#theology info

[mintartem]

some theology for you 😌

Also mentioned in Islam that he refused to bow down because he was made out of fire and Adam was made out of clay (pretty racist there Lucifer 💀)

My theology loving heart is bursting with happiness! Thanks for the info!

[sunlit-mess]

I wanna hear more about this guy and his lore!!

Why did he fall?

What’s his connection/relationship with Lucifer?

TELL ME EVERYTHINGGG I’M HOOKED

KOKABIEL ( Angel of the Stars / Star of God / The Burning Light )

I just thought of him being created with the sole purpose of knowledge and duty ( being affiliated with the stars and astrology ), being a high-ranked angel but not enough to be one of the archangels. Having the titles, it's as if he's similar or close to Lucifer's role (before the fall) or maybe an extension. He does everything to fulfill his purpose. However, the downside is that he always gets compared with Lucifer (pre-fall).

So what he does is look up to him, idolizing someone he has never met, he's practically devoted at some point, nearing a follower. But oh so bitter and sour because all he gets is to be COMPARED.

Cherry on top that he wants to impress Michael, but Michael can barely look at him because all he sees is Lucifer.

All of his hard work feels like it's going to waste because he'll always be a shadow of someone he never knew. And that created grudges, created hate, created his rage. Thus, it's the reason for his Fall. Bro's identity revolves around a dead person (Angel Luci). That's why he's a narcissistic asshole with fucking identity and anger issues.

What's worse is meeting Lucifer himself, the person he looked up to all his life, doesn't know him.

It's not Lucifer's fault though.

[selenophiliiaaa]

got a new book from a local witchy store and i am So Excited to read it - its “Secrets of Greek Mysticism; a modern guide to daily practice with the Greek gods and goddesses” by George Lizos,,, im only a couple chapters in but it seems like itll be a really good read !!

[confessionofanardentheart]

1.5 Starsty

Ivan seeks something unknown as of yet, Mitya seeks life's pleasures and what he's owed (a self- affirmed truth) and Alyosha seeks a bright truth quite beyond the dark world around him, as if he had found himself in Plato's cave. I expressed his love for humanity and desire to isolate himself are paradoxical -and they still are, though they are not contradictory. What Alyosha seeks is a truth via negation. The world of our senses is more complex and dark than it seems, the holy light is one, and it's simple yet mysterious. The achievement of the divine truth via negation -God is an other quite unlike the world and what we believe to be true about it. Alyosha seeks a truth at all costs, and if he ended in the monastery, it was only because he ended a Christian because of how he thinks, rather than his religion or a miracle shaping how he thinks. That's how he is a realist. The moment he reaches a different conclusion, he will chase it, no matter how diametrically opposed it is to his life so far, just as he decided to give "all" instead of "two rubles". So if the immortality of the soul proved to be the truth he arrived to, he will remove himself from the chaos, out of conviction and not fright- to be left alone with the light and contemplate it.

Shutting himself in a monastery despite his love for humanity is paradoxical, but necessary in his eyes... Just as there is paradoxical tension between obedience to the elder and freedom, with the former being seen as necessary to achieve freedom of the soul, as it is in many philosophies and doctrines that regard ignorance and endless desire as the true prisons of the human soul. Alyosha was compelled to go to the monastery out of admiration and love towards Elder Zosima, perhaps a father figure for this orphan? Far from being disconnected from the world, he is a man of the people who remains unbothered when Fyodor Karamazov is going to call at his door.

Alyosha is passionate about what he believes to be the right path, but he's still just a novice who feels anxious upon realizing he may be forced to become a spectator for the scene his relatives will make in the place he holds dear to his heart. Ivan's silence deeply unsettles him. Even Dmitri, who became more attached to him than his own full- blooded brother, worries him— as much as he respects his beloved Zosima, he's as powerless as he is to prevent what will follow...

--------

Links:

@keepingupwiththekaramazovs

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

I’m trying to come back to Christianity after deconstructing and your blog has been a great help to me, but I still struggle with the phrase “Jesus died for our sins.” I feel like it places undue responsibility on people who had nothing to do with his death. How is it possible that he died for my sins when I didn’t even exist 2,000 years ago?? Or am I taking the phrase too literally?

Hey there, I feel you! I know of so many people who, especially as young children, were made to feel a lot of guilt over the idea that "Jesus died for your sins." And that's a problem, especially seeing as Jesus came to liberate us from our guilt, and to invite us into full and mutual relationship with him.

While the dominant Christianities that exist in our culture/s right now don't like to acknowledge it, there have always been many different ways of understanding what happened on the cross and how salvation "works." So if this phrasing does harm rather than good for you, there are many other ways to understand salvation!

One that resonates most with me is a view of salvation that doesn't focus solely upon what happened on the cross, but instead takes the entire Incarnation into account. In her book Inspired (which is such a fabulous read, especially for folks working to reconnect with Christianity & scripture), Rachel Held Evans sums this idea up well:

Jesus didn’t just “come to die.” Jesus came to live—to teach, to heal, to tell stories, to protest, to turn over tables, to touch people who weren’t supposed to be touched and eat with people who weren’t supposed to be eaten with, to break bread, to pour wine, to wash feet, to face temptation, to tick off the authorities, to fulfill Scripture, to forgive, to announce the start of a brand-new kingdom, to show us what that kingdom is like, to show us what God is like, to love his enemies to the point of death at their hands, and to beat death by rising from the grave. Jesus did not simply die to save us from our sins; Jesus lived to save us from our sins. His life and teachings show us the way to liberation. But you can’t fit all that on a bumper sticker.

For God so loved the world, They took on human flesh. Jesus's whole life was lived in love for us, for you — all the joys and connections that contained, not just the pain and death.

___

Another thing that I always stress, and that you point out in your ask, is that we have to be careful when we discuss who's responsible for Jesus's death. Otherwise we end up with people blaming Jewish people, or scared little kids, or even God for his death.

Ultimately, it was human beings in a very specific context, and imbued with systemic power, who enabled and carried out his execution: Roman soldiers acting on behalf of the Roman Empire. Jesus died because corrupt human powers cannot stand for the Good News of liberation and abundant life for all peoples. He died in ultimate solidarity with all who are similarly oppressed or executed across history.

___

It's reeeally long so sorry in advance, but if you're interested in an exploration of theologies of the cross, I've got a YouTube video on the topic! If you don't have the time or inclination to watch it all, the parts I most recommend for you are:

(13:01 - 21:54) Delores Williams & Historical Consequence — paying attention to real-world impact; don't use cross to justify suffering

(1:21:41 - 1:27:00) Theologies that look at Jesus' whole life, not just death, starting with Jesus as Moral Influence/Exemplar

1:42:54 - 2:00:00) The Cross as Solidarity — Christ becomes one with all who suffer unjust / systemic violence — on the cross, God knows godforsakeness — good news for oppressors as well as oppressed

If you check out the PowerPoint linked in the video notes, you'll also find links and resources in that :)

Finally, you might want to wander through my #crucifixion tag or #sin tag for more related to your question.

Wishing you well on your journey, anon! May the Spirit of Love guide you into healing and wholeness <3

[toskarin]

it's been a while since I've published any sort of teasers for Jetkaiser.... so hopefully this counts?

[wisdomfish]

Essential information about the Trinity...

The following ten points convey essential information about the Trinity, and will help one think through the most important elements concerning the doctrine.

1. There exists only one God (one divine essence or being). Trinitarianism is a unique type of monotheism, and the underlying truth of monotheism is grounded in the Old and New Testament Scriptures. Orthodox Trinitarianism therefore rejects polytheism in general and tritheism in particular for they divide the divine essence.

2. The three persons of the Godhead are each fully divine, all sharing equally and fully the one divine essence (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit). The deity of these three persons is also grounded in the Old and New Testament Scriptures.

3. The three persons of the Trinity should not be understood as three “parts” of God. Each person is fully divine and equally possesses all of God’s being.

4. The term “person” in reference to the Trinity should not be understood to refer to a separate entity or being, for this would divide the divine essence.

5. Unlike all finite creatures, God possesses plurality of personhood within His one infinite being. This is one example of the theological principle known as the Creator-creature distinction.

6. The members of the Trinity are qualitatively equal in attributes, nature, and glory. While Scripture reveals a subordination among the divine persons in terms of position or role (e.g., the Son submits to the Father, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and Son), there exists absolutely no subordination (inferiority) of essence or nature. The persons are therefore equal in being, but subordinate only in role or position.

7. The members of the Trinity are both eternally and simultaneously distinct as three persons. In other words, the Godhead has forever been, is now, and will forever subsist as three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. None of the persons came into being or became divine at a given moment in time. Orthodox Trinitarianism therefore rejects all forms of Arianism (that makes the Son a creature and often denies the Holy Spirit’s personality and deity).

8. The three members of the Godhead are distinct persons and can be distinguished from each other (e.g., the Father is not the Son, the Father is not the Holy Spirit, and the Son is not the Holy Spirit). Orthodox Trinitarianism therefore rejects all forms of modalism (that blends or confounds the persons by defining them as mere modes of existence).

9. God’s “oneness” and “threeness” are in different respects. In other words, the way in which God is one (essence) is different from the way God is three (subsistence). Christian theologians and philosophers through the centuries have argued that it is crucial to distinguish between God’s essence on one hand, and God’s subsistence on the other.

10. The way in which God is one does not violate the way in which God is three, and vice versa.

~ Kenneth R. Samples

[icterid-rubus]

I went to my first dinner party since Covid and a woman I haven’t seen for years showed up and told me her kindergarten aged grandchild just enrolled in an international language school. She asked me to guess why she chose this particular language for the child and when I quite literally ran out of guesses—as she wouldn’t just say it—she giddily told me it’s because there are two other schools before this one on the same road and therefore a crazed shooter would go to one of them first before her grand child’s.

As I tried to pull together some semblance of a straight face after this bizarre confession from a women I barely knew even before a three year break, she began telling me of her foiled plans to sew her grandchild a Kevlar hoodie that she could curl up into during a mass shooting, as machine gun proof Kevlar cannot be cut and sewn by a home crafter.

[boydykedevo]

I need to have like a document where I'm saving all the shit i need to Rotate On...

[mintartem]

Luciferian is a belief system that venerates the essential characteristics that are affixed to Lucifer, the name of various mythological and religious figures associated with the planet Venus. The tradition usually reveres Lucifer not as the Devil, but as a destroyer, a guardian, liberator,[1] light bringer or guiding spirit to darkness,[2] or even the true god.

Azazel in Islam his name is Azazil. Unlike his christianity and jewish counterpart where he is an angel. In Islam he was djinn he turning into an angel because of his devotion to God. Same as Lucifer his prideful and arrogant make him lose all of that becoming ugly. So he swore he gonna make Adam descendants stray away from God and hell is gonna be filled with sinner

Thanks for the information!

God, I love theology

[fantomette22]

A little something about the students dress

Alright so I was looking at references (to draw a character) and ended up doing a bit of research on academic dresses & graduations uniforms! I only find a couple of things so if someone have more infos I will be very interest!

So in Bloodborne we got those dear uniforms :

The one with the robes is very classic of what people in old classic university still wear for big events and graduations such as in the U.S.A or UK. A decades/century ago they did wore those uniforms of course way more often. Now we wear mostly casual clothes.

(This image always made me think of Byrgenwerth. With the balcony and all. That remind me of a post I made a while ago I have still no clue what those balcony were use for!!!)

At first, I discovered that between a bachelor/licence degree, master degree and phd/doctorate you aren't going to get the same clothes. Plus, colours can differ depending of : the level of the degree, the school or the field you graduate in (can differ depending the countries as well).

Bachelor outfits are the most simple ones with not a lot of colours for most of them. Sometimes they don't have hoods but depends. Sometimes they seems to have very large selves like the Byrgenwerth one. The master ones have a bit more colours and I read generally long sleeves but that depends? Then the phd/doctorate ones are generally very colourful! And like the last sources below v They even had even more beautiful outfit for very important members (so I guess Willem pope outfit still make sense XD)

As for the colors it really depends the country etc but I read red is often associated with medicine and surgery (what a coincidence!). White / purple or even red is for theology and blue could be for sciences (Byrgenwerth/willem researches seems to be quite a mixt with theology/sciences so make sense).

(@katyspersonal we did talk a while back on colours on clothes meaning but hey it had have academic significations that fit well too! So in the end, drawing Laurence with white & red clothes is even more accurate now! XD) Oh I wanna draw him in an entire red academic dress now...Future drawing idea ).

Also I forgot to mentions that there's the hat/trencher that's part of it as well. It's not part of the set in the game but ennemies have it.

Also little side note: some dress have stripes or ermine bands on the clothes that represents their grades and also "academic curiosity, academic honesty, and academic courage."

So i suppose the garb Micolash, Damian & co have would look more similar to a master degree one? I guess?

But I won't throw any rocks at Fromsoftware even if the ones we got might not be too much detailed/ accurate because they sure did their homeworks to find and design those clothes. They aren't historians and they probably found a lot more things than I here (plus Japan don't have those dresses too). They're not going to design like 5 different outfits in the game too XD. (Yes I want more details for my story bc making things way more complicated is way more accurate I guess...) We don't know how exactly those types of institutions fonctions in Bloodborne universe too. And it's a fantasy world after all. So it's free real estate

I dunno if you guys @pyro-madder @karnaca78 @secteel or others could know more about it 🤔

But for now it's all!

Sources :

PS : I found this piece of medieval scholar dress and it really look like the same as the guy in the cainhurst painting and cut content Beltran!

They are probably wearing a "simarre". Some magistrate/ university professor / religious clothes people would wear. So pretty oblivious and what we thought @heraldofcrow

[aanthirin]

please infodump about vivayth <3 if you gotta narrow it down, her relation with hircine and/or mehrunes dagon

sits down. right so-

the bases of vivayth's entire worldviews, her developments and delusions, her copes, it can all be led back to her introduction to lycanthropy. she couldn't really reconcile her zealous, century-long faith in the tribunal with the fact that she had become exactly what she was taught to hate, what she was taught stands against everything dunmeri society was: an abomination. she's long since made peace with that and happily embraces the title of 'demon' a lot of people toss her way, but a lot went down for that to happen... (more info below)

she went through a lot of effort to try and figure out exactly why this happened, why the living gods would allow hircine to infect her so, and allow her to remain this way, to be shunned by their servants and soldiers, their hands, their very mouthpieces. when she couldn't turn to her estranged family nor those she loved, she was led down a very dark road by another once-zealous faithful corrupted by the forces of oblivion, so it was only inevitable that she'd crack. after the things she's seen and done, and when she realized exactly who and what she'd become, who wouldn't?

she spent a long time searching for answers, uprooting secrets that would've been better left of alone. many sleepless nights were spent poring through texts that scrambled her mind or destroyed themselves upon being read, or going out of her way to beseech the long-dead for answers. between all the scraps of knowledge that she collected, she came to believe that hircine was a servant of mehrunes dagon, his personal huntsman to test the mettle of his armies (and later on she develops the idea that perhaps hircine himself is a sort of demiprince or daedra lord under dagon's service, or an avatar of dagon himself). this is based on old lore jsyk, like battlespire-era

this mostly happened because she's very morrowind-minded from a metaphysical point of view. even though she's spent a significant portion of her 180 years alive dedicating herself to studies on the metaphysical, mystical and occult after a brush with a renegade wise-woman—which theoretically should not even be remotely bound to something so arbitrarily mortal like culture—she can't help but be very conservative and patriotic in mindset and that warps a lot of her perceptions of reality, creating some very, uh, eccentric interpretations of the most foundational aspects of the aurbis. that is all to say her mind struggled a lot to reconcile an inherently outlander consequence such as lycanthropy with an explicitly dunmeri foundational belief, that being the house of troubles and their role in the theology.

soon enough she started to believe that dagon had a direct hand in the events that cursed her with lycanthropy, and that it's one of two of oblivion's sacred tools to help mortals (more importantly, her specifically) break free from the shackles of limitation imposed by the aedra (the other being vampirism, which she reveres FAR more than the comparative self-loathing she feels toward lycanthropes)

