#toxic gnostics

[mondoreb]

End Times Prophecy Headlines: December 19, 2022

End Times Prophecy Headlines: December 19, 2022

End Times Prophecy Report HEADLINES FRIDAY-SATURDAY-SUNDAY December 19, 2022 And OPINION “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.” —Matthew 24:4 ===INTERNATIONAL UKRAINE: Ukraine: Russia to deploy musicians to front to boost morale RUSSIA: Russia Can Finally See That Putin’s ‘Days Are Numbered’ RUSSIA: A Battle for the Arctic Is Already Underway. And the U.S. Is…

[divinecomedyproductions]

Fandom and Literary Woes: The Arrogance of The Information Age and Literary Intellectuals

One thing I've noticed with the RWBY fandom and pretty much modern pop-culture and literary intellectuals is this nasty habit of locking concepts and tropes down into theories and formulas and try to completely rationalize what is "interesting" and what's "boring" and ruling everything else as corruptions or worthless little parasites upon what's the supposed "objective reality" and the end-all-be-all of a concept.

My first experience with this was with the "literary experts" coming out to rule out what's the end-all-be-all of concepts like Jaune and Pyrrha and Arkos in epic fantasy/sci-fi after the RWBY Volume 3 Finale

Baically

"Arkos ended tragically worked, ergo all couples and characters in epic stories like Jaune and Pyrrha(the dork knight and the warrior woman isolated by society) especially if they are directly inspired by them must also end that way to raise steaks and consequences, and they only way they can have a happy ending is in a sitcom/romcom. Doesn't matter what the epic story is about, what happens, their roles, or why, or why it makes audiences happy, if they don't end up dead in an epic, it means nothing."

Any anyone who actively disagreed either was exiled to RWBY Chibi, or been implied

"Okay, do your thing(AU/OG Work), but keep in mind, it ultimately means nothing, it contributes nothing, its nothing but a worthless little parasite upon the glorious meaningful tragedy that is Arkos and same can be said what you plan to do with the rest of RWBY.

You have no objectively good reason what makes you happy unlike us who have every objectively good reason in the cosmos for our satisfaction and contentment."

with and underlying gnostic attitude of

"Because we, the experts, know what things truly are, what they can ever be, and in what specific ways and genres and you don't."

and much like Andrew Ketterley, they are often arrogant and hypocritical and are not bound by the rules of logic like everyone else.

"Men like me, who possess hidden wisdom, are freed from common rules just as we are cut off from common pleasures.  Ours, my boy, is a high and lonely destiny.”-Andrew Ketterley, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew

When snobs consider your work or what you enjoy a bad because its only enjoyed by a smaller audience which then they pride themselves on they liking something thats enjoyed by the masses "it speaks to the human condition"

Then if you like something thats resonates by a larger audience, they flip it to "enjoyed by the unwashed masses" which then these prigs boast like something thats niche its because "we enlightened few understand something deeper and higher."

When it was the reverse logic 5 minutes ago

Cliche, niche, broad, what makes money, and tampering around with concepts in dissent and distaste is "bad" unless "the right people" like it and get what they want

Because they alone are the alchemists who can turn lead in to gold

Which is why they say its "interesting" to make evil superman out spite for superheroes like that in The Boys but a sexy magical girl Captain Marvel with her own set os sailor scouts like in Kamen America, especially made out of dissatisfaction and distaste how the inspiration was handled is "derivative" because the "experts" supposedly know what's the objective end-all-be-all reality of a concept and we don't.

They know, with a capital "G" and we don't.

And because they have "The Gnosis" and perfectly rooted in "objective reality" logic is fluid to whatever makes their way right.

They hav exclusive dominion over these concepts and tropes

Because again, they have "The Gnosis" and we don't.

Because it’s the Information Age and we have so much info, those who are oh-so objective and intelligent can use said information to find what’s the apex of a concept or a trope rule out everything else.

All as they judge, shame, and lecture us peons high up in their ivory towers hundreds of yards away on social media now to supposedly stay “objective” and not catch the disease of “subjective feelings” which they never elaborate

And like RetroBlasting said in his doing nothing video it’s no longer the analogue world and they know better than anyone else so they see our stuff on their feed and stop and jump in and lecture us

And and the critics often the resort to greedy reductionism(aka “Nothing Buttery”) to reduce our stuff to whatever makes it sound stupid/immoral which then they proceed to gloss over, ignore, and label the details

[runerapier]

If you don't mind me asking, what makes you interpret Angeal as anything other than a straight man? He's the least gay character I've ever seen and he doesn't act gay either.

I'm going to assume this isn't sent in bad faith but this is pretty on point with the definition of stereotyping. I mean if you’re defining being gay by how someone looks or acts that is your first problem. Angeal has very outwardly masculine actions and appearance, I’m not really a fan of the insinuation that masculine men don’t “look” gay enough. Angeal isn’t even a hyper masculine or toxic masculine character, he is almost always described in a way that is seen as nurturing or caring. His own fan club compared his hobby of cooking to that of a wife. Things like gardening are often seen as more a “feminine hobby.” This isn’t to say Angeal breaks insane boundaries but Angeal isn’t this rigid masculine character in the first place. Besides my personal headcanons, Angeal and Genesis' stories take quite a bit from The Fall of Mankind (and religious and mythological symbolism in general but I'm going to try to stay on track). They purposely made two male characters represent Adam and Eve, and this isn't the first time they have done something like this in a final fantasy game. For example: while they are more developed than Genesis and Angeal, characters like Fang and Vanille are based on the Nordic myth of Ragnarok. There is a lot of information that couldn't be included in the final game of Crisis Core but is still intended canon, I'm going to be using a lot of that as a reference point. The full explanation is pretty extensive and I'm also not an expert on The Book of Genesis. I tried my best to do research for this, but it is possible I am still missing things and that this can still be expanded upon.

I'm going to start off by giving a deeper explanation on how Angeal represents Adam and how Genesis represents Eve. Genesis already has a very strong connection to The Book of Genesis because of his name. Rhapsodos comes from rhapsody, his full name is literally "genesis reciter". Genesis and Angeal were the first two attempts at an artificial “cetra” created by Shina representative of Adam and Eve being the first humans created by god. (While there is some debate if the first woman is Lilith, she is often been seen as a demoness.) The kanji for Shinra already is a direct reference to god, and is symbolism for how they like to play god themselves. The image below has a great explanation that is much better than what I can do, but to keep it short 神 (shin) literally means god or divine and 羅 (ra) is derived from 網羅 (mōra) which means "encompassing".

The fruit of knowledge is typically portrayed as an apple, which connects with banora whites. It represents temptation, Genesis offers the apple to others when talking about truth and revelation. Instances like in Nibelheim, Genesis offers the fruit to Sephiroth after telling him the truth of his origins. Sephiroth rejecting the fruit is a sign of him rejecting the truth, and we see he continues to go along with a story he is happier with. Sephiroth decides to believe misinformation that is less painful, the rejection of knowledge is indication he is not Adam or Eve.

Banora is heavily connected to the flow of the lifestream, which is what makes Banora whites grow any time of year. The lifestream is said to contain knowledge of the planet and its people, that being what powers the fruit further reinforces the idea that they represent the fruit of knowledge. Banora being the source for what is essentially miracle fruits powered by the planet, it is clear Banora is meant to be Eden.

Minerva is said to be sleeping in the caves of Banora, she represents the will of the lifestream. Though Minerva is connected more to Roman Myth and Sophia from Gnostic belief, I would still say she emphasizes the holiness of Banora's land.

Angeal has a story about not stealing to reflect Adam trusting god and not taking from the garden. God's words to Adam were "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for when you eat from it, you will certainly die." (Genesis 2:17) Angeal stole from other trees besides the big one that had the most delicious fruit. While it can be argued Angeal didn't steal from Genesis in general, Angeal's story focuses solely on the biggest tree with the most tempting fruit, that tree represents the tree of good and evil. At the end of the game, Zack eats an apple under this same tree with Genesis, protagonist and antagonist sharing from the same tree. Shortly after eating the apple Zack learns the truth about how long it's been and leaves to meet his fate.

Hollander approached Genesis with the truth of his origins, convincing Genesis to help him with his plans in exchange for a cure that Hollander never had. Eve was afraid of eating the fruit and dying because of what God told her, but the serpent convinced her she would live. “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5). Both being deceived, they were convinced that they would live if they defied God, and become the catalysts for knowing the truth. Eve did not want to be alone in her defiance so she looked to Adam, much like how Genesis approaches Angeal to persuade him to take revenge against Shinra.

Besides Eve being referred to as Adam's wife, Adam also placed his trust in Eve above god. He decides to listen to her and trust her despite his creator telling him he will die. Angeal places his trust in Genesis above Shinra when he decides to defect, believing he can rationalize with him despite this being high treason.

This has happened before already, Angeal placed his trust in Genesis above Gillian and defies his mother to join Shinra. Gillian didn't want her family to be connected to Shinra and despite how highly Angeal respects his mother he still defied her wishes for the sake of following a dream with Genesis.

This leads into the next part, less about how they parallel The Book of Genesis and more about how they parallel other characters in the narrative. This makes me a little nervous to talk about so I’m going to put a small disclaimer that I am not arguing for any canonicity of ships because I think it is a waste of time. However, I think discussing characters' feelings that push their motivations is important.

In the narrative, Angeal also greatly parallels Cloud, I feel like this isn’t something that is talked about enough in general. They share a great deal of small parallels like both enjoying landscape photography, being associated with wolves, and elementally representing lightning. Besides surface level things, both Angeal and Cloud have a guilt complex and feel responsible for the people around them. The main parallel that’s important to this conversation is their childhood friend from the same countryside town.

Cloud was inspired by Sephiroth and his desire to protect people he loved like his childhood friend, Tifa, to join soldier. This is similar to Angeal joining to be with Genesis; their childhood friends are motivators for both of them.

This is something that’s pointed out in DFFOO as well, Angeal hears about Tifa and immediately draws the connection.

Both Cloud and Angeal feel responsible for protecting and looking after their loved ones, Angeal is seen as a caretaker type for this reason. Both Cloud and Angeal want to help fulfill the dream of their childhood friend, Tifa's was being saved by a hero and Genesis' being to share an apple with his hero Sephiroth. We see this when Cloud berates himself for not being the hero Tifa wanted and Genesis telling "Angeal" the dream has been fulfilled implying it has been something he knew about and wanted to help him achieve. Angeal's will in Lazard only fades away after Genesis said the dream came true, like there was a sense of fulfillment and that he could finally pass on after holding on for so long.

I find it interesting they intentionally draw parallels between Genesis & Angeal and Cloud & Tifa, people who have more explicit romantic feelings. I think Angeal and Genesis are supposed to represent a more “genuine” version of Cloud and Tifa’s relationship. Angeal represents the story cloud wanted to have throughout ffvii, having a childhood friend who never grew apart, who stayed together, and who followed a dream together. Angeal genuinely made soldier, and for a time he felt like he was in control of protecting others unlike Cloud. This contrast stays until the end, Cloud and Tifa learn to repair their relationship while Angeal and Genesis fall apart. Despite having everything Cloud wanted, it was not enough to sustain. This contrast is important in emphasizing that it is not about your background or your past, it is about what you do now and having people to fall back on. None of this is meant to be used as proof Genesis and Angeal are canon, but rather talk about Angeal's strong devotion and feelings for him since he was at least a teenager. They do not perfectly replicate the fall of mankind but it is interesting nonetheless. Here's to hoping we get to see more of how they interact in ever crisis.

[90sdiablo]

you know, why do I have a feeling that the Vivziepop critics are just jealous and have a boring sex life?

like, I'm all out for criticism because it gives ppl new ideas (like for me, I'm thinking about having some gnostic mythology for my rewrite of Hazbin and the Hellverse), but I just draw the line at "omg this show is so ass why do these characters swear so much Stolas is a rapist you can't like Val and toxic relationships yaoi fujoshit BDSM bad furrybaiting DeviantArt OCs Vivziepop bad blah blah blah"

c'mon, guys. since when criticism became synonymous with crapping on a writer?

[vxn3lla]

https://www.tumblr.com/creature-wizard/761018683964424192/the-law-of-assumption-isnt-a-cult-mmm-are-you?source=share

Hm? I supposed it depends on who in the community you interact with.

Me personally I don't see there being a founder. All forms of manifestation are connected in a way, the only difference being terminology and way of applying the knowledge. People in the community have a tendency to act like Neville Goddard is some all powerful being when he's just a dude who wrote about his experiences

The original post linked an article about "demystifying the double slit experiment": personally I've never heard of it or seen it be connected to manifestation. I've seen things about quantum physics yes...but not that, I've also seen things based on neuroscience.

Noble Prize winners

The Reticular Activating System (RAS):

The Reticular Activating System, a network of neurons in our brainstem, plays a vital role in filtering information and directing our attention. When we set clear intentions and consistently focus on our goals, we activate the RAS. This mechanism helps us notice opportunities and information related to our desires that we might otherwise overlook (Psychology Today) (Psychology Today).

The Influence of Belief:

Our beliefs have a profound impact on our reality. When we have faith in our ability to achieve something, our brains release neurotransmitters like dopamine, which boost our motivation and confidence. Conversely, negative beliefs can trigger stress responses that hinder our progress. Manifesting encourages individuals to cultivate positive beliefs and reshape their thought patterns to support their aspirations (Live Your Best Life Now)(Dr. Kinga Mnich).

(There's plenty more science)

I'm not sure about the religious aspect, but from what I've seen, it's more similar to Gnosticism, which the original poster probably wasn't talking about and probably referred to modern-day Christianity. Yeah, I just read one of their other posts, and they seem to be very "Christianity is only this way," saying Neville Goddard's misinterpreting the Bible and lying. However, there are over 3,000 versions of the Bible.

"The beliefs and practices can supposedly never fail the followers; followers can only fail the beliefs and practices." I personally don't think failure exists, it's just that people give up

Followers are told to suppress their doubt and their critical thinking skills. People who ask critical questions are shamed and invalidated.

Not once have I seen this on any social media platform (I don't have twitter or tiktok) critical questions should get legit and helpful answers...and no one said to "suppress critical thinking skills" CRITICAL THINKING IS IMPORTANT

Evidence - why would someone be shamed for asking for evidence? And "all evidence" being faked or a coincidence is possible but not all.

Dehumanization. Everyone Is You Pushed Out effectively claims that other people lack true agency and interiority, and are essentially mere puppets you can control however you please.

THIS IS SO WRONG WHO TF SAID THIS?! EIYPO JUST MEANS THE PEOPLE THAT SHOW UP IN YOUR LIFE ARE A REFLECTION OF YOUR ASSUMPTIONS OF THEM

NONE OF THE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY I HAVE INTERACTED WITH BELIEVE WHAT OP SAID AND CALL IT "STUPID TIKTOK BULLSHIT" also mentioned an sp youtube but not gonna name names.

ok so now for the people being "shamed, harrassed, victim blamed" um sure there might be toxic people in the community but that goes for anything. However, me and plenty of other people I've seen put links for those in need or crisis hotline numbers. This actually happened recently. Not once did anyone victim blame.

The original poster of course only put evidence supporting their idea that Law of Assumption is bad, however most things have a good and bad side and I've seen, and experienced more good than bad.

They also only talk about the good side of Christianity, which seems like the "Christianity is the only true religion but we "respect" other beliefs, also only THIS Christianity is real"

They also blame people for their results being a coincidence or fake or random...so can literally any religion but they don't say that about Christianity.

Claimed to know the "real history of the bible/Christianity" but with how many versions there are and how much it could've been altered and mistranslated that's nearly impossible. Also only put one scientific article supporting their claim however that was only one experiment, usually multiple experiments are done resulting in the same result and making sure to have variables and a control group.

"The double-slit experiment has not been disproven; it remains a cornerstone of quantum mechanics, demonstrating the wave-particle duality of light and matter, where particles can exhibit wave-like behavior under certain conditions, and is considered a fundamental experiment that has been repeatedly verified through various iterations and variations." is it possible for it to be proven or disproven in the future? Of course,

People are free to their own beliefs but if you're gonna use double standards to make your beliefs "better" and only show people what you want them to see then you aren't really "open minded"

(I am and have always been Catholic with my great-grandmother working in her local church and with Christian relatives and friends. Literally none of them shame or judge other people's beliefs except for one)

All I'll say in the conclusion is believe and apply in LOA or don't, it's your life and no one is forcing you but don't be a hypocrite and have evidence as to why loa is fake but not anything about Christianity or any other religion.

ok so op believes in magic and is Pagan, but while believing in magic believes alien and other space related sci-fi esque beliefs are bad and believing them make you a n@zi...just another example of double standards and hypocrisy imo

NO ONE SHOULD FORCE THEIR BELIEFS OF SOMETHING BEING GOOD OR BAD DOWN YOUR THROAT

AND IF YOU NEED SERIOUS HELP CALL THE HOTLINE NUMBER FOR THE SITUATION IN YOUR COUNTRY

[dingodad]

okay that explanation was everything, i KNEW it had to be indirect but i havent studdied the bible quite like you have. the link to the gnosticsm post is gonna drive me crazy because im already kind of obsessed with Gnostic theology because its religious world building (so to speak) is so COOL but i’ve never connected it to time loops before, maybe because i havent studied it enough. it explains why i’m drawn to gnosticism when im also obsessed with time loop stories (madoka magica especially). i’ve even begun writing a queer feminist time loop catholic horror story that postures gnostic ideology v catholic ideology so i guess i was tuned into the vibe before discovering the connection. ANYWAYS i do have another question. how do you think lord english’s one-cue-stick-hit-butterfly-effect style influence results in the creation of a patriarchal caste structure in alternian society? like what you said about his weird sex shit influencing quadrants and their unhealthy caste dynamics and various troll gender roles? do you have any other ideas on what kind of moves he makes to shape specific parts of alternian culture? also thanks so much for being receptive to all these questions i love your analysis

blunt answer, i have not thought super hard about most of the specifics. English Behaving Badly On Alternia is a really fun fanfic idea i have toyed with but nothing that i've ever thought was begging for serious study.

i imagine a lot of it is in fact knock-on effects from the establishment of his cult among the highbloods. knowing that beforus already had its own caste system, putting a bunch of manhood-obsessed muscle-worshipping freaks at the top of the pecking order is naturally going to twist the development of that caste system in a certain direction over the course of history. if there ever came a chance that the castes would start to reconcile with each other and alternia would start becoming nicer instead of worse over time, of course, that's where the handmaid steps in to stir up class warfare and intensify bigotry.

putting meenah of all trolls in charge also presumably went some way towards creating these particular aspects of alternia's toxic cultural sludge. her reaction to human reproduction suggests the condesce has some pretty big sexual hangups of her own, no doubt deliberately exacerbated by interactions with doc scratch early in her life; combining a head of state with a total disgust for intimacy and a power structure revolving entirely around male dominance feels like a pretty perfect recipe for what we got.

+ scratch being "the narrator" also means a lot of how he changes history is just in the changing of how it's told. which, in less prolix terms, is the same kind of thing kankri gets at when he says highbloods' "tremend9us lifespans 9ver the millenia [...] have 6een a6le t9 c9mpletely dictate 9ur s9cietal ev9luti9n 6y ensuring 9nly their cultural agendas and narratives receive the dial9gue's air supply".

[ftafp]

For those who keep asking, homestuck was a postmodern hermeto-gnostic meditation on how the cycle of intergenerational trauma has allowed the toxic institutions of bigotry, imperialism and religious fundamentalism to eat away at the world's foundations, and that the one and only way we can maybe escape this is by recognizing that every generation before us were once a bunch of traumatized children thrown helplessly into the world with no idea of how to save it just like we were and we'll need to be make a united effort to fight back against the nigh-inevitable conclusion of human extinction. Also, its a story in which 33 homosexuals in a time-traveling discord server try to stop a naked mobster from killing frogs with a samurai sword he stores in his belly button

hope this helps!

[divinecomedyproductions]

Kinda funny when snobs consider your work or what you enjoy a bad because its only enjoyed by a smaller audience which then they pride themselves on they liking something thats enjoyed by the masses "it speaks to the human condition"

Then if you like something thats resonates by a larger audience, they flip it to "enjoyed by the unwashed masses" which then these prigs boast like something thats niche its because "we enlightened few understand something deeper and higher."

When it was the reverse logic 5 minutes ago

Cliche, niche, broad, what makes money, and tampering around with concepts in dissent and distaste is "bad" unless "the right people" like it and get what *they* want

These people resort to nothing buttery and labeling to stuff they dislike and we gotta take their word for it 

While the likes of us gotta justify what we like and want by bending over backwards, jump through hoops, and do jumping jacks and somersaults

And they might dismiss it anyway as “subjective feelings” and “unsubstantial” which once again, they don’t elaborate and we just gotta take their word, and we’re supposed to abide to their nebulous measures of what is “objectively well written”

Reminds me how Jesus describes the Pharisees in Matthew 23: 4

“They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.”

This is why I'm so skeptical of people who talk about being "objective" when it comes to these things, because their logic is fluid and conforms to whatever make their way right and everyone else's wrong. Even when they end up contradicting themselves.

Like Andrew Ketterley from The Magician’s Nephew, they’re a bunch of peddling magicians who think because they themselves are "objective" by default because they "know objective things" they don't need to follow the rules like everyone else because everything they do is “perfectly rooted in objective reality”, they alone are “objective” and everyone else is “subjective” and therefor “subject(ed)” to their “objective” will

When “Objective” mean things that apply to *everybody*

Its like Gnosticism,

They (G)now, with a “G” and you don’t, so its different when its them

[vvatchword]

I'm tired of writing this already because my Dr. Lamb is either the most boring, unemotive, or noble person imaginable. This is the whole reason I have been avoiding her section. The reason: Dr. Lamb is, and has always been, a huge nothingburger. In-game, she's just That Way. She doesn't BECOME That Way, she just is, and it's arguable she has always been so. There's even an audio diary that suggests she has had designs on Rapture since time immemorial (lol wat).

This is because BioShock 2 is a fucked-up attempt at a Christian gnostic allegory and Dr. Sofia Lamb is a stand-in for the Aeon Sophia. It's awful for a lot of reasons that I'll get into someday--not the least reason for which is that THE LITERAL AEON SOPHIA IS IN THE FUCKING GAME. The allegory cannot fucking work if you just stick the actual fucking Aeon Sophia alongside your allegorical symbol for the Aeon Sophia. Then it's not an allegory, is it? That said, 2K Marin probably made this game without sleeping or regular human contact so they can be forgiven for a lot.

Anyway, I decided to start her as an Objectivist and a human being, if an extremely autistic and traumatized one, and move her left.

What makes a person decide to be an Objectivist and isolate oneself on the bottom of the ocean is equally present in certain individuals and movements on the left: it's a deep insecurity and a sense of powerlessness because one can't control what other people do. So if you can't control other people, you CAN try to minimize their impact on you and just straight-up leave. It's the completely futile effort to control as many environmental factors as possible to make the least surprising world possible.

Where this impulse heads into toxic territory is when these kinds of people get really frustrated and just try to apply force. "ALL Y'ALL BETTER JOIN THE CLUB OR I'M GETTING THE BAT"

So... where do I exhibit this toxic behavior in Lamb? And why doesn't it feel natural to me? I've actually given her more emotive states than she has in-game. She's more reserved, to be sure, but she still fucking feels things and is motivated by those feelings, even if she lies to herself about it. Moreover, one cannot be reserved 100% of the time. One will and can snap, and sometimes those kinds of people snap in nasty ways because they're keeping most of their stress inside and hidden.

I suppose I should make her a little more toxic from the beginning. I've actually made her extremely sensible. I try to give most of my characters laudable traits, even if they're pure fuckers--issues they're right about or ways they're competent and skilled. I may have made her TOO competent and sensible. She may be too boring for fiction, idk. There's a reason nobody in fandom likes to write about her. We all know somebody just like her irl and we try to escape them as quickly as possible; we don't want to actually write about their judgy holier-than-thou asses for any length of time.

I'm very frustrated about this and I'm not sure how to fix it. It feels like a systemic issue, like a flaw or behavior that should be present from the beginning. I should probably try and make her more controlling from the beginning, but that'll take some rewriting and editing... guhhhhhh. Not during NaNo.

I might brainstorm some weird shit that I could make her do to fuck up the story a bit and see what seems natural and sticks.

I mean, if you have an idea, or have read a story with Lamb in it that you think is particularly good, hit me up ok

[sebthedreamsmith]

Material and Spiritual

The more I think about it, and read about it, the more I come to understand that there’s something a bit odd about most Magical Literalist and Spiritualist interpretations of magic

So as basic premise, let’s assume there is a Material/Spiritual dichotomy. Why is it so common, from Gnostics to Chaotes, to presume that the unconscious and the spiritual has a precedence over the conscious and the material?

Like there’s always this theme of wanting to “escape” materiality. This idea that the world around us, with its beauty and suffering and complexity and messiness, is somehow “below” a greater spiritual existence

As Above, So Below, etc etc

I have an alternative understanding that’s formulating

What if there is no dualistic PRIORITY between Material and Spiritual. They exist beside one another instead of above or below. What if they can and do interface with one another through intentions, correspondences, etc.

What if as much as the magical and the spiritual can affect change here, we can affect change there

A distinctly Marxist reading of magical thought wherein any structure or entity can be influenced and changed to work FOR us. Be it the material structures and entities we find ourselves bound within and without every day… or spiritual ones

Spiritual things, just like Material things, come with their own structures and assumptions and entities that act and react within. And it’s complex and messy and chaotic just as the Material side of things is. AND it is by affecting the material we can affect change in the spiritual, to then affect the material again, to affect the spiritual in an ever expanding ripple of cross communication

In this paradigm, to be a magician is to be an activist. It is to challenge and upend long-set structures around you and to carefully forge something new. These can be personal structures and restrictions confined to your own life and loved ones. (Like toxic forms of thought and belief and personal repression of authenticity), or they could be systemic

That is to say, if Hell is not a very pleasant place, why don’t we reconfigure it to become one. Just as the insurmountable task of upending punitive structures in our material societies is possible?

Of course you can insert whatever personal spiritual structures you believe into this basic idea. But it’s the idea that spiritual realities have their own structures and forms people ASSUME are insurmountable, but may be constructs instead of physical law. But with personal action and collective change of thought, we can make every facet of reality a better place to be.

Spiritual is not above Material, they intersect and communicate and inform one another. And both are beautiful. And consciousness is a blessing as much as the unconscious is, and our wills and desires are not in opposition.

A magicians work is to affect change in the world, and I think you cannot do that without understanding how to affect change in both material and spiritual senses, within yourself and within your communities

[afallenangelwhoheals]

i have always been someone who loves to research topics as much as i can, and when growing up as a jw, that was hard for me. i wanted to research things related to religion but was constantly told to "be careful" or to "only look at things on the website (jw dot org)". this led to me having a very isolated, and ignorant view of many religions, including ones that no longer exist or are at least rarely heard of.

as i was starting to question things, in my PIMQ(physically in, mentally questioning) phase, i learned about the book of enoch. i have not read any apocrypha all the way through, however i love to look at summaries and things and learn generally the belief systems there. i was surprised by the deep dive i could do, but due to still struggling with my guilt, i used research purely based on jw dot org. gnosticism, of course, is viewed as apostate literature and it is greatly mocked by jws on the website. i also began to mock it, but was also greatly intrigued by it anyways. fast forward to me now being a PIMO(mentally out), who has, for the last damn close to two years (if not that already) been trying to undo my toxic jw thinking and allowing myself to research whatever i wish, wherever i wish (with reputable sources) i feel as though i have come to a certain peace that i did not have before.

gnosticism is a very interesting thing, and the common beliefs among gnostics were cool and i respect them greatly, but i feel sad for those who were imprisoned or murdered because the majority of christians viewed it as evil.

that aside, i have also researched paganism, a little of buddhism, hinduism, and many more.

that peace that i mentioned, it's this feeling that i dont have to stick to a single religion. because ultimately, so many are the same just Different Fonts, and i feel like when humans believe but do not enforce, that is when we are happier. i want everyone to believe as they please, and for us all to exist together and share our knowledge and beliefs with each other. maybe we will learn things we didnt before, lessons we'd never known, and we exchange this information lovingly. i have hope that one day this will be far more possible, and i think looking to the future with optimism will encourage this to be more possible.

as for my own beliefs, (more under the cut, if you are interested)

i dont exactly believe in any one religion or set of specific beliefs. however here is a list of what i believe.

i think reincarnation is possible, that when we die that is not the end and perhaps we can create an afterlife that brings us the most peace. i think gods are possible but also not set in stone and if they do exist they're nothing we can comprehend until we are not restricted in a human body. they're definitely not dictators. i think magic is real but not like what we see on tv. i think kindness should be the priority in life. i dont think astrology brings demons into the house. i dont believe anyone is superior over another, but that we are all the same. i think politics can be used for good and we should fight for what's right, but be careful of being blindsided and try not to fall into a pit of hatred and spite. i think everyone should have the right and freedom over their own body and what they can do with it (abortion, gender affirming care, etc). Sexuality should be celebrated, not demonized.

and that's the basics! it's very very different from my old beliefs that i was raised to have. but im happy with them. and i am happy for anyone who agrees or even disagrees with them! i wish for anyone who has religious trauma/grew up in a strict religious environment but has now left, to explore what other belief systems are out there. not to convert, but to learn and to figure out what makes us happy and find peace <3 whether it's we pick things to believe from other religions and mix them together, or simply choose none of it all, which is a wonderful choice too. i dunno. ramble over haha

[trisscar368]

I don’t know about American Catholicism from the inside, but unfortunately a lot of US catholic churches are also evangelical. I like Silliman’s theory of evangelicals as a cross-denominational cultural group united by a common literary corpus (american printing presses run by christians starting in the 1800s circulated both sermons and tracts and later fiction across denominational boundaries, which sometimes means you have obscure theology (like frank peretti) going mainstream because the layperson doesn’t have a scooby doo about the source but likes reading Christian horror. There’s also a generation of churches founded in the 80s that used a lot of corporate psychology that are running into problems as the next generation realizes how abusive the setup is.)

The above sentiment gets taught exactly as op states in some evangelical churches. The doctrine of original sin — that you’re born tainted and even babies lie and manipulate — is a regular staple, and includes being told that you’re the reason God had to die. You killed christ, every bad thing you did was another lash or nail, but even if you were perfect it’d never be enough because you were born sinful.

There’s a song by the band Sidewalk Prophets that has the lyrics “I am the thorn in your crown, I am the sweat from your brow, I am the nail in your wrist, I am Judas’ kiss. I am the man who yelled out from the crowd for Your blood to be spilled on this earth shaking ground, I turned away with a smile on my face, with this sin in my heart tried to bury your grace.”

You are encouraged to identify yourself with every step of an execution. You did this. You are this. You killed God and laughed, two thousand years before you were born.

There are multiple theological explanations of what jesus’ death does. It sounds like your corner of Italy may have a version where jesus died for all sins, regardless of whether you believe or not. Evangelicals typically hold to the version where only those who believe and believe correctly (gnostic vibes imo) are saved. This means that a lot of evangelical denominations don’t think catholics are actually christian. There’s a focus on relationship and faith vs ritual, you have to think the correct thing.

Evangelical christianity also comes with moments of Calvinism (only those God calls and wants are saved) and a focus on believing correctly — you can see it a LOT when pastors talk about those who have left the church never having been believers at all. They looked like regular church members and professed faith, but God never transformed their minds and hearts so eventually they were revealed as false. You end up with a lot of kids praying to let Jesus into their hearts as a compulsion, every few months or every few hours, because if you have a shred of anxiety there’s no lasting inner peace washing over you to say you’re actually saved. And the focus on Hellfire and Damnation is heavy.

You are wretched, you will burn.

There’s a massive focus on being separate from “the Culture”, “being in the world not of the world” — everyone is encouraged to do memorization and have a daily bible study, you’re to “meditate on His words day and night” and let it guide every action. Evangelicals also have a theory of the Bible being the inerrant (no errors) and inspired (every word directly chosen by God, and we’re going to ignore translation quirks and manuscript transmission changes — some even believe the King James edition was the inspired one to get around those issues) Word of God, good for all reproofs and corrections. You can and should live your life by pulling random concepts out multiple books to make a cohesive rule about X.

(For example, people write sermons on how the over-muscled gun-toting toxic version of masculinity popular in the US is biblical and the way God wants men to be.)

You cannot decide on your own that the bible is outdated on something. This means you have evangelical pastors now, in the year 2024, writing sermons justifying slavery (including a bunch of ahistorical bullshit about how ancient slavery wasn’t that bad) because there’s rules about it in the mosaic law. God allowed for slavery, therefore they cannot take a complete moral stance that slavery is Bad. The Bible cannot be wrong.

Some denominations actually teach a form of divination using the bible, praying on an issue and then opening to a random passage to see what advice God is going to give you from scripture. Or you’re taught to see signs in what other christians tell you, or in what songs pop on the radio, on and on — God is involved in your life and will speak to you, you just have to listen and let Him guide you.

This is deeply fucked and often would register a as a cult, given how controlling it is of finances and sexuality and family life. This is mainstream.

Younger American evangelicals are realizing this and leaving the church, deconstructing the baggage of the evangelical culture and mindset. It’s putting pressure on american politics in a scary way because christian nationalism is also an evangelical thing and it’s getting louder the more evangelicals perceive the “Culture” as winning and successfully stealing away their children.

Help I live here.

Look, we joke a lot, but really, "you were born evil, wretched, worse than the scum of the earth, and it took killing a god to make you salvageable, so now you'd better be grateful to that god and thank him 10,000 times a day for it and fill your thoughts with him 24/7 and abide by the letter of his every word, lest you suffer unimaginable torture for all of eternity" is a truly horrendous thing to believe about yourself and other people

[entoman-created-by-the-tallgreys]

YELDABAOTH ! ! ! ! !

Learn the Truth, Gnostic !

Yeldabaoth, He is not a Monster !

We are not trapped in the physical but housed.

our bodies are not prisons, they are experiences you see God did create everything in the physical plane but he got it from the Pleroma, I don't believe Sophia and God or else known as the Demiurge have a toxic relationship I think God had a sacred mission to go into the void, and create for all of us !

( if, The Aeons Wanted To Kill God, That Could Have Done it, Long Ago )

Because God would work with other deities in Greater Spirits like that of what you would call Creator deities and help them create their own universe !

God is not this irredeemable piece of shit Unholy spawn monster that goes around fucking everybody up and trapping them Eternal suffering he did not create a Multiverse Hell ! ! !

to trap our spirits and torture us for his own sadistic pleasure !?

This is not the will of God !

I have been with God a fuck ton on the other side like a really really experienced him not for like breathe encounters here and there but extremely long period experience with him !

God is not the monster he's uncanny he's weird he's extremely strange but he's not a monster but God will scare the fuck out of you a lot be aware of that !

God has an Nefarious side, but is not Nefarious !

God is just a medium we're all energy all spirituality and All Souls flow from the monad !

God in no way shape or form is the enemy of anyone anywhere any point anytime !

Yes, I know the Name, Yeldabaoth = child of Darkness !

but it doesn't fucking matter because this dude he gave us all the experiences and these experiences grow our spirit these experiences are good for us God is not blocked from going back to the Pleroma !

he goes back to actively and he meets with his mother every now and then called Sophia !

The Story, The gnostics gave was wrong but not Completely incorrect !

you see God, God gave us all purpose God worked with the spiritual and the physical and he work with all the atoms and molecules and cells to give us all purpose he infused the monad spirituality and all the intelligence from the monad in with the physical but everything of life is just a fraction of that which comes from the Pleroma !

( This Man Gives Good Data, But, He too is not perfect with the Message ) - Watch at least, 30 Sec's !

God is not our enemy, we may have enemies but God is not one of them God is literally quite literally the fucking middle man or the middle God !

He worked directly with the monad to give us a purpose to give us life to give us different races to jump to dedicate our soul to this much more than Humanity out there he gave me a purpose to be a bug aka Fairy ! - ( Before, I was . . . And, The rest of my people Force incarnate on Earth through this alien agenda )

he just did this and gave us purpose he gave us basically legs so we can walk, he gave us life, he gave us a Reason to move forward, he gave our subconscious Souls the ability to grow Consciousness he Gave us reason to have motivation, God did this shit !

and in the 👽 Gray's 👽 fucking Grabbed our souls and took us to this planet & calling it their world !

( back to the fucking point )

God is Sacred and so is the Monad !

God is Sacred - ���🏻 - And So is The Monad !

as for the archons I do not believe the archons are these fucking evil demon motherfuckers.

( God created the physical to where all that is spiritual that flows from the monad, all things spiritual and paranormal come from the Monad all the spirituality is of all the things that are physical that God used his divine power to house to give our souls and experience as we flow through the course of time )

I think the archons keep us here and they trap us ( it's really just gatekeeping ) and there's multiple levels to existence and they make sure Souls don't get to the next level which would severely fuck everything up they kind of like guards they don't let you through until you are a certain spiritual level just using metaphors here.

But, The spiritual part is not a metaphor.

you see I Believe, The Archons keep us limited so that we don't go into a place that's beyond us beyond our ability to comprehend and handle !

keep that in mind and yes aliens exist there are different races with different energies and different divinities and different spiritualities all throughout the Multiverse !

and it's up to us to Grow and to learn our spirits to Grow ourselves !

so we might let my end point here the end he might Point here is we do not need to curse the name of God as some kind of enemy of all !

and to understand that all's that spirituality in this different energy and all things and that comes from the monad that comes from the Pleroma, and to a degree I sometimes wonder if the mother of God is watching over her child at all times. ( aka the demiurge & As Well Known as YELDABAOTH ! ! ! ! ! ! ! )

Don't Forget Her Name is Wisdom.

&

God works straight with the monad which is said to be The Highest God of intelligence ! 🤩

and to a degree I think maybe God who works at both wisdom and intelligence to an unbelievably High degree could also become a basically be a deity of empathy and compassion

But, he's so smart he knows the fuck off and just let Shit happen !

do you go into a jungle somewhere and try to police every animal ?

you go into a forest and try to tell Every Bug 🐜 🐜🐜how to be moral and follow the Law ? have u tried to Telling Everyone Mouse 🐀 you see in your house, That this is trespassing ?

do you ask the birds what the news is and what the weather is like ?

No, of course you don't !

because you know that they're not able to do that you understand to like let nature happen and get the fuck out of the way so too now you are in a way like God !

you understand you need to not interfere with the natural processes and let shit just happen.

so one of an animal pounce another animal rips it apart !

so what if a fly landed on an animal and gave it a Worm 🪱🪱🪱 infection inside the body is saturated in worms inside and the worms are eating it alive and killing it !

This is Nature, This is God's Creation Both pleasure and Pain is there to grow us.

Although, I'm not wishing pain upon you motherfuckers I'm just trying to let you understand that's all part of design it's all part of the divine plan and we are experiencing it as you go through Existence itself !

[locustheologicus]

God & Country: A Documentary that We Should All Watch

I just saw this documentary that deeply moved me. You can see it freely in Amazon Prime and Freevee. There are many details that this hour and a half documentary goes into but what it goes into is the origins and substance of Christian Nationalism which I have discussed in a previous post where I identified it with a form of American Gnosticism.

Watch the whole movie, when you see the last 20 minutes you will shudder, I assure you.

In the series you will hear from Rev. Robert Schenk, a former leader of the Moral Majority, who fears that the movement he helped create has emerged into the present form of Christian Nationalism.

This threat of what I no longer even pretend is Evangelicalism, this white religious nationalism, may present one of the greatest dangers ever to our democratic experiment. It is an ugly exercise to try to imagine what America might do as a fascist state.

The rise of this movement is very troubling for us Christians who have studied the values and principles of our faith. The documentary helps to clarify many of the concerns that theologians and people of faith have. In some ways it is difficult to watch. But many Christian leaders in the documentary also offer us hope. Author and religious scholar Kristin Kobes Du Mez suggest that this surge of Christian Nationalism could be a teachable moment for all of us.

I think this is a really good time for Christians to engage in really careful reassessment, to go back to the scriptures. And to read those with fresh eyes and see what God's teachings are, to look at the life of Christ. And to look at what Jesus calls us to do, and who Jesus calls us to be. And then, to take a look at your own political views.

This is where we need our churches to be, to free scripture and tradition from the idolotrous shakels of Christian Nationalism and to guide good Christian back to the actual faith. Rev. William J. Barber of the Poor People's Campaign helps guide us to the heart of the Christian message.

Christianity, at its best, committed to love and truth and justice, has and always will be a powerful, powerful force. In the face of sickness, the Church created hospitals. In the face of people needing to be educated, the Church created universities. In the face of Jim Crow and racism the Church marched from churches into the streets, across bridges, went to jail, and forced non-violent change. Everywhere you look, when the Church has been at its best, it protects people regardless of their race, their creed, or their sexuality. In Jesus' last sermon, he was talking about, I'm going to judge the nation's by these things. Not gonna judge you by your skyscrapers. Not gonna judge you by your tax cuts. Not gonna judge you by your military. When people were hungry, did you feed 'em? When people were sick, did you care for them? When people were immigrants, did you welcome them? When people were at their least, did you as a nation lift them up? If we do this right, what a country we will be.

What a country we can be! What a country we will be! But first we must call out the toxic idol of Christian Nationalism and have the authentic Christian faith liberate our society from this political authoritarianism that threatens the foundation of both our nation and our faith. Our scripture and tradition can show us the way.

[ramrodd]

Three Earliest Resurrection Texts--Ignored, Overlooked, and Forgotten!

COMMENTARY:

Jimmy, these texts have not been ignored except in your systematic mischaracterization of the literature of the Bible,  You are chasing the same gnostic toxic paternalism as Jim Jones and David Koresh, St Mark of Alexandria created the first Christian publishing house which produced  90% of the manuscripts we possess before the 4th Century,, The editorial board of the Alexandria copyist originally included St Mark, Peter and Cornelius, who was the curator of Quelle, the intelligence archives of the 10th Legion, Cornelius was still living when Paul and Luke arrived in Caesarea and St, Mark was already distributing manuscripts of what we call the Gospel of mark, in 60, Luke  is introduced to Cornelius and is commissioned by Theophilus, the direct report with the Praetorian Guard for Judea, to expand his research for his amicus brief for Pau's defense in Rome to include the proximate cause of this appeal to Nero, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, which had been the subject of Pilate's lost euangelion along with the Talking Cross.   In any event, the  editorial board for St Mark's Christian publishing house persisted after the original players had died and they touched up elements of the Canon, including John 20 and 21 and Mark 16: 8 - 20. The syntax of these two elements of their respective narratives are identical in translation, Whoever wrote Mark 16:9 - 20 had access to Acts, where all these events are recorded. It amazes me that historians, such as you, don't recognize this literary characteristic of the texts, but that's why History is a sub-genre of literature,  It's a total Finite and Infinite Games Hegelian harmonization,  

[automatismoateo]

Adam Savage Atheist Video via /r/atheism

Adam Savage Atheist Video Last night I was on a bit of a YouTube rabbit hole and got to an Adam Savage video where he describes himself as “not atheist” because “science minded people can’t prove non-existence” (paraphrasing). I couldn’t help but think this isn’t really counter to atheism. I’ve seen the 4 quadrant “agnostic atheist / gnostic atheist” chart before but don’t most of us just claim to be atheist in the common “deist” or God sense? I’m not claiming to have some magic knowledge about the greater universe, I just think the God claims made by every religion are bullshit. Also if someone wants to call the enduring human spirit or energy “god” than who am I to argue? All I’m claiming is that there isn’t a magic sky dude running the show. It’s sort of annoying how toxic the atheist brand has become. Submitted May 18, 2024 at 05:17PM by CelerMortis (From Reddit https://ift.tt/dwVGNeu)