#proof of biblical truth

[hebrewbyinbal]

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[marias-assumption]

THE ULTIMATE PROOF THAT JESUS EXISTS

Remember, the legitimacy of faith is not determined by Passion. if you're passionate about thin ice on a lake like "I really believe this thin ice is going to hold me up" that doesn't matter for if you walking out on that thin ice is gonna get you through under it.

So the legitimacy of faith is determined by the trustworthiness of the object of which you're putting your faith. If it's thick ice and you believe just a little and you step out on that ice, it's going to hold you up. Just like you know that if you trust a criminal he's going to rip you off, and if you trust a reliable person that's good, they wont.

Now, here's where it really gets tricky, let's be a skeptic about the thick ice, what's gonna happen? you don't cross to the other side. Even though is thick ice, as reliable as it can be told to you. Right. So let's doubt okay, let's start writing here I doubt you and my brother, and my friend, and my mom... there's nothing wrong with doubt, I doubt myself enough for all of us. but I can push that, I can get to the point where I say in spite of the evidence that you, my brother, my friends, my mom are reliable... I'm not going to trust you, I'm going to be a hyperskeptical. Certain skepticism is good, enough to have doubts and questions, but when it turns into hypers skepticism watch out.

Why is it so dangerous: because I'll never have the privilege of being your friend, or my brother's sister, my friend's friend, my mom's son or daughter. if I'm always skeptical, If I'm always doubting you I will miss my friendship with you. and him or whoever. And you can say "yeah but that's an extreme"... I don't think it is as Extreme as you think this is, what it's at stake is you can miss your life, or even love in it, is not as easy to discern weather you feel the right amount of love in your life yet, are you loving enough?. The usual type of personality we see for this is: "I'm so smart because I question everything", why are you questioning something this good for you though? what are you afraid of loosing? because if you loose something you don't want to get rid off we must assume it's something you know it's bad, because this will only add to your life. The issue with these people is you provide absolute proof that their questioning is leading them down the wrong path and they're still unwilling to accept that as a proof Point.

Why hyper-skepticism is problematic then. Yes- you could miss out on good experiences, like friendship, but also... this hyper-skepticism is illogical and self-defeating. Overly skeptical individuals often claim there is no objective truth or that all truth is relative, but both statements are self-defeating. The first claims to be true while denying the existence of truth, and the second claims to be objective while denying objectivity, resulting in contradictions. If skeptics acknowledge this, they might admit that truth exists, even if they think it's impossible to fully understand it. But again, saying "we cannot know the truth, that's reason enough" it's contradictory.

So let's bring up science and faith in God, shall we?- Science can prove that if I put arsenic in Grandma’s tea, she’ll die. But science can never answer the question, “Why should I not put arsenic in her tea to get the inheritance?” That’s an ethical question... Science deals with processes—the physical processes, and that’s wonderful, but it cannot address whether I should or shouldn’t put arsenic in my Grandma’s tea. That's an ethical, moral question, which has nothing to do with science. That’s why there's truth scientifically and there’s truth ethically, and also a truth about God.

What's the logical explanation for the feeling of love?, for example. why does an animal need love as well? why we?. Because if you live a life based purely on logic, could you believe in friendship?, love?, or any of these things that have no natural explanation?. You tell me, what’s the logical explanation for the feeling of love?.

Next time you see your mom, or friend are you just going to say, "I feel my oxytocin going off right now, so i feel oxytocin towards you"? No, that’s not what you’d say. "You love them". But what is love then if (from an atheist’s perspective) there’s no God? Then it’s just oxytocin, neurochemicals. At this point in humanity, I'm yet unable to give a scientific explanation. If, in 50 years, the brain could be mapped out, and we could say exactly why we feel what we feel, would belief or faith in Jesus decrease? No. Still doesn't attack the core values. We've happen to hear stories about people and their personal experience with Jesus, which isn’t scientific but helped them through a lot of difficulties, such as getting out of addiction, forgiving the murderer of a beloved one, etc. It’s a different type of knowledge. And perhaps faith is a good answer to that.

An for this we cannot be hyper-skeptical. Jesus said, "Beware of false prophets; they come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves, and they will eat your life." And your life will be eaten by you not knowing. The truth, a loving truth, is at the palm of our hands, do not miss it.

This brings us to the question: what can we know about religious truth claims? A good place to start is with extra-biblical sources supporting the Bible. There are 11 prominent sources, including historians like Josephus, Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger, and writings like the Dead Sea Scrolls, which confirm that Jesus was a real historical figure who died under Pontius Pilate, and that his followers believed he rose from the dead. Many of them suffered and died for their beliefs, and psychology suggests people don’t willingly die for something they know is a lie. We can verify these accounts through early church writings and historians like Josephus.

If you want to explore this more, check out Dr. Gary Habermas’s “minimal facts” argument for the resurrection, which historians find difficult to refute.

[granonine]

Destruction of Hazor

[jozor-johai]

It's no secret that the Red Temple of Volantis, and the vast majority of the R'hllorists in Essos, are considering Dany to be Azor Ahai reborn.

And it's equally no secret that Melisandre is off making a splinter sect of her own—rather than agree with the Dany-as-messiah hegemony, she's set her sights on Stannis Baratheon.

But these separate sects—and their potential—take on ever more meaning with the biblical parallels of their respective figureheads.

Dany has a series of paralleled images with Moses, if not wholly chronologically aligned: leading her people away from slavery, leading her people through a desert, communing with a magical fire and returning with a deified presence. I believe, in fact, that in the sense of this parallel she's in the middle of her trip to the top of Sinai, where some her followers believe her dead and begin to follow a false god leader in her absence.

So the Essosi branch of R'hllorism has this figurehead who is heavily paralleled with Moses...

and then Jon, then, for his part, is a heavy-handed Jesus figure, as we all know, with his betrayal and death at the hands of his brothers, his close allies with those who society rejects (Sam the effeminate scholar and Satin the prostitute), who is the de facto "king" of a refugee minority (the Wildlings) and who will be resurrected to return as a deity in truth.

The truth of Jon's return has the possibility to unite the two major factions of R'hllorists in Westeros. There's the small sect which is the Brotherhood Without Banners, or at least those not following Stoneheart, because the majority of their faith was earned through the proof of resurrection (of Beric) and who might follow another leader if he, too, seemed chosen by R'hllor (and was not as creepy or vengeful as LSH). Then there is the slightly larger sect which is Stannis' host and the Queen's Men in particular, who follow Melisandre's lead and believe in Stannis as Azor Ahai. If Melisandre changed her opinion for whatever reason—perhaps also through the "proof" of divine intervention via resurrection, then she and her followers, too, might follow Jon in the "cult of resurrection" so to speak.

Which would give us a geopolitical religious split along R'hllorist belief in who exactly is Azor Ahai, the Essosi sect believing that it's Dany, slave-freeing Moses-figure, and the Westerosi sect believing that it's Jon, resurrected king Jesus-figure.

Of course all of this comes with the caveat that Dany has her own Jesus parallels (wise men visiting her, "born" under a star) and Jon has his own Moses parallels, and of course that Jesus and Moses have plenty of parallels even themselves. I mean their status as major messiah figures is probably more nuanced than Moses/Jesus but it does make for an interesting divide. Not sure what it all means, to be honest, beyond noticing it.

[tonydaddingham]

take me up / cast me away

so this is going to be a veritable word vomit but this is actually so exciting to me; we obviously affiliate aziraphale with the flaming sword and both its biblical and GO narrative implications, but the catch that @frog-person made on this particular shot has got every synapse firing.

(and therefore this is a meta for @frog-person and them only, mwah✨💕)

not only is the sword going through their hands, but it's one sword of many in a particularly fiendish magic trick (or at least an earlier version of one made popular by the morettis in the 70s), and the box itself with all of its swords is relatively prominent in most of the scene, as background props go (more on this later).

now, i don't know enough about magic tricks or illusions to understand the significance that this aspect may have, if any - possibly the element of trust, sure, but also the sheer ability to hoodwink the audience into accepting that there is no way that whatever is inside could possibly survive such a trick. however, i simply want to just talk about the sword in general.

let's start with connotations and symbolism behind the image of the sword. first of all, it's a phallic symbol and is largely used in the context of knighthood, chivalry, and sovereignty. it symbolises justice, and truth, and righteous and merciful power. to hold the meter of life and death in your hands, and to be trusted to use it in conscience and clemency.

in alchemy, the sword was shown as a symbol of purification, between life and death. similar connotations in other histories, literature, and customs read the sword as being the key to balance between truth and enlightenment. later into history, especially in the middle ages, swords of discernible quality were understandably resource-intensive to make and therefore came to symbolise wealth, but moreso in the context of strength and glory, and further then a symbol of protection and shelter. traditionally, oaths and pledges would be made to the sword (literally, sworn-sword), and in turn swords were - and continue to be - used to elevate you to a higher station (eg. use of a knighting sword).

the imagery of the sword in the box is evocative of the sword excalibur, probably one of the most famous swords in literature and legend. cliff notes: excalibur was the believed magical sword of king arthur, and was written in some accounts (specifically in this case in the poem Merlin by robert de boron) to have lodged in an anvil, sat atop a stone, and that whoever could pull it from the anvil would be proof of rightful lineage of uther pendragon - and therefore, by divine right, king of the britons. obviously, arthur was said to have pulled the sword from the stone.

excalibur's symbolism can be interpreted somewhat as being as i said above; tennyson wrote that the words inscribed on excalibur as being (paraphrased): "take me up" / "cast me away"; to indicate that the sword is a weapon that should be used sparingly, only when necessary, and never without mercy or fair judgement. it is a power that can destroy, and should be safeguarded from turning that power to insidiousness. a call-to-arms when taken up, and a grace and peace when cast away.

(im a whore for arthurian legend ok, im from southwest uk) (and have a tattoo on my arm of those words, im a basic cornish legend bitch)

now, i realise that excalibur is not literally a part of the GO story (that we know of, notwithstanding the flashback in s1), and the sword we know in GO has a rather different narrative importance (or does it?). so, we know that in genesis the flaming sword was given to the cherubim in eden to guard adam and eve, and this is pretty much transposed to GO right up until aziraphale does the Cool Thing and gives it away, meant as a means of protection.

however, given that it ends up in the hands of humanity's personification of war, it bears a rather vivid mirror to the intention of excalibur; that in casting it away, aziraphale inadvertently introduces the concept of destruction to humanity.

but im now going to move away from the symbolism of the sword itself (i promise im trying to organise this meta into some semblance of order), and instead look at it in terms of when aziraphale actually holds it. we start with him giving it to adam and eve:

and then when he takes it up at the airfield:

and in the time bubble with adam and crowley:

now this is really obvious, i realise, but it does have some bearing for me on the image we see in the 40s minisode. sword up: ready to fight. sword down: ready to rest. it's a reasonably common occurrence to see in heraldry (by extension in logos/emblems and even on gravestones) two crossed swords pointing up or pointing down. usually, for the former, that the prospective wielder is ready to battle, is prepared and willing, and is or always has been braced for the onslaught.

the latter however indicates that either the fighting is done, or that no threat is meant - and that this can be in death, in surrender or defeat, or out of conscientious choice. that the wielder may have chosen mercy, and to act with peace and without conflict. one step further - sheathed sword goes on to symbolise that a fight is not anticipated; not necessarily in the sense that the wielder is unprepared, but instead that they are not turning to violence as an option.

this is where i think the presence of the sword in the shots from the minisode, with all of the connotations of it from eden (and its similar, in my eyes, likeness to excalibur) come into play. as i said before, the sword/s are notable visually in the whole magic shop scene. its in primary focus along with the desk as they enter, its the first display aziraphale goes towards, and it oscillates in the background from to aziraphale's right, to between him and crowley, and latterly back again:

summarised thoughts on this, because it will otherwise be a truly garbled mess:

the sheer presence of it reminds the audience that a fight may be imminent, even if the scene/story is currently at peace

that whilst the narrative is not currently in full combat, it pays heed to not only the events of ep4 being somewhat of a fight, but the events that precipitate in ep5 and ep6, and leading into s3

that where it is currently cast in the figurative stone, it may be called upon to take up arms, and confer suggestions of sovereignty, divine power, and strength

that victory (however that may conclude) may only be possible with the right person in power; aziraphale as the new supreme archangel and prince of heaven

it also confers the necessity of protection, of justice, and of mercy, being elevated to a position where you have the power to make that judgement

all things which aziraphale intended by giving away his own sword, and is what he indicates in ep6 that he intends to deliver to heaven once he ascends

that this fight, whenever it may come, may literally divide him and crowley in the story that lies ahead

...you don't need me to explain this bit contextually, right?

the last thing that stumped me, however, is that there ought to have been something in ep6 that almost bookended all of this imagery (at least temporarily, until we have a s3), or at least indicated whether or not aziraphale chooses to take up the sword again like he does at the end of s1. that shows him prepared for a fight, to defend the weak, and uphold judgement in mercy... and then it hit me:

of course there bloody is.

[no1frogfan]

Impending, part 3

Matsukawa Issei x afab reader

Word count: ~3.4k

Tags & warnings: SMUT-MINORS & AGELESS BLOGS DO NOT INTERACT. Fingering, oral sex (f receiving), p in v. There is cum. Pubes exist in this world. A little angst, pining, guilt, and desperation (my four favorite flavors).

Note: Finally finished this mini-series. The word counts have grown too much each time, but what can I say? — I want him emotionally, spiritually, biblically.

part 1 | part 2

You can’t stay in bed forever.

Probably.

Not unless you can convince Hiro to bring you something for dinner, but that’s never going to happen.

A particularly angry gurgle from your stomach makes you roll out of bed and pick your way to the kitchen. The tackiness of your skin is proof you made the right choice to sleep the day away. Summers are always stifling, and the humidity lingers even after the sun has set, preventing the air from dropping to comfortable temperatures.

A cool gust from the fridge provides a welcome relief, though it’s unfortunate the shelves are empty. That’s the worst part of being at home — the isolation. The trees and hills are beautiful, even the warbling of the birds at 4am is nice, but grocery stores and restaurants are few and far between. You could walk to the ancient ramen place a few streets down, or the sukiyaki place a few streets up, but neither sound at all appealing in this heat.

“Did mom and dad leave us anything for dinner?” You shout toward the open basement door.

No answer.

“I know you can hear me.”

You can’t see the middle finger Makki holds up. “I’m getting pizza later.”

“Can we order now? I’m starving,” you pad downstairs with a whine.

Sprawled on the couch, Hiro is sporadically illuminated by some anime show on tv. While you don’t recognize it, you can at least pick out the white-haired guy Hiro likes landing a couple of (over)dramatic punches on a black-haired guy.

“How are you even hungry? You’ve just been sleeping all day.”

Your brother doesn’t take his eyes off the tv where the black-haired one finally managed to dodge, and now the white-haired one is strategizing (at length) about his next move.

“You’re one to talk! As if you’ve mov-”

“I’m hungry too,” a deep baritone chimes in seemingly from below you.

You leap back with a yelp, squinting into the darkness at your feet. Out of the shadows, Issei’s form slowly takes shape. Honestly, you’re shocked you didn’t step on him.

“That’s not what you said 5 minutes ago,” Makki grumbles, but picks up his phone to place the order.

Issei shrugs, reaching his arm out toward you.

You dodge beyond his fingertips and beat a hasty retreat back up the stairs, calling out over your shoulder, “order me a Hawaiian pizza.”

“No way in hell. That’s disgusting.”

Fake retching sounds follow you to the top.

The cold spray of the shower is calming, necessary even, to wash the stickiness from your skin and quiet your frazzled nerves.

That happened almost a week ago, and seeing him in your house every day has only made things more fraught. While you haven’t exactly been avoiding Issei, you haven’t tried to talk to him either. For your brother’s sake you should probably make clear that it was a mistake; one that will never happen again. You could blame it on the beer or the weed, but the truth is, Issei plagues your thoughts even while sober — his breath hot on your neck, fingertips digging into the fat of your hips, the utter fullness when he pushed into you.

Before that night, the image of him as a gawky preteen was all your mind could conjure up. But now… Your fingers aren’t enough to relieve the pressure anymore.

Your encounter unleashed some latent magnetic field, prickling your senses and hopelessly drawing you toward him at every turn. You welcome his attention more than you care to admit, so, unsurprisingly, it’s been hard not to make it weird, and harder not to second-guess every single interaction these days. Since when did he know your favorite snacks? Did he used to stare at you so much? Had he always been this touchy?

Or is he just hoping for a repeat of the other night?

The possibility stirs up both anxiety and relief. Except for the teeny, tiny detail of being your little brother’s best friend — you know, the one person outside of family that Hiro places 100% of his trust in — Issei would top your list of fuck buddies (and if you’re honest, maybe even more than that).

What’s been most confusing is that Issei doesn’t seem bothered, and you’re not sure why that irritates you so much. He’s never seemed like the kind of guy who would treat you like a notch in his bedpost, but then again, best friend’s sibling is a perennially popular porn trope for a reason. Surely he’s not immune.

None of that really matters though. Hiro’s been acting strange lately, like he knows something’s up. Half the time, he books it out of a room as soon as you walk in. God knows how he’d react if he found out what happened. Issei said he wouldn’t care, but how true is that? You try to imagine how you’d feel if one of your friends told you they’d slept with Hiro, and you can’t help but be…one, grossed out because you really don’t want to think about it. And two, well…protective, angry maybe. He might be an ass, but he’s still your brother, and you’d never do anything to actually hurt him.

A knock breaks into your anxious musings.

It’s then you notice you’re standing vacantly in the middle of your room. Somehow, you’d finished showering and walked back while lost in thought.

“Go away!”

Hiro is the last person you want to talk to right now; especially not before you can get your thoughts under control.

Footsteps shuffle away, but instead of the telltale creak of the stairs, they pause, then turn back toward the door.

The door jiggles and clicks open.

“What part of-”

Except it’s not Hiro. It’s Issei.

His audacity dumbfounds you, but only for a second.

“The hell?! Get out!”

Hesitation flickers across his face but he takes a step forward.

“Can we talk?”

“NO.” You wrap the towel tighter around yourself.

When he doesn’t move, you reiterate the point by whirling on your heels and stomping toward the dresser. The underwear drawer suddenly captures your full attention, and you rummage through it with single-minded focus.

The door shuts behind you with another click, and you let out a shaky breath.

The relief is short-lived.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” Goosebumps break out all over your skin at his words.

“That’s not true.”

The lavender scent of your shampoo tickles his nose. With you faced resolutely away, he steps closer and allows his eyes to sweep over the droplets gleaming across your shoulders.

“No?”

His lips brush against the base of your neck, and whatever retort you had fizzles on your tongue.

“Issei,” you whimper, “you said you wanted to talk.”

You lean back into his touch and feel him grin against the juncture of your neck. His hands, big and warm and firm, slide up under the towel to knead at your soft thighs, rapidly emptying your brain.

He gives you a gentle nudge toward the bed.

“I don’t think we should do this,” you protest, but your lack of conviction is apparent in how eagerly you obey, practically tripping over yourself to perch on the edge of the mattress.

He raises one thick eyebrow. “Why?”

“Hiro’s going to find out.”

Issei unbuttons his shirt with unhurried movements, unveiling the smooth musculature of his chest. Its slopes and dips are made more dramatic thanks to the yellow-orange light of the single desk lamp. You swallow thickly, eyes drawn to the sharp cut of his collarbones and the faded scar on his right hip.

“Makki knows. He doesn’t care.”

His shorts and underwear quickly land in a pile on the floor.

Even in the harsh light, his dick is nothing short of mouth-watering. A pretty flush tip sits enticingly over its thick, veiny length. Coarse hairs curl tightly at the base, trimmed short to reveal more of him.

He kneels and shuffles forward to tug the towel from your clutch, uttering an appreciative groan before he tosses it aside.

“Fuck, just look at you.”

Your objections devolve into gasping moans when he pushes you back to lay open-mouthed kisses across your collarbones and down your chest, sluggishly mouthing over your hips, down the tops of your legs and back up, licking a stripe along the tender skin of your inner thigh as he splays your legs up and out. He dives in to suck on your clit and you almost choke.

Your entire body tenses with pleasure when he starts to lap at you. But it’s the way he meets your gaze with hooded eyes — intoxicated from a single taste — that kickstarts the last ounce of resistance left in your body.

“Issei, if you- fuck that’s ahhh- you’re just looking to get your dick wet…”

That stills his tongue. Even though you’re the one protesting, you can’t help but whine now that he’s actually stopped.

“That’s not…” He frowns, a mixture of your juices and his saliva glistening on his chin. In one fluid motion, Issei slides you off the bed and onto his lap. A shudder runs through him when his erection glides against your folds, though it doesn’t distract him.

“Is that what you think this is?”

You’re not sure what answer he’s looking for, so you stay silent, head turned to avoid his eyes.

He scrutinizes you for what seems like an age. How could you not know? All the times he’s tried to impress you? All the things he’s done in the hopes you’ll notice him? All the years he’s trailed behind you — to your house, to university, and even to Sendai?

“Do you remember when your parents made you start watching us after school?”

Your face scrunches in confusion at the change in topic, but he’s insistent.

“Do you remember? Right after you started high school?”

“Ok…yeah,” you indulge, “I remember. I’d just joined photography club and had to quit like a month later. I was pissed — they’d never cared about leaving us home alone before so I didn’t understand why I had to babysit you guys.”

“They didn’t actually care. I made up some lie — I don’t even remember what it was now — to convince my parents we needed a sitter. I figured they’d make you do it, and they did.”

You look up in confusion. Is he…blushing?

“And in eighth grade, when I needed help with math… I actually bombed my tests on purpose for a month because I knew my parents would ask you.”

Wait… “Was that what your fights were about?”

Hiro and Issei were thick as thieves, the only exceptions being in your first and last years of high school. Their fights got heated too, though neither ever told you what set them off, no matter how many times you tried to pry it out of them. The second time, Issei didn’t come over for almost a month afterward (you remember because you had to go to his house to tutor him) but things always eventually went back to normal.

Issei huffs a soft chuckle. “Yeah, Makki figured it out.”

“Figured what out?”

“It’s not obvious?” Issei drops his head onto your shoulder with something between a groan and a laugh. “I liked you. A lot. I still do.”

He admits it so casually, like he’s commenting on the weather. Like he and Hiro haven’t kept this secret for over a decade. Like it’s hardly a confession at all.

For once, you’re the one struggling to keep up.

“Wait…you like me?”

You feel a muffled snort. “That’s literally what I’ve been saying this whole time.”

“And Hiro’s…not mad? But he’s been acting so weird lately,” you point out.

“Oh that. He keeps trying to ‘give us space’ or something. I told him to cool it.”

“Oh.” Huh. Maybe it was obvious. You were just too worried about Hiro to notice that every time he flew out of a room with some flimsy excuse, you were left alone with Issei. Issei, who you like more than you expected. Who’s had a crush on you for more than a decade. Whose lap you’re currently nestled in, naked.

“Does that mean we can…” You shift, jerking when your clit catches his spongy tip.

He laughs, grinding his hips up to meet you.

“We sure can.”

You’re still wet, really wet, you’re reminded when your pussy glides against him, and getting more aroused by the second as Issei stares, mesmerized by the slick trail you leave along the length of his cock.

His hands slide down to give your ass an excited squeeze before lifting you up onto the edge of the bed.

Dextrous fingers part your puffy lips as he rests his cheek against your thigh, giving him the perfect view of your dripping cunt. He thumbs lightly at your clit and heaves a sigh of contentment when your hips buck in response.

“Didn’t get to enjoy this last time.”

You bite back a moan when he slides one long finger into you. It reaches deep, and you squirm in encouragement when he sinks a second one in. He works them nimbly, curling and scissoring them while rolling your clit, breaking you down into a whiny mess in seconds, until you’re dripping down his wrists and onto the sheets.

You’re so distracted by his fingers that you don’t notice him dive in, just feel his lips wrap around your clit with a slurp. He licks and sucks at you eagerly, and you can only gasp and writhe, trying to steady yourself with a fist in his soft wavy hair. The walls echo with your cries mingled with Issei’s enthusiastic groans and the wet suction of your cunt around his fingers.

It catches you by surprise when you cum, cresting fast and hard, pulling your body taut and whiting out your vision. Before you realize it, you’re already quaking with aftershocks, trying to twist away from the overwhelming sensation of him licking and suckling dreamily as you come down.

When he finally pulls his fingers out, he makes a show of sucking them clean, stroking himself as he smirks up at you.

He pushes himself up off the floor and god, fuck. He’s irresistible, his cock bobbing heavily between his legs as he gets on his hands and knees above you.

Issei leans down, humming happily when he wraps his mouth around your right nipple. He massages your chest with one hand and grips his cock with the other to smear his tip along your sopping pussy.

It feels good, but you squirm and push at his shoulders. “Want you in my mouth,” you beg.

He placates you with a hungry kiss. “Next time, ok? Next time. I can barely- I don’t think I can last long,” he admits wryly, “but next time we’ll do anything you want.”

Your eyelids flutter shut in anticipation when he lines himself up.

He pushes in slowly, first the fat mushroom tip, then the whole thick length of him, rocking himself in, out, in, inch by inch until he’s pressed flush against you. Issei groans when your face contorts with pleasure. The stretch is incredible. He stuffs you so full, finally hitting that place you’ve been unable to reach.

He takes things slow. Too slow. He wasn’t able to savor you before, but he’s not about to make the same mistake again. His long, languid strokes are just enough to have you grinding against him in frustration with every thrust.

“Let me enjoy this for a minute,” he rasps.

His hands trail restlessly across your body, caressing and squeezing every inch of skin he can reach. He kisses his way down your neck to roll his tongue around your nipple, biting and sucking one before moving to the other, and back again.

After what feels like hours, your patience finally gives out.

You smack him hard on the ass. “Issei! Fuck me already.”

That jolts his hips into action. The length of his body is laid on top of you, pinning your legs up against your shoulders as he pistons into you with surprising force. Wet slaps alternate with the loud squeak of the mattress.

You begin to quiver, your whole body shaking as the heat builds in your core. He reaches deep, so so deep, making you wail every time he bumps your clit and his cock hits that perfect spot inside of you over and over again.

“Ohhh- fuck, Issei please I’m-”

He barely has time to blink before you’re falling apart at the seams again. Wave after blinding wave of ecstasy crash over you, relentless.

Your pussy clenches hard, gripping his cock so firmly he can barely move. Not a second later, he pulls out with a shout. Through hazy eyes, you see his mouth drop open. He fists his cock only once before his body stiffens, convulsing as jets of hot cum shoot out to land on your cheeks, shoulders, chest, stomach, dribbling out to coat your pubes, before finally leaving him twitching.

The room fills with hoarse pants.

You laugh weakly at the mess. “Wow, you came a lot.”

“I think I almost blacked out,” he croaks.

With great effort, he pushes himself off the bed and returns with the box of tissues from your desk. He cleans you up with care, just like last time.

“I wanted to last longer,” he mumbles, pressing a sheepish kiss to your sternum before collapsing on you, pinning you down with his weight.

It does something funny to your heart to witness him like this, so different from his usual confidence.

“Next time,” you assure him.

“Next time?” He looks up, almost reverent.

“Yeah.” You smile and brush the damp curls away from his eyes.

Next time. He breaks out in an obnoxious grin. There’s going to be a next time. And if there’s a next time, there might be a time after that.

“You won’t even need to introduce me to your parents.”

You snort. “Ok, pump the brakes.”

When you finally make your way back to the kitchen (with Issei practically holding you up as you wobbled), you find one Hawaiian pizza and two-thirds of a pepperoni pizza sitting on the counter.

Issei loads up a plate for you both before heading down to the basement. You grab some cold beers and follow suit, pausing in the doorway to take a few calming breaths.

You don’t hear any yelling or scuffling — a positive sign. Hopefully, that means Hiro isn’t too angry.

You take one wary step, then another.

When you reach the bottom, your eyes hesitantly find Hiro’s. There’s an uneasy moment when he frowns at you from where he’s seated on the floor before he gives you a curt nod. It’s stiff, but definitely not angry, not even upset.

Your shoulders untense.

Issei waves you over to the couch where he settles you securely in his lap, his arms encircling your waist. You cast another wary glance at Hiro who just rolls his eyes.

“Glad you’re finally done ‘getting some water,’” Makki snipes. “I’ve been waiting forever to start the next episode.”

“I’m definitely not thirsty anymore if you know what I mean.” Mattsun wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

Hiro’s face twists, revolted. “Ugh- I- ugh god, I don’t want to think about-” he sputters. His eyes flick to where Issei’s hands grope at your thighs and ass. “Whoa, ok rule number one: not when I’m right here. And rule number two-” there’s an uncomfortable pause before he mutters, “keep it down next time.”

Mattsun’s not at all chagrined. In fact, he puffs out his chest proudly.

You, on the other hand, shrink in absolutely mortification. Right when Issei opens his mouth to make another (probably vulgar) retort, you shove a slice of pizza in…with a little more force than you intended.

He chokes in surprise and your brother lets out a mean snicker. “Perfect timing! Serves you right.”

You expect him to continue bickering with Hiro, but Issei instead flashes you a dopey grin. “Thank you baby,” he says sweetly, muffled though it is by a mouthful of food.

The gleeful smirk drops right off Makki’s face and he whirls back toward the tv with a loud gag.

“You’re welcome,” you giggle. Your brain’s still playing catch-up with everything that’s happened today, but you think you like where this is heading.

[contemplatingoutlander]

"What influence, in fact, have ecclesiastical establishments had on society? In some instances they have been seen to erect a spiritual tyranny on the ruins of the civil authority; on many instances they have been seen upholding the thrones of political tyranny; in no instance have they been the guardians of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wish to subvert the public liberty may have found an established clergy convenient auxiliaries. A just government, instituted to secure and perpetuate it, needs them not." --James Madison,  Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments (1785)

This is an excellent article by Timothy J. Sabo. It is a long article, but well worth reading. Sabo refutes all the claims by "Christian" nationalists that the Constitution was "inspired by God," and that the Founders wrote the Constitution based on a Christian understanding of God's will.

The BIGGER Lie is the misconception that the U.S. Constitution was “inspired by God.” Let me paint the picture for you. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness — that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” You know these words, right? They are NOT in the U.S. Constitution. They are from the Declaration of Independence. [...] The Founders had their own faith-based beliefs which varied greatly, but they did not incorporate those beliefs into the U.S. Constitution. While the Declaration of Independence strives to connect us with a Creator who guarantees “unalienable rights,” the Constitution never mentions either. [...] The Founders wrote a lot about liberty, and equality, but those were words meant for them — the white men who would rule the nation. These were concepts that were never supposed to come to fruition for those “undeserving” souls: the indigenous tribes, African slaves, and women.

Sabo goes on to show just how much the Founders believed "liberty, and equality" didn't apply to indigenous people, Blacks, and women--and how the "Christians" back then used the Bible to justify slavery, second class citizenship for women, and the right to conquer the "savages" who inhabited the land.

Sabo also refutes the idea that "unalienable rights" come from the Biblical God:

"When we compare the Word of God to the Laws of Man, the most interesting fact we find is that the God of the Bible never mentions any “unalienable rights.” Instead of granting Man rights, God laid out commandments for Man to follow; quite a big difference from what God demands and what the American government granted."

As further proof that the Founders did not consider the U.S. to be founded as a Christian nation, Sabo points to the 1796 U.S. Senate ratified Treaty of Tripoli, which states in Article 11:

If the Constitution — the foundational legal document of the nation — was inspired by God, why then are the Founders, just five years after ratification, stating that the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion?

Read the article for more debunks regarding the right-wing "Christian" nationalist belief that the U.S. Constitution was inspired by God and that the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation. But here's one last thought from Sabo:

The Founders were not “inspired by God” when writing the new Constitution. The truth is they were “inspired to keep God out of it.” What if America, the great nation “created by God for Christians” was created by men who decided to keep God out of the foundation of the nation? What if those Founders were not “inspired by God,” but instead were inspired to keep God out of the business of the government entirely?

_______________ *NOTE: The 100 million excess indigenous deaths in the Americas is an estimate. According to D. M. Smith (2017), some modern estimates can be as low as 70 million, although Smith estimated 175 million excess indigenous deaths in the Western Hemisphere from 1492 – 1900. Smith also estimated 13 million excess indigenous deaths from 1492 – present in the lands that now constitute the U.S. & Puerto Rico. All images (before edits) via source Thanks to @wtfnameisavailable for a comment on this post that led me to the above article by Timothy J. Sabo.

[angelthefirst1]

For me, this is the smoking gun that she's coming...🚬🔫

Jesus-Alpha and Omega.

The beginning is the end, and the end is the beginning. She'll come back with a convergence of the same signs that were present when she left.

I keep harping on about it because it's true. It's Infinity wars, and it's biblical. ♾️

For me, this is the smoking gun...

Both the show in 106 and Emily are repeating a MAJOR sign that began at her departure, the sign of team delusional's conception.

Believe it or not, you, yes, YOU get a mention in this Sunday's episode and also in Emily's recent instagram post.

When she "died", team delusional began. When she comes back, it will be mentioned.

Listen to the clip for 106...

Rick "Are we crazy?" 🤪 Michonne "Certifiable." 🤪

Aka Delusional.

The on-screen and off-screen mentions of team delusional, mean this Sunday we will get something that makes us no longer delusional, and that can only happen with proof she's alive.

Emily posted about conspiracy theories and pizza on the same day. 🍕

Back in season 5 right after Beth "died," Norman posted the pizza of Daryl carrying Beth. Then, team delusional with it's crazy conspiracy theories about Beth being alive and returning was born.

Delusional means holding false beliefs, but what if you end up being right?

That would mean that the truth is a lie, and a lie is the "truth"

Everything in this show is using biblical end times symbolism, and the whole concept of team delusional is no different.

The lie is the truth concept is coming from this verse from Isaiah 5.20, who wrote this about the end times...

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Lies are truth, and truth are lies.

The logical negation symbol reverses the truth of something. That's why the logical negation symbol was placed on a tree outside the CHURCH in Coda (end). Jesus was crucified on a tree.

The other thing they have copied is to repeat this biblical last day's sign associated with Christ's return...

2 Peter 3.3

Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.a 4“Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask.

Team delusional was set up to be mocked and scoffed at for believing she'll return.

Michonne and Rick, going into the CRM to get the Echelon briefing and dossier, then go home, is a repeat of the season five group going in to get Beth and Carol...

We are going back in to get Beth, and this time, the truth!

You! yes, YOU are mentioned by Emily and Rick and Michonne in the next episode of TOWL.

(Whoever voted "What's TOWL and who's Beth?" In the Shrek pole, the YOU part doesn't apply to you) 🧟‍♀️🧟🙄

#not delusional

#right

#truth vs lies

🍕🤪✝️♾️✝️🤪🍕

[punch-love]

No other gods!!!

I love this one. It's a character study on Mobius's relationship with religion and faith pre-series and how Loki and realizing the truth about the TVA changes him as a person.

In the beginning, there was chaos. It’s page one of the manual, neat typeface printed onto matte, and it’s as close to biblical as anything at the TVA comes close to.

Mobius’s original copy is split on the spine, yellow tabbed and worn from a thousand years of curiosity. The replacement sits next to it, pristine and ordered. It’s proof, he thinks, of faith.

It’s the first thing they give you when you wake up. Mobius remembers blinking as a bright light was shined in front of his eyes and not knowing anything but his name. When they had him print it neat on the inside page, he wrote it three times.

[divinatorydoll]

asteroid lazarus (3602) in astrology: ☄

lazarus is the famous biblical figure in the gospel of john who is risen from death by jesus after four days in his tomb. a few days ago, i made this tweet talking about asteroid lazzaro and how it can be used to locate issues that we deal with several times

this asteroid can also represent issues that need to be discussed over and over to vindicate a particular person — situations that must fester to be resolved. in the bible, jesus declines to heal lazarus of his sickness so his resurrection later can act as proof of jesus’ divinity

after reading more of the story surrounding lazarus, i also made these interpretations based on a few specific verses:

john 11:11 - 14 — “After he had said this, he went on to tell them, 'Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.' His disciples replied, ‘Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.’ Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead.’”

astrologically speaking, this could relate to conflicts where people will constantly misinterpret you until you speak to them in a completely direct manner. jesus' disciples confuse his words until he frankly tells them that lazarus has died

whichever house asteroid lazzaro is placed in will represent the areas of your life that you may need to be extremely honest with people. for example, i have this asteroid in my 4H (family, one's parents) and my mom really hates being lied to, so she raised me to always be truthful

john 11:21 — "'Lord,' Martha said to Jesus, 'if you had been here, my brother would not have died.'"

john 11:32 — "When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.'"

these are two particular verses where martha and mary literally repeat the same thing to jesus, which is another reason why i connect this asteroid to repetitive issues. jesus has to affirm to them multiple times that he is the son of god before he finally resurrects lazarus

this asteroid could be associated with situations where people cannot be convinced by your words, only your actions. jesus waits for lazarus to die for the sole purpose of convincing his disciples and witnesses that he is god's child

john 11:35 — "Jesus wept."

this is one of the only times that jesus actually cries in the bible. in this particular book, jesus grieves with martha and mary over the loss of their brother; weeping out of sympathy for their pain

i think there's a big element of sympathy and understanding to this asteroid. in relationships, for example, this could represent recurring issues that are ultimately resolved through mutual understanding and support. jesus is only able to comfort martha and mary by crying with them

where's asteroid lazzaro (3602) in your chart ? let me know in the replies :)

book a reading !!

my linktree

[crashingwithgrace]

I like the biblical parallels of Draco bearing a mark and Harry bearing a scar

According to the bible, Cain killed his brother Abel, and then received a mark from god to make sure he wouldn't be killed in revenge. Jesus had scars on his hands (to prove he was telling the truth about resurrecting) after he was betrayed by Judas and nailed to the cross.

So the scar refers to the betrayed, and the mark refers to the betrayer.

Draco promised to kill Dumbledore, and in return Voldemort gave him the mark, (supposedly) as a promise of protection in return.

Harry was betrayed by Wormtail and got the scar as proof that he survived the killing curse that followed.

[nine-of-diamonds]

A List of References in Keep Your Enemies Close (Wait, Not That Close)

Since it’s somehow been a year since I posted KYEC (to the warmest reception I’ve ever gotten from a fic!! Seriously y’all are the best—I can’t believe I’m still getting comments a year after publication), I compiled a complete (as far as I can remember, at least) list of all of the references (with a few explanations about my writing choices) within the fic for funsies (and also bc I put Way Too Much effort into melding all of these elements together and wanted a full list of all the things I put together that were not intended to be put together lmao)

Oh, and if it wasn’t obvious… spoilers for the fic lol — if you haven't read it but are interested in what the heck I'm talking about, it's here on ao3!

(I’m just calling every segment separated by a line break a scene even though some of them aren’t reallyyy an actual scene for the sake of clarity)

Scene 1:

One line in and I’ve already name-dropped the Watchers: not much to say about them at this point since it’s pretty much the usual “godly beings that resemble indigo biblically-accurate angels that watch people.” All I really added here was the threads of Fate mention that’ll become relevant later

Scene 3:

Grian-proof vault: this one’s a double reference! The obvious one is from Season 9 (Grian’s ep 10) where Mumbo challenges Grian to get into his vault without breaking blocks and it turns out to be a decoy vault, but the second one is from Season 6 (Grian ep 100), where Grian, Bdubs, and Iskall (as the Dragon Bros) break into Mumbo’s vault to induct him into the cult club by guessing the code to be 1-2-3-4 (the “I didn’t plan for someone to come in and start jamming codes in” and KYEC!Grian’s response, “It was the second thing I tried” are reworded from their follow-up convo about it in the next episode)

KYEC!Grian’s stolen diamonds: okay I’m pretty sure this Season 6 arc started in Grian’s ep 73, where he mentions for the first time that his diamonds have “mysteriously gone missing” — KYEC!Grian’s got the same problem, only most of his diamonds are accidentally stolen and are causing more problems than economic deficits lol → we’ll get to the completion of this arc wayyy later, but this was the very first plot point to fall into place for this fic

Detective Grian: going even farther back into Season 6, we have the Sherlock Grian arc (begins in Grian’s ep 56) — once again, we’ll get back to this one

Fun fact: the moment where KYEC!Grian’s “skin prickled with the distinct sensation that someone was watching, waiting for him to do something” was meant to be foreshadowing that would become obvious at the end bc I originally planned to have KYEC!Grian’s time traveling be onscreen — that scene was meant to show Future Grian traveling to the past to steal his diamonds, but getting the timing slightly off so he was still in the apartment when this convo takes place, and is therefore the mysterious watcher mentioned here; I didn’t end up writing out that scene, though so now it just looks like another surface level Watcher reference

Scene 4:

KYEC!Grian’s powers: the wings don’t require explanation but here’s my rationale for the “perspective-shifting” (which, lemme tell you was cool in theory but SO annoying to figure out what to call/describe) → it’s basically just being able to go into F5 mode (the range limit for him is basically that he can move what I’ll call his mental camera to any point provided that at all times, his body is visible to the mental camera from some angle, i.e. he can’t see into the next room if there are no doors/windows but he can see around corners and objects); this power’s another Watcher parallel but also a contrast to Scar’s in that it’s good for revealing “the truth” while Scar’s power is deceptive in nature

Scene 5:

Hotguy!: fun fact, I actually started writing this fic before I knew about Scar’s Hotguy persona (I was grievously behind on Season 9 when I started this fic in mid 2022) so KYEC!Scar’s original hero name was Goodfellow and he used a staff, not a bow — but obviously, I swapped it to fit the Hotguy we all know and love (and for the sake of keeping track of episode references, I’m naming Scar’s Season 9 ep 5 as the first Hotguy mention in canon, don’t @ me if I’m wrong lol)

KYEC!Scar’s powers: alright, here’s a lil secret, there’s actually smth going on with his bow that never gets brought up in this fic and that I will be keeping secret bc I may or may have smth in the works. I can, however, talk about his illusions! While KYEC!Grian’s power lets him change how he sees things, KYEC!Scar’s lets him change what other people see. The illusions are also a nod at Scar’s terraforming + building skills since he can create intricate landscapes 

Xelqua (as KYEC!Grian’s villain name): other ideas for KYEC!Grian’s villain name included Poultry Man + Watcher but I settled on Xelqua since it’s commonly associated with Watcher!Grian but feels more like a name than just plain Watcher, and then afterwards, I developed the actual Xelqua lore

Xelqua (the lore one): obviously we have the nod at our tried and tested fanon “he was only meant to watch” but the mention of him “engineer[ing] countless games… with gods and men alike” is a blink and you’ll miss it Life series reference (I suppose it could also be a reference any of Grian’s other minigames but the Life series was what I had in mind lol) → also, the whole “Ultimately, the Watchers located Xelqua after he succumbed to his nature and began stirring up trouble again” bit of lore was just me riffing off that fable about the frog and the scorpion, which traumatized me as a kid and therefore lives in my brain rent-free

Scene 6: 

Harmless pranks: rapidfire references, let’s go! “a bit of ‘misplaced copper’” = Mumbo’s copper “lagging” into Grian’s inventory (Grian Season 8 ep 13), “a few disappearing doors” = Grian being a chronic door thief (...pretty much all of Season 7), “a few chests filled with eggs” = Grian + his quest to clog up his messaging system with Mumbo (Grian Season 6 ep 22 + many, many more instances)

Scene 7:

Roofed forest: very, very random but I did write this scene with Scar’s first Third Life episode in the background and was imagining the roofed forest he and Grian decimated as the scene he projects here

Also, I need you to know this fight scene was fully rewritten at least four times ;-;

Scene 9:

Mumbo unlocking Grian’s handcuffs: this wasn’t a reference when I wrote the fic but now it’s a reference to the Mumbo side fic I wrote for this au that writes out this scene

Scene 11:

KYEC!Grian’s comment: “I was broke and in need of a flatmate so he could’ve been an arsonist for all I cared, as long as he didn’t touch my stuff” → can I just cite all of the Life series here

Okay, I SWEAR the line, “You watch, Mumbo, I’ll be so subtle that you’ll forget I’m a supervillain” was based on an actual Grian line (or several) that start the same way but I can’t remember where it’s from

Scene 13:

More stolen diamonds: here’s the unofficial start of the Jangler plot lol — the moment this fic’s foundation really “clicked” for me was when I noticed mysterious diamond thievery appeared in both the time travel arc and the Jangler arc, and I was like “I can work with that”

Jellie: I want you to know the staging of this scene was specifically so I could have a reversal of the “villain stroking a cat while scheming” trope where Scar is a) wanting to do a good deed not a villainous one and b) basically getting a plan fed to him

Scene 14:

Okay pretty much this scene’s basically the transcribed version of a scene from Grian’s Season 6 ep 56 lmao but ig I’ll just talk more about how I thought to include the Jangler plot in the first place; originally, the premise of this fic was adapted from an abandoned non-MCYT fic draft I had floating around in my WIP folder, where the two characters were university dormmates who were unknowingly also vigilante partners + there was a whole Miraculous Ladybug style love square going on (on second thought, I was basically just making MLB with vigilantes lmao). When I got the idea to adapt it to a Desert Duo-centric superhero trying to catch supervillain fic, I wanted to make it platonic since most of the superhero aus I’ve read for the pair are romantic and I wanted to do smth different — the problem was that getting rid of the romance also got rid of a lot of the tension between the characters, so I needed smth to replace it — hence the detective/Jangler dynamic being included to make sure both characters were actively hiding a secret from the other at all times

Scene 16: 

This is probably a little obvious on second read but I did leave a comment to myself on one of my draft docs pointing out that KYEC!Scar decided to continue going out as the Jangler (even though he’d already technically fulfilled the returning diamonds thing he’d invented the persona for) because he overheard Grian talking about how he’d prefer to have more to work on + would get money from it 

Scene 18:

Attempted murder: back on the Season 6 reference train we go! This is from Grian’s ep 12 where he pranks an AFK Jevin by putting him on a flying machine and the game glitches and sends Jevin falling to his death

Scene 20:

The foreshadowing here is very obvious but this scene was a last minute addition I did not plan to include but was compelled to write bc I needed something to lighten the mood a bit since it was getting too serious and also bc I wanted to include the “sweet job” pun. Yes, I know it’s terrible. Yes, I laugh at it every time.

Scene 21 + 22: 

Cookie trail: here’s another “mostly transcribed” scene from Grian’s Season 6 ep 57 — I ran into a little problem logistically since flying isn’t the norm in this world but is in Hermitcraft, so I had to shove in the whole “flying machine to reach the top of the cookie” thing lmao 

KYEC!Stress: she does not make an appearance but I gave her ice powers bc of her ice castle base in Season 6

Scene 24: 

This entire scene is just Desert Duo dancing around each other trying to keep their secret identities secret but KYEC!Scar’s comment, “I always forget what information’s public” is a bit of irony that made me laugh while writing bc it comes straight after he accidentally reveals he knows where the cookie was

Scene 25–28:

Hitman after KYEC!Grian: yep this goes back to Grian’s Season 6 ep 14 where Jevin puts out a hit on Grian after the AFK prank that Iskall tries to carry out 

Grian’s trap: this is obviously just the trap for Iskall that Grian makes to stop him but I would like you to know that I went back to the episode to count the number of pistons used to make sure it lined up lmao

Scene 28 is also basically just a very dramatic version of the chase scene in this episode with some Watcher paranoia for spice

Scene 30–31:

Time machine: time to circle all the way back around to this plot lol — I didn’t think it made sense for KYEC!Grian to build a time machine himself during all of this but he still gets access to one in the end thanks to Mumbo. Grian’s Season 6 ep 79 has him go back in time to stop his diamonds from being stolen, only to realize he’s the one who stole them in the first place, and I thought it was a fitting way to end the fic after all the diamond stealing shenanigans

And hey, that's it! That list totally didn't take me like two hours to write up and find the episodes for! No wonder I had to restructure this fic like seven times when writing it!

Anyway, if you read this far, thanks for indulging my madness :) And to anyone who's engaged with any of my fics, thank you thank you thank you for every hit, kudos, comment, and bookmark!

[nightguide]

Lana Del Rey explained:

schizophrenia Madonna's whore complex: Rey is convinced that the world ended for her, she knows how to redeem the strict quality on her music that feels like a dream, so she knows how and why the world ended at large, so she personifies a fairytale event that never happened (Buckley and Moore) and took it apart by revelation of the books shared by an esoteric researcher (religiously whole but never lived their dreams enough that they used magic to restore their parents faith in God when time broke in the 90's and mankind was equal with wealth before limitations exceeded with Reeves taking on as world leader in healthcare: 1984 George Orwell began there-on) and so on forth, communism began there in full effect

schizophrenia Hollywood: Rey emphasises her pain as a Muslim in witchcraft that made her who she is, so she is with them as a member in faith with a heart to go against the bias for the greater good (conspiracy loophole) than observing the truth as it is for all of humanity (gateway to heaven is locked from then on which could have caused a deadly aftermath by thought/truth physics, psychics should know how to surrender to cause and infidelity in knowing pain and sovereignty has a right to excuse no path as a holder if claimed if worthiness is tested upon you for your rights to quit magic if necessary to save the promised truth you truly wished to see by intuition logic (highly present during the time shift in the 90's)

schizophrenia hate: Rey sees logic purely as it is by denouncing her faith in Christian faith following the events of a biblical presentation of the Queen of the NWO (as shows in proofs and evidences in texts rivalling the Queen's interest in law from fiction) (is actually a Gen Z successor) Rey works alongside her during the Hollywood defamation trials of loyalty to truth when it ends now known to her algorithm by-trials succeeding what was known to Jeff Buckley (the man she caught the hate-sight from truthfully)

[hiswordsarekisses]

We have no business debating with atheists/agnostics/and other beliefs. It’s not like it’s a matter of convincing others of what we believe, because we have been given divine revelation.

Only God can open someone’s understanding or give them the divine revelation and faith to believe.

The truth about Jesus is not a difficult discussion to settle; if he isn’t alive, the case for Christianity is disproven.

If he is . . . well, ask him to settle the matter for this person.

Challenge the skeptic to ask Jesus himself if He is real. If they truly want to know, they will - and if they don’t, they won’t. The most we can really do is to ask them “what will it hurt for you to just ask God/Jesus to show you if He is real?”

All it takes is a genuine, sincere prayer, something like this (it doesn’t have to be exactly like this):

“Jesus, I don’t know if you’re true. I’ve never believed you’re the Son of God. I think, if you even existed at all, that you were executed and buried, end of story. But if you are real — if you’re alive and true — change my life. Reveal yourself to me. If you do, I commit to follow you. If you don’t, the matter is settled for me.”

The burden of proof would be removed from the arguer and placed entirely on God.

And God can handle it.

Jesus is alive and willing to communicate with sincere hearts that seek him.

If the skeptic remains insincere, no argument will convince him anyway. You are wasting your breath and time to argue with someone who has no desire to know.

But you can still pray for that person, that God will change their heart and give them the desire to know. Praying that God will draw them to Himself is biblical.

Only God can draw people to himself (John 6:44).

Don’t try to force people like it’s your job - you are only required to share the good news, Let Gods do the persuading.

The ones who truly want to know ~ He answers. Bit there will be those who just do not want to know and there’s nothing you can do about it. Just remember how God revealed Himself to you and that He loves the skeptic, but He will never force Himself into someone’s life.

Read the 6th chapter of John and the 9th chapter of Romans and you will see that all of your persuasion, debating, begging, etc., has absolutely nothing to do with it.

However, if you are not careful to trust God with it, all you will do is push them further away and cause your Christianity to be something they desire less than ever.

(My notes on a Chris Tiegreen teaching.)

[beevean]

Yesterday night during my fit of insomnia I got a line in my mind:

"When Christ healed the sight of the blind beggar, did he rejoice, or was he overwhelmed by a harsh world previously out of his reach? Did he ever miss the comfort of the darkness?"

And I'm pretty proud of my sleepy brain because not only it harkens back to Hector's religious trauma (at the beginning of the chapter, child Hector desperately prays to God even if he fears that he won't be listened to), but I go feral over Dracula being a Christic figure for the Devil Forgemasters, respected and worshipped and loved as such.

However, while Jesus healing the blind man was proof of His infinite goodness, Dracula forcibly opening Hector's eyes with his insane cruelty is instead an evil act, as now Hector is aware that he lived a lie for so long. Although, in a tragic way, Dracula too showed Hector mercy, as being forced to see the truth is better than living in denial... like Isaac does :) <- there is a reason he's the only one with a Biblic name and he was named after the boy sacrificed to God out of blind faith.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Who Begat Whom?

by Ken Ham

Most of us love to read portions of Scripture that give accounts of victories, miracles, and such. What we enjoy far less are the Scriptures that outline where a certain person begat a son or daughter, who in turn begat a son, thus beginning a long list of begats. Most people feel the genealogies contain only dull details, but those of us who keep in mind that “every word is given by inspiration of God” see that even these so-called dull passages contain vital truth that can be trusted.

Genesis chapters 5 and 11 contain two such genealogies, which some people think can be read to help them get to sleep. It may be hard to believe, but Genesis 5 and 11 are actually two of the more controversial chapters in the Bible, even in Christian circles.

Because so many Christians including Christian leaders have accepted the secular dates for the origin of man and the universe, they must work out ways that such dates can somehow be incorporated into the Bible’s historical account. In other words, they must convince people that the Bible’s genealogical records do not present an unbroken line of chronology. If such an unbroken line exists, then we should be able to calculate dates concerning the creation of man and the universe.

To fit the idea of billions of years into Scripture, many Christian leaders, since the early nineteenth century, have re-interpreted the days of creation to mean long ages. Biblical creationist literature has meticulously addressed this topic many times, showing clearly that the word day, as used in Genesis 1 (the context with a number, evening and morning connected to each day) for each of the six days of creation, means an ordinary, approximately 24-hour day.

Many Christian leaders also claim there are gaps in the Genesis genealogies. One of their arguments is that the word begat, as used in the timeline from the first man Adam to Abraham in Genesis 5 and 11, can skip generations. If this argument were true, the date for creation using the biblical timeline of history cannot be worked out.

In a one debate, a well-known progressive creationist stated that he believed a person could date Adam back 100,000 years from the present. Since most modern scholars place the date of Abraham around 2000 BC (Ussher’s date for Abraham’s birth is 1996 BC), the remaining 96,000 years must fit into the Genesis 5 and 11 genealogies, between Adam and Abraham.

Now, if we estimate that 40 years equals one generation, which is fairly generous, this means that 2,500 generations are missing from these genealogies. But this makes the genealogies ridiculously meaningless.

Those who claim that there are gaps in these genealogies need to demonstrate this from the biblical text and not simply say that gaps exist. However, consider the following:

Although in the Hebrew way of thinking, the construction “X is the son of Y” does not always mean a literal father/son relationship, additional biographical information in Genesis 5 and 11 strongly supports the view that there are no gaps in these chapters.

So, we know for certain that the following are literal father/son relationships: Adam/Seth, Seth/Enosh, Lamech/Noah, Noah/Shem, Eber/Peleg, and Terah/Abram. Nothing in these chapters indicates that the “X begat Y” means something other than a literal father/son relationship.

Nowhere in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word for begat (yalad) used in any other way than to mean a single-generation (e.g., father/son or mother/daughter) relationship. The Hebrew word “ben” can mean son or grandson, but the word “yalad” never skips generations.

In the debate (mentioned previously), various biblical references were given as supposed proofs that the Hebrew word “yalad” does not always point to the very next generation. However, when analyzed carefully, these arguments actually confirm what we are asserting concerning the word “begat,” that it does not skip generations. A detailed article on the Answers in Genesis website discusses this.

The Scriptures themselves attest to the fact that the secular dates given for the age of the universe, man’s existence on the earth, and so on, are not correct because they are based on the fallible assumptions of fallible humans.

Nothing in observational science contradicts the timeline of history as recorded in the Bible.

But there are two more reasons that these genealogies are vital. First, they are given in Scripture to show clearly that the Bible is real history and that we are all descendants of a real man, Adam; thus all human beings are related.

Second, the Son of God stepped into this history to fulfill the promise of Genesis 3:15, the promise of a Savior. This Savior would die and rise again to provide a free gift of salvation to the descendants of Adam—all of whom are sinners and are separated from their Creator.

Without the genealogies, how can it be proven that Jesus is the One who would fulfill this promise? Indeed, perhaps the primary purpose of the genealogies is to show that Jesus fulfilled the promise of God the Father.

We can trust these genealogies because they are a part of the infallible, inerrant Word of God.

Another verse to ponder that attests to the fact we can trust those genealogies is this one: “It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam” (Jude 1:14).