[wynought]

since i haven't seen it being pointed out before

all of the first stoats' names essentially mean "light"

kiran is of sanskrit origin meaning "ray of light" (and, according to wikipedia, an explicitly unisex name), uri is a hebrew name meaning "my light", hester is a variant of the name esther (of biblical/jewish origin) which comes from the same old persian root as the word "star", and, while i didn't find any particularly reliable source, various babyname websites at least seem to agree that jomei is a japanese name meaning "spread light"

additionally, their names seem to correlate with their purpose/position in last bast:

jomei is the speaker, they are in charge of propaganda - quite literally spreading the belief system and worldview of the first stoats aka the Light. it feels like this name is extremely straightforward in its meaning, but i was also unable to find much else on it, so there may be some additional hidden truth that i'm missing so far.

hester is the silence (the one with the gas mask missing their lower jaw and tongue) and their sphere of influence is secrets. now, i'm no religious scholar, and i have all of my information from quite literally the introductory paragraphs of the wikipedia article on the name esther. however, it seems that queen esther only took this name after ascending to the throne of persia to hide her true identity. this is reflected in the hebrew root of the name esther translating into "hide"/"conceal". (i am unable to provide more info on this, but anybody with a working understanding of how hebrew works and/or with more insight on the book of esther, feel free to interject/correct/add on to this)

uri is our beloved stoat pope. apparently, the name uri comes from the verb for "to shine" (to either be or to give light) and the mark of possession, resulting in the first connotation i mentioned earlier - "my light". this possessive marker, however, can also be interpreted as the name Yah which would be an abbreviation of YHWH - a marker of the divine, if you will. Therefore, Uri can also mean "Yah is my light", a very fitting name for the stoat whose department we only see called "faith".

i was unable to find a deeper meaning behind kiran's name, although to me "beam of light" feels very much like a name befitting the first stoats' leader. considering the way they commanded the wolf of theseus, it also seems to reflect the way their magic/their brand of control worked (their line of sight was part of how they controlled the wolf, indicating that was a key part of either their magic or the conditioning inflicted on the wolf - i'm partial towards the latter, considering how the wolf reacted to tula after she healed it). if anybody has anything more concrete to offer, though, i am all ears!

anyways, the first stoats' names are really cool, and we as a fandom don't talk enough about them because they died so fast. huge props to aabria for this fun bit of world building!

(disclaimer: as mentioned above, i have no background in theology or judaism, nor do i have any deeper knowledge of sanskrit, hindi, and indian mythology/folklore, nor japanese, and japanese mythology which would give me a deeper understanding of these names. my information comes from google and while i did try my best to verify the claims, i am fallible and happen to currently be very tired, so please correct me, if i made any mistakes!)

[wobster109]

Why is Aventurine Preservation-Imaginary?

(The real answer is, it's probably just HoYo filling out the path/element roster, but we'll play along!)

We'll tackle his element first. It's not the easier of the two, but it's the one with less info to sort through. The basic element types are:

Elements: wind, fire, ice, lightning

Sorta-abstract: quantum, imaginary

Physical: physical

It's a pretty funny system, all things considering. Here's Gepard, he can summon a massive wall of ice through will alone! Here's Dr. Ratio, he can make a massive tower just by thinking it into existence! Oh and here's Luka. Ordinary human. Pretty good at boxing.

(Not including Trailblazer here - probably the stellaron helps her swing that bat extra hard or something.)

And in the middle, you have Guinaifen, Hook, and Serval, who use the element but do not create it from scratch. For example, Serval is conceivably using electricity from her electric guitar.

Most of the elements are pretty self-explanatory, but Quantum and Imaginary are a bit more abstract. What are these types? What do they mean?

Quantum: technology, information, data, uncertainty

In my mind, Silver Wolf is the classic quantum character. She uses hacking to change data. In her hands, the data is always shifting. Fu Xuan is another direction that quantum can go - she's a diviner, and her job is peering into the future and making sense of the uncertainty. And then Qingque has elements of both: she works in divination, and also there is uncertainty in each hand of Celestial Jade.

Imaginary: Logic, abstraction, math/physics/metaphycs, theology

For some reason, Imaginary feels to me like dealing with the grand existential questions. There's Dr. Ratio on one end, knowledge is the measure of all things, and then there's Luocha with religious symbolism all over him, the devils, the church, the insanity in his character story, healing you with a cross necklace. Welt with his black hole - there's some kind of physics in there!

