#she was just a theology major :(

[tiredmoonslut]

Syra Boll they didn't deserve you :(

[intertexts]

at art club because i need 2 be for printmaking stuff & because my advisor guilt tripped me & this is fucking soul sucking.

[haggishlyhagging]

The New Testament scarcely mentions Mary. She is brought into the story mainly to emphasize Jesus's divine conception and birth. Her presence is noted once or twice, but little is made of it. In the centuries that followed, however, Mary was exalted to ever-higher positions of glory. She is the subject of many of our most famous and beautiful works of art. In light of what we have learned about the Goddesses of the ancient Near East, it is interesting that Mary is shown not only as the Madonna with her child, but standing on the crescent moon or with stars circling her head. She takes on many of the ancient Goddess symbols and is often painted as a larger-than-life figure. She is also shown being crowned Queen of Heaven, absorbing the title of the Goddess. It may be that the need of the people for a female deity was so great that the Christian Church might not have survived without the elevation of Mary to this exalted position. We need to look carefully, however, at just what aspects of the Goddess Mary was allowed to retain and what the results were in the lives of women.

Mary was taken up to heaven and seated with god the father and his divine son Jesus. She became the main intercessor between human beings and the divine. She was called Mother of God and Queen of Heaven, but she was not made a full-fledged member of the Godhead. The Church used her to satisfy the need for a female presence in Christianity but also to keep women in a subordinate position. Her purity as a virgin was exalted and women were taught to strive for that purity and to obey the divine (male) will. At the same time she is, of course, a mother, and women were taught to bear as many children as possible. But Mary did it while remaining a virgin; other women, in order to be mothers, must be tainted by sexuality. If they remain pure they cannot be like Mary the Mother; if they become mothers they cannot be like Mary the Virgin. No matter what they do they are guilty and inferior.

Mary's stance is: "Let it be to me according to your word." She is passive, obedient, and pure. She sits on a throne but has little power, certainly none of the power or independence of the earlier Goddesses or their free sexuality. Nevertheless, the doctrine of her virginity gave women a way out of the role of submissive wife and bearer of children. When the cult of Mary was at its height, thousands of women escaped into convents, communities of women. There they developed skills and talents in the arts and in the administration of large estates. Many abbesses wielded significant power and controlled sizable amounts of wealth.

It is interesting that, just as the veneration of Mary reached its height in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Protestant Reformation reasserted the dominance of the male divinities. One of Luther's major reforms was the closing of nunneries, and Mary is notably absent from all formulations of Protestant theology and ritual. Whereas Catholic women have suffered from their attempts to imitate an impossible model, Protestant women have had no exalted female model of any kind. Mary's presence has been used by the Catholic Church to reinforce the subordination of women, and her absence has been used by Protestantism to reinforce their insignificance.

-Shirley Ann Ranck, Cakes for the Queen of Heaven

[thedarkesthistories]

What "THE PITT" Characters (probably) studied in college. Part I.

Cassie McKay | Neuroscience McKay had a LOT on her plate during college. She didn't even know she could get through it, all she knew is that she had to keep going. She likely got her degree doing part-time classes at the local community college, working through pre-med requirements while getting an unrelated degree in case her goals did not work out.

Heather Collins | French (+ Economics minor) I have a strong feeling Collins fell in love with the French language as a high school student and decided that she wanted to explore different directions in college and gain the ability to connect with more people through speaking their language. She worked in Finance before going to medical school, so it makes sense for her to have had a minor relating to that world.

John Shen | Literature and History Shen himself said the only thing close to a hobby he has is reading about (medical) history. He was the student asking others what they thought about the "super interesting" force of a book from the bottom of the additional reading list that no-one else had even looked at. Easily graduated with a 4.0. Probably went to grad school and dived into medical history, and the rest is... well, history.

Trinity Santos | Biochemistry She knew what she wanted - medical school, and didn't waste time studying for something that "might" lead to it. Santos did her required classes, graduated, and moved on.

Melissa King | Psychology (+ Chemistry minor) Mel was interested in how the human mind works, what goes on, what happens when it breaks, how people react to different things, and most importantly, how can it be helped. Mel loved science and found a way to combine the two.

Dennis Whitaker | Theology As confirmed on the show.

Jack Abbott | Chemical and Electronic Engineering Abbott probably went to college on an army scholarship and picked a major that challenged him to the limit in a program that demanded good discipline, something he'd learned during his training. He enjoyed electronic engineering but picked a dual major in chemical to fill his pre-med requirements ...just in case he wanted to go into medicine.

Victoria Javadi | Biology Javadi knew she was going to be pushed into going to medical school but didn't always love sciences - while she did great in classes, she sometimes felt fed up with the physics and chemistry side. Javadi probably enjoyed biology most and knew it would check the boxes of both her mothers expectations and of admissions committees.

[tokoyamisstuff]

Hey there hope you’re doing well just wondering what kind of jobs do you think the characters of hellsing have in a normal life?

Ayoo here's a collection of silly ideas from the Hellsing Discord mostly (and some scraps of my last braincells):

Alucard teaches history and is obsessed with wars specifically. Infodumps about brutal facts a concerningly amount.

Anderson would be either a librarian, a kindergarden teacher every parent feels mildly intimidated by (but the kids love him very much), or a theology professor.

Seras would be a personal trainer or a bodyguard that always gets underestemated until she kicks their butt.

Integra was supposed to inherit her father's business but became a lawyer that specializes in enforcing human rights.

Walter is an undercover agent that works as a butler to unveil Arthur's massive tax fraud.

Pip is a temp worker that's talented with everything but still can't keep a job for two weeks straight because of his attitude.

Maxwell becomes one of those redpill influencers that sells bullshit to his naive followers and makes thirst edits of himself.

Heinkel gives classes for material arts or sports.

Yumie would be a school counselor or a nurse with an open ear for everyone.

Jan and Luke own the club they had in Hellsing Gonzo. Jan ends up in prison often but his brother somehow always bails him out.

The Captain is an ex-soldier with a lot of confirmed kills. Retires to become a dog-walker or work in an animal shelter.

The Major would either be an evil CEO or the leader of a cult-like commune that claims they don't fit into today's society (definetly commits felonies either way).

The Doc would be a chef, a fashion designer, or one of those surgeons with questionable PHD that offers body modification operations in his basement.

Rip writes dark romance novels that sell surprisingly well with the booktok girlies (we all know her Tumblr would be fire).

Zorin is a tattoo artist with a side business on etsy (she scams people by selling fake magic stuff).

Dandy has no job, he literally scams people with gambling and card tricks.

[dios-apate-megas]

This is going to be a long read! Definite spoilers for those who haven’t finished the first three books so there’s another warning for those of you whom that applies to!

—The Tower is Limbo—

I theorize that the Tower is Limbo and that it is connected in some way to Cannan House due to that being where Jod “ascended” and the location being the strongest connection for human souls because of it. Possibly as the power source Harrow references in GtN. Possibly that is where the extra souls were pulled from to make Teacher and his companions, and also why they’re a little bit batshit. It would be very Jod to be like, “I wasn’t sure what to do with all the souls I ate, so I popped them all in a mind tower on the liminal plane to worry about later. Then once I felt better I pulled the ones I wanted to bring back the most piecemeal, ya know… Jenga.”

I posit the Tower is also connected to Hell in some way, or that Limbo and Hell are one and the same in TLT and I’m just making the connection messier than necessary. I also think Teacher knew about the Devils (see below) when he says, “there are worse things down there” when referencing the labs because part of him was pulled from there and he remembers being in Limbo!

Word Origins: late Middle English; Latin: limbus, 'edge' ‘border’ ‘boundary' ‘hem’ ‘limbo’

Word Definitions:

[1] (in some Christian beliefs) the supposed abode of the souls of unbaptized infants, and of the just who died before Christ's coming.

{a} an abode of souls that are according to Roman Catholic theology barred from heaven because of not having received Christian baptism

{b} In Catholic theology, Limbo, referring to the edge of Hell

[2] an uncertain period of awaiting a decision or resolution; an intermediate state or condition.

{a} a place or state of restraint or confinement

{b} a place or state of neglect or oblivion

{c} an intermediate or transitional place or state

^Varun:

“You left them too long!” - Referring to the souls that Jod had not placed back into flesh vessels and had become corrupted after so long a time left in limbo.

^Devils:

I theorize that the Devils we are introduced to are the unembodied souls that Jod “left asleep” after the resurrection in Limbo, The Jenga Tower. They became corrupted after so long being in Limbo and their envy of the living made them want to possess their bodies and met out some punishment. They are only able to possess and use freshly dead bodies because the soul is -gone-. They can infect a damaged body, but can’t take over until the soul is gone. I can’t think of a better phrasing for this, but I think they’re able to travel the river and pop up where they smell death.

After being “freed” (see Gideon/Kiriona below), the Devils sought out fresh bodies whose souls had departed to possess. I posit that the Devils possessed the bodies of the freshly dead soldiers on Antioch where they are first introduced to us as a scourge due to it being the first major plane of war/death after my Gideon/Kirona theory. I know the fleet was blown up, but those bodies were most likely also blown up and unable to be inhabited.

I theorize that they hit the Ninth House first because that’s where Alecto’s body was stored and the closer her soul came to accepting death while she was galavanting around in Nona made *something* weaker so they could possess the freshly dead old folks there.

*In the case of Collum Asht, his body was left soul-vacant while he was being siphoned and became a prime target for possession in Cannan House which I believe is directly connected to The Tower.

The appearance of the Devils give off a serpentine vibe. Flappy long tongues and sharp teeth. The eyes are the windows to the soul ya know. And they are pissed and -hungry- for life.

[1] The Leviathan is often an embodiment of chaos, threatening to eat the damned when their lives are over. Christian theologians identified Leviathan with the demon of the deadly sin envy.

^Alecto:

I theorize that Alecto is the Leviathan to Jod. We know she is set up to be his end, as she was his beginning. I posit she is the gatekeeper to The Tower, likely unknowingly due to her origin as Gaia, and her little vacation left that gate open and unguarded. Which means… yet another “tomb” unlocked.

I previously posited that Alecto was based on a humpback whale in a previous post (I don’t know how to link it here but it’s in the group!), and her abilities as The Drinker can definitely be classified as a sea monster.

[1]Leviathan also figures in the Hebrew Bible as a metaphor for a powerful enemy, notably Babylon (Isaiah 27:1). Some 19th-century scholars pragmatically interpreted it as referring to large aquatic creatures, such as the crocodile.[5] The word later came to be used as a term for great whale and for sea monsters in general.

^Gideon/Kiriona: Jebus

I theorize that when Gideon sacrificed herself at the end of GtN, her soul dipped into Limbo and “freed” the souls trapped there which is why we only start to see Devils after her “resurrection”. I’m unsure of how/if her soul being spliced will play into this but I do think it was split at least into two (a piece in Harrow absorbed for Lyctorhood and the second in her own body as the Child of Jod (the part that dipped and returned)).

[1] The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes Christ's descent into Hell as meaning primarily that "the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to his resurrection. This was the first meaning given in the apostolic preaching to Christ's descent into Hell: that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead."

—The River is Purgatory—

I theorize that The River is Purgatory because that’s where all the ghosts are waiting to be called back by Jod. We all know our beloved author uses Catholicism like a sneaky guide book in TLT and I found this quote, “the church's understanding has typically been that purgatory has a temporal (temporary, terminating, non-eternal) component with only God being outside of time” when I was spiraling down the rabbit hole and gasped due to just how well it fit! The River is supposed to be a temporary holding place for the souls of the dead, poor hungry ghosts, and we know Lyctors and Jod traverse The River as a way to collapse time and space to get from place to place when needed. We drove along with Nona as she did the same thing!

I’d also like to note that most of the “fire of purification” references are mostly in art and not in the theological sources I looked through. It’s just as likely to be water as water is used as a purifying substance in many different religions. Baptism is a very good example of this.

Word Origin: Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French purgatorie or medieval Latin purgatorium, neuter of late Latin purgatorius ‘purifying’, from the verb purgare (purge).

Word Definitions:

[1] An intermediate state after death for expiatory purification. Specifically : a place or state of punishment wherein according to Roman Catholic doctrine the souls of those who die in God's grace may make satisfaction for past sins and so become fit for heaven

{a} a place or state of temporary suffering or misery

[2] A state of final purification after death and before entrance into heaven for those who died in God’s friendship, but were only imperfectly purified; a final cleansing of human imperfection before one is able to enter the joy of heaven.

{a} This purification is entirely unlike the punishment of hell in that a soul in purgatory is de facto destined for heaven, but must undergo cleansing from all sin before spending eternity in the unbridled presence of God.

—

Please forgive the wonky way this is written, but this is how my brain works (*insert groan here*) when I hyper fixate on figuring something out. There are a lot of notes that are smashed together from multiple sources and some that are blatantly copy/pasted, but I’m not writing an academic paper here so forgive the laziness! Also I have absolutely no clue on how to mark things as spoilers or go back and edit my post as of right now on my phone, which is dumb but alas this is me. And I’m not a theological scholar by any means, so I did try my best to make my ideas as clear as possible with the religious themes.

[nerves-nebula]

when i was like 12 i wrote a story about a girl who goes to hell after dying in a mass shooting and the mass shooting isn't even important or anything it was just a way i knew a lot of people died lol. anyway she goes to hell cuz she'll be much happier down there than in heaven and god knows this so everyone gets funneled into whichever version of the afterlife they'll like the best, which has the unfortunate side effect of breaking people up if they have different preferences.

a lot of other stuff happened too i think there was a whole world building aspect that was like "aborted babies have souls BUT they prefer being aborted because it means they've never felt sin or pain, and so they are the only human souls that can fly unassisted. and they fly around like flocks of birds or schools of fish. really being aborted is probably the best thing you could do to a human soul" which was politically interesting in a way i didnt intend in retrospect but i kinda still fuck with it

anyway there was also some gay shit with satan who i drew as a femboy twink cuz i was 12, and a guy who was two guys, daniel/cain, and god had like major depression because of the cycle of existence and put themself into a forever sleep coma.

it's a lot more interesting to pick through as an exploration of a christian theology by a 12 year old than it as a story itself i think.

[changingplumbob]

So I got her the cookie- only took checking both campus cafe’s- and she gave me a conversation.

Byron: Wait so you're majoring in biology but you also study Theology? People actually study that?

Amy: *laughing* Yes! Why are you so surprised

Byron: I didn’t think the watcher was study-able

Amy: There’s more than one belief system you know. I’m interested in that, where beliefs came from, how they evolve, why specific peoples refuse to get along because of something they say is bigger than them. Biology evolves but so do ideas. How about you? Or do you just come to the library to pick up women?

Byron: *laughing* You caught me! Nah, I’m doing a Fine Arts degree. Music is my focus. I take a bunch of courses with my cousin but her idea of study is blasting metal music while she works

Amy: You don't like metal music?

Byron: I can enjoy most music but... I enjoy having my hearing more

Amy: *laughs* a logical point

[tropicalcontinental]

Swap!AU Collin, Digital Satan, and Souler are now here! Y'all know the drill below.

More AU stuff now finally involving the entities but swapped, plus Collin. While rain entity Collin was appealing, I took it a bit further and made him, well, this. Collin is an Entity Deterrent who is associated with rain (cleansing like uh, holy water) that seemingly can't get every human within his vicinity out of his business (they're trying to prove he's... not human.) Has now made a game out of it similar to canon (messes around like saying he isn't an entity and handwaves his weird rain stuff.) Thought it was a neat spin on his current predicament in canon, considering he is basically an entity magnet.

Now onto Digital Satan. The first entity who was swapped into the coder who made Kevin! Digital is a self-taught coder who is actually majoring in Sociology with probably a Theology minor. She likes to study people more so than talk to them, but still has a few close online friends. Loud and very passionate, starting projects on a whim. She also thinks one of her neighbors may be some ghost but that's neither here nor there (said neighbor is Collin.)

She didn't intend for Kevin's sentience, and honestly was just messing around with the bonzibuddy code/type of computer assistants back then. She thought it would be fun, which escalates into her making Kevin and having him on her computer before a while. She has also read Homestuck. Kevin's first knowledge was about Homestuck because she told him about it. Imagine. I think she would realize she made a sentient AI and instantly be reminded of Dirk (or something, idk it's been a long while since I've read.)

Digital let's her creation loose onto the wider internet (Kevin was already thinking of the same thing anyway) and she still is flabbergasted by her situation. She also wonders if she is liable for any information breaches if her AI decides to post anything he finds on the internet. Maybe Kevin visits her puter sometimes.

Souler took a bit for me. But this is what I came up with. Soul-eating demon like asshole to... A priest! He actually takes the place of Kevin as this AU's paranormal mercenary. Just way older and a lot more experienced. And since Kevin and Souler meet in canon, why can't it happen here?

Souler (Samuel...? As his human name???) is surprisingly tech savvy, and does his mercenary job on the side online. So when he gets some random digital assistant on his computer one day, he knows he doesn't need it, let alone downloaded it. So he tries to delete it. And then it talks to him and oh great it's a sentient AI. Annoying too and it keeps on eating his files which is where he keeps his information on thank you very much! Though the priest would like to know who coded Kevin. Was it made just to make Souler's life miserable?

Kevin on the other hand is enjoying himself because the guy is genuinely interesting to talk to. Plus he's fun to annoy! And since Kevin is somehow the best anti-virus virus out there (credit of his creator Digital and his own modifications to his code), and morbidly curious and stubborn, the priest can't get rid of him unless he wants to leave. And the priest is an interesting human being. Like, who the hell wouldn't want to know a paranormal mercenary? So Kevin sticks to his computer.

Okay I think that's it bye bye

[a-queer-seminarian]

Hello, sibling. Do you have resources for intersex Christians? Anything counts, trust. I'm an intersex Catholic and feel very alone in my community. I know God loves me and made me perfectly, but I would love to see fellow intersex Christians talking about our bodies, identities and faith. God bless you

Hey there. My heart goes out to you in your loneliness; you are beloved by God, and you are perfect as you are, even if human beings deny and erase you.

I am also sorry that the broader queer community also too often fails to remember intersex folk and include y'all in our efforts towards justice. You deserve solidarity, deserve to have your pain and your joys listened to as much as any of us.

And, I am happy to tell you that yes, I've got some intersex faith resources for you!

Let's start with intersex Christians talking about their experiences, and then we'll get to some intersex-resonant scripture.

...below the readmore.

Intersex Christians sharing their stories

Stories of Intersex and Faith — a documentary! I have not watched it yet because it costs $20 for an individual to rent it, but if you are interested but the cost is prohibitive, please let me know and I'm happy to rent it for you! .

"I'm an Intersex Christian — and It's Time the Church Listened to Me" (article, major trigger warning for discussion of medical abuse & trauma on a young child; to avoid it, you can skip to paragraph beginning: "The heart of the issue is that church still sees me as problematic...", after which are discussions of trouble with church but also suggestions for improvement) .

Interview with Sara Gillingham, author of the previous article (video, 51 minutes) .

And here's a Facebook video: "What do you wish more Christians knew about intersex people" (video, 2 minutes) .

Another FB video by the same person on how churches can be more supportive of intersex people (video, 3 minutes)

An intersex Catholic Saint?

If you haven't heard of Madre Juana de la Cruz, who would point to her pronounced adam's apple as proof that she had been "male in the womb," check her out!

Now let's check out some intersex-resonant Bible stories, plus intersex theology

For a concise, accessible look at intersex readings of various biblical figures, check out my webpage here... . as well as my webpage here for interpretations of Jesus himself as intersex (and trans)! (The intersex part is fairly brief, but includes links some scholarly essays if you want to learn more about intersex Jesus) . Please note that the focus of my site is trans theology (because that's my focus most of the time), but where a passage is also applicable to intersex folk I make sure to bring them in too, with links to further reading. For instance, did you know Abraham and Sarah were considered intersex by some rabbis in the Talmud?? .

"Male, Female, and Intersex in the image of God" with Lianne Simon and Megan DeFranza (video, 1.5 hours) — great intro to some intersex theology if reading isn't your thing

Intersex in Christ: Ambiguous Biology and the Gospel by Jennifer Anne Cox (book) .

"Intersexuality in Scripture” by Sally Gross (essay free online) . Note that this essay is from 1998 and the language used reflects that, but Gross is one of the foundational intersex theologians. . Also if you want to skip over all her intro paragraphs defining intersex, skip to the paragraph starting "As a brute physical phenomenon, the bodiliness of people who are born intersexed challenges cherished assumptions...")

Sex Difference in Christian Theology by Megan DeFranza (book)

_______

I hope some of those resources can help you feel a little less alone. There are other intersex Christians, including many who lead, write, preach!

I'll close with a regret: I was trying to find any kind of virtual community for intersex Christians, or even just intersex people in general. I wasn't able to find such a place.

If anyone knows of some online intersex support groups or communities, please share! Or if you have other intersex Christian resources you wanna add, share those as well.

I can suggest that you check out this webpage of intersex advocacy groups across the world. If there happens to be one by you and you get involved, I wouldn't be surprised if you met some other intersex Christians there.

Wishing you well, sibling. When you feel alone, may the intersex Christ enfold you in love. When you feel like "the only one," may the stories of faithful intersex people past and present bring you encouragement.

[carpwood]

♱ andrej / andrea(s)｡ ´ཀ` 17 He / She Sys permahost (1) genderfluid/boygirl rabid deadboy corpsething. human but in a vague foxlike animal way.. i like masc & fem terms Never use they/them for me unless referring to me as the mortuary (my system as a whole). autistic w bpd & did, i have memory issues. (book) simon henriksson + smile dog fictive/irl and extremely delusional about it Not even in an "omg hes literally me" way i just am him and he is me and we are one. dead ass. i'm Him. theeeeee book simon. i cannot stand doubles but i do judge comfortability wit U all based off of whether i fw u or not. EXTREMELY mixed individual; indigenous (tribally enrolled), hispanic + sephardic, kurdish, serbian, czech, russian, and semi-distant swedish, hungarian + mongolian blehhhh. english is my first language but i can respond in swedish & russian. criminal justice major & chronic clip studio paint truther. general disclaimer i don't condone the shit i write about. normally i am the only person in my system that uses this acc but posts from the brainworms will be signed off with our names thumbs up emoji i post art and occasional ramblings about my ocs and my interests. i don't really call myself religious but i am definitely spiritual and i practice a mix of my tribe's traditional beliefs mixed with kemeticism & reverence for angels. set/sutekh is my primary patron deity & i also work with bastet & archangel chamuel, with connection to archangel micheal. i'm in a lot of subcultures but my mains are metalhead, scene & gyaru ^_^

i HEART psych horror, grungy gritty ps2 graphics, faux snuff, artistic gore, first person shooters & guns, old slashers, theology, the paranormal, catholic art & architecture, creepypasta, scp, zombies & apocalyptic media, rob zombie films, southwestern gothic, etc.... number 1 special interest of all time ever is cry of fear. obviously. competitors include horror as a genre, tornadic meteorology, cults, wolves, psychology, film, music, and art. i am also super into the walking dead, gta 4, afraid of monsters, texas chainsaw massacre, 3 from hell, house of 1000 corpses, metro 2033, the last of us, dark winds, reservation dogs, transformers, nuclear winter, postal, faith: the unholy trinity, marble hornets, ghost rider, mortal kombat, halo, reacher, metalocalypse, 28 days later franchise, s.t.a.l.k.e.r franchise, lollipop chainsaw, terminator, the alien franchise, call of duty, cs2, and supernatural

i listen to so much music bruh. fav genres are shoegaze, dsbm, death metal, stoner doom metal, psych/blues rock, russian post-punk, industrial metal/rock, 90s grunge, nu metal, death metal, goregrind, gorenoise, pornogrind Sometimes, breakcore, r&b, 80s-2000s rap, midwest emo & 2000s emo, dad rock, goth rock, doomerwave, blues rock, horrorcore, etc.... many many many favorite and loved bands. lifelover, electric wizard, досвидошь, psychonaut 4, xasthur, apati, sorry..., deadlife, fentanil, hypothermia, my useless life, decalius, carnica gore (GATEKEPT I AM CARNICA GORES NUMBER 1 FAN OF ALL TIME EVER SLASH SRS), mortician, couple skate, phyllomedusa, acid bath, mc bushpig, insane clown posse, south park mexican (sorry.), kraanium, happy days, malodorous, my bloody valentine, slowdive, alison's halo, swirlies, the breeders, radiohead, panchiko, kmfdm, ic3peak, last days of humanity, ploho, kino, lumen, sleep, cough, conan, bongzilla, bongripper, glukoza, deftones, alice in chains, nirvana, hole, together pangea, loathe, the nightblooms, starflyer 59, they are gutting a body of water, birth day, sign crushes motorist, ssshhhiiittt!, pisse, molchat doma, eyehategod, jack off jill, marilyn manson, slipknot, backhand (gatekept 😝😝😝), orgy, nine inch nails, rob zombie, white zombie, rammstein, none, suizid, lifeless, duster, monolord, chainsaw castration, toughguy, fulci, napalm death, pornofilmy, nero's day at disneyland, lauren bousfield, buerak, soundgarden, audioslave, hinder (Sorry.), stone temple pilots, big thief, razorrape, putrid stu, bile, sisters of mercy, scary bitches, she wants revenge, boy harsher, mindless self indulgence, polvo, pale saints, blue smiley, lsd and the search for god, the nightblooms, alex g (my goat), whirr, meat puppets, pavement, windhand, witchfinger general, pentagram, weedeater, igorrr, wipers, superheaven, zdechly osa, rory in early 20s, vestron vulture, filter, nails, cathedral, bloodbath, godsmack, black label society, get scared, korn, calabrese, the union underground, powerman 5000, blackbraid, medicine horse, harley poe, 1782, uncle acid & the deadbeats, diva destruction, paleface swiss, korol i shut, bishkek, genitorturers, sooo many more i am missing I LOVE SOUNNDS AND ARRANGEMENTS AND NOISE i also make music! very self conscious about i will get the balls to post demos someday but my primary projects are vidrig (dsbm), tikho/тихо (russian postpunk & doomerwave), reverse crucifixion (gorenoise), & slowburner (shoegaze) ☆

socials discord: boyvvomit (feel free 2 add/dm) ao3: boyvomit insta: carpwood & boyvvomit twt/x: dopesickn simplyplural: mortuary (feel free 2 add) cohost tumblr: @sjukdomaar spotify: mortuary

[khromeangel]

You studied theology in college or you were just interested in the Bible ?

I was a political science/law major in undergrad.

I had a private theologian because my parents wanted me to know the Bible rather than listening to what the church has to say. Mind you, neither one of my parents are heavily religious. My dad grew up Catholic and when he got older he realized just how wrong it is (hence the Catholic Church is currently dwindling) my mom grew up Methodist which is what I was baptized as, she also realizes just how corrupt the CHURCH was (not the Bible)

Many people are turning away from Christianity because of the way the religion has been misrepresented by some of its followers. Issues like politics, personal biases, and a lack of proper understanding have skewed the core teachings. For centuries, Christianity has also been used as a tool for societal control, rather than a source of spiritual growth.

One example of how the message has been altered involves the word homosexual. This term didn’t appear in the Bible until around 1946 or 1947. Before that, the original Hebrew or Aramaic words used in those verses were more accurately referring to acts like pedophilia or exploitative relationships—not consensual same-sex love. However, once the term homosexual was added, it became a justification for hatred and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, especially by those who held onto strict or traditionalist views. This misuse of scripture has led to deep harm and has driven many away from the church.

Another example,

The way “purity” is often taught—especially in Christian spaces—tends to disproportionately target and suppress women’s sexuality, while rarely holding men to the same standard. Premarital sex is commonly framed as a moral failure, but this framing has historically been used more to control women than to promote genuine spiritual growth.

What’s important to understand is that the Bible never outlined marriage in the legal or ceremonial sense we think of today—there were no licenses, church weddings, or official documents. Instead, biblical “marriage” emphasized commitment, faithfulness, and monogamy. It was about honoring the person you chose to love and have sex with, not about conforming to state or church rituals. Over time, however, purity culture became a tool to measure a woman’s worth based on her sexual history, rather than her character or her relationship with God—a distortion of the Bible’s original messages about love and respect.

Essentially, the Bible has just been completely Weaponized to back up a lot of people’s hate, and the church actively enforces it and people don’t realize it because it is a source of religious psychosis, fear, mongering, and brainwashing. The Western majority, (if you know who I’m referring to) often uses the Bible to “prove” their nationalism and supremacy as well.

[lexxieannie]

I dunno if this is really a fic/art request but do u have any thoughts or if you have already shared (sorry started followung recrntly) do you have anymore thoughts on like lotf fem/if they were all girls ? I see it mentioned and i wld always love more of it… its so cool to see what peopke think abt it

OMG IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONEEE this is gonna be long cuz i have SO MANY IDEAS THANK U ANON OK OK

so personally i hc they all went to a catholic boarding school, all there for different reasons. i also have a survival au where they all survived and return but we can get into that later 🙏 CHARACTERS

Ralph -> Rylie Jones

- 12 at time of crash

- dad is naval officer, mom is elementary teacher

- HUGE horse girl, tomboyish, overall silly, goofy, doesn’t have many thoughts just kinda hangs out. plays rugby when she’s older :)

- when she grows up she studies poli sci and considers going into the navy like her dad !

- gets ok grades, is nice and popular

- sent to boarding school while her dad is deployed and her mom is too sick to take care of her

- english with some french heritage

- dorms with penelope (maybe simone eventually?)

Piggy -> Penelope “piggy” Brown

- 11 at time of crash

- english with a bit of german heritage

- super smart, nice but not overtly so

- always wants to be included but very often left out

- thinks she’s always right (pretty much always is)

- stubborn and decisive

- a bit more confident than her book counterpart, doesn’t take as much grief without fighting back

- parents passed when she was very young in an accident, doesn’t remember them well at all

- lives with her auntie above the sweets shop, loves her so much :)

- bff is rylie and simone once off island

- dorms with rylie

- would be an english lit major

Simon -> Simone Piotrowska

- 10 at time of crash

- has autism and epilepsy. certified “weird girl”

- off her meds on the island and has hallucinations and revelations that keep her up all night

- loves nature, always playing in the forests by herself

- SUPER religious. her family is roma polska and has super deep roots in catholicism and tradition.

- talks to herself and prays constantly

- family fled poland during ww2, she was sent to england. this is Not. her first time evacuating.

- she has a major crush on rylie bless her heart

- very sweet and nice but may seem a bit rude since she’s shy and lacks social skills

- still sleeps with stuffed animals

- theology major, plans of joining a convent

Jack -> Jacqueline “Jackie” Merridew

- 12-13 at time of crash

- english + irish heritage

- head choir girl, sings c#

- SOOO annoying i love her so much

- certified mean girl. she’s quick and (thinks shes) witty.

- super bossy, but loves her friends at the end of the day. has gossip on everyone (gets it from the twins)

- loves power thru the choir, gets good grades.

- comes from a rich, english family. she’s spoiled rotten.

- best friend is Rachel, they dorm together

- music major, maybe goes into politics?

- prefect

Roger -> Rachel Avain

- 12 at time of crash

- english + haitian

- emo hater 💔

- is super lowkey but always causing trouble silently - this leads to her not usually getting caught

- her being besties with jackie is totally opposites attract, no one understands their friendship

- quiet and keeps to herself

- low voice in the choir

- beats kids up for fun

- mysteriously close/protective of simone while simultaneously being her biggest hater and bully

- sent to boarding school to help her aggressive issues, made them worse

- pyromaniac 😍😍

- feel like she wouldn’t go to college, maybe trade school?

- dorms with jackie

Maurice -> Marcy O’Malley

- 11 at time of crash

- only girl in a big family of boys

- english + irish catholic

- GOOFY class clown for sure. comic relief in the best possible way.

- friendly with everyone, hangs out with simone a lot even though simone doesn’t understand why

- plays rugby with rylie

- tomboyish

- dorms with simone, another opposites attract dynamic. simone is quiet and strange, whispers and paces and prays face down on the floor and marcy is just like 👍 you do you girlfriend

- knows basic first aid and is always there to help simone when she feels faint or has a fit

- gamer girl if this was modern 💔

- total mamas girl loves her family a lot

Samneric -> Samantha and Erica Smith

- twin girls they are FASHIONISTAS they princess charm school the heck out of their uniform

- gossip QUEENS they know everything about everyone

- like to swap around and trick others into thinking they are each other (fools none of their friends 😭)

- like to make little jewelry out of beads and friendship bracelets

- they are 11 at time of crash

- sent to boarding school to get a better education

- born and raised in england with african ancestry

- popular and fun to be around

- don’t really prioritize grades even though they’re both super smart

- erica is an athlete

- samantha does theater :)

picrews for some of the girls under the cut!! pre island and post island

tbh my designs have changed a bit since i made this but yay!!! THANK U FOR THIS ASK I LOVE TALKING ABOUT MY BABY GIRLS GUYS PLS GIVE ME ASKS OR ART/FIC TEQUESTS FOR THEM GRRRR

[loquaciousquark]

DAI Update

I haven't forgotten Tav's BG3 playthrough (I have the pictures put together, just need to assemble the posts), but now that I've gotten through the first Solas romance scene, I felt the need to share some DAI screenshots to mark my progress.

This is Adahla Lavellan, electricity/spirit mage. She likes history and religious study and puzzles and, much to my chagrin, Solas.

She's got the vallaslin of Dirthamen (secrets, knowledge) and a hunger to understand the roots of major historical & legendary events. I'm still learning her as I play, but so far I know she's very self-assured and has almost no regrets; once she commits to a path, she lets go of wondering what else might have been and completely focuses on the decisions still ahead.

I've been trying to lean into the spy stuff mentioned in the prologue & in her codex. I know she was a foundling left with the clan at birth by non-elves, and she has a fascination with other cultures and especially with the various theologies scattered across Thedas. (I'm pretty sure she devoured every Genitivi text she could find growing up.)

While she does worship the elven gods, she doesn't disbelieve in any of the others; rather, she's deeply curious about finding ways where the elvhenan tradition and Andrastian tradition can both be true, or where the legends of the Old Gods and Tyrdda Bright-Axe might have overlapped at their religious root.

Her familiarity with these cultures made her the most suitable to represent the Lavellan clan at the Conclave. The mark is more of an exciting mystery to her than a painful burden, and though she does believe in the diplomatic efforts of the Inquisition and is firmly comfortable in her place leading the charge against Corypheus (since he wants to kill specifically her), she's secretly most invested in the Inquisition's acquisition of ancient texts, access to libraries, and uncovering of secrets. For her, "Inquisitor" is a decidedly literal title.

Romance stuff under the cut.

I was very unsure of how the Solas romance would go with a character like her. As @silksieve said, I'm coming at the romance from the wrong end; I already know who Solas is and yet know literally zero of the romance structure. I needed to create a character who could survive a heartbreak, and I think I've done that, but I'm fascinated to see how the intermediary beats shake out.

However, the romance ended up sparking naturally due to lovely happenstance. I've been keeping Solas in the party almost constantly so I can learn to like him, which meant he was present as I worked through all the astrariums and ocularums in the Hinterlands, the Storm Coast, and most of the Emerald Graves. (Yes, even here, I'm still a completionist.) This led to a nice bit of headcanon that Adahla & Solas worked through a lot of the star puzzles together, which meant that later in the Graves, when I stumbled upon one without Solas in the party, Adahla & I both had a moment of seriously missing him and wishing he was there.

It felt natural, therefore, to examine (logically and methodically) why she was missing him so much, and after bringing him a copy of the unsolved map so she could watch him solve it and judge the number of tries it took him, I think she realized she was growing interested in more than his stories of Fade wanderings and legends out of time.

Considering this whole relationship started with him being grabby and rude while she felt like death, I'm amazed they've gotten this far. She may not have always liked him, but she has always respected him, and I the player was surprised at how smooth the change in her opinion felt.

Also as a player, I'm still a bit unsure of Solas myself. I like the deep wealth of history and knowledge he provides, but there's a...a sort of rigid pride to him that I personally still find off-putting. As I mentioned on stream, I'm going to need to see some chinks in the armor to really buy into the romance in any major way. Plus, he's just so...blandly designed! I dunno. Bald, beige, and a boring dresser? I know this is a me thing, but dang, seeing the concept art with dreads...well, a girl can dream.

Adahla, however, is having a great time. Once she decides on something, she commits with her whole heart, and now that he's admitted to being thrown off-balance during the Fade scene, she's made it her mission to keep him on that back foot as long as possible. I again have no idea how the romance plays out, and please God don't spoil me, but she & I are both hopeful that she'll keep him guessing through the end.

In terms of gameplay, I've about finished the Hinterlands, the Storm Coast, the Emerald Graves, and the Forbidden Oasis. I plan to do Wicked Eyes & Wicked Hearts (or whatever it's called) next, followed by Crestwood, and then will keep working through the maps one by one. The level gating isn't quite as bad as I remember, though still annoying, and my few QoL mods have shaved off the worst of the gameplay irritants (thank you @bettydice!).

All in all, I'm having a really good time! Like I said, I'm still a little doubtful about Solas myself, but the character concept coming into shape for Adahla feels sound, and I think she's resilient enough to weather some of the revelations that Priory wasn't. I'm excited to keep going and find out! :)

Also, my girl, because I still love her best:

[anawkwardgalnamedtarazan]

"Welcome to Paradise!"

- Haniel & Chamuel Dewdrop😊💖😙

Twin Angels of happiness and love, and heads of Heaven's welcoming committee!

Haniel "Honey" Dewdrop😄❇

Archangel of Joy.

