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thetygre · 6 years

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30 Day Monster Challenge - Day #20: Favorite Song/Musical Monster

1. The Phantom of the Paradise

Phantom of the Opera has spawned plenty of spin-offs and parodies, but none are weirder and cooler than The Phantom of the Paradise. Born in that stage-musical wasteland between the sinking of Hello Dolly and the rise of Lloyd Webber, Phantom of the Paradise was a bizarre rock-opera that was a mixture between the Phantom of the Opera, Faust, and The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Our Phantom this time around is named Winslow; he didn’t start off deformed, but got that way through prison experiments and a record press accident. Winslow just looks and sounds awesome; his teeth are made of iron, and he talks through a voicebox that sounds like a ghost screaming through a CB radio. The entire movie has a bird theme to its characters, so Winslow’s helmet winds up looking like a hawk. In fact, a lot of people probably only know about this musical through the comparison between Winslow and Griffith from Berserk. It doesn’t help that their stories are kind of similar; locked in prison, mutilated, deal with the forces of evil. It’s probably just a coincidence, but I’m not gonna’ lie and say it wouldn’t be a cool reference if it wasn’t. Still, people should give this movie a chance on its own merits, just because of what campy fun it is.

2. Lilith Immaculate

Cradle of Filth is a symphonic black metal band with a distinct gothic horror bent to their albums. They’ve done several concept albums, including one based around Gille de Rais and another on Elizabeth Bathory, but Darkly Darkly Venus Aversa was an original story. At the center of the album’s story is the monstrous goddess Lilith, trapped by the Knights Templar during the crusades and now possessing a girl sent to a nunnery. It’s all so incredibly gothic; sins of the past, sexual frustration, religious oppression, graveyards, doomed love.

I might not be the best judge of character, but Lilith here hits the nail with the hammer as far as gothic monsters go, reminding me a little of The Great God Pan or Gormenghast. Part of Lilith’s appeal is that, for all intents and purposes, she wins; the album ends with her former lover realizing that he has unleashed something he could never control, and now the world is doomed. Lilith heralds the dawning of a darker age, the antithesis of everything Victorian values holds dear. You can’t help but cheer for her as she readies to make war on the world.

3. Stanton Cree

Ghoultown is a gothabilly band, which means that it’s like rockabilly but with some Southern rock and it’s about ghosts and vampires and werewolves. Needless to say, they’re pretty great. Their best known song is probably Drink with the Living Dead, which tells the story of a cowboy forced into a drinking match with an undead gunslinger. The ghoul, Stanton Cree, shot a man for his beer and can’t rest until someone beats him in either drinks him under the table or beats him in a duel.

I love ‘Weird West’ songs, and Ghoultown is the epitome of that. Stanton Cree has gone insane from eternal life and is determined to find somebody to beat him, but he won’t go easy on his opponent. It’s the kind of story that belongs in Deadlands or some other cowboy horror setting. It lacks the morality tale aspect of Ghost Riders, but that’s a deliberate decision to emphasize just how bizarre the story is. It’s a perfect mood piece for a dark night out on the Wastes.

4. The Erlking

Schubert’s Erlking is an old-fashioned fairy, the dangerous and wild kind that need to be feared. As a father rides through the forest at night, his son sees the Elf King trying to seduce him to come away with him. It’s always nice to be reminded that fairies and elves aren’t nice, that they can be as dangerous as any monster or demon. But it needs to be done with a certain degree of subtlety, at least for a while, a delicate touch before the other shoe drops.

The Erlking is of course also a metaphor for death, and the father believe his son is only hallucinating as he dies in his father’s arms. It reminds me of the old medieval stories about how Fairyland was sometimes just a trap made by Hell, or how fairies would appear in afterlife narratives for children. Whether death, fairy, hallucination, or all three, the Erlking is still a chilling figure.

5. The Phantom of the Opera

I don’t claim to be in the Phandom, I only have a surface knowledge of it, but I feel like the Phantom is still an important monster/horror icon, even before becoming a musical star. The Phantom’s story, even from the beginning, has been about toxic people and learning to grow up. Born deformed, the Phantom embittered himself against the world, becoming a genius at music, engineering, and just about everything else, but a child socially. The lesson he learns is about putting another person’s wants and needs before your own, and that’s still a vital lesson that is incredibly painful to learn. Naturally, I don’t care about that; I just enjoy making fun of Love Never Dies and deciding which Phantom is the best based on grodiness of deformity. Obviously, that’s up to objective taste, but it’s Ramin Karimloo. Karimloo has the most extreme deformities, and is prone to fits of ACTING, so Karimloo takes top spot for musical Phantom. The best non-Musical Phantom is, of course, Lon Chaney, followed by Charles Dance, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. Again I’m… I totally don’t care about this musical. I swear.

6. Mefistofele

I would argue that Boito’s Mephistopheles is the definitive version of the character, even more than Goethe’s. If nothing else, Boito’s Mefistofele defined the look of Mephistopheles, casting him in his famous red cavalier’s outfit. Mephistopheles here is also much more analogous to the Devil than his own separate entity here, since the opera begins with Mephistopheles challenging God to a bet over Faust’s soul. While Mefistofele might not be where the devil started enjoying his work, it’s definitely a far cry from Marlowe’s Mephistopheles urging Faust not to give up Heaven.

Still, despite the loss of complexity, Boito’s Mephistopheles is more personable, more charming, even a bit more human. There are situations he can’t control, and his relationship with Heaven is more casual. In the end, when Faust repents, you get the feeling that Boito’s Mephistopheles was enjoying the ride, and is almost as upset about not being able to have fun anymore as he is about losing his bet with God.

7. The Water God

Anything by Dethklok kind of feels like cheating, since they were explicitly made to be a parody band of death metal. At the same time, though, I’m not going to sit here and pretend that the entire underwater setting where sea monsters have race wars with mermaids isn’t the dopest shit. And then one of these sea monsters finds a deep sea oracle and they turn into some dark ocean god and it’s all so freaking cool. It is unnecessarily cool for a joke band meant to shill for an Adult Swim show. But the entire epic of the water god here is genuinely more compelling to me than a decent chunk of the fantasy characters I have read about. Maybe I need to read better fantasy stories, or maybe everyone else just needs to get with the program and starting writing Metal epics about killer tritons.

8. Ghost Riders in the Sky

Now this is the original Weird West song. Demon bulls, undead cowboys, nightmare horses; this song has got it all. And of course, this all goes without saying about how the song is also the unofficial theme song for Ghost Rider, one of my favorite superheroes. The song has that same ‘weird tale’ feel that Drink with the Living Dead has, which is probably because it’s based on an actual Texas folk tale. The image of a special Hell for cowboys is interesting, but I’m more fascinated by the prospect that Satan has livestock. Are all the Devil’s farm animals Metal like his steer? What about his chickens? Does Satan live on a giant dude ranch? Now I want some kind of Western/dark fantasy story where the Devil is a cattle baron all dressed in black and red.

9. Red

All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 was… God, I’m really putting this on the same list as Mefistofele good lord, but All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 was, well All Dogs go to Heaven 2. I mean it wasn’t the worst direct-to-video cartoon sequel of anything ever, it kind of just drifts there around the middle, but like many DTV cartoon sequels it has, unfortunately, a really great villain with a really great villain song. Designated antagonist Red is a demonic cat who’s after the angel Gabriel’s horn. His design is actually pretty good, and I appreciate the implication that if all dogs are heavenly, then all cats are therefore demonic minions. This is of course a known truth to anybody who has ever had to clean a litterbox, but it’s always nice to be reassured.

However, that alone would not let Red make the list; it takes more than being the redeeming feature of a DTV cartoon sequel to get here. What clenches it is Red’s pedigree; Red is voiced by Broadway musical veteran George Hearn, who has been in everything from Camelot to Wicked, but is most famous for being Sweeney Todd during the musical’s performance in 1970, and stayed with the production through its national tour and its Emmy-winning TV performance. In short, this man was the definitive Sweeney Todd, at least until Johnny Depp. All Dogs 2 even acknowledges it by having an entire sequence set in a demonic barber shop and theater. And I’m just a sucker for that kind of reference, so the evil red cat edges his way in.

10. The Beast of Pirate’s Bay

There are plenty of Voltaire songs I could have picked, but it figures I would pick the one about a sea monster. A variety of leviathans are conjured up to describe the Beast, without any actual answers given. It figures that like any good tall tale, the Beast changes from teller to teller. The truth is, though, that I find this to be one of Voltaire’s more sympathetic songs, and I can’t help but identify with the ending. Once upon a time there was a little me who loved sea life more than anything else too. The song takes a lower spot because of the actual nature of the monster, but the feeling still shines through.

#30 Day Monster Challenge 2 #30 Day Monster Challenge #Phantom of the Paradise #Cradle of Filth #opera #musical #Phantom of the Opera #long post

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thetruthfactoryblog · 4 years

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A Bible in One Hand and a Sword in the Other

Rockett's Landing

03 January 2021

Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of Liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, Sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will rise up friends to fight our battles for us. – Patrick Henry

We have reached a point where it is appropriate for us to have a Holy Bible in one hand and a sword in the other, or in modern times a gun. God does not intend for Christians to sit by idly while the minions of the Devil do their dirty deeds and seek to destroy our way of life. All throughout the history of this nation and western civilization, there are instances where Christians had to take up the sword and fight back against tyranny.

The great Protestant Reformer, Martin Luther, said, “Peace if possible, truth at all costs.” Luther also exclaimed, “I am afraid that schools will prove the very gates of hell, unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures and engraving them in the heart of the youth.”

How far we have sunken as a nation. These words were written by Luther in the 1500’s. How prophetic the words are now for what we have been experiencing in our country since the politicians and the courts have taken prayer and Bible study out of the classrooms.

Even worse than this, prayer and Bible study is no longer taking place in homes. The Devil has been busy though. He is pillaging homes and families through social media and liberal professors in our nation’s colleges and universities. It is quite disturbing and sad.

As the Founding Father, Patrick Henry, proclaimed, we do not fight the battles alone. God has legions of angels at His disposal. However, for Him to use these weapons against evil forces, I believe that He expects us to repent, pray to Him, and ask Him to intercede. Our lives and future depend on it.

#Bible #sword #martin luther quotes #tyranny #patrick henry

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roycekimmons · 4 years

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Archdevil Grimthistle Lectures on the Internet

Author’s Note: I wrote this a few years ago as a thought experiment. Intrigued by the style and mythos of C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters, I wondered what it would be like if Lewis’s anti-hero Screwtape (or a demon like him) were to give an update to his colleagues on the state of the world with the rise of the internet and social media. What advice would Screwtape give to other devils today whose sole purpose in existence is to make human life more miserable? To give myself more freedom, I created my own character—an Archdevil named Grimthistle—operating within Lewis’s mythos. Though similar to Screwtape in some ways, Grimthistle is first and foremost an academic who finds himself lecturing an auditorium full of other devilish academics on the possibilities afforded by emergent technologies to nurture human misery.

My lovely young devils, demons, succubi, and wraiths, it is with special delight that I speak to you today. As you are all well-aware, human history has taken some interesting turns in recent decades as our forces and those of the Enemy have guided humans in developing ever new mechanisms of warfare, both of the crude physical variety, such as naval and air vessels, machine weaponry, drones, and the most holy atomics, but also of the more refined intellectual and social variety, such as mass media, radio and television broadcasting, movies, and now, the internet and social media.

It is of the latter that I will speak today. I do so without intending any disrespect to the awesome mechanisms of destruction that many of you have had a claw or tentacle involved in developing. For who could ever argue against the amazing destructive power of the gatling gun, napalm, or chlorine gas? Indeed, I have never addressed a group of you, my fellow sufferers, in which the mere mention of phosgene did not elicit riotous applause. Yet, I fear that our wild successes in the 19th and 20th centuries on this front have somewhat distracted us from our eternal quest.

It is true. Seeing humans writhe in agony on a battlefield, dismembered, mutilated, frightened, and despondent has led me to shudder in ecstasy more times than I can remember. With delight I have pictured in my mind the ocean of tears that we have undoubtedly wrung from our Eternal Enemy’s eyes as He has been forced to watch his self-destructive children brutally hack each other to bits in ever bloodier and bloodier conflicts. Yet, in the eternal scheme, the joys of mortal bloodshed are merely a passing amusement that can lull our demonic efforts into a sense of security.

As I have always argued, war itself garners us no net benefit to souls corrupted. Lest we forget, the soldier can just as surely be saved by the Enemy as can the pacifist, and I can tell by your grumbling stomachs that many of you have developed quite a taste for the souls of these pacifists that now seem to find their ways to our kingdom in droves. Indeed, all humans will die, and though it may give us pleasure to help them toward that end sooner rather than later, we must always remember that our true goal is not to speed them toward death but to ensure that they belong to us thereafter.

Though a bare bodkin is all it takes to kill a saint, you need words to kill the memory of that saint and to prevent others from becoming saints themselves.

Toward this end, I have always contended that the aforementioned mechanisms of intellectual warfare have ever been of more use to us than their more blunt and explosive counterparts, because though a bomb may efficiently destroy the body, only words, ideas, and beliefs can corrupt the soul.

You might remember some of my earlier work with the Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese, English, French, and Russians on this front. Through the mere writing and reading of words, we have empowered a single devil to serve as any given author’s muse, and through that author, that devil’s words can be propagated to untold thousands, even millions of humans. Indeed, how many of the countless children of light squirming in your insatiable bellies now were first corrupted by actions and ideas that originated from a written word?

For that reason, we should embrace human technological advancements that allow us to share our demonic messages at an ever greater scale and rate. But, if we do not act quickly, I fear that the Enemy will use these mechanisms toward achieving His ends, as He attempted to do, and I fear met some success with, when He began using the printing press to propagate His words and a knowledge of the universe to the masses. That is, we must always be at the forefront of every new advancement in communication the humans make both to thwart the Enemy’s purposes and to expand our own.

For the most part, I feel that we have done this and have beaten the Enemy handily across every emergent medium, ranging from early written texts to Hollywood movies. But I cannot stress enough to you how the internet, and social media in particular, is different from anything we have seen before, and for that reason, we should divert all of our attention away from any other interests we might have and focus squarely here. I will not belabor this point further, but suffice it to say that these new media have more potential for evil (or good) than any previous communication medium in history, and if we do not act quickly and in a devilishly smart way, then we may quickly find ourselves losing hard-fought headway in this great and eternal war.

So, the reason that I am here is not to tell you that we need to win the internet. In fact, I think it’s pretty clear that we are winning, and one need look no further than Ratcruncher’s pioneering work with pornography or Spinemold’s ever-impressive sex trafficking networks to know that the Enemy has no idea how to counter the efforts of our vilest and most devious. Rather, I want to extend an invitation to you all to participate in this great and important work and to show you how easy it can be to use these tools to destroy families, destabilize communities, and ultimately corrupt souls. In short, I just want to show you how easy it is so that every sufferer within the sound of my voice can corrupt enough souls to evermore stave off the insatiable hunger that the Enemy in his cruelty has inflicted upon us.

First, use the newness of these media to divorce humans from the wisdom of their forebears. This is an old tactic that we have used in every bloody revolution in history, because it works! Young humans see Instagram, Snapchat, or whatever the newest app or tool is and think to themselves “this is my generation’s medium” and “older people just don’t get it.” And they’re right! Comically, they never stop to ask themselves why the older generations “don’t get it” or can’t be bothered to learn it, and this generational exceptionalism can be used to feed their hubris to a level that they will even divorce themselves completely from the aged, mock them, and disenfranchise them.

Once the young stop looking to the experiences of the old for wisdom, you know we have them! In the past, for instance, if you introduced relationship troubles to one of these youngsters, your greatest fear would be that they would go to a seasoned, responsible elder to learn from their experiences. The beauty of this generational isolation via the internet is that the young only talk to and trust the opinions of other inexperienced young exactly like them. Once they have started doing this, you should then encourage them to think that this is the meaning of community — surrounding themselves with others exactly like them — and you will quickly find them fumbling over one another incessantly, thinking themselves wise while they make the same mistakes made by their ancestors millennia ago. By playing upon this youthful exceptionalism, you can essentially create entire communities where no one has any experience, and by playing to their youthful hubris, you can prevent them from ever catching onto the simple fact that the best way to safeguard themselves against difficulties in life would be to learn from their elders as well as the other simple fact that homogeneity of experience is the antithesis of community.

If you do this correctly, they will quickly come to disregard the wisdom of millennia as quaint or old-fashioned, but you can take this one step further by simply introducing a few doubts in their minds about their forebears’ intelligence or morality — a few drops of poison in the deep well of history. Teach them some general labels or categories — without clear definitions, mind you — to apply to entire swathes of history, and you will never have to worry about them reading a book or entertaining a serious thought again. Don’t want them to read the Magna Carta? Remind them that England was an imperialist nation. Don’t want them to read Jane Austen? Convince them that she wasn’t a true feminist … or Victorian … or whatever. Don’t want them to read Milton? Convince them that he was not a true Christian … or for others that he was too much of a Christian. Ad aeternum. It’s that simple.

Though we all loved the spectacle when Needlegrinder and his devious minions guided the Nazis in burning mountains of books, we don’t need the young to physically burn anything to have the same effect. Merely teach them that if a reductionistic label can loosely be hung on any person or document, then it should be relegated to the rubbish heaps in their minds, and you will never have to worry about them seriously contemplating the wisdom of previous generations.

Besides, not having them physically burn books serves another purpose. Even the most brainwashed sychophant casting a book atop a pyre might experience an idle curiosity to crack open a tome to see what the fuss is all about, but the young enlightened mind doesn’t suffer from curiosity, because it has already neatly collated and categorized the ideas of previous generations without honestly having considered them. The beauty is that they think they know what they reject before even considering it and then pat themselves on the back for their brave prejudice.

It’s also quite comical to do this, because then you can watch them claim intellectual and moral superiority over absolutely anyone in history without realizing that they themselves are the most ignorant, prejudiced, and backward of all. I, after all, was there with Socrates and can tell you that the youngest ancient Greek completing his first lessons in logic could wipe the floor with any modern thinker’s supposed intellectual prowess.

Second, on the topic of logic, you should ever strive to convince them that logic is merely selective cynicism or comedic skepticism. Allow me to explain. We have done a fine job of convincing everyone that they know what “logic” is, and we have had similar successes with “science,” “reason,” “rationality,” and various other terms such that the vast majority of humans who now use them have little to no understanding of their actual meaning. This allows them to weaponize the terms in favor of their own “noble” prejudices and beliefs — using them to aggressively criticize those of others — as they sit comfortably in their own irrational belief systems.

Indeed, we have succeeded in convincing the most “rational” minds of the day to now believe that their thoughts are rational merely because they have them, and that anyone else’s are irrational simply because they do not. And rather than question the rationality of their own “noble” prejudices, they think that “logic” involves nothing more than the use of sophistry to interrogate and humiliate others.

A beautiful, succinct example of this can be seen in how thought leaders quickly focus on spelling and grammar errors on social media to try to delegitimize the arguments of any who disagree with them. Had they actually studied logic or knew how it worked, they would understand that there is absolutely no connection between the truth of a notion and how it is presented. Yet, when they only have 280 characters to convey a meaningful thought — as if that were even possible — they will regularly devote half of that space to questioning their opponent’s thumb typing, believing themselves to be rational only because their autocorrect was working properly that day. You can participate in this beautiful dance by convincing them to respond while driving or otherwise distracted, because then they will feel flustered and committed to the argument only to have the veracity of their thoughts reduced to whether their car hit a bump.

If that doesn’t work, then the boilerplate tu quoque has never gone out of style. When the hated Lamb shouted “thou hypocrite” to those we had seduced, He obviously did so to convince them to repent — signaling to them that their beliefs were correct, but their actions were not, thereby jeopardizing their souls. From time immemorial, we have devilishly twisted this powerful technique away from a tool for salvation toward destruction. Rather than concern for the welfare of their opponents’ souls, convince your humans to shout “hypocrite” in an attempt to attack their opponents’ underlying ideas. It will never occur to them that distance between belief and action actually represents cause to repent — the changing of one’s actions to better align with one’s beliefs — and they will rather use it to argue the inverse: that a person’s thoughts, ideals, and beliefs should retroactively be manipulated to reflect their actions. Or, in other words, that if there is a disconnect between belief and action, then belief must be the culprit.

This wicked tactic is devilishly sinister, because it implicitly confuses the relationship between belief and action to the point that they will no longer look to beliefs as ideals to aspire to (therefore inspiring them to change their actions) but will rather treat them as little more than excuses or justifications for their actions. Indeed, though the Lamb wanted his targeted “hypocrites” to act on their beliefs so that they might be saved, we can easily convince modern thinkers that their beliefs should be malleable constructs that serve no purpose beyond justifying their damnable actions. Hence, though the Enemy appealed to hypocrisy to convince humans to change their actions, we can devilishly appeal to hypocrisy to convince them to change their beliefs.

Taken together, these muddled approaches to logic are invaluable tactics for ensuring that our followers will always “strain at gnats” while “swallowing camels,” as the Enemy Himself suggested of our adherents. By absorbing themselves in the critique of others’ “gnats,” they can console themselves in their own “camels,” yielding beautiful generations of cynical, aggressive humans who have no rational basis for their own beliefs but who nonetheless demand pure, stone cold reason from any who disagree with them.

And third, because the simplest antidote to any of our efforts is civility — or hell forbid, love — you should work tirelessly to paint any instances of moderation, kindness, respect, or deference as weakness or, preferably, treason to one’s cause. What has at times been considered simple human decency and concern for the other should be treated as wishy-washy indecision or barriers to the crushing wheels of progress. Having a civil conversation should be treated as fraternization with the enemy. Speech itself should be treated as a form of oppression, rather than just the communication of ideas, so that the very act of speaking may be regulated and controlled and the speaker can be dehumanized as nothing more than a soulless perpetrator of evil to be stopped at all cost.

Here, again, labeling can be enormously useful. Just as history can be ignored if it is merely labeled, so too can the living human other. In the U.S., for instance, we have polarized politics enough that merely appending a D or an R to the end of a leader’s name is enough to convince almost half the population to distrust anything that they will say. And this works for lay people as well. Every time your adherents notice their neighbor saying something online, you should whisper softly to them “Mrs. So-and-So is a democrublican, so I should distrust her.” That way they don’t have to busy themselves with understanding the actual content of Mrs. So-and-So’s words, the reasons why she might say them, or the experiences that might have led her to do so. If they have a useful label for her, then Mrs. So-and-So becomes nothing more than a label, something to be collated and ignored at whim — certainly not a human to be valued.

Playing upon historical pendula of oppression and evil-doing helps in this regard, because if humans can feel that their voices have been silenced in the past because of a label that has been placed upon them, they then can use this feeling of injustice as moral grounding to place labels on others for the purpose of silencing them in return. Some angry souls will embrace this as justifiable vengeance, but most must be convinced that it is merely a practical consideration to correct historical imbalances of power. At any rate, the effect is the same. Some are allowed to speak, while others are silenced not because of anything they themselves have done but because a label has been placed upon them that likely originated hundreds or even thousands of years in the past. The deliciousness of this irony is that oppressors and victims can engage in an eternal hateful dance, wherein they merely alternate who is leading at the moment. Feeling justified, oppressors can ridicule and demonize victims for as long as they are in power only to have the situation reversed in never ending cycles of hateful vindication.

The deliciousness of this dance is that they will never realize that the simple solution peddled by the Lamb is forgiveness, mercy, and love. By viewing human history as a never-ending cycle of oppressor vs. oppressed, they can easily be blinded to the only solution to the cycle, believing that someone must inevitably always be the oppressor and that the other must always inevitably be oppressed. Thus, they will direct all of their vengeance and moral outrage not toward destroying oppression but in becoming the oppressors themselves. This allows them to self-justify their hatred, wrong-doing, and all manner of injustices while at the same time patting themselves on the backs, claiming that their hatred is justified or is even an act of love.

As with other tactics I have previously mentioned, this tactic relies upon the use of labels and that they have a superficial awareness of one another. Be cautious in this regard, however, because though you want to provide enough identifying information to allow your adherents to effectively marginalize the other, you must walk a fine line between that devious enterprise and unknowingly guiding them to develop noble emotions like empathy. For that reason, keep labels limited to divisive issues of the day, and never encourage humans to label themselves in any way that acknowledges their common humanity or their common relationship to one another as children of the Enemy.

Some of you will contend that this is nothing new; after all, labeling the other has always been a useful tactic. But, I contend that the internet has made such labeling immensely more powerful for sowing discord and corrupting souls for two obvious reasons. First, the sheer amount of information that humans must now deal with via the internet and their social media feeds means that they must organize information — and by extension the people producