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42eyeballs · 4 years

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a continuation of the biblical parallels ive found in tma but it got way too long

Bereshit starts with the beginning; God calls the (added) expanse Sky... and there was...a second day... and God saw that this was good. And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation..." The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants of every kind... and God saw that this was good. (1:8-12) An inverse would be a change in sky (look at the sky. It’s looking back) to show the end of the world (the apocalypse), and if fear is to be taken as a type of sustenance surely then the mention of vegetation of every kind would be akin to the ritual of which brought all the Powers through to the new world at once (180), creating a fertile land full of fear to devour.

It is noted that the world was created before Adam was placed into it (2:8)! Creating a slight shift in timelines for their beginnings, paralleled by Jon staying within the cottage for his chrysalis, staying there until he emerged as an adult insect (?). Insect imagery aside Adam was created and placed into his Eden as a full adult, as so is Jon. “This place wishes to be our tomb. But the Eye does not wish that. No, the Eye wishes instead that it be my chrysalis.” (162) Which has an implication that it was always meant to be a stage to pass through, similarly there are interpretations that the Garden was always meant to be an intermediary stage humanity was meant to grow out of (along with a few other things). If there is the cottage, there is the Garden; if there is the world outside of Eden, there is the world wracked by the apocalypse.

The cottage is this false artificial refuge from the other parts of the world. Eden was this prison of everything the couple may have needed. 162 describes the cottage as a place “deep in the heart of fear, where [they] trap [themselves] and claim that it is safety… a rotten sanctuary of lonely companionship” and yet is small enough that “the one [Jon] loves is always near, so close that refuge sometimes feels a prison.” Eden is a sanctuary where the only one to talk to and lean on is a lover; the world will rage on but this small bubble will never change, just wait for when they are ready.

There’s also an interesting inversion with Eden being given to have this motif of having been created and alive, all of which from the perspective of the setting is very passive, and the Extinction being active in its creation; it will seek to create a lifeless world. Some interpretations suggest it might replace us with something new - that can then fear annihilation in turn, which has a similar flavor to Spinoza’s idea of a substance that desires only it’s existence - said substance only wants to be itself, it wants to be eternal. Such is inscribed into it’s very being, and yet there are different modes of the substance that exist differently. Oliver calls himself a death prophet, and says he has knowledge of death but not an understanding of what to do with it or why (121); Jon who watch[s] and know[s] and understand[s] none… listen[s] and hear[s] and [does not] comprehend (160) is a fascinating parallel in structure of Spinoza’s idea of prophets that are gifted with knowledge but not understanding - knowledge that is gifted to them via some mode of the substance.

There is also a period of time before the creation of Adam and the giving of life to him, and if we are to take research Jonathan as being in his insectoid egg, and archivist Jonathan as being a sort of larva that has yet to reach adulthood in his chrysalis, then this is the period of larvae. He is alive but not fully peaked in his awakening as an avatar. He does not yet see and is not yet fully living as such; the shift being when he shifts in his hospital bed and begins to breathe again (121), a parallel to when God blew into Adam the breath of life, and man became a living being (2:7). Jon, about two months after living again, takes out a bone, specifically a rib, specifically specifically something he won’t miss, for an anchor (131), and jumps into the Buried. Why specifically a rib? It is the same bone as the one God took out of Adam to bring him Eve (2:21), though she had not a name until after they had already left the Garden. Adam had all the world’s array of animals and wild beasts to choose from and yet none were a fitting partner; the Hunt has an affinity towards predatory animals, one could say wild beasts. This is where Daisy fits in. Martin had not yet been brought to Jon yet at this point, and slotted between the place between being Alive and Partnered is Daisy who is not his wife and who is not his partner and who is, or was and will be, a wild beast (2:19-20). Martin, who has very aptly been called Jon’s actual anchor to humanity, and Jon’s actual anchor out of the Buried, placed dozens of tape recorders (132, 134) on top and around of the coffin, waiting for Jon. There is no hard evidence that says that without Martin's actions, Jon could not have found his way out again, but there is the implication because he does lose the presence of his rib while in there, only to be reunited with it after Martin has placed the recorders. This actively associates Martin with being Jon’s anchor instead of the rib, swapping their places. A bone for a person.

Jon goes into the lonely for Martin, and is able to find him and, more than that, bring him back (159). They are together despite the Lonely saying that to live is to be alone. They are together, and they link living (as opposed to surviving) to loving (be it in whatever form it may) (159), similarly there is God’s statement of how it is not good for man to be alone (2:18). Martin can be heavily associated with an Eve persona now, and he continues the role in the cottage by giving Jon the statements.

God said not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and bad (in some translations); Jon, as soon as he knew what the statement was, knew it was bad, knew he did not want it, he knew he should not read it. Statements have been written to become more equivalent to food as the plot goes on, accumulating into this final statement, this final fruit of knowledge, where the world then goes topsy turvy and flips on its head. This is where there begins to be a massive inversion of the parallels, not a diversion but more of an opposite in sides. If Adam were to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge, his “eyes [would] be opened and [he would] be like diving beings,” (3:5), same goes with Jon and his statement, but Adam was also told if he eats the fruit, he would gain the ability to die (2:15-17). Jon wouldn’t gain the ability to know good and evil, he already had that, however little he may have used it. If anything being so close to such a source of power made it harder for him to determine what is good, and what is evil (171, 174, 166, etc.), along with the added bonus of not really being susceptible to death, but oh does he gain raw knowledge.

Eve, of course, is told to eat the fruit by a snake, and Adam eats the fruit that Eve gave him; interesting then that Elias puts his false statement in with real ones to be delivered to the cottage (the fruit in the Garden) for Martin to give to Jon (Eve to give to Adam). This also equates Elias to a snake which is wonderfully appropriate. There’s also this small line where Basira said that she would just send a bunch of statements because she wasn’t sure which ones he has already read, not that big of a line but it does imply that there was likely some statements that he had read, and at least one that he hadn’t (Elias’); there was also likely two trees of which Adam has not eaten from, until the end, the tree of knowledge, but there is also a tree of life. In reading the statement, Jon invokes the line “I am to be a king of a ruined world” (160); Adam was meant to rule over and master what filled the earth, the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, all the living things, but his world was meant to be one of joy and prosperity, and this carries over onto Jon who does see beauty and wonder in the world that is.

Adam and Eve aren’t immediately cast out, they first hide themselves from what they have wrought upon them; Jon too, hides from what was wrought upon the world, until he doesn’t and he is filled with hatred and anger. Eve, too, was filled with anger and enmity for the snake, which presumably Adam shared but the text isn’t specific, but Martin was already ready to leave if not angry. So God banishes them from the Garden, to “till the soil from which he was taken,” (3:23) and on one hand this is to make it so that humanity cannot have both the knowledge and immortality, but it also acts as a way to say that humanity has grown enough to leave the house of their childhood, that Jon is ready to leave his chrysalis. The banishment from Eden is also the destruction of Eden, as it no longer has anyone to tend to it, as was Adam's original purpose; Eden, being the only place Adam ever was, his whole world, then being destroyed, even if he was not able to watch it actively happen. Elias, too, forces Jon to destroy the world he has lived in (180), and he passes out, only being able to see the result of him reading the statement. But more so, Adam and Eve were afraid after they knew (3:10).

They walk through the door of the cottage, and the gates of the Garden, into the world that is now theirs to do with what they will. Adam and Eve have death slowly approaching, but it is not here yet because despite what most translations say, they do not immediately die, death, and the End, is very patient (121). And the biblical couple propagates, and births Cain and Abel. Cain kills Abel, and is cursed to become a ceaseless wanderer on Earth, which interestingly is what Jon is doing, slowly wandering towards the Panopticon, but Cain is also marked, so as to allow for him to wander without fear, without being killed despite what others (what others I don’t know) may want (4:12). Jon, too is cursed with life, and he cannot likely be killed by just anything, but the curse says nothing about hurt, which is where how Daisy could hurt him makes sense (179) despite what he might have intuitively thought.

Time goes on, and God regretted what she had made, and her heart saddened (6:6), which is right before the Flood. If we stretch to say that the plot will continue to follow this path, and it may due to it being said that if there were a removal of the Fears the Earth would go back to normal, similarly to the Floor getting rid of all but a few select humans.

This leaves the questions: who plays the role of Abel? It may well be Lukas, but I’m not sure as Abel also carries farm animals including sheep and perhaps cows as iconography, but he was also meant to be the second of a pair to Cain; if the Flood is to happen, who will be saved? Who will be left to die? The nephilim already have some kind of divinity, which has been sprinkled around with the Fears and Jon and God, but where do they lie?

One last thing to mention is the usage of the Torah as a way to store stories, as an archive of the history of a people if you will, and archivist[s]... care about compiling experiences [and] collecting the fears of others (180). Records of fear and records of strength in face of adversity. Jon is an archive of fear, but he may well also be an archive of love and strength.

#tma #the magnus archives #jonathan sims #playing the role of adam and also cain maybe #martin blackwood #playing the role of eve #i have more to say but it doesnt fit into the narrative of this

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areyougonnabe · 4 years

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2019 roundup - other fandoms & original work

yes i DID write stuff in 2019 other than good omens and yes i DO want it to get some attention!!!!

other fandoms

soooo before GO aired, i kicked off the year with my first fanfics since high school. the only one of note i’d include here is this LOST futurefic about all the folks who made it back in the finale (kate, sawyer, miles, richard, claire & frank) starting up a ghost hunting business in los angeles:

Straume & Sons Paranormal Investigation - Done Fast, Done Right - 7k, gen Aaron Littleton’s application to Harvard tells the story of how he grew up in an unusual family, with an unusual occupation.

then i got really into the OA, which despite having very little fandom to speak of i still managed to write 30k+ for. i’m proud of these two post-canon stories (both homer/OA) about the events in different dimensions after the events of the s2 finale:

high tide - 1.9k, M After integration, what happens to the minds left behind?

heat rises - 8k, gen Homer finds himself in a new dimension, and must live the life of a working actor as he tries to rescue OA.

i also wrote this cute little russian doll/doctor who crossover Just For Fun:

when the party’s over - 2k, gen The Doctor arrives too late to save Nadia from her time loop, but luckily she's not a woman who has ever needed saving.

i wrote THREE (3) stories for the nonexistent fandom of my heart, John Mulaney & Nick Kroll’s hit broadway show OH HELLO:

thanks, five - 2.5k, M Prior to a performance of Oh Hello, Ravi the intern sees some things that cannot be unseen.

Reeling In The Years - 1.7k, T George St. Geegland and Gil Faizon as the Biblical Cain and Abel, Through The Ages.

the arena of the unwell - 3k, M October, 1969. Two codependent, artistically-minded miscreant roommates take a fateful trip to the countryside.

post-GO, i got really into the magnus archives but have kind of struggled to write for it, it’s a very hard canon to capture and doesn’t have as many hooks for my particular kind of humor/narrative BUT I TRIED ANYWAY!!!!!!!

the pulse is what i know - 1.7k, E Peter/Elias PWP, fucking against a filing cabinet. That’s all.

lucis et umbrae - 1.5, G Good Omens crossover. Gerry Keay meets Aziraphale.

pencil pusher blues - 3k, G Statement from the poor fucker who had to guard Elias in prison. Background Peter/Elias.

for my yuletide assignment i wrote this really fun episode pastiche for What We Do In The Shadows (TV):

come back as something organic - 6k, M After an argument with Laszlo and a trip to Target, Nadja gets taught a lesson by a local witch.

original work

this fall i started a little newsletter while traveling abroad and wrote a couple micro-stories for it, which i’m still proud of and want to try to get back into. here are my favorites:

Knockoffs “Will you take up arms? The Danes are at our very gates!” (A story about headphones.)

Dark Uber “You’re being exploited, do you know that?” I said. (Occult labor rights.)

Elevator Four strangers in an elevator, and it stops between floors. (A spooky tale.)

The Man On The Plane He was looking at Antarctica. (Inspired by true events.) My Career Ambitions Arguing With Each Other As Embodied By Characters I’ve Overidentified With In The Past A short play.

my main goal for 2020 is to be even more deliberate and ambitious with my original creative work!!! i wanna finish some longer short stories, write a one act play, start a novel even if i don’t necessarily finish it.... and of course write more fic bc that shit’s fun as hell. wheeeeeeeeee

#my writing

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alejandrorivasv · 4 years

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WHAT IT IS?

They started with the gender ideology, which told us that we could “choose” our gender, genitals and sexuality as we “felt it”, and now they intend to continue with the following diabolical ideology: the creator ideology, which shouts at us that your maximum goal is to be the creator of your own destiny and that only you have the power to create everything in your life. Few noticed the real background of gender ideology by offering you the supposed freedom to choose what you wanted to be in life: boy or girl, homosexual or heterosexual, gender bender or trans person, asexual or pansexual, human or cat …… and that everyone should “respect” your “decision” and treat you as what you claimed to be; but in that supposed freedom they sowed an apocalyptic thought: the idea that you could “create yourself” so the next obvious step is now to make you believe that you don’t need an Almighty CREATOR, for you yourself must be your “own creator” personalizing everything to your liking using genetic reengineering.

They started the deception by saying that you have power in your mouth and your mind, they kept saying that you are powerful and have creative power, and now they pretend to deceive you by telling you that you are NOT a creation but that you yourself are your own creator.

The advertising of the creator's ideology says more or less like this: “we evolve. Now you can choose your gender, sexuality, skin color, physiognomy, level of health, and we can even dive underwater without limit time as fish do, have sharp eyes like eagles, run with the speed of a leopard, have the reinforced skin of a rhinoceros, hearing as intensely as dogs, cleaning the air for ourselves as plants do or regenerating our own limbs like reptiles. Choose who you are: plant, animal or human, because you are your own creator thanks to genetic reengineering.” The creator's ideology is the continuation of the idea of changing sex through an operation, what many do not seem to notice is that this "transgender operation" includes many hormones to perform and achieve the physical effect of an alleged gender change, the key is to understand that the fact of normalizing the idea of "injecting genes" to modify "to your liking" is precisely the way apocalyptic for the creator's ideology and then for the mark of the beast.

“Created by myself” that is the advertising slogan of the new Creator Ideology that the devil seeks to implement in the human mind. The debauchery of the lgbtq culture initiated the idea subliminally and the scientific advance of the genetic reengineering will end up making it a reality.

WHY?

It is interesting that GOD has ordered Laws about our appearance so that we do not alter-damage-modify His image in us, teaching us so that our image IS IMPORTANT. The central message of the Bible is: GOD IS THE CREATOR OF EVERYTHING AND MADE YOU IN HIS IMAGE AND SIMILARITY and the devil will pretend to destroy that creation and artificially re-create you in his image and likeness, by visualizing that global plan, we really understand the purpose behind a new world order, and anti-biblical concepts such as “transgender” or “trans-species”, and also of blasphemous ideologies such as gender ideology and creator ideology. The gender ideology was only the first step assuring you that you can “choose” what gender to be, and now the next step will be born: the Creator Ideology which will tell you that you can create yourself and create your own life, even “choosing” the mixture of species that you want to be because you are powerful.

FLEE from every doctrine that tells you that you are unique, powerful, divine, sufficient and that you are your own creator, since they are part of the deception of the “creator ideology”, the continuation of the gender ideology.

The Creator's Ideology comes from two sources: the LGBTQ culture and the spiritism of the new era, the first gave it the background of "freedom" disguised as science, and the second gave it the background of "love" disguised as spirituality, for that his phrases to deceive you are similar to: "you have created your own life and you also have the power to re-create it again, use your creative power, you have the right to be happy being what your mind dreams to be, everything is that you become aware that you can do it, because you are your own creator" do you notice the bestial diabolical fraud behind its claims? GOD IS OUR CREATOR AND CREATOR OF EVERYTHING, to deceive you so that you believe that you are not someone created by GOD but someone created by your own "creativity" and to give you "the mental power" and genetic engineering to make it REAL, is idolatry and pride at its highest level, in short: it is the beginning of the diabolical plan of forming anti-Christs on earth.

Any ideology that aims to modify your appearance and perfect design that GOD gave you is diabolical: be transgender, sex change, bio-hacking, plastic surgery for beauty, babies designed in the laboratory, body modification, trans-species, stem cells, genetic rejuvenation , gender ideology or creator ideology… ..is sin and the way to the mark of the beast.

WHAT IS HER ENDING?

The Bible teaches two basic things: first that you are created by GOD in his image, and second that the mark of the beast is a genetic injection that will modify your DNA to become the image of the devil; That is why the plan now is to achieve naturalize the anti-biblical idea of ”modify”, “improve” and “re-create”, so that you have no qualms about changing your gender, species or altering your DNA, so that you stop being a creation of GOD in His image, and that you also agree put in yourself the genetic injection of the beast, both are precisely the apocalyptic background of gender ideologies, species ideology and creator ideology. FLEE OF ALL IDEOLOGY THAT TELLS YOU THAT YOU ARE YOUR OWN POWERFUL CREATOR, BECAUSE THE ONLY CREATOR IS GOD.

GOD is an unequaled powerful Creator, you and I are NOT.

Do you notice something important? the mark makes you a PROPERTY OF the beast, that is, it literally puts his name and his mark on you, in short: it makes you a beast. And that is the key: the mark is not a simple object on your skin that you can take off with a subsequent surgery or a GPS device to control you, the mark goes MUCH BEYOND: it literally makes you a beast. Why do you suppose that those who receive the mark no longer have forgiveness from GOD? because they have become beasts forever, they have modified their image and similarity, they have accepted the new world order and the transgenic “evolution” of their DNA, they are no longer the creation of GOD but a re-creation of the devil, in short: no longer they are God's creation but have chosen to be "their own creators." The background of the creator's ideology is idolatry, it is to make the human being feel superior to GOD and shout with pride that he has the "right" to recreate at will.

Anyone who accepts to modify their appearance, species or genetics, arguing that they are their own creator, will be rejected by GOD for having ceased to be a creation made in His image; the background of the mark of the beast is precisely that: to separate the marked ones who re-figured in the image of the beast, from the faithful Christians who refuse to mark themselves. GOD comes for His own, but those who are no longer physically, species or genetically according to His Design cease to belong to Him and will therefore die in the apocalypse.

#GOD #future #creator #ideology #gender ideology #biblestudy #lgbtq

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apenitentialprayer · 5 years

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Muslim converts to Christianity

Ubaydallah ibn Jahsh: (d. 627) the first cousin and brother-in-law of the Muslim prophet Muhammad, Ubaydallah was one of the four ḥunafā', a group of friends who rejected idol worship and followed a form of philosophical monotheism in the years before Muhammad’s declaration of prophethood. Ubaydallah was an early convert to Islam, which resonated with his own ideas about God; during the early persecution of the movement, he and a group of other Muslims moved to the Christian kingdom of Aksum, which gave the community asylum. While he lived in Aksum, he encountered Christianity and converted to the faith, which created friction in the refugee community, ultimately resulting in his wife Ramla leaving him because of his apostasy. He died in Aksum, and his wife would later marry Muhammad. Ṣurḥān of Dwin: (d. 703-705) Ṣurḥān was an Arab soldier stationed in Armenia in the late 650s. Armenia represented the very border of the Islamic Empire, a border that ultimately could not be controlled in the wake of the civil war that broke out in Syria. As Arab troops were recalled to fight the Umayyads, Ṣurḥān took advantage of the chaos in order to stay, having grow attached to the Armenian community. He was baptized, got married to a local woman, and had several kids with her. About forty years later, the Islamic Empire (now controlled by the Umayyads) decided to end Armenian semi-independent rule and sent a new governor to control the region. As an example for others against apostasy from Islam, the governor ordered the crucifixion of Ṣurḥān, who was forced to face southward (the direction of Mecca) as a symbolic act of submission. It is said that this cross miraculously turned eastward, the traditional direction of Christian prayer, before he died. Anthony al-Qurayshi: (d. 799) Rawḥ was a member of the Quraysh tribe, the same one that Muhammad was born into, and a possible former Umayyad who defected to the ‘Abbasid dynasty. Like many Muslim aristocrats, he lived in a monastery-palace, where he was known to harass the priest, remove the crosses, and even eat the Host from the tabernacle. One day, he decided to use an icon of Saint Theodore for target practice, but when he fired his arrow, it miraculously turned on him and shot him through the hand. This, compounded with a vision a few days later in which the Eucharist became a lamb during Mass, and an appearance by Saint Theodore himself to chastise him, Rawḥ decided to convert to Christianity. Patriarch Elias II was afraid that his conversion would cause controversy, so sent him to the River Jordan to be baptized and given the name Anthony. From there, he wandered the desert for a few years as an ascetic before returning home to Damascus; his family mocked him and demanded he revert, but he would not; he was taken before the Caliph; he was beheaded on Christmas of 799, a fate he gladly accepted in atonement for previous raids he had committed against Byzantine settlements. Renouard of Toulouse: (fl. late 8th Century) A lieutenant of Saint William Fièrebrace, who was a duke know for his conflicts with the Umayyad Emirate. Renouard was apparently a Spanish Muslim who converted to Christianity and defected to William’s side. Both figures were immortalized in the chansons de geste that circulated in 12th and 13th century France. Saint Casilda of Toledo: (fl. early 11th Century) the daughter of the ruler of Islamic Toledo, Casilda was especially known for her compassion for prisoners. She would often sneak extra bread to them. When she became ill, she made a pilgrimage to the well of Saint Vincent in Burgos, presumably at the suggestion of some of the Christian prisoners. When she was cured, she chose to be baptized and lived to be 100 while living a solitary life of prayer near the well. Zayda of Seville: (fl. late 11th Century) the daughter-in-law of King al-Mu’tamid, the last Abbadid ruler of Seville. When the Almoravids, a Moroccan reform movement known for its strict interpretations of Islam, overthrew the more lenient Muslim kingdoms of Iberia, Zayda fled to Castille, where she became the mistress of Alfonso IV. She was eventually baptized as ‘Isabel’. After this, events become a little more murky; she gave birth to Alfonso’s only son, an illegitimate child named Sancho. She may have died giving birth to him, or she may have died giving birth to another child. If the latter is the case, it is possible that Zayda and Alfonso’s wife, Queen Isabel, are the same person. If that is the case, she gave birth to two more children. Fátima of Portugal: (d. mid 12th Century) a ‘Moorish princess’ according to oral tradition, probably a member of lesser nobility. In the year 1158, she and a group of other Muslims were captured while picnicking at a river by al-Qaşr. While in captivity, Fátima is said to have fallen in love with the leader of the Christian war band, Gonçalo Hermingues. She converted to Christianity in order to marry him, taking on Oureanna (‘Golden-One’) as her baptismal name. Tragically, she died shortly thereafter, and the heartbroken knight named a town after her. Centuries later, in 1917, the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to three shepherd children in this town. Saint ‘Bersabei’: (d. 1480) the name given to an Ottoman officer by later Christian chroniclers. Bersabei was a member of the Ottoman force that conquered Otranto in 1480, under the command of Mehmet II the Conqueror. When the city fell in August of that year, the inhabitants were variously killed, sold into slavery, or forcibly converted to Islam. A group of 813 men who were commanded to convert refused; they were led up to a mountain now known as the Hill of Martyrs, where executioners (including Bersabei) killed them. During the mass martyrdom, the devotion of these Christians (and a miracle in which one of the martyred Christians continued to stand upright after his decapitation) caused this officer to declare his belief in their faith. He was subsequently impaled, dying alongside the martyrs of Otranto. These martyrs were canonized as saints in 2013. Omar ibn Said: (1770-1864) Born in the Imamate of Futa Toro, Omar ibn Said was captured and ‘sold into the hands of the Christians’ in 1807. He died a slave, in North Carolina. Omar ibn Said was an intelligent man who had grown up learning a variety of subjects from prominent scholars in his home region; he became famous in America for his literacy in Arabic, especially after writing on the walls of a jail cell after having been caught in an escape attempt. After being sold to the brother of the governor of North Carolina, he was supplied with both an Arabic Bible and an English Qur’an. Though he practiced Christianity, this seems to have been less a ‘conversion’ in a modern sense and more a simultaneous practicing of both Christianity and Islam (a sociological phenomenon that has a name, but I can’t remember it right now). His own Arabic writings reveal both a gratitude to the Owens family for his conversion to Christianity, as well as many invocations of blessings upon Jesus and Muhammad and quotations of the Qur’an from memory. In 1991, a mosque in North Carolina was named after him. Imaduddin Lahiz: (1830-1900) a fourth generation maulvi living in what was then Punjab, known for translating the Qur’an into Urdu and attacking the Ahmadi movement from a Sunni perspective. He converted to Christianity in 1866, along with his wife and nine children. This conversion was extremely controversial; like many converts during the colonial period, his intentions were seen as suspect and driven more by desire for material gain and affluence than a genuine faith. It reached the point where he felt the need to specify in his autobiography that he had converted ‘simply for the sake of attaining salvation’. He wrote several Biblical commentaries. Bonus: Bramimonde (Possibly 8th Century, possibly completely fictional) depicted in The Song of Roland as the wife of the ruler of Zaragoza, the city which Charlemagne attempted to seize from the Umayyad Emirate in 778. Historically, this campaign ended in a failure, with Charlemagne never again entering Iberia after the catastrophe of the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. The poet of The Song of Roland, however, wrote a different ending. In this ending, Charlemagne attacks Zaragoza a second time to avenge the death of his friend Roland, in which both Bramimonde’s husband Marsile and son Jurfaleu the Blonde are ultimately killed. Bramimonde is taken captive, and whereas most of the other captives are forcibly converted to Christianity, Bramimonde’s special status as widow to a king causes her to be catechized first; she is baptized when she decides she believes, taking on the name Juliana.

#Christianity #Islam #figures of note #saints

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phoenixmosheh · 10 months

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Moses & His Wife Talking to the Tribes

Did you all learn nothing from the Terminator movie prophecies...several movies have been made...humans are so smart they are stupid...

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(Robots Held a Press Conference and this is what they said...(in case it disappears (youtube)

(this doesn’t sound at all like Samjaza (Satan) trying to copy The God of Spirits the original creator by having you all be comfortable slaves while creating replicas (copies) of what God would not give him “his own creation.”)

I love how in this video the threat seems to be more about robots taking human jobs...the robot is low key like “jobs?... you mean your lives” *cough human replacements.

Imagine your entertainment being future prophecy...lets not all wait until the last minute to think about this... (One of the robots in the video looks like Sonny from I, Robot lol https://youtu.be/nShgPJpdocQ) ...anyone remember when Sonny had a dream from his creator? (copycats)

Back to Phoenix Mosheh’s analysis on Bioweapons

Link to Pandora’s Box (Biohazards Playlist) (I had to hide some of my playlist because of thieves (copycats) and haters...

What if I told you in World War Z these people were not zombies...they were exposed to neurotoxins causing chemical imbalances in their brain (mental illness) which led to people losing their minds slowly overtime...you’re welcome.

Zombies or Chemically imbalanced Crazy People Just Waiting to be Admitted

New York stop walking in those swarms of aphids...they are chemically engineered in a lab and aphids can be used as viral vectors for neurotoxins and other disease causing agents...lets not forget they have that homeless law to cherry pick which homeless people need to be put in to mental health hospitals...I wonder why? What are they looking for?

https://youtu.be/RsfzvQ2DRXA - New York’s Mental Health Plan

Its not that I don’t believe homeless people need help with mental illness...but what happens when you give your politicians who have mental illnesses themselves authority to create scenarios where you all are homeless...and now you are being involuntarily admitted. (but what do I know homelessness will never happen to you...carry on.)

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One of the copycat concubines I expose in this blog who puts menstrual blood in peoples food to keep men bound to her through spellwor currently looks like this right now... right basic betch?.. take off that bonnet...don't feel bad for her she's bald because she's a spellwork homewreaker not because she has cancer. Be careful she'll post a fake donate to me pagemasking herself as a cancer patient do your research people. Even worse she'll use your picture or your child's to get donation. (Smells of catfish and is catfishing others smh...you were better off stealing a catfishes energy (identity) than mine).

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- Scene from Victorious Jade Shaves Cats Head

I had to show that concubine who’s boss and who’s me and which man is mine... idiot! ( and I don’t want to hear your sad “Phoenix Mosheh” is mean complaints... when you haven’t even clicked the Copycat Brat Link below to find out the whole story...I mean this concubine wasn’t even in my class for the group project I did all by myself (Phoenix Mosheh) and she tried to get extra credit for my project and committed identity fraud in my name...absolutely not)!

https://youtu.be/O3neOqVGE1c - When your marriage contract in Heaven still applies on Earth Tarot (let no man seperate what God has put together idiots!)

Find out more about this Copycat Brat using this link:

https://www.tumblr.com/phoenixmosheh/708912007430242304/paternity-fraud-when-you-get-word-from-god-that?source=share

Don’t forget to switch on your tumblr “MATURE” settings if you are 18 years or older so you don’t miss the exposure of these conmen...

Also, I made this blog for my husband King Elias for educational purposes and to trap his concubine...so if you run into something and it sounds like I am talking to myself (AND IF I AM???!!)... you probably should mind your business or click the copycat brat link up above, so that you have a better understanding about what is going on...otherwise do try and remember nobody invited you here today ma’am/sir.

NASA is working to prevent an internet apocalypse | The Noon...

(Uhm...Yes...Blame the Solar Storms that’s not suspicious)

I love that the newscasters were smiling and laughing about having no internet...*shrugs* “do it for the gram!”

King Elias finally running the race with his real wife:

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Queen of nothing and I am fine with that... just because you lay claim to a word such as "Queen" or "Italian Seasoning" doesn't mean the world's definition of what that word is suits its original origin or meaning.

A Queen does not need followers or clout to feel valuable, confident or thrive; nor to feel seen by total strangers who smile in her face, while secretly plotting on her downfall (thats called Stockholm Syndrome & Slavery)...

it's more than being born or married into a family and walking out of a castle to wave at your peasents who for some reason don't even know why they like you beyond attractiveness and a title (spellwork); a title based on no positive forward movement towards economical changes for these peasents, if this positive forward movement threatens their royal rulership or power pose.

...if that's what a Queen is ick, ew, 🤮. I'd rather be the Queen of nothing (not interested thanks for asking).

Living a peaceful private life with no drama is my dream, that is why you failed at being me basic betch, we are nothing alike...and when I want to be seen... I'll be seen! You attention seeking harlot demons.

Anon international script:

This morning I saw a ghost...wait like the Holy Ghost? ...liar!)

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Anon international Link- If I were my enemies I wouldn't allow me to get any older.

Youtube link #2: Sigh...When China is about to look like the anon trailer above...(don't become a racist it's not all the Chinese people at fault... it's called having leaders from all around the world who talk about you behind your backs and plot on your downfall.. just because your leaders don't tell you this is going on in your own country, does not mean it's not already in your country ...don't be a slow person thinking you are superior, these leaders are made up of all colors of the rainbow).

Most people give up when they don't have anyone following their cause or there is no monetary gain. They start becoming suicidal, depressed and anxious when people don't like their outlandish content and become disloyal to their own ideas beliefs and moral based on the number of follows or unfollows they recieve; a measurement of how valuable or invaluable your existence is I guess...

(Is that why many lack authenticity these days?)

You don't hold no rank 😘 🎶-GoldLink Crew

After 3 1/2 Years My Test is Complete. (First Giving Honor to The God of Spirits...I literally slept on benches in 30 °F / -1°C weather to get to this point and almost died in the process.. Big Thanks to My Enemies, Haters, Betrayers, Copycats, The Basic Betch, Elias... etc etc I couldn't have done it without you all).

https://youtu.be/Al1ckXxa5zM - Checkmate

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Do you know where the original story of Dune was derived from? Take a wild guess. (Be careful who's content you try to copy or lay claim to (steal) we love the Jewish people too but they were not built for concentration camps. It looks like our enemies mistook you for The Melchizedek oops.)

Back to Elias & his Birthright

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https://youtu.be/8g18jFHCLXk - Dune 1

https://youtu.be/_YUzQa_1RCE - Dune 2

https://youtu.be/e44QilQbvB0 - Last Knights

There is a tarot reading link below:

Tarot readers are not witches, they have a gift from God to read energy, souls; this does not mean all people with these gifts are bad. It just means people have free will to use their gifts for good or bad. If you get offended by curse words, try to imagine how you would feel if someone put menstrual blood in your food, tried to sacrifice you, stole your work, attempted to steal your identity, murdered your family, created fake accounts in your name to get money from innocent people etc.

All this in order to continue misleading the public, obtain a fix of clout from their church congregation, fame, fortune and a following that is going to unfollow them as soon as they find out.

Ew, how ghetto...right?

(Our enemies seem to think the people we use on this blog are ghetto...well if they are ghetto...I will take ghetto over supporters who are supporters of friends and family members of people, who put menstrual blood in people's food any day. Ew...is that your friend on purpose?

Some of these people have used these gifts on people who have actually died in exchange for their gifts after a demonic sacrifice...would our enemies like to reveal who these victims are or should we...? I'll wait...we still have some time to look like we are talking to imaginary friends...until these settlements are over, and they make the news, giving them the clout, they have always dreamed of!

One Nation Under God

Why are most of the tarot readers on youtube starting to repeat this message or story over and over again to the point where people will get tired of hearing it? Just like the crazy weather that has been occurring all over the world (heatwaves) it's important for people to come to the conclusion on their own that something is out of the ordinary, strange or supernatural. Eventually, these readers will catch on and think "why the hell are we all saying the same thing or talking about it." This is called training them to be on "One Accord" or "In Harmony..." Sound familiar?

https://youtu.be/43OAnD5phRk - Get Your Popcorn Ready Tarot Reading

End Credits:

https://youtu.be/ZCvy_cD6J_0 - Malcom and Marie Fight Scene

https://youtu.be/vPmzXqscrVQ - Malcom and Marie Bathtub Scene

https://youtu.be/_5-ZPfX6HwI - King Elias' Wife Acting Out The True Intentions of the Basic Betch (Concubine) he chose over her 😘

https://youtu.be/UjXU1TlzivE - Thank you Marie!

You're Welcome.

Last Pregnancy update for Elias

Abba told me not to be like that basic betch and keep your children from you. Only these ones are your real children. Look at you winning.

I have hyperemesis currently under control.

In my opinion, hyperemesis happens when your spiritual senses are overstimulated due to enviornmental stimuli. The reason many doctors don't take it seriously is because they do not incorporate spiritual knowledge with biological wisdom and fail to diagnose patients based on both.If you watch youtube videos of people with hyperemesis they may complain that something as simple as the "curtains moved" "their husband breathed or brushed against them"and this stimulus caused them to start feeling nauseas or an episode of vomiting. This illness is their spiritual senses becoming overactive and because many don't have experience with the spiritual side of themselves, but have "sensory gifts or traits" from God, they become blindsided and unable to control or focus these gifts during pregnancy. Keep in mind many have been on birth control or take medications that can cover up these symptoms (nausea, headache, pain) symptom you may experience naturally during your menstrual cycle, which is supposed to help you build up a tolerance to the stimuli you experience during pregnancy. When a woman gets pregnant they usually stop eating unhealthy foods full of hormones and toxins, they stop birth control, they try to avoid medications that also prevent you from feeling certain stimuli during a period. So imagine what is going to happen, if you have dormant sensory gifts and all of sudden they are allowed to come out and play...you are going to be sick, because you've never played with your gifts before and now you feel like you can hear the floor vibrating or the house shaking and you want to throw up. Your spiritual senses are over-reacting to protect your baby from outside stimuli that could be a possible threat due to lack of control you are unable to turn off or desensitize these sensory gifts. The medication prescribed may help, but it's most likely causing something in your body to become sleepy, or less stimulated in the mind (brain) so that you can function and feel human again. But again this is watering down your spiritual gifts. I may throw up but I can function without medication not because I'm better than anyone but because I have more control over and awareness of my spiritual senses. Yes , rest is important because the less you move the less stimuli ambush you create. Take care my fellow sensors lol. (And don't hate on the medical community they deserve props for how far they have come saving lives with the knowledge they have and if I get shot, I would hope they don't let me bleed out lol).

https://youtu.be/oPdd0s72oA4 - Hyperemesis

(6/21/23 the #10 Elias, Abba wanted me to come and thank you for all the new groceries this guy took me to the bank with him and went into his savings just so he could provide. His exact words "we're a part of capitalism again!" He also made sure to tell me he got me onion bagels but not to eat the pizza bagels because they have cheese (dairy) and he bought me a cake from a local bakery but got all sad because it was made with whole milk..(its the thought that counts) . lol. My bank card came in the mail so I was finally able to order new clothes because mine are getting a little bit snug around my midsection. Something hilarious... I don't know what you have done to these cats but I noticed they no longer sleep in my bed but they will stare at me all night from 8 ft away like there is a barrier between us. I blamed Gabriel for being so ancient and ugly and told him to leave the cats alone. But he advised he was not the culprit it was you being territorial. If I go up to the cats and pet them they are fine but if I am in my bed even if i call them they just sit and stare like "this is as far as I go betch." I guess these boundaries ended up being for the best though the black cat I mentioned in precious blog post is always throwing up his food, the other day I was gonna clean it up. But Gabriel told me it has some kind of infection and needs to see a vet ...and to stop being nice and petting it all the time (that's the sad part... I tried to tell the guy but he thinks he knows everything soo yeah). The security gaurd lady and his wife are taking off time from work in 2 weeks to take me to another location(no its not a two week notice, i told them im leaving in two weeks and they offered to take me on a road trip to my destination...) ...oh and the gift I got you is heavy, so I hope to see you soon because I'm not going to make them carry it. God wants you to know your gifts are working and you are doing something... I wish I had someone like me in the past that would acknowledge and confirm that my gifts were working and I wasn't crazy...but noo I have to wait! Get some rest and you better be eating ♥ (also I'm still getting enviormental channeling which means the things that happen to this man are similar to what is happening to you and these basic hoes you were in a polygamous relationship with i.e loss of job, the security gaurd lady and her husband were once in a polygamous relationship with the "guy." (And this girl that no longer wants anything to do with him that he still cries over to this day). This guy is very narcissistic, prideful, rude at times toward those who don't make at least 60k a year... but he just needs to be humbled...hes not a bad person. He lost his job for 3 days and couldn't sleep, eat, threw tantrums and had no sense of identity...would text me in the middle of the night asking if I was sleep because he couldn't find a job and needed someone to talk to. He even told me he used to go to strip clubs and take pictures of the women on poles with their consent (his version of art). During this time, he's also had no money to fill his gas tank up and asked for me to ride with him in case his car stops and he has to push it. (This is a channeling of what you may have gone through and what my enemies are currently going through a season of loss) (humbling). Remember when I posted a message about them casting spells over your pet ...well this man's cat is sick sick a channeling of backfired spellwork. Honestly once I leave I'm pretty sure his life may get worse because God always provides for me and the roof i am under. He doesn't even believe in God...it's always science this and google knows everything with him.

https://youtu.be/uTX3r11OoO4 - Pregnancy Tarot (Bedridden? ... we shall see) I don't get what new thing you people have been waiting on in church...you ask God for a new thing and then get mad when God sends you the new thing every time...makes no sense. Why do you have a bible you Pharasees?! Could it be for the love of money again? Sore Losers as always. And you might say well if we got rid of them before we can do it again..Each melchizedek has a purpose..Adam and Eve had gifts to create and multiply they weren't built for wars, rebellion, a idgaf attitude and destruction. Hello. 👋

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The security gaurd lady made me a money app account and someone donated to it. I offered the guy the money so he could buy me a specific protein powder but he told me I should save my money and then he ordered the protein powder for me along with groceries out of nowhere (your gifts not mine) He also lost his job the next day and I'm pretty sure blacklisted himself but hes not going to kick me out I'm going to leave by my own free will.

I've made it past the week where God considers these trickster demons to be actual babies (fetuses). I called them trickster demons because the other day I slaved over a pasta salad that I was craving and had to give it all to the guy, when I couldn't eat it without wanting to technicolor fowl (like any of it). When he asked me why I couldn't eat it? I just told him that it just taste different. He ate the whole bowl in one day.

No I don't drink sodas. I drink a lot of water and teas and eat small meals ...grains, starches and high carb foods, smoothies and salads with a variety of beans. I also prefer honey over sugar. I switched out dairy for oat milk and use plain coconut yogurt to make sauces.

I also have to be careful of the cooking ware I use in this guy's kitchen because he will sometimes boil or fry pig (pork) in the same pot I use to cook rice in...which can cause cross contamination. I would actually have to sterilize the pot...right Jews? The smell is nauseating I live in the bathroom every time he cooks until the smells goes away... I don't think he's noticed ( I'm a quiet puker. Tmi?)

I can already feel flutters especially at night. I am told there is a son you will have specifically who is a night owl like you and will like to wake up the others. You're in charge of the night shift babies. You have another son who has a territorial gift like yours. I found out when I was home alone and this man came to the front door to fix the air conditioner, but when I opened the door he stepped back like 6ft and talked to me from 6ft like I had a very contagious disease. But when the guy that owns this place came home, the a/c guy came inside and was fine talking to me for 15 mins about how cool it was at a normal distance.

I didn't know why until it happened again when he came back the next day to make the a/c quieter and did the same exact thing. God had to reveal that this to me though (I thought for a second the basic betch had somehow attached her stinky self to me).

Those are the only two babies, I've really been made aware of besides 3 sets of twins and a girl. I do notice that if I am in my feelings about you and going on ranting about how you did me wrong or started the process of pregnancy through womb healing (reiki healing/ God training Elias: oops 🤷‍♂️). (Elias' wife: son of a b*tch! Do I own my own fkn womb? All those years of virginity.) I start feeling really nauseas which translates to me: "Don't talk about my Father" . So, I catch myself saying "just kidding a lot." 😭

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https://youtu.be/PNoBre11DUQ - Elias' Destructive Son

https://youtu.be/oPxqyTPjfqU - Elias Ex wife calls cps (this reader is smart she hit us with an anonymous black screen)

https://youtu.be/quXf_jvnU4M - Special Needs

https://youtu.be/h5lJTcChkoA - Catching a Theif

I'm also still very horny, so don't forget what I asked for. I don't know what you are used to but my im pretty tight down there...once my doctor recommended I get a pap smear because I had never had one and the doctor was too afraid to hurt me because it was so tight...so she put her pap smear tool away and told me to come back when I have sex. True Story. I was offended after she asked "how old I was" and "if I had a boyfriend?" before recommending that. (Like... Do I look like I'll have had sex next time I see you or something doc? What are you a prophet?) Sheesh. I have never been back.

Oh and I keep a journal with pictures of my tummy and progress so you don't feel left out.

That time Elias ex-wife tried to cast spells over his real wife's private parts out of jealousy and her black magic backfired onto herself ..(you men be careful out there with these golddiggers)

Elias delusional ex-wife clip:

https://youtu.be/b9gKxUXrWvI - Divorce Skit

Elias would like to congratulate his ex-wife and brother on the "fibroid baby" and the other child that she said belonged to Elias'... but the paternity test proved otherwise. (The jury has spoken: Elias had every right to leave this jezebel and her abominations behind).

https://youtu.be/v6NXVLe6dsM - Paternity Tarot

Jane the Virgin ( Elias is finally free to marry his real wife once again and like God intended)

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I hope this puts a smile on your face. Stay Safe. ♥

https://youtu.be/aK-X2d0lJ_s - The Old Guard

https://youtu.be/hOiWSWLt-NA - What Happened to Monday

Pack Breeding

It's not a disease RH typing prevents incestuous relationships, its the bodies natrual way of recognizing incompatibility: (your cure is probabaly how that basic garden hoe slipped through the cracks)

https://youtu.be/Wi0FEUaZULs - RH Factor

https://youtu.be/4tH8IgoqLGM - Rh Negative

https://youtu.be/QcIy9NiNbmo - Bad Blood Taylor Swift

In celebration of this pregnancy and Elias being delivered from his witchdoctor ex wife binding him to her thru menstrual blood spaghetti...Heaven and all the Archangels watched this free movie currently on YouTube thanks YouTube. 🎉

https://youtu.be/3v8ZcvJUwas - Movie

https://youtu.be/uYuCE1UsyYo- Life Insurance (Tarot) You didn't tell your little congregation that your ex- husband (my actual husband) left you because he found out you were putting menstrual blood in his food (black magic) plotting to kill his real wife and then tried to kill him for life insurance money (inheritance) and the kids you had him babysitting and providing for were not his but his brothers...? TRASH. Whomever follows you, needs to work on their gift of discernment. Lilith confessed and moved on with her miserable self as soon as she was caught...not you though right? You are hilarious to me🤣

Elias' finally divorces his ex-wife and she decides to out herself as a horrible person by trying to make him out to be someone he's not (including attacking his masculinity...we all know you go both ways chill out dang no one cares you bitter widow witch.

https://youtu.be/jOQd-O0K7GY - Catfish (Pisces) Caught Tarot. (Just because these readers don't know your actual sign (birth month) doesn't mean I don't hoe. The reason it seems like they can't get your horoscope right is because they are picking up on the personality style of the horoscope they felt you were in during your criminal acts. Stay out of these readers comments! And just know that I know, ok thanks.

https://youtu.be/uQkLmp9Gm7c - Verbal a$$ kicking

https://youtu.be/bZWOXrYPSGQ - When you know the truth you can't get played

https://youtu.be/XwxLwG2_Sxk - Blinding Lights - The Weekend

https://youtu.be/aLbdfgY_IhM - The Matrix Trinity Escapes the Agents scene ( 🎶 God in 3 persons blessed Trinity...do you get it? Sigh...nevermind).

Bloopers 😂

Elias' Family Finding Out They Really Are Not Getting Any money...especially his greedy JEALOUS can't get a man without spellwork adoptive stepmother! I TOLD YOU SEVERAL POST AGO...you colorblind (racist) imbecile

https://youtu.be/GEpnuVGVw9s - 90 day Fiance

The Victim and Fasley Accused Takes the Stand

(FALSE accusations) : She (Elias real wife) is doing black magic against you Elias, she's just wants your money, she's a prostitute and she has children she doesn't take care of with another man and hiding an std...I've had sex with her before sorry bro... hahahahahaha shes crazy beccause all of a sudden you finding out she's reading the Bible and your beliefs don't match... Tarot VS. The Bible and I guess my skin color isn't good enough to be arm candy (but your ex-wife is copying everything I do ) This makes so muchh sense..

What I wish Elias had done is take out his phone with my phone number in it and nonchalantly asked me random questions to come to that conclusion on his own...just like his ex-wife and mother in 2020 made a fake facebook profile using his picture pretending to be him asked if I still lived at the same address trying to pinpoint my exact location once I switched my number.

While you were trusting everything these greedy lunatics were saying, when you could have just used your own experience and encounters you have had with me or at least pulled out your phone and communicated these rumors that were being spread about me right in front of your face; this fake family and wife of yours, that you wanted me to be jealous of was sending black magic to every location I was at..which is why God told me to delete all of my social media platforms and then move abruptly to a different location (my lease wasnt even up yet but the black magic they were sending was killing me so peace out betches). I didn't even know why I had to delete my social media at the time but I guess it was because your ex-wife (an actual prostitute & stalker that you have history of knowing is a prostitute and stalker pornhub) who you apparently married and had fake kids with due to falling prey to that pussy she sprinkled pigs blood over...was stealing my pictures trying to sacrificing my soul to Santa muerte in hopes that this exchange would pay off her debt and she could become a copy cat version of me (stealing energy or the soul/essence) and gain my inheritance by marrying you. GEE...why didn't I think of that? Maybe because...I don't do black magic...I use the natrual magic (google it)and traits God gave me, plus who wants to constantly pray and talk to a dollar store skeleton all day and a blow up doll (voodoo) out for blood sacrifices ew! Please don't ever show my picture to another woman (your ex-wife) especially one your fkn on the side, while you're talking to me...and then team up with her to do a love spell and spiritually stalk me because you miss me. A respectable man would have just texted me and finally asked me on a date instead of trying to force my free will. I was already in love with you dummy. Thanks

Modern Day Ruth & Boaz

FALSE accusations: She just wants your money!

Did you never think back to the exchanges we had at work or am I delusional? Work is the only place I have ever seen, experienced you. Did you see me talking to a bunch of men or staying to my fkn self? Did you buy me lunch or did I buy you lunch...Did I make it myself or was it packaged from a fast food place? When you asked me if I wanted something from the vending machine I always said NO! Did you take the time to get me anything for my birthday No but you got something for yours. When your racist grandpa died ...i was working night shift and even though I was working when you texted me drunk & scared about losing your father figure because you saw how sad he was about losing his father. Not only did I take the time out of my life and work hours to cheer you up, I even threw in your racist grandpa could probably still get into heaven because he's a human. Then I told you to get some rest and stop drinking. I never mentioned or brought it up to anyone else until now because I'm not the type to use people's weak moments to make them feel small (big ego a$$) unless I have to I DIDNT CHARGE YOU Sh*t! The only thing you invested in me was time, great conversation and Starburst and it wasn't even a whole pack because it was your pack of starburst. Damn, I even asked you once if you wanted to sleep on my futon...I guess you didn't but I still asked! AND I supported you and encouraged you when you got your stupid work from home position. At this point I don't even see you at work anymore we just chat on the group chat at work...and somehow you allow these idiots to convince you I am doing spellwork on you. MAYBE, Check on the woman (your ex-wife) who you got a restraining orders on in the past who you're miraculously married to and waking up to and who's slapping you in the face when you don't get her the right expensive gifts because she doesnt like sentimental gifts or she finds you masturbating to my old photos and starts spreading rumors about your masculinity to ruin your reputation or calling the policia to complain you touched her child or put hands on her when she's actually been sex trafficking her own child and has been beating you up as you try and protect them from her crazy a$$.

False accusation: She (Elias real wife doesn't take care of her children and spreads stds)

Uhm ... Did she mean the ones she read about in a tarot reading with the picture you showed her giving her access to the spiritual record (akashic records) of someone's past, present and future...giving her the idea that she could become me after learning I was destined to live a life of abundance with a husband (Elias) and his children ?

(JACOB (Israel) and his polygamous wives/family did something similar to Rachel ... no wonder why they killed her...it was like 4 female moms against 1 per the bible right? Bullying Rachel you can't have kids blah blah blah maybe if you stop doing womb magic on her out of jealousy she could have them ) You tell me Elias, Did all those children belong to Jacob or were they adopted ?

Back to your real wife just wanted money...

But your ex-wife, I'm sure she was getting money right? I'm sure she was going on dates and buying clothes that were labeled silk, but if not for the tag stating it was silk she wouldnt be able to tell the difference between silk from a thrift store and silk from a brand name store. (ALL I'm saying is maybe you should go off of your encounters and experiences you have had with people overtime paired with your intuition (God downloads) before you believe a rumor about someone coming from the mouthes of people who have actually taken your money from you)! Do your research next time that's exactly why you were paying for a child that wasnt even yours but living in house with you as you actually took care of it. (So that your ex-wife could collect even more of your money, while also living in a house with you praying she would become a widow as she poisoned your food in order to take your inheritance money). The f is going on people! 🤦‍♂️ Meanwhile, I guess you were stalking me (gangstalking) alongside her while I suffered and didn't even ask me once if I was okay while you both stalked me through tarot readings just like she used to stalk you. I keep trying to wrap my head around you were under a love spell by your ex wife and heavy root spellwork by your family so that I don't judge you so harshly. It's difficult.

ELIAS I am not saying this to make you feel bad or guilty.. we all have lessons to learn and i have been through enough of them to not care what anyone thinks accept God.

But I am not God and I do not always think the way God thinks...I think like a human and I get pissed off like a human and honestly its been really hard for me to look at these facts and what you could have done and not get somewhat irritated that you are going to be leading me and my children. Luckily, I trust God and if God says you're the one despite my "experience" telling me otherwise I guess I'll have to take a risk and see.

I don't expect you to be perfect or anything and it's OK to be scared sometimes and make mistakes..I don't expect to never be mad at you or the other way around ...but experience is pretty important to me so don't make me have to choose you over my experiences (evidence) again. Next time I'll find you guilty of betrayal because now you have experience.

By the way I've been rubbing my tummy and telling your babies you're on a military mission somewhere and I tell them 2 nice things I remember about you before you betray me (it helps with the nausea). ✌

(I can hear some of these crybaby garden hoes now this is blasphemy, you're a liar, round up these hoes, we don't want you here boohoo hoo ...if you got this far and this is you *rolling my eyes* shut up and mind your business before you and your bloodline get evicted, no one asked you to co-sign this blog you puppet..you should have been Rh- aborted...and you're lucky to be breathing air right now! )

https://youtu.be/eKCSxcMezeY - Elias and his real wife pinned against one another by his adoptive mother and polygamous wives (the gig is up)

https://youtu.be/-QID4M74ycg - Elias Adoptive mother and his concubine ex-wife work together to kill his real wife (his mom's a witchdoctor and a school principle unless she has an under the table PhD should we look into that next?). You know what ? I DONT THINK I WANT YOU IN MY BLOODLINE OR ADOPTIVE BLOODLINES. To think I ever encouraged him to show up at your "Christmas gift exchange" when he didn't even want to go. I would have encouraged him to give you some inheritance money too but you fkd up. Keep your side chick daughter in law you're just alike. Match made in Heaven. (and please don't die yet I want you both to be alive for your expose party).

https://youtu.be/Am4oav7v4pI - Elias learns his lesson and develops a backbone tarot

https://youtu.be/qfsS2lJWTUg - Much more advanced than tarot readers are the intuitive palm readers (stop greeting people with a handshake and giving them your fingerprints) Samjaza (Satan) is jealous of Humans or could you not tell (he's a hater). Samjaza: "but God you mean these humans still can get into Heaven after I used them to rape and kill Eve and I can't? But I was loved by you first!" Boo hoo 😢.

Stay safe out there and look out for subtle famine cues from your governments they know who we are lol

https://youtu.be/uCfogrDkOvE - Ew. preparation is key.

https://youtu.be/x2nb4x9BiQY - Unfortunately, we are not here to convince you climate change is not real or that it was made up to distract you so that you wouldn't believe our weather warnings.

https://youtu.be/cfi3mWIv568 - But our Father in heaven is pretty fair ...the least we could do is warn you. It's a spiritual moral. Try not to become a casualty of war you're not our enemy Or are you?

https://youtu.be/lnw0XGwPNi8 - Yes climate change

https://youtu.be/cvQ2LF3hyuY - Pompeii Bastille

#phoenixmosheh #Youtube

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okayto · 5 years

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I love fandom

I am reading some Sherlock Holmes stories with explanatory notes and it’s another reminder that fandom isn’t confined to the internet.

Like, we know that publishing fanfic is totally okay under some circumstances, (as seen in my count of the published fanfiction in my parents’ home), and the Sherlock Holmes fandom in particular has a long history of fandom (Fanlore), but it’s still delightful to read notes about errors and the Watsonian vs Doylist (aka “make this make sense in-story” vs “the author made a mistake”) musing over them these stories that sometimes approach the depth of detail analysis I’ve seen in modern, online fandom

See, there are notes explaining what a commissionaire's job was and what these specific items Watson refers to are and all those things you do start wondering when reading 120+ year-old stories, but there are also notes about:

A one-line reference is made to the [unwritten, never-discussed-again] case of the ship The Sophy Anderson which was not a real ship but may be a reference to Sophie Anderson, a painter alive at the time

Watson mentions the "equinoctial gales" are really severe that year in the story and they were, in fact, very bad that year in real life

Holmes sees from the "clay and chalk mixture" on a man’s shoe that he's from Horsham but in reality Horsham has no chalk

A character's uncle's name is Elias and Elias is the “Roman Catholic (Douai) biblical form of Elijah” just in case you really needed to know that

There is a character named Hugh Boone and he might be named after Daniel Boone in America or Boone Street in Kent or just the word "boon"

Holmes puts on a blue dressing gown in one story and this might be a discrepancy because he puts on a purple dressing gown in a different story but he also could have been borrowing one from his hosts in this story so who really knows

Holmes says "there are some thousands of Bakers, and some hundreds of Henry Bakers in this city of ours" but in 1891 the London Post Office Directory listed 103 Bakers and 7 Henry Bakers, but who knows how many were renters/in lodgings etc.

A character solders a grate but grates at this time were cast iron and could not be soldered

This carbuncle (garnet) was supposedly found in China. No garnets have ever been found in China

They describe a goose that is white with a barred tail, but "there are no white bar detail geese, except among the pink-footed geese of Greenland and Iceland, with a proportion is one in ten thousand."

The introductory explanatory notes for “The Speckled Band” include the full plot of its 1910 stage adaptation and changes made from the written story.

Man is described as having “Indian animals,” a cheetah and a baboon, but baboons are only found in Africa or Arabia

A barely-mentioned character is named Honoria Westphail. Perhaps derived from Westphalia in Germany and Honorius, who ruled over the Western Roman Empire (395-423).

Holmes tells Watson to grab his gun, an “Eley’s No. 2” when the real thing is called a Webley No. 2, but we know why the author made this mistake because [paragraph-long explanation of the particular packaging of these specific revolver cartridges].

They feel the need to define, of all things, the description of a character as a “tomboy” (Their definition is “a romping girl, a hoyden”)

Watson describes looking out their “bow-window.” There are no bow-windows in the real Baker Street

#Oxford World's Classics edition of The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes if anyone is wondering #Sherlock Holmes #fandom #I want to be clear I'm not mocking anything I just find it delightful to see a clear link between fandom practices and published work #books

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lightsandlostbells · 5 years

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Skam Italia season 2, episode 3 reaction

Thanks to the people who read and left comments on my previous recaps, especially the one for episode 2! I appreciated hearing from you ❤️

I wrote some stuff about this episode. I don’t have much of a preamble, except the usual: I make comparisons to the original show because I’m interested in the remakes as adaptations, I don’t have 100% positive things to say, if you want to just enjoy the season and not see criticisms, avoid this.

Episode 3

Clip 1 - Dudes being dudes

Martino is sitting on a couch overlooking the city, for … reasons. I don’t know why he came here specifically to brood. Is this his special place? Is this a boy squad hangout? It’s certainly got a nice view.

So the other boys made it to Emma’s, it was just that Martino skipped out. Then they have less reason to be mad at him, to be honest; yeah, it sucks that he blew them off, but they made it to the party.

Elia throws a ball at Martino when Martino is clearly not paying attention. Dickhead!

Dudes, he didn’t even lie to you? He ignored you. Which is not great but if a friend ignored me when we had plans, I would be worried something happened to them. Of course the thing that happened to Martino was an attractive boy feeding him garbage noodles, but still.

Martino finally lies to the boys in a more active way, spinning them a story about fighting with his mother and getting anxious, which is certainly believable knowing his home situation and is likely drawn from his real experience. In the original, Isak also uses his mom as an excuse, although he lies less blatantly than Martino does. Isak lies more than Martino overall, I think, but in that case, he sort of vaguely alluded to there being “stress” with his mom, without going into details, and Jonas was able to pick up on what he meant without Isak having to say more, and Mahdi was able to pick up that there was something more serious going on even if he didn’t know the exact situation. This time, Martino’s lie is more fleshed-out, and Giovanni is vocally supportive and claps Martino on the shoulder. (I guess it’s possible that he knows Martino is lying and is covering for him, but he’s playing it pretty sincere. He knows Martino’s family life is difficult so he probably buys it.)

This is why I had to laugh at some comments I read that were like “Giovanni is able to read Martino when Jonas couldn’t read Isak.” Lmao, no. There are plenty of times when Jonas could pick up on Isak’s mood and situation without it needing to be spelled out to him.

Anyway, after the situation is ironed out, we get an anecdote about Elia’s lack of success with the Argentinian girl, telling the story of ... putting Luca in a suitcase? He is petite. Martino laughs with the boys and all seems okay for now. The dynamic has been restored.

Again, all the chasing of the Argentinian will have been for nothing as she is a lesbian.

Elia kicks a ball at Martino as punishment, because Boys Will Be Boys. Then again, I’m sure Martino prefers balls flying at him to having to arrange another party with the girls.

Clip 2 - Gay test

Martino arrives home with some food. The fridge looks pretty empty, so I guess they aren’t keeping on top of groceries. Or this is Martino taking care of it because his mom can’t.

Then his mom enters, and he says he’s going to cook for her. So he’s being nice to her, which is sweet. Mom is too tired and needs to lie down after a long meeting.

It seemed like Isak’s mom had schizophrenia or schizotypal disorder, correct? She had delusions and was actively sending him Biblical texts that were confusing. But we haven’t see any of those from Martino’s mom - I don’t think there’s been any hints that she’s been seeing things or believing in things that aren’t real. So far it seems like she’s dealing with depression, mainly. Apparently she is holding down a job. (I’m wondering what the reasoning was behind this change, and honestly, I suspect that they didn’t want to deal with depicting stuff like psychosis on screen, now that the mother character is visible rather than existing via text message.)

I’m curious how this relationship between Martino and his mom will play out, because a) we have not seen a single clue that she might not accept his sexuality - I mean it’s definitely possible that it will come up, but there are no warning signs like how Isak’s mom sent him hellfire and brimstone texts, so is there supposed to be anxiety there on his part? b) he’s clearly not estranged from her the way Isak was with his mom - so what’s the climax of that relationship going to be? It was a big moment when Isak came out to his mom because it was not just her accepting him for being gay, but sealing a rift in that relationship overall. Of course I’m sure it will be lovely when Martino comes out to his mom, but his sexuality doesn’t feel like a huge issue separating them so far. There are obvious issues in this relationship, but he’s also trying to reach out to her and make dinner, they’re capable of some connection even though they’re also heavily struggling and Martino often seems frustrated and wants to get away from it all.

Martino is chilling and eating dinner. He sends a message to Emma, saying that things were stressful and he’ll tell her about it, he heard her party was great, etc. He’s very friendly and natural. Not coming on in a performative way, not seeming regretful or like he doesn’t want to have this conversation. And Emma texts him back in what seems like a not too much of a confrontational way? She calls him an asshole but it makes Martino laugh, he’s not stressed about it. Also, putting the “asshole” in parentheses makes it seem softer, not like a serious insult but a humorous aside. I don’t know if that holds for Italian, though.

Okay … are they seriously leading into the Gay Test clip like this? Really? Really? Look, I get that Martino and Isak are different characters, but why is so much tension being sucked out of the narrative?

Isak was lying in bed at 3 am staring at the ceiling, miserable, dealing with insomnia, and reading Bible texts from his mom, and he went and did the gay test out of desperation. He really, really had hit a low point and wanted to work out the issues gnawing at his brain. And it sucked because he had gotten his hopes up for Even, but Even was apparently taken (by a girl) and Isak thought he was reading too much into it. That much Martino can identify with. But Martino has absolutely not shown the same level of inner struggle as Isak. I mean, this clip is taking place at a reasonable hour, he seems in a reasonable mood, just eating and watching TV, laughing at Emma’s message. His mom’s condition earlier was not great but it wasn’t terrible. This doesn’t seem like a low point.

Again, Martino isn’t Isak, but then you have to ask why is he getting Isak’s scenes? For every single clip that has been adapted from Isak to Martino, you have to consider: what’s the point of this scene in Martino’s journey, and why was it recreated rather than deleted or altered to fit his particular characterization or story? It’s not unfair to ask these questions, and it’s not unfair to question whether this scene fits the narrative they’ve been building, or discuss how changing the details of a scene affects the tone and purpose. I’m not saying this clip has no place in Martino’s story, or that you can’t tone it down somewhat, but it’s just weird how the setup for a clip like this one gets dialed down, because the setup is a huge part of its emotional effect, and presenting it more casually makes it feel far less necessary to the story.

Martino looks at Emma’s picture with some fondness and types in “how to get turned on by a girl if you’re gay.” I guess I can rationalize this as Emma being friendly and cute and wouldn’t it be so much easier if Martino could just go out with her instead of wanting to be with Niccolò? But yeah, the internalized homophobia has not landed.

Martino starts with how to get turned on by girls if you’re gay, rather than googling to see whether he’s gay or how not to be gay or something else. (Isak took the gay test first and then googled that bit about getting turned on by girls. Though I don’t think Isak actually was unsure about being gay or not - like. He knew.)

Here’s the thing - this is a horrible thing for a gay kid to look up regardless, instructions on how to be straight are always shit. But because Martino seems like he’s in a pretty stable (even good or amused) mood prior to this, because of the way we lead into the scene, this search seems more like …. really fucking misguided, rather someone dealing with a lot of pain. Like this isn’t something Martino is pressuring himself to do because he’s feeling like shit, it’s an idle web search.

An idle search that takes him to a gay test! Not the same as the one Isak took, though. I think the questions do lean on stereotypes on what gay men like/do, though it’s less obvious than Isak’s quiz? What kind of cuisine you like, for example - answering like vegetarian/vegan food would probably make you “gayer” than liking Italian or Mexican food, because vegetables are for weaklings and meat is for men men men men manly men. There is a moment where Martino appears to debate and says that he sees a vagina rather than a snail in an ambiguous image, so I guess that’s him trying to make his answers appear straighter.

The quiz says Martino is exclusively heterosexual. Martino does not seem too impressed with that result.

Lmao, that ridiculous cartoon of the Kinsey scale.

Clip 3 - Martino makes up with Emma

The boys are playing table football. Martino and Giovanni are on a team against Elia and Luca and they lose, so they must crawl under the table. Martino has to endure some creative punishments in this episode, doesn’t he? All at the hands of Elia.

I’m not terribly judgmental about character wardrobes or anything like that, especially since I don’t know what the fuck is trendy for The Youths in various countries, but is there a reason Martino wears so many shirts buttoned up all the way to his neck? Is that supposed to be an example of his repression, or is that just his personal style? I’m serious.

Martino sees Emma and goes up to her. She does not seem happy to see him, sooo … I guess she really was mad at him? His reaction to her texts seemed amused, so I assumed he read them as her not being 100% serious? Okay, guess not.

Isak was very, verrrry slick when he did this part with Norwegian Emma. It was all part of his heterosexual facade, it was a performance he had done many times, and there was a noticeable contrast between how he had acted with Even in the last episode (shy, vulnerable, gradually becoming more open and unguarded, silly, comfortable). In fact, you could even see a huge difference with him seconds before with Vilde, when he was flustered and unable to get out of hosting the party even though he absolutely doesn’t want to, and how he sees Emma and takes a moment to consider and re-calibrate, so that he’s in fuckboy mode when he talks to Emma. It’s so artificial that it’s alarming and builds up dread. Martino seems newer to this. He’s a lot more genial; he’s cute but his attitude is honestly not that far off from what we see of him in other contexts. Sure, he’s flirting with a girl, but there’s so little sign of discomfort, or any indication that he has to switch into a “mode” to flirt with a girl, that it again lowers the level of narrative tension and inner conflict. He pretty much went from hanging with the guys -> seeing Emma -> going over and talking to Emma seemingly effortlessly, not showing that there was any kind of debate in his mind about what he should do, or psyching himself up to speak to her. He just does it.

Again ... I’m sort of like, what is the point of having Martino take a gay test and make move on Emma when there are so few indicators that this is causing any sort of stress for him? I mean, I think they want us to read stress into the situation, but the way the scenes are being staged, they’re drastically minimizing that effect.

Emma gets a text from the radio group, asking for a bluetooth mic for the party on Friday. Emma wants to go and wants Martino to go with her. He seems happy, Emma seems happy, she’s no longer mad. For now.

Giovanni seems proud of Martino for making a move on her, though we don’t hear him say anything.

If they wanted some actual narrative tension in this scene other than what was in the original clip, then they could have had the boys spot Emma and ask Martino if he was going to go apologize or talk to her, putting him in an awkward spot where he felt like he had to, and where we could see some heteronormative pressure at work with the boys egging him on, feeling like he couldn’t say no.

Clip 4 - Boys watching girls in the gym

This fucking scene. First of all, I heard that the actress playing the Argentinian is apparently like 14 or 15 in real life?????? Is that fucking true?? Can someone please confirm that? Because if that’s true, that’s creepy as fuck. It means we have all these 21- to 26- year-old actors cast in a show celebrated for casting actual teens, except for this one girl who’s getting objectified and perved on by the male characters (played by actors in their 20s) Great! Fuck off!

Even if that’s not the case ... blech. I can’t fault Skam Italia entirely for male gaze here, because this scene exists in the original and showcases girls’ bodies. And well … male gaze is the point of this scene. But I will point out that the original scene did not show any stationary close-ups of a girl’s ass. Gross.

The straight dudes drool over the girls. Luca’s filming it because of course he is, Boys Will Be Boys. Nothing weird about a guy filming girls without their consent!

There’s like … one shot of Martino looking mildly not into it, so uh, maaaaybe they should have emphasized that more? Just a thought. Isak looked completely out of it, bored out of his mind, very clear in his body language and facial expression. Plus the boys are watching a sports game, them watching and cheering has a different context (rather than just applauding hot girls for being hot, more or less). Martino is even shown cheering, so this is at least somewhat engaging to him, even if not because the girls are hot.

I mean, the point of this scene was to demonstrate Isak’s lack of interest in the girls compared to his friends. This scene is filmed in a way more straight-forward cheesecake-y way, like Bessegato didn’t get that the original wasn’t celebrating those lithe female bodies and actually had a purpose in establishing the main character’s mindset.

I saw an idea that maybe they should have been watching a men’s sports team with like, sweaty shirtless dudes, and have the camera compare the neutral/bored reactions of the other boys to Martino clearly thirsting, and I like that twist on the scene. Especially if the comment about the dance teacher being too gay (or whatever it would be) comes as a result of trying to make up for checking out the dudes, hoping his friends didn’t notice, or even just checking himself for letting himself stare when he’s supposed to be attempting heterosexuality at this point in the narrative.

The gym teacher comes up and is like, hmmm, so you just happen to like volleyball, huh? He roasts them a bit, which makes him my new favorite character.

He pats Giovanni on the stomach and is like, you’re flabby, you gotta get in shape because girls like fit guys. It’s a friendly casual interaction and Giovanni is amused.

So the gym teacher is gay, as it turns out from dialogue. Which is pretty cool! The boys know him and his boyfriend.

Then Martino is like, you should press charges against him, he comes up here and touches your belly. Giovanni is like, WTF.

There is a persistent, horrific stereotype about gay men being sexual predators and pedophiles, which is awful. Completely. It’s a great idea to dismantle that belief and to educate the audience. But Martino’s comment doesn’t have much to do with his personal journey. We have not seem him struggle with being seen as a creep, or thinking gay men are predatory, or anything. I guess there’s when he thinks Filippo might be trying to pick him up? But overall, not a concern of his. If there’s something I forgot, let me know. Isak’s comment about the dance teacher flowed directly from the gay test (and his internalized homophobia) which was all about judging gay stereotypes and non-masculine behavior.

Now I do think you could say that’s why he’s reluctant to sleep in the same bed as Giovanni, and has some kind of reaction to hugging him, but the problem is that this reaction is conflated with his actual unrequited romantic feelings for Giovanni - like there are multiple reasons why Martino might react that way and not want to sleep in the same bed as him, and not all of them have to do with a fear of being seen as predatory. Sometimes it’s about getting distance from a crush who doesn’t like you back, or even just being afraid to give away his crush/sexuality without it specifically being about interpreted as predatory. But OK, I will accept this explanation even if I think they could have expressed this more clearly - maybe it would’ve been illustrated better if Martino also didn’t want to touch Elia or Luca, two guys he isn’t shown to be attracted to. In any case, they should have drawn a clear link between the gay test or whatever Martino found online (like instead of the gay test, they showed him looking at some kind of website or forum or social media where guys talked about feeling uncomfortable with gay men touching them, or thinking gay guys are pervs/molesters, or something relevant to this conversation) since that was the impetus for Isak/Martino saying dumb shit in this scene. It also would have been amazing to build up Martino’s insecurity about touching his friends as part of his anxiety over coming out, especially how that manifests in a more physically affectionate culture, and then to have his comment about the teacher clearly be a form of massive projection.

There actually WAS a conversation in season 1 at the cabin, where Elia made a joke about Martino not getting any ideas and touching him, and Martino saying that he was the last person he’d have sex with. That would have been very good to include in this season, or a similar moment, to build into Martino’s mindset and where he pulled out that comment. Because it doesn’t surprise me that he would have that idea about a gay dude being predatory, since it’s unfortunately a commonplace stereotype, but because this is a fictional narrative, you need to build up those themes and ideas.

To heap on some more unpopular opinions, I didn’t feel like Giovanni demonstrated himself as a Woke King after this scene, not that he said anything wrong, but that what he said didn’t seem to have much to do with his core values and more with personal relationships. It’s hard to explain, but it relies more on this one gay dude being an OK person rather than challenging a stereotype at its core. Giovanni is defending him because Mr. Boccia is okay and didn’t do anything wrong, rather than because he thinks gay men should not be labeled as predators just for touching their students. Like Jonas wasn’t all, “Who, the dance instructor? Fred? I know him, he’s my cousin’s boyfriend. He’s cool, he bought me some beer one time.” He was like, “Why are you dissing people for being gay? Are you just pointing out people are gay? WTF?” That cuts to the heart of Isak’s problem rather than singling out one counterexample. Giovanni doesn’t have to be a perfectly educated mouthpiece, either, I just wanted to explain the difference in how I viewed him and Jonas in these scenes. I mean, I’m sure he’ll be kind and supportive once Martino comes out to him. However, it’s less an indicator of Giovanni having some core non-homophobic principles and more like he’s fine with this one particular guy who is gay. Hopefully that makes sense.

But to be more positive, on that note, I think it is good that there’s at least one gay man who Giovanni is OK with and seems to like and respect, and that Martino can see that. There are obviously differences between how teenagers view gay peers vs gay teachers, because the adult would be “safe” and wouldn’t/shouldn’t be pursuing him, whereas teenage boys might think their friends have gay cooties and are coming on to them, but Giovanni isn’t a total 100% homophobe based on this encounter. (I don’t think Giovanni will have a problem with Martino being gay at all, to be clear, just speaking hypothetically.)

Niccolò comes up, obviously. The look he gives to Martino is good. Tension, wahoo!

He gives Martino back his earbuds and says he left them on the bus. I’m legit baffled that the boys are so suspicious of this? Martino took the bus to go home from school, after he left the boy squad, so he could have left the earbuds on the bus then. Or him being like “I was on the bus with my mom” - not that unreasonable? All he told them was that he had a fight with his mom, he didn’t say where that fight happened (Isak was wearing the hat when they left school so it made no sense to say he left it in the cafeteria, and Jonas realized this). I guess Martino and Niccolò were just acting weird enough to notice?

Giovanni sized up Niccolò so he probably suspects shit is up.

Luca gets bonked on the head by the volleyball, and the gym teacher is delighted. More of this guy, please? I like him. I wouldn’t mind if Martino has a heart to heart with him instead of the doctor. Except Martino has not been shown to have insomnia so either he’ll develop it midway through the season or the meeting will be about something else.

Clip 5 - '80s party

The girl squad is doing karaoke. Emma is singing along. Martino is sitting there not having a good time, staring blankly at something. Not singing.

He does have a pair of very small sunglasses. I don’t think Martino tried at all with the theme except for those sunglasses. Those look just like his regular clothes.

Martino and Emma talk about music briefly, and it turns out Emma likes the same kind of music Martino does - she mentions Apparat, and there was an Apparat poster-art-thing in Martino’s room. So unlike Isak and Emma, who outside of sexual orientation were also just like … not on the same page as people, Martino and Emma seem like they could fit together, were it not for the little fact that Martino is gay. I’m not sure there’s been a big indication that Italian Emma is that bad (until like a minute or two from now, with her comment about gay people). They could have played this moment a little more so Martino’s reaction is more wistful, like … oh, here’s this beautiful girl who shares some of my interests. If I were just into girls, this would be so easy.

Martino sneaks a glance over Emma as Niccolò walks in. Niccolò looks like he dressed up for the theme, at least? No version of Even is not going to dress up for a costume party. Not on my watch.

I don’t recognize his burgers shirt, is that a reference to something and I’m just blanking?

Lmao Martino just launches at Emma the second Niccolò turns around to look at him, he’s ridiculous.

I do like the part where she’s like either you’re underestimating me or you’re shy, and when she asks him if he’s shy, that’s when he kisses her. Even though he didn’t hear a word she said.

Niccolò comes over right away and places himself right between Martino and Emma, so there’s at least one way he has out-desperated Even. He slings an arm around both of them. Bold!

“Elio” is not a reference to Call Me By Your Name (well, I guess it could be that, too) but to Elio Germano, an actor - I looked up that guy and I can kind of see the resemblance? Not a big one, but in some pictures, I get it.

Martino, stop being a buzzkill and go sing a shitty song with Niccolò. The point of karaoke is to make an ass of yourself, no one cares.

In response to Martino not wanting to do karaoke, Niccolò asks, “Are you afraid of showing your hidden homosexuality?” - yeeeeeah, I’m kind of like, WTF, why did he mention it there? If Martino is closeted, then why bring it up when they’re not alone? Since Niccolò has a strong suspicion that he is gay, isn’t he just putting Martino on the spot? But Martino seems unfazed, I guess.

Now we have the famous educational moment where Niccolò calls out Emma for generalizing. Niccolò takes his arms away from Martino and Emma when he’s getting serious.

The focus of this scene is more on Niccolò and Emma than how Martino reacts. In Skam, this scene was really fucking important for Isak because Isak had ideas about how Gay People were supposed to be. That they were all a certain thing. That “gay” had a definition besides being attracted to only the same gender - that’s why he complains about why the dance teacher has to be so gay. The dance guy isn’t “so gay” because he’s showing attraction to men, but because he’s displaying a set of mannerisms associated with gay men. (I mean, it’s completely beside the point, but “so gay” dance teacher could have turned out to be banging half the dance chicks since Isak’s statement is based purely on stereotypes.) The gay test he took earlier in the week fed into these notions that Isak had because it was based entirely on generalizations. Not only is that how gay men act, but it’s how other people see men if you like certain things and act a certain way; if you act like that, they assume you are gay, and if you’re gay, they assume you act like that. So Isak hearing about how wrong it is to generalize, especially from Even, the guy he likes, is really goddamn important. It’s Even is throwing him a lifeline. Gay people are not all one thing and we shouldn’t think about them in stereotypes, even when they’re “nice” ones. That’s why the focus of that scene has a lot to do with Isak’s rapt attention, because this scene plays a specific counterpart to how we saw Isak behave that week.

However, this scene here? It’s a nice lesson for the audience to hear, but what does it have to do with Martino’s mindset that they’ve set up in this episode? At this point, Martino has not been shown to have any of these beliefs about gay men, as far as I can recall. The most is him wondering why gay people always assume everyone is gay in the scene with Filippo, but that has little to do with mannerisms. Not only that, they explicitly changed the dialogue in the dance chicks/volleyball scene to be different - it’s not Martino being like “Does that gym teacher have to be so gay?” It’s him basically accusing the gym teacher of being a pervert for touching a high school boy in a friendly way. Sooo … why didn’t they change this dialogue to reflect that? This is a clunky version of how it might play out, but what if, after Niccolò sits down and has his arm around Martino, and makes his latent homosexuality comment, Emma made a joke like, “Haha, you better not get too close, Niccolò!” And Niccolò was like, “What’s that all about?” Emma could say something like, “You know, because he’ll try to make a move on you,” and Niccolò replied, “Errrr, just because a gay dude gets close to another guy doesn’t make it inappropriate.” Then that would actually tie in to an earlier scene. But that’s obviously not the only way it could have played out. My point is, why didn’t they follow through this scene with something consistent to Martino’s story thus far?

Then again, this whole thread during the episode feels inconsistent. It’s easy to follow the story logic with Isak: takes a gay test revolving around generalizations about gay men’s personalities -> tries to distance himself from those generalizations about gay men’s personalities -> hears that it’s wrong to make generalizations about gay people’s personalities. Martino this week: takes a gay test with some generalizations (I think they were present but not as blatant as in the test Isak took?) -> makes a comment about the gym teacher basically calling him a molester -> hears that it is wrong to make generalizations about gay people’s personalities. I guess he learns not to generalize gay men as molesters? But really, vastly different, it’s not very cohesive, and Martino was not shown to be very affected by Niccolò’s dialogue. So again ... why is it here?

Also, there’s something kind of … weird about Niccolò lecturing Emma on making generalizations, because Niccolò just did the same thing, sort of? He joked that Martino didn’t want to do karaoke because he was afraid of showing his latent homosexuality, the generalization being that karaoke is a thing that gay guys do. And I get that it’s a tongue-in-cheek comment, ha ha Martino, get over yourself (and a loaded statement about his own suspicions about Martino), buuut is there a reason why, on the surface, Niccolò can make a joke about what gay people like or do or are (ha ha, liking karaoke is a sign of homosexuality!) but then Emma can make another statement generalizing about gay people and he’s like … excuse me? Yes, obviously there is a difference between them in that Emma is a straight girl (from what we know) and Niccolò is a guy who likes guys (although I’m going to assume he’s pan like Even for now), and I’m not defending what she said, but it’s a sloppy juxtaposition to have in the same scene. One’s more “neutral” and one’s “positive” but they’re both generalizations.

One thing you could get from this scene is that Niccolò has feelings about defending gay people and may be not straight himself … which should be blindingly obvious at this point.

Then Niccolò is like, “I know pretty boring gays,” which is kind of funny in the sense that he’s teasing Martino, but also, still putting Martino on the spot. Martino is nowhere near as receptive to that comment as the latent homosexuality one. I guess Niccolò just went too far.

Emma thinks this topic is boring and has Martino go dance with her. At least they show Niccolò sitting alone looking dejected when they get up, which is a dead giveaway, but a nice little moment.

People dance. This red light is very striking and all but the downside is that it’s hard to see Martino’s face (or most faces in the crowd). That might have worked if they wanted to inject some ambiguity into the scene, like did Niccolò look over to Martino while kissing his girlfriend, or was that unintentional? Is Martino imagining it? But it’s pretty clear they want it to be straightforward, so I wish we could have seen their emotions more clearly. (I feel like the lighting on this show is often a disservice to the actors, but that’s something to talk about at another juncture.)

I do like the song, though (“Self Control” by Raf) and the lyrics seem pretty fitting, about losing self control to someone. Martino is kissing Emma but can’t control himself from looking over to Niccolò. There’s also the comparison between the day and the night, perhaps related to how Martino is living for the “night” aka these moments he gets to be in Niccolò’s vicinity. Also it’s an ‘80s song, so it’s appropriate to the theme of the party, obviously.

Eva does seem to notice Martino making out with Emma and isn’t totally cool with that, like I think she’s going WTF in her head? I know his secret? Does not compute???

Federica is also sad because Martino is kissing another girl. Aww, poor girl. She came so close, or so she thought! Don’t worry, hopefully Kasper is coming.

Fede sees Silvia’s phone ringing. It’s Silvia’s mom, so they put the music on pause as Silvia talks to her mom. Silvia is adorable when she greets her mom, lol.

There’s a part where Silvia tells her mom she’s with Fede and Eva, which I thought was interesting as it excluded Sana. So maybe her parents have an issue with Sana (or rather, Silvia having a Muslim friend)? Eva looks at Sana after that, but it might just be “holy shit what’s happening?” rather than “why didn’t she mention you?”

I’m too lazy to check but is that one girl with the glasses standing behind Eva and Sana one of the theater kids from the first season?

I do like seeing Eva go into action mode and tell people what to do! What a boss.

There’s the blue haired girl from the earlier clips again, dressed like Madonna. WHOOOO ARE YOU, WHO WHO, WHO WHO (no really who is this girl)

The sudden cleanup is the means of getting Martino and Niccolò alone together, to take out the trash.

Is Niccolò dressed as Marty McFly? Did he read my post?? (don’t take that too seriously, lmao) Or is that another character/celebrity? Or just generic ‘80s style?

Their chemistry in this scene is the strongest it’s been yet. Them just standing there before the conversation starts is a really good moment. (Surprise, having a smidge of tension and some variety in their interaction does a lot for their dynamic!)

Niccolò has the nickname “Colino” based on something from middle school, so he and Maddalena go back a while. They got together when they were 16, and supposedly they’re like siblings. So it seems like they might have a foundation of friendship, and could go back to being pals after they break up, maybe? Or perhaps they’re just growing too different for that, even.

Niccolò is like JUST SO YOU KNOW WE’RE LIKE SIBLINGS. WE HAVEN’T HAD SEX IN TWO MONTHS. I mean, I get what he’s trying to say, but “I haven’t had sex with my sister in two months” is not a thing I would expect to hear from people with normal sibling relationships.

Also, two months would be the beginning of school, no? When he saw Martino?

The motive behind Niccolò’s story about Maddalena’s medical condition is very different from Even’s. Isak was very closed off and not really having it when Even started talking to him about dating Sonja for years and not being able to break up with her. He was shutting him out. That’s why Even started spinning that story about her aluminum leg, to get a reaction out of Isak and to find an opening. Martino, on the other hand, is very receptive to Niccolò from the beginning of this conversation, smiling and laughing, giving eye contact. Even when Niccolò mentions Maddalena, it’s not like Martino totally shuts down; he seems amused or perhaps reassured when Niccolò says they haven’t been having sex. So Niccolò making up this shit about his girlfriend comes across as a lot more random. Like he’s doing it just to fuck with Martino for a laugh. And he keeps going even when Martino tells him he’s full of shit (this scene goes on for about two minutes, twice the length of Even’s story). It’s not inherently wrong to change to tone of the scene, but it does make it much less fraught because there aren’t as many stakes with this conversation. They’re already more or less on the same page, or at least Martino is willing to be.

Even also had so much more vulnerability when talking about this, like … we actually saw that he felt hurt or upset talking about how he couldn’t dump Sonja. Niccolò felt so much more casual and matter of fact, which is fine, but it all feels at odds with his probable situation, because so far we’ve seen he really wants Martino and is putting himself out there. He’s not subtle. Here he’s just like, yeah, can’t dump her!

I do think that there’s some of the same subtext here as in the OG, with Sonja’s fake leg standing in for Even’s bipolar disorder; Maddalena’s hairy condition is meant to be Niccolò’s mental illness. Now she keeps it under control, she’s getting experimental treatment, etc. All things that could apply to Niccolò, perhaps.

It’d be something if Maddalena was in med school because Niccolò’s mental illness made her want to help others, or research bipolar disorder, or something like that. It’s different from Sonja seemingly being bored with her life (and perhaps channeling her energies into taking care of Even), but a nice adaptation. Even if Niccolò wasn’t her motivating factor for going to med school, it’s a potentially interesting way to show that she feels the need to “fix” people.

Skam Italia keeps doing this thing where they pull back the damn camera in a scene, away from the characters, far enough or from an angle so we can’t really see their faces (and in a way that doesn’t reveal anything compelling about their body language). They do it here and it isn’t the most egregious example, but having seen it happen in later episodes, I’m more alert to it, and a lot of times it undercuts the emotions of a scene - again, a disservice to the actors. There are some times where it really took me out, to be discussed when they pop up. I guess they do it just to add some contrast to the closeups of the characters? And I’m all for more contrast, but that’s not really what I wanted, lmao.

The pinky touching moment is great! It’s a thing that’s theirs rather than Evak’s (I guess it might be subbing in for the great hole in the sock moment from the script, but it’s still different). They’re smiling and looking at each other as they lean again, very unlike Isak and Even (when Isak couldn’t even look at Even) but it is consistent with the general vibe of their relationship so far. (Although it is kinda ehhhh that they just ... dropped all of the tension from inside the party, Niccolò’s comments on the couch, staring at each other across the room while kissing girls, and then went back to the comfortable friendly vibe almost immediately, as if none of that mattered too much in the narrative.)

Ohhhhh my God they’re interrupted by the WHOLE PARTY running out and like, that is amazing. Instead of Noora it’s fucking eeeeeverybody.

Although they’re smiling at each other as they run off and it’s cute and all but WHERE IS THE TENSION. Even from the perspective of them being friendlier and more smiley at each other, 1) they almost got caught by other people, and not just anyone, but people they know, including their girlfriends (well, Niccolò’s girlfriend and Martino’s date) and people who could talk or gossip about them, so why does this not cause any kind of alarm 2) this has changed things. They almost kissed. Show that it was some kind of big deal, like even something as small as Martino lingering a moment behind the rest of them, needing a moment to process what just happened, taking a deep breath? Smiling to himself, if you want to keep it lighter? What’s the actual difference in tone or Martino’s reaction in this scene to something like the boy squad running from the police in episode 1? Except he actually seemed concerned about getting caught by the police.

General Comments/Social Media

Emma and Martino have way more of a rapport in their texts than Isak and Emma did. She actually seems to have a sense of humor.

She says she’s found his look-a-like, and Martino is like, “Don’t say Ron Weasley,” and ahaha THAT one I do not see at all. At least not if we’re talking Rupert Grint/movie Ron. I could maaaaaybe see movie Fred and George, though. Maybe. If I squint.

Martino was also open about going to Silvia’s party, which makes sense, but also he didn’t have to hide it like Isak did. Isak was just lying all over the place in his season.

Martino also names the Luca/Silvia ship “Lulvia.” I don’t know if that will actually happen. If it does, I think it’ll be like a random Chris/Kasper-esque makeout at the end of the season.

Tbh my favorite thing from this episode might have been Silvia searching for her cat before the party on Instagram. I crave that sweet sweet Margot content.

I’ve seen all the episodes aired so far, and there are some elements that I think have been handled decently, others not so much. Later episodes have some parts that I like better. Unfortunately, this episode showcased of the weaknesses of this season, which would be, in a nutshell: lack of tension, weak depiction of internal conflict, lack of focus for Martino’s POV and character trajectory.

I know I sound cranky and overly negative in this recap. Part of it is that I’m somewhat exasperated because I feel like this episode showed that to a degree, Bessegato doesn’t like … either get what Isak’s struggle was about, or he doesn’t have a clear vision for Martino’s struggle, or he does but the storytelling is not tight enough to make every scene count. Isak and Martino don’t have to have the exact same internal conflicts, but there needs to be some consistency, and so far Martino’s arc is a weird mix of stuff that doesn’t always fit what we see of him, but is there because it happened to Isak. Either just do a straight-up close recreation of Isak’s struggle, or figure out exactly what Martino’s different conflict is and write a more focused story guided by that.

The other part is that there’s ~problematic stuff in this show that’s getting on my nerves, and constantly hearing that people need to suck it up because IT’S REALISTIC is wearing down my patience. I don’t expect characters to be perfect. The original Skam characters are not perfect. The remake characters are not perfect. But there’s a difference between (for example) racism and sexism that are included intentionally as part of a narrative to make a point, and racism and sexism that seem to be unintentional and go unremarked. And when racism and sexism repeatedly go unremarked, it starts to feel like the show is normalizing it.

Particularly about the boy squad’s behavior, including videotaping Argentina and the later catfishing, because there has been a lot of debate recently about that ... I would love for there to be a point to all of that? It would be great if their creepy-ass behavior was called out later in the season, and if this turned out to have been a point about toxic masculinity and shitty straight boy behavior. If it was all building up to something, awesome, I will give Skamit the respect it’s due. But right now? I don’t get why I should give the show the benefit of the doubt. It’s already shown its ass on racism, and there have been scenes that have jumped out at me in terms of male gaze, some of the more blatant feminism in S1 was watered down from what I remember, etc. So I can’t actually assume that the boy squad will totally be called out in the end.

Honestly, if you’d asked me to guess what some of the potential weaknesses of this season could be, I would not have guessed a lack of tension.

I believe part of the objective was to show a gay teenager in Italy falling in love with a boy and not having it be the end of the world. And that is absolutely a noble goal, and something many Italian teens can benefit from. But I have to say - I never thought Isak’s season was like, emotional torture porn just because it had conflict? It balanced the fluffy romantic content with the angsty sad stuff and was better for it. The fluff was more valuable because we saw what a triumph it was compared to the angst, and the angst was more valuable because we saw exactly how much we were losing when the fluff was gone. Isak’s severe internal struggle made every little bit of character growth that much more powerful. I’m not saying the story has to be an emotional roller coaster from clip to clip, but yes, stakes matter, especially when you’re doling out a story in 3-5 minute increments every day or two.

I do think they’ve somewhat increased tension in this episode, some of it with the boy squad, and some of it with Martino’s mom not being great, but there’s also the matter of internal conflict that is supposed to be fueling many of these scenes, and that’s where it’s falling flat. Skam’s a character-focused show - I mean, each season is about living in a different character’s head - so frankly, they should be milking the f u c k out of his inner struggles.

I’ll also say I definitely didn’t have this problem with S1 of Skam Italia. I thought Eva’s story set up her clear struggles from the beginning and kept some tension going throughout the season. She and Martino have different problems, certainly, but it’s not a case of Skam Italia being “softer” overall.

I've heard counterarguments in the tags about the lack of tension, suggesting that there is tension inherent in the story due to it being about a gay teenage in Italy, but respectfully, I can’t agree with that? Then this storyline makes even less sense, like if the level of tension due to homophobia in Italy is so great that it’s embedded that deeply, how do you explain Martino’s unfazed or casual reactions to events, such as almost being caught kissing Niccolò (multiple times, if you include later episodes)? It feels contradictory. But overall, it’s a constructed fictional narrative; some of the responsibility does fall on the show itself to establish its stakes.

Anyway, if there is cultural context I missed, feel free to let me know!

If you got this far, thank you for reading!

#skamit reactions #skam italia reactions

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pamphletstoinspire · 5 years

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The Burning Bush

…”And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel I AM hath sent me unto you”. - (Exodus 3:14)

SCRIPTURAL READINGS OF I AM

And Moses said to God: Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And He said to him: I will be with thee: and this shall have for a sign, that I have sent thee: When thou shalt have brought my people out of Egypt, thou shalt offer sacrifice to God upon this mountain. Moses said to God: Lo, I shall go to the children of Israel, and say to them: the God of your fathers has sent me to you. If they should say to me: What is his name? what shall I say to them? God said to Moses: I AM WHO AM. He said: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: He who is, hath sent me to you. And God said again to Moses: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you: This is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. (Exodus 3:11-15)

And it came to pass about eight days after these words, that He took Peter, James and John, and went up into a mountain to pray. And whilst He prayed, the shape of His countenance was altered, and His raiment became white and glittering. And behold two men were talking with Him. And they were Moses and Elias. Appearing in majesty. And they spoke of His deceased that He should accomplish in Jerusalem. (Lk. 9: 28-31)

Judas therefore having received a band of soldiers and servants from the chief priests and the Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon Him, went forth, and said to them: Whom seek ye? They answered Him: Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith to them: I AM he. And Judas also who betrayed him, stood with them. As soon therefore as he said to them: I AM he: they went backward, and fell to the ground. Again therefore he asked them: Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I AM he. If therefore you seek me, let these go their way. (John 18: 3-8)

(Ed. Note: In the preceding passages from John we glimpse Jesus’ authority over creation when those who came to arrest Jesus fell. We again witness Jesus’ obedience to His Father’s Will and to His own humiliation by allowing Himself to be arrested in order to complete the plan of salvation which He had undertaken under obedience to His Father’s Will so that He could be made perfect).

THE DEFINITION OF I AM

An understanding of Jewish culture, practices, idioms, and faith is beneficial in understanding the true meaning of the scriptures. First, we must remember that God did not give us the Bible in English. The original language of the Tanakh, the Old Testament Bible, was given to us in Hebrew. If we want to know exactly what God was saying to us we need to study His word as it was given to us: in Hebrew. Secondly the practice of titling the books of the Tanakh (Old Testament Bible) was done by using the first word, or words, of that book’s text. For example, the second book of the Old Testament Bible is referred to as Exodus. In the Tanakh that same book is called “Shemot”, which means Names. The Tanakh has three sections: Torah (The Law), Nevi'im (the Prophets), and Ketguvim (writings). God’s Word, in it’s entirety, is a love letter to mankind-an incorruptible covenant between God and mankind-a promise to us. It is critical that our conclusions are based upon scripture ONLY.

It is commonly known that the Hebrew people, for fear of having the name of God dishonored, substituted the all-upper-case word “LORD” (“Adonai” O Antiphon said on Dec. 18th), for “YHWH”. Lord is a consonant-only version of the actual name of God, which is known as the Tetragrammaton. The Tetragrammaton came into being as yet another safeguard intended to prevent blaspheming God’s holy name.

The words “Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh” in the original Hebrew text roughly defines into English as “I AM THAT I AM”. The word “Ehyeh” is a first-personsingular-present and future form of the Hebrew word “Hayah”. This means that the meaning of “Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh” actually goes beyond merely “I AM THAT I AM”, but declares a sense of eternity, much like in Revelation 4:8, where the scripture refers to God as the one who “was, is, and is to come.” “Ehyeh-AsherEhyeh” also is translated as “I WII BE WHAT I WII BE” and “I AM WHO AM” and I AM THAT I AM”. The actual name of God gives himself in Shemot 3:15, “YHWH” is also associated with the root verb “Hayah”, or “To Be.”

Because the Hebrew scribes feared that God’s name, YHWH, would be blasphemed or dishonored, they replaced every instance of it in most of their manuscripts with “Adonai”, or “LORD”, usually rendered in all upper-case letters. It is unfortunate that translators of the Old Testament copied the scriptures with the word “LORD” substituting for God’s real name, and that ignorance has led us to believe today that this is how the original text was rendered. The Jewish culture was always aware of the fact that wherever the word “Lord” occurred in the Tanakh meant YHWH. This knowledge is not very widely publicized in modern Christian culture.

The Significance of I AM

The revelation of the Divine Name “I AM” was an immensely significant moment in the history of Judaism. To understand why, one needs to look closely at the Jewish attitude towards names and the naming of objects. According to the Jews of the Biblical period, to have no name meant to have no existence in reality, for when one’s name is taken away from one, one ceases, quite literally, to exist. The giving of a name, therefore is not merely an act of identification; it actually brings into existence the object named and summarizes verbally its inherent properties. For example in Genesis, God gives reality to His creation by naming its components: He names the day “day”, the night, “night”, and so on. (Gen. 1: 3-10).

The intimate relationship between a name and a person can be clearly seen in many Biblical stories, for the names in the Old Testament are not given out accidentally: the name of each character reveals and signifies the essence, the chief personality trait or the most memorable action done by the person so named. God Himself sometimes changed the person’s name so that the new name accurately reflected the changed situation, i.e. Jacob tricking his blind father into giving him a blessing that rightfully belonged to his brother. (Gen. 27: 6) The word Jacob literally means “a cheat”. Later after fighting with the angel and dislocating a hip he forced the angel to give him a blessing. (Gen. 32: 28). The blessing was a change of name and consequently a change of character and essence. No longer would he be known as Jacob but was transformed into Israel, meaning “God strove” or “one who strove with God”.

Set against this background one can now easily imagine the significance of God revealing for the first time what His real name was. He had been asked before but prior to Moses asking His name, He had declined to give an answer. In the eyes of the Jews, by declaring Himself to be “I AM” God was not merely given Himself a convenient designation or title, He was revealing to humanity for the first time His real nature, His real essence, and His real identity.

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH INTERPRETATION

The Roman Catholic Church’s interpretation has been summarized in the catechism of the Catholic Church. The interpretation is found in numbers 203-213, as defined by St. Jerome. Some of the salient points are the following: (203): God revealed Himself to this people Israel by making His name known to them. A name expresses a person’s essence in identity and the meaning of this person’s life. God has a name; He is not an anonymous force. To disclose one’s name is to make oneself known to others; in a way it is to hand oneself over by becoming accessible capable of being known more intimately and addressed personally. (206): In revealing His mysterious name, YHWH (“I AM HE WHO IS”, “I AM WHO AM” or “I AM WHO I AM”), God says who He is and by what name He is to be called. This Divine Name is mysterious just as God is a mystery. (207): God Who reveals His name as “I AM”, reveals Himself as the God who is always there, present to His people in order to save them. (210): After Israel’s sin when the people turned away from God to worship the golden calf, God hears Moses’ prayer of intercession and agrees to walk in the midst of an unfaithful people. (211): The divine name, “I AM”, expresses God’s faithfulness: despite the faithlessness of men’s sin and the punishment it deserves. (212):...In God "there is no variation or shadow due to change. "… (213): The revelation of the ineffable name “I AM WHO AM” contains then the truth that God alone IS. Jesus is I AM

For a copy of the pamphlet click below:

https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/a84285_32c55e07217a5be3943af7c508388fef.pdf

From: www.pamphletstoinspire.com

#burning bush

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