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us-cj · 13 days ago

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President Trump is correct. I watched her "sermon." She is a liberal LGBTQ activist who flies the rainbow flag and marched for George Floyd and said Trump should leave office. Then, in 2020 when Antifa-BLM tried to burn down her church - she blamed President Trump - when he was the one that actually called to save it.

Who picked her to say this Communist garbage to President Trump from the pulpit:

"In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on people in this country who are scared now. There are gay and lesbian transgender children among Democratic, Republican and Independent families. Some fear for their lives.

And the people who pick our crops, clean office buildings, labor in poultry farms & meatpacking plants, wash dishes after we eat, work night shifts at hospitals - they may not be citizens or have proper documentation - but most immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues and temples.

I ask you to have mercy Mr. President on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. That you help those who were fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands. To find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger. For we all want strangers in this land.

May God grant us strength & courage to honor the dignity of every human being. To speak truth to one another in love and walk humbly with each other and our God. For the good of all people in this nation and the world. Amen."

BEN CARSON: "These are words you would expect to hear from a barista, not a Bishop. She isn’t brave, or strong, or a unifier. She’s another pawn of the left whose Trump Derangement Syndrome has blinded her from truth or reason. She’s an activist. It’s disgraceful on many accounts."

FRANKLIN GRAHAM: "The National Cathedral has fallen into the hands of LGBTQ activists. So, it's not surprising this "lady bishop" spewed hate at Donald Trump today. National Cathedral has become a sanctuary of Satan."

GIORDANA: "Episcopalian Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde is a lesbian radical woke & DEI activist who believes she is chosen by God to scold President Trump regarding his TRANS policies."

MATT WALSH: "Just take one look at this witch and you know everything you need to know about her, even before she starts talking."

MEGYN KELLY: "Trump & Vance handled it perfectly - total class. This “bishop” who apparently prefers we mutilate children in the name of gender ideology & allow young girls to get gang raped by illegals at our open S border, however, is a rude, ignorant, TDS afflicted hack."

SCOTT ADAMS: "Lesbian Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde chose to pander to the LGBT whose movement has been wrecked by trans mental illness. She’s the same B who trashed Trump for saving her historical Episcopal church from burning to the ground after Trump hating liberals set it on fire."

CHARLIE KIRK: "Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde is the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. She's the first woman to hold the position. She was given a great honor today, a chance to unify America around a Christian message at the dawn of a new administration. Instead, she disgraced herself with a lecture you'd hear on CNN or an episode of The View. What an embarrassment."

PAUL SPERRY: "FEC filings reveal Mariann Budde & family have given exclusively to Democrats and collectively contributed several thousand dollars to Kamala, Obama, Biden. While she claims to champion the poor - property records show she lives in a $2 million+ colonial mansion with 6 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms in a leafy DC neighborhood. Her church claims that it receives no operating support from the federal government, but it does get grants from the federally funded nonprofit National Trust for Historic Preservation. Her family funded George Soros, worked for OBAMA FOR AMERICA and with Jack Smith at the Hague."

ERIC METAXAS: "Exactly WHO is responsible for setting the trap of Pres Trump attending that ridiculous service to hear the preposterous "bishop" insult him and the American people? Can we get to the bottom of that one ASAP? Seriously. We need answers. Who???"

Did the hack Bishop know that Trump danced with the VILLAGE PEOPLE the night before his inauguration? Did they look scared?

Scott Bessent, Trump's nominee for Treasury Secretary, an openly gay man, defended Trump and wrote this today:

https://x.com/mirandadevine/status/1882134235462742052

PS: THIS IS WHAT I WAS WRITING YESTERDAY FOR MY NEWSLETTER WHEN SUBSTACK WENT DOWN SYSTEMWIDE. LOOK AT JD'S FACE.

I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO SHARE THIS WITH YOUR PASTOR.

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 8 days ago

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The Right Reverend Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, D.C., has a history of practicing what’s called “the prophetic tradition”: naming the world’s ills and calling out those who perpetrate them. In 2020, after President Donald Trump ordered the dispersal of Black Lives Matter protesters from Lafayette Square and then posed there for photographs, standing before St. John’s Church and holding a Bible, she expressed outrage. “Mr. Trump used sacred symbols to cloak himself in the mantle of spiritual authority, while espousing positions antithetical to the Bible that he held in his hands,” Budde wrote in an op-ed. When Trump ran for reëlection in 2020, she said that she had “given up speaking to President Trump.”

Yet earlier this week, from the pulpit of the Washington National Cathedral, Budde addressed President Trump directly and personally. Her nearly fifteen-minute sermon focussed on what she described as three necessary elements for national unity: dignity, honesty, and humility. Then, toward the end of her sermon, she added a fourth, calling on Trump to “have mercy” on those in America, particularly immigrants and members of the L.G.B.T.Q. community, who are currently afraid. The final two minutes of her sermon went viral, drawing ire from Trump’s supporters, who have commented that she should be placed on “the deportation list,” and that Budde is “exhibit A for why women should not be pastors, priests, or bishops.” Trump posted on Truth Social that Budde was a “so-called Bishop.” “She is not very good at her job!” he added. “She and her church owe the public an apology!”

Budde, the author of “How We Learn to Be Brave,” from 2023, has not apologized to Trump, nor to anyone else, for her remarks. On Thursday morning, she spoke with me by phone from her home in Washington, D.C. In a forty-minute conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, Budde reflected on what she’d intended to say in the sermon, the role of prayer in her life, and the responsibility of religious leaders to address the social and political realities of their time.

You’ve mentioned that your decision to speak about mercy came after hearing Trump talk about God’s will, and invoke the divine right of kings in his inaugural speech. Can you walk us through how you made this decision to speak out, and the role that prayer played in it?

I was starting to feel incomplete, just unsettled, about the three pillars of unity—that there was something missing. So I was struggling before Monday morning, actually, just talking back and forth with people with whom I was sharing my ideas and thoughts.

At some point on Monday—and I can’t remember when, but it was in the context of the sweeping descriptions of whole swaths of people in our society in ways that were so harsh and inconsistent with what I knew to be true, what most of us know to be true—the word mercy kept coming to me, mercy and empathy. I decided to stay with mercy, in part because I knew that, in that context and in that moment, I needed to honor the office of the President and the fact that millions of people, as I said, placed their trust in him and were counting on him to lead the country. He himself felt providentially spared to make America great again, as he said, but also to lead, right?

I was trying to find a way to bring into the room those who were not part of the vision of unity that he described in his Inaugural Address, and, indeed, the way he’s been talking about our country through the entire campaign. And, of course, I was in prayer. I was in conversation with different people within my own inner dialogue. And so I chose to ask for mercy, and I also tried to humanize the people I was referring to, who are in need of mercy—the people who are afraid.

I figured there were probably one thousand people in the cathedral that morning. And I was guessing that there were parents in the room of children who were gay and lesbian, or maybe even transgender, or they themselves were gay or lesbian, so they would know something of the struggle. I was trying to humanize, to bring us into that same spirit of when we get to know each other, we’re more alike than we are different. And also, in speaking of the immigrant population—and particularly those who are arriving into this country and taking on the tasks that keep our society going, often behind the scenes or at off hours, and doing really back-breaking labor—to say that these are people that many of us know. I wanted to bring them into the room, to help evoke the images of actual people, rather than broad categories or characterizations.

Writing—and you’re a writer, so I think you understand this—is a form of prayer for me. It involves everything, right? Every aspect of my being, all of my ego, my insecurities, my strengths. You know those rare moments when you feel like you actually have energy to write, and other times when you feel like you’re going to fall asleep in front of the screen? It’s all prayer, and so that was certainly a part of it as well.

You’ve spoken in the past about the uselessness of speaking to Trump, that you’re done speaking to Trump. I thought, as I listened, that yes, you addressed him, but were you speaking to Trump?

That’s really interesting. I guess when I said in the past that I was done speaking to Trump, I really meant I had given up any illusion that my words would have any influence on him. I did not see myself as one he would consider a credible voice to listen to. And I daresay that is still the case. Yet, in that moment, I chose to address him personally. I could have kept it in the broad third-person plural, like I had for the other three [principles of unity], right? We need these three things. We all need to do them. But I thought, in that moment, I would honor his office.

As a communication technique, family-systems people will often tell us that, if you really want someone in your circle to hear you, let them overhear you talk to somebody else. Like if my children, my grown adult children, talk to someone else about their lives, and I happen to be eavesdropping—I’m sitting over in the kitchen, chopping vegetables, you know what I mean—and they’re talking to a college friend, or they’re talking to a family friend or an uncle, they talk differently, and I listen differently.

I was actually counting on people overhearing me talk to Trump in a way that would communicate to them. So there was that. The other part was that I was very aware that I was not simply speaking to those gathered in the sanctuary of the cathedral but that we were actually part of a public discourse that had been going on throughout the political season. As I mentioned, there’s a certain amount of rhetoric that we take as normal now, and particularly so in political seasons, and it’s a really dangerous way to run a country. If we talk to each other like that all the time, we are going down a path of self-destruction as a nation.

You just talked about your kids, and, as a pastor’s kid, I have some experience of how the political can play out in the personal. I would imagine your kids are just so proud of you. How are they? How is your family with all this?

I have two adult sons, and they have both been so supportive. And, of course, they have friends, communities, and colleagues, and this has been a bit of a whirlwind for them. They are proud, they are grateful, but they’re also themselves, you know? These are things that they strive to live by every day. So, in some sense, I wanted to honor them.

I’m in my sixties now, so I spend most of my time thinking about how I can live in a way that puts wind in the sails of those coming up behind me in the years I have left, certainly as a bishop, and whatever time God gives me on this earth. That’s my most important work now: to encourage rising generations—all of us, really, but particularly those who will live on past my lifetime—to live in hope. To hold on to the things that build community. To work for the things that matter. To trust in God. To believe that there is a spiritual force beyond us that is trustworthy and a source of strength and courage. And these things really, really matter.

People are talking about only part of what you said. And so I want to ask, are there other things in your sermon that you’d like to draw attention to?

I think the whole beginning, which was the idea of: What does unity mean in a country of such diversity and difference? Can this country actually be the United States? That’s an age-old question in America, involving how we have lived through our aspirations and our failures to live up to those aspirations, and the people who call us to live up to them, and the ways we change.

That’s our story, or part of our story, but then we have this other overlay, which I was trying to describe. I think I first heard this phrase from Tim Shriver: the culture of contempt. We are living in a time when we are being socialized to respond to those who disagree with us on anything as if it were the worst possible thing that anyone could possibly think or feel.

And in that culture of contempt, the word “hate” easily falls off our lips. And I’m guilty of this—how easily I find jokes at the expense of other people funny, particularly if I disagree with those people. This has become so normalized. There’s a little bit of that that’s simply human, but when it’s amplified by social media it becomes part of the outrage-industrial complex: “Let me say something that is sure to cause offense, and then just watch everyone explode.” So how can we be mindful of that? How can we transcend that?

But, also, I can understand the sermon would have landed very differently if I had left the last part out. And, in fact, someone actually said to me, “You might want to consider not saying it, given how it will be received.” Someone I really admire, who works in the public arena—someone who is daily trying to uphold our values in the federal government—said to me, “Look, Mariann, you don’t have to go there if you don’t want to.” And I thought about that for a minute, and I thought, Well, but if I don’t?

She suggested, if I was going to do that, “One issue, do one issue.” And so I was focussing on immigration, and I was sharing it with somebody else. But I said to them, “What about what’s being said, particularly about trans kids and the L.G.B.T.Q. and what it’s like for them?” And then another person wrote to me and said, “You know, if there were one thing that I’d ask you to include . . .” So there it was again.

I try not to do this in isolation anymore, because I just need more eyes and ears to help me think this through. And so I was with the director of communications at the Cathedral, a dear friend, Kevin Eckstrom. And I said, “What do you think?” He said, “Yeah, yeah, put it in there.” And he himself is a gay man. And I thought, O.K. I wasn’t speaking in the abstract. These are not stick figures in my head, these are real people, my friends’ children. And so I knew what was going to happen, but if I’d just started with “Mr. President, I’d love to talk to you about your positions on immigration,” that wouldn’t have been appropriate.

“If you really want someone in your circle to hear you, let them overhear you talk to somebody else,” Budde says.

Listening to you, I think about Karl Barth’s famous dictum, about “preaching with the Bible in one hand, and the newspaper in the other.”

I was taught by someone who was taught by Karl Barth, and he was very fond of that expression. I think he even said, “The New York Times in one hand.” I think there are two ways that I believe about that, one very pastoral and the other more public-minded. I had a professor say once—and I believe this with all my heart—that if you know what people are thinking about when they’re coming into church on Sunday morning, it’s very important to acknowledge that. So if something’s happened in your immediate surroundings, the country, or the world and it’s on people's minds, he said, you just need to acknowledge it. That doesn’t mean it can be the topic of your sermon, but somewhere make space for that.

So I believe that, and I honor that to the best of my ability. And, sure, I think it’s important for us. It may not be the newspaper, always, it might be other sources of news. But to trust that Jesus came for the world. Jesus came for the world. It’s the world for which he died. And so to not be mindful of what is happening in places beyond our immediate sphere is a denial of the world that God loves. I’m all in on that one.

You spoke against Trump when he was on the campaign trail and during the Black Lives Matter movement. And I’m wondering if the response you’ve had now is larger than any you’ve had before. Is this a new moment for you?

The only comparison is to the response after the Black Lives Matter protest and the clearing of Lafayette Square. People had been starting to gather at St. John’s, and we were working to make the plaza a kind of resting place, a sanctuary where people could get food and sanitizer and face masks, and you could say a prayer with them, to stand in solidarity with those who were protesting peacefully. All that was being undertaken when this clearing thing happened. So that whole wave of response, both positive and negative, lasted for about four or five days in this same kind of whirlwind. The one difference was that there was a huge number of clergy in the D.C. area that wanted to join me in making a statement. There was this influx of people who said, “We want to go back to the plaza. We want to pray with you there.” And so there was this whole other thing to manage, which got out of hand. And then, like most of these things, the news cycle went on, and it all just went away.

This is day three of this particular cycle. So I can’t tell you if it’s better or worse.

You’ve received an overwhelming number of responses, both positive and negative. In the negative responses, is there a new sense of risk that you’re feeling?

To keep my own sanity, I don’t spend a lot of time reading the comments. But those who have been monitoring them are concerned about the level of violent speech that is embedded in them. But I honestly can’t say if it’s worse. I didn’t read them in 2020, either. Actually, my assistant at the time just said, “Yeah, you’re not reading these. You’re not reading these. You can only read these.” She only gave me the ones that were supportive. But I said, “O.K., what’s the ratio?” And she said, “Oh, it’s about fifty-fifty.”

I don’t know if it’s fifty-fifty here. But the people around me are almost universally concerned. I can’t say whether that’s accurate, or it’s just that there’s a state of fear in the air about the levels of violence in our society. I think there is a case to be made that we have become more violent in our rhetoric, and that there is greater license given to unguarded speech.

You have spoken in a radical and clear way about the root of faith, about what Christianity was, and Jesus’ message was. Do you see yourself in the prophetic tradition? What does bearing radical witness and being part of the religious left, if that’s fair to say, mean to you?

I think you could argue it a couple of ways. I would like to say I was being pretty normal. I don’t think I was saying anything that was all that radical, to be honest. I feel like it was pretty basic. Treat people with dignity, be honest, be humble. Care for your neighbors—not only care for your neighbors but care for the stranger. I mean, this is pretty basic spiritual practice.

Now, is it easy? No, it’s not easy. But you wouldn’t have to be a Christian or a person of faith to espouse those pretty universal values. But we live in a time and we are now led by a President who is, by his own definition, a disrupter. He’s really determined to disrupt the way our society functions. He feels a tremendous mandate to do that. He has a lot of influence. And, at least in his opening few days as President, he is leading the country in the way he promised in the campaign, which is harsh and inflammatory in its assumptions about whole swaths of human beings, and also what it means to be this country. So I would say, both as an American and as a Christian, I’m pretty much right in the center. If it comes across as radical, that just says something about the times we are in.

Of the many insults Trump levelled at you, the idea that your service was “very boring” made me laugh. I thought, well, how many Episcopal services has that man sat through? Because that’s pretty typical.

You know, it makes me laugh, too. To be honest, I find a lot of our services boring. And I try to liven them up a bit, right? I mean, we could always do better. And he’s certainly entitled to his opinion. Do those services go on? They do. There’s a lot of music. There’s a lot of different invocations of prayer. We had a lot of people to include in the service, so I could understand that he was feeling a bit restless. It’s not his preference, I don’t think.

I’ve sat in that very cathedral for several hours at a stretch.

Yeah, they can be long—we love our words.

I kept thinking of what you didn’t have to say, which is that you were a woman in that pulpit in front of a newly resurgent form of Christianity in America—whether we’re talking about conservative evangelicals or we’re talking about this kind of newly muscular Catholic opposition to women in the priesthood. You were ordained in 1989. Is that right?

That’s right.

The Episcopal Church first ordained women in 1974. So for you, being a woman and a priest and now a bishop, have you faced opposition?

Mild opposition; nothing compared to what the first women went through. I came after the hardest, hardest struggles and resistance had occurred. By the time I was elected bishop, there had been several women bishops before. So I would say I was blessed to be among those who benefitted from the ones who had come before me, and I have tried to remember them and honor them and open doors for other people, because doors were opened for me.

It strikes me that one of the aspects of your sermon that’s been missed is how pastoral it was. It was a message of care, and it was spoken with tenderness and humility. As a pastor, do you have advice to people listening to you about how to care for themselves and keep going at this time? How do you care for yourself? How do you keep going?

I think it’s a really good question. When I wrote “How We Learn to Be Brave,” I did feel that there was an internal kind of—well, you know, what Howard Thurman called “the sound of the genuine.” We are not on our own here. We are not isolated from one another. And there is a force at work in the universe that is ultimately for good which we can tap into and which can empower us. For people of faith, we give that very particular names. But even for people who are not there are ways to describe that sense of empowerment that is bigger than we are and can work through us in ways that astonish us. We can’t control it. We can’t evoke it on command, but it’s real, and we can count on it, and it allows all of us to do extraordinary things. When we do it together, then we can move mountains that seemed immovable before. And I do believe that, and I do believe that is the life of faith, but also you don’t have to be a person of faith to trust that innate human capacity to channel love, goodness, and real strength into our own lives and into the world. ♦

#The New Yorker #Eliza Griswold #Mariann Budde #Episcopal Church

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bouncinghedgehog · 7 days ago

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Episcopalian Church's response to Trump by Hayden Vaughn

"President Trump,

1. Much like those who do not want you to be president, you do not get to decide whether a bishop's office is legitimate. She was chosen by the people of her diocese to be their bishop. Then, she was granted consent to be a bishop by other bishops and standing committees of our church's dioceses.

Beginning by calling her a

"so-called" bishop is an obvious low blow to discredit her as a person, rather than what she said that you disagree with. The Episcopal Church was legitimate enough to hold your third wedding, the funeral of Melania's

mother, and the baptism of your son, Barron. Barron also attended an Episcopal day school. Now you have an issue with how we do things when it doesn't go your way?

2. You didn't have an issue with politics being brought into the church by the ministers who spoke at your inauguration, or by yourself for that matter.

They were blatantly partisan, crediting God for your political success: "Mr.

President, the last four years there were times I'm sure you thought it was pretty dark, but look what God has done," Graham said.

3. She wasn't nasty in tone, plain and simple. I can't remember ever hearing a homily given in such a gracious manner and calm tone. If you disagree, listen to her speak. You may disagree with what she said, but her tone was in no way "nasty." Additionally, insulting her intelligence, rather than quoting what you disagree with, is a very typical narcissistic play.

Defending yourself about being asked to have mercy on immigrants by saying,

"A large number of illegal migrants came into our country and killed people," is a gross

misrepresentation and does not make sense. By that logic, we should be locking up or deporting all Americans because the majority of crimes were committed by citizens. We do need to improve our immigration system, but Scripture commands us as Christians to have mercy.

Mercy is a central tenet of our faith. Matthew 5:7 says, "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Leviticus 19:33-34 says, "When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God." If you take issue with this, take it up with God.

5. Saying the service was boring and uninspiring is a move to discredit the event rather than what specifically was said.

However, it's worth mentioning that the

purpose of a service is not to be "exciting." There are several purposes for our services, such as honoring God, bringing us closer to God, and being in community with one another. Being "exciting" is not one of them. As far as inspiration goes, that is in the eye of the beholder.

You get as much out of it as you put into it.

6. The Bishop does not owe you an apology. Our church does not owe you an apology. All that you were asked to do is what scripture directly asks us to do. If you could quote one thing she asked of you that isn't asked of us in scripture, we would apologize. Someone recently reminded me of something I often heard growing up in church. If you are offended by a minister's sermon or feel that it was a personal attack, look to see if you can find anything they said that was out of line with scripture and the teachings of Jesus. If you can't, that feeling is what we call "being convicted of your sin". The fact you are offended by what was said shows you know there is truth in it. To your supporters who also feel offended by it, the same does."

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longwindedbore · 3 months ago

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Aren’t we Progressives erring in blaming the US education system for conservative political victories ?

Haven’t Trump, McConnell, Boebert, Vance, Cruz, etc demonstrated who they are over and over again but then get elected/re-elected? As did their predecessors.

How can it be ignorance? Shouldn’t the conservative voters’ choices be considered ‘preferences’?

Isn’t it more realistic to say their choices reflect lack of empathy rather than lack of critical thinking?

Preferences and lack of empathy result from character values inculcated by family, religion, peer groups, and general culture.

Progressives need to grapple with the WTF realities in the USA that in 2024

Younger voters went for Trump.

White Woman went for Trump.

Latinos and Asians went for Trump.

20 million who showed up for Biden vs Trump in 2020 didn’t show up for Harris vs Trump

Is it education or is it tribal affiliation? Indifference? Progressive policies are too dull?

The Trump voters have said, texted, blogged incessantly that they don’t want their taxes paying for any social programs, healthcare, feeding school kids, etc. That no school massacre provides the slightest excuse for any curtailment of the Second Amendment.

Those preferences aren’t the result of an any reasoning or educational shortfalls. The whole problem is that we aren’t listening.

Why do we Progressives waste time and resources trying to convince through lecturing what these people are unwilling to hear in Sunday Sermons when some well meaning do-gooder preacher reads the teachings of Jesus and then proceeds to give them a Sermon on those teachings?

So what do I suggest we do? Fuck if I know!

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papirouge · 1 year ago

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I never was told to leave a church group before but I had left one, the last one I went to, because they were.. ew

It seemed well in the beginning. No issues until the church let go of the old pastor and this new young guy came in. Single and would sometimes sprinkle in weird incel talk about how single women were the worst parts of Gods kingdom for disobeying his commandment to be fruitful and multiple. Like? What?

Then the sermons got very political. Old people that never had issues before and were pretty nice had become a lot more mean and racist. I saw less women in general? Trump this. Trump that. Democrats are working with the jewish elites and muslims to destroy our Godly nation (I’m living in the US), it was so BIZARRE to hear this being said with no irony or anything and people legitimately believe it.

I left when I attended a midweek meeting that talked about church issues. And it started by discussing how the Catholic Church is a horrible institution for defending pedophiles while others called out how the victims were mostly boys and “priests should have been women the whole time then those boys would be called men, not whatever beta victimhood they want to be” -cue snickers from mostly males- Then the subject was to abortion where some believe it’s a crime against *the state* ie the government because abortion takes away 1 solider from the military and others chimed in with “we’re already below replacement levels, we need more babies!”

And I, being not white, and not caring about white people panicking over being a minority was just really bored of it all. But I did look at a few others didn’t really react who looked at me and we just knew this is just stupid.

And I also, being someone who couldn’t care any less about the american military industrial complex, was bored of the panic people feel about abortion needing to be banned ONLY because the military requires bodies is honestly dystopian to say the least.

Yeah the rest of that meeting went by terribly. I know these people are not representative of anything, but I cant stand how a lot of churches now are becoming mini political centers.

Also, one of the higher up guys in the church quietly left before I did when he was outed as a gay man for sleeping with married husbands. But some people blamed the wives? God was a trash fire that place was.

There were so many good times and a lot of good people though too, like I got to know this old lady who knitted sweaters and scarves for people for free if you asked and all she would ask in return is for you to hang with her 🥹 she used to work as a nurse in the 50s, she couldn’t have her own babies so, she told me, “I ended up for a time as a volunteer to cuddle babies in the hospital!” she was such a beautiful person. She also donated a lot of money to domestic abuse shelters for women.

I'll NEVER understand why Christians fundies act like not having children is a sin/"multiplying" is a commandment for ALL of us. Jesus was a celibate - yet he never sinned. Why can't they make the logical conclusion off of it?

When God told Eve and Adam to multiply it was while they were still in the garden of Eden, and yet, they started conceiving/multiplying only after they got kicked out of the garden. Were they sinning for not multiplying humankind while still in the garden? eating the forbidden fruit is the only and first sin they committed out there - not their lack of offsprings. Breeding kink christians should get their facts straight.

I'm absolutely not surprised by this new generation of young pastor matrixed by red pill content. It was bound to happen. I think it's yet another sign we have to stop relying on "regular" church assemblies and build our own communities.

I really don't get whenever a male get exposed for being a pedophile people go like "oh but if roles were reversed!!" Like- do those people see men reaction whenever boys get abused? They are the one acting like the victims were grownups and how "lucky" they were from discovering sex that turned them into men. Women are the ones consistently frowning upon sexual abuse.

US Evangelicals should really pipe down with their mocking of catholic Priest pedophile when they have no problem handing over their 13 y.o girls to middle age polygamous scrotes. There's a documentary floating around on TikTok of a man who married & impregnated girls as young as 13, their sisters, mom, cousins, etc.

Bless that old lady. Wherever they are, women are the only hope to elevate the bar somehow. I'm glad you're out though. How much time did you stay in that cesspool of a church ? I think documenting crazy church drama from an actual/authentic Christian perspective (instead of a whiny uwu church trauma uwu one) could be the subject of such a cool documentary. Made by Christians FOR Christians, and to warb them off the lunacy of modern churches.

I thought about it but I'm in France and most church are catholic so very geriatric but chill/unproblematic. The evangelicals ones are those were the mess is. They're mostly African too 👀 (I'm from Congo and Congolese pretty much 'own' the network of evangelical churches in France and Belgium lmao) A few months ago a Christian teen rapper got exposed having several gf (in the same time)/having sex with them - they all exposed him on TikTok 💀. They said he was adamant having sex with them with Christian music in the background 😭

If i was around your church I would do an interview of that homewrecking gay dude and expose their husbands. JUSTICE FOR THEIR WIVES. I can't imagine the horror of discovering your husband is cheating with a gay man... Double betrayal. And let's not forget the STDs.... They all should be put to jail IDC

#answered #Christian

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vintagebiker43 · 13 days ago

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Episcopalians on Facebook

Hayden Vaughn

President Trump,

1. Much like those who do not want you to be president, you do not get to decide whether a bishop’s office is legitimate. She was chosen by the people of her diocese to be their bishop. Then, she was granted consent to be a bishop by other bishops and standing committees of our church’s dioceses. Beginning by calling her a “so-called” bishop is an obvious low blow to discredit her as a person, rather than what she actually said that you disagree with. The Episcopal Church was legitimate enough to hold your third wedding, the funeral of Melania’s mother, and the baptism of your son, Barron. Barron also attended an Episcopal day school. Now you have an issue with how we do things when it doesn’t go your way?

2. You didn’t have an issue with politics being brought into the church by the ministers who spoke at your inauguration, or by yourself for that matter. They were blatantly partisan, crediting God for your political success: “Mr. President, the last four years there were times I'm sure you thought it was pretty dark, but look what God has done," Graham said.

3. She wasn’t nasty in tone, plain and simple. I can’t remember ever hearing a homily given in such a gracious manner and calm tone. If you disagree, listen to her speak. You may disagree with what she said, but her tone was in no way “nasty.” Additionally, insulting her intelligence, rather than quoting what you disagreed with, is a very typical play coming from a narcissist.

4. The vast majority of people who have committed crimes in the U.S. are U.S. citizens. Defending yourself about being asked to have mercy on immigrants by saying a “large number of illegal migrants came into our country and killed people” is a gross misrepresentation and does not make sense. By that logic, we should be locking up or deporting all Americans because the majority of crimes were committed by citizens. We do need to improve our immigration system, but scripture commands us as Christians to have mercy. Mercy is a central tenet of our faith. Matthew 5:7 says “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Leviticus 19: 33-34 says, “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” If you have a take issue with this, take it up with God.

5. Saying the service was boring and uninspiring is a move to discredit the event, rather than what specifically was said. However, it’s worth mentioning that the purpose of a service is not to be “exciting”. There are several purposes for our services, such as honoring God, bringing us closer to God, and being in community with one another. Being “exciting” is not one of them. As far as inspiration goes, that is in the eye of the beholder. You get as much out of it as you put into it.

6. The bishop does not owe you an apology. Our church does not owe you an apology. All you were asked to do is what scripture directly asks us to do. If you could quote one thing she asked of you that isn’t asked of us in scripture, we would apologize. Someone recently reminded me of something I often heard growing up in church. If you are offended by a minister’s sermon or feel that it was a personal attack, look to see if you can find anything they said that was out of line with scripture and the teachings of Jesus. If you can’t, that feeling is what we call, “being convicted of your sin”. The fact you are so offended by what was said shows you know there is truth in it. To your supporters who also feel offended by it, the same goes.

E dopo quel post Mariann Budde dovrà guardarsi le spalle in ogni minuto della sua vita pubblica. Soprattutto con i criminali dell'assalto al Campidoglio rimessi in libertà e desiderosi di vendetta.

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exvangelical-ramblings · 16 days ago

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I sing in my church's choir, and today's anthem was "He Never Failed Me Yet" by Robert Ray. And here's the thing, it was a great time to sing, but afterward, I was absolutely crashing out during the sermon. The central theme of the song is "I'm gonna keep trusting God because he's never failed me thus far", but there I was sitting in church, surrounded by people who genuinely care about the well being of all people across this planet, as my amazing genderfluid, sapphic pastor was preaching on Jesus's first miracle at the wedding in Cana and MLK Jr Day being tomorrow, and the message just didn't resonate. Because tomorrow is also Trump's inauguration, and I just kept thinking about the TikTok ban (at that point it was either still dark or I hadn't realized it was back) and how fascist this country is right now.

Like we just vamped for who knows how many repeats about God has never failed us, but if there is a God out there who cares why is Trump president again. And that's when I had the terrible, terrible thought that most Christians in this country are happy about that fact. Hell, when Obama got reelected I remember being sad (and also confused by the electoral college) because I was being told by the adults in my life that he was bad, that he hated Christians and wanted to "kill babies". And there are many, many people in this country that believe the same of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. People who are now happy that a tyrant will be back in the Oval Office. And it just hurts, because those people have got that they wanted. Those people ostensibly pray to the same God that the members of my church do, yet they don't actually love their neighbor. They're the people who hear the Beatitudes and say "keep that socialism out of my church". I want to live in a country where everyone is fed and housed. Where our government provides for those in need and no one is allowed to hoard obscene amounts of wealth. Instead, people who claim to follow a man who preached those values are celebrating a man who only wants to make himself richer regardless of how it hurts those he deems as beneath him.

#exvangelical #us politics #this country is fucked

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fortleegospel · 7 months ago

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Gospel News

Dear friends and members of Fort Lee Gospel Church,

I trust this finds you in a comfortable place as we endure some of the hottest days of the summer. This communication will address current events and summer plans.

Former President Trump’s Assassination Attempt

Last Saturday Donald Trump was almost killed. By the grace of God, he survived, while sadly, one attendee to the rally died and two were critically injured. It is the nature of politics to use an event like this to score political points or attach blame to one side or the other. The wisest response I have heard in recent days is that the country needs ‘to turn down the heat’ of our hateful rhetoric. In recent years we have gone from seeing our political adversaries as having bad ideas to seeing them as evil people. The demonizing of fellow Americans will only lead to further divide and violence.

In the words of Jesus, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matt.5:9)

Political Season & Prayer

This week is the start of the Republican Convention, with the Democratic Convention to come in a few weeks. Brace yourself for apocalyptic language. This week we will hear that America will only survive if Republicans win. We’ll hear the opposite argument when the Democrats meet. Let me remind you that all this talk is exaggerated. Politics has its place, but God is sovereign. Political leaders influence our lives, but they have little impact on our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. One of my favorite quotes (from Dave Ramsey) in recent years is “What happens in your house is far more important than what happens in the White House.” Ramsey applies this to personal finances, but it can be equally applied to our spiritual health, mental health, relational health, and physical health. Whoever is our next president will only have only a marginal influence on our wellbeing and quality of life.

There is time for legitimate political debate and exchange of ideas on how we want our nation to be run. And also be reminded that “The authorities that exist have been established by God.” (Rom. 13:1) God is free to work, whoever our leader is.

While few of us have a voice in our political system beyond our vote, we can all pray. We are preparing for a prayer focus this Fall. Starting in September, our Sunday sermons, testimonies, and community life will focus on prayer for our congregation, for our nation, and for many other needs. In the words of II Chronicles 7:14:

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

More on this in my August communications.

Vacation

My wife and I will be on vacation in Canada for two weeks, starting on July 24th. This will be a time for rest, refreshment, time with extended family, and spiritual renewal. This Sunday, July 21st will be a regular Sunday service. On Sunday, July 28th, Rev. Kim Valenzuela will bring the Sunday sermon. Kim is the Director of Revitalization & Multiplication Strategy at the Metropolitan District office of our denomination. On Sunday, August 4th, Rev. Dr. Jang Lim will bring the Sunday message. Pastor Lim is a member of our church and a professor in South Korea. The Bible studies and prayer meetings will continue as usual in my absence.

We appreciate your prayers for our vacation time. The next Gospel News will be sent in four weeks. God bless!

-Pastor Rick

Weekly Announcements

Sunday worship services at 11:00 AM continue to be livestreamed on our Fort Lee Gospel Facebook page, YouTube channel, and our website, www.fortleegospel.org. We meet in the building where we include a time of worship after the online portion of the service.

The Tuesday Men’s Lunch and study meets at the church at 12:30 PM.

The Tuesday Bible Study meets at 7:00 PM weekly. We are studying the book of Romans.

The 6:00 AM Prayer Meeting on Wednesdays and Saturdays is at the church with an option to connect on Google Meet.

The Women’s Bible Study will resume on September 7th.

Connect info for Tuesday Bible Studies and Morning Prayer is:

Meeting URL :

https://meet.google.com/suk-xpsf-nwh

For dial in: Phone: +1 567-351-1104 PIN: 469 349 929#

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the-drokainian · 1 year ago

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Sunday Morning Sermon, January 14, 2024

El Elyon- "The Most High God"

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People who think they're the greatest...- Love them or hate them- We dismiss it as exaggeration.Who would truly say, "I am the greatest"?(Donald Trump might actually say that come to think of it).

El Elyon"God Most High"Elohim- GodElyon- Top, highest, uppermost

God is AbleAbram needed constant reminders.- God was doing this- His promise, plan, powerInteresting description of God here...

‭Genesis‬ ‭14:17‭-‬24‬ ‭ESV‬

[17] After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). [18] And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) [19] And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; [20] and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. [21] And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” [22] But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, [23] that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ [24] I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”

‭Joshua‬ ‭24:2‬ ‭ESV‬

[2] And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods.

Abram was from a pagan nation with pagan gods... until he met the one, true, and living God.God calls Arbam out of all that.- He is not like those false gods.- He doesn't need men to help him.- He does all that he pleases.How does God identify himself?- El Elyon- God Most High - Reminding Arbam- This is not you!- God alone is sovereign.- Over all kings, nations, and men- Over all creation!Abram understands.

‭Genesis‬ ‭14:19‭-‬20‬ ‭ESV‬

[19] And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; [20] and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

[22] But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth,

Fundamental lesson:- Unlike other false gods- Yahweh is the Most High.- He does as he pleases.- Yes, this humbles Abram.- But it is also his greatest blessing!God is able to accomplish what he he has promised to Abram, and he is able to do it without Abram's (or anyone else's) help!

Trusting God is more than a warm religious concept. It is one of the hardest!We want to take things into our own hands, do it our way... so that we get glory!Abram needed to learn a lesson.What lesson do you need to to learn?

‭Psalm‬ ‭121:1‭-‬2‬ ‭ESV‬

[1] I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? [2] My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

God is GreatThis is beyond merely God's power.- This is about who God is!- This is his very nature!Exodus is about God's power and plan.- But there was another purpose in it.

‭Exodus‬ ‭7:5‬ ‭ESV‬

[5] The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”

[17] Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.

‭Exodus‬ ‭10:2‬ ‭ESV‬

[2] and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.”

‭Exodus‬ ‭14:4‬ ‭ESV‬

[4] And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.

[18] And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

‭Exodus‬ ‭15:11‬ ‭ESV‬

[11] “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

Here is God's purpoe: To show himself as the "greatest of all time."Can you think of one greater?

‭Isaiah‬ ‭40:12‭-‬26‬ ‭ESV‬

[12] Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? [13] Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel? [14] Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? [15] Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. [16] Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. [17] All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. [18] To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? [19] An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains. [20] He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move. [21] Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? [22] It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; [23] who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. [24] Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. [25] To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. [26] Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.

This God, the God of Heaven and Earth is the God of Scripture.The true God who answered in fire!

‭1 Kings‬ ‭18:39‬ ‭ESV‬

[39] And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”

The true God to whom every knee will bow.

‭1 Samuel‬ ‭5:3‭-‬4‬ ‭ESV‬

[3] And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. [4] But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.

And will you not bow?Unbelievers?Believers?

‭1 Kings‬ ‭18:21‬ ‭ESV‬

[21] And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.

God is Revealed

‭Luke‬ ‭1:32‬ ‭ESV‬

[32] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,

[35] And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

Familiar?- An impossible conception- Promises made- QuestionsThen this familiar response: "This isn't up to you."The "Most High" will do this.

‭John‬ ‭1:14‬ ‭ESV‬

[14] And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

[18] No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Do you see what the "Most High" did?To see the "Son of the Most High," is to see the "Most High" himself!

‭Matthew‬ ‭8:27‬ ‭ESV‬

[27] And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

‭Hebrews‬ ‭1:1‭-‬4‬ ‭ESV‬

[1] Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. [3] He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, [4] having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

‭Colossians‬ ‭1:15‭-‬20‬ ‭ESV‬

[15] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. [16] For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. [17] And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. [18] And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. [19] For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, [20] and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

‭Philippians‬ ‭2:9‭-‬11‬ ‭ESV‬

[9] Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, [10] so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Is there any confusion who Jesus is?The question isn't:"Have you made Jesus Lord?" He is Lord!The question is:"Have you bowed to him as Lord?"Do you know this "Most High God"?Are you on his side?On one side of that question is judgment; judgment for all those who do not turn to this "Most High God."But on the other side is salvation! Salvation for all those who find refuge in him!

‭Psalm‬ ‭91:1‬ ‭ESV‬

[1] He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

‭Romans‬ ‭8:38‭-‬39‬ ‭ESV‬

[38] For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, [39] nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God is AbleGod is GreatGod is RevealedDo you see?Do you believe?

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astridstorm · 2 years ago

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Add in a little Gratitude: a Sermon for Rogationtide

Well … if you’re here after yesterday, then you definitely get extra credit! We had a (not surprisingly) huge funeral for a much loved and long standing member of our parish, Peter Herman. And I’m glad to see so many of you also here today because we’ll be celebrating, mostly after this service, the recipient of this year’s Audrey Davies Award for outstanding service to our parish, Jen Young. I can think of few so deserving as Jen, and was thrilled to hear she was selected to be this year’s recipient. But more on that at the coffee hour shortly. (Congratulations, Jen!)

And of course - Happy Mother’s Day. I’ll say a prayer for our mothers present and absent at the end of the Prayers of the People.

I thought I’d keep today light, and the church makes that a bit easier because in our liturgical calendar today is one of my favorites, actually: Rogation Sunday. This is an English thing, and remember we are descended from the Church of England. The name “Episcopal Church” was our attempt to rebrand ourselves after the Revolutionary War when to be called the “Church of England” was probably not going to win many converts.

“Episcopal” just comes from the Greek word meaning “bishops,” and so we basically called ourselves “that church with bishops,” removing the English connection from the title altogether -- but not from our identity in a deeper way. As Episcopalians we’ve had the advantage of being able to pick and choose the things we like about that English (or Anglican) identity: no king, but pomp, yes, and all this wonderful architecture. And such charming occasions as Rogation Days. Rogare is the Latin word for “ask” and the church for centuries has set aside these latter days of Easter to “ask” God’s blessing on our fields and the crop about to be planted. Practicality trumps liturgy, and theology, at a certain point; we need food to eat. That’s where our thoughts turn (or used to) in late spring.

Where I served before coming to St. James, about sixty miles north of here, we actually ended church on Rogation Sunday and then walked about ten minutes up the hill from the river to the farm of one of our parishioners to bless his fields. His family was descended from the English Livingstons who were granted large tracts of property along the Hudson River by Queen Anne in 1704, who at the same time also granted 200 acres of farmland in lower Manhattan to Trinity Church Wall Street. Just 214 acres. (Today they own just 14.)

What remained of that farm of my former parishioner, (like with Trinity Wall St) just a small tract by now, was a working farm and we as a parish would all march up there after church and trudge through his fields blessing them. It was a lot of fun.

The English custom (on which this was based) was just that: the clergy and a procession of people would spend Rogation days--they go from today until next Thursday, which is the feast of the Ascension--they’d spend those days “beating the bounds” of the parish. That is, marking the perimeter of land that the church belonged to (think “parish” not like a single church but a whole area, like they still use that word in Louisiana, parishes for neighborhoods), marking that perimeter and then blessing the fields within it.

We don’t really have rituals for this in our time, but if we did, I like to think we’d be more grateful for the food we eat, and the labor that goes into it.

Church customs like this can seem antiquated in a world where food just appears, is genetically modified so it can be shipped from far away any time of the year and so give us the illusion that we can have whatever we want whenever we want it. Even if that’s true, food is always work, for someone, somewhere. Ancient customs once born of necessity can at least still remind us today not to take for granted the fact that food (and everything that sustains us) is a gift of God, of the earth, and of the work of others’ toil on our behalf. It is, and was ever thus.

I know you had no idea when you walked in here that it was Rogation Sunday (or even what that was). But I hope today we can leave here more thankful for what we have than we were when we walked in. If coming to church does no more than just that for us, increasing our gratitude, it will have been more than enough.

Happy Rogation Sunday.

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freeworldallahmbaclass · 2 years ago

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Guess who my coach and trainer is it's no lie Joel Osteen he is getting me in shape and fit as a decent human being thank you brother I love you so much 💖 😍 thank you Joel your my friend and pastor I love your sermons it's my favorite show now . I just found out I'm Donny Creed in his new movie as Apollo Creed son I'm him in Creed 3 the new movie hot stuff it's baking cookie hot muffin stove gloves hot I'm in the kitchen training ferociously thank you so much oh yeah one of my favorite movie stars ✨ check his new movie out that makes me SIR Jay Z and Beyonce Son the Prince and much love to fellow Houstoner Beyonce Knowles Carter my homegirl and my sister mom mom Baytown Texas in the house 🏡 I owe bloods an apology the gang my gang my brothers the people who I legalized the pot gaunja marijuana bud for no I'm not into that gang lifestyle even though much tension come from my way while they are being easy and cool and people like them right now I ask the city of New York that every building or sign they put up in my name you put them included we started together and squashed our drama no drama no beef I know Joel Osteen hear me and Beyonce hear me I'm trying to end the war between me and gang members I promise not to violate them or disrespect them since I'm claiming that I'm not a gang member or a person that is into that type of crowd and it's people I like them but I rather put you at the same levels I'm on so that we can compete friendly competition you make your song I make my song and let's see who win the city type stuff I'm opening the door so you can all get on in any industry you want just like I legalized the bud weed marijuana to get the cops off of you I'm letting you in the game of being truly powerful and that echo out of my room can go away the mind control voodoo hex can go away that would help and level any playing field 🏑 and this is from a cartoonist digital animator me .

My self taught schooling and schedule hope it helps .

Week 1 Monday : Chapters 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3 Subjects : Retail business kit for dummies and branding for dummies , Art of the deal Donald Trump class

Tuesday Subjects : Administrative Assistant secretary handbook chapter 27 , Chapter 28 and chapter 29 and resumes and cover letters for dummies Chapter 4 , chapter 5 and chapter 6

Wednesday : Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3 Subjects : Living longer for dummies and success habits for dummies

Thursday : Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3 Subjects : Communicating effectively for dummies and Commercial real estate for dummies

Friday : Chapter 1, Chapter 2 , Chapter 3 Subjects : Project management for dummies and Running a restaurant for dummies

Saturday : Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3 Subjects : Basic English class writing skills and basic arithmetic class Donald Trump's commercial Real Estate and Donald Trump's entrepreneurship class

Sunday : Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3 Subjects : Management for dummies and product management , Microsoft office for dummies

Week 2 Monday : Chapter 7, Chapter 8 , Chapter 9 and chapter 10 Subject : Retail business kit for dummies and branding for dummies chapter 4 , chapter 5 and 6 , Art of the deal Donald Trump class chapter 1 , chapter 2 and ,Chapter funny story the back room operations is major work I never doubt myself though because I'm successful already it's funny because I'm quiet but my work ethic is sorta what drives me since I was young and hustling I work and work extremely hard at trying to my deals done or maybe a song I write or studying about some country that need my help now I got all these accomplishments and I'm a winner there and haven't missed yet this is new to me you don't hear from me I'm doing my homework I take my time with everything I do I basically learn the game that I'm getting into and then pitch my stuff law proposal or whatever and I win all the time I study hard 😂 I feel good but you know I'm going to get a good life from all this so it is worth it 😊 ❤️ .

Tuesday:

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Week 2 Monday : Chapter, Chapter , Chapter Subject

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Week 3 Monday : Chapter , Chapter 2 , Chapter Subject

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Some good books to read a doctor prescribe medicine and a psychiatrist prescribe techniques to bring a person back from dangerous behavior and mannerisms that creates their characters and then of course their destiny books for you can change that let reading be your new cool 😎

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janumun · 4 years ago

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A [Cat] Parent's Memoirs of Pregnancy ft. Spouse (Pregnancy Headcanons)

Game: Shall We Date: Obey Me! Rating: General Audience/SFW Tags: pregnancy sweetness (and shenanigans)

Summary: Satan's approach and reaction to having a baby with his S/O.

Author's Notes: YESSSS YOU CAN @niphredil-14. 💚💛 This is cute and very, very warm. I tossed in between giving him either fur babies or demon babies (he deserves both!), and chose this! I hope you enjoy your read. 💚

Requests for this event are now (long) closed, dear readers. Thank you to all those who participated!

Perhaps three or twelve feline babies later, the two of you might plan on making a hybrid child — with two hands and two legs, five fingers on each and absolutely no fur in sight.

Satan would prefer waiting until your youngest adopted foundling — a tiny, dark slip of a cat — is well into its second year in this world before he decides to try for a baby, of your own flesh and blood. A decision he hardly takes in frivolity. Every vulnerable life, be it cat or person, is important and requires adequate care; Satan is very well aware of the fact.

When the two of you discover you are with child, happiness trumps within alongside multiple plans he’s already running through his head for the arrival of your child. Unfortunately, his immediate task on the agenda is informing Lucifer about the upcoming arrival — fighting for board for his adopted cats’ was Hell enough, war waged with you by his side — lest Lucifer demand he find elsewhere for the two of you to care for your baby. He’s going to stomp out of the House of Lamentation if Lucifer so much as suggests displeasure at your child.

Begrudgingly — and as frightening as it is to witness this conversation in between the two brothers, you fear you might almost collapse at how tensed you are watching the two glare at each other — though your demon breaks the news, and perhaps almost surprising for Satan, Lucifer greets the news with good cheer.

Claret gaze warming in affection as it slides towards you before he congratulates the two of you on your pregnancy.

Suffice to say, once his other brothers are informed of the news, they’re gathering over to express surprise (you suspect it’s more about them wanting to fawn and coo over a human pregnant) and extend their well-wishes to the two of you. Gifts from every single brother — in good will, but largely injurious to your health and the baby’s — Satan has lined against your side of the bed. Lucifer’s he burns with his unearthly verdant fire the moment you’re presented with it and the elder brother’s out of sight.

Manuals are brought out, books are being purchased. Shipments from all four corners of Devildom, pricey tomes on human pregnancy from the Earth.

Satan’s here to provide you with all information necessary to nurturing a baby within your womb, random facts and tid-bits even you’re hearing for the first time. He stresses on keeping yourself healthy. He isn’t an over-bearing future father but does definitely encourage you to stick to the health schedule he draws up for you every week, making a point of, time and again, how important it is for you to follow a good lifestyle in order to see through a safe pregnancy and delivery.

Everyday walks, Kegels, healthy amounts of fruit and meat in your diet (let him know if anything — anything at all — upsets your appetite and he’s quick to swipe that item out of your plate, and your lives). None of which you’re doing alone because he’s more than happy to accompany you throughout your regime.

Don’t let him choose too many of the baby’s clothes however, he’s pulling the oddest combinations of clothes off the rack and it leaves you half-amused half-terrified for your future baby’s sense of fashion. [That is way too many cat onesies in bizarre shades, Satan!]

He would never force you to adhere to something he wasn’t capable of seeing through himself. And, first and foremost he wants to be there for and with you. If you’d let him, he’d be very hands-on in helping deliver your baby as well.

Every single time the two of you make progress through your health list, Satan’s got a pat on the head ready, stroking your hair, affectionate, praising you on how well you’d done that day and what good progression you’d been making lately. Parting stray locks to press a kiss against your forehead. One to your lips in a smile more than happy to, if you ask for more. He’s that perfect balance between strict and adoring.

Future Father™️ (not so) secretly loves to be wrapped up in surprise cuddles any day of the week. There is nothing more joyous than the thought of being needed by you.

Perhaps one of the more enjoyable parts of your pregnancy has been how much more physically affectionate your child has made you and he can hardly complain when you crawl across the covers to join him in bed as he reads. You settling soft against him, needy arms coming around. Swollen stomach, round and wonderfully full, pressed into his side, he almost thinks he feels the baby within, kick a foot in welcome against his side — Hello Dad, as if that’s what Baby’s saying, if they could speak. The rather ridiculously sweet thought’s enough to pull a soft bout of laughter from him and an arm he fits carefully against your shoulder to drag you in.

“Are you cold again, kitten? Come sit next to me. We don’t want you and the little one to get sick now, do we? Is that better? Do you need me to go fetch a blanket? Alright then, sweet dreams.”

He’s here to answer to your every need, so long as it’s within the bounds of reasonability and not injurious to you or the baby.

As much as Satan might seem in control of the entire situation; calm rationale persevering through your hurdles of new pregnancy and future parenthood. Despite how he is the one you seek comfort in and take pride in as the father of your child… Satan is not entirely without his own chips in a seemingly flawless armor.

His knowledge, no matter how vast and thorough, doesn’t replace the practicality of witnessing you nurture a child — your child — within your belly for nine long months. Less than even a speck within a demon’s eternity but so very long and at times… challenging, more than he’s ever encountered throughout his lifetime. Having been born of Lucifer’s rage and anguish, Satan has never known of a parent’s love, nor does he pretend to understand what it might entail. He’s never really felt the need to, past that hollow ache that surfaces at times, to know he was born of loathing and negativity, not nurtured from love.

Lucifer’s hatred of his Father, Levi’s brief mentions of his Mother… a bedtime story narrated of times within the Heavens past with their family, among the brothers, in Lucifer’s absence, is all he knows of the entities called ‘parents’. He does not know what he ‘feels’, if his emotions and reactions are appropriate for a life the two of you are responsible for, together. If his version of love would ever be adequate enough for your baby — the thought that they too might grow missing half the love of their parents, to have no outlet for restless agitation and hurt towards a father who’s never had one of his own… it terrifies him beyond belief.

Times like these are when you need to read him like the very books he’s so fond of picking apart. Seat him by your side and engage him in conversation of your future as a family of many, many children (demon/human and feline alike). Let Satan voice his thoughts, unformed or firm, however they might come across. Pity or sermons are not what he needs; rather quiet understanding and thinking space. To let him realize how he has no need for anxiety; his version of love is just as much valid and your absolute faith in Satan’s ability to love your child as much as he does you. Something you’re willing to learn, a new experience of loving your child, together, with him by your side.

And if the hand that reaches out to caress your distended abdomen, as if towards one very precious, the soft affection in that verdant gaze is indication enough, he’s already begun to learn.

Bonus: Baby Wrath™️ is studious and very interested in learning of the world around, from a tender age. Drinks milk regularly and lick-finishes their cup clean, like they are supposed to under the watchful eye of Dad Wrath™️.

Satan is strict only in terms of good manners and good education; he’s nurturing and encourages the child to enjoy whatever hobbies they develop over their years. (Reading is one and no one’s more proud than Satan that Baby’s often found burrowed within their father’s mountain of books). You do allow the child more leeway, in terms of candy consumption and staying up past bedtime, although that influence can be traced back to Uncles Mammon and Levi who are terrible role-models and have more than once caused Dad Wrath to explode on their sorry souls. Baby Wrath is — much to the chagrin and woe of his father — very fond of Uncle Lucifer and he is their (second) favorite in terms of gifting new and fascinating books to study, and teaching to write simple words, on occasion.

End Notes: Thank you for reading!

♧° Link to Master List °♡

#obey me satan #obey me satan x reader #obey me satan x mc #obey me headcanons #obey me imagines #shall we date obey me #om satan #obey me fanfic #obey me: one master to rule them all #obey me fanfiction #you are so que(t)e #a pickle writes #pickle celebrates #obey me fluff #obey me satan fluff #obey me hc

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longwindedbore · 6 months ago

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Christian MAGAs understand, if only subconsciously, that the Scriptural Jesus was NOT a convicted felon.

MAGA Christians along with of the rest of Church-attending-Christianity on the Sunday before Easter have read to them, or even see re-enacted, the Passion (Events from the Last Supper through Execution and entombment) invariably from the Gospel of John.

Therefore Christians experience each year Pontius Pilate acknowledging, “I find no basis for a charge against him.” (John 18:38)

Therefore Pilate ex-judicial [A] condemned an Innocent Man violating Roman legal norms.

Disgustingly, Pilate gets a ‘hall pass’ from Christians gratis the 19+ centuries-long tradition of Christian leadership riling up congregations against the Jewish people by blaming them in perpetuity for Jesus death instead of Pilate’s desertion of duty. (What young Adolph would have observed as an altar boy sitting facing the congregations during the Gospel Readings and the Sermons.)

The people who wrote the Gospels all lived in the Roman Empire. They would have expected that any literate readers would be familiar with Roman laws and judge Pilate’s actions according to Roman traditions.

Pilate was bound by the same Roman legal innovations which are used today throughout the world: procedural trials and the rules against self-incrimination.

Pilate deliberately violated Roman laws and utilized the First Century CE’s version of 21st Century’s ‘qualified immunity’ to illegally execute an innocent victim [see A below].

Extrajudicial summary judgment without trial but with ‘qualified immunity’ for the perpetrators - as in 33AD in Roman Palestine so in 1933AD USA [see B & C below]

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••��••••••••••

Dumbledoofus vonShitzhispants [D] lost all his legal brainpower when he screwed over the ONLY attorney who could change the Trump mind - Michael Cohen.

Thus MAGA Cult Leader Trump became Convicted Felon because he is too megalomaniacal to listen to any attorneys he hasn’t fully corrupted to tell him what he wants to hear. When the defenscattorney’s would have told him it would be a wisest to plea down to from 34 felony to three misdemeanor charges and pay a hefty fine. May be do some home confinement at Mar-A-Largo.

The Defense knew from what little Trump will admit to strangers and from the Prosecutions Discovery deposits that a trial would be a slam dunk conviction for any jury. Trump’s signatures were all over the checks paying for a (no tax deductible) legal personal expense to secure an NDA that he and Cohen turned into a Class 1 fraud of ‘payments for (the tax deductible as a business expense) legal services.

Trump’s signature on all the checks. Not the beginnings of any Defense other than to accuse convicted liar Michael Cohen of lying.

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

Doing your homework for you:

A- Extra Judicial

B- California Extra-Judicial Execution 1933.

C- Illegal under Roman law

D. Takes one to know one

On my second set of Depends because pancreatic cancer and it’s chemo treatments can give explosive diarrhea.

If you need these you have a physical ailment of some kind. May be a handicap, a stmptom of a serious could be symptomatic of a serious even terminal condition or just be an otherwise annoying condition.

Whatever, it’s debilitating at 74. Trump’s 78. You’d have to be an idiot to think he’s running leg out of a sense of public duty. If he was he’d have stepped already down.

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spectrumed · 4 years ago

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5. sleep

It hardly gets dark in the Swedish summers. Between dusk to dawn, you’ve got about an hour to fall asleep before the sun rises again. If you struggle to fall asleep that fast, you can invest in some good window blinds. Or you can do as I do and place one big pillow over your face. Then the birds start singing around three o’clock in the morning. You can practically hear the sounds of Edvard Grieg’s Morning Mood playing at around four o’clock in the morning. Around five o’clock in the morning, it is as bright as midday. Did you have a good time sleeping? Or did you pace around in a circle having one hell of a panic attack? I thought you took some of those sleeping pills you got prescribed, they should have helped you fall asleep… wait, you did take them? They didn’t work? Oh, they did work, you just felt your body falling asleep while your mind stayed awake? That sounds terrible, real terrible. Very well. It’s morning now. Want some coffee?

You could form a religion out of sleeping. Let’s have sermons where we fill a whole auditorium full of beds and have our congregates take a big collective nap. Sleep for the sleep god! Pillows for the pillow throne! Sleep is a billion-dollar industry, there’s a plethora of handy products you can buy that promise to send you on a luxury liner to dreamland. Pills, mattresses, dreamcatchers, whatever your snoozy heart desires. You can go to a proper doctor and they might help you, or you can settle for the placebo effect and go to some fraudulent quack, instead. He might make you swallow some pills that contain arsenic, but hey, arsenic is a naturally occurring element. It can’t be all that bad for you if it is natural. And you do want to sleep, don’t you? If you take this pill in your mouth and swallow it with a glass of water, I promise you, you will sleep for a very long time.

The esteemed former president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, claims that he only needs four to five hours of sleep every night. While Mr. Trump is well-known to be a paragon of honesty, I do doubt he’s telling the truth. No, I actually do believe him when says that he only gets about four or five hours of sleep each night, I just don’t believe him when he says that is all he needs. He doesn’t look very well-rested, does he? And Margaret Thatcher, the similarly adored former prime minister of the United Kingdom, claimed that she also only needed about four hours of sleep every night. Yes, while researching the sleeping habits of famous monsters, I’ve come to the conclusion that amongst powerful individuals, not getting enough sleep has become a proper badge of honour. The belief is that if you don’t get enough sleep, that must be because you are living such a vibrantly successful life, and are so career-driven, that you simply haven’t got enough time to sleep for the full eight hours. People who sleep for more than four hours are lazy liberals. Go-getters like Trump has got to be out there, working, making decisions, raping women, and showing daddy what a good boy he is. Sleep is for the weak. But maybe I am weak. I sure like sleeping.

It’s the cultural hangover our society has had since the 80’s. Back when the yuppies wearing jackets with obscenely padded shoulders would happily chuck down eight to ten espressos in one go while A Flock of Seagulls was playing on the radio encouraging everyone to go running. And to be fair to them, with the constant fear of the doomsday clock hitting midnight, they really had no reason to think that they’d survive the decade. The new millennia, it seemed, would have no cities, no nature, no humans, only radiated mutants scouring the rubble that remains of civilization for cans of preserved something edible. Self-destructive behaviour was in. It was fashionable. Doubt people got enough sleep back then, between snorting coke and wondering if the next pandemic that hits the night clubs would start killing as many straight folks as gay folks. Well, here we are in the new 20’s, and we’ve got a pandemic that does appear to kill people regardless of sexual orientation. Sure, the looming threat of nuclear obliteration has been lessened dramatically, but we’ve largely come to exchange that anxiety for the fear of total environmental collapse, instead. No wonder 80’s nostalgia is a big thing right now. History doesn't repeat itself, but It often rhymes, said Mark Twain (supposedly.) I wonder how much coke Mark Twain would snort if he lived in the 80’s.

I notice a palpable difference in my mood and mental state when I’ve been getting good amounts of sleep. Lack of sleep results in lack of clear thinking. Caffeine, though it is something I am chronically addicted to, does not help fix a sleep-deprived mind. There are no tricks of revolutionary “life hacks” one can employ to get out of sleeping. To recover from depression, one has to sleep. Sleep often and sleep well. I cannot understate the importance of being well-rested. You cannot process information if you are tired. I am reminded of my teenage years seeing friends of mine who’d stay up all night, then come into school shuffling like agonised zombies. They got so frustrated when the teachers reprimanded them for snoozing in class. Well, dummies, it is your fault for drinking several dozen cans of Red Bull every day! I know that sleep does not always come easy. I know the terror of insomnia. But, c’mon! At some point, you’ve got to realise that sleep is essential. Maybe most of your problems stem from the fact that you refuse to get enough of it? Here’s where the tough love comes in. If you wanna get better, kiddo, then listen to me. It’s bedtime. Yes, I know you’d rather stay up late playing monopoly with your friends, but I’m confiscating your dice and I’ll only give it back to you when you’ve gotten some good sleep. Okay? You hear me, missy? You listen to your daddy now, and go to bed. No ifs or buts about it, princess, I’ve made myself clear. I know what is best for you, and you know that I am right. I’m your daddy.

But what if I can’t seem to fall asleep? Normally, it takes a long time for me to fall asleep. It is not uncommon for me to stay awake for two hours, maybe more, before I finally begin to sleep. Fearing that I won’t fall asleep gives me anxiety. That anxiety keeps me awake. I turn my body. I try lying on my side. First my left side, then my right side. I then try to lie on my back. I’ve got a song stuck playing in my head. Not even the whole song, just a ten-second segment of it. It’s playing over and over. I’m worried about the future, will I ever find security, will I ever find a wife, will I get to grow old? I worry about death. I keep hearing the music playing, it’s grating. I rearrange the pillows, in hopes that will make me feel more comfortable. But no, I keep tossing and turning like a fish caught on land. I’m getting frustrated. If only I could shut off my brain. I’m constantly thinking. I turn to my side again, but now I notice I’ve moved arounds so much that now the bed has shifted away from its position next to the wall. There’s now a gap between the bed and the wall. I almost fall down that gap. I get up and I push the bed back against the wall. I lay down in bed. The song is still playing.

How am I ever going to become a successful businessman if I am wasting so many hours just trying to get to sleep? This is the time I should be spending on the phone, yelling at people and making inappropriate sexual comments to my female employees. That is what good executives do. I need to get my life in order. I need to exercise more. I should practice mindfulness. I should get a life coach, a personal trainer, a stylist, an accountant, an assistant, a trophy wife, and a mistress. I need people in my life to take care of me. It’s funny how rich people create the sort of environment around them where people will take care of all their needs, effectively infantilising them. These people don’t even get to decide how to dress themselves. They’ve got fancy apartments, but they don’t choose any of the furniture. They’ve got art on the walls that they don’t like, but the art looks expensive, and that is all that matters. They’ve got kids, but they don’t raise them. Their spouses are cheating on them, but in fairness, they are cheating on their spouses. They don’t really even know what their jobs entails, as they’ve gotten promoted so many times that they’ve ended up in a position that is totally outside their realm of expertise. But they’re so powerful that no-one is able to fire them over their pretty blatant incompetence. They’re successful. They’ve made it. But they still can’t sleep at night. They only manage to successfully fall asleep at night after swallowing a fistful of pills along with a swig of vodka.

It must be easy being a self-help guru. Well, what I mean to say is that all you really need is charisma, which is something you need to be born with. But you don’t need to do any actual studying, any real research, or any kind of soul-searching or deliberation. All you need is to state what is obvious. You go on stage in front of an anxious audience, mostly composed of middle-class salesmen and miscellaneous white collar ghosts. You smile, show off your eerily bright teeth, and they clap. You tell them to go take care of themselves, to eat more healthily, to take walks, or go swimming, and love their partners. You tell them to drink less, or maybe, if they feel like it, they could drink more. I am sure you could spin alcohol as a positive or a negative, depending on what crowd you’re talking to. Tell them to appreciate family. Tell them to appreciate others. Live, laugh, but most of all, love. Tell them to go clean their rooms. Tell them to remember that if they’re on an airplane that is about to crash land, they need to put their own oxygen mask on before they can help others put theirs on. If you don’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else? Now, go to bed!

You know all this stuff. Me telling you that you should sleep more doesn’t really help you. You know that you should sleep more. It’s not like as if you’re too dumb to realise that. And it’s not like as if you’re too dumb to realise that it is better to drink in moderation, and that you should smoke less weed. There are many small little things you can do to improve your life, to stop being a terminally unemployed slacker. It’s like your grandpa who tells you stories about life after the war when you could walk into the biggest building in town, slam your fist against the table and demand to be given a job and a house and a wife and a couple of kids, and that was all you needed to do. He can’t comprehend the fact that society doesn’t work like that, any more. Most people my generation have given up hope of ever owning a home, at least if they happen to live in the vicinity of a larger city. It seems that, no matter where you live, the cost of homes has risen to an impenetrable degree. It seems just as likely that you will be able to afford your very own genetically-engineered pet dragon before you will get to be a house-owner. It’s the fault of those damn boomers, why bother changing your ways, when the boomers are still in charge? Others may accuse you of wallowing in your own depression, but you are perfectly aware that this is exactly what you are doing. You are self-aware. But self-awareness on its own is not enough to motivate anyone. You still can’t see the point in doing anything constructive with your life. Life just feels so aimless. It’s easier to sit, smoke weed, and watch cartoons.

Pop psychology is problematic. To say the least. Take all those self-help gurus suffering from their messiah complexes and put them through the shredder. Don’t buy books thinking that they’ll offer you the kind of treatment you would get from an actual psychiatrist. I know that, depending on where you are in the world, treatment can get very expensive, but you’re not going to get better reading the book of some self-aggrandising narcissist’s collection of wishy-washy platitudes. Dr. Phil has done great evil pretending to be a therapist on the TV, and Jordan Peterson (despite having once been an esteemed scholar) has turned a generation of young internet-savvy zoomers into proto-fascists obsessed with the monogamy of lobsters. Pop psychology has become a guise for cult leaders to reap new followers. Getting treatment should not feel like joining a new religious movement. Maybe I’m just one of those annoying atheists, but I dare say, psychiatry works at its best when it's secular. You should not look at your psychiatrist as a prophet speaking to God. They’re just a doctor, and you need treatment.

I do not aspire to create a self-help blog. I do not promise that reading this blog will help you in any way. I would be overjoyed if someone came up to me and told me that I had inspired them to seek help. You may tell me that reading my words have made you feel less alone, knowing that others have gone through all these things that you are going through. When I felt at my worst, I remember reading the memoirs of people I admired who had similarly struggled in their lives, and I felt less alone. But none of those books pretended to exist principally to help others. Those books did help me, through the candid descriptions of struggles that I thought I was alone in experiencing. Knowing that some people had pulled through, managed to find a light at the end of the tunnel, it made me think I could one day be like them. The books didn’t seek to fix me, but they offered me a perspective that came to be very valuable later on, when I started going to therapy, and when I later started taking medication. Sometimes that is all you need. Not someone standing over you and telling you to go to bed, or to clean your room, or to stop drinking. You know all that, already. What you really need is the reassurance that things can indeed get better. Sleep will come.

#neurodiversity #neurodivergent #autism spectrum disorder #autism #aspergers #mental health

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lilacandladybugs · 4 years ago

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hey since youre talking about christianity, i was wondering if you could answer a question ive been curious about. if god cares about people and if jesus died for our sins, then why does hell exist? and if god cares about us then why did he let so much bad stuff happened in his name, and even cause it, like with the noah’s arch story?

sorry if any of this is wrong ive never read the bible, but ive had bad experiences with christianity in the past and the way you talk about it seems much nicer than the way i know it

I don’t think I can answer this question in a way that doesn’t come across as pretentious or like I’m asking for an argument or just being straight up unsatisfying. But I just am going to try anyway because i'm hoping that maybe this will be comforting or helpful to someone. I’m sorry if this is offensive I am really trying my best, please take this all in the best possible way and be gracious with me

The thing about this ask is that it’s actually a bunch of different questions, and since each of them individually is really hard to answer so I’m going to narrow it down to just one ( im sorry ;-; ) . The one I’ve thought about the most is “Why does God let bad things happen if he loves us?”

When this question first really occurred to me, I was already a believer. So I was already pretty convinced that God exists logically, from the perspective of history, philosophy, science, and my personal experience. I believed in the /existence/ of the God who is represented in the scriptures. (I doubt anyone wants it but I can give you a list of resources if you want to look into any of that.) The struggle for me was whether or not all that evidence held true in the face of this moral dilemma; the problem of evil in the presence of a loving God.

But I just couldn’t turn my back on the concept of a moral grounding in God. I had a philosophy professor tell me that people are mortal and so we shouldn’t grieve them like they’re immortal, that grief is a choice, and that trauma is a choice. I respected her so much, but I just couldn’t accept that. There’s nothing more unsettling to me than suggesting that cruelty and death and suffering are only wrong because you think they are, and not because they’re violating sacred ancient laws. My friends dying, people hurting me, that isn’t just in my head. It’s /real/. They’re really dead, and it really matters. People really did something wrong when they hurt me, and it isn’t my fault for being hurt. It’s their fault for being cruel. And their cruelty is objectively morally wrong.

I realized that if I became an atheist I would have to accept the fact that there isn’t /objectively/ any difference between right and wrong. There isn’t any theoretical “right way” that the world should be. But to me, there is a right way it should be. There is a right way and it was lost because of sin.

It was I guess comforting that Christianity provided the premises I needed to ask a question like this. Evil exists. And love exists. So how can God exist? What a comforting question, in a way. To get to grieve, to be angry, to wonder what’s going on, to want things to be different. It was validating i guess

Don’t get me wrong i was FURIOUS i was so angry. I was so angry and so conflicted I kind of thought I might just like rip apart at my seams but I just felt caught between a rock and a hard place to be either abandoned by God or to not even be able to think about my experiences in a way that felt coherent.

He showed up though. I remember swearing at him, and laying up at night thinking he wasn’t there, I told him I wouldn’t have to have trauma if he would’ve stepped in, that my friends wouldn’t be dead, that he let it happen to me, that he just /witnessed/ it. And man idk he just showed up. He showed up every time. I almost walked away like five times that summer. And every time he sent someone, there was always someone that showed up and talked to me like out of nowhere. Or music, or scripture, or something someone said in passing.

The night that it was really bad was when I realized that the only person who could save me was God and I cried out to him, and I just idk I’ve never been so desperate. I went to church the next day against my will and the sermon felt like it was written for me specifically. I cried through the whole thing.

If God is goodness, then how can I say he isn’t with me and around me constantly? In the sunrise and sunset, in the stars, in flowers, and in kind words. In sermons. In friends and family. In all the coincidences that stopped me from becoming an atheist, all of the answered prayers and the impossibilities. That’s why my side blog is called @in-the-whisper. Because I felt him there, even though it hurt, he was with me in the quiet and in the silence, in his whisper in a thousand different ways.

I was posed this question by someone who was there for me in one of those moments where I almost walked away from God, “Is sufficiency abundant?” I guess I thought it was. Where was God? In the peace that surpasses understanding. In the knowledge that everything is finished, that he died for us, that he didn’t abandon us. That whatever terrible things happen, he was willing to take all of the consequences for that onto himself in the person of Jesus. That one day he will set things right, even though it isn’t right right now.

It comes down to the Gospel (good news, core story of the Christian faith); humanity actively chose to walk away from God in an act of rebellion. We had free will because God created us tenderly to be in a loving relationship with him, and loving relationships must be based on free will and they must be two way. So he let us walk away from him, and away from the sustainer of life our bodies break, our world crumbles, and we die. In order to bridge that gap, he chose to die in our place, so that we could re enter that free will relationship with him if we so choose. He died on the cross, descended into hell, and then in three days he rose from the grave, defeating death. And one day he will return on a white horse to rescue us and to take the world back as his own. If I believed that to be true, then I believed in the greatest intervention in human history that has ever occurred. The God of the Bible isn’t a distant God, "God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him." 1 John 4:9 He did the unthinkable for us.

Living in light of the gospel helped me to understand the way that God is present in my life, my present, past, and in my future. It gave me peace. When Horatio G. Spafford’s two daughters and wife died in a shipwreck, he wrote this,

“When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul."

“Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blest assurance control: that Christ has regarded my helpless estate and has shed His own blood for my soul.

“My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part, but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

“And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight The clouds be rolled back as a scroll The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend Even so, it is well with my soul!

“It is well with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul.”

I don’t have an answer for your question. What I know is that I am willing to rest in the knowledge of my personal experiences and my research that God exists, that he is loving, and that he is powerful, just, and wise. Even the winds and the seas obey him, the mountains are like pebbles to him, thunder rolls at the sound of his voice. He had thought before time began, he gave all knowledge and all wisdom to us.

Why do bad things happen also brings up the question, why do good things happen? Who do we have to thank when we get up in the morning and can see or hear or move or are alive in general? Why are we so blessed as to have two days and not just one? Where do mornings and complexity and beauty and wonder come from? They come from him. Not because we need it, but because he wants to give it to us. Enjoyment, existence, love, laughter, thought, beauty, heartbreak. The world is just as beautiful as it is terrible, and why should it be beautiful? Because he wants it to be that way.

God is so patient. He is so patient and kind and powerful, and he wants to hear your questions. Some of them, like this one, are in my opinion something that you have to talk to him about directly. He gives us thought and logic and reason and wisdom, and he asks for us to engage him. He will answer.

If any believers are reading this, I want you to know that it is enough to cry out to him in pain. It is enough to want to want to believe in him. He would so much rather hear from you in your anger than never hear from you at all. Seek him out, he will find you. He will chase after you.

I bet that he would chase after me, bet my life on it. I might not know the answer, but I am confident enough in what I do know that I’m willing to bet my existence that God will come true on his promises, that he will deliver me, that everything will be okay, that he is bigger than my trauma, and that he will hold me.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. 12 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.” Isaiah 55:8-13

And I’m holding him to that promise.

#christianity #religion #christianity tw #religion tw #god #grief #grief tw #ask to tag #anon #this is definitely insufficient and im sorry #this is all i have to offer right now #its a hard thing to articulate ig #not mcyt

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