they were in there?

I don’t know if I believe that your grandfather was Jewish. Maybe he was. Maybe you made him up to legitimize your own antisemitic views.

But if he was really Jewish, I’m sure he’s wildly disappointed in you.

I won’t be blocking you because I want you to see this and change your views in a deeply fundamental way. And I want you to apologize. I’m 99.99999999% sure you won’t. You’re too steeped in your hatred. But who knows. People can change. I hope you do. Because right now, your attitude, beliefs, and behavior are rancid. I will not be responding to further messages from you.

Allies or fellow Jews with bandwidth can take it from here. Adios. Shalom.