#on christian doctrine

[confusedbyinterface]

The thing I like about St Augustine is he can be very sarcastic and mean when he feels like it. You open up On Christian Doctrine and the first thing he does is start arguing with anyone who might criticize his book.

To those who do not understand what is here set down, my answer is, that I am not to be blamed for their want of understanding. It is just as if they were anxious to see the new or the old moon, or some very obscure star, and I should point it out with my finger: if they had not sight enough to see even my finger, they would surely have no right to fly into a passion with me on that account. As for those who, even though they know and understand my directions, fail to penetrate the meaning of obscure passages in Scripture, they may stand for those who, in the case I have imagined, are just able to see my finger, but cannot see the stars at which it is pointed. And so both these classes had better give up blaming me, and pray instead that God would grant them the sight of their eyes.

Just "If this book doesn't help you, don't blame me. Maybe try praying to be less stupid, so you can figure it out?"

He then goes after people who might say his book is useless because they already understand the scripture, and he just goes on and on for pages like "What about this guy who miraculously learned how to read? Should we stop teaching people how to read?" "Maybe you shouldn't teach children any language, since the Holy Spirit lets you speak in tongues?" "You think you're better than Paul? Better than Moses? You must be so holy" before finally "and if you're always telling people your interpretation of scripture rather than letting God miraculously put it in their brain, you can't blame me for doing the same."

And so although it will sufficiently appear in the course of the work itself that no one can justly object to this undertaking of mine, which has no other object than to be of service, yet as it seemed convenient to reply at the outset to any who might make preliminary objections, such is the start I have thought good to make on the road I am about to traverse in this book.

[flagellant]

yeah we might be brothers in christ but so were cain and abel so shut the fuck up before i decide to find a rock about it

[deservedgrace]

something that's really been bothering me lately is how the church i was a part of would like... repackage doctrine to make it sound nicer and more acceptable. like, the belief that all humans are evil by nature and deserve eternal torture for the crime of existing is inherently violent and cruel. but my church didn't frame it like that. they framed it as "yes we're ALL evil and wicked and we ALL deserve hell to atone for our sin (being human) BUT god loves you despite you not deserving love or happiness or anything good at all and all you have to do to avoid the pits of hell is accept jesus as your savior isn't that so amazing????" and they framed the crucifixion as this beautiful, selfless act of god by taking our place on the cross instead of "this all-powerful being who created all the rules decided that he required torture, death, and human sacrifice to be able to tolerate us". and it's not "women will be viewed as lesser than men" it's "women must submit to their husbands the same way we all must submit to god it's not dehumanizing it's holy and yes women have different roles but that doesn't make them lesser than and sure we don't have any women in leadership positions in the church and we would never even consider it, come on now that's ridiculous, but that's just because men are supposed to lead because men and women are different and created for different purposes it's just biology". and there are plenty others! i know that the reframing of everything is part of how they can even get people to accept the doctrine in the first place, but being on the outside of it is kind of horrifying. when you get down to the actual beliefs that are held without the distortions and manipulation, so many are violent, cruel, dehumanizing, abusive. but they distort and manipulate these beliefs to make them seem acceptable, morally correct, and redefine what love is and should look like.

[skepticalpigeon]

I think we should open martyr status to abortion doctors who are killed for helping women.

[godsfavoritedumpsterfire]

[holystormfire]

[faeriefully]

some of y’all really buying into the world’s “Christians are supposed to be nothing but sweet and nice and passive in order to be loving” mentality and it shows

[fictionadventurer]

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes reviews I've seen fixate on the story's discussion of whether humans are inherently good or inherently evil as if one side or the other is the correct answer. Meanwhile the story itself is showing that individual choice in every action--choosing to act out of either love or self-interest--is what truly matters in shaping society. A free and stable society requires that people be taught to make selfless choices rather than act out of fear. Instead of oppressing people into fearful order, citizens need to have the freedom to choose the good, and be educated with the values that teach them what good is.

[roses-red-and-pink]

Lolol sometimes it’s so funny reading peoples posts about “Mormon” theology that is based on Exmo stories, tradition/culture but not doctrine, and like random statements by some church leader 200 years ago that was not put into doctrine/canonized, or that he was corrected/reprimanded on, and all of us look back on like “well that guy was racist/sexist. Anyways moving on…” like tbh it just makes me laugh. Like I know our theology is a bit different than mainstream Christianity but y’all don’t need to make it sound like we are out here truly believing half the stuff you say about us.

[confusedbyinterface]

We ought to desire, however, that they should all join with us in loving God, and all the assistance that we either give them or accept from them should tend to that one end. For in the theatres, dens of iniquity though they be, if a man is fond of a particular actor, and enjoys his art as a great or even as the very greatest good, he is fond of all who join with him in admiration of his favorite, not for their own sakes, but for the sake of him whom they admire in common; and the more fervent he is in his admiration, the more he works in every way he can to secure new admirers for him, and the more anxious he becomes to show him to others; and if he find any one comparatively indifferent, he does all he can to excite his interest by urging his favorite’s merits: if, however, he meet with any one who opposes him, he is exceedingly displeased by such a man’s contempt of his favorite, and strives in every way he can to remove it.

St. Augustine really said "Stan Jesus"

[outskirts-of-life]

gave myself a new tattoo w/ my tattoo gun 😸 i'm getting better

[sforzesco]

The great general remained, and then saw a wonderful vision clearly shown him by the very God of the universe himself. In it he seemed to see the divine Meletius, chief of the church of the Antiochenes, investing him with an imperial robe, and covering his head with an imperial crown. The morning after the night in which he had seen the vision he told it to one of his intimate friends, who pointed out that the dream was plain and had nothing obscure or ambiguous about it.

Theodoret Ecclesiastical History 5.6

wahoo! Theodosius! so a repeating phrase in the gospel of Luke is 'do not be afraid,' but specifically: I'm most immediately referencing the annunciation of the shepherds (Luke 2:10) because I used this illustration for the last panel since it. sort of. connects to Valens, Theodosius' predecessor, who went from commoner to king at the will of his older brother. HOWEVER. because of that transformation. I cannot escape the 'do not be afraid' just a chapter before (Luke 1:30) that Gabriel gives to Mary because ascension to the imperial throne is an ugly, violent, and violating transformation. and. well.

Gabriel’s Entrance and Biblical Violence in Luke’s Annunciation Narrative, Michael Pope

also in general. prophetic dreams and visions. horrifying. it never goes well for anyone.

⭐ places I’m at! bsky / pixiv / pillowfort /cohost / cara.app / tip jar!

[cupcakegalaxia]

Just how you can't mix oil and water together; neither can anyone mix something foreign (e.i: witchcraft, other spiritual practices like yoga or reiki, tarot and etc) with Christianity and expect it to jive together. Eventually, they either see their error and repent or they keep digging themselves a hole and fall into lava minecraft style.

[hiddenparabletheory]

What Is Hidden Parable Theory?

I have been getting a lot of questions about my theory. Here is a very short description of it. Check it out. It will blow your mind!

Many of you may be asking yourself “What exactly is Hidden Parable Theory?”. In this article, I will try to help clarify this question. So, what is Hidden Parable Theory? Hidden Parable Theory is a form of numerology that I modified using mathematical behavior based on the golden ratio. Why the golden ratio? Well, many scholars view the golden ratio as evidence of the existence of God or more specifically a Grand Creator of all things. So, it makes sense from a logical standpoint to use it as a way to interpret the Bible. Numerology then is the pathway of connecting numerical relationships that are found with the golden ratio and the Bible. Essentially, this is what makes up Hidden Parable Theory.

Defined as straight numbers Hidden Parable Theory uses these symbolic representations of numbers found in nature to make connections with numbers in the Bible. Another way to think of it is these symbolic numbers are basically interpreted as universal numbers and are also found in other religions as well. So, locating these universal numbers in the Bible is how Hidden Parable Theory makes interpretations that are fundamentally based on elements found in nature. But it does not stop here.

The golden ratio is only one of many examples that exist in nature that support this concept of straight numbers. It is then by making connections with these other scientifically defined models in nature that a well-defined interpretation of the Bible can be made. Then it is by using these straight numbers found in the Bible and religious artifacts that codes to hidden parables are formulated.

[godsfavoritedumpsterfire]

[holystormfire]