#if it wasnt for Christians

[cupcakegalaxia]

People want all the benefits of Christianity without all the repenting of sin, putting it to death and trusting in Christ part.

[jadenatorr]

hello to the 5 people currently in the something rotten fandom

[natjennie]

getting some responses on my post about kristen and her parents conversation, specifically the "isn't it kinda funny that helio chose you and you were the one to bring the daytime back" and I think it's really interesting how different people responded to it like. maybe it's because I live in the southern united states but. there is a lot of religion, specifically christianity, as that is the obvious analogue to the helioic faith, that is downright evil, I agree. and obviously the prevalence of it is harmful to a lot a lot a lot of people, just as it's harmful to kristen in fiction.

but you have to understand that the individual people are deluded, they genuinely believe what they're doing is right. it's really easy to be like "ugh they sicken me it makes me so mad" in a theoretical sense but. do you have drive through workers wishing you a blessed day. do you have people see your kt tape and offer to pray for your pain to go away. like. idk I just think we have to have a little bit of compassion and understanding for people that are so entrenched in their faith that they do truly believe from the bottom of their heart that what they're preaching is true. especially in a world where divine magic is real!! kristen TALKED to helio. she makes literal miracles happen on the daily. so faith in that world is gonna be heightened to a crazy degree.

obviously I condemn their human-supremacy and their cult practices etc etc etc but in that little moment I felt for the applebees. it didn't make me mad or disgusted or annoyed. it made me sad. because they saw their daughter perform a miracle of the sun and it meant nothing to her. that "that doesn't feel special at all to you?" wasn't from a place of arrogance. they weren't lauding it over kristen. they were pleading. begging her to see it from their eyes: she is the chosen one. she is a prophet of helio and has been doubting and they want what's best for her. she's their savior. she brought the sun back from the endless night. that doesn't feel special at all to you?

[s0fter-sin]

nik finding out ghost’s father is still alive

he teases out personal information from him over years of careful dedication; always knowing when to back off, always knowing when ghost needs him to push just that little more so he can free himself of his own memories

it’s not always important; sometimes it’s little things like preferring full fat milk for his tea or that he enjoys morning runs with his back to the sunrise. that he prefers to sit in an armchair than a couch and he hates the feel of cotton balls but endures it anyway

it takes a while before he gets to the deep things. the tragic things. broken plates. snake infested beds. dead prostitutes in toilet stalls

all with one man at the centre of them

ghost isn’t shy about his opinion of his old man; he knew he was a cowardly, addicted bastard who stood up for what he believed in only so long as the person he was standing against was weaker than him. he tells nik how close he came to killing him one night when he found him passed out on the couch; foaming spit and vomit all around him. he tells him how much he wished he knew then what he knows now; how he could’ve killed him with a toothpick if he just learned earlier

and he tells him that even unconscious, even when grew bigger than him, when he was stronger than him, ghost was still too afraid of him to try

he tells him around a shared cigarette that he got the call about his cancer just after he enlisted; how bitter he felt that he wouldn’t be around to watch him suffer and wither away. and it’s with a sour laugh that he tells him it was a few years after his first deployment that he got the call that he was in remission

“bastard couldn’t even give me that much,” he scoffs and stares at the smouldering butt long enough that nik takes it from him before he can snuff it out on his skin. “know the funny part of all this? i’ve killed hundreds of men. i know how to use more weapons than i can count- i’m the fuckin’ ghost…

“and i’m still fuckin’ scared of him.”

silence falls and nik sits in it; in the cruelty and discomfort of a man’s fear. he thinks of an old wooden home with its little chapel at the end of the yard. he thinks of silent dinner tables and repeated prayers over the crack of a belt. he thinks of the weight of a bible clutched in his hands and how it never eased the heat of his blood dripping down his back

he thinks and lights another cigarette and pretends ghost’s hand isn’t shaking when he offers it to him. because that’s all he can do

for now

-

months pass and nik does ghost a favour by acting like he’s forgotten their conversation on the roof despite them both knowing it’s bullshit. you don’t just forget sharing something like that; the shame of admitting and the hatred of knowing are too strong for something as merciful as forgetting

but they don’t talk about it again

months pass, missions blur together except for the ones that really don’t and it’s been a while since nik was in country when he slides up beside ghost as he oversees recruit training

he doesn’t say anything; just lets ghost feel his presence, conveniently from behind so he can slip something in his hands held behind his back before he steps up beside him. they watch the repetitive drills and the repetitive mistakes until ghost barks at them to fuck off or he’ll make them run until they puke then make them keep running

he waits for the last of them to huff and puff their way to the showers before bringing his hands to the front and unfolding the paper nik gave him

he doesn’t get past the first line before he stills

ghost forces his head to turn, eyes reluctantly dragging away from the paper to nik who stands waiting expectantly

“a gift,” nik says simply. “it does not bode well to have a haunted ghost, yes?”

he doesn’t let himself deflate the way his body wants; he keeps his back straight and shoulders wide and lets out a carefully controlled breath. “it last long?”

“oh yes,” he nods with a wide smile. “hell received quite a few pieces.”

ghost nods back and looks down at the paper in his hand, refusing to acknowledge the fine shake running through it. it isn’t enough to blur the cutout from a manchester local newspaper and reading it again makes his knees weak with 30 year old relief

missing: norman riley

[mothric]

"don't worry we're only deporting the dangerous ones" that's what they said in 2017 before deporting our most beloved custodian who had a clean record and a family and worked at an upstanding Bible college funded by conservatives' money. they didn't care to make a distinction then, they absolutely won't give a rat's ass now. la migra are like vampires. don't answer the door for them. don't give them permission. you have the right to remain silent. if you see uniforms or exempt license plates, sound the alarm.

[magical-musings-of-morgan]

my most autistic trait is probably that, as someone raised by christian nationalists, I cannot STAND the cheap flimsy potshots antitheists fire at christianity. you guys are Doing It Wrong. you dont even know about the council of nicaea OR christianity's long history of antisemitism. get off the stage you're embarrassing yourself.

[valtsv]

bro there are tons of religious traditions that came up with a concept of heaven without any concept of hell?

i know, my post was specifically about the christian concepts of heaven and hell, because those are what i grew up with. which is why i used a quote from christian literature as an example. i had no intention of making any generalised statements about religion and common concepts that feature across different religions as a whole, so i'm really sorry if it came across that way and i said something offensively ignorant. i'd be happy to correct my mistake and learn from it if that's the case.

[borntolead]

the original cast of operation mincemeat's final performance » [3/?]

[orangechickenpillow]

I brought an "asks too many questions" vibe to church that the Sunday school teachers didn't like

[sojourner-between-worlds]

Today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. I had planned to post on Facebook today but, in the end, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I did write something though, and I don't want it to go to waste sitting in my google docs, so I guess ya'll on tumblr dot com get it instead.

To anyone reading this who has lost a baby: I see you. You're not as alone as you feel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

July 24th was one of the best days of my life.

August 27th was one of the worst.

God had finally blessed us with a baby -- and then He took them home just the same.

Early miscarriage is a funny thing. Not many people know yet so, unless you tell them, they’ll never know anything has changed. It’s just you, your empty arms, and your grief. Nothing to see here; just move along.

And it’s not fair. There’s a crib in the basement we never put together, waiting to be used, and clothes from my sisters that my mother stored for years, waiting to be worn, and there they wait still.

We don't talk about it because it hurts and, at the very least, then they can't pity us.

And it’s not right. Every life -- no matter how short -- was a life hand-crafted by God, their brief days ordained by the same One who holds the entire universe in place. And we hide that precious soul away like it’s a dark secret we shouldn’t talk about.

The reality is this: I am a mama, and [husband] is a dad, and we have a baby we love dearly that we won’t get to meet this side of Heaven.

The days we had with our baby were few, but that time wasn't for nothing. That life wasn’t for nothing. Our love for them wasn’t for nothing.

They still matter -- to us, and to God.

So to the baby who never made it into our arms: we loved you then, and we love you still.

And we always will.

[wastelandslug]

saw someone refer to Noah as "from Christianity" the other day and I died a little bit inside

[stenclastiel]

If they greenlight Teen Wolf the Movie 2, it should be Stiles, Kira and Theo going on a road trip in with Eli to help bring back Derek.

Like imagine all four of them in that jeep.

And Stiles is an FBI agent, Kira mastered her powers, and Theo is a doctor or something

[orcelito]

I know trigun is the Religious Symbolism Anime but smth u must understand is that i love it in the most sacrilegious way possible. Yes religious themes r cool to study etc etc etc but I'm over here rocking out to the objective sacrilegion that is having our Jesus figure be a hyperactive punk that loves donuts and is also not so subtly also an angel & his slutty priest boyfriend who is also an assassin and has a giant cross machine gun and Also constantly has his tits out. Also they're trans.

Like. This is not a Christian anime to Me, even with the symbolism and themes lol

[xiaoluclair]

MAX VERSTAPPEN ㅡ "i'm happy with the chance they've given to me, and i will try to make the most of it and, uh. we'll see where it ends up."

📍 Spanish Grand Prix 2016 // Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021 ↳ 🎥: FORMULA 1 | The Drivers Face The Press

[columboposting]

Torchwood expanded universe content is wild because it’s like. Ok here’s an audiobook from 2009 where Jack Harkness goes to super hell. Yeah like Castiel. Yeah an Anglican thought he had too much charisma and banished him there. Yeah the black goop consumed his body and everything. No i’m not joking

[danthropologie]

Christian Horner about Daniel Ricciardo's return to F1 | ESPN F1 Unlapped, August 3, 2023