#random theology ramble--

[fortes-fortuna-iogurtum]

.

[nayeliq1]

People really be out there like "well you can't prove to me that God exists so I don't believe it"

Like bruh. That's...the whole point?

That's literally what faith is?

Belief is trust without certainty

And to me, that's the beauty of it

Anyone can trust in something that's certain. But trusting in something uncertain, that takes a hell of a lot of hope

[rainintheevening]

Peter writes home from the battlefield every chance he can.

Lucy's letters are full of barely rhyming, rambling poetry, talk of stars and trees and any plants or animals he's seen. He puts in all the words that will never describe any of this, but still there is a great sky above him, and a big heart in his chest, and he hopes she will understand. She could if anyone can.

To Edmund he sends the muddy, bloody, wobbly-writing letters, the ones with rambling memories of Narnian battles and strategy, though he takes care to phrase it as 'playing in the woods', not wanting the censors to get leery. There are also many theological musings, and usually the continuation of whatever Bible verse Ed has sent in his letter. I wish you were here, and yet I am glad you are not, is a sentiment oft repeated.

Susan and Mother usually get the same letter, little stories of kindness shown or soft things appreciated. He asks them for more socks for Jackie, an extra bar of chocolate for Hamish, tells them how he's gotten his whole unit to memorize the Jabberwocky poem, and they make each other smile with it.

Dad is usually named with Susan and Mother, but sometimes he gets an extra scribble, usually a single scripture reference, or the name of a local boy now dead, and a few things Peter asks him to go tell the family.

Eustace gets the occasional missive folded in with the rest, usually sketches of aeroplanes, with which Eustace is fascinated, though they aren't very good sketches. If there's a sketch for Eustace, there is usually also a sketch for Jill, something Narnian, a sword or a forest or a castle.

Professor Kirke only gets occasional letters, usually short and to the point, but written in particularly formal language, as of a king writing to a dear advisor.

They all write to Peter.

Professor Kirke sends exerpts of whatever philosophy or theology or history books he just happens to be reading at the time he remembers to write. Sometimes it seems very random to Peter, but he loves it.

Eustace's letters are infrequent, but burst with colourful descriptions of his school life that make Peter laugh.

Dad usually just scribbles scripture references at the bottom of Mother's letters. Susan signs those too. Mother's letters are full of ordinary home life, rich with the warmth of hearthlight and fresh baking and good books and comfortable chairs and a much loved old quilt. She says what everyone is doing much more clearly, tells how the garden is coming in.

Mother and Susan are also very good at writing to the boys who don't have anyone to write to them. (Peter has a picture of his family, and everyone in Peter's unit thinks Susan is the prettiest girl in Europe, that she should be a queen, but they all watch what they say around Peter, they know how he feels about his sister's honour. But it really does bring up morale.)

Edmund doesn't usually say a lot, but he's regular, always engaging with whatever musings Peter put in his previous letter, making some of his own references to Narnia, usually to things Oreius taught them, and always concluding with a Bible verse. Half the time Ed absently addresses the missive To High King Peter, my brother... He never actually says I'll find you when I join up, I promise, it's just sort of there, between the lines.

Lucy's letters are like blue sky and fresh air and a fierce hug. Sometimes Peter can almost smell Narnia on the paper. They're not long, but she says I love you all the time, and talks of the weather and the flowers, and the girls at school who are struggling, and how she's trying to help them, and there's always a bit of poetry or a hymn that she's written, but it's actually good, compared to Peter's stuff. Courage, dearest brother, she always says. Remember the Lion, she always finishes.

Peter gets so many letters he has to start sending them back to his family for safe keeping.

[saintmachina]

This is more....confession than ask but I've been having a rough go of it. I was raised catholic and what little I saw of it in catholic school at a super young age was so full of art, mysticism, defiance AND peace, /kindness/, and encouragement to talk to God as /Father/, as family.....I felt so at home in it. I was pulled out of it bc my parents couldn't afford tuition by the time I was 9, so I went to public school. I saw the Church from the outside and I've had random bursts of OCD style attendance to mass vs not going. I feel more at peace with life with not going but I know I should. I know I disagree with the doctrines but I walk into a cathedral and I'm home. I'm moved to tears by stone stations of the cross and stained glass martyrs but I'm a queer adult who fucked with witchcraft and no longer aspire to be a nun or a saint. I feel like I don't belong but also feel bad telling my fellow queers I ID as Catholic knowing the atrocities committed by it and the trauma most of them have. Do you know anyone else with this experience?

I resonate so much with this ask on so many levels, anon, thank you for your earnestness and your honesty. I know a LOT of people with this experience, myself included, so you came to the right place. I'm no priest, but confessions are always welcome here <3

It sounds like you were formed (in the classical sense of spiritual formation, shaped like clay on a wheel or contoured like a rock worn by waves) by the sacredness you experienced in Catholic school. That was your entry point to God, your foundational understanding of the divine, and on one hand, what a blessing to be equipped at a young age with prayers and tools and stories and rituals to help you draw near to the source of all life! But of course, in another sense, how painful to come to the realization that this tradition you love has perpetuated brutal doctrines and painful teachings for centuries, that it has harmed those you cherish (and undoubtedly you as well).

However, I want to ask you some questions. Why do you need to be a nun, or any kind of saint? Why can't you just be a creature in a body that is soul-stirred by the stained glass and the stations of the cross and the tales of the heroic dead? Why should God take any less notice of you because you question, because your love and desire takes the queer shape that God has rooted within you, because you recoil at injustice and cruelty and corruption? Because you sought communion with something supernatural through a method not formally endorsed by the Church, yet practiced historically by many of its priests, scholars, and adherents? Because you grasp for goodness and sometimes prevail and sometimes fail, just like every human that's come before you?

If God is real, than God and all God's symbols and signs, all the rituals and tales and talismans, must be for God's people. And I'll tell you something I believe with all of myself: we are all God's people.

If your heart is most at peace not attending church, that's okay for a season, or maybe forever! But perhaps there are other ways your heart can rest in God, in nature or conversation with friends or personal devotion or private mysticism or communal prayer? You are heir to an inheritance of a long line of queer Catholics, as difficult as that badge is sometimes to bear, but your (our) queer siblings have reshaped history, theology, art, liturgy, music, and more with our talent and perspectives. We are members of the family, beloved children of an attentive and patient Father. No one gets to tell you to leave: this is your house, should you choose to reside here one day out of the year or many.

Sorry, I feel like I'm rambling, but this ask really touched me. Basically, there are not rules, anon. We're all going to die and we're all going to experience so much pain and joy in our glimmering, fragile lives, and God wants to be present in that pain and joy with us, in whatever form God takes, in whatever language we can understand.

I know it can be painful to tell someone you love who has been hurt by the church that religion still holds meaning for you, I wrestle with that every day, but I think the wrestling is worth it, if you proceed with honesty and compassion. No one can tell you what path to take, but I hope I can encourage you in that you aren't walking alone.

Be blessed in your seeking anon, and fortified by the saints, and guided by the light of the archangels and the gentle touch of Mary, and brooded over by the protective wings of God.

[radicalwobbly-blog]

Immanence

I'm not in any real position to adress this (few people are) but I feel like I need to write about this stuff so anyway here goes.

what I'm planning to do here is layout something thats going to be pretty borning to most people. and thats theology or more accuratly I'm going to be trying to put a more formal spin on a pretty common neo-pagan belief

basicly the idea that the divine or gods can be seen through the natural world. In fancy socialogical/scholar of religon terms this idea is call Immanence

what the idea boils down to is this, the gods (I'm using polytheistic terms here because I am a polytheist) are reflected in the natural world. The most common use of this idea is that the gods exist in things like trees rivers and wind etc. I however want to take this idea further.

the gods are found within the natural world not just in the natural world on earth but in all the world and we can observe how they influence the world via physics and what seems to human eyes to be random chance.

In the dying of stars and their reconsitution into new planets and stars we see the wheel of time the cycle of rebirth not just on a human or seasonal scale but on a galatic level. Just as the gods die and are reborn in the cycle of the year so too do stars die and return in some cases being vital in the creation of life.

Further if the gods exist as stars then the gods may also exist in the smalled microbe and atom. Their influence can be felt in everything because they are in everything. As the spiritual origonators of life therefore the gods motions and actions can be seen and measure through the natural world which they have influence. To put it simply although we know from science it is gravity we shape the earth it is just as true to say that divine hands gave the earth shape gravity was the tool they used to do it. like a potter using a wheel or wire to shape clay so to do the gods shape costlines and form planets and set seas in their places through the means of the natural world.

This also extends to issues of climate change. Our relationship with the gods is reciprocal while the gods to provide for humanity out of what one might call a sense of duty (though humans are so far removed from the gods using terms like this are misleading). but that duty the gods have towards us must be returned. Both via a reciprocal relationship with the natural world which recognises it as a reflection of the divine. In addition we must also cultivate a reciprocal relationship with the gods. Just as they provide for our needs we too must provide them respect and honor via offerings hymns and songs as well as prayers and good deeds which reflect the gods own provision and kindness in human affairs (the mythological lapses of some gods notwithstanding).

to conclude this very rambling (sorry) point. The gods as shapers of the natural world can be seen in the natural world menaing that physics or biology can be seen and I would argue should be seen. As ways of seeing and understanding the gods and the wider divine powers of our world. And the importance of cultivating a properly respectful and reciprocal relationship with the divine

[urlocalnonbinarybastardwrites]

hello!! may i please be shipped? preferably the outsiders, but i also know/like hazbin and atla if you think i'd work better with someone there. also, is it possible to give too much information? i feel like i rambled bad while also giving you nothing, so sorry!!

i'm genderqueer (they/them), but generally really feminine in body and fashion. i'd consider myself queer, *heavy* preference towards men and i'm on the aroace-spectrum (grayromantic and sex-neutral, i just need extra communication mostly).

fairly short, standing at 5' 2" without shoes but i wear a lot of platforms. usually i'm 5' 6" in public, haha. my eyes are a really soft brown, and i have a fairly round face. my hair is brown, but that kind of ashy brown that people who were blonde in childhood get. if the light hits it right and i get enough sun, it still gets goldish. i use to have a wolfcut/shaggy mullet but it's grown out a bit so now it's just awkwardly choppy and hits my collarbone. hopefully i'll be motivated to cut it soon, but depression has struck, so... anyway, i'm fairly thin and petite, nice hips but pretty generally average. conventionally attractive in a "plain" way if i cared to shave everything and play with makeup, but usually i don't because i'm totally cool with being attractive in less conventional ways. on most days, i wear leggings and either sweaters or crop tops depending on the weather. i've had mad body issues my whole life and am just starting to get properly comfy with my relationship with food.

i'm an *extreme* introvert. not into people at all, usually. i keep a very small circle, the people that i like are everything to me. when i do like someone, though, i'm extremely affectionate, even platonically. i'm also autistic, i tend to ramble and infodump for hours and i am extremely hostile about changes. like, i get angry meltdowns. usually i'm good about communicating when i need to step away and you won't see me go beyond irritable and quietly fuming, but push me and ignore my warnings and things will be thrown and i probably won't be the only one in tears when we're done. i get mean when cornered. something i work on and there are multiple verbal warnings before i get there, but it's how big stress hits me. i have a really sarcastic, dry humor. a lot of people have told me that i come off as really rude and cold at first, but i'm really just quiet and focused and when you get past that i'm good. i have high expectations for myself and others, *mostly* myself. i'm hardworking when i am working for others, but when it's for myself i just don't have the energy. i'm really socially awkward, i don't really understand friendship and am always genuinely taken aback when people call me their friend. i've been called extremely logical, which i find odd since i'm so sensitive and emotional. though i guess people mean i can logically and clearly think things out even in the middle of being very emotional, which is accurate. usually, i'm very much just happy to be here. like, i genuinely don't have opinions on dinner or activities or whatever, i'm just happy to do something. unless there are plans being actively broken by it, i am super go-with-the-flow... which means i avoid plans like the plague so that i can stay that way.

my main interests are the death industry, food, history, and kink. sex work and kink, and death are my special interests, and i will talk about both at great length and utter random. i want to learn to pole dance, but there are no classes near me and i dont drive. also, i'm personally athiest, but i find theology so cool due to my love of death. what happens when you die, you know? i'm more into the funeral side of things, though. i adore cats, spiders, skunks, and bats. currently, i have 2 cats. they are my babies and i would kill and die for them. rain is the superior weather, i love going on walks during storms and sitting outside in the rain. i like most history, but i especially love 1950s-80s and the loose medieval/renaissance era type of fantasy settings. which is fantasy, but i'm considering it history because of how much history research i do to daydream about it, haha. the renfair is something i look forward to every year, it's my very favorite place.

my hobbies include drawing (but i almost never do... dang depression), hiking, cooking, playing checkers and pool (only games i don't suck at--), and researching my interests. i watch an ungodly amount of video essays, tbh. my search history could probably churn stomachs based on the rabbitholes my special interests take me down, and how often i've been uelled at for sharing fun facts. in theory, i'd like sewing, reading, and gaming. for reading and games, i get too overwhelmed and stick to audio books and watching let's plays. sewing i get mad at, i love it when i can force myself to do something simple but i try to get ambitious and i get frustrated and drop it for a year.

i smoke/vape socially and drink occasionally. i cut my own hair (poorly) because i refuse to spend money on something i can do myself and i don't really care if it turns out janky. i don't drive because it's too overwhelming and i will stress myself into a delusional state, i don't think i'll ever get a license. big time caffeine addict, i will throw up and pass out over it.

i try to give off ghibli, grandparentcore, cozy vibes. i say as i give you all of my angry, gnarly, nasty traits, haha.

Your Outsiders Ship: Sodapop Curtis!

Explanation: starting off with looks, I think that he would love you from your soft round face to the fact that you looks so unique and your style and gender identity I just think that he would love that he would eat it up because he’s also the most feminine greaser for a guy and I don’t know. I just think that he would love the way that you dress and he would also like that you’re short he would definitely tease you a lot about being short like whether that means lifting you up to show how small you are doing other things like that he would he would do It. He thinks you’re absolutely stunning and really loves your hair and how awkwardly choppy it is. I just think that he thinks it makes you more unique and he doesn’t mind that you don’t shave or wear it make up. He just thinks that it’s one more thing that makes you really Pretty. Also, he would be very supportive of eating disorder recovery. I feel like he’s the type of God to consistently check in with you and make sure that you’re eating all right and would definitely make specific foods for you. He would also constantly buy you food that you like, working extra shifts at his job in order to make sure that he can make a special meal for you. I personally think that your dynamic would be extremely cute because he’s the opposite of you where he’s a very much social butterfly. I definitely think that Steve is his close friend, but he is a lot of friends around like he’s the type of person that could go into town and see at least 20 different people that he knows and he’ll like wave to them and you’ll be like who’s that and he’ll go into like a short story of how he knows that person he’s definitely that type of person and I just think that you guys could maybe help each other like you could help him with his people pleasing tendencies and he can maybe help you Step out of your inner circle a little bit to expose yourself to more people. (Not violating any social break boundaries ofc) he loves how affectionate you are and I definitely think that he would be one of the only people that would be able to calm me down whenever you’re having an angry meltdown like I think he would be very supportive and he’s extremely optimistic, so I feel like he wouldn’t get back at you and he would be one of the best people to have around for it. He will never push you or ignore your warnings. That’s another thing. He’s amazing at respecting boundaries and I feel like if you let him know about something he would definitely stop. He’s also pretty hard-working and even though you might come across his little bit cold at first, I think he’s definitely the type of person that would try to break the ice and joke around with you at least until you like him because like I said this dude has people pleasing tendencies and if he thinks you don’t like him, he will put a lot of his energy into trying to get you to like him so yeah I mean that’s personally how I view soda. But I feel like that’s one of the reasons that he’s kind of able to break past that layer. He would find many of your interests fascinating and if you went to a long ramble about him, I’m sure he would listen to every word and then I feel like he’s the type of person to try and bring it up with his brother at dinner and if it’s something particularly like gruesome or gross, they definitely have to shut him up because he still trying to talk about what you told him earlier earlier that day. I think you guys have really deep late night conversations about what happens when you die or things like that and I feel like he would have like the craziest most specific theory ever if you’ve ever seen the good place then you’ll know this reference, but there’s that one guy that like guesses a lot of what’s happens when you die in the good place universe and then he’s like famous in the good place and I feel like that would be soda pop Curtis. he would also get along really well with your cats even though he’s definitely more of a dog person and probably prefers them. I feel like he just loves pets in general would get along with your cats

And cuddle them with you. He would love going on hikes with you, and I think he would also adore that you draw, and if you ever drew something of him or inspired by him, he would cherish it forever and just be so in love with it. Also, you should do your make up on him. I think he would love that if you did eyeliner on him I just think he would look so good in it and I think that he would I don’t know just rock it. In Canon, you should never bring this man into a kitchen, and I stand by that it will just end up being a flower fight or something like that you will not get anything done and whatever you’re trying to make will have massive amount of food coloring. He doesn’t really like reading himself, but if you ever listen to an audiobook around him or read to him, I think he’d love it. Also, he loves your special interest already mentioned, but I feel like he would be interested in those topics as well. You might have to break some things down for him but once he gets it, I feel like he would put in an effort to talk about it with you. I feel like he would try to get you to not smoke or drink as much and if you were with him, I feel like you wouldn’t you wouldn’t do any of that stuff as much as usual. Anyway, I actually really ship you guys and I tried to make this long and worthy of all the information you got me so 💚💚💚 I also apologize for the wait

[autisticempathydaemon]

What is your Enneagram type? Is a type 9w1, but also really resonate with 4.

Do you love gargantuan Youtube video essays, and if so, which is your favorite and why? History. I love history. Tell me all the most random obscure factoids about our past that will impress but likely amount to nothing.

What Redacted boy holds no appeal to you, and why? Like, not the one you hate but the one who you don’t get the hype for. (I won’t judge, I promise.) Caelum. No hate to the little cutie, but he really reminds me of the kids I used to teach back when I worked at a preschool. I loved them to death, but there's a reason I'm not a teacher anymore. Also Ollie. No hate, just no interest.

Tell me about that one book/movie/tv show you know all the words to. Phantom of The Opera. My first musical love.

Which Redacted boy are you platonically attracted to? Like- forget dating, which dude do you want to be your best friend? Sam. There's something comforting about his accent. I'm a Texan, born and raised. I feel a kindredship with him. His frustrations when he finds "Darlin's" pantry and fridge empty is so southern, I felt seen in my heart of hearts. (Still wanna date him tho...)

Do you have a go-to thing you ramble about when you’re tired, and if so, what is it? (For example, my boyfriend knows I’m ready to sleep when I start talking about space.) It's either ADHD, Christian theology and apologetics, or history. No inbetween.

Tell me your go-to gas station and drink combo. "I pray at my altar of slush, yeah, I live for that sweet frozen rush." Before Gavin, Heathers converted me to the cult of the 7-11 Slushie.

Tell me about your favorite playlist at the moment. Beauty and the Beast Broadway OST. Trying to learn the part of Belle. Why? No reason.

What’s your guilty pleasure media, and why? Heathers. A musical that features underage drinking, sex, suicide attempts, and murder! Heaven forbid!

And whatever else you think tells me about who you are! I love research and learning, but it does have to be on my own terms. I'm also really painfully shy at first, and I'm horrible at remembering...anything really. I love listening to people nerd out around or to me, because I love that they feel comfortable enough to not worry what I'll think of their passions, even if it's something I have no personal interest in.

Okay, now hear me OUT, lend me your ear. I’m thinking “shy introvert meets comfort extrovert” vibes. I’m thinking “musical theater nerd meets EDM raver” gap couple vibes. I’m thinking Hudson.

The little ways the two of you contrast would be so cute in a relationship. Like, I don’t think Hudson would be a musical theater guy at least at first, but he likes when you sing it, plays your favorite songs on the station when he knows you’re on the road and listening. He knows nothing about history, but he always has a new documentary picked and queued for when y’all destress after your days at work.

Then there’s the big ways. Hudson knows you’re shy, but radio hosts are skilled at getting people to talk, at letting people know how genuinely interested they are. Hudson knows 9w1’s can be more inclined to listen, to blend in, to mediate, but he is always there to make sure to listen to you and to sing your praises when you stand out.

Song:

All I wanna do is get to holdin' you/ And get to knowin' you/ And get to showin' you/ And get to lovin' you

I’m talking a lot about Hudson being sweet, which he is, but he’s also a fuckin menace. He loves that you’re from Texas, especially if you have an accent, and play the most ludicrous country music around the house to get you to dance with him.

Runner-Ups:

If I were to pair shy with shy, introvert with introvert, you and Geordi would be a darling match. He could benefit a wonderful, patient listener, and I think he’d take you to any musical you want, even if he’s not a fan. Guy, in my head and in my heart, I know to be a musical theater boy. I think he could play a fun, devil may care Danny Zuko or Sandy across you, and he’d have a great time.

Read this post and send me an ask if you’d like a match-up of your own! 💌

Note: back to our regularly scheduled positivity 💕

[lyra-brie]

Intro Post

(Every few days I remember something I forgot or have new links to add lol it's constantly changing a little bit)

So I go by Lyra (or Library lol) and I use she/her pronouns. That's all I can think of to put here lol.

I'm a reader and a writer. I love romantic fantasy in both, but I'll read almost anything. Not really into horror, but I've dabbled in most other genres when it comes to reading, all the way to non-fiction. I'm always accepting new recs even though I have a ridiculous tbr and wishlist lol.

Always happy to talk about books with anyone, but be wary of that once you get me started I won't ever stop annoying you about it lol.

Some of my favorites right now are:

The Folk of the Air trilogy [the cruel prince, etc]

The Grishaverse books [my favorite is either Crooked Kingdom or Rule of Wolves]

Once Upon a Broken Heart series (as of Oct 15. I'm hyperfixating on this one, so you're getting a lot of fandom content for them)

I have ADHD (if you couldn't tell from my overuse of parenthesis and brackets [every thought comes with a bonus thought and sometimes an extra bonus thought like this!]). I'm a Christian with more progressive theology, but this blog is a safe place for everyone as long as we're all loving to each other and respect each other's beliefs and identities (and I love having good faith dialogue [not debates!! 0 interest in theological debates.], I love hearing other perspectives and getting to talk about it, so feel free to dm me about that, too). I'm an ISFJ and a 9w1, and I don't know that much about it yet but I love typology. I also love video games, mostly Stardew Valley and the sims right now (thinking about making a secondary blog for that).

I post fandom stuff and writing things for my wips. You'll probably get lots of stuff for my wip Idk, Dragons ocs once NaNo starts. And just random stuff for whatever I'm hyperfixating on in the moment lol. I'm totally open to asks about anything involving my wips or fandom-related asks. I participate in Storyteller Saturday and Worldbuilding Wednesday every week, and feel free to ask for any of the other events, too. Tag games are also cool!

I also have an instagram @lyra.brie and you'll find a couple pics of my crocheted dinosaurs, some random faith thoughts, and song. I'm very inactive there, but feel free to check it out.

And now the fun part!! Intros to my wips and ocs:

Wisteria and Wanderlust: you can find the blurb here, as well as the link to my wattpad which has a few snippets and skits and full character intros. An overview of Zal and Clay's dynamic here.

Short overviews of the original three here.

Unnamed Academic Rivals WIP: here is a sort of summary I wrote.

I Don't Know, Dragons [this is a placeholder title, but I might just keep it lol]: this post isn't exactly a blurb, but it's everything I know so far that I can share without spoiling. (I actually need to update it and make a real post for it soon lol. The main development is that Elara's love interest is a werewolf boy.) This one is still in the planning stage so everything is heavily subject to change. I'll be doing it as my NaNo project this year, so it's posted about a lot right now. New Cynthia post here.

The Flourescent Iguana: here's the intro post. I've finished the first draft of this one, but it needs heavy replotting/rewriting.

Writing Snippets

I only have two actual writing bits on here so far, but I intend to have more, so I'll update this as I go! (Let me know if you guys want me to post the Wisteria and Wanderlust stuff I have on wattpad here, too, cuz I can totally do that.)

Idk, Dragons:

I have a bunch of small snippets posted under #nano updates

Fanfics:

EvaJacks "Who Are You?" FanFic

EvaJacks Bunny Saving FanFic

EvaJacks Baby Dragon FanFic

Wisteria and Wanderlust:

Just a quote

Poetry/Songs:

Just Broken

~~~

So that's me! I'm always happy to make new friends and my dms are open, feel free to message me just to ramble about your wip or a hyperfixation!

@writeblrsupport

[chaoticsh3p]

God is dead, we have not killed him

But rather it was his stupidity

In creating us as we are

That united him with oblivion

[starbuck]

In 1929, a lecture taught by Dr. Dwight Irvin Roush, a self-proclaimed “health missionary” and part-time fruit farmer, was quoted before a committee of the United States Senate as they weighed whether or not to place a tariff on imports of bananas. According to Dr. Roush, “The banana, unlike other fruits, should be used very sparingly, if used at all. [...] If eaten at all, the entire meal should be made of bananas, for they do not combine well with any other food.” 

Other (apparently) popular health lectures by Dr. Roush included “Unfolding the Secrets of Health,” “The Fountain of Fun,” and “How to Become a Real Man.”

[pudgyroo]

LGBT+ Christian Radio Documentary

For my Final Year Project I am making a radio documentary on LGBT+ Christians, their experiences, discrimination from both the LGBT+ community and Christianity/Church, why and how LGBT+ Christians stick with their faith, and how non-LGBT+ Christians and non-Christian LGBT+ folks can support or do better to LGBT+ Christians.

IN ORDER TO TAKE PART YOU MUST BE 18 OR OLDER (it’s just for compliance issues and unfortunately I can’t legally include you if you are under 18).

If anyone is up to having an interview or even just talking about your experiences with being LGBT+ and Christian (no matter which domination) please message/DM me.

My final deadline is 13th of May but I need to have the interviews/audio all recorded by 19th April at the absolute latest, so if you are interested please get to me asap. If I record something with you and then you are not comfortable being in it, you are more than welcome to back out and your audio won’t be used, so don’t worry.

Also if you are closeted and would like to take part but remain anonymous, you are more than welcome to take part, and I can either give you a false name and/or if you would like I change the pitch of your voice to disguise it

If its okay could you spread this around: @thebichristian @queerlychristian  @queerchristianaffirmations

[filipinoizukuu]

Pls share about the Gospel of Judas 👀

, im SO glad someone asked because this topic is nigh always pingponging around in my head and the fact i get to ramble about it means the WORLD to me. TW ahead for canon-typical violence, gore, and other such discussions of all that fun heretical stuff!

 Now, to preface this, I just wanted to say that I’m not a licensed professional in anything related to theology nor religion nor historical artifacts. I am. as we all are deep down inside, a simple teenager with ridiculous hyper-fixations and a vast ocean of random information that will not be of any importance to my career or home life whatsoever. Easily, many of the things I talk about could either be wrong or debunked, but I will try my best to explain the Book of Judas as I understood it.

Among the many books that make up what we know as the Bible today, there were various seemingly ‘missing perspectives’ and inconsistencies that existed between gospels. One of the reasons for this was the fact that the Bible in and of itself was a compiled work that was originally recorded years after the oral tradition had passed. What is or isn’t ‘canon’ often depended on the rulings of past Popes who worked with historians to determine the authenticity of ancient artifacts that either proved or contested the canonical teachings of the Bible--one of the more popular debunked samples being The Shroud of Turin, which while being ruled as a fake by Pope Clement the VII a long time ago, still has its authenticity being debated until today.

It’s important to remember that the canon status of ancient artifacts. while somewhat reliant on Papal confirmation, can sometimes be contested and interpreted to each individual’s discretion.

And among all of these artifacts, there is my favorite one of all--The Book of Judas. Now, factually speaking, the Gospel of Judas was written in (somewhere between 2 to) 5 A.D., not actually that farfetched considering that only in 1 A.D. was the first version of the Bible we know today written. It was found somewhere in Ancient Egypt but was declared as fiction at some point in 180 A.D. by St. Iranaeus of Lyon. To understand the impact that The Book of Judas would have on the Bible (which, to put it simply, was revolutionary), you’d first have to have a quick review and understanding of who Judas Iscariot was in the gospels that we know today. 

Judas was a disciple.

He was one of the 12 disciples that were closest to Jesus and a disciple that most accounts of the story would say actually truly deeply loved him at some point. Judas was, as all memes about Christianity are fond of reminding, also the traitor that eventually chose money and greed over his love for God’s son and turned him in with a kiss in a garden that led to Jesus Christ’s death at the cross.

That is until you read the translations of the Book of Judas.

In the original books--whether it was because he was possessed by the Devil or simply a man who had fallen into greed--Judas was portrayed to be a sinner and a horrible traitor. After his betrayal and Jesus’ eventual death, Judas had then become guilt-ridden and anguished, choosing to end his own life in the Gospel of Matthew and even tarnishing a field with his blood and sins according to St. Luke in Acts. 

The Book of Judas, however, CHALLENGES these motives. Instead, it takes what brought all past Christian texts together by changing the portrayal of Judas on its head and putting the previous ‘traitor’ under the light of something else entirely.

According to the Book of Judas, Jesus had asked Judas to betray him.

The 26-page manuscript was a brief retelling of the dynamics we were lead to believe in the story told by the main four books. In the Book of Judas, we were told that the original other 12 disciples were actually quite... foolish. They were described to be sort of arrogant and clueless, constantly misinterpreting and forgetting Jesus’ words because while he was teaching them to be better and to spread the words of God, the disciples were still, at their core, human sinners. The manuscript was believed to have reported that of the disciples that were closest, or at least best tolerated by Jesus--Judas was by far the most understanding of His words.

Judas, in accordance with his book, was the only one who could understand the significance and cryptic lessons behind Jesus’ teachings. Because of this, Jesus knew he was the only capable one to serve him in what was to come.

You see, part of the prophecy was that Jesus had to die. He had to suffer and fall for humanity’s sake so that we would be able to be forgiven. As much as it sucks to even think about it, Jesus had come to expect that someone would need to cause his death and hurt him all so that he could fulfill his purpose.

In the end, he thought that death by the hand of an enemy was far worse than a death at the hands of a friend.

During the Last Supper, Jesus approached Judas and placed him into a vision. He placed Judas in a fantastical, wonderful dream where Judas sat facing the house of heaven and saw Jesus. Jesus, who looked at his beloved friend and said: “you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.” Judas will exceed all of them. And he will sacrifice the man that clothed Jesus.

In this interpretation, Judas was essentially told that he was the one who would finally free Jesus from his physical form. Judas, the supposed traitor disciple, would be the one to fulfill Jesus’ prophecy and thus sacrificed his beloved friend to bring about forgiveness for humanity.

And he understands.

In this manuscript, Judas Iscariot understands the will of God and what he has to do. He understands the weight of his betrayal and what he has to do in order to obey Jesus--so then it isn’t money or fear or anger or evil that motivates him to surrender Jesus to the soldiers but utter obedience and adoration for the Son of God. Judas gives his ‘yes’, knowing that for years and years he will be slandered and labeled as a traitor but at his core, Judas knows that it was not a betrayal to begin with.

So he led the soldiers to Jesus in the garden. He kissed him and let him be taken away and let him die.

-

This was the official translation approved by BBC and National Geographic according to the original translations done by Stephen Emmel, a Coptic studies professional.

Later on, this interpretation would be challenged by Dr. April DeConick, who claims that the mistreatment and mistranslation of the paper actually told the complete opposite, in the way that the revelation in the Last Supper was not created by Jesus but, in fact, by Judas, who had revealed himself to be the 13th demon of hell. This interpretation, while less popular, served as a direct challenge to the recharacterization BBC and NatGeo had approved of. I don’t really know too much about this debate, but I do know that this second interpretation does exist.

Of course, the original Judas text itself is currently impossible to truly translate to be sure. It was torn and shuffled, put into a freezer, and possibly even missing a few pages (which you can blame Bruce Ferinni for), ultimately making the authentic manuscript really difficult to properly restore.

The takeaway from this whole Book though--whether you accept it as canon or not--is that there were many interpretations and beliefs early Christians and Gnostics had that the time that criticized the way the four main gospels had passed down God’s teachings. People believed what they thought supported their own beliefs and at the end of the day. it's all still just a matter of who we choose to credit.

The real author to the Book of Judas remains anonymous to this day, but I am very glad to have been able to share this with you all :) 

not proofread since i did this at like 4 am    |    x   x   x

[oculus-de-malus]

Interested to know what your spiritual beliefs & practices and/or main philosophy are? Your blog has this occult vibe, but is it more than an aesthetic preference?

Thank you for the question! 🖤

I'll try not to ramble too much on this one, but I cannot promise anything to that regard unfortunately! : )

My blog does have an occult vibe, and I actually started it off as a more occult / dark art blog originally, before expanding into other things that interest me... and that's what it is really, it's basically a repository for all the things that fascinate and interest me, and the occult and art along with history / mythology has always been a big part of that. So, no it's not really an aesthetic nor something I believe in or practice, as such - just a vested interest.

My main philosophy is difficult to explain and this is probably the part where most of the waffle/rambling will take place. I try to absorb as much knowledge and information in every sense, whether it be through science, philosophy, literature, history, theology, psychology, sociology etc. I have a basic framework of ideals, but I like to understand different ideals, beliefs and opinions too, whether I believe in them of not, mainly as I find them fascinating to explore. It's part of our species' history after all. I understand this response may sound a little confusing or even non-committal to the question, and that's probably because it is! It's difficult enough to explain whilst sober!

I am fairly open-minded and do not practice a single or even multiple structured belief systems (having a random conversation once about the existence of ghosts and how they could in fact be time signatures from alternate timelines / parallel universes for instance - we were both high, but still...), but I love that... always learning about and duscussing other ways of looking at or explaining things. I know that we don't have all the answers, and likely never will.

Plus, I guess if I had to pigeonhole myself (which I hate to do) I'm more attuned to nature and the natural world, I feel the most 'alive' in nature and around elements of the natural world. We are in sync with nature whether we think we are or believe we are or not. When we die, our physical bodies, our atoms and molecules will return to the earth to become nutrients and the building blocks for other life here. Then, when the Earth is no more and our Sun dies, we will be recycled within the universe and part of a brand new cycle, just like the matter that makes up our bodies now, was part of countless bilions of cycles before us too - I guess in a way, that is everlasting life, at least at an atomic level... but as for our 'consciousness'? Who knows... there are several theories on this, of course, but no one alive knows for sure and there are no right or wrong answers. : )

Thank you again for the question though, you got my brain running away with itself.

[ettawritesnstudies]

🍪✨🦨 (and feel free to ramble a bit, if you’d like)

Thanks for the ask these are really fun!

🍪 — Cookies / biscuits: left-over, fresh out of the oven, or just plain dough?

All cookies are good cookies as far as I'm concerned. I eat the dough as I make them, do the dragon breath thing because I grabbed one off the tray too hot, and dip them in tea and coffee when done.

✨ — What’s something you love to ramble about to people?

I love talking Catholic theology and apologetics but it very much depends on the person because it can very easily turn into a debate as if I'm trying to convert them or if I feel like I have to defend myself and I don't want to risk ruining friendships over that. That being said, I'm ALWAYS happy to discuss religion in a mutually respectful manner and teach people if they want to learn. I've found myself surrounded by a lot of ex-catholics and agnostics who are "faith shopping" at uni, and there's a ministry in just authentically living my faith, shutting down offensive jokes, and answering genuinely curious questions with thought provoking reason. If conversion happens, it's not me, it's the Spirit. But being in such a secular space means that I can only really infodump about cool Saints or church history with my other Catholic friends. You can only really go "OK SO ABOUT CULPABILITY AND PURGATORY..." if you don't have to first walk through the story of salvation, the catechism, and the doctors of the church to bring someone up to speed. I've been able to keep in touch with my friends from homeschool though, and met some awesome people here at uni through the Newman center so it's not uncommon for Amanda and I to stand around outside the church after noon mass and just ramble at each other for an hour lol

🦨 — Tell me about a collection of yours (physical or digital)

I collect the most random stuff. I have a box full of things I love and want to keep but it's got everything from 3D printed knicknacks my boyfriend made me, to the anklets I've made for myself the last three summers, to a HEART full of glitter @abalonetea sent me one time. I also have a bunch of the NASA tourism posters but they're kind of ratty and keep falling off my wall because I've moved with them so many times dfkl. And notebooks. So many notebooks.

[waukrife]

@tvpeongsstuff​ also asked:

well....depends on where he goes?

It’s interesting to think about what he would do in the past, whether he would change anything, and if he did, would he keep his cards close or tell the council everything (I lean towards the former), would he make sure they avoided the fight on Naboo or would he kill the Sith and survive. Would he knight Obi-Wan and train Anakin himself (yes because he’s stubborn and doesn’t realise Obi-Wan deserves better)? What knock on effects would this have, up to and including Obi-Wan keeping his head down and being a perfect (-ly miserable) Jedi Knight, Dooku potentially staying with the Jedi, etc? However, in terms of scenario, I got a bit stuck on the future rather than the past, and also rambled about how Tim-Travel Is Real and Here’s How in maybe too much incoherent detail. 

Not to ramble about Jedi theology on main or anything, but I think that the Force exists beyond time, as in the Force is everywhere, and the Force yesterday is the same as today and tomorrow. It’s how Jedi have visions of the future, because that future already exists within the Force. So, when a Jedi ‘becomes one with the force’, constructs like time don’t exist. Neither do objectives like ‘this universe’ or ‘the universe where Anakin did save Padmé’ or even less prophetic twists like ‘the universe where Obi-Wan DID take the deathsticks’. 

In my headcanon, Force Ghosts absolutely could figure this out and manifest in the past. They don’t do this because they are boring and small-minded. Jedi these days...I guess when you’re working for the Republic there’s no time to sit down and ask why Jedi can see the future but not reach in and change it, or why some Jedi can teleport but not time-travel? It’s all just space and the force, isn’t it? So say the last time Qui-Gon hit a bong and decided to study the living force enough to become a ghost when he died, he got MORE esoteric with the meditations and figured out Force Ghost time-travel too. 

All this to say, when he dies and pops back as a ghost, his first thought is probably hmmm better check on Anakin. His next thought is probably oh shit, and Obi-Wan, my student of 12 years. I also think it’s quite easy to get lulled into just merging into the Force or getting lost, rather than concentrating enough to go somewhere, let alone chose where you end up. Maybe for a laugh he’d accidentally get stuck in some artefact in the temple for a bit, like...just him and some echo of a long-dead darksider chilling in the force attached to a cursed robe in the depths of temple storage or something. Or maybe he’d accidentally tune into a couple of people’s force dyad space-time calls ("Can you see my surroundings?""You're gonna pay for what you did!" oh dear, wrong number) before actually going anywhere deliberately or getting stuck somewhere. 

In canon, Qui-Gon is too boring and traditional to actually risk doing anything more than occasionally whispering vague encouragement into a couple of Jedi’s ears. So I don’t think he’d choose to actually explore time, or change the past. But that sucks and also so does studying really hard for your entire life and then in death maintaining the concentration to exist visibly using the force only to then look like a glitchy blue hologram. So, I think it would be cool for him to accidentally focus too hard and and accidentally properly re-embody himself somewhere in the gffa. Qui-Gon’s characterisation, as most Star Wars characters, is made very difficult by the breadth of material available, and the relative lack of actual screentime in the canon films, but he seems to be both a traditionalist, and also a bit of a renegade. Like, libertarian uncle energy. So it would be very interesting to see him confronted with the changes that overtook the Jedi in the near future, rather than the past. 

I think it would be most fun if he could accidentally get stuck in the clone wars. 

A clone scuba unit on some random planet in the middle of nowhere, doing underwater recon suddenly fish out some guy claiming to be a Jedi, look, I have a lightsaber- wow ok the blade is invisible, it didn't used to do that, oh wait yeah I'm actually made purely from the force and so are my clothes and accessories, don’t make me lose concentration or I might turn back into a blue ghost or just vanish or explode or something. Or more likely, he wouldn’t say anything, even when he figures out he’s not going to vanish any time soon and actually he doesn't need to concentrate that hard to keep the body, he can just use the force very powerfully to explode some droids- wait, why are there droids now? He'd probably just say some vague jedi catchphrases until someone comms their Captain who comms their Commander who comms the General who comes to check it out, who goes white and very bravely doesn’t pass out, who comms the Council who verify, this is dead Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn only somehow alive, and decide that “actually we can’t recall General Kenobi from undercover, and the 92nd just lost their general....” and put this possible ghost-creature that just emerged from the depths like the world’s lankiest space-shark (if sharks wore dripping beige robes and had kind of eldritch force powers even if they were reluctant to use them or speak in a way that made sense to people who don’t read Jedi philosophy treatises for fun). 

The 92nd aren’t really in the thick of it, anyway. They need the Jedi manpower and they need to keep Jinn out of trouble until they figure out whatever the hell the madman’s done this time. Hey, at least he’s not Pong Krell or some shiny knight who’s never been anywhere without their master, let alone had a command of an entire battalion. There’s no way this could go wrong. 

[firefletch]

7, 8, 11 u-u

7. What do you think are the characteristics of your personal writing style? Would others agree?

Heh, I am not great at self-analysis. I would say perhaps a strong focus on internal thought processes and what’s going on in the head of the characters, and not as much what’s happening externally. Not that I only stay in the characters’ heads or anything like that, it’s just that I will occasionally write an entire scene comprised entirely of actions and thoughts and realize that I have done zero (0) description of any kind (unless it directly relates to action or thoughts). When I do go back and add descriptions, we get to another characteristic: lots of metaphors and similes to try and get my point across.

I think others would agree? I think @granny-griffin once said something about my tendency to write internal processes, but I am not 100% sure my memory is correct (though that might be why this is my answer - subconscious memory and all). I haven’t really asked people so I don’t know what their opinions on my writing style would be.

8. Is what you like to write the same as what you like to read?

I would say yes - fantasty/sci-fi adventures are a large part of what I read. Maybe one day I’ll also start writing theology and apologetics stuff, too XD (probably not mysteries, though - I tried once and I kinda low-key was terrible at it, which obviously means I can never try again).

11. What do you envy in other writers?

It varies from writer to writer, but most of it boils down to stuff I try to do but struggle with. Things like vivid descriptions, incredibly subtle and satisfying foreshadowing, complicated but still coherent/understandable magic systems (cries in wHAt tHe HeCk iS hApPeNInG iN KosMyLdaR), full-fledged languages and scripts, inventive worldbuilding, effective characterization, anything that invokes Actual Feelings.... 

I don’t know if “envy” is the right word - through long (painful) experience I’ve learned to not compare myself to other writers, despite the (strong) temptation. But there are many things that I admire about specific authors, which I wish I could emulate to a degree. Sometimes that means “let me analyze this to see exactly how it worked,” other times that just means me internally screeching in delighted awe (and spamming a pre-selected victim with random and rambly all-caps reactions).