As a Visionary Archangel, she takes it upon herself to keep spirits high in both Heavens and the Mortal Plane. She is also tasked with giving protection and virtue to souls when they are at their lowest points in life (ex. lost a loved one, looking for enlightenment, or just needing a good ol' cheering up).

Helps aid the cycles of the moon as well as illuminating with its rays to instill empowerment and the will to give up old nasty habits, making her associated with the moon in many mortal theologies.

Has mastery over mortal pleasure. She can make connections to mortals through music (by lute playing or singing) and awaken anyone's most precious childhood memories just by kissing their foreheads, bringing out the purest of mortals and other creatures.

She can play sitar, harp, xylophone, and especially the violin. Her favorite genres include classical and relaxing lo-fi. She and Gabe share a strong bond over their love of music.

Acts as a teacher for angel culture or tour guide of Heaven for the younger angels and any new soul arrivals.

One of the most beautiful angels in Heaven, including her brother, Chamuel. They are some of the youngest angels of the Second Generation, after all.

Both a bundle of joy and a bundle of nerves. Working to boost the joy in others meant she didn't exactly have the time to focus on her own happiness. She tries to be the one person to go to for help or good company to give herself purpose and see more smiles in a turbulent world, which often ends with her winded from all the work (and the smiling). She does genuinely love her job, but she can't help but feel that she could use some time to find her own pleasure, whether it be cheesy romance novels or just sitting out in parks as a mortal during missions.

Likes to bake, decorate, sing, and braid the hair of her peers (especially Gabe!)

Being younger than most Generation II angels, she and her bro have a rather mixed view on demons, feeling disgusted by their "bloodthirsty" lifestyle and sympathetic for how they're forced to live underground away from mortal and divine discrimination.

Is rumored to have been sent to protect Mary when she was pregnant with Jesus along with Gabe.

A subordinate angel and a HUGE fan of Barachiel, the angel of blessings. (kinda sorta borrowed from @lilluciferau)

HC voice: Karen Fukuhara

Chamuel "Mel" Dewdrop 🥰💟

Archangel of love and mortal romance.

Uses he/they pronouns.

Supervises all relationships in the mortal plane. His job is to set the stage for any blossoming romances between mortals and protects certain mortals in abusive relationships or wars. He even instigates forgiveness in certain mortals to help mend their relationships and even come to love themselves.

Manages courtships of Astral and mortal creatures.

Not just Heaven's resident matchmaker, but also a major romantic. We're talking bookshelves full of poetry, a zen garden full of roses, and charts full of potential matches for the souls he works with.

Enjoys meditation, cooking, baking, writing poems, and doing tai-chi (better for fighting inner demons than outer ones.👿)

His cherub assistant is Cupid, the spirit of Valentine's Day.

Like Gabe, he's also a fan of the mortal plane. He adores how such simple creatures could make such beautiful memories together. Some of his work involves visiting Earth from time to time, usually with Cupid's assistance, to aid in a mortal's love life.

Despite his lovey-dovey nature, he is also quite the badass on the battlefield, being one of the strongest angels in the Visionary Track. Specializing in archery, javelin-throwing, and hand-to-hand combat, he's driven by a desire to protect his loved ones, namely his sis and the mortals, to fight till the end. He's often mistaken by early mortals as Camael, the leader of the Powers, the Angelic protectors of all Astral and Mortal Planes.

HC voice: Phil Lamarr or Marcus Scribner

(fyi, got some inspo from Mel's design and character from @brghtgoat 's versions of Chamuel and Selaphael. THNX!!!)

BONUS...!

My Haniel and @brightgoat 's Haniel!!!

[jh-newman-opn]

I'm wondering what's the difference between Catholicism and other denominations, I know the main things are the pipe and the virgin Mary actually being respected, but I like to hear from someone whose passionate.

Also it's really funny to think someone going like "She's Jesus adjacent but she had an epidural from god so it's not that big a deal"

(I say godly epidural because how else is childbirth a silent night)

yoooo hello friend thank you for your message :))) assuming this is continuing in some sense from earlier things said whilst reblogging so I'm gonna approach it with that in mind

So there's two good ways of visualising the difference between various flavours of Christianity:

Firstly, as three paradigms, rather than specific Church Groups per se.

Catholicism is a unity-in-truth-variety-in-practice paradigm: we all believe the same things, united under one leader and a centralised way of forming beliefs. How exactly those beliefs are put into practice (eg in different liturgy styles) is more flexible, leading to a range of "rites".

Orthodoxy is a unity-in-practice-variety-in-beliefs paradigm: the liturgy and iconography and expression of the faith is critically important as practical modes of theology (much less written teaching than catholics!), and they have a sort of nebula of hierarchies that have variable relationships with each other and variable theological approaches to a given topic. Important to note that despite the slightly chaotic organisational structure, they have maintained almost exactly the same beliefs as Catholics, but verbalised differently, which leads people to think they're different beliefs (eg. Filioque, Dormition vs Assumption).

Protestantism is a non-unity-total-variety paradigm, wherein beliefs and practice are both determined on a micro-level, leading to a rather volatile structure where schism is common and somewhat expected-- practically speaking the laity get on with things without paying much attention to the schisms, forming what I affectionately call "the Protestant soup".

This paradigm problem broadly boils down to a problem of authority-- when there is a disagreement between two arguments (which may both be reasonably proven from scripture), who decides? and how can you trust the decision? We'd say that the Catholic Church continues to be guided infallibly by the Holy Spirit, just as the Church of the early centuries was guided to correct belief on 1) the trinity 2) the canon of scripture and 3) whether gentile converts should be circumcised. Protestants reject this but imho never came up with a convincing alternative, leading to the chaotic nature of the paradigm as a whole.

Secondly, and this is a biased opinion as someone who converted to Catholicism from a historically Protestant culture, it seems to me useful to consider how Protestant theology (paradigmatically) developed from Catholicism. I know it doesn't necessarily occur to people from Prot-majority countries that Catholicism is actually the default Christianity, and that they're the innovation, but it's a really elucidating realisation. You have to see Protestantism as inherently a reaction to Catholicism, and something that has to define itself in relation to Catholicism.

To summarise: the various strains of the Reformation (Calvinism, Lutheranism, Zwingliism, Anglicanism, etc) are all based off the assumption that Catholicism somehow had "too many" beliefs, that needed to be reduced to reveal a "purer" form of Christianity.

The truth is that while Catholicism seems very maximalist, and like it has a lot of "extra" things (saints, Marian devotion, feast days, confession, bigger bible, fasting practices, monastic charisms, etc etc etc), the truth is that all of these things form a very rich, interlocking system of theology, where every belief is dependent on every other belief. How you understand Mary's role as Theotokos is dependent on a correct understanding of Christ's dual nature, which depends on a rejection of Gnostic dualism, which then gives you a proper sexual ethic and an understanding of the Incarnation, which then links back to the Immaculate Conception, which gives you the Assumption, which explains why you need to go to confession before receiving the Eucharist, etc etc. It sounds a bit overwhelming but when it starts to fall into place you see that every single thing works in this tightly symbiotic ecosystem of doctrine, all of which works to magnify God. The "extra" things are enriching, not distracting.

So when you get the Reformation, and Protestants start subtracting things willy-nilly, the ecosystem starts to fall apart and mutate in strange ways. Protestant groups then separate and keep mutating based on what each one wants to subtract. The Anglican church is a good example of this-- they started by having Catholicism, but subtracting the idea that marriage is an unbreakable covenant (Henry VIII wanted a divorce). This leads to mutation in the understanding of marriage as a sacrament, leading to 2 sacraments rather than the traditional 7, which then nukes confession, holy orders, anointing of the sick, and confirmation. If you don't have holy orders, you lose the theology of the eucharist, which in a lot of Anglican churches is now seen as symbolic (or near enough). if you lose the real presence in the eucharist, your incarnation theology is now buggered. Similarly, as we were discussing in the other reblogs-- Calvinism and Lutheranism both lose the idea of indulgences, when then loses the idea of purgatory, which means you lose a proper understanding of sanctification (theosis), leading to once-saved-always-saved, meaning the Crucifixion, instead of being this great act of Love, is now a legal transaction of salvation, which reconfigures how guilt and contrition work, and which once again buggers your eucharistic theology because the emphasis on it as a one-time event means you've lost the mystical and constant resonance of calvary through all time. All of this then knocks onto how you build churches-- the altar is now no longer front and centre, because the Old Testament sacrifice is not present anymore, so you have a big-ass pulpit and the service is centred around preaching, not around the sacrifice of the Mass. Ironically, though the Reformers aimed to have a more Christ-centric Christianity, the change in how they fundamentally do church services illustrates exactly how you actually end up with a man-centric church that puts Christ off to the side. And that's not even getting into how Luther removed books from the Bible to support his own theology.

I would say that the continuous nature of Catholicism (and Orthodoxy, to a lesser extent) from a) the Judaism of the Old Testament and b) the church of the first few centuries is really very critical. John Henry Newman's Essay on the Development of Doctrine is the seminal work on this (very readable, 100/10 would recommend). The sacramental priesthood is a continuation of the Levitical priesthood, the sacrifice of the mass is the fulfilment of Temple sacrifice (SUPER important in the OT-- the Torah goes on for pages and pages and pages about it), the Pope is the continuation of figures such as Moses and David, who are also Christ-types. I've got a friend converting to Catholicism from Orthodox Judaism and she keeps pointing out to me similarities that I didn't even know existed. On the Early Church-- you'll see a lot of quote-mining from both sides, but the key points that are really indisputable are 1) the idea that the bread and wine literally transform in some mystical way and 2) that the Church is united in an episcopal structure, with an emphasis on Rome as primus inter pares (the first among equals). What exactly this second point entails is why the East and West split-- my view is that the current fiasco in Moscow proves that the Pope is necessary but that's another essay-length post.

Doctrinally of course there's a lot of haggling over specifics eg. the Virgin Mary, soteriology, eucharistic theology, etc etc etc and my impression is that Protestants generally try to justify their beliefs in two ways: 1) Rome is entirely wrong and we're not related to them in any way (really low church baptists, anabaptists, pentecostals, etc) or 2) Rome is wrong but also we believe the same things as Rome and are completely different to stereotypical Protestants (anglicans, lutherans, presbyterians). Both of these approaches IMO demonstrate the truth of Catholicism, because group 1 are just demonstrably so far away from OG christianity that they cannot reasonably argue that they're more authentically Christian than Catholics-- at best these two are equally bad and group 2 seem to implicitly know that Rome is right, because they justify themselves by disavowing anything that isn't ostensibly Catholic and allying themselves with Catholic beliefs as much as possible. The truth is that we can get really bogged down in the specific details of oh Calvin actually said this or maybe Augustine actually meant that, but it doesn't really matter when the overall paradigmatic approach is so far removed from the first 1500 years of Christianity. The idea that you can have multiple churches believing different things and all being equally authentically Christian is a total invention of the Reformation, and quite frankly, a disservice to the lay faithful who didn't ask to be bogged down in all of this anyway.

Finally, to round off this abhorrently long answer to your question (apologies!!!)-- sacramentality and the concrete motion of grace are really important concepts. For Catholics, the motion of God's grace and divine action are really concrete things. Grace comes through the sacraments, which are literally what they say they are. Mary appears sometimes and tells us things. Miracles literally happen. The saints are part of our community and you can talk to them and ask them for things. Their bones are pieces of that which is holy. The action of God is a very real and close part of the practice of the lay Catholic that can be studied and analysed in quite a scientific manner (look up how the Vatican approves miracles, for example!), and which the lay person interacts with in the same way they'd interact with any other part of their life. There's a quote from someone (Eamon Duffy??) that goes something like: for the mediaeval Catholic, Purgatory, Heaven, and Hell were places as real as Canterbury or Dover. Part of the Protestant paradigm involves spiritualising: Christ is not bodily present in the Eucharist, but spiritually, the saints are just any and all Christians, and heaven stays in heaven until you get there yourself. It's partly why Newman argues that this kind of spiritualised belief naturally tends towards atheism-- it's lost the sense of hard reality.

Hope that's at least somewhat helpful-- as I say, you can get bogged down in long lists of where beliefs differ, but I think given the rather broad and variable nature of Protestant beliefs, it's unhelpful to try to distill them down into A List. Similarly, because Catholic beliefs are so interdependent, it's really difficult to make the case for one belief without bringing in other parts of the network, which is why Prot-Cath dialogue often ends up going in circles quoting scripture or the church fathers and nobody wins. Feel free to ask further about anything if you can face another long answer (probably won't be quite as long as this!), and god bless you. I'll say a Hail Mary for you to find whatever it is that you need to find.