#unrighteous brothers

[kidcanines]

“bring back- that lovin’ feeling…woah, that lovin’ feeling..”

x - x - x

x - x - x

x - x - x

—DNI NSFW—

[bloodykhaos]

Gifts and Fun Consequences

Pairing: Rhaenyra Targaryen x GN!Reader

Words: 3k

Warnings: A little bit of violence.

Summary: Playing a traitor hunter is not something your Queen is happy about.

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The whole world around you was burning. Not literally. But, even in that aspect, it would not be long for it to happen as well. You had always liked to think you were a good person. Calm, kind, collected.

And you had been. For a while. Until Hightowers had decided to steal the throne. There was almost nothing from the old you in the new you. The betrayal had changed you. It was not even done to you, but it still felt like a knife had been buried in your back and twisted for good measure.

The feeling only had deepened when you had found out one of your closest friends had not shared the same views as you and his brother. Arryk's choice had cut you deep. As deep as your sword had cut him when he had tried to murder the Queen. And when he had not seen anything wrong with attacking Erryk in the process.

You'd found them battling in the Queen's sleeping chambers. It hadn't taken you long to put two and two together when you'd seen her terrified and curled up on the floor. Her features had been painted in colors you had never wanted to see.

Your sword out of its leather sheath had been the next thing you had known before you'd charged at Arryk when he'd knocked his brother down. You would never forget the look in his eyes.

The regret, the sorrow. But the readiness to end his brother's life had been there too. And it'd been the last thing to push you one step closer to dragging your sword through his stomach after he would not have listened to your pleas.

Nothing had been the same since that day. Since it had happened a week ago. Erryk had not been himself at all, but had never put the blame on you. And it was okay. You were blaming yourself for all three of you. There was enough guilt in you already.

That was why you did your best to mask the way emotions pulled at you. How they attempted to sneak their way into your head and lead to your demise.

Maybe that was why you had started making unwise decisions. Decisions that had seemed great and very well planned until you had taken action. It had not been the tactics of the war that had led you to those decisions.

It had been your anger at everyone and everything.

That was how you found yourself in this situation right now.

The clinking of the metal was bouncing off the stone walls as you walked with one hand over your sword and the other fisted in the hair of an unfortunate man. Unfortunate because he'd had the rare occasion of you making it your personal mission to find him.

He was not too smart, so it had not been a challenge at all. Taking candy out of a child's hand would be harder. You should have done this weeks ago when the Greens had decided to put their impostor on your Queen's throne.

A loud thud sounded throughout the big hall as you pushed the man to his knees. Your tight grip on the hair made him wince, his face scrunching up in pain before you let go of his head and stood a few steps in front of him.

Fixing your armor and making sure your sword was safely in its sheath, you cleared your throat while he stared up at you with a foolish smirk on his dirty face. "Is this what you truly fell into doing?" His head shook as it dropped loosely.

"Joining the unrightful, fake heir?" He spoke, seething out his words like a snake. "Betraying your King is disgusting to do even for you." He looked at you with displeasure written all over his face before he spat in front of your feet.

Taking a slow and deep breath, you looked up while pursing your lips. He really did not know when to stop. "Ah!" His head whipped as a strong punch was delivered to his face.

The air got knocked out of his lungs, causing his mouth to open as he blinked slowly. "I do not know what you are speaking of. I only know of the Queen Rhaenyra." Your stoic tone had nothing in common with the actions of your fist.

"I am not aware of what kind of people you acquaint yourself with, Cole—" Continuing, you raised one hand, clenching and unclenching it. "But I am not interested in joining."

Criston huffed. And huffed again. Before an airy chuckle turned into a laugh that you fought hard not to roll your eyes at. "You truly want to devote your life to serve that who-" The word could never be finished as your fist connected with his cheek once more.

"Oh, excuse me." Your face scrunched up in concern and confusion. Your upper body bent to get closer to his face. "Did you want to say something?" The question seemingly innocent held a huge warning behind itself.

If the way you said it was not enough, the look on your face should let him know you would not listen to insults thrown at the Queen.

His lips pursed as he looked at you with anger in his eyes. "You are pathetic." Almost spitting at you as he spoke, his nostrils flared. "You could have been a great knight, but instead, you are just her whore." His bitter tone made your lips pucker out for a second while you listened.

Your eyes went to the side and up while you slightly scrunched your eyebrows. But your gaze quickly found his again. Taking a step closer, you did not fear him doing anything. Even with his hands untied.

Lowering your upper body to the point your eye line was almost at the same level as his, you tilted your head. "I can be her whore." You said lowly. "I can be her slut." You added in a careless tone. "I can be whatever she wishes to call me."

The low volume of your voice only intensified the message you were giving. There were no threats, but he looked worried. "And I will still have more honor than you in your white cloak." You finished the sentence with a click of your tongue as you let out the last word.

Your burning gaze stayed on him as the silence embraced both of you. His eyes going between yours before his throat bopped.

"Ser Y/n!" You heard the only voice that could ever make you do whatever she wanted you to do. The only voice you followed the orders of. Sometimes not very well. Like this time.

You stood back to your full height while smiling at Criston. "What is the meaning of this?" You turned around just in time to see her confusion and irritation as she waved her hand.

"I have brought you a gift, Your Grace." Her head tilted at you as she squinted her eyes. You acted like nothing happened, back to your Queensguard-self. Back to behaving like a true knight on duty.

But she did not see you just as that anymore. She knew your true self. "A gift?" She repeated, unimpressed. "Is this the gift you are speaking of?" The annoyance in her tone was shining through as she gestured with her hand to Criston.

However, her eyes were glued to you. And they were not filled with happiness. "Yes, Your Grace." You stepped to the side, giving her a clear line of sight from the direction of where she was standing.

She glanced at the man before her eyes rolled as she sighed unhappily. Her hands holding onto her long dress. "And to what possible end would you bring him into the Dragonstone?" Her mouth was tense, the skin on her neck straining with each word she spoke.

"He had plenty of things to say, Your Grace." You informed her before moving your eyes to Criston. "Did you not?" The rhetorical question made the man look up at you as he avoided Rhaenyra's gaze.

He, however, stayed quiet. "Did you not?!"

"Yes!" You smiled to yourself satisfied when he finally responded after you had raised your voice.

His eyes dropping to the ground as he kept kneeling on the hard stone. Rhaenyra finally looked at him for longer than a second. Intrigue appeared on her features.

"What things?" Her words held some edge, opposite to the, now, calm demeanor. "Tell your Queen what things." You nodded at the man who would not raise his gaze above the floor.

You waited for him to speak as Rhaenyra looked at you with parted lips. Sucking in your bottom lip, you slightly shook your head before stretching your mouth into an unamused smile.

"Tell your Queen!" Your voice was so loud it bounced off the walls in the hall and caused the blonde woman to look at you with widened eyes.

"She's not my Queen!" He finally replied, trying to be loud but could barely be heard.

Your eyes found Rhaenyra, not believing in Criston's foolishness. "If she is not, then you are a traitor to the crown." You declared openly, your hands resting on the handle of your sword.

The Queen's gaze was roaming your face as you bit the corner of your lip from the inside. Standing on guard right next to the dark-haired man, your head was looking straight ahead at nothing in particular.

"It is not possible for me to be what you speak of when I believe in one, true King Aegon II." Your mouth ticked at his words. You had never liked him. Ever since he had joined the Kingsguards.

He represented nothing with himself. He was no real warrior. "What will you choose to do with me for speaking honestly, Ser Y/n?" Your eyes faltered at the mocking tone of your name as you could see from the corner how Rhaenyra's face changed into anger upon hearing it too.

Moving slowly and lowering your head to his, you watched as his ignorant grin widened. "The only person who can decide your fate is Queen Rhaenyra." The firmness of your words made the man blink.

"And you should be happy about it." Now, it was your turn to smirk at him. "Because I already have a lot of things planned for you in case she needs any help with deciding." Criston's face quickly dropped as he paled a little.

It made the corners of your mouth lift even higher as you stood straighter. At times, you could be perceived as insane. And it was perfect for torturing methods. Or situations like this where it did not hurt to scare and threaten unworthy people.

Criston knew what you were capable of. You were also sure he would not want to experience how far your cruelty could go.

"That is enough." The Queen's voice made you stand straighter again as you would not look away from Criston. You relished in the fear that was forming on his face. "Take him away to the dungeon."

Rhaenyra ordered two guards, gesturing with her head as her hands laid neatly at her front. "And you, Ser Y/n." Your posture formed to perfection as you stood with your chin up. "I will be waiting for the explanation in my chambers." Her words were sharp as you listened.

She would not look away from you for a longer while before shaking her head in irritation and walking away.

——

"Are you mad?!" She almost yelled out as soon as the doors closed, leaving only the two of you to privacy. "Have you not listened to what I said before?!" It would have to be the angriest you had ever seen her.

"I have, my Queen." There was nothing you could say or do that would make it better right now. She was already mad at you. Mad for ignoring her orders.

"Chasing after Cole alone? Only Daemon could be accused of such foolishness!" Her feet were taking her back and forth as she was pacing around the chambers.

Her hand was on her forehead as she rubbed it. "Cole is nothing close to a warrior, he could not be a challenge even at his best-" Her angry eyes found you quickly as you started speaking.

"It is not Cole I am worried about!" She cut you off sharply, her gaze piercing through yours as you sighed. "It is everyone else that could have seen you, kidnapped you, even taken your life!" Her voice kept getting louder and louder.

But you did not even flinch, you listened to everything she had to say. You took a half-step forward, reaching for her with your hand. "Rhaen, nothing happen-"

"That is no way to speak to your Queen!" Her teeth were clenched as she looked at you with wide, full-of-rage eyes.

You immediately stepped back to your previous spot. Hands going to your sides as you stood to your full height. Your head was unmoving as you stared blankly ahead.

"You disregarded my orders, left the Dragonstone without my permission at a convenient time when I could not have noticed your absence until recently." She started ranting and listing every single thing you had done. Every rule you had broken. "And most importantly, you could have died!"

Her wild eyes were going from one thing to another and another, trying to find anything that would occupy her head. She was leaning on the table, her arms spread widely as she breathed deeply.

You stayed silent. Your stance did not falter even for a second as she was composing herself. Her hand rubbing at her eyebrows before she turned around to you.

"Will you not say anything?!" She asked loudly, raising her hands and making them drop to her sides.

She tensed her entire mouth as she waited for you. "I apologize for my actions, Your Majesty, it will not happen again." You spoke softly, not letting your eyes wander to her. Not letting them connect with hers.

She huffed in irritation, turning her body around and running a hand through her hair before moving back to you. "Is that all you have to say?" She pursed her lips, her hand gesturing to you as its palm was pointed up.

When you did not reply, she started walking and stood right in front of you. She stared right into your eyes, going between them, as you did your best to avoid her gaze.

"Are you not going to embrace me?" Her tone was still firm, but you could sense the falter in her words.

"I am not allowed to-"

"Oh, for Gods' sake, Y/n." Her eyes rolled in frustration as she grabbed both of your hands and wrapped your arms around herself.

Your mouth twitched as a small smile threatened to break out on your lips when she pushed herself closer to you. "Do not dare to do this ever again." She spoke in your neck and you finally let a grin spread on your face as you tightened your arms around her.

"I was losing my mind worrying about you." One of your hands went up to her hair and softly caressed it as the metal of your armor clinked.

She huffed in annoyance at how stiff your movements were and pulled away while looking at your chest. "Take this off. I hate it when it gets in my way." You could not help the chuckle that passed your lips as you started getting rid of the armor.

"I do not think you like anything or anyone getting in your way, my dear." Her head tilted at your words, but you saw the hint of a smile that formed on her lips.

"I do not mind someone getting in my way." The chuckle only intensified as your head shook while she quickly raised her eyebrows at you. A playful smirk playing on her lips.

When you managed to put away all of the parts, she quickly stepped back into your personal space and sneaked her arms around your torso. "If you ever do that again, there will be serious consequences." Her breath was hitting your lips as she kept her head up to look at you.

Smirking at her, you embraced her with your strong arms before pulling her closer and ghosting your lips over hers. "It depends on what type of consequences we are speaking of." Your low voice had the woman glancing down at your lips as she dug her short nails into your back.

"Some of them proved to be quite tempting." You added, brushing her lips with yours. And it was all it took for her to connect them, fisting your shirt and pulling at it.

You did not waste any second and kissed her back instantly, hands lying flat on her back before one of them wandered lower. Her mouth opened when you squeezed her backside and you swiftly pushed your tongue inside.

Moans sounded through both of your throats before she pulled away to get some air. Your mouth did not wait for hers to come back as you attached it to her soft skin. Sucking and nibbling on her neck, you heard her sighs getting louder.

"To the bed." Her words were quiet, but you were used to that in this kind of situation as she was losing herself.

"I thought you wanted to speak." Teasing her with a smirk on your face, you earned yourself a hard glare when she grabbed your hair and pulled you away from her neck.

"Do not test my patience any longer today." Your smirk widened so much it could break your face as you smashed your lips against hers and started walking her back to the bed.

The anticipation was rising for both of you as you were getting drunk on how eager she was.

"As you wish, my Queen."

After all, there was something you could do to make it better.

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[victusinveritas]

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be like your Father in heaven, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors do the same, don’t they? And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do? Even the Gentiles do the same, don’t they? So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Da Big JC

More below the cut.

From Rebecca Solnit:

Yeah, we've reached the state where Christian nationalists hate Jesus and anyone like him. "Sin of empathy." [Last] screenshot is Speaker Johnson having a hissy fit about that Episcopalian's sermon.

Some Bible passages on love and kindness, for the record:

John: 13:34

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Matthew:

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Zachariah, Old Testament

8Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying,

9“Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Execute true justice,

Show [g]mercy and compassion

Everyone to his brother.

10Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless,

The alien or the poor.

Let none of you plan evil in his heart

Against his brother.’

Galatians 5:22

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Psalm 31:21

Blessed be the Lord: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.

Colossians 3:11-13

11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

2 Peter 1

5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

[franollie]

Hold me . . . please

[dhddmods]

THE BIBLE IS NOT ANTI-QUEER!

We have been dying to make this post for a long time. What we'll be covering includes the following:

Firstly - mistranslations and out-of-context verses.

Secondly - genderqueerness in the Bible.

Thirdly - Jewish cultural genders.

(Content warning for mentions of sexual assault and genital mutilation.)

1st Corinthians 6:9 - 6:10

1st Corinthians 6:9 - 6:10 is mistranslated.

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."

"Effeminate" is a mistranslation of malakoi. Malakoi is a man who is weak or cowardly - not a man who is feminine. The mistranslation is based in misogyny, by turning "weak/cowardly" into a feminine trait.

"Homosexual" is a mistranslation of arsenokoitai. Arsenokoitai are men who assault other men - not just a gay man. Its absurd to mistranslate "gay rapist" into just "gay."

Leviticus 22

Leviticus 22 is out of context. Leviticus briefly mentions homosexuality, by stating “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is abomination.”

However, the context of the original Hebrew text and the verses before this is very important. Before this verse, there was a discussion of incest and infidelity between men and women. But none of these texts ever clarified if the laws also applied to male-on-male incest and infidelity. The addition of Leviticus 22 is not to condemn homosexuality, but to clarify that the previously listed laws also apply to gay incest and gay infidelity.

In full context, the verses go as following:

None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness. I am the LORD. The nakedness of thy father, and the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness. The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or the daughter of thy mother, whether born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover. The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover; for theirs is thine own nakedness. The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister; for she is thy mother's near kinswoman. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter-in-law: she is thy son' wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter; thou shalt not take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness: they are near kinswomen; it is lewdness. And thou shalt not take a woman to her sister, to be a rival to her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her lifetime. And thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is impure by her uncleanness. And thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her. And thou shalt not give any of thy seed to set them apart to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is abomination.”

Eunuchs

The Bible discusses Eunuchs in many different chapters. “Eunuch” was a term used to describe three things:

A man whose penis was removed, due to slavery or a desire for abstinence. 

A person who was born with a male-appearance, but no penis; a type of male-appearing intersex person.

Or a person who removed their penis due to not identifying as a male; a transgender or altersex person, or an intersex person whose penis did not align with the rest of their experiences.

Each of these definitions can be seen in Mathew 19, Verse 12.

“For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.”

Further evidence that some eunuchs are non-binary can be seen in Isaiah 56, Verse 4-5.

“For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.”

Jewish cultural genders

In Jewish culture (which is where Jesus is from), there were eight recognized genders - Zachar, Nekevah, Aylonit Hamah, Aylonit Adam, Saris Hamah, Saris Adam, Androgynos, and Tumtum.

(Zuh-car) Zachar was the term for people who were born with male traits, and lived their life as a man. In modern terms, this is a cisgender man.

(Neck-eh-vuh) Nekevah were people who were born with female traits, and lived their life as a woman. This would be a cisgender woman.

(Eye-low-night Hah-maw) Aylonit Hamah were people who were born with female traits, but naturally developed male traits later in life. This describes people who were intersex, and had hormonal variations that caused male traits to develop.

(Eye-low-night Ah-dom) Aylonit Adam were people who were born with female traits, but developed male traits through human intervention. This describes trans-men or masculine non-binary people.

(Saw-riss Hah-maw) Saris Hamah were people who were born with male traits, but naturally developed female traits later in life. This describes people who were intersex, and had hormonal variations that caused female traits to develop.

(Saw-riss Ah-dom) Saris Adam were people who were born with female traits, but developed female traits through human intervention. This describes trans-women or feminine non-binary people.

(And-draw-joe-naws) Androgynos were people who were born with a mix of female and male traits. This described intersex people who had ambiguous genitals, or otherwise appeared to have a mix of genitals. Modern Jews also use it to include non-binary and altersex people with androgynous identities.

(Pronounced exactly how it's spelled) Tumtum were people who were born lacking sex traits. This described intersex people who were on the agenital spectrum - people whose genitals were small or obscured. Modern Jews also use it to include non-binary and altersex people with neutral identities.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

What are the laws? About ancient laws? I think there were old laws in the Chinese Empire that called for family extermination. your family was erased, but I don't know how much about it. I wanted to write the MC and sibling survived this law. and without them realizing it?

Writing Notes: The T'ang Code

Tang dynasty - (618–907 CE) or T'ang; Chinese dynasty that developed a successful form of government and administration on the preceeding Sui model, and stimulated a cultural and artistic flowering that amounted to a golden age.

Marked by strong and benevolent rule, successful diplomatic relationships, economic expansion, and a cultural efflorescence of cosmopolitan style, Tang China emerged as one of the greatest empires in the medieval world.

Merchants, clerics, and envoys from India, Persia, Arabia, Syria, Korea, and Japan thronged the streets of Chang’an, the capital, and foreign tongues were a common part of daily life.

This dynasty—like most—rose in duplicity and murder, and it subsided into a kind of anarchy. But at its apex, in the early 8th century, the splendour of its arts and its cultural milieu made it a model for the world.

The Tang dynasty also flourished because special attention was paid to molding an orderly society through the promulgation of sophisticated law codes. From ancient times, in China, law was viewed as an expression of the will of the emperor, whose pronouncements defined illegal conduct and proper punishments for it.

The T'ang Code

The T'ang Code contains 12 sections, and is divided into 2 parts:

an initial section expounding the general principles of criminal law, and

a second section setting forth the specific offenses covered, together with the punishment for each such act.

In the first years of the dynasty a series of criminal codes and administrative statutes were promulgated in order to govern the empire effectively.

Though only the Code has survived in entirety, we know from historical sources, as well as from still extant fragments, that there was a large body of written law in effect during the T'ang period.

There were 4 main divisions: the Code, the Statutes, the Regulations, and the Ordinances.

The Code reflects the position of the emperor as the most important link between the human and the natural worlds as well as the head of the government.

Offenses that involve the emperor or the imperial house are on a different level from those against other persons.

In such cases not only the criminal but also his family members would be executed and their possessions confiscated by the state.

Such crimes head a list of ten categories of offenses that were regarded as particularly heinous.

Not only were the punishments especially severe for persons who committed such offenses, but certain other procedural protections, usually available to those convicted of other crimes, were not allowed to them.

The Ten Abominations. The most serious offenses a person could commit.

Plotting rebellion

Plotting great sedition

Plotting treason

Contumacy

Depravity

Great irreverance

Lack of filial piety

Discord

Unrighteousness

Incest

The crimes included within the ten abominations are those that endanger the emperor or the state, those that are committed by subordinate members of the family or bureaucracy against their superiors, those that threaten the existence of the family, and those that involve black magic.

The penalties for the first 3 "abominations" called for punishment not only of the individual incriminated in the plot, but also of that person’s entire family (parents, children, brothers, and sisters) who were liable for penalties up to and including execution.

Rebellion against the imperial house is compared to natural calamities.

The intent of the Code toward those who plot either rebellion or great sedition is clearly stated in Article 32:

Plotting rebellion and great sedition are criminal to the utmost degree of censure and extermination. They defile the whole family and property and the eradication of evil must reach to the roots.

Clearly, then, the purpose of the law in such cases was not merely to punish the criminal, but rather to exterminate his whole family.

In traditional China, with its great emphasis on the continuation of the family, there could be no greater punishment than to end a family's name.

Officials could also be punished for the offenses of their family members. For example, if within the area under an official's control one of his family members committed extortion or accepted bribes, the official would be punished, even though he knew nothing of the crime.

Older members of families also had increased responsibility because of their status and reciprocity.

If they committed a crime together with other members of the family, only the person highest in generation of age was punished.

The younger members of the family escaped completely.

The same was true for other groups such as those living in monasteries or for teachers and their disciples. Where members of the same family committed a crime by the decision of the head of the household, only he was punished even though he took no part in the crime.

An excerpt from "The Tripartite Compact of Emperor Kao" (Han dynasty):

My Venerable Seniors! I know too well how long you, my fellow-countrymen, have suffered untold hardships under the harassing laws of the preceding dynasty, by which the criticizing of ·government was punished with the extermination of one's whole family, and even talking on the streets was prohibited under pain of decapitation

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Hope this helps with your writing, sounds really interesting so far.

[welcomingdisaster]

Daily Affirmations

I am more than the sum of my wounds.

I will bring honor to my family's name.

I am not dead. I blaze with fire.

I am as skilled in combat with my left hand as I had been with my right.

I have come too far to turn back now.

I burn. I burn. I burn.

All around me there is darkness and solitude, but I live, and they do not touch me.

Not yet.

My hand is stained with blood, cruelly but not unrighteously.

I am honoring my word.

My own men will turn from me, horrified at my black deeds, but my last brother will not abandon me.

I will not look at what I have done.

I will not turn back.

Certainly one more massacre will fix things.

[wutheringskies]

The Twin Jades

dude sometimes I just come across such bad meta. it's even worse if it starts off good and turns bad.

Good Meta Points:

• The Lans really love younger child Wangji (no pets allowed, but wangji can have them. Wangji wants lotus pod seeds and gets them etc.)

• Instead of giving agency to his actions and thoughts, they think he's being influenced or corrupted by others to act in such ways (especially Lan Qiren.)

Bad Meta Points

• Lan Wangji is spoilt, similar to Nie Huaisang or Jin Zixuan.

• Gets the lowest punishment at all times (pfft.)

• "I get it you waited 13 years but you fucked off into the sunset with your husband leaving your emotionally unstable brother and duties"

• "Good to see people talking about Lan Wangji's flaws" - mentions him being spoilt and demanding instead of his actual flaws.

Like... you cannot seriously point out how he gets to have rabbits as a point of him being spoilt. Lan Wangji has made like one error in his life in his studies. He's assigned himself punishment for stuff that wasn't even done by will (coughs, wwx). He's made his decisions and lived with the consequences.

Despite what you say, Lan Xichen isn't a terrible brother to Wangji. Neither is Lan Wangji a selfish brother.

Sibling relationships are complex, and between two individuals with their own set of values. Lan Wangji is totally righteous, even more than Nie Mingjue. He can't stand exaggerated, political loopholes and unrighteous acts. He does what he can do, working on the ground level.

Lan Xichen isn't Lan Wangji. He knows the world is filled with corrupted people, and challenging each and every one of them would lead to your own devastation (read: Wei Wuxian's biography). Thus, he tries extending his sympathy to all, and draws conclusions that allow the least possible damage. He does think Lan Wangji made a dire mistake with Wei Wuxian, because if not, he will have to face the fact that the world punished his brother for his righteousness and it would shatter his whole foundation (like it does).

But despite that, both of them share similarities. They both want the better of the world. Lan Wangji is brave enough to challenge the whole foundation of the cultivation world. Lan Xichen is brave enough to lay down peace even when it's so painfully obvious there's no option of it.

Lan Wangji trusts his brother enough to bring Wei Wuxian back to Cloud Recesses after getting stabbed at Jin Tower. Lan Xichen lives up to this trust and helps them investigate the matter. Lan Wangji even assures Wei Wuxian that his brother would not stand for Jin Guangyao if his crimes were true.

See, you don't have to completely have the same sort of sets of beliefs to be siblings. Sibling relationships are complex. Both these brothers know each other, their strengths and their weaknesses well. They may be exasperated at each other's insistence, yet they are well aware that they both have to walk their own paths.

Lan Xichen could never take away Lan Wangji's pain or fix him. Neither can Lan Wangji fix Lan Xichen.

But both of them will always have each other's backs. They are each other's families. Each other's brothers for life.

But at the same time, they have each their own paths to walk. People need to understand that it's not about a lack of sense of responsibility on Lan Wangji's side, but the realization that if he went back home, he may lose Wei Wuxian again. His uncle wants to take him back, lecture him and lock him into seclusion. His uncle wouldn't accept his proposal to be married to Wei Wuxian.

He doesn't give his uncle the chance to "accept" or not.

And he literally returns three months later.

I can't help but feel that those who say he was selfish do not have siblings. Or have bad sibling relationships. I'd say Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen have a perfectly good relationship if despite their differences, their terrible parentage, their opposing personalities, the roles they both played in each other's life (with Lan Xichen being sworn brothers to Jin Guangyao who played a major role in Wei Wuxian's fall, and Lan Wangji being Wei Wuxian's husband, who in turn, set the case back onto Jin Guangyao, thus hurting Lan Xichen), the things they couldn't help each other out of, but yet, they do trust each other and love each other.

And I trust that Lan Xichen will one day figure stuff out. There's a lyric in this MDZS song called unfettered. It is like:

The past is akin to dew in the morning. Even if it can be comprehended, it lays under layers and layers of fog.

In the end, hatred, love, resentment, debts and regrets all come to pass.

Just like how Lan Wangji is not his father, Lan Xichen will also not be his father. I don't think both of them had hurtful intentions towards the other at any point.

It's not like "Yunmeng bros" where JC intentionally wishes to cause pain to Wei Wuxian. It's not like the Nie bros, where NMJ has to be super over-protective of Huaisang.

It's just two siblings with their own lives choosing to be with each other, in happiness and in grief (mostly in grief uhm) in a terrible world where the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

[solidrockistand]

Complete Cleansing and Forgiveness

1st John 1:5-10

1st John 1:5: This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.

1st John 3:11: This is the message you heard from the beginning we should love one another

1st Timothy 6:16: He alone can never die d he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him no one has ever seen him nor ever will. To him be honor and power forever. AMEN!

1st John 1:6: And knowledge with self-control and self-control with steadfastness and steadfastness with godliness.

John 3:19-21: and this is the judgement the light has come into the world and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light let his work be exposed. But whoever what is true comes to light so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.

John 8:12: Again, Jesus spoke to them saying "I am the light of the world. whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.

2nd Corinthians 6:14: Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers for what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? For what fellowship has light with darkness.

Ephesians 5:8: For at one time, you were darkness but now you are light in the Lord, walk as children of light.

1stJohn 2:11: But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness and does not know where he is going because of the darkness has blinded his eyes.

1st John 2:4: whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him.

1st John 4:20: If anyone says I love God and hates his brother is a liar, for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot! love God who he has not seen.

1st John 1:7: But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin.

Isaiah 2:5: O house of Jacob, come let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Hebrews 9:14: How much more will the blood of Christ who through eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God. Purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God

Revelation 1:5: And from Jesus Christ the faithful witness. The first born of the dead and the rulers of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.

1st John 1:8: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

Proverbs 20:9: Who can say, "I have made my heart pure I am clean from my sin?"

Jeremiah 2:35: You say "I am innocent; Surely his anger has turned from me, Behold I will bring you to judgement for saying "I have not sinned"

James 3:2: For we all stumble in many ways and if anyone does not stumble in what he says he is a perfect man able to bridle his whole body.

John 8:44: You are of your fathers the devil and your will to do your fathers desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and has nothing to do with truth because there is no truth in him when he lies, he speaks out of his own character for he is the father of lies.

1st John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Psalms 32:5: I acknowledge my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin."

Psalms 51:2: Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

Proverbs 28:13: Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes they will obtain mercy

Micah 7:18-20: Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever because he delights in steadfast love. He again will have compassion on us. He will tread our iniquity under foot. You will cast our sins into the depths of the sea you will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.

Hebrews 10:22: Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

1st John 1:10: If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not un us.

1st John 5:10: Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself whoever does not believe God has made him a liar because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his son.

John 5:38: And you do not have his word abiding in you for you do not believe the one whom he has sent.

1st John 2:14: I write to you, fathers because you know him is from the beginnings. I write to you, young men because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you and you have overcome the evil one.

[coff33andb00ks]

hi viv congrats on 1k!!! can i please request 📸 + charles? thank uu <33

thank you so much kait darling!!! ❤️❤️

Join me at the 1k bonfire!

Whoa, my love, my darling I've hungered for your touch A long, lonely time

long distance relationship. he'd always said he would never do it but...for you he'll make it work and it won't be for long he'll have you living in monaco before you can spit

[levenxa]

Blue (Hail)

Gender: Cis-Man

Pronouns: He/They

Sexuality: Demiromantic Pansexual

Height: 5’9

Age: 26

Likes: Swearing is his love language—makes him feel cool. Good at combat (yes he will beat the shit out of you for reasonable purposes). He’s a professional ice skater, he makes a lot of money; which explains why he owns a mansion :) He’s great at understanding people emotionally, and following their respectable boundaries. One of his guilty pleasures is charcoal painting.

Dislikes: Super lovey dovey things, when people come to his mansion for no reason, dressing up in stupid outfits. Shitty people I guess. He is terrible at mind games, manipulative behavior, and telling left from right.

Phobias: Acrophobia (Fear of Heights)

Weapons/Powers: Ice Scythe, Blue Beams, Glitch Abilities

Backstory: Was abused by his brother still, both emotionally and physically. But he still loves him, he knows he shouldn’t but he does anyways. He was forced to keep up this shitty persona by Stretch which in turn gave him several unstable relationships, being unable to be himself whilst also being horrific at lying. One day they came across a poor woman who wished for even the slightest amount of change. Stretch made fun of them and encouraged Blue to do so as well so he did. But after Stretch left, Blue secretly gave some money to the woman, who thanked him endlessly with a warm smile. Blue for once felt loved and appreciated—even when his whole life he was told to hate love, why did he want more so badly? A few years after the whole world begins to fall apart due to several rips in the timeline, (both Cross’s Timeline & the DT Timeline) Stretch trips and is hanging off a cliff, Blue tries to save him but fails. He’s very upset but keeps on running because he wants to survive; this new found motivation made him discover his ability to teleport. He ended up teleporting to a random city. He found a magazine and found out about ice skating, he then went into many competitions and was really good at it. He earned enough money for a huge mansion and is now rich as hell. He often donates to a bunch of charity centers, he adores the thanks and appreciation he usually gets back whenever he does stuff like that. He also loves helping others despite his brother telling him that it was wrong and that Blue didn’t deserve it. Part of him agrees with that, he still has some buried trauma that is unsolved and instead hidden by a pessimistic and easily angered persona. He is that one aggressively nice person, who will be calm and comforting if needed.

Relationships: He meets Error first, and then Cross. Cross and Error are pretty much companions who just decided to stick with him, and he doesn’t care enough to shoo them away. He prefers his own group the ‘Amicable Brigade’, (Blue, Cross, & Error) over the ‘Unrighteous Surrenders’, (Dream, Nightmare, & Ink). He has probably cussed everyone out at least once.

[fierysword]

Characteristics of Lady Wisdom according to Wisdom of Solomon

Below I compile characteristics I perceive as attributed to Lady Wisdom (also known as Sophia or Sapientia) in the Book of Wisdom.

Source through which all things were formed

Eternal

Unfading and more radiant than light

Easily accessible

Mother and leader of all good things

Traced out the heavens

Cares for all people and things

Active cause and fashioner of all that exists, both secret and manifest, including “the structure of the world and the activity of the elements [including fire, wind/air, and water], the beginning and end and middle of times, the alternations of the solstices and the changes of the seasons, the cycles of the year and the constellations of the stars, the natures of animals and the tempers of wild animals, the powers of spirits and the thoughts of human beings, the varieties of plants and the virtues of roots”

Unique and distinct

Subtle

Pure

Clear and unpolluted

Lover of good

Free from anxiety

Generous

Omniscient

Omnipresent (pervading and penetrating all things, especially people/spirits who are good)

Omnipotent

Renews all things

Conquers evil

Orders all things well

Rules with mercy

Author of beauty

Artisan (e.g. produces boats)

Healer

Kind

Patient

Actions: protected Adam, delivered him from transgressions, and gave strength to rule all things; saved humanity when it perished by flood, leading Noah by blessed wood; “recognized the righteous man and preserved him blameless before God and kept him strong in the face of his compassion for his child"; rescued the least unrighteous people from Sodom; guided a man who fled his brother's wrath, giving him knowledge and helping his labors bear fruit; protected the righteous from enemies; descended into the dungeon to be with a man who was sold and imprisoned, bringing him scepter and authority and debunking his accusers; delivered holy people from a land of oppressors; entered the soul of the righteous to withstand kings with wonders and signs; guided the Israelites out of Egypt, becoming a shelter by day and a starry flame by night, leading them through deep waters and drowning their enemies to protect them; aided people with disabilities and gave voices to people who didn't have any

Types of devotion: thinking of her, being vigilant on her account, desiring instruction, following her laws and prioritizing them over material gain, avoiding envy, prayer, sharing wisdom with others, doing good works, taking care of animals, using authority properly, singing hymns, praising her, calling upon her for help/support

Roles: mother, friend, wife, comforter, counselor in times of grief, encourager, companion, savioress

Domains: wisdom, justice, writing and communication, skills and crafts, righteousness, understanding of past, prediction of future, signs and wonders, diversity, seasons, cycles, beauty, work, life and death

Associations: light, gates, world, elements (e.g. fire, water, snow, ice, hail, lightning), time, stars, animals, spirits, thoughts, plants, the heavens, breath, emanations, joy, wonders and signs, boats, universe, the entirety of creation, darkness

Rewards: protection, hope, thrones and scepters and rulership in heaven, saving the world (as much as possible), honor, friendship with God, courage, self-control, prudence, learning, success in war, rest, joy, counsel, encouragement in times of grief, aid in work, recovering reputation, debunking accusers, defeating oppressors, improved communication, support with disabilities, "food of angels"

Italicized are characteristics attributed directly to God but there is considerable overlap between Wisdom/Sophia/Sapientia and God between this and other texts so I think they deserve inclusion in this list.

[lilgreeneyes71]

We are told 'that' those who live righteously, are being self-righteous, while those who are unrighteous, while sinning everyday in thought, word, and deed are in the true faith.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Philippians 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God

1 Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

In other words, if you 'don't sin', you are a heretic, but if you do sin, you are good with God, and are in the faith.

1John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

1 John 3:10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

What utter foolishness to believe obeying God is impossible and even morally wrong.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

1 John 2:29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

1 John 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

The Prayers of the righteous man availeth much

James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Psalm 11:5 The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.

Psalm 112:6 Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.

Psalm 34:15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.

Proverbs 10:2 Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.10:3 The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.

Psalm 5:12 For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

1 Peter 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

We are told to awake to righteousness and sin not

1 Corinthians 15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

Righteous people mentioned in scripture

Elisabeth & Zacharias

Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

Lot

2 Peter 2:7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:2:8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds)

Abel

Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

Noah , Daniel, Job

Ezekiel 14:14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.

Melchisedec: means King of righteousness

Hebrews 7:1 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;7:2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being (by interpretation King of righteousness), and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;

John the Baptist came unto you in the way of Righteousness

Matthew 21:32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.

Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness

Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Psalm 106:3 Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.

Isaiah 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;33:16 He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

[aru-loves-krishnaxarjuna]

Mahabharata AU—pt.4

Masterlist<– rest of the parts here <3

This time...something happened even more shocking...

Savyasachi had started glowing in yellow light, it was like Suryanarayan had bestowed himself behind her.

Her form had suddenly changed to an ancient, elegant, beautiful yet utterly powerful woman with a silhouette of a goddess sitting on a lotus with four arms and holding lotuses in two of them behind her, as if signifying an incarnation of them. "From now on, i am not one of the Pandavas, i am not a Kaunteya, or even a member of the Kuru clan!" She snapped at everyone present.

Kunti gasped, horrified, while the Pandava brothers cried. The Kuru elders didn't know what to feel and shook their heads in sorrow. "Raaj Maata Kunti, Maharani Gandhari, Panchali, if you wish to save yourselves, then renounce and leave this court room. Because this whole court will drown today…" Everyone's eyes widened in horror or shock.

"I am not a human anymore...but Death..ONLY DEATH! I am the death of all the wicked men present in this unrighteous court! And I curse that....right now! At this very moment!-" "no Arjuni!" She got interrupted by Gandhari. Gandhari joined her arms before her. "Please don't curse, Arjuni! Forgive them! Please forgive them!"

The divine woman ignored the pleas of the Subalaputri. "Duryodhan! You are very attached to the wealth and throne of Hastinapur, no? Well, i curse you! I curse every single greedy men here! All of you would become poor, poorer than beggars! You all would have no food, and would be under so torturous conditions that you would beg to god for death every moment, but your suffering would not end, not until the Almighty himself decides to...That includes Dhritarashtra and Shakuni as well as the Kauravas too..." She looked at everyone with rageful eyes, not caring about any of the looks she was recieving.

"And those who stayed quiet...they would go through grave consequences..." she stated, her voice velvety and grave.

She looked at the dice table, clenched her teeth and flipped it over with such force that it broke into pieces, scattering all over on the lower floor.

Karna had then walked up to her, but she backed away yet again. "I am telling you! Do not even dare to come near me!" Arjuni, still in her unknown form, held out her hand again to stop him in his way. Karna did stop, but said "Arjuni, please, please calm down, please Behena, for your Jyesht...please."

The Kuru members couldn't even comprehend what was happening. First, the Vastraharan attempt of their Rajkumari, then her changing her form to an ancient, slightly blue yet dusky, powerful, exquisite, divine woman and now this? Angaraj calling his greatest rival his sister?

"I am not Arjuni any longer! I am not the person you all once knew!"

"Parthavi..." a soft, melodious, impossibly gentle voice called out. Everyone turned their heads towards the sudden appearance of the godly presence. Duryodhan scoffed, angrily.

Krishna ignored the stares and focused on the other divine presence and walked towards her with benign steps. "Oh Parthavi...you are right. You are only Madhav's Parthavi and Narayan's Naari..." The mention of the names seemed to break something inside of her, because her body had jerked in a way as if she had just broken out of a trance herself. Krishna still continued his way towards her with tranquil steps.

The divine form as well as the silhouette of goddess Lakshmi broke and dissappeared, as if mixed into the air.

Madhusudhan by that time had gotten close to Vijayaa and had embraced her, his embrace providing her the solace she needed so much. Her body finally became tired and she had finally embraced the oblivion she had so wished for, falling unconscious in her Madhav's, in her Narayan's arms.

He was right...she was Madhav's Parthavi...and Narayan's Naari...

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Devotional Hours Within the Bible by J.R. Miller

Some Laws of the Kingdom (Matthew 5:17-26, Matthew 5:38-48)

We are not to think of Christianity as a new religion, distinct from that of the Old Testament. Rather, the one is a development from the other. Jesus was careful to say, “I came not to destroy but to fulfill .” Then He added, “Truly I say unto you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall pass away from the law, until all things be accomplished.”

This is the law of all life. No particle of matter is ever destroyed. It form may be changed but nothing of it passes out of existence. A log of wood may be burned in the fire but it is not destroyed. Some of it lies in ashes and some of it escapes into the air in the form of smoke and steam and chemical elements but not a jot or a tittle of the wood has been destroyed. All the wisdom of the ages still exists in the world. The songs men have sung, the words they have spoken, are living in the hearts and lives of our race. Our age is the inheritor of all past ages. Christianity holds all that was good and true and beautiful in Judaism. Jesus destroyed nothing of the religion of Moses. He was the fulfillment of all the prophecies. What went before Him was blossom ; in Him the fruit appeared. The blossom was not destroyed it only fell off because it had fulfilled its purpose.

The Old Testament is not antiquated and outgrown. It, too, is the Word of God. Wherever we find Divine truth we are to accept it. Of course, there is a difference in the relative importance of Scripture words there are least and there are greatest commandments but he who breaks the least has grieved God and sinned against Him. He who obeys every Word of God, however small it may seem has lifted himself up in the rank of God’s children.

The Sermon on the Mount teaches the spirituality of all true obedience. The scribes and Pharisees were great sticklers for the letter of the law but they went little farther. They missed its spirit. They interpreted “You shall not kill” literally as condemning murder but they did not think of applying it to murderous thoughts. Jesus spoke startlingly, “But I say unto you, that every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment.” That is, anger is murder. So serious is this interpretation of the law, that Jesus says we cannot truly worship God while we have bitterness dwelling in our heart. Hatred must give place to love, when we stand before God. If we have wronged another, and the hour of prayer comes with the wronged yet unrighted we must stop before the altar, interrupting our worship until we have gone to the one we have wronged and confessed and been forgiven. Perhaps we do not always think how serious an offense to God an unforgiving spirit is. Quarreling is not only ethically unlovely; it is also wickedly and spiritually evil.

Acts are bad but thoughts are taken note of, in the presence of God. There is sin in a lustful look as well as in an unchaste act. Our thoughts have moral quality. Jesus enters into particulars and names certain sins which His disciples should carefully avoid. The Christian life should be without spot or blemish. One lesson He taught, was reverence in speech. “I say unto you, Swear not at all.” He does not refer to oaths taken in the courts of law but to profanity in speech. There is much irreverence in the conversation of many people in our day. Those who indulge in it often do it almost unconsciously. Some people far too many are recklessly profane. The profanity one hears in many places, even from the mouths of boys, is shocking. But there are any who think they never use profanity, whose speech is full of such forms of oaths as Jesus here refers to. We need to guard against every form of profanity in our speech, however veiled it may be.

“Hallowed by Your name,” we say in the Lord’s Prayer; we should be careful that God’s name is always hallowed in our thought and in our conversation also, that it is never used lightly or irreverently.

Jesus made a plea also for simplicity of speech. “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” There is a common tendency to exaggeration and over - emphasis in speech. Many people always try to say things in a strong and emphatic way. They are not content to say yes or no and stop with that. They rarely tell anything precisely according to the bare facts but color even the most common happenings. It would be a great deal better if we would learn to use simple words, without exaggeration of any kind. Someone says, “The more swearing, the more lying.” It would be well if we would remember that in speaking we are always overheard by One to whom the least shade of dishonesty is repulsive, and who is grieved by any profanity .

It was the custom in the old days to return evil for evil, hurt for hurt, injury for injury. “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,” was the law. It is the common law yet with too many people. Our hearts urge us to seek revenge, and forgiving injuries is not natural with us. It is a law of the kingdom of heaven, which we are slow in learning. Even many who call themselves Christians, claim that they have a right to return evil for evil. A person who returns kindness for unkindness, who does an obliging act for one that was disobliging, is not commended as a manly man. The almost universal feeling, is that an offense must be retaliated. But that is not the way Jesus teaches us to do, when we have been wronged. “I say unto you, resist not him that is evil: but whoever smites you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.” We are to endure wrong patiently. We are to forgive those who have injured us.

This is one of the hardest lessons we have to learn in becoming Christians, and in the cultivation of the Christian graces. It is hard when others treat us unjustly, to keep on loving them and to be ready any moment to do them good. Yet that is what Jesus did, and He wants us to be like Him. He suffered wrongfully, and went on loving. He taught that we should forgive those who have injured us. When one of His disciples asked Him how often they should forgive others, and suggested seven times as a fair number; Jesus told him that not seven times but seventy times seven, they should forgive. That is, they should never cease to forgive.

The word of Jesus which tell us that when one compels us to go a mile with him to show him the way and give him help on his journey we should go two miles, is suggestive of the spirit of all true Christian life. Some people do the best they possibly can do for others. They try to carry out the teaching of love in a very literal fashion. But they never go an inch farther than they are required to go; they never pay a penny more than the law demands. Jesus said, however, that we should cultivate this two - mile religion, doing more than we are expected to do, going father in helping others than we are required to go. Love should always abound in us. We are never to measure and calculate our kindness to others, giving just so much and no more. Generosity is to be the law of all our life. Anybody can go one mile with another but we are to do more than others and go two miles.

The law of love to neighbors was taught in the Old Testament but like other Divine teachings which were not easy, the people made their own glosses over the Divine Commandment, changing the sense to suit their own nature feelings. They interpreted this ancient law thus, “You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.” They defined neighbors to include only certain pleasant, congenial people, people who were kind to them, people whom they liked. Jesus taught a higher law. “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” According to His teaching, our neighbor is anyone who needs our help.

The parable of the Good Samaritan was Christ’s own illustration and explanation of the meaning of the commandment to love our neighbor. It was a Jew who was hurt, and lay bleeding by the roadside. It was a hated and despised Samaritan who proved neighbor to him, stopping on his way, at much cost to his own interests, caring for the man, nursing him, and providing a place in which he might recover. No matter who it may be that needs any help ministry or comfort from us we are not to ask about his nationality, whether he has been a good friend to us in the past, or not, or whether he belongs to our set we are to help him, because he is ‘our neighbor’.

The Divine example is referred to in enforcing the lesson. God is kind to the sinner as well as to the righteous man. “He makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.” When He finds anyone in distress, He does not ask who he is. He imparts blessing to all alike. Since God is patient with those who wrong Him and neglect Him, if we are God’s children we must show the same spirit.

The Master thus sets the highest standard for His followers. It is not enough for them to be as good as other people are they must be better. “And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?” was His question. Anybody can love those that love him. Anybody will greet those who greet him graciously. The Christian is to do more. “You therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” We should keep before us always the question, “ What are you doing more than others ?”

Christian boys among their friends must not be content to live as the world’s boys do they must do more than they do, they must be better than they are. The Christian carpenter must do his work better than the carpenter who does not know Christ and follow Him. The Christian girl must be more gentle, more patient, more thoughtful, and more unselfish, more kind, than worldly girls are, because she belongs to Christ. In all life’s affairs, we must remember that having given ourselves to Christ, there rests upon us an obligation for a more beautiful life, for nobler service, for sweeter living, for larger usefulness, for Christ like helpfulness, because we represent our Master, and are called to be perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect.