#i under stand if you think christianity is a flaw religion

[fairie-grl]

the most insane thing about the rpf poll is not phan wining( let’s be real modern rpf is built from them) but that people don’t think jesus was like a real person.

not that he wasn’t the son of god (people are allowed to have opinions about) not that god isn’t real (again open to interpretation) but that the man jesus wasn’t real.

[noctilionoidea]

I don’t really pay attention to Greek myth media much anymore because of this so if this isn’t super big of a thing uh. Complaining about stupid shit is like tumblrs whole thing so I can still complain

anyways does anyone find it weird how much Greek myth media almost obsesses over showing how in the wrong the gods can be? Because like. I don’t know if you cracked open some homer or Hesiod recently. That’s kinda a huge part of the Greek gods. The myths already talk about it. They aren’t supposed to be righteous. Good and holy are two different things. The gods uphold the natural order which they embody and have control over. Yeah they’re in the wrong a lot. They’re also in the right a lot. And they do things that are neither. They operate in their own interests and the interests of those they care about.

what does it accomplish by making this your main point? The myths already establish that they’re cruel. Why do we need to have this hammered in? Hellenism isn’t a major faith anymore. It still holds a huge impact and still has followers, but it doesn’t have any direct canon to it or any major institution. You can’t operate under the assumption that everyone who followed that faith believe the exact same thing. The myths are rationalizations. Very few of them were fundies. The details of practice and spirituality heavily varied on location, culture, and which cult they’re in. It’s even more split and varied than Christianity.

and if you’re using it to make a critique of a major religion like Christianity, then why be a coward about it? Call out the habits of Christian leaders. Call out hypocrisy. Call out the cruelty in the Bible. Call out all the stories and the impact it’s had and all the bloodshed that occurred at the behest of the faith. Because Christianity, and every other major religion out there, has stories that by modern lenses are cruel, gods that act violently against the humans who follow them, practitioners who will do everything to ensure that everyone else fits into their specific view. There will be justifications of violence under a gods name. There will be people who leave the faith and can never again see it as anything worthwhile. There will be followers who love their faith but feel so isolated from it because of these things. Using the greek gods, or any religion’s deities as a stand for what you’re calling attention to is just cheap. Criticizing god makes a lot of people angry. No shit! But there’s attention called to that. You can’t ignore what it’s trying to say without being little more than a brick wall.

when the current practitioners of a religion are small in number and operate with modern perspectives shaping how they see it, people who often put in the effort to think deeper about what a text is trying to say and what its purpose in the past was, mocking their gods for being flawed does nothing than repeat an established aspect of legend. It does nothing to call out a major, currently powerful religion for what harmful things it promotes.

I don’t know. I think if you wanna mock of Christian stories and ideas then you should use Christian stories -and ideas. When it comes to Greek and Roman legends people like Ovid already did that.

[trekwiz]

American Christians: with Trump's victory and the coming crisis for LGBT people, I need you to take time to consider what you can do, and how you've contributed.

I know your first reaction is to say that he doesn't represent you; that he's perverting your religion. I'm sorry, that is not, and has never been true. You need to understand this, or you will continue to do things that prop him up, and hurt LGBT people. You don't have to choose to cause suffering.

Christianity is his base:

It's impossible to just wave away 70 million+ people as fakers--especially if your criteria would also define you as a faker, too. This is not an aberration in Christian history; the crusades, Spanish Inquisition, the transatlantic slave trade, manifest destiny, missionaries wiping out native cultures globally, the hundreds of bodies buried under Canadian church schools.

I know it's painful to confront, but Donald Trump is the epitome of how Christianity interacts with the world; his behavior is neither unusual nor surprising in that context. You just don't see it because you're being protective of something meaningful to you. If you accept your religion's flaws, you feel like you'll value it less.

But the more you sweep it under the rug, the more pain you'll be inflicting on others. Christianity's blemishes need to be confronted, not excused as "fakers." By focusing on defending how people perceive your religion, you're actively overlooking the people who are hurt by it. You're putting your personal discomfort above the damaged and destroyed lives of others.

Trump's agenda for LGBT people is 100% Christian. It's impossible to separate the two. There is no secular, or rational basis for LGBT phobia. In the US, these attitudes are completely rooted in Christianity. When you see some bleedover among atheists, it's largely a consequence of growing up in a Christian culture and not unlearning it; it's why some Atheists maintain a Protestant work ethic--it's background noise, but it came from somewhere. The root cause is undeniably Christian.

Trump ran a series of ads, "Harris is for they/them, I'm for you." I need you to understand who he was talking to, why that was effective, and how you contributed.

Let's say for a moment that you don't think your church is transphobic; perhaps it even allows trans people to join. Have the people at your church shared stories (maybe from the news) about the gross man who thinks he's a woman? Did you laugh about how delusional "he" is? Maybe you didn't notice when someone described it as a sin that needs to be overcome. Did anyone speak up to say that this kind of casual bigotry is inappropriate? Did anyone work to make sure this attitude wasn't tolerated? If someone did speak up, were they derided for it? Treated as annoying?

Those are the people Trump is aligned with. He can successfully advertise that way, because churches in particular, have this casual LGBT-phobic culture. And it radiates from there. Maybe your niece or nephew doesn't go to church, but they're still likely to pick it up from your sibling. And they're just as likely to pass that attitude on to friends. Even if they're trying to resist that mindset, they might not even realize that they've picked it up when they decide who to be friends with.

It's so critical that you stand and let your church--attendees and leaders--know that you won't tolerate painting someone's innate traits as "sin." Are blue eyes a sin? Is it sinful to have hands? Do you know how much suffering (literal child abuse) was caused by treating left-handed people as sinners? Do you know how recently that was normalized the same way as homophobia is now?

When you ascribe a negative judgment to a trait that someone can't change, you are necessarily being hateful. That hate will present itself in the environment you cultivate. It will hurt people. It does hurt people.

What happens in environments that casually tolerate racist jokes, long-term?

If you're unwilling to confront the existence of bigotry that's coming out of the places that are meaningful to you, you will, even accidentally, perpetuate it.

But Trump's support goes beyond the LGBT phobia. Can you define Fascism? The actual, literal definition of a government that is fascist. If you look it up, you'll see specific traits: it has an authoritative leader who cannot be questioned, expectation of putting the interests of the government ahead of your own, suppression of opposing ideas, and out-groups to oppress.

What might have inspired people in Italy to come up with that, specific, structure? Do you think the idea that inspired it might still exist in the world, shaping the way people think?

I'm sorry. I know you're not ready to unpack that part.

Now, more than ever, you're needed to loudly, visibly reject LGBT phobia. You're uniquely positioned to make a difference. More than ever, your voice can keep people alive.

[automatismoateo]

Why do religious people just dismiss every single negative thing that their fellow followers do under the excuse that theyre not true X? via /r/atheism

Why do religious people just dismiss every single negative thing that their fellow followers do under the excuse that “they’re not true X?” I wholeheartedly believe that you should be ashamed and feel guilty about the bad things that your community has done. Whether that be atrocities that have happened in war or other similar aspects. Because if you don’t, if you are unaware or simply don’t care or even worse are even proud of it, you will not make an effort to be the best person you can be. You need to carry the weight of your community’s past and use it as a drive to improve your view on race, nationality, ethnicity and human diversity in general. Germany is a good example of this, people are aware of the holocaust and regret it, are ashamed of it. Some white people are ashamed of slavery and racism and thus are very vocal when it comes to equal rights and racial discrimination. Your ancestors’ mistakes can be your greatest motivator. However, religious people do the opposite of this everyday and very shamelessly so. Fundamentalists are not real believers. Extremists are not real believers. Child abusers are not real believers. Rapists are not real believers. If you make the community look bad, you are not a true member of the faith. They thus disgustingly detach themselves from the faults of their faiths. The Bible says to stone your wife if she’s not a virgin but if somebody were to do that of course they would say “but they’re not a real Christian, that’s not what we stand for!” They’re following Christian teachings to the T, what makes them not Christian? The fact that you don’t want to think critically about it and come to the realization that your faith IS flawed? That’s what Christianity stands for, and they do so too. You cannot detach yourself from your religion’s flaws, just the same way you cannot detach yourself from your country’s flaws. Just the same way I felt guilty about the racism and other atrocities my country committed during World War 2, I also felt guilty about the pain that Christianity cause and didn’t detach myself from it. And guess what? I ended up leaving the religion. Submitted April 19, 2024 at 03:57PM by uueru (From Reddit https://ift.tt/odm2Xj0)

[nox-the-former-demon]

>>Nel killed God.

Sorry, let me start from the beginning, I just really wanted to cut to the chase on this one. Ahem

In this post, I, ex demon Nox, will discuss the flaws of the old ways now that their arbiters are all gone, be it by their intent, their melancholy winning, or a violent outburst by someone who had had enough of their shit.

When I first took up my mantle, my job was simple. Agitate the waters of the river of death, check on the state of souls and if any were ready to cross over into the river of rebirth, scoop them out and toss them over. A quiet but mindful job that was simply done and monotonous as hell. On the other side, leaders would contemplate, plan, and direct their unders to use the souls as clay in a manner not unlike a sweatshop to mass produce and send on their way the lives to be born.

The issue with this system was that as the population grew, demand grew in turn, and with certain individuals being extremely stuck in their ways, there was a growing demand on the people working the system. I think it was that stress coupled with the monotony that pushed me to my limit and made me do the things I did. The system was broken in ways I could obviously see and I didn’t want to perpetuate it.

Funnily enough my rebellion did necessitate some level of change. The river of death now has intentional bottlenecks that create harsher flows that do the agitation automatically, and some of the more… stained souls will be put into a cage of sorts and left in these areas for extended periods to really scrub away the past they had.

The river of rebirth, by comparison, has apparently taken some level of modernizing. I don’t claim to know the details for that, I wasn’t too privy to that side of things during my time. But I do know that they’ve sped things up and lightened the work.

But the fact that a war needed to happen to make these changes is but one of the many reasons why the old ways didn’t work. And more importantly, why the old people needed to go.

In a past post I mentioned Cariel, Death, and a third individual I left unnamed just to avoid stirring the pot too much. I did so because their chosen name was the name of the god Christianity and the rest of the Abrahamic religions venerate. God, Yhwh, etcetera etcetera. For simplicity’s sake I’ll henceforth refer to that one as Y. And Y is far and away the central point of this post.

As you know by now, Cariel reincarnated 31 years ago. And Death did so as well as year. These ancient spirits saw their time needing to end and ended it themselves on their terms so as to allow the world beyond life and death to have the room to grow. But Y… Y was a sticker. The founder of the Knights of Justice, the knower of all the old things, the last remaining soul to exist unchanged for two millennia. With a position like that, Y garnered respect and admiration. But also contempt and anger.

Asa and I have visitors time to time. Her and Nel’a guardians, a few other notable individuals, hell even my daughter Marisol is on friendly enough terms to use our body as a means of getting away from work time to time. And whenever they visit, they chat with Nel. And in recent months, many of them were stressed out and complaining. Complaining about Y. Complaining about the extra authority he now had. Complaining about how everyone was stressed out

Nel decided Y has to go.

The story as I’ve been told (as I was standing on guard duty over Nel’s body at the time) was that Nel broke out of the shackles of their physical form, projecting themselves out and up. They then shrunk their soul down to a tiny size to sneak up on him before growing to full size and lashing out with wolf like fangs and sharp claws and antlers. Allegedly he fought back, got a good blow in on Nel’s nose. But Nel held firm. They even showed Y Cariel’s old face for a moment. And then, they dunked Y into the river of rebirth a few times before tossing him in entirely, all before reinforcements could arrive.

Funny thing about the river of rebirth. It doesn’t have good effects on a soul that hasn’t been stripped by the river of death. It can deform and twist and damage a “complete” soul. Rather horribly. So Y was in no condition to keep existing after that. He’s been sent to the river of death for an extensive cleansing. One long overdue.

With this head stripped away, the system finally has room to change. To improve. The new generation has a clean slate to make the world better, to make the future more unique and more beautiful than it ever was.

And we have to thank Nel for killing God and allowing that to happen. And you wonder why I love that deer-fox?<<

[the-hem]

Jesus and the Question. From Matthew 22: 34-46.

Humanity struggles with the concept of Messiah because we know it is not relevant to us. There is no such thing as a Messiah on a world that refuses to bow before God and obey His Commandments. That would place mankind at the behest of a Mericful God and the madcap antics of humanity which is exactly how we have interpreted the Religion; we are reaping the results of our flawed manner of inquiry into the Holy Spirit through the Gospels.

There are also hints of anti-Semitism in the notion that the One Great Commandment binds the rest and this is also clearly problematic as Jesus was a Jew and very learned in every aspect of Judaism.

Without the entirety of the Torah, the amount of self-esteem and self worth we allow ourselves is limited. So for Christ's formula to work, we must have undertaken the Mitzvot, the Tzav, the Edoms, the Temple Furnishings, etc. and become fully competent as Jews before the Christian aspect has any hope of working out.

The 613 Mitzvot have a Gematria of 1489, א‎דחט‎, "I will push" meaning they are designed to nudge us forward, to cause our characters to assume an ever blooming condition. None are incompatible with the Prime Commandment, nor are any interchangeable with it.

So He did not come to abolish Judaism or overwrite it, but instead to apply it with more ambition than almost anyone on earth so far, save the Prophets of the early Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who put the Gospel rubber on the road and ended slavery in America. Jesus Himself was not able to claim such a victory of such a horrendous violation of Jewish Law.

Although Jesus Himself was never outspoken about ending slavery in the ancient world, He did not deny this was the most important tenet of Judaism. So we know we need to understand the Religion thoroughly and longitudinally if we are to attempt modern applications.

The Greatest Commandment

34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees [the Orthodox Jews], the Pharisees [the scientists] got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

“The son of David,” they replied.

43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,

44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord:     “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies     under your feet.”’[c]

45 If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46 No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Saducees are the Jewish Police. They are not mentioned in the Torah. Neither are the Pharisees. Saducees do not accept anything but the Torah, rejecting the Mishnah, the Midrash and the rest of the Tanakh.

Pharisees are the authors of the Halachah, the Oral Tradition of the Torah. It is their expectation one's internal scope and external alignment with the law are in perfect order. Jesus was tested by both regarding His Oral and Written expertise with the Torah.

The most important one that is asked to this day is when will it be time for Mashiach?

Jesus says the first, the Law must culminate. It needs to be discernable, in the same way a Kosher Diet or the observance of Shabbat can be discerned before one even takes a bite of food or moves a muscle. So can you determine if you feel a canker in your heart towards another person or not, and can you empathize before you do anything else? If the answer is yes, you understand what it means to stand before God on sacred ground.

Failure to reach it reproaches one from understanding the Messiah and his timeline.

The Gematria explain how we attain to the Highest Ground called the First and Second commandments:

v. 34-36: The Value in Hebrew Gematria is 1124-6. Yabo, "what is the object of your desire?"

"We want God to come. We want the pain to end."

Our verb bo' is expressed in grammatical constructions that convey a causing, and which create the meaning of "to cause to come" may often be translated with to lead, to send or to bring (Genesis 6:19, Numbers 27:17, 1 Kings 17:6).

v. 37-40: The Value in Gematria is 12670, yeboa, "I will be born."

The verb βοαω (boao), meaning to roar or collectively cry out loud. There are of course many Greek verbs that convey a vocal uttering, but it's this particular verb that is used in MATTHEW 3:3: "...the voice of one crying in the wilderness" (MATTHEW 3:3), where it translates the Hebrew verb קרא (qara'), to call or name.

Naming things was the first activity of Adam (Genesis 2:19-20; see ονομα, onoma, name or noun), which formally set him apart from the animals he named, which in turn necessitated the rise of his species-specific wife Eve.

v. 41-42: The Value in Gematria is 9883, טחחג, giggled. The most famous giggle in the Torah is when Sarah became pregnant with Isaac. Sarah means "the government" which means the government must come along for the ride out of the wilderness if we want to be happy and achieve global Messianic proportions.

v. 43- 44: The Value in Gematria is 9620, ט‎ובאֶ��ֶס‎‎, tubafes, "Good counsel right in front of your nose."

v. 45: The Value in Gematria is 7884, ז‎חחד, zahhad, "things will be sharper, they will bloom the second time around".

The name Ziv occurs only twice in the Bible, but in one context: in the month Ziv king Solomon commenced the building of the Temple of YHWH in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6:1 and 6:37; specifically on the 2nd day of the month, — 2 Chronicles 3:2).

The name Ziv (זו), appears to derive from the verb זהה (zahah, to bloom, to be ready to reproduce.

• The name Iyar, spelled איר, isn't used in the Bible. It's of unclear pedigree but over the centuries most commentators have linked it to the verb אור ('or), to be light or to shine.

Other verbs of interest are ארה ('ara), to pluck or gather, and ארר ('arar), to bind (or curse), which could possibly be applied to the very early stages of agricultural production.

• The second month is also often referred to namelessly in the Bible, quite frequently with a secondary link to some second year:

On the 17th day of the second month, the water of the great flood began to come upon the earth (Genesis 7:11).

On the 27th day of the second month of the second year of the flood, Noah and his family exited the Ark (Genesis 8:14) onto the land that had been dry since the first of the first month of that year.

On the 15th day of the second month, Israel departed from Elim and entered the wilderness of Sin (Exodus 16:1) on their trek away from Egypt, which started in the first month (and which obviously tells of a move away from Egypt's dominant wisdom tradition — see our article on the name Exodus).

If in the first month a person was unclean because of a death, or he was on a journey, he had to celebrate Passover on the 14th of the second month (Numbers 9:1). Later king Hezekiah appears to invoke this rule as he has the whole of Israel celebrate Passover in the second month (2 Chronicles 30:2, 30:13).

On the 1st day of the second month of the second year of Israel's wanderings, YHWH spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai (Numbers 1:1, 1:18) and ordered the census of battle-ready males, twenty years old and older, and organized Israel in battle array. The Levites were exempt from military duty, because they formed the priestly caste. This made Israel 11/12 martial and 1/12 priestly.

On the 20th day of the second month of the second year of wandering, the Shekinah was lifted from over the tabernacle and Israel departed from Sinai (Numbers 10:11).

In the second month of the second year after their arrival, Zerubbabel and company began the work on the Temple's restoration (Ezra 3:8).

King David's commander of the second month was Dodai the Ahohite of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 27:4). His chief was Mikloth, also of Benjamin.

A dodai is a song of love, an ahohite is a "brother reckoned by his words", Benjamin is the "son of the Southern Sun" AKA intelligent, competent with technology and the sciences, Mikloth, "covered by Michael".

Mikloth was the son of Jehiel and Maacah= protected by a vibrant community that presses out oppression.

The verb חיה (haya) means to live and life is all about resonance between elements — molecules working together to make a living cell, cells working together to make a living organism and human minds working together to make a living nation.

Adjective חי (hay) means living and adjective חיה (hayeh) means lively. Noun חיה (hayya) means life or living thing, and may also be used to describe a vibrant community. Plural noun חיים (hayyim) literally means livings but describes the whole palette of activities a living being engages in: one's making-a-living.

The verb מעך (ma'ak) means to press or squeeze. It's used a mere three times in the Old Testament.

We are not ready for a Messiah. We have none ofr the messianic characteristics needed to contribute to the reign of one, and this is why Jesus said the Line of the House of David, adherents to Jewish Law, need to keep sprouting if such a thing is to happen.

This means the conversation about our willingness to be human in the manner of the Torah, in the image of God and the Christ is requisite if we want to continue to believe we were meant to live in Grace.

[theusernameiwantisntavailable]

One person asked and that's all the incentive I need.

I WOULD LIKE TO STRESS I AM NOT TRYING TO DISPROVE ANY SORT OF RELIGION OR FAITH I AM TALKING ABOUT THE IDEA OF A CREATOR AND THE HYPOTHETICAL IDEAS BEHIND IT. THIS IS NOT TARGETED AT ANY SPECIFIC RELIGION OR GOD I JUST ENJOY THINKING ABOUT THE LOGIC BEHIND SUCH A BEING ‼️‼️‼️ Somewhat long so I'll put it under a cut :)

This is about the former point if you guys can still stand me after this I'll talk about the later lol

It all boils down to the idea that we are supposed to be created in God's image. We are said to be created in God's image but God does not have a physical form, and when he manifests parts of himself to talk to people he always takes the form of some form of natural event. In other words we cannot have been create in God's physical image because he does not have one. So what image does that leave us with? The only feasible option (in my opinion, feel free to disagree) is with his rational capabilities and thoughts. Certainly no other being that we know of has this degree of rational thinking and logic, other than God who is of course better than us. This is where the problem forms.

Because this gives us one of three options, either it is impossible for God to create anything close to him, God is a flawed being, or God is not omnibenevolent.

One of the most commonly accepted beliefs about God is that he is all powerful, that there is nothing he cannot control or create. But we as humans are fundamentally flawed beings, if God created us in his image to the best of his abilities and God is perfect this does not add up. So this must mean that there are limits to God's capabilities of creation. Meaning he is not perfect.

But let's say that God CAN create anything and he has created us in a perfect likeness of his image. Again, the fact that we are fundamentally flawed is the breaking point, because if God has create us perfectly in his image and we are flawed - than that must mean God is flawed also. Then you have the third option that is the point that God can create anything he wants, but actively chose not to make us perfectly in his image and leave us with flaws. But what feasible reason would he have for doing this? If we were put on this earth to care and look after the rest of his creations why would he give us the faults that allow us to cause them harm (in regards to Christianity you could argue about the snake in Eden, but even then God did not remove the flaw of curiosity). Another standpoint to consider this that God does not want a being as perfect in thought as he is, which make him appear controlling and selfish. Either way he does not appear as all loving as we think him to he.

No matter which if these options you go with God is not a perfect being and I think its so fascinating that we, the beings God created to worship him and follow his orders, are the very reason he is not perfect.

If it were up to me I would say the most feasible but also kind option is that God is not all powerful. I do not think this is a bad thing, he created us and the world which shows he is indeed powerful. But those powers having limits would not only be a good justification for the problem of evil argument (if God loves us so much why doe he allow evil?). But it also shows that God does love us still, there are just limits as to how much he can do - that does not mean he doesn't try a best he can (ie. He cannot prevent natural disasters but he can lessen them to an extent to prevent as many casualties as possible).

Now again I would like to stress this is hypothetical, I am completely open to the idea that I may be completely wrong and other people have absolutely got better ideas. This is just me rambling about my silly little ideas because I find this discussion fascinating

Please take this with a grain of salt because I have just written my thoughts directly down onto Tumblr at 1:37 in the morning, with absolutely no proofreading. I am too tired to do any I will go back and read it again in the morning and correct any mess

Sorry if this was more than expected I just am fascinating by the topic abdbsndndjf

Does anyone want to hear me be so incredibly normal about how we as humans are proof that it is impossible for God (if he exists) to be a perfect being. Or about how it is impossible for God to have created time and live inside it's constraints

[deci-doodles]

Now that the 2.0 trailer is out I can finally start dissecting the trailer with way more intensity than necessary for as many lore crumbs as possible but before all that:

Mondstadt’s the city of freedom, we see this when Venti lets Dvalin go as one of the Four Winds as freedom isn’t really that when a god is ordering you

Liyue had its contracts, the adepti fulfilling theirs despite Morax’s supposed death and Zhongli creating his “contract to end all contracts” with the Tsaritsa

But what of eternity? That’s not really an ideal, not to mention it’s such a vague one too. So I’m gonna upload my write up on Baal I did a few days ago for my interpretation of what eternity is meant to be and her potential motivations to pursue it

(TLDR: Baal isn’t inherently malevolent and her eternity’s a bastardised version of Nirvana, but she’ll never be able to achieve it because she misunderstands it and it’ll only do more harm than good)

Buddhism is one of the biggest religions in Japan (as the saying goes, Japanese people are born Shinto, married Christian, and die Buddhist). As such it should come as little surprise that it also has had a huge impact on Japan’s culture. In fact, we can see this with the most famous floral symbol of Japan, the cherry blossom.

Now I know what you’re thinking, what do cherry blossoms have to do with Baal? Well we’ll cross that bridge when we get there, just be patient.

Cherry blossoms are also synonymous with ‘mono no aware’ (the pathos of things), something derived from Zen Buddhist teachings and described as a “gentle sadness” from the acknowledgement of life’s transience. In fact, you’ll notice that a lot of Japanese culture and values can be linked to transience and imperfection, from Hanami and wabi-sabi to kintsugi. This can all be linked to Buddhism. Now to blasphemously simplify an entire religion into a single sentence(I’d recommend doing further research if you’re curious, I’m not a practitioner so I don’t recommend asking me), Buddhism’s “aim” is to break Samsara (the cycle of death and rebirth), and the only way to do this is to achieve Nirvana (enlightenment).

So where am I going with this? Well, what if Baal’s “eternity” is simply her equivalent to Nirvana?

Think about it, because all living things are trapped by Samsara, they are doomed to live transient lives, dying and being born again before dying and so on.

This certainly wouldn’t be the first time Mihoyo’s nabbed inspiration from religions, the folks over on Khaenri’ah have done a fine job analysing various instances on their Twitter. Baal thinks highly of her ideal as shown in both the Vajrada Amethyst stone and the quote from Zhongli: “Seven ideals for seven gods, and of these, Eternity is the closest unto heaven”. Nirvana is enlightenment, it is freedom, it is what allows one to transcend beyond the material world and finally be liberated from samsara, so it shouldn’t be a stretch to assume that this is what Baal means by “eternity”, especially since it directly opposes transience. But still, why would Baal take such extreme measures? And is she in the right here?

Let’s start off with first question and the vision hunt decree itself. The decree’s a direct reference to the various sword hunt decrees in Japan’s history but what’s interesting is that Inazuma’s can be linked to the sword hunt under Toyotomi Hideyoshi where the confiscated weapons were to be melted and cast into a giant statue of the Buddha. In a similar fashion, Baal is in laying the statue of the “Thousand-armed, hundred-eyes god”’s palms with confiscated visions. This also leads to yet another Buddhist parallel.

The Bodhissatva Kannon (also known as Guanyin) is the goddess of mercy, and one of her most popular depictions in Japan is the thousand-armed Kannon (Senju Kannon), who grew 1000 arms out of her desire to help free everyone from samsara. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Like how Baal wishes to achieve the “eternity” that she promised her people. 1000-armed Kannon was also sometimes depicted with eyes in the palms of her hands, and where is Baal placing the confiscated visions again? That’s right, the statue’s palms.

But still, can we use this to justify the actions she’s taken? Baal may believe her intentions are noble but they’re also heavily flawed. Let’s rewind a bit, transience is a huge metaphor in Japan and thus it should come as little surprise that it’s also reflected in Inazuma.

- Kazuha’s main motif is maple, a deciduous tree associated with autumn, both being symbols of change as autumn is a transitional season and maple leaves fall

- Ayaka’s shown with cherry blossoms, but also her clan mon (crest) depicts a camellia flower (tsubaki). Camellias are associated with divinity but also a noble death as the flowers “decapitate” themselves

- Yoimiya has a firework theme, fireworks themselves last briefly but shine bright nevertheless. Her choker is also a butterfly, an insect synonymous with change

- Sayu’s kimono has bellflower patterns, bellflowers being one of the ‘seven autumn flowers’ and, again, autumn is a season of change

- Even Baal herself is the electro archon, storms never last forever and lightning (Inazuma’s namesake mind you) is also extremely brief

So where am I going with this? Well there’s another aspect of Buddhism that I left out. When one reincarnates, there are six possible realms you may go to depending on your karma: hell, hungry ghosts, animals, demi-gods, humans, and gods. Only those who reincarnate as humans have the opportunity to achieve nirvana. Baal’s obsession with eternity is only doing more harm than good regardless of her intentions because she fails to truly understand both the beauty that transience holds as well as transient mortals themselves. Her ideal directly contradicts Inazuma itself, so even though she may love her nation and it’s people oh so fiercely, the more she pursues “eternity”, the more she’ll fail to truly help her people. We’ve already seen this through Kazuha and Atsuko, the former losing his friend when he decided to make a stand and the latter nearly dying as she escaped. People have already drawn connections between her and Decarabian, and it seems that if she continues her path she may meet a similar demise to him.

[patriotsnet]

Why Do Republicans Hate Gay People

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Why Do Republicans Hate Gay People

Presidency Of George W Bush

George W. Bush did not repeal President Clinton’s Executive Order banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the federal civilian government, but Bush’s critics felt as if he failed to enforce the executive order. He retained Clinton’s Office of National AIDS Policy and was the first Republican president to appoint an openly man to serve in his administration, Scott Evertz as director of the Office of National AIDS Policy. Bush also became the second President, after President Clinton, to select openly gay appointees to his administration. Bush’s nominee as ambassador to Romania, Michael E. Guest, became the second openly gay man U.S. Ambassador and the first to be confirmed by the Senate. He did not repeal any of the spousal benefits that Clinton had introduced for same-sex federal employees. He did not attempt to repeal Don’t ask, don’t tell, nor make an effort to change it.

In April 2002, White House officials held an unannounced briefing in April for the Log Cabin Republicans. On June 27, 2002, President Bush has signed a bill allowing death benefits to be paid to domestic partners of firefighters and police officers who die in the line of duty, permanently extending a federal death benefit to same-sex couples for the first time.

The 2004 Republican Party platform removed both parts of that language from the platform and stated that the party supports anti-discrimination legislation.

Two Reasons Why The Bathroom Bill Targeting Trans People Is Flawed

We believe this bill is flawed for two reasons. First, as conservatives who believe in liberty and in supporting small businesses, we do not think that government should single out businesses for special public censure if they do not enforce the governments current social views.

Americans are still sorting out how they feel about trans people and how they can be tolerant or hospitable neighbors even if they disagree. Government should not use private businesses as pawns in an ongoing culture war, especially with something as private as their customers genitalia.

Second, the bill is counterproductive. We understand that the legislature wants to give parents peace of mind that their daughters will not use the same restroom as biological males. Parents want to make sure their kids are safe this is a completely reasonable concern. But forcing trans women to use the same restroom as young boys can be more disturbing and disruptive to businesses.

Hear more Tennessee Voices:

Dads: imagine walking into the mens room with your son and seeing Caitlyn Jenner, in a dress, fixing her makeup.

More disturbing still is when trans men who are far along in their transition  people who look, act, and identify as male  must use the same restroom as young girls.

More:Tennessee Voices, Episode 118: Chris Sanders, Tennessee Equality Project

The Fairness For All Act Is A Republican Response To The Equality Act

In March, House Democrats introduced the Equality Act, the first comprehensive LGBTQ civil rights bill to pass the House. While it has been stalled in the GOP-controlled Senate, it would provide sweeping non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people in the US in housing, employment, public accommodations, education, and health care for the first time under federal law.

At the time, there were that some conservative groups were working on a compromise bill, and it appears the Fairness For All Act is that compromise.

A small coalition of religious conservative groups led by the American Unity Fund and including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Seventh-day Adventist Church, 1st Amendment Partnership, Center for Public Justice, and Council for Christian Colleges and Universities have rallied behind the bill.

Im excited about the solutions that are embodied in the legislation, because I think that those are the exact ideas that were going to need to pass federal civil rights for LGBTQ people, said Tyler Deaton, senior adviser at the American Unity Fund.

The Fairness For All Act would provide many of the same protections for LGBTQ Americans, but it also provides ample exceptions for churches and religious organizations to continue to discriminate against queer people.

What we like about it is the stated intentional desire for fairness and a proposed process that will encourage collaboration because weve seen that work in our state, he said.

Republicans May Begin To Embrace Gay Rights

As Republican National Chairman Reince Priebus pointed out, gay marriage and gay rights are platforms that a higher and higher percentage of Americans support. Priebus warns Republicans to be more open to other views on the issue, and less set in their ways. However, Republican strategist Ed Rogers points out the catch-22 in this situation. Most current Republicans still oppose gay marriage. Where 58 percent of Americans now support gay marriage, only 39 percent of Republicans support it, with 59 percent of Republicans opposing it. This leaves the Republican Party in a tough spot. They must either reform their views to bring in new members and gain support in coming elections, which would risk pushing away those that have stuck with the Party through the years, or stand by their age-old platform, and risk continuing to lose support throughout the nation.

The Disney Vault Is Annoying

Disney has drawn the ire of many adoring fans because it only releases its movies to the public for home consumption for a limited amount of time. They even coined a term for this tactic, The Disney Vault. Audiences think this is corporate greed at its ugliest. Disney has a commodity, and they try to build fervor and revenue by only letting the consumer have access to it for a short period. Its basically the same business model McDonalds uses with the McRib and we all know how much everyone hates that. Can you imagine if the Star Wars movies were only sold periodically? Thatd be an outrage, right? Well, you can expect it to happen since Disney bought the rights in 2012 to all things Star Wars, from George Lucas for over $4 billion. Its no wonder why Disney movies have been pirated since VCRs came on the scene in the 1980s.

American Views Of Transgender People: The Impact Of Politics Personal Contact And Religion

As the Supreme Court examines cases it has already heard this term about the rights of gay and transgender people, the American public in the latest Economist/YouGov poll are for the most part tolerant and supportive of transgender employment rights. However, Republicans take different positions.

The overall public supports laws prohibiting discrimination in hiring and employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, with Republicans closely divided.

More than one in three people know someone who is transgender, and the probability of this is even higher among Democrats and younger adults. Those with personal contact are more likely to believe there is a great deal or a fair amount of discrimination against transgender people. Half of Republicans and 88 percent of Democrats say there is a fair amount or a great deal of discrimination against transgender people.

One in five adults believes employers should be able to fire transgender workers who wear work clothes that match their gender identity. About three times that percentage disagree. Republicans are more closely divided on this question: a third say employers should be able to fire those employees, while 44 percent say that should not be allowed.

There appears to be greater acceptance of female to male transitions than male to female ones. Men generally accept a female to male as male , but also believe that someone transitioning male to female is still male .

Image: Getty 

Here’s Where We Stand On Different Lgbt Issues

LGBT leftists tend to hate us because we put our principles first. We believe in religious liberty, free speech, God-given human dignity, limited government, and economic opportunity. 

For that reason we frequently oppose radical gender theory and leftist policies like the Equality Act. We support a nuanced, science-based approach to transgender policy issues. 

We recently spoke out in support of the legislature’s initiative to keep youth sports organized according to biological sex we find the effort to let biological males play girls’ sports anti-science and offensive.

As a result of stances like these, LGBT leftists regularly picket us, ban us, destroy our property, and call us ugly names.

Recently, our entire leadership team was kicked out of Nashvilles primary LGBT networking Facebook group, in contravention of that groups written rules, because the admins hated us.

We hope this background demonstrates our conservative bona fides. If we oppose a Republican LGBT bill, it is out of principle, not identity politics or blind devotion to those in the LGBT community who reject us. We were not asked to comment on the bill before it was passed, but we feel we would be remiss not to offer our perspective.

More:Tennessee’s anti-LGBTQ bills target vulnerable citizens who are worthy of dignity | Plazas

Views On Religion Its Role In Policy

When it comes to religion and morality, most Americans say that belief in God is not necessary in order to be moral and have good values; 42% say it is necessary to believe in God in order to be moral and have good values.

The share of the public that says belief in God is not morally necessary has edged higher over the past six years. In 2011, about as many said it was necessary to believe in God to be a moral person as said it was not . This shift in attitudes has been accompanied by a rise in the share of Americans who do not identify with any organized religion.

Republicans are roughly divided over whether belief in God is necessary to be moral , little changed over the 15 years since the Center first asked the question. But the share of Democrats who say belief in God is not a condition for morality has increased over this period.

About two-thirds of Democrats and Democratic leaners say it is not necessary to believe in God in order to be moral and have good values, up from 51% who said this in 2011.

The growing partisan divide on this question parallels the widening partisan gap in religious affiliation.

About six-in-ten whites think belief in God is not necessary in order to be a moral person. By contrast, roughly six-in-ten blacks and 55% of Hispanics say believing in God is a necessary part of being a moral person with good values.

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Lgbt Conservatism In The United States

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LGBT conservatism in the United States is a social and political ideology within the community that largely aligns with the American conservative movement. LGBT conservatism is generally more moderate on social issues from social conservatism, instead emphasizing values associated with fiscal conservatism, libertarian conservatism, and .

Changing Views On Acceptance Of Homosexuality

Seven-in-ten now say homosexuality should be accepted by society, compared with just 24% who say it should be discouraged by society. The share saying homosexuality should be accepted by society is up 7 percentage points in the past year and up 19 points from 11 years ago.

Growing acceptance of homosexuality has paralleled an increase in public support for same-sex marriage. About six-in-ten Americans now say they favor allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally.

While there has been an increase in acceptance of homosexuality across all partisan and demographic groups, Democrats remain more likely than Republicans to say homosexuality should be accepted by society.

Overall, 83% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say homosexuality should be accepted by society, while only 13% say it should be discouraged. The share of Democrats who say homosexuality should be accepted by society is up 20 points since 2006 and up from 54% who held this view in 1994.

Among Republicans and Republican leaners, more say homosexuality should be accepted than discouraged by society. This is the first time a majority of Republicans have said homosexuality should be accepted by society in Pew Research Center surveys dating to 1994. Ten years ago, just 35% of Republicans held this view, little different than the 38% who said this in 1994.

Acceptance is greater among those with postgraduate and bachelors degrees than among those with some or no college experience .

Reasons Why Conservatives Hate Democrats

November 5, 2014 by Samuel WardeNo Comments

20 Reasons Why Conservatives Hate Democrats

1. Democrats believe in higher education.2. Democrats believe in preserving the environment.3. Democrats believe in science.4. Democrats believe that carbon dioxide is dangerous.5. Democrats do not believe that minimum wage created our nations unemployment.

6. Democrats do not believe armed rebellion is a viable alternative to elections.7. Democrats do not believe that corporations are people too.8. Democrats do not believe that the sexual revolution created AIDS.9. Democrats do not know the proper height for trees.10. Democrats do not understand decent God-fearing Americans need missile launchers at home.

11. Democrats do not understand that banning abortions for high risk pregnancies can be a positive experience for women.12. Democrats do not understand that intelligent design is a proven scientific theory.13. Democrats do not understand that marriage is related to national security.14. Democrats do not understand that the media is a threat to national security.15. Democrats forgot that Hitler coined the phrase separation of church and state.

16. Democrats seem oblivious to the fact that most good Americans oppose gay marriage.17. Democrats seldom bring guns to crowded public events.18. Democrats want to force innocent multi-millionaires to pay taxes.19. Democrats want to let gays vote.20. Democrats want to let immigrants vote.

Log Cabins Better Record On Gay Issues

While Stonewall was cheerleading Obamas do-nothing Democrats, Log Cabin sued the government to kill DADT. In 2010, Log Cabin won an injunction preventing the administration from enforcing DADT. Only after fighting that injunction, and losing, did Obama finally repeal the law.

Log Cabin has also withheld its endorsement from high-profile Republican candidates who opposed marriage equality unlike Stonewall, we resist partisan groupthink, even when it costs us. We wouldnt be endorsing President Trump in 2020 if he werent truly an ally.

Trump openly supported LGBT equality before any of Stonewalls endorsees did. In 1999, while Democrats defended DADT, Trump opined that gays and lesbians serving openly was not something that would disturb me. In 2000, Trump proposed an amendment of civil rights law to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, which would have rendered moot the employment discrimination case currently before the Supreme Court.

In 2015, though Trump needed religious conservative votes to win the Republican primary, he nevertheless stated publicly that religious freedom and LGBT rights are not mutually exclusive. He even rebuked his running mate-to-be, Mike Pence, for initially undervaluing LGBT interests in Indianas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, on which Pence ultimately reversed. Today, President Trump still has our back.

Stonewall Incorrectly Attacks President Trump

Stonewalls article censures Russia for orchestrating an industrial-scale genocide of gay men in Chechnya. Russias behavior is indeed alarming. So President Trump, collaborating with his Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, has launched a historic initiative to decriminalize homosexuality worldwide. Basham conveniently omits this fact.

Stonewall calls Trumps plan to reduce HIV/AIDS transmission by 90 percent within 10 years lip service because HIV+ immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border are separated from other immigrants. But this policy is intended to provide HIV+ immigrants, some of whom face untreated AIDS, with needed medical care. Stonewall also neglects to mention that Trumps budget included $291 million to fight HIV in 2020 alone. Trump also convinced the antiviral research group Gilead to donate billions of dollars of HIV prevention medication for 200,000 people. That is hardly lip service.

Stonewall further insinuates, ludicrously, that Trump is bigoted for halting Obama-era attempts to tell public schools which bathroom transgender students can use. We say, good: The well-being of children who do not identify with their biological sex is vitally important, but it does not fall under the originally intended purview of Title IX and would thus be better explored at the state and local level without federal intervention. Executive overreach in the name of LGBT rights does nothing to recommend our cause.

Relies On Star Power Not Plotlines

Back in the day, Disney movies sold themselves because their plots were incredible. They showcased fairytales and chronicled the rise of the underdog. This worked in Disneys animated and live-action movies, and the company was untouchable for decades. Then, they had a string of flops like Mulan, Pocahontas and Hercules. Suddenly, Disney was fallible. So, instead of hiring better writers, they took the easy way out they started to hire big name talent to headline its projects. And they havent looked back. Disney has hired giants in the film industry to voice its characters, like Miley Cyrus and . And of course, Disney puts the most popular celebs in its live action movies, like Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie.

Disney even has upcoming projects with Emma Stone, Reese Witherspoon and Emma Watson. But what good is it to have a big star in a movie if the plot is weak? The only good thing about this change in direction is that it finally steered Disney away from cramming cultural sensitivity down everyones throats. There was a period of time when it made sure to give every minority group its own movie, from Hawaiians in Lilo and Stitch to African Americans in The Princess and the Frog. Audiences perceived this to be the pandering that it was.

How Out Of Step Is The Republican Party On Gay Rights

The wedding wasnt the only reason conservatives targeted Rep. Denver Riggleman in a party convention , but it was the driving one. Which raises the question: How out of step with the nation is the Republican Party on same-sex rights?

Its an especially pertinent question on Monday, now that the Supreme Court, with the support of one of President Trumps nominees, just voted 6-3 that existing federal law protects gay and transgender workers from discrimination based on sex.

Thats a sea change in the legal landscape of protections for LGBTQ Americans. Before this ruling, in about half of the states, you could be legally fired for being gay or transgender. Now, you cant under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which the court ruled extends to LGBTQ Americans because it prevents discrimination on the basis of sex.

But like the Republican voters in Virginia who ousted Riggleman in favor of social conservative Bob Good, there is an active wing of the Republican Party seeking to push back on the march toward expanding legal protections for gay and transgender Americans. And they have powerful allies.

The Trump administration opposed interpreting the Civil Rights Act to encompass LGBTQ workers. The leader of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network called the six justices who supported this ruling, one of whom was Trump appointee Neil M. Gorsuch, activists, implying the court got ahead of where the public is on the issue.

Emily Guskin contributed to this report.

Mike Pence Accidentally Admits The Real Reason Republicans Hate Democrats So Much

Common Dreams

The grassroots organization People for Bernie on Tuesday advised the Democratic Party to take a page from an unlikely sourceright-wing Vice President Mike Penceafter Pence told a rally crowd in Florida that progressives and Democrats “want to make rich people poorer, and poor people more comfortable.”

“Good message,” tweeted the group, alerting the Democratic National Committee to adopt the vice president’s simple, straightforward description of how the party can prioritize working people over corporations and the rich.

Suggesting that a progressive approach to the economy will harm the countrydespite the fact that other wealthy nations already invest heavily in making low- and middle-income “more comfortable” by taxing corporations and very high earnersPence touted the Republicans’ aim to “cut taxes” and “roll back regulations.”

The vice president didn’t mention how the Trump administration’s 2017 tax cuts overwhelmingly benefited wealthy households and powerful corporations, with corporate income tax rates slashed from 35% to 21%, corporate tax revenues plummeting, and a surge in stock buybacks while workers saw “no discernible wage increase” according to a report released last year by the Economic Policy Institute and the Center for Popular Democracy.

Pence’s description of progressive goals was “exactly” correct, author and commentator Anand Giridharadas tweeted.

“Yes, and what’s wrong with making poor people more comfortable?” asked Rep. Ilhan Omar .

Gw College Republicans Invite Log Cabin Republicans And Lgbt Conservatives To Talk About What It Means To Be Gay And Conservative

Kicking off a discussion on the inclusion of LGBT people in the Republican Party, Charles Moran, the managing director of the conservative gay group the Log Cabin Republicans, told George Washington University students that they dont have to be a Democrat because youre gay.

The forum at the Marvin Center Amphitheater Tuesday night, hosted by GW College Republicans, brought together what Josh Kutner, director of political affairs for the group, described as an all-star panel of Republican and conservative political and media consultants: Dave McCulloch, managing partner at Capitol Media Partners; Brad Polumbo, an editor and columnist at The Washington Examiner; and Edith Jorge-Tunon, political director for the Republican State Leadership Committee.

Mr. Moran, who has 14 years of experience managing local and national Republican political races, started the discussion by asking panelists to explain how they came out as conservative and where they fit on the conservative spectrum.

Mr. Polumbo said he realized he was a conservative when he was dropped into the liberal bastion of the University of Massachusetts and wound up persona non grata in the gay community.

A Rand Paul libertarian and technically not a Republican, he said, I definitely have a very right-wing philosophy. I am more than willing to punch at both sides.

Live your life honestly, Mr. Moran advised. Be present. Share and be aware. Accept them for who they are and who they are not.

We’re Portrayed As A Perversion

From the left, right, and even a few biased researchers, people accuse transgender people of being perverts, fetishists, and likely rapists. This is in great part why the right-wing tactics against non-discrimination ordinances have been so successful: the right wing tells people that it’s a choice between protecting their wives and daughters or a tiny group of perverts.

Many Trump Supporters Are Lgbt

So Stonewall is wrong. But something more important is going on here. What really infuriates Basham is that Log Cabin has given cover for the presidents claim that some of biggest supporters are LGBT. As if saying so were a crime Trump commits in secrecy while his fabulous gay accomplices at Log Cabin run interference. But its just a fact: Many of Trumps most fervent supporters are LGBT people.

Left-wing gay activists, however, depend on creating the impression that all LGBT people are Democrats. Democrats then use this false narrative to consolidate unearned moral authority. That is why, when the prominent gay billionaire Peter Thiel expressed support for Trump, The Advocate promptly ran a piece arguing he isnt actually gay he just has sex with men.

The point of such chicanery is to insinuate that all Republicans are homophobes, and all homophobes are Republicans. That only works if Democrats speak for all gays. So just one prominent gay or trans Republican punctures the lie that the left has a monopoly on gay rights.

Log Cabin Republicans stand to disabuse the public of that lie. The Stonewall Democrats dont want you to know we exist. But we do, our ideas are better than theirs, and were not going anywhere.

Trans Rights: A Perplexing Issue

Like many other gay conservatives, however, he seems to disconnect gay rights and transgender rights. Kabel recalled a recent article with a quotation from the conservative activist Tony Perkins that contrasted the Democratic and Republican platforms in 2016.

“The only issue Perkins raised was the transgender bathroom issue,” Kabel said. “And I thought, ‘That means we won.'”

Kabel called transgender equality “one of the most perplexing issues going.”

“Transgender people deserve support and protection just like anybody else, but it’s a very complex issue,” he said. “It’s remarkable when you hear their stories, but it’s just a very perplexing issue about how to really address it and do it so that they’re protected but other people aren’t hurt, so that people’s religious views are actually taken into consideration.”

Transgender visibility is all but absent in the Log Cabin Republicans, from their leadership to their messaging.

An OUTSpoken Instagram post compares the LGBT left to the LGBT right by putting an image of a person who appears to be transgender or gender-nonconforming next to a shirtless picture of former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, while the campaigns store sells T-shirts bearing slogans like “gay for Tucker” “gay for Melania” and “gay not stupid.

OUTspoken sent Brokeback Patriot, who has stated trans women are not women, to New Orleans Southern Decadence party to ask passersby if they think Trump is pro-gay.

[sometimesrosy]

I think Echo’s infiltrating Bardo-a new culture/world-like she was trained to do. And I think it’s to keep her people safe/avenge Bellamy. She’s loyal to a fault and the way that may be a weakness isn’t by betraying her friends, but doing wrong things for the right reasons in their names. So what will she do? 🤔 I think E’s taken the “you need a leader/who will you be without one” to heart and is now owning who she’s become, all on her own: a damn good spy. She’s doing what she does best rn.

I agree.

But also, I want to say that just because Bellamy said loyalty was her flaw, doesn’t mean that loyalty is bad. Or her loyalty even. Or that it will always be her flaw.

She could be on a road to development of making her flaw into a strength, in fact I think she is. 

Maybe she WOULD do anything for the people she was loyal to in the past, like cheating at the conclave. This is a quality shared by Clarke. And by Bellamy, frankly... maybe that’s where he came up with the concept, recognizing what he was willing to do for HIS people. That’s how the show started, right? He shot Jaha for Octavia. And his whole character arc was about him learning that you COULD go too far for the people you love.

We didn’t get a whole conversation from him about it, but if you look at the narrative, you can see his own journey and clarke’s too.

And there’s a similarity to what MW did, they started their terrible experiments with their enemies, the grounders, but given the chance, they moved on to their allies, the delinquents, and THEN they went the whole way and started on their own people. The Ark did this too, when they sacrificed the expendable citizens, sent the delinquents to die, tried to abandon the delinquents to the mountain, etc. And again this happened in the bunker, when Octavia treated everyone as an enemy, including her own people for disagreeing, for wanting to leave, for wanting to not fight. And Sanctum, where the primes treated the hosts like cattle and the nulls as wastes of space to be left to die, ultimately abandoning all of sanctum for an easier/better life.

Oh hey, that sounds like this famous quote by Martin Niemöller:

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Except Echo (and all our characters) are taking the role of “they” in their society. They’re the ones “coming for” the enemies, no? These societies they live in are the ones turning everyone into “the other.” When WE are loyal to OUR people, who are going after the enemies, and we don’t watch how the definition of enemy expands (because we gain POWER by having an enemy to fight and by defeating them,) then pretty soon, we become, not the hero of the story, but the villain. 

Doing ANYTHING for your people leads from “protecting” them, to deciding that anyone who is a threat to them, is worthy of destruction. INCLUDING your own people.

I’d like us to look at how we can see that IRL. First, lets look at fandom and how we form “krus” where people are joined in their love for something-- a ship or a show or a character. And THEN they start opposing those who aren’t part of their kru, who don’t love what they love or even hate them. And then they start attacking. 

The antis are wonkru before they’re released from the bunker, and probably after, too. They turned on their own fandom, figuratively eating their own people who did not EXACTLY follow their own dogma(harassment, nasty anons, cut and paste diatribes.) Throwing them into the fighting ring (I have been tossed in there and i’m done with it.) Burning the farms, (telling everyone bellarke is dead.) Executing the defectors (cancelled). Forcing them into the desert and a march to annihilation (yet another scandal that people demand you take a stand on.) 

And go ahead expand the idea further away from fandom. Because our government is also doing this. Denying other people humanity and citizenship because of race, religion, sexuality, identity, ethnicity, nationality, gender, creed, profession, class, region, etc. They have systematically excluded people from protection under the law until we’re at the point where you’re not actually a citizen unless you’re white, male, christian, straight, neurotypical, conservative, wealthy business owners from particular regions of the country. The rest of us are fodder.

I’m gonna argue that The 100 is against fascism. That it’s ABOUT, in part, how easy it is for humanity to descend into fascism, and we can get there through many routes, leader or follower or bystander or victim. So the question is if Echo would be a soldier for a fascist king? Again, actually, because I think Nia counts as fascist when you consider what she has done. Has she learned about what it means to be a follower? (this was an explicit conversation between Abby and Jackson, about following orders when those orders are morally wrong.) Is she FOLLOWING again? Or is she working according to her own morals, and trying to undermine the fascists regime that has captured her people.

[faecaptainofdreams]

For context, see here: www.deviantart.com/foxdragonlo… ---------------------------------------------------------- Peter's bare footsteps were nearly undetectable in the late hour. The facility slept for the most part, but the youngest Avenger was restless, and somehow sensed he wasn't the only one. Peeking around the corner, he spied the master of the mystic arts cape-less, sitting cross-legged on the floor of the living room. His eyes were closed, his fingers in a peculiar position. Peter gazed at him for some time, still silent, caught in the crossfire of his mind's demands. Disturb Dr. Strange, or leave him be? He hated to burden others, but he had questions that needed answered. Also, was it unwise to sneak up on someone so powerful? What if-- "Peter Parker," he ushered calmly, eyes still closed. Peter leaped up and away from Stephen, his whole body wracking violently in his startling.        "UH! Oh -- GEEZE, whoa, okay...!" Stephen finally looked at Peter, watching him catch his breath and try to calm his nerves. His expression remained unchanging, and his demeanor as calm and somewhat dry as ever.       "Sorry, sorry I -- I didn't mean to disturb you..." "If you hadn't meant to disturb me, you wouldn't have been staring at me for so long."        "Well -- I mean, I guess I wasn't sure if I wanted to disturb you yet, is...what I'm trying to say..." He only got more shy, appearing to shrink with guilt. "Hm. It's fine. I was wrapping up was it was." As Stephen rose to his feet, Peter stammered in place.        "O-oh, do -- do you want me to go? I can leave you alone, I was just--" "No, it's okay." The older man crossed past Peter casually. Even with his attempt to reassure him, the boy was still riddled with guilt. He looked around, uncertain what to do with himself, absentminded to Stephen gingerly taking a pre-made cup of tea from one of the further-off tables and walking back to the softer sitting area with it. He lowered himself onto the couch, taking a quiet sip from the cup. Peter merely watched him. "To be honest, that was a session not much-needed. My tea was too hot; I was passing the time." Warm brown eyes simply looked the spiritual master over in a long, contemplative silence. Stephen was patient, but still a tad dry. "...At the risk of sounding callous, I'm starting to wonder if I should have meditated someplace else." Peter snapped out of it and shook his head, raising a hand towards him in defeat.       "NO no, no! I'm -- I -- I'm still...trying to make up my mind, I'm sorry..." Stephen pretended to ignore him and took another sip from his little cup, partly in an effort to give him time. "Mm... Camomile. Basic, but aligning." Icy blue eyes drifted up to meet Peter's uneven gaze. "I understand spiders are nocturnal. Trouble sleeping?"        "Oh, a-actually, jumping spiders are diurnal, and I'm mostly influenced by jumping spider DNA. But there's some wolf in there too, and those are nocturnal, which is why I can see in the dark, but it doesn't make sleeping hard. Well, sometimes I don't sleep well, but not because of the wolf spider. It's...uh..." "..." Peter swallowed, and then hissed to himself under his breath as he looked away submissively.       "Shut up, Peter..." While the younger man rubbed his face tiredly, Stephen finished his tea and set the cup down gently on the coffee table. "You came all this way, and have wasted time debating whether or not to do something. I feel I made the choice easy for you by allowing your presence to disturb me, and yet here you stand, still unable to make a decision."        "..." "... Come sit down," he ordered lowly, annunciating each word to show his patience beginning to peel away.        "OH! Right, okay..." Peter nervously stepped over and sat beside Stephen on the couch, legs tight together and arms rigid to the sides of his torso. His discomfort was understandable, but on an unspoken level, Stephen was caught between amusement and slight concern. Peter may have been more sensitive to the spiritual than he realized, but that was a topic for another day, Strange felt. "Why did you consider disturbing me?" Peter rubbed his hands over his thighs for a few moments, then finally surrendered. Sighing, he appeared to relax, though his nerves still held a small grudge.        "Okay, look... I was just wondering -- if it's not too much trouble, if you could...tell me something about death." At this, Stephen's brow fell a little heavier, but he wasn't upset.       "I-I know, kind of a...silly, and...complicated topic, but..." "I will be happy to answer any questions you have any way I can." Peter nodded stiffly.        "Thanks. Um... The thing is, is I don't...entirely know how to ask this question. Maybe you'll know what I mean when I say it; I have this bad habit of thinking things make sense in my head, but then when I say it out loud it sounds really stupid or people look at me funny, and...uh..." "You also have a bad habit of rambling."        "YES, I do! I'm sorry!" "And a bad habit of apologizing."        "...Yeah..." Stephen watched Peter carefully for some time. He admired this young man, and was no stranger to people being uneasy around him. Regardless, he hoped he could satiate him by simply being patient. "Your question?"        "Uh yeah, okay, here it goes. So...what is it? Death, I mean," he asked softly while looking up at his company. At this, Stephen tilted his head just a tad. His brow didn't furrow, but there was something unreadable in his studious stare.        "I know what it is, physically. I know that...your heart stops beating, and...your body shuts down, and it decays, but... That's just the science stuff. That's just...the physical thing." "I find it interesting that you died and returned from the dead, as so many people across the universe did just a few years ago, but are just now asking this question." Peter nodded, slouching.        "Yeah. Weird, I know. But..." "But now, you're mourning." This statement struck a nerve, and Peter recoiled in an effort to stifle the despair that crept in him. Stephen softened. "Marcus's passing is indeed, very sad. I know this isn't the first time you've experienced death of loved ones, and for the record, it's not unusual to not have questions until the "final straw," if you will." Peter's voice broke as he held back his emotions. He was visibly weaker now.        "That's the th-ing, is I barely knew him at a-ll... I spent one day with him, and...I'm...SO torn up about it." He swallowed something dry.       "It's been two days, and I still j-ust can't get this question out of my head." Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself.       "I guess the whole 'what is death' thing is really just...a broad spectrum. You're right, this was the final straw," Peter said hoarsely. "I want to understand why death exists, I want to understand why we have to go, where we go, and all that insane crap with Thanos. I mean -- how we died, how I died, and I can't remember anything between before then and when I woke up again. If I couldn't remember anything, does that mean when we die we are literally gone? Is that it? I mean is there really nothing else after all of this...?" Stephen took in a deep breath through his mouth, and exhaled it through his nose as he sat forward, clasping his scarred hands together thoughtfully. "Well," he uttered softly, "I see there were multiple reasons I was meant to be here at this time." He looked at Peter from the side. "I sense you are prepared to sit here for a long time to get your answers." Peter nodded, now appearing a little stronger.        "I am. I can't... I can't keep wondering, and...I figure...you were the best person to ask..." "Perhaps. Either way, I will do my best. And, if I am successful, you won't have to endure for long." Peter sat stern and patient while Stephen adjusted himself in place once more, turning to face Peter as much as possible. "To understand death, you must first understand life." There was a long silence between them. Peter's eyebrows raised, but he said nothing. "...I'm waiting for a smart remark or a bracing sigh."        "Oh, I -- I don't...have either of those, hah..." Stephen smiled briefly. "Good. So, Peter, what do you know about life?"        "..." "Why do you think we're here? What's man's purpose on Earth...?" Peter's eyes became more alert, voice raising in register.        "Oh, um... Well the thing I hear the most is that we're here to do good, that we're here to be good people, and... Okay, actually I guess that's about it, heh. Other than that, everyone always, just...says "I don't know," so..." "Ah, the old 'to do good' answer. A favorite among Western society in particular, though universally you can see it in every culture and major religion. One of the most famous and simple examples is the Hindu concept that bad actions in one life will result in reincarnation of a lower animal. In modern Christian teachings, it's taught that not following a path of Christ will leave one in eternal damnation. There's always an afterlife price to pay for not "being good," you see." Peter nodded, eyes wide and somewhat uneasy. Strange observed him, slowly allowing one of the corners of his mouth to curl into a small, clever smile. "But you don't believe in those teachings, do you." Peter shook his head in a tiny motion. He looked very tired.        "Not...really... They just...don't make sense to me." "That's because they don't make sense at all," he retorted in an overly-factual manner. He had Peter's full attention. "All religion is flawed, because one living person cannot possibly understand all of the spiritual universe. More to the point, the books were written by people who wanted control over others, but I digress. My order knows about as much as there is possible to learn, and even then, most of everything around us remains mysterious by design. Now then, to recap, your answer to why we're here on Earth is "to do good," correct?" Peter nodded. "It's an inspiring and popular sentiment, but for the most part... It's crap." Peter hunched forward, air flushing through his nostrils suddenly in an effort to laugh without opening his mouth. His shoulders shook a couple of times; he truly didn't see that one coming.       "O-oh, hah hah...!" "Yes, we should try to be good people, and do good things, but to say that's all we're here for is a gross undermining of physical creation. For one thing, people have varying opinions of what "doing good" is or what it looks like. Those opinions vary too much, and you have war, not unlike the one we faced three years ago." Peter's smile dissipated, and he became more focused yet again. "I'll bet you live under the impression that life is complicated. In practice, yes, but in theory? No. The real reason we are alive and on Earth -- and listen closely..." Peter leaned in a little, holding his arms tensely. "... Is to experience." They sat in a bit of silence. Stephen observed Peter's quiet contemplation. Surprisingly, he didn't look overly confused, but it was clear the gears were turning in his head.       "...Okay..." "There is existence beyond the physical, Peter, you know this deep down. You watch me utilize it. In order to live, you must have a soul and its functioning systems in your body. When that soul leaves, the body cannot animate, and we die. When your heart stops beating, your heart chakra cannot pump through it. When you're organs shut down, your other gates cannot flow through them, and piece by piece your spirit cleaves from your body until it is cold, and you are returned to the universe you can't see in this flesh."        "Okay, this got really twisted..." Stephen couldn't help but to chuckle, unsurprised by the reaction. "Here's the thing. There is a god, a BIG god, but they're not some bearded white man in the sky punishing people they created and casting them into some pit of eternal despair -- which doesn't exist, by the way. Actual God conforms to no gender, or sex, or race or creed or recognizable being. They are nothing more than an amalgamation of light and guidance, and they do, yes, command the universe and are all-knowing." Peter began to calm, visibly interested in this little revelation. Stephen gave him a moment to absorb it, and then promptly continued. "Don't believe in God or anything spiritual?" He shrugged. "Doesn't matter. You worship lesser deities? Fine. You claim to follow God, but through Christianity or Islam or other religion? Well...that's a nice try, but you're doing it wrong. And ultimately, it still doesn't matter. For disassociation purposes, spiritualists like myself prefer to call God "All" or "Spirit," or just "Creator." I am partial to "Spirit."" Peter nodded again, still taking in the information.       "Okay..." "You with me so far?"        "I think so. But...what does this have to do with my questions?" "I'm...a little alarmed that you haven't put that together yet, but we're getting there." Peter had no comment. "The Spirit creates life, physical bodies, and while it's very real and mystifying to us, what most people don't realize is this is just about the absolute lowest vibrational plane of existence. The highest is indeed, Heaven, but Heaven isn't some pearly building with a bouncer at the front gate, deciding whether or not you get in. When you die, you either choose to go in or you don't, and if you want to leave, you can leave." Peter continued to listen, wordless and a little unreadable. "Heaven is all around us, just like the other limitless planes of existence. When we die, we are free to explore any and every plane. So that answers your one question."        "..." "Is there life after death."        "Oh! Right, yeah. Yeah, that -- that is an answer, yeah..." "You don't seem terribly convinced -- which isn't of concern to me, by the way, but I am interested in what you're thinking."        "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be disrespectful, it's just...a lot." "It is."        "But it just...kinda leads me to part of that question; why don't I remember anything from the time I died?" "Ahh, yes, that was...a special case for everyone. I mentioned that life is propelled by the soul and unseen spiritual forces. We are all originally just souls, and we choose what form to come into life as. When we die, we return to the spiritual realms, and then if we wish, we can come back. So Hindus are right in that yes, you can reincarnate, but it's not based around your actions in life. You live, you die, the Spirit reviews your life with you, and the choice over what to do next is yours. You may come back a cockroach, or an ant, or a person, or tree or fish or whatever floats your boat, all in an effort to achieve a certain sect of goals." Peter raised a finger meekly.       "Dr. Strange?" "Hm?"        "I'm -- you're kinda losing me." Stephen raised a hand. "Be patient. I'm watering down a lot of information for you, here."        "How do you remember all this stuff?" "The same way you remember vast amounts of details regarding your own work and interests."        "... Oh... Yeah, that makes sense. It's just so weird...!" "It is, because hardly anyone really understands it. Let's slow down, and recap. So far, in short, I have told you that there is life after death, that Biblical God is a man-made construct, that hell doesn't exist, and that reincarnation is real, but doesn't adhere to Hindu standards. Are you back on track now?" Peter nodded big.        "Yes, I think so. So you're saying that this could be, like...my third or fourth life or something?" "Or your fiftieth, or your seven-hundred and thirty-second, or your two-thousand, eight-hundred and ninety-ninth life."        "...That's...awfully specific," he responded quietly. Stephen had no comment.        "So why can't I remember them? Why can't I remember being dead, or being other people? Or animals?" "Because being mortal means giving up infinite knowledge. I said we are here to experience, and one cannot have nor appreciate raw experience without a raw form. Being alive is about learning, changing, and again, experiencing. We like to believe that people who do terrible things face a terrible afterlife, but this simply isn't so. Everyone pays for their actions in living, and their memory to the flesh is tainted forever by their actions. But their soul moves on, and they start over again."        "Huh... That is a little disappointing, not gonna lie." "I felt the same way at first, trust me. We learn how to judge, and differ right from wrong, and how to learn at all. And it's not just like this here on Earth, it's every planet with life."        "So... Huh, okay, so is it possible that I could've like, been a Titan once? Or some other alien?" "The truth? ...I have no idea." Peter looked surprised, tilting his head back with a very understandable expression. "Yes, I know, hard to believe, but I also said earlier that I don't know everything; no one does. However, I don't see any real reason why that wouldn't be possible."        "Yeah, 'cos you said we can go anywhere when we die, so--" Stephen nodded more enthusiastically, smiling with a hint of pride to know that Peter was really listening and learning. "Receiving knowledge, trial and error, injury, healing, never having the promise of tomorrow, and coping with the unknown is the real legitimate reason we're here. The physical plane is a place for souls to go when they want to experience this level of hardship. To put frankly, this is the hardest thing you will ever endure; living, and much of the time, it is hard because of those around you, and because of your own actions. There is no Satanic entity to blame for your misgivings; you must own up to everything you do wrong, and hold those around you accountable."        "That makes sense to me. ... So... When we die after having lived some lives before, is all the stuff in the universe new to us again, or...?" "When we die, all of our universal knowledge, and the memory of all our past lives are returned to us. And once we come back into the living plane, that information is removed again, and so on and so forth, forever." Peter turned away, leaning his elbows on his knees, rubbing his face and eyes somewhat tiredly.        "That's...way too much to process, okay..." "Like I said, this is just the watered-down version."        "So like..." Peter looked up again, but kept his eyes squinted.        "...So dying..." "Mhm?"        "... OKAY so what is death? Ahh hah hah," Peter wheezed slightly in sheepish laughter. "This is what I've been leading up to. What you choose to do with everything I've told you is up to you, as is whether or not you feel it's important. Death is nothing more than a passageway into the afterlife. It's a line you cross at the end of your life. Now, when we refer to people who have died, we say they're "dead." Being dead is a lasting state only to the physical, decaying body, and to the Earthly presence. Or, the presence of life on other planets, of course. When our spirit returns to the universe, it's not dead in that state; we're simply spirits."        "Okay... So what about, like...ghosts...?" "Do you mean, the ghosts that haunt places?"        "Yeah, are those real?" "Most stories about them aren't, but yes, there are ghosts of the dead that do become trapped and linger around the physical plane. When they're close by, you know because it may feel cold, or you may feel ill or frightened for no apparent reason. This is because those spirits are trapped by the circumstances of their death, or there is something they feel they need to complete. This can be undone by praying and encouraging them into the light, freeing them from death all together, as it should be."        "Oh, okay so some of the stereotypes I've heard about are true. Cool." Stephen nodded. "Death is only scary for the living, Peter. Anything is only scary for the living."        "And...that's the point...?" "Yes. What have you to fear after death, when all of creation lies before you? The various planes of existence are harsh and terrifying in their own right, but souls are equipped to deal with them. And if they're not? They return to the light, too. There is no permanent destruction of the soul." As Peter looked off in deep thought, it was clear a sort of peace had overtaken him. He needed a minute to process it, and eventually, a sad smile traversed its way across his cheeks.       "That's nice... I don't know if I totally understand all of this, but I literally have no reason not to trust you, so... I will... Actually, you know what? I have one more question." Stephen motioned for him to continue.        "What about...people -- and animals, I guess -- that don't get to really experience life? What about...miscarriages, abortions, or babies?" "... And Marcus?" Peter looked down some, hurting. Stephen was sympathetic, and softer spoken as he had been earlier on. "Those lives, however short, aren't always about themselves. If I recall, you said you only knew Marcus for one day, but here you are, days later, torn up over his death, and grieving him. That's why he lived."        "...I don't...understand," he replied softly. "Babies, and small creatures with small life spans exist, yes, for their own sake, but like the rest of us, they also exist to influence the rest of life around them. Death is not particular about who or what it takes, or when, and a large point of it in regards to living is that death affects the living far greater, for far longer, than it affects those whom it takes over the threshold and back to the other planes. You can't live if you can't die, and you can't die if you don't live. That's what flesh is for. The fickle thing about death is it can inspire us, touch us, and wound us in unexpected ways. Marcus had a family, friends, and he touched quite a few lives in just four years. And now you, one of those people he touched, are sitting here trying to unravel the most frequently asked yet ironically easy to answer questions about life and death. He was a grand part of the experience for other people, including you. Do you understand this?" It required somber deliberation, but Peter finally came to the conclusion that he did."        "I think I do... It's still really sad..." "It is. And you're still "really sad," but knowledge truly is power. My advice is to take the information I've given you, and apply it. Don't be sad for Marcus; he's free, and he will most likely be back in another form. Mourn him how you need to, and don't stifle it. Just because you only knew him for a day doesn't make any of your grief less important. In our line of work, especially yours, learning to cope with death and be open to it is critical."        "I know... Thank you," he replied with a bittersweet smile. "Before you ask, no, he didn't deserve to suffer, or to die young. We don't die because we deserve to; we die because we're designed to." Peter nodded.       "I like that, heh..." "I hope this was helpful."    "It was, really. I appreciate it, thank you, Mr. -- Dr. -- Strange. Geeze, I just--" Slapping a hand to his face tiredly, Peter chuckled to himself, feeling the weight of his exhaustion now. And again, Stephen couldn't resist a smile. "'Stephen' works just fine, Peter. Just like before."        "Ahhhh!" he sighed out in exasperation, but looked again at his company and smiled more.       "Okay, Stephen." The older of them offered his hand to shake, and Peter accepted humbly.       "Hey, would it be like, blasphemous if I went and took notes about all this? Like, actually wrote it on paper?" "Blasphemy is for religion, and I don't have one of those. Take all the notes you want."        "Hah hah! Gotcha," he stated with a single thumb-up. At last, he released Stephen's hand. The sorcerer chose not to say anything about Peter's absentminded, extended handshake while they had that brief back and forth. Still, he noted to himself that Peter sure had one hell of a grip when he wanted.       "...So is Karma a thing?" "Yes, it is a 'thing,'" he responded rather flatly.       "Huh." "For every action, there is a reaction."        "Like science!" "It's as I told Tony; the supernatural is scientific and applies to science, but you must surrender yourself to it in order to practice and understand it."        "Yeah, I don't think I have the...the...I don't know, whatever it is you need to be able to do that." Stephen smiled, looking back on his life before the accident, which he had long understood was no accident at all. "You'd be surprised."        "Hm. Well, I should probably go now, you're probably tired." Stephen shrugged while Peter sat up, stretching his arms above his head. The former eyed his empty tea glass, contemplating making another cup, but ultimately deciding it was best not to. Peter rose to his feet and began to step off, waving behind himself nicely to what had been his temporary mentor.        "Night, Stephen." "Goodnight, Peter." Once Peter was out of sight, Stephen remained firmly planted in his position on the couch, as if waiting for something. Sure enough, not too much later, Peter came back into the room and up to the mystic master, an inquisitive but happy look about him.        "...You like butterflies... Why?" "Well that's a rather odd question," he answered cheekily. "We've not spent extensive amounts of time together, I know and have used many spells, and many animals appeal to me." Peter pulled back in submission, feeling silly.        "Oh -- pfft, you're right, I don't...really know where that came from." Stephen allowed him to stammer, and then smiled softly. "I like their metaphor."        "...Oh," he replied shortly, thinking.       "...Um... Which metaphor would that be...?" "Can you think of none?"        "I can think of a couple, probably, but..." "Then you're probably right." Before Peter's very eyes, Stephen cupped his hands, and a soft, bright light filled his palms. They trembled slightly, but steadied as a tiny golden sphere glittered in the midst of the glow. Enamored by the display, Peter sat beside Stephen again without thinking, leaning in close to look at the beautiful magic. The tiny sphere became a small caterpillar, which grew and fattened, and then became a chrysalis. The arachnid-named superhero felt his heart fill with warmth as the light brightened, illuminating the room, and from the chrysalis sprouted a gorgeous golden butterfly. It fluttered around in the sorcerer's hands, enticing Peter to reach out and gently touch it with his finger. No sooner than he did did the whimsical energy-based creation finally wither. Its body disappeared, and its wings fell weightless into Stephen's palms. The golden light, the wings, and the sensation of warmth faded all together, and again Peter found himself touched by a hint of sorrow. Stephen observed him. "There are many metaphors the butterfly speaks to. In this case, you can guess which ones are most appropriate." Peter nodded stiffly, sad but accepting before allowing himself to smile.        "Yeah... That was really cool, by the way." "Hm. Don't despair." Again, Stephen raised his hands, and a new orb appeared. Peter watched with tears in his eyes as again the orb became the caterpillar, and then the chrysalis, and then the butterfly. This time, when the butterfly withered, he noticed a tiny sparkle zip away into the air, a little further from the display, before evaporating. Wiping his eyes, Peter no longer felt so terrible after having watched the little sparkle fizzle away. Rather, he felt peaceful, and knew everything would be okay. Stephen smiled to him. "You're more perceptive than you give yourself credit for, Peter. You have great instincts. Use them." The urge to hug Stephen was overwhelming, but he decided it was best not to. Again, he nodded, and wiped the last of the tears from his eyes.       "I'll try..." "It's all we can do."        "Okay, I'm gonna go to bed now, ahah." This time when Peter stood and parted ways with him, Stephen sensed that he was no longer needed, and he too, left the living room, bedding in his temporary quarters. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[gascon-en-exil]

I’m the anon who was directed here from teaveetamer. I have 4 questions. 1. What are your tags for the posts about Rhea and the Blessed Mother? 2. I’ve seen several in the fandom connect Rhea as the goddess that Edelgard wishes to get rid of, despite Rhea’s connections to Mary (particularly with a name like The Immaculate One), and her never claiming to be the goddess. Why or how do people mistake this? 1/3

3. What do you make of the potential for a cultural clash of ideas of purity within 3H? Edelgard seems to be presented as innately pure, as in Shinto all humans are pure until corrupted by outside forces. Edelgard had that Hegemon Cipher card and as her stans argue most of her sins are caused by TWSITD. While Rhea is probably more corrupted by her own sins of commission/omission. Or maybe she still has the symbolism of innate purity??? I’m not sure where the Original Sin of the Agarthans plays i

if it does. 2/3 4. I’ve heard that Satan is sometimes referred to as the hero of Paradise Lost, despite being, well, Satan, because he stands up to God and is the underdog and underdogs are heroes, along with his heroic presentation. And I wonder if such a similar occurrence has happened that people view Edelgard as heroic despite the devil symbolism. Thoughts? 3/3

1. I don’t use tags for Rhea too often,and when I have I don’t think it was for anything too substantial.

2. Edelgard herself either outright makes this accusation or implies it, and as has been established her diehard fans take everything she says at face value. They could also be reading into her claiming that humanity has no need for gods as she kills Rhea. From a cultural context, anti-Catholic Protestant rhetoric likes to harp on our veneration of the Blessed Mother, that we call her the mother of God in the Ave Maria and that she’s really a pagan mother goddess with a Christian gloss. Both of these are true to some degree - I personally consider the pagan-inspired elements of Catholicism to be a feature rather than a bug, and one that most of us are freely aware of - but the negative perception as well as the misconception of how we actually regard her could be fueling this interpretation of Rhea.

3. I don’t know anything about Shinto theology, although Catholics believe that humans are innately good and are corrupted by original sin which is removed in the sacrament of Baptism so it sounds a little familiar. As the Agarthans hold themselves apart from other humans it’s difficult to ascribe a representation of original sin to them, although the slaughter of the Nabateans and the creation of Crests and Relics did lead directly to much of the systemic inequality in Fòdlan so it’s still there somewhat. Edelgard’s perceived purity is a messy subject, one tied up inextricably with her appeal as a love interest which itself plays into perceptions of femininity across cultures, but from my perspective the confrontation of wrongdoing is the main thing that separates her morally from Rhea. Rhea literally and symbolically confesses her sins at the end of two routes, and in her S rank resolves to atone for them and receives absolution in the form of hot sex with her child/grandchild/siblng/mother because this is still a dating sim with a lot of kink under the table. Edelgard meanwhile never even acknowledges that her actions or her choice of allies might be flawed, to the point that one could say that her tragic flaw is her morally self-centered, uncompromising nature.

4. What I think is important to remember about Paradise Lost is that it was written by a Protestant, and it features some anti-Catholic rhetoric typical of Milton’s time. From a literary perspective Satan is absolutely the protagonist of the poem and could be considered an antihero (or a proto-Byronic hero, as the Romantics who popularized that archetype were very fond of Milton’s Satan). I haven’t read it in years so I can’t recall specific passages, but the thrust of this positive interpretation of Satan is that it’s a fundamentally humanist one which perhaps not coincidentally aligns with some of the stated goals of the Reformation positing a more personal relationship with God for individuals in contrast to the austerity and corruption of the Catholic Church. I don’t think that works too well in practice as a framework for understanding Edelgard - she has zero interest in reforming the church even if she claims not to hate the religion itself, and she demonstrates little genuine interest in commoners and never abolishes the nobility - but it remains about the only way to spin the darker imagery associated with her as being actually heroic. Besides, that she’d rather obliterate the church completely than reform it probably endears her even more to anti-theistic fans, and as such a figure like Milton’s Satan is a better fit than likening her to someone like Martin Luther or John Calvin.

[diallokenyatta]

Bro Diallo can you chart how Umar Johnson aka Jermaine Shoemake went from being a respected public speaker and advocate of Black issues and agendas, to the butt of jokes on the internet regarding Black consciousness? There are dozens of youtube channels dedicated to either clowning him or exposing him. On twitter he's little more than a meme. Some say he's on drugs, others say he's a crazed con-man. What happened?

I don’t know anything about him doing drugs.  I would call him a ConMan because he’s actively engaged in the deception of the public to get them to contribute money to him under false pretenses, and I believe he’s still actively engaged in the Con by giving false updates about the FDMG Academy. But my issue with Dr. Umar isn’t really centered around the ongoing School Con he’s pulling, my beef with him is ideological, and I think his flawed ideology & Demagogary are at the root of all of his other issues; so that’s what I’ll speak on.

Dr. Umar was ultimately self-defeating. He built up a moralist, puritanical persona and failed to embody the very principles of manhood, family, and the discipline he advocated for and falsely told the Black community were the paths to empowerment and freedom. Dr. Umar only rose to prominence by engaging in what I have come to call Black Puritanism. Black people are primed by the Dominate System to have certain core beliefs about sex, gender roles, family, work, material value, education, and morality. Many Militant Black Leaders who claim to not only oppose White Western Culture but to be African Centered or Pan-African fully embrace the core practices and beliefs of White Western Culture, they simply infuse it with Black Militant Rhetoric and African esthetics, but at the core, it’s Western, Judeo-Christian ideology; that’s Black Puritanism. 

Umar exploited the fears and indoctrination of the Black masses, he didn’t educate our people, he encouraged our people to be more regressive, not Revolutionary. If you remove all of the Black Militant Rhetoric and the African Aesthetics from his teachings you will have an ideology that is identical to Racist organizations like the Republican Party, Focus on the Family, the Proud Boys, & most other Neo-Fascist & Far-Right organizations.  Also, just like the Far-Right Demagogues he mimics; he does the opposite of what he professes and teaches. From lying about celibacy to failing to marry the women he impregnates, to pursuing sex with the very type of women he rebukes (strippers, women with perms, etc.). Dr. Umar shuns Christianity and other “Slave Religions,” but his rebuke of homosexuality is drawn directly from those Slave Religions. Dr. Umar is a Ph.D., but fails to give an academic, evidence-based source for his claims about the harm homosexuality is doing to the Black community or Black manhood.  I personally have been asking him, his supporters, and the larger Black Straight Pride Movement for a secular, rational, evidence-based support for their claims and condemnations for years. They call me a homosexual for simply making the inquiry. Dr. Umar’s methods and positions are an easy, quick, and profitable way to prominence and power within the Black community, but it’s a circular path, not a progressive one, it causes the Leaders who do this to take us in a circle where we always end up where we started. Many of his defenders like to point out the areas where Umar has been correct like in the over-drugging of Black youth for “behavioral issues,” and the criminalization of Black youth; and he should be commended for that, but when you use the accolades and attention you gain for accurate teachings to manipulate and fleece the public while trying to erect a cult following you deserve to be called out. Again, it’s Umar’s own misdeeds and lunacy that detracts from the good works he’s done, not his opponents and critics. As Dr. Umar or any Black Demagogue remains prominent and their views and teachings become better known outside their core followers they always evolve into caricatures of Black Militancy because their teachings can’t stand up to critical analysis or any form of intelligent scrutiny. Since hey can’t fight back academically or intellectually they start ranting and raving, making wild accusations about their challengers, threatening detractors, and a develop a Martyr Complex; in nutshell: They Go Crazy. Dr. Umar isn’t the first to go through this spiral, nor will he be the last. At this stage some Black Demagogues fade into obscurity, others manage to hold on to some level of prominence but their influence is greatly reduced, some Demagogues like Minister Farakahn constantly morph their positions and adopt new (still irrational, but new) positions to remain relevant. But the more rigid the Demagogue is the more insane they appear and the smaller their circle of influence becomes. 

If you want to help Dr. Umar here are some suggestions, it won’t be a complete list but it’ll go a long way towards Dr. Umar actually making a Positive Contributions to the Just Aspirations of African People, and truly advancing the Pan-African Struggle:  1. Don’t center yourself when it comes to educating, uplifting, or leading the community; make the ideas and agendas the core.  Men are flawed and we’ll all eventually fall, but the ideology and mission should be beyond any individual. Pan-Africanism doesn't need a “Prince,” it needs rational, committed organizers. 2. Don’t tout your personal morality as a reason anyone should follow you; especially if you don’t actually follow that personal morality! Your analysis, the viability of your agendas, your commitment to the protracted struggle should be what you offer and be used to measure your worthiness, not who you have (consensual) sex with or how you have sex, or any of the other shit Umar lied about.  If your personal “outlets” don’t detract from the movement, then keep it to yourself. No one would have given a damn about Umar’s relationship with a Stripper if he hadn’t sold himself as the embodiment of sexual morality and restraint; he made it an issue, not his detractors.  3. If you can’t defend a position, rework or abandon it. Be teachable.  4. Everyone who criticizes you isn’t your enemy. Never threaten anyone online, never threaten or commit violence against another Black person based on verbal or ideological disagreements. 5. Stop competing with other public figures, and only debate the merits and efficacy if their ideas, conclusions, and agendas.  6. Stop attacking the mothers of your children on social media! Stop attacking Black women. Stop...just stop.  7. Stop projecting your insecurities with your own masculinity onto Black women and LGBTQAI+ community. 8. Let go of the Alpha Male persona, there’s no value to be found within it.  9. Stop giving yourself titles of esteem, if the community wants to bestow titles upon you accept them with humility & live up to them. 10. Open the school, redirect the funds you raised to another project of equal value to the community, or return the funds to your supports. Set a hard deadline for doing one of the three listed here.  Finally; I can’t be too hard on Dr. Umar, cuz I held many of the views and engaged in some of the behaviors that I criticize him for (I never dupped the Hood outta $500Gs, nothing that horrible).  But I had people who were patient with me and willing to educate me, if not I’d probably be spewing the same BS as him well into my 30s and beyond. So, I always try to root some real insights and guidance in my criticisms and mockery of Dr. Umar in the hope that he can learn and grow. www.diallokenyattta.com www.patreon.com/diallokenyatta #BroDiallo

[eldritchsurveys]

1067.

ange (angel): what’s your opinion on religion? do you believe in anything? >> My opinion on religion is that other people talking about religion frequently annoys the hell out of me, haha. The various ways people have venerated things and entities outside of themselves over the millennia has been of great interest to me for a long time. Unfortunately, the Christian hegemony has narrowed a lot of people’s focus and when you mention anything vaguely religious, that’s where their minds go. Sorry, but Christianity -- especially your least favourite sect -- doesn’t have a monopoly on theism, ritual, veneration, prayer, or whatever else comes to mind when you think of religious practice. Lambasting Christianity/Christian hegemony but using the phrase “organised religion” is pretty reductionist. (This also falls under one of my biggest communication pet peeves: people not being precise with their speech and saying exactly what they mean.) Anyway, yeah, I couldn’t avoid being a theist if I tried. Gods fascinate and delight me, and I like to think that gods are fascinated by and delight in us. It makes me sad when institutions like Christianity(tm) present a punitive, jealous, and distant god who they insist thinks we’re flawed and gross creatures. And then manipulate and fearmonger people into following that god. That’s just so fucked up to me. So I understand the pushback against that, but definitely not against religion (or veneration, or spirituality, or cultus) as a whole. ... I am very passionate about this topic. MOVING ON!

bisou (kiss): what’s your favorite place to be kissed? >> I’m not sure.

brûler (to burn): what are you most passionate about? >> Well, you just found out! ... I’m also passionate about storytelling, music, epicurean ideals, and stuffed animals.

câlin (hug): who was the last person you hugged? >> Can Calah, I’m guessing.

chaleur (heat): what are your favorite kinks? >> Praise kink, hierophilia, agalmatophilia, dendrophilia, body worship...

chatoyer (to shimmer): what is sure to make you cry? >> That’s a very long list. I have spent so much time crying in the past couple of months. I just rewatched Anastasia about an hour and a half ago and cried, lol.

chaussettes (socks): what do you misplace the most? >> I don’t misplace anything often enough to have data on this. Sparrow’s the one you’d ask this question to, she misplaces everything.

citronnade (lemonade): what’s your favorite beverage? >> Tea, San Pellegrino fizzy water, and apparently hot cocoa now, too. If only because it makes me feel so relaxed and present. Thanks, CPTSD subreddit, for that tip about cocoa. I never would have known...

coquillage (seashell): what’s your favorite sound? >> I’m not sure.

croquis (sketch): are you artistic? what’s your favorite medium? >> Yeah, I like to write creatively.

doux (soft): where do you feel most safe? >> Inworld. Especially Inworld while my body is wrapped up in bed.

écarlate (scarlet): is it easy to make you blush? >> I don’t blush.

éclatant (dazzling): what was your first favorite song? >> I have no idea.

étoile (star): believe in astrology? >> I read my Costar message almost every morning, I have more than a passing knowledge of how astrology works and I’m always interested to learn more, and I think my natal chart is a fantastic way to describe the facets my intricate and complex self. The language of astrology is beautiful and I love to speak it and be spoken to through it. So, yeah, you could say that.

floraison (bloom): do you believe in love? >> Well, I suppose I’d have to, wouldn’t I? I might as well kill myself if I didn’t.

libellule (dragonfly): what’s your favorite super power? >> Whatever you’d call what Doctor Manhattan be up to.

luciole (firefly): what was your dream job when you were little? >> Actor, I guess, since that’s what I was Inworld.

orange (thunderstorm): are you scared of storms? >> Not at all. I mean, I’d certainly be afraid if I was standing in the middle of a field and suddenly a severe thunderstorm came rolling through. But normally, no.

papillon (butterfly): any allergies? >> None.

parapluie (umbrella): favorite kind of weather? >> Sunny and on the warmer side -- mid-range humidity and a gentle breeze, also. There were some days earlier in November that hit my weather needs perfectly, which was so weird because of how weather usually is here in November. 

péripatéticien (wanderer): believe in ghosts? >> I have no experience with ghosts, so I have no opinion.

piscine (swimming pool): do you like swimming? >> I don’t know how to swim.

pleuvoir (to rain): do you blow dry your hair or let it air dry? >> Let it air dry. It takes like 5 minutes.

sirène (mermaid): any tattoos? If not, do you want any? >> I have three and I am always wanting more.

soleil (sun): all time favorite concert you’ve been to? >> I couldn’t say. I’ve been to many and most of them were absolutely fantastic.

tournesol (sunflower): favorite flower? >> Sunflowers.

[hak-7]

Marriage is not easy. It can be difficult. It can also be amazing and beautiful. Your partner is not perfect. Neither are you. So why demand perfection? The grass is not always greener on the other side. Today, let us pray for all those marriages which are causing heartache and may Allah protect, bless and guide us all. AmeenWHAT IS MUSLIM

The Muslim is one who yields his will to the will of Almighty God. We must keep in mind forever that God's will is the salvation of the people. Not our will; our will can't save us unless we give it to the guidance from God.

Jesus said, "Your will be done," according to the language of the Christians. "Not my will, your will." The Muslim is one who yields his will to the will of God.

God has given us human will so we can earn something for ourselves. So we can earn dignity for ourselves.

He has also given us hints in His creation, and has sent prophets to us to back up those hints. By those hints he has guided us and taught us that our will alone cannot save us.

The human being's will, from the time it is created, is searching for some guidance to give itself to. This is nature. The baby is looking for something to guide it. The woman, the man, grow and become adults looking for something to guide them. They go to the institutions of learning, to the houses of worship, looking for something to guide their will so they may form their lives by it.

They are looking for something to shape their will, to give meaning to their lives in the world. They run into so many problems. They can't find the answers they think they should get. They give up; and what do they do after this?

Many give their will to the forces of destruction. They give their will to lies, to corruption, to confusion, and they go down. They are destroyed by ignorance and by corruptible things.

The will in man is naturally designed or naturally made to seek God. The human will seeks God and when we find God, we find our peace.

We don't know God in all of His divine names or in all of His divine attributes. God has to show us these things through His prophets, through guidance. But we know that there is something that needs to be united with something that is missing. We don't always know what it is, but it is truth.

The human being comes into the world and the world teaches the human being some truth and some lies. The lies separate us from the reality that we should naturally be united with.

So God sends us His messengers to teach us that we are one creation, and not two. One creation, and that the Creator of this creation is one, not two, not three. One God. One Allah. One Creator for everything.

This oneness brings peace to us. Two or three bosses over us, running our lives brings confusion as the Quran says. Many people don't stop at two or three bosses, they worship prophets and saints. They give their lives to many directions. And what has this resulted in? The absence of the worship of God.

Look at the society of these people who have given their lives to two and three Gods, and to many saints for guidance. The leaders are writing "God is dead." And recently these words appeared in the New York Times commercial ad: "If God is alive, why is religion in so much pain?"

Why is religion in so much pain for whom? Not for us. Our religion is free of pain. It's relieving us of our pain.

God is alive and has always been alive for the Muslims, and all true believers.

A Muslim life is a clear life, not a life of confusion. The way that is shown to us is a clear way.

The Quran itself is called the clear book. Al-Bayan, very clear evidence, guidance, not something to guess at. It is self-evident. It doesn't leave us to interpret and establish it.

There's a lot in the Quran that needs interpretation but such is not the basis of the Book. Allah says in the Quran that "these verses are allegorical and basic." Allegorical may need interpretation.

"Those in whose hearts is crookedness or perversity, they prefer the allegorical over the basic." They like to get into the mysteries and avoid clear teaching.

"But the clear verses are the basis of the Book." That is where we stand. We stand on those clear teachings. We can all discuss and maybe make some contribution toward understanding the allegorical teachings but that's not what we stand on. We stand upon the clear teachings.

One God Who's not creation. Who is Creator. Who has no image, no likeness in creation, and He's not like creation. He made creation but He's not like it.

"Creation must exist by two"— forces, male and female, negative and positive. Allah says: "But I am the one who exists alone,"—needing no forces to aid Him.

Allah says again in His attributes that He is God, whose very being will not permit any contribution. Want to contribute something to God? Give Him a little help? No! Give God obedience. His very being refuses any contribution. It is our being that wants something. "Come, help me. Give me something." That is the human cry.

God says to us in the Quran, "Slumber nor sleep touches Him." He does not need food or anything. "He's the one who feeds and is not fed."

He needs nothing from us and the attribute As-Summad says, Allah is eternal, whose very being rejects contributions. Don't make your contribution thinking God can suffer a want for something. Make contributions to righteousness. Make contributions to yourself for God's sake. Make contributions to your life in obedience to God.

Send God some charity? Give God some help to save sinners? He doesn't need any help to save sinners. We need help to save ourselves.

God gives us that help in our intelligence. He gives us that help in our nature, in the sentiments of our heart. He also gives us help through inspired people, the prophets. But He needs no help. The God that is perfect. The God that is whole, needs nothing. The God that has no need for anything, no flaws, the perfect being, the Giving, the Loving, the Almighty.

Imam W.D. Mohammed (raa)SUPPORTS YOU CAN'T SEE

And God says, "Look at the heavenly bodies." Both Scriptures point us to the heavens, for us to observe the wisdom for a higher order of human life on this planet earth. God says, "Observe the bodies that you see in the sky and how they appear to be supported with no props or supports under them that you can see."

What is that saying to us? It is saying that not only your life but the existence of the material universe is existence upon powers that you can't see. The sun you can't see what is holding it up. The moon you don't see what is holding it up there. You get a telescope and look at planets and material bodies or material mass bigger than ours.

Look at the planets, like Jupiter. You cannot see what is holding them up there. Science tells you of the trillions and trillions of tons not pounds in that mass. There it is hanging out there in space seemingly with no support holding it up.

That is pointed out to us to tell us to trust the God that designed this creation, trust the God that designed the Universe. Trust Him. You can't explain everything He did. Trust Him. He knows and you know not.

You look at what He has done and then come up with your own explanation for it. I know about universal gravity. That is what science tells us.

But when the farmer looks up there, he doesn't see any universal gravity. All he sees is big bodies up there and nothing is holding them up. So God's Lesson is going to stay, no matter what science says.

God gives us a Lesson that says, "Have faith in the Lord that designed this creation. The way it is designed is too big for your mind to grasp. Have faith in The One that designed it and don't doubt.

Imam W.D. Mohammed (raa)ASA

The Children of Israel or Jews as some call them were chosen by Allah; G'd, to deliver His message to all the people, they were not chosen by G'd to be the one special people above all other people on earth, Allah has no partners or associates. They failed to follow the command of Allah through their Prophet Moses, Moses was successful but most of the following went astray. The same mission was then placed upon Prophet Muhammad 610 AD, to call the people back to their original G'd given human nature.

Allah made a covenant with the Children of Israel, when they broke the covenant Allah gave that same covenant to Prophet Muhammad, that same covenant is upon us Muslims today. Praise be to Allah.

Isaac and Ismail are from the same Father, Ibrahim, Isaac, the father of Israel was the first leader of the Children of Israel; the 12 tribes. Ismail was the beginning of the Muslim movement, finalized with Prophet Muhammad, Allahs Messenger, The last Prophet of Allah to mankind.

All Prophets and Messengers, and Holy Books, are from One Source, Allah, The One and Only G'd.

See Qur'an, 2:40-86“No created thing lives for itself. And we shouldn’t neither.A river does not drink from its own water. Trees do not eat their own fruit.The light of the sun is not intended to warm itself. The flower benefits not from its own nectar nor profits from its amazing aroma, nor the bee from its own honey. Every created thing makes a contribution to things other than itself.”

~ Shades of GreyBook #3 WDM p.18 of 86

Allah judges

Allah knows their value. we can’t judge that. We may take a brother who drinks and sit him over there with the corrupt, and that brother who drinks may be in heaven a little higher than us when are resurrected. We don’t know. Maybe the drinking that you did with Islamic science was bigger, made you a bigger drunk than he is. So we don’t know. So it is hard for us to do that. But sometimes I would like to see a good situation where all the corrupt, I know they are over there. I would be free, more relaxed to talk over here. When I talk over there I’d have something for them to say. It would be more relaxed for me to address them knowing that they are over there. But we can’t do that.

So now, what do we have to see, first? That Al Islam is a Religion that focuses the light on man and shows him firstly, principally, as a social creature; that G-d intended for him to be a social creature; not to be satisfied being an island, or on an island all to himself; that he must mate and become a bigger social unit; family, tribes, and then until you embrace the whole community of man on this earth and see yourself as a member in one family, with all people. So man is a social creature.

Qur’an gives social inspiration

Man is a social creature and the spirit of the Qur’an is, what? The spirit of the Qur’an is social inspiration. It feeds our social aspirations. This word social is bigger than we think it is. By social we don’t mean just associating with each other, physically, but our dependency on each other as members of a world society. We want to keep the focus on the Muslim community right now. As members of the Muslim community, our dependency on each other brings us together and our love for each other brings us together. So here we have a love for each other that brings us

Book #3 WDM p.19 of 86 together, and a dependency on each other that brings us together.

Pretty soon we find that the teacher of the school has to be tied up full time in doing that. But there is also a need to have business growing in the community. So there is a business person feeding business.

The social context in terms of people keeps expanding with growth, and as it grows there is more demand for more things to take care of the needs of its growing people. He can have the regulation of the home in the parent. He can have the regulation of the family in the parent. He can have the regulation of the morals in the parent, the discipline, the laws that discipline the family can be in the parent, everything. Everything can be in the parents.

That’s a small unit and he can manage that. But when it extends and involves hundreds of families, he can’t manage that. If there is nobody but him and his family, he can go out, take his sons out with him, children with him, go out and plow the field, and regulate his own food. He doesn’t need anybody to regulate the economy for him. He can handle that. But when they multiply in a social unit, it’s the social unit that is getting bigger. The social unit gets bigger and brings in demands for industry, for more sophisticated government, more complex government ideas, and everything else we can think of. There is not one other single influence responsible for the growth and development of society, other than the social principle, or the social influence.

Now, go back to the sun as a symbol. The sun, I said earlier that it’s the principle behind all the changes in the weather, the growth and everything, didn’t I? So here you have, now, me saying that the social interest, the social principle, is the influence behind all the other growth and possibilities.

Can’t we then say that the sun is also a symbol of man as a social unit, the Khalifa is male and female, and the purpose of male and female is to have generations? That’s the social principle. So the Khalifa is the social principle. He is the sun. He is the social principlBook #3 WDM p.18 of 86

Allah judges

Allah knows their value. we can’t judge that. We may take a brother who drinks and sit him over there with the corrupt, and that brother who drinks may be in heaven a little higher than us when are resurrected. We don’t know. Maybe the drinking that you did with Islamic science was bigger, made you a bigger drunk than he is. So we don’t know. So it is hard for us to do that. But sometimes I would like to see a good situation where all the corrupt, I know they are over there. I would be free, more relaxed to talk over here. When I talk over there I’d have something for them to say. It would be more relaxed for me to address them knowing that they are over there. But we can’t do that.

So now, what do we have to see, first? That Al Islam is a Religion that focuses the light on man and shows him firstly, principally, as a social creature; that G-d intended for him to be a social creature; not to be satisfied being an island, or on an island all to himself; that he must mate and become a bigger social unit; family, tribes, and then until you embrace the whole community of man on this earth and see yourself as a member in one family, with all people. So man is a social creature.

Qur’an gives social inspiration

Man is a social creature and the spirit of the Qur’an is, what? The spirit of the Qur’an is social inspiration. It feeds our social aspirations. This word social is bigger than we think it is. By social we don’t mean just associating with each other, physically, but our dependency on each other as members of a world society. We want to keep the focus on the Muslim community right now. As members of the Muslim community, our dependency on each other brings us together and our love for each other brings us together. So here we have a love for each other that brings us

Book #3 WDM p.19 of 86 together, and a dependency on each other that brings us together.

Pretty soon we find that the teacher of the school has to be tied up full time in doing that. But there is also a need to have business growing in the community. So there is a business person feeding business.

The social context in terms of people keeps expanding with growth, and as it grows there is more demand for more things to take care of the needs of its growing people. He can have the regulation of the home in the parent. He can have the regulation of the family in the parent. He can have the regulation of the morals in the parent, the discipline, the laws that discipline the family can be in the parent, everything. Everything can be in the parents.

That’s a small unit and he can manage that. But when it extends and involves hundreds of families, he can’t manage that. If there is nobody but him and his family, he can go out, take his sons out with him, children with him, go out and plow the field, and regulate his own food. He doesn’t need anybody to regulate the economy for him. He can handle that. But when they multiply in a social unit, it’s the social unit that is getting bigger. The social unit gets bigger and brings in demands for industry, for more sophisticated government, more complex government ideas, and everything else we can think of. There is not one other single influence responsible for the growth and development of society, other than the social principle, or the social influence.

Now, go back to the sun as a symbol. The sun, I said earlier that it’s the principle behind all the changes in the weather, the growth and everything, didn’t I? So here you have, now, me saying that the social interest, the social principle, is the influence behind all the other growth and possibilities.

Can’t we then say that the sun is also a symbol of man as a social unit, the Khalifa is male and female, and the purpose of male and female is to have generations? That’s the social principle. So the Khalifa is the social principle. He is the sun. He is the social principlThe roots of white Supremacy making a human figure into a DEVINE figure! The truth is that WE SHOULD MAKE NO IMAGES OR LIKENESS UNTO THE DEVINE.A ND WE SHOULD KNOW THAT TO GIVE G-D A SON,IS TO FORCE THE MIND TO GIVE HIM A RACIAL FEATURE! THIS WAS THE TRICK OF DIABOLICAL WORLD DOMINATING PSYCHOLOGY! WHITE IS RIGHT,WHY? BECAUSE G-DS SON IS WHITE,A D HAVEN'T WE BEEN THROUGHLY BRAINWASHED TO BELIEVE THAT,"WHEN YOU SEE THE SON YOU'VE SEEN THE FATHER FOR THE SON IS THE FATHER! OH MY PEOPLE NOW IS THE TIME TO UN-WHITE WASH YOUR PERCEPTION OF YOUR SAVIOUR! YOUR BIBLE TELLS YOUR THAT,"G-D IS A SPIRIT AND THAT THOSE WHO WORSHIP HIM MUST WORSHIP HIM IN SPIRIT" SLS YOU ARE FAMILIAR IN JOHN," NO MAN HAS EVER SEEN G-D AT ANY TIME" NOW YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE AWARE THAT IN JOHN 20:17 JESUS TOLD MARY MADELEINE "TOUCH ME NOT FOR I HAVE NOT YET ASCENDED TO MY FATHER,BUT GO A D TELL MY BRETHREN THAT I GO TO MY FATHER A ND YOUR FATHER,TO MY G-D AND YOUR G-D" PEOPLE KNOW THIS THAT THERE IS NO G-D BUT ONE G-D,THAT NOTHING IS LIKE HIM HE NIETHER BEGETS NOR IS HE BEGOTTEN AND THERE IS NOTHING LIKE HIM! FIND ME SOMEWHERE IN THE BIBLE WHERE JESUS(PEACE ON HIM)TOLD US THAT HE WAS G- D AND THAT WE SHOULD WORSHIP HIM! NO,NO,HE TAUGHT US TO PRAY," OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN,HOLLOWETH BE THY NAME,THY KINGDOM COME, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN" SO PEOPLE DON'T SEE ME AS AN ADVERSARY SEE ME AS A HELPING FRIEND TO STAMP "WHITE SUPREMACY IMAGERY IN THE FORM OF A VISIBLY WHITENED G-D" REMOVE ALL RACIAL IMAGES THAT ATTEMPT TO PORTRAY THE DEVINE" GIVE ME SOME FEEDBACK LETS START A DIALOGUE! PEACE AND LOVE!THE ROBE

Lost Knowledge

Now, let’s continue here. What is the robe symbolic of? Do you recall? Symbolic of the way you use the knowledge, the dress, symbolic of the way you use the knowledge. The sheet is the knowledge, the pages, the script.Remember now, when Jesus was crucified, he lost his robe and they gambled to see who would possess his robe. Now if you understand the meaning of robe, then you should understand that this world doesn’t have the true knowledge, the true use of the knowledge that Jesus gave them.

The knowledge was lost from Jesus’ body and it fell in the hands of crooked sinners. They gambled for it. Not only that, the silver cup, the special cup, it was lost too. Which tells us not only the proper use of the knowledge was lost, but also the moral cleanliness was lost from the religion.Silver chalice I think they call it. Is that what they call it? I think it is called Silver chalice. It was lost from Christianity. So how would they explain this? Ask the preacher next Sunday morning at 11 o’clock. Ask him. Say preacher; please tell me what it means in Christianity when they say that they lost the Silver chalice, the silver cup. Ask the preacher, how they can have the shroud of Jesus, in this city that is called Turin.

When the Bible says that his robe fell into the hands of sinners and they gambled to see who would possess it. So how can they have his robe there? If they have it, sinners gave it to them and if the sinners gave it up, it wasn’t fit to wear. That’s right. That robe wasn’t fit to wear. After it fell into the hands of sinners, who would want to wear it?

What is sweeter than honey?

Let’s continue now, it says he gave them another riddle. And this riddle is: “What is sweeter than honey?” And “What is stronger than a lion?”So he gave two riddles. In fact four parts to it.Second one is, “What is sweeter than honey?What is stronger than a lion?” All right. You know honey means the beauty of pure scripture. How do we know this? We know it because in the Qur’an this word is used. Honey is a good word for scripture. The honey is the essence of the flower and flowers are symbolic of beautiful culture.What is sweeter than the beauty that G-d offers you? What is sweeter than the sweetness that you find in G-d’s pure scripture? That’s what he’s telling them. And what is stronger than a lion? What he’s telling them is that, the east has honey.

They have the beauty of G-d’s revelation. And you have the strength of a lion. I’ve got something that makes you stronger, and I’ve got something to give you to make your doctrine sweeter than their honey.You see this thing? Yes, it’s plain. So he gave them, the Gentile world, the doctrine of love, the love of Christ that was sweeter than the moral and spiritual teachings to weak people, than the pure teachings of the Prophet. It’s sweeter to them … that G-d loves you sinners so much, that he gave his only begotten son, that he should be scorned, mocked, spat on, tortured, crucified, and die and be buried for your sins. Oh that’s sweet to ignorant weak people, sweeter than the truth of G-d’s scripture. So he said what is sweeter than honey? This lie I am going to give you is sweeter than the pure honey of Scripture that the east has.

Cheated Samson out of his heifer

And what is stronger than a lion? This subtle psychology…. (indiscernible) and he himself was going to destroy the Philistines. They have cheated him out of his heifer; I am talking about right now!The Christian Church that he thought would be his heifer betrayed him. Say oh, you can have business, you can have media, you can have this, but you are not going to run our churches. The Gentile doesn’t want any Jews over their churches. If you want to have something, you can have Peter. Go and tutor the Pope in secrecy. He’ll accept it. But these ordinary Gentiles are not going to accept that no Jew rule over them.So you mean to tell me you are not going to give me my heifer? So why don’t you, can’t you all do it through me, can’t you all carry out my orders?No we can’t do it. They are not going to listen to it. Well very good. Well then can I tell you what kind of doctrine you should give to the masses that won’t follow Peter?Yes it’s okay. All right. I’m going to make bread again. I’m going to get on a wheel. I’m going to make Marxism. I’m going to make Communism.I’m going to make the Age of Reason. I’m going to exalt logic. I’ll give them some new flour, is that okay? Well that’s okay. As long as you don’t take over the church. No, I won’t bother the church. Okay. Go on to the wheel again. It’s okay.

Bring society down on me and them

Now listen. After all that he still was not satisfied. Is that right? Yeah look at the story now, remember, he still is not satisfied. So he said, “I am blind, but I got something that they don’t know I’ve got. I got special power, in my arms.” “All I want to do is just have somebody show me to the pillars of the foundation of their society. And if I just can get to the two pillars that hold up the structure of their society, I’m going to bring it down on me and them.”So Samson goes and stands between the two pillars with the help of a little boy. He couldn’t see but he used the help of a little boy. What is the help of that little boy? Psychology. Psychology.

Don’t think it’s another person; he’s not even a person. Persons carry it out, but he’s a knowledge body. Then he goes and he used a little boy, psychology. Don’t human beings use psychology before they use intelligence?That’s why in psychology in this particular context it’s called a little boy. Your little children, before they are able to compete with you on an intelligence plane, they already using psychology on you. So psychology is an early development in the human being. That’s why the Jahcubite’s cousin, Fard Muhammad said Yakub conceived his idea at the age 6, as a little boy, a psychology. He’ll be surprised to know that I know that. I hope he gets this. I understand that he’s back home now. So he’ll get this message, Insha ‘Allah. Now, let me continue. With the help of psychology, he finds his way to the foundations of the new society. And when he gets to the foundation, what does he do? He forms a cross of himself and he begins pressing with all his might. That’s what the Scripture says. Said he pressed with all his might, with all his strength on the pillars, forming of himself a cross. What does this mean? This is more than Trinitarianism, this is the psychology of the mentality that Trinitarianism has produced.

Weaknesses in the mentality that trinitarianism has produced

He has now learned that there are certain weaknesses in the mentality that Trinitarianism has produced. And he knows that he can appeal to their emotions, and he can push in two directions at the same time.He didn’t pull the pillars, he pushed. He can push in opposite directions at the same time. Make one people give in to emotions, and the other people give in to logic. Push them. So that some will become highly emotional and some will become highly logical.And in doing this the logic will act against the emotions, and emotions will act against the logic. The emotional makeup will kill the logic, the logic will offend the emotions, the society will be divided against itself and the pillars will fall. Don’t you know that’s a strategy that is used in this Society? Whenever the hidden evil in the structure is about to be exposed they began firing the society with emotion, sentiment, flower children, love for everybody, crazy kind of sentimentality and emotionalism. They fire it up and build up strong emotions, this is depressing. Now when he does it it’s going to drop the whole thing. If he can be successful and bring in the sentimental and emotional elements against the logic, it’s going to destroy the whole thing.But look, he will certainly, he will be killed, as a knowledge body. He was already blind wasn’t he? What the hell has he lost? Nothing. Once he brings it down, he would start up all over again. Do, ra, mi, fa, sol, la, ti.

By the Grace of G-d, through IWDM, America was not destroyedJust in a few years that have passed us dear people, that scheme has tried to destroy America. But by the grace of G-d, through me, America was not destroyed. Why do I say through me? Because I was the only one that came out when the trend was to go in the form of the cross. When the trend was to become emotional, highly emotional and give one side to dry logic, I came up in the middle of that action and said there is a scheme going on, there is a trick going on.This whole thing is designed to fire up your sentiments, your emotions and topple the society. Somebody must have heard me and believed others who had been talking before I started, and all of it came together to save America. Yes.

See they didn’t believe others who were saying, there is a scheme, there is a hidden scheme. But when I began to speak, they say look, now we know this boy, we’ve been watching this boy since his father raised him up. We know that this boy is not a tool of outside influence. So if he says these things that ring a bell, where did he get it from? We believe maybe G-d is inspiring Wallace D. Mohammed. So they went back to the desk. And they begin to pull out things from the old file and they studied history all over again. And they said that Wallace D. Mohammed is an inspired man, he sees something. And what he is saying is what we’ve heard before. It might be something to it. How else could he get it?

Simple Simon met a pie man on the way to the square

Say oh no, let’s check this thing. Let’s check this thing. Said I’m sorry, you can’t get sixpence today, only one. Sorry, we aren’t buying pies today. We’re buying cakes. You heard that old story of Simple Simon … Simple Simon met a pie man on the way to the square. I think it goes,” … said Simple Simon to the pie man, would you have a sixpence to spare?” And I think he said, “If I was selling sixpence, I wouldn’t be selling pies!” Well, that’s another one of the conspirators’ riddles. And I will tell you what it means. Sixpence means the knowledge behind the scheme. It’s said the man was made on the 6th day. The sixpence is the knowledge behind the scheme. Simon was given seven (7), not six (6). He couldn’t see 6, six (6) was ruling seven (7). But he wanted the six (6).What is the secret in this? Will you tell me please, Mr. Pie man? You know what Pi is? 3.1416, I think it is. It’s a formula for finding the circumference of the earth. It’s a formula for world dominance. Now I’m not saying anything that I didn’t want to say, I know it’s a formula for finding the circumference of a circle. It’s a formula for world dominance.

If I was selling my own secrets you think I’d be selling pies And Peter, the Catholic Church wanted it. But the conspirator wouldn’t give it to them. Said if I was selling my own secrets you think I’d be selling pies? You think I’d be telling you how to get the world, if I was selling the secret to how to get it.I’ll just tell you how to get it; I’m not going to tell you my secret. You get it from me. Yes. All Peter got was some magic beans; he did manage to get those didn’t he? You remember that riddle? Nursery rhyme, whatever you want to call it. Jack and the beanstalk. Yeah. He had Jack, which is nothing again but Peter, or the Western society. Pardon me, I shouldn’t say Peter, not Peter, Jack is not the Catholic Church, it’s the Western society, Protestant society. Catholic Church headquarters is in Rome. This is typical American. Jack is talking about typical America. That’s why we call each other Jack. You know, hey jack, what’s happening Jack?

Yes, so, it was Peter, the Pope who asked them for his sixpence. But Jack, the American Christian society, they asked for magic beans. Well really they didn’t know what to ask for. All they wanted was really to be rescued, because their cow had got so lean, it was about to die.Everything was going bad. And they wanted to know how to bring back life. How can my cows get fat again? How can the society thrive again?So, while they were (wandering) wondering, this funny looking thing jumped out in the road. And he made himself visible and he said, “Magic beans want to buy some magic beans, like to buy some magic beans?” And Jack agreed to give his cow up for the magic beans. I’m showing you that this is not only in Scripture. If it is only in Scripture that means that what I’m talking about may not be existing in the world today. Or maybe it was just a story that was only in Scripture, maybe it was just fiction. But if it’s in the world too, we should listen.

What do the magic beans represent?

Now. Says this little funny thing, man, jumped out, and he talked Jack into giving up his cow for these magic beans. Right. Some of you remember it. He went away with his cow. What do the magic beans represent? A way to, again, to the secret knowledge in Christian religion. A way to the secret knowledge in Christian religion.And dumb Protestant society gave up their lean cow for this heavenly knowledge. What is the lean cow? The lean cow represents what they had before. What did they have before? They had rational growth. The Protestant movement began with an interest in rational growth. Is that right? Yes.

Our knowledge is weak, our cow is lean

They wanted to pursue knowledge. The Catholic Church had suppressed enlightenment, had suppressed education. The people weren’t allowed to learn. The masses couldn’t learn and educate themselves. So a thirst for knowledge came with Martin Luther. Right. And they began to want knowledge to develop their minds.Here comes Jake, Jack pardon me, feeling himself desperately in need of help. We have the interest in rational development of our society, but our knowledge is weak, our cow is lean. We haven’t yet produced anything. We need help. Who would help us?Oh Lord Jesus, help us. We got this logic. But Rome is powerful. We got this logic and Rome is powerful. G-d help us please! Ding, ding. Jahcubite conspirator. I will help you! Would you like to have some magic beans? If I give you my magic beans you’ll have to give me your lean cow. In effect he was saying the same thing that Samson said. I’m going to give you a new world, but you’re going to have to give me the one that you got now. And if you give him the one you got now, when it becomes fat, who does it belong to? Belong to him. He got it. He got it in exchange for the magic beans.

Over the heavenly kingdom was a mean old giant

So he (Jack) went home and planted. Went home and he didn’t know the value of them right? But I think accidentally one fell into the ground right? The thing grew up and it went up, up, up. He saw it going up past his window, he ran out and jumped on it, and the thing took him up into heaven. (It) took him up on the plane of clouds, into a castle that was in the clouds. Right. Yes.There he found a nice old woman that befriended him. But over that heavenly kingdom was a mean old giant. That right? Yes. He said fee, fi, fo, fom, I smell the blood of an Englishman, be he live or be he dead; I’ll grind his bones with my bread. With my bread. Remember bread is of two kinds. Leaven and unleavened. I’ll grind his bones with my bread.So, he managed to escape with the help of this woman up there, old woman who was nice. He managed to escape. Who is the old woman who was nice? Means people in the religious knowledge of the secrets of religion that weren’t corrupt. Didn’t have no evil designs on the world like the conspirators. They shared with him after he got up there. They shared with him some knowledge. Helped him to get the golden knowledge down from heaven.

The Golden knowledge it came from the hen right? The hen who laid golden eggs. But the hen couldn’t lay any golden eggs without music playing. When music played the hen would lay the eggs. The music stopped, the hen stop laying the golden eggs. Which means that the wisdom is tied to music? Do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do. Do, ra, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do. Now when he got the musical scheme, he came back down with the hen and the music harp plus the knowledge, and he tied them together, then he had wisdom.He had wisdom to bring back down with the hen, and the music harp right, according to the story. From heaven, he brought back with him, they don’t say heaven, but it is the heaven of religious symbolism — Biblical symbolism. He came back down with the music maker and with the egg layer. You needed both in order to get the wisdom. The golden egg means wisdom. All right.

Giant’s fall from heaven left a big hole in the earth

The giant fell from heaven. Is that right? He was so big and heavy that when he fell he knocked a big hole in the earth, left there a big hole in the earth. The giant was finished. Who was finished? Who is the big giant that was finished? The people in the secret religion. The Pope.The Pope and certain others that I don’t care to name right now, that hoard the secrets of religion. When the Protestant was given the secret way to get it, and when Protestant leadership got it, got their share. Don’t think they got all, they got their share. Catholic got his share yes. Protestant got their share. The conspirators got the whole share.When they got it, the position of superiority of them over American Christian leadership fell. When it fell, it knocked a big hole in the ground. What is that symbolic of? Actually they were not spiritual people, they were material people.And when they fell a big part of the material that they had before was taken out. So much of the material wealth that was under Catholicism, and under other secret conspirators in religion, fell to Jack, to the American Christian Society. Is that right? Yes.Then they began to rise. But they only had magic beans. Magic beans is not knowledge. Magic. The only way you can get it is through magic. You have to have the knowledge of the magic to know how to work them. And, they were secret, so only a few of the Jack people can have them.

Jack: the American Christian society

Let me quickly tell you what Jack represents in the American Christian Society. It represents the intelligent leadership, Jack represents the intelligent leadership. Now Jack is not as long as Jacob. So their knowledge is shorter than Jacob, you see?Jack is a derivative of the word Jacob. Jacob is the origin, Jack is a derivative, derived from Jacob. So Jack is just a short …. they don’t have Jacob that’s long. But they do have enough to enable them to keep this same rhythm going.Rotating events, with a seven note scale, or is it eight. Yes, an eight note scale that goes to seven, and comes back to where it started. Right? Do, ra, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do, come back to where it started. So they were given knowledge of how to keep society going through these changes, psychological changes.

So America unknowingly, has been going through these changes. Look at the trends, one fad behind another. Pretty soon you are wearing what you wore 20 years ago. Right. Pretty soon you’re dancing the way you danced 20 years ago. You are talking the way you talked 20 years ago. You are thinking the way you thought 20 years ago.So they keep rotating. They have the Jahcubite scheme, but they have only that pie that Jahcubite wanted them to have. Jahcubite sell pies all over the world Jahcubite sell pies all over the world. Sold the Pope a pie. Sold Protestant America a pie. Sold Communists East a pie, called it the red pie. Yes, the red pie. I’m getting ready to let you go now.

What does the red represent? What do they mean red? You say passions? That’s to trick you. Yes,Red means passions in the other octave. It has been played. It’s another octave. It takes on another color, it takes on another dress. It don’t keep the same dress, it says I will sell you changes. You see?Yes, it meant passions in one place, but not passions in Communist Russia, although passions are involved. It means the social life. Red means the social life. What ties me together with my brother? Blood. Blood is red. See. So people, as a social group are tied together first by blood. And they call each other brother, you see. So that’s blood.Red stands for blood. What blood? Human blood. Human blood, according to the Bible, New Testament in particular, should combine with water, which is human spirit, symbolic of human spirit.

Bring the social life too

So people should be spiritual, as well as social, according to the New Testament teaching. You shouldn’t just be blood. Christ Jesus says, “I come not of water only, but of blood also.”What does this mean? It means that before him, the people were all spiritual, but were neglecting the social development of society, the development of the relationship of person-to-person, people to people, communities to communities.He came to bring the blood, means to bring the social life up too, with the spiritual life. This is in the Scripture.So now, if the East has become red, it means that they now have gone to another … see the world was spiritual, and then it became religious.Now they are trying to get it to become all red. No spirituality, take the spirituality out of it. Make it all red, that we are social group and we are born out of materialism, so material concepts should govern us. We shouldn’t have spiritualism in our life. Give up; give out the water, only the red.

Imam W.D. Mohammed (raa)

[aclassiguy]

nobody’s gonna read this but i’m gonna rant a little as an ex-fundie kid with a perspective on unconscious bias re: thedas’ religions. (i’ll grant you i do not have encyclopedic knowledge of dragon age, so i’m commenting based off what 90% of people know - the games)

If we’re assuming that every interaction concerning the religions in Thedas is intentional, it’s genius. It represents real world religious dynamics so well. But that’s also assuming we’re going to be allowed to confront those religions; otherwise, it’s just a carbon copy with no purpose but to reflect reality. You’re duplicating problems, without offering avenues for solutions or even criticism.

I want to leave this uncut in case a piece of it actually caught someone’s eye for some reason, but I’d feel bad if I did that.

I’m actively agnostic. I have no problem with other people being religious. I react quite negatively to both active and passive attempts at conversion. I know a LOT about Christianity. I know some, though not as much, about other world religions.

We can pretend all we like that Thedas is a world completely separated from reality. “Lighten up, it’s just a game.” I can, however, point to direct parallels between game concepts and real world concepts that I find quite troubling (Blackwall’s plot, certain wartable missions, Descent DLC), I can expound on those at length as well. And of course it’s just a game, and you can stab people with no consequences and all that - that’s fine. Stabbing people in a game isn’t likely to make you think it’s OK to stab people IRL. But a game has the power to subtly reinforce existing biases which can cause real harm.

Christianity is a dominant world religion. In fundamentalist circles, one of the tenets is to spread it to as many people as possible, to save them from themselves. Even casual Christians adopt this attitude when they tell you how sad they are that you’re not Christian, because they think you’ll be happier as one and can’t fathom how you’d be happy without god. I can get REAL deep into Christian psychology, but I’ll spare you. The thing is, this is an insidious train of thought that has been beaten into the world by its victors. Monotheistic religions are treated more seriously than pantheons. The Bible is held as separate and more holy than “myths,” which are treated as little better than Harry Potter novels. Religions that encourage non-Western behaviors are treated as scary, deviant, and oppressive - to be obliterated before they dare to try converting precious Christians - DESPITE Christians actively trying to lure those believers away from their “scary” faith and into Christianity. They think their own religion is more normal, or their own culture is more normal. All of this leads to many, many Christians (as well as your average Westerner) holding really racist, xenophobic views they don’t perceive as racist or xenophobic.

SO LIKE - I’ll just make a bulletpoint list:

Andrastianism = Christianity (esp. Western brand)

Evanuris = Pantheistic religions

Qun = Eastern philosophies

The familiarity and diversity is fine. There’s pros and cons to each religion, just like real life. Thedas is fun because it takes aspects of discrimination like racism and sexuality and pretzels it to be same-but-different. No matter your background, you have the chance to get really involved in the ethical dilemmas provided, the visceral experience of being insulted and responding to insults with pride, and it’s fun to read something new and feel some kind of vindication if you had a suspicion before.

What irritates me currently about the religions is that every time I get a little taste of “Okay, finally, we’re acknowledging the damage a religion like this can do,” I get kicked right the fuck back. I spent so long hating the Chantry more and more because it started to become clear to me the intentional abuse being directed at literally anyone who wasn’t a non-mage human, and even then they abused their own followers to exert further control over mages for personal gain. (Seriously, FUCK the Chantry.) FINALLY, Exalted Plains acknowledged that the Chantry steamrolled over the elves in a brutal slaughter, where Sister Whatserface tried to blame the elves for being “too far from the Maker” but she was a good person for “showing them more mercy than they deserved.” Clear signals that Bioware intended it to be taken as it was - an unjust crusade. Then what do they throw in my face? Some documents intending to show that the elves were “also at fault.” Excuse me? I’m sorry, excuse me?!

Elves had already been the subject of extensive oppression at that point, and given the racist goddamn teachings of Sister Whatserface and ALL THE DIVINES, I can hardly blame the elves for being just a little testy with the humans sticking their noses into their lands trying to force them to convert to Andrastianism. “Equally to blame” my ass. This is a pebble against a boulder. And yet I’m supposed to treat it like some kind of shocking revelation. Ooo - should I turn these documents in to the Chantry to exploit the elves some more, or should I give them to the Dalish, who then react with shame? There’s no just option: have the Dalish explain why maybe elves would be just a little angry, and have my Inquisitor go “oh yeah, that makes sense. kbye”

Finishing up with the Dalish, we get told by some pride demon ass lying fucker that all the Dalish gods that these poor widdle uneducated primitive elves worship were essentially slavers. Hahah. WHAT. Sorry. WHAT. You’re going to make me play through a game with my character’s religion shat on or flat out ignored at literally every turn, and my vindication is to be told it’s all fake and my ancestors were idiots for ever believing? Canonically? Really? When do we get told that we checked the Fade and the Maker wasn’t there and don’t these humans look pretty dumb now?! Or is that too risque because Andrastianism is a little too close to Christianity?

Then there’s the reaction to the Qun. I have loved Qunari since Sten. I honestly think it’s a really cool concept and I would love to explore it more deeply. I also LOVE Sten. Sten seemed so calm and generally fairly accepting, although he had his own flaws. He also had hidden depths - push aside the fronting and you get his cookies and chocolate loving sweetness. (If people hate him, again, come see me after class so we can have a chat on why you stan Blackwall but not Sten?)

But it seems like the Qun is falling victim to the world needing a reliable villain. What was once a mysterious system of beliefs existing outside the concept of the Maker or Dalish gods is increasingly this Scary religion that oppresses women and mages in barbaric ways, and is treated as horrible for trying to spread their religion to other lands (allow me to remind you of Exalted Plains and why every person in the game seems to be Andrastian by default, or at least Andrastian-sympathetic). It’s essentially playing up the fears that makes people uncomfortable with Eastern religions, relying on xenophobia to make them hateable enough that you don’t accidentally end up with too many Qun sympathizers in the playerbase. Even though you can play as a Qunari in Inquisition (hell yeah), you aren’t allowed any kind of Qun background. It’s understandable in some ways, plot-wise, but baffling in others. How much cooler would it be to have access to Qun beliefs like the Dalish has access to the Evanuris?

And now they have the Qunari poised to be the result of doing horrible dragon-blood experiments on elves by MORE slavers, and their religion’s entire purpose is to limit their horrible dragony desires to murder people, but now they want to subjugate others to live under their rule of law to make a horrifying monotone culture. Aren’t these scary-looking Qunari even more scary? There’s a reason to hate them now, they’re canonically more violent, just like the dragons! (Do not get me started on how dragons are treated. Actually, do, I have a lot of thoughts on that too. lmao) REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Then you have the Tal-Vashoth, not only defectors who found fault with the philosophy who are then hunted relentlessly by the believers, but also twisting back on themselves to be crazy violent, therefore simultaneously a condemnation of the Qun and an affirmation of its necessity to keep Qunari from being violent. Where are the defectors from Andrastianism? Literally every ex-fundie Christian kid I know has had a sex and/or drug-fueled meltdown period after having their core beliefs and foundation obliterated. Why do we have all these pure innocent Chantry Virgins, but no defectors? The only atheist you get to meet is your own Inquisitor, and you have a HELL of a time through the whole game as a result of it. (Though I will say the payoff at the very end of the game is so very worth it.) Almost ALL of your companions nag you about why you don’t believe you’re Chosen. I have yet to play as a believer, but I haven’t seen any indications I would be criticized for it.

And so what of Andrastianism? Is it fakery? Lies? Canonically brought into existence to oppress people? The product of slavers?

NOT YET.

Any criticism brought against Andrastianism is neatly and shortly thereafter countered, not by an untrustworthy member of the Chantry but by some word-of-god canon itself. The Maker stands, silent, valid, unchallenged.

There’s nothing wrong with presenting these complex scenarios, but if you don’t have the time, resources, or courage to REALLY plumb these depths, give everyone fair criticism (and it is not fair to ding the predominant world religion with the same criticisms as you level against a dying minority religion), don’t bother. You make the real world problems worse.