#faith issues

[merthwyn]

I was in the House of God today, inside an absolutely stunning building in terms of architecture, embraced by the breathtaking sound of the organ, while the last sunbeams of the day were playing with the colours of the stained glass, creating beautiful paintings on the walls...

My soul was troubled and confused though…. While I was looking around, staring at the strained glass and listening to the music, I was crying to God saying "who are You??? And why are You after me???"

I just want to be left alone and in peace…. But my soul is so stubborn…. I should have kept her locked up in that tower I built for her during the years…. But every time I try that and, although she is troubled, she escapes…. And ends up more traumatised…. But, as I said, she is stubborn….

What gives????

........*sigh*........

Whoever You are, either go away and leave me in peace or do something that will finally take away the pain…. It's been 25 years in pain, 11 of which spent in serving, hoping, believing, obeying and enduring persecution for You. So, I repeat: Whoever You are, either go away and leave me in peace or do something that will finally take away the pain.

Enough. Is. Enough.

[merthwyn]

You're right. When God seems absent if not against you, when you are afraid of approaching Him, when you have a completely distorted image of Him so you don't have anywhere else to go, when even the Bible gives you breakdowns instead of hope, running to Mary or the Saints for help is crucial. They will not save us but they will intercede, they will protect us.

Right now I'm completely lost concerning my faith. I have some people I can run to for help, advice, protection and even hug. They will not save me. They are not God. But they take care of me, they pray and guide me, they listen in silence, they hug me. It's the same with Mary and the Saints.

I used to be a hardcore protestant concerning Mary and the Saints. To the point of mockery. But during at least the last 3 years I've started realising how wrong they are.

Okay the Catholics get a win for this one. Because on this episode of "Am I going to convert to Catholicism" I actually prayed to a saint for the first time.

I was kind of going through it (kind of relapsed into my katabasis arc ig) and my relationship with God was struggling because of it. I was mad. Like really mad, because I felt abandoned by him. And so I couldn't pray. I didn't want to hear from them. Because why the heck would you leave me to begin with??? There was all this pent up negative feelings I had towards them and I didn't feel like I could go directly to God.

But, @patron-saint-of-lesbeans recomended reaching out to Mary and asking for intercession on my behalf.

Now, I'm not some radical protestant or anything, and i was completely okay with people praying to the saints, but for me personally I didn't think it was something i'd ever do.

But I did.

And now I think I get it.

Sometimes I can't approach the Throne of Grace because the throne doesn't feel particularly gracious. Sometimes I can't approach Mercy because they don't feel particularly merciful. Sometimes I can't approach God because God doesn't feel particularly loving.

But I can approach Mary, who is full of Grace, who is the Mother of Mercy, the Mother of God, and she can help lead me to the Prince of Peace.

So just... thank you. Thank you Rj, thank you Mary, and thank you God.

[davidtennan-t]

David Tennant: I'm so old and fragile, what if people can hear my bones creak, I definitely won't be as zoomy, me peepaw now

Also David Tennant:

[sweaterkittensahoy]

"Tim Walz supports Israel, and that's against leftist values."

Not mine. Not a lot of people.

But you know who has been real loud on the left about hating Israel? The antisemities. You know who's mad that Kamala and Tim both support keeping Israel a country and creating a two-state solution? The antisemites.

There is a severe, loud antisemitic problem on the left, and saying shit like that quote that I just saw on a post, that's the loud antisemitic problem trying to get louder.

[girl4music]

SCRIPT: *Gabrielle kisses a male character*

RENEE: "Nope, rewrite it. Gabrielle is not doing that. Gabrielle wouldn't kiss a male character at this point in the show."

SCRIPT: *Gabrielle kisses a female character*

RENEE: "Look, that's certainly consistent with Gabrielle's character at this point in the show but why would she kiss some random woman she's just met?"

SCRIPT: *Gabrielle kisses Xena*

RENEE: "Oh fantastic! This is absolutely something Gabrielle would do. Finally me and Lucy get to smooch. Bring it on!"

It honestly floors me that the only time Gabrielle had a proper kiss scene past seasons 1&2 it was with Xena because that’s the only one Renee allowed to happen.

[inamindfarfaraway]

Batman fun fact! Did you know that Scarecrow’s toxin doesn’t always cause fear? Sometimes it does the opposite! In Detective Comics #571, he wields a variant that completely inhibits the biochemical fear response, preventing people from feeling any concern for themselves or using basic common sense. He runs a racket administering it to star athletes, who take huge risks and get badly injured. Then they’re willing to cough up a lot for an antidote. Batman and Robin - here Jason Todd - catch on, but Bruce is dosed with the reverse fear toxin; since his intelligence is his greatest strength, being too overconfident and reckless to think twice about anything makes him his own worst enemy.

This premise was adapted in the Batman: The Animated Series episode “Never Fear”. There we see that with no fear of losing his moral integrity, Bruce becomes cold and merciless to criminals. Robin - here Tim Drake - has to catch somebody he leaves to fall off a building, tie him up to stop him endangering himself and others and give him the antidote to prevent him murdering Scarecrow.

But in the comic book, Jason is kidnapped by Scarecrow. He gets gassed and hallucinates Bruce dying and telling him that it’s his fault. He isn’t around to keep Bruce in check as he goes to rescue him through a series of death traps that he can’t resist cutting it as close as possible in. So how does Bruce not go off the deep end? How does he not lose sight of what’s important? Not lose himself?

Because even a drug designed to shut down stress at the most fundamental level can’t overpower his true worst fear. The Dark Knight might feel fearless…

but a parent never is.

[royalarchivist]

YD: Hello, I'm from Korean.

Letshugo: Hello, I'm from Germany.

YD: Can you see what I'm saying?

Letshugo: Yes, I understand.

YD: Hey, this is really amazing. I speak Korean, and you speak German, but we have a conversation!

Letshugo: Yes, that's really awesome.

YD: I'm a Minecraft grandma who has been playing Minecraft for 14 years.

Letshugo: 14 years? How old are you?

YD: You don't need to know. 😑

Letshugo: Oh, ok.

Quackity has created something so amazing, it makes me so proud seeing his project help people communicate like this. He looks so happy. :')

[nexadarling]

Watching tristamp: oh vash has mommy issues

Watching trigun 98: oh vash has MOMMY ISSUES

Reading Trimax: Actually Vash went through an extremely traumatising event at a young age and had to face the realities of humans. Rem was there, as the twins' mother figure, to represent the good. Reconciling humanity's differences is what made him how he is, and he projects that onto Rem. In this essay I will-

[serpentface]

Faiza performing the Kagnoma Odo (pretty literally 'lion dance'), a weapons dance and one of the more important ritual duties of Odonii priestesses. A relatively new addition to this traditional dance involves the musket as the primary weapon, which is fired mid-twirl into the ground at the climax of the dance. Faiza is experiencing an 'oh fuck' moment because her shot is more than ideally diagonal, but she’s being so cool with it.

This is a wholly ceremonial performance at the onset of the pilgrimage, performed in full regalia and lion skin (of the small, semi-domesticated strain) but no armor. It’s also distinctly a display of political allegiance between the powerful and beloved Odonii priesthood (and its loyal military) with the increasingly reviled and destabilized imperial family, with Faiza prominently wearing a bracelet of the royal serpent, which was gifted (along with the musket) by the usoma Stavis Amanti himself (Usoma is the Wardi word for king, which has been retained in the context of emperors).

The Kagnoma Odo is the ultimate demonstration of the Odonii as an embodiment of the Lion Face of God and living vessel of military might and sovereignty, demonstrating her fitness and proficiency with weapons and as a spiritual unifier for soldiers. It is accompanied by drumming and occurs in stages, running through the three keymost weapons used in war- the spear, the sword, and the musket. The musket is of the most significance, given the weapon has developed a particular esteem as the ultimate embodiment of might and superiority. Assistants (almost always other priestesses, occasionally high ranking soldiers) load and prime the musket to be fired at the climax of the dance, where it is shot into the ground as the priestess leaps out of range of the shot. The firing signals the end of the dance and the rite itself.

While not the utmost exemplar of trigger discipline, only fully inducted and senior (and therefore very thoroughly trained) Odonii are permitted to perform the dance, and injuries during actual performances are quite rare (though are known to occur during training, more than a few Odonii have burns and wounds on their feet).

The most important renditions of this dance are performed upon declarations of war and before battles (in this case, generally done in full armor along with the lion pelt). It is also done during some trainings (while a dance, it is carefully choreographed to include naturalistic maneuvers of the weapons involved and helps soldiers limber up and learn to move their weapons). It is regarded as an impressive and motivating sight and a morale booster, and, seen at a distance, potentially intimidating to enemies.

A special variant of this dance is performed as means of fully incarnating the Odomache, which is done in full nudity with the body covered in the blood of the freshly sacrificed lion and cloaked in its raw pelt (the lion has become the corpse of Odomache in the moment of death, as part of its recreation of God's sacrifice). Her public, full nude appearance once (and only once) in this act is what allows the Lion Face of God to incarnate within her. Those in attendance see the spiritually vulnerable, naked human body obscured with the sanctified and deified blood and cloaked in the sanctified and deified skin. It is a merger of the contradictions of mortality and divinity, the boundaries between the two indistinct in flickering firelight and the flash of musketfire. She is witnessed by her people, dangling in between humanity and divinity and leading them in dance, and and is thus transformed.

[carouselunique]

Introducing the one taking the place of Sunburst in the AU: Bon Bon! She still thinks about her old friend Lyra and hopes she's alright...

[jellynotbees]

Hiii I’ve had this piece in my head for like a month now and finally got around to making it, going nuts about narilamb as per usual

[merthwyn]

I feel I'm losing it again.

At times like this when God seems distant if not against me, I can only remember my favourite Saint, Mary Magdalene. A woman who was possessed by demons and yet Christ delivered her. Then she was one of the most devoted disciples, the first to see the resurrected Christ and equal to the Apostles.

A possessed woman. Someone dead to the world and church of that time. A nobody. A failure. And yet Christ healed her, used her and chose to reveal Himself to after the Resurrection.

I'm repeating the above so I can find my lost strength and faith again, so I can believe that Christ still cares and is willing to deliver and heal me. This is not something I believe at the moment.

St. Mary Magdalene please pray for me

[navree]

Incorrect, the fact that Biden has dropped out and a candidate with history of supporting medicare for all and being more receptive to a ceasefire in the I/P conflict has made me go from "I cannot morally support the Democratic nominee" to "I am voting for the Democratic nominee despite the fact she isn't perfect in every respect." I'm really happy this played out. The Dems for the most part abandoned the old Obama platform and it feels like its possible an actual progressive agenda could come to pass in my lifetime.

Kamala 2024!

If you weren't going to vote Democratic in this election before Biden dropped out you're a dorkass loser who does not care about any of the issues you're yammering about here and also a fundamentally bad person, and I hope you get run over by a bus.

But you got one thing right in all of this gibberish, Kamala 2024.

[adviceformefromme]

There is no rejection it’s re-direction. Yes, you’ve heard that a million times, but what is the difference for a believer and non-believer? When you believe in nothing and no one, you take rejection personally. You believe you have truly been rejected, someone does not want you, you don’t see the bigger picture. You see only your picture, one of pain, suffering and hurt. There is no other truth. The pain you feel, needs your suffering to be either projected out in seeking the one that hurt you to be the one that saves you…Or, you numb yourself pushing away the part of you that desperately needs to be acknowledged and loved. When you don’t believe you cause yourself pain… and so the cycle continues. But what is the other option? What does rejection look and feel like to the believer? A believer knows and trusts that every rejection is God’s protection. When you look back at every time you were rejected, you realise how much of a blessing in disguise it was. You look back and are thankful the guy in Dubai didn’t book you those flights because he turned out to be a creep, you’re thankful you didn’t get the job with the weird boss that interviewed you, because the next interview was paying 30% more and the manager was a better fit for your personality, you look back and realise that every time you thought it was a personal attack, it never was. It was protection, when you believe, you are aware there is a God that loves you, so you don’t personalise (maybe for a moment but you don’t live there). You trust, and know God is always leading you to better, to your highest most elevated self. You take your L’s and you GROW. It’s not about suffering in the victim mentality, it’s about knowing and trusting that what God has for you will never confuse you, will never leave you questioning. There will be clarity, it will be clear. And this is the power of believing. Life flows more easily, with more love, forgiveness and grace. 

[fictionadventurer]

For all the talk about bad Christian fiction, I've seen several different ways that Christianity can be well-integrated into the story.

The story is about something unrelated to Christianity, but the characters are Christian and their faith affects their outlook and daily life. I recently stumbled across Wormwood Abbey by Christina Baehr, which is a light, fairly forgettable cozy fantasy that happens to do this really well. The story is about a woman who learns that dragons exist around her family's estate, but as the daughter of a rector, she often mentions prayer, sings religious songs, or thinks of Bible verses that relate to things she experiences. The Christianity feels organic to the character, and thus enhances the story rather than distracting from it.

The world is a Christian world where Christian beliefs are shown to be the correct framework through which to view the world. This happens in good Christian fantasy, like Lewis and Tolkien, but there are plenty of real-world stories where the themes line up with Christian truths, and this can make a story Christian whether or not religion is explicitly practiced by characters within the story.

The characters wrestle with how to apply their faith in their daily lives. Regina Doman's Fairy Tale Novels often feature this, as the characters struggle to deal with plot problems while living out their faith. Amy Lynn Green's work often features this as well--characters hold certain values (like, for instance, a Quaker pacifist) and have to figure out how they apply or don't apply to specific situations, especially when they conflict with other values, or they have to figure out how to live out their values (such as forgiveness) in moments where it seems impossible or even ill-advised. Charlotte Yonge's best works (specifically, what I've read of The Three Brides) do this as well--instead of preaching the one right answer, you have characters trying to figure out what the best answer is as they figure out what's right or wrong in this specific situation.

Characters face the revelation that there's a spiritual world that exists beyond our ordinary world, which can cause terror, but also provide comfort and hope. Elizabeth Goudge's novels often exist in this space, with very internal stories of characters coming to embrace the truths that come with living in a spiritual world. To a lesser extent, I'd say Amanda Dykes' work often fits here, with characters ultimately find comfort and hope from philosophies that line up with Christian truth. In less-cozy works, there's also the possibility of stories where an entirely secular person encounters God and has to figure out what that means for their life.

So our options are Christianity as character, Christianity as setting, Christianity as theme, or Christianity as plot. The ways this is integrated most seamlessly is when Christianity (or the ways they struggle with it) is a vital part of the character, so the plot that arises from it lines up with a Christian worldview. It also works well for the characters to just exist within a world where Christian truths are the way the world works. It doesn't even necessarily require the characters to be explicitly religious. Truth is something that everyone is searching for, and stories that honestly showcase truth or the search for it are going to resonate with a wide audience, even if they aren't Christian themselves.

[tooies]

i think probably the reason i like the idea of like a girl secretly being a dragon but still trying to just have a life in society and be normal is because it's kinda a transfem narrative of the whole like everyone thinks you're a terrifying monster but you just want to be a girl. and the other reason is due to i'm otherkin