But this seems more like a philosophy than an element in battle. So in practice, what Imaginary characters have in common most of all is summoning miscellaneous objects 😅 black holes, dragons, chalk, etc.

So on that note, Aventurine fits right in, summoning dice and coins all over the place! Watch your he-ead~ 🎶🎵

I would've expected Aven to be Quantum. All the RNG in his kit. . . all the gambling, all the uncertainty. . . it seems more alike Qingque's tile suits. He even has card suits on his shields!

Perhaps the Imaginary is more about his character. Much of his story is intensely existential - what's the good of his blessing when everyone he loves is gone; why are we born if it's just to die. Perhaps he brings not just another answer, but a new way to see the question—not Why am I here, but All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.

A more direct question that he himself discusses is why he's Preservation. We know he was offered the chance to become a Masked Fool, and seek Elation - the pursuit of happiness. Yet he turned it down.

As his alter-ego says, he and Preservation have nothing in common.

Interestingly, he also gives himself the answer.

He didn't choose the Preservation. Aventurine chose the IPC.

But wait—aren't the IPC the bad guys?

It is fascinating to me when people make out the IPC to be the villain of this tale, or talk about him "escaping" the IPC as if he's being held hostage. Not only did he choose the IPC, he gambled everything, including his life, just for a sliver of a chance to join them.

They didn't kill his family, enslave him, brand him, or make him kill 34 other slaves. Certainly, the IPC has used Aventurine's talents and self-destructive behavior to their benefit, and is not particularly concerned with what becomes of him. They are big, corporate, and easy to hate. But they are also not the cause of his tragedy.

It's not the IPC, but rather the Katicans, that kill Kakavasha's family. His sister describes them as "bloodthirsty, cruel, and insatiably greedy." Personally I can’t say with confidence that the Katicans are villains without knowing their full history, but either way, the conflict is between the Avgins and the Katicans.

My feeling is that the IPC is amoral - they are not actively out to do harm, but neither will they go out of their way to avoid or prevent it. They are focused primarily on profit. Sometimes that means taking over a planet against the people's will. Sometimes that means making gambles. . . or sacrifices. Other times, it means hosting an Aetherium event.

So, why does Aventurine choose the IPC? What's interesting to me is, he isn't a slave to the IPC in any sense - not even in the lack-of-choice sense of Topaz's planet. He had a choice. He could have become a Masked Fool. So, why?

It all comes back to this:

"Go ahead, use me as you wish, even stab me in the back if you see fit. Exploitation and treachery are simply tools of the trade. But remember, I don't make deals that don't pay off... So, I hope you don't disappoint me."

The IPC is a tool to him, a means to an end. He expects that the IPC will use him, and in exchange he intends to use the IPC.

But to what end?

It's got to be something big. He could have become a refugee or an ordinary IPC employee, and instead he took the risk of lying about Tayzzynronth's remains. He let himself be arrested and brought to Jade. "I bet you won't send me to the gallows." Death was a possibility, so it had to be worth that risk.

My guess is that he wanted to save the Avgin people.

(And in this sense, Preservation is his true path after all.)

His sister tells him, "As long as you are alive, the blood of the Avgin will never run dry." Perhaps his goal was to save the remaining Avgin people, bring them away from the land of rock and sand and hardly any rain, and give them a home where they could prosper. Or to environmentally transform his home the way the IPC transformed other planets. To do that, he'll need more money and power than an IPC grunt's income. But with a Stoneheart's power, the IPC's money, and the Intelligentsia Guild's knowledge, he could make that happen.

(It feels off. It feels like too simple of an answer.)

But the Avgin people are all gone. Aventurine specifically says there aren't any left. Now that his reason is gone, what will become of him?

In a way, he does offer us an answer.

Aventurine: There will come a day when the sky will drizzle, and I will hear the call of Gaiathra Triclops and know that it is time for me to go and be reunited with my family. Aventurine: So until the time comes... I should be preparing. Kakavasha: Preparing for what? Aventurine: Preparing to face them, Kakavasha, and to make them proud.

He will go on to live a good life. What form will it take?

I don't think he can ever completely shake off the responsibility of being the last surviving Avgin. It would be quite a leap for him to settle down and have a family, so perhaps he'll have to pass it forward some other way. Either by preserving the culture (another museum management event?) or by dedicating his wealth and power to saving other peoples.

The thing about being somewhere is, you can't help but grow into it, and it grows around you. And now, he has. . . allies who are a bit closer to friends than he might think.

He has two coworkers who willingly handed over their cornerstones for his plan—cornerstones more precious than life itself. He seems to genuinely look out for Topaz (advising her against getting involved in Belobog), and she talks about him cheerfully during 2.1. And I am sure that bringing him into the IPC was a significant personal risk for Jade, especially since he'd already caused the IPC a major financial loss. For Jade and Topaz, he has—if not their trust, at least their respect in his abilities.

And he has the Intelligentsia Guild's top Mundanite fussing over his survival. Not for the Avgin bloodline, and not for profit or the success of a mission. Acheron refers to Ratio as his “friend”, and he doesn’t bother to deny it.

He has three allies/maybe-friends involved in a grand scheme with him, and isn't there something addicting about scheming together? Something as marvelous as what the Trailblazer has with the Express? So, I don't think he'll leave the IPC anytime soon. He carved out this path with his bare hands, made a life and a purpose for himself, and even made some friends along the way. Now, it's time to live it.

[ko-existing]

https://www.tumblr.com/illusionaurie/743221144282398720/hey-mystic-i-was-gonna-link-an-ask-from-earlier?source=share

👁️👄👁️ why is correcting misinformation / contradictions / massive over complications considered "mean"? these people realize they’re on the internet, right? if you’re still learning about ND/AV, you can literally just write down your thoughts in a private journal so you’re not responsible for spreading myths and false info on the internet to confused, vulnerable people. i’m sorry to be harsh but so many young people enjoy the title of being a "blogger", but without any accountability or experience in what they’re actually claiming to "teach". people are allowed to publicly criticize other people’s public claims, it’s the internet and it’s part of having a platform. 🤷 any ounce of criticism doesn’t equate to bullying or hatred. be open to discussion that’s not always positive and don’t take it as such a personal attack…

when people are tagging their posts with ND/AV, but aren’t using these concepts at all accurately, it’s totally fair to correct them. the same way if i came on here talking about how jewish theology considers jesus to be a messiah, i’d expect someone to tell me otherwise. it’s just blatantly untrue lol. it’s harmful and also extremely pointless to talk about things you don’t know anything about as if you know, when you can just take a tiiiny break from the internet, go within and… actually know it for yourself?

it’s veryyy transparent who here speaks from experience of knowing themselves (you + RW mainly, also i think Ada was mostly right just massively over conceptualized) versus who simply says whatever words they think sound good lol. it’s a shame to see people be wilfully ignorant but oh well🤷 it’s only themselves that they’re keeping seemingly stuck and unhappy, forever chasing (as that anon themselves said) "manifestations" and "desires" that bring about no meaningful or lasting happiness. 👎

sorry btw ik you probably can’t post this because of 🫨the controversy!!!1!1!🫨 but i had to indulge myself just a lil in the pettiness… i was bored, and i’m so tired of hearing people label SHORT + SIMPLE sentences as "riddles" just because they don’t want to put on their big girl pants and know this for themselves

Oh Anon you're speaking from the depths of my soul. I couldn't agree even more. Most of these "ND/AV" "bloggers" talk nonsense and get extremely defensive whenever they are corrected. They enjoy having people who listen to them and you can always tell who is talking from straight direct experience and who isn't. It's considered rude and "bullying" because they're asleep. But I'll be quiet🙆🏻‍♀️

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Hello, I am a queer/trans man who is starting a journey into Greek Orthodoxy, do you have any advice on where to start? Or things to keep in mind while practicing?

Hello! I might need a little bit more info here because if you have taken the decision to start a journey into Greek Orthodoxy you already "have started somewhere". So what more can I suggest?

Nevertheless, I have some advice for you on things to keep in mind regarding worship :)

The theology will be the same but the approach might depend on your country, even the parish. In Greece there is this attitude that the good Christian should not be judged by how many times they've stepped into the temple (temple = ναός , and that's the Greek more formal name to name a church building compared to "church" = εκκλησία) but by their personal relationship with God. Our lives can be busy so we might not be able to attend mass but we may establish a good relationship with God through prayer, fasting and being a good person.

Ofc going to church and taking communion are still significant deeds and can only give you blessings. The temple might be the "official" house of God but God is everywhere. Having a small altar/εικονοστάσι in your house can bring you closer to god while praying, through the familiar religious imagery and the practice of tending to the incense and the candle.

On the other hand, I feel like in countries like the US people are more religious, and they might attend church more often and build a community around it, so going to church can be synonymous with good worship.

Another theological point: The Trinity just means "God has appeared to us in three forms so far". It does not mean there are three gods. Water is still the same even if it's in the form of liquid, ice, or vapor. Father is God, Son is God, Spirit is God.

Orthodoxy doesn't care about the Original Sin. It's part of the Theology but it's considered symbolic and part of human nature (not a woman's nature, as Protestants/Evangelicals like to say for some reason). Orthodoxy doesn't care because this Sin was completely lifted from Humanity by Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. That Sin is gone, just like Death is gone.

Learning some Greek will give you more satisfaction in understanding the original text. Personally, I think it's very beautiful singing the hymns in Greek because the hymns were written in the Greek language in the beginning.

Attire-wise, no one will throw you out if you are dressed like you're going to the beach, but it's best advised to enter the temple in "respectable attire" aka something that you might wear while visiting relatives. Not something super formal, but just a "cared" appearance is appreciated because it's how you present yourself (literally) before God in His House.

Look at the hagiography, ask questions about the hagiography. The main purpose of the hagiography is to be a learning tool. From what I know many Greek Orthodox priests love explaining what each scene represents.

Have a respectful demeanor toward those who were there before you, the old geezers, the 3rd/4th generation ones. Do say your opinions, do defend your ideas and beliefs, but remembering you are "the new guy" will win more battles within the community. Being new doesn't make you less significant but, humans being humans, might feel threatened by any new member who insists they know better and might not consider their ideas. A slow and respectful pace might win the Greeks of Greece and the diaspora. Plus, Each religious community has its local, petty dramas and it's on you to navigate them.

You might encounter bigotry depending on the country and the parish. Greek Orthodoxy is the most ancient form of Christianity and has still kept followers with many old notions, including transphobia. But IMO if one knows the history of Christianity, they can see that many things are cultural. For example, there is just... direct ancient Hebrew law in the Orthodox Church: "A woman is not to wear male clothing, and a man is not to put on a woman’s garment, for everyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 22:5)

However, there's the more recent letter to Galatians 3:28 saying "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." This led many first Christians to believe that the ideal being was without sex, and they castrated themselves. The practice was outlawed relatively soon. All this to say that many directions of the church are purely cultural and are some are kept because of cherry-picking.

1 Timothy 2:9-10 says "Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works." Guess how many women in the Orthodox church keep the "no jewelry, no fancy hair, no costly attire" thing 😂 Orthodox temples can be proper fashion runways at times!

And let me not comment on "For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head." (1 Corinthians 11:6) It's never followed in Greek Orthodoxy especially by younger generations because people understood it's another form of misogyny. I think in time more and more people will identify and exclude the transphobic rhetoric in the church in a similar manner. (and there's a scripture which prohibits consuming blood which Greeks outright ignore in their cooking because they don't have the kosher way of draining blood from the animal in special ways 😂😂😂)

Besides, "Everything God Made, He Made with Wisdom" includes queer people. Not to mention: "For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) Even out of context, it's clear how God sees people. Even in newer scripture, Christ says “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). "Αγαπάτε αλλήλλους" (Love each other) is the most important message Christ ever gave and it's the motto of the Orthodox Church. Christ never said "Do not be trans/gay" etc. Love reveals the Christian and Love is the Point of the religion as it is today.

Cultivating goodness inside you and doing selfless, loving good deeds is so important in the religion that even if - hypothetically - being trans is indeed a sin in the eyes of the Orthodox God, it won't even matter before the nature of your heart. Following Plato's philosophy, Greek Orthodoxy has come to separate the body from the spirit in its theology. It doesn't condemn the body but it gives the biggest importance to the spirit because the spirit is considered to be "truly you".

That's all I can think for now! My tags #greek orthodox and #greek orthodoxy might have more stuff that will interest you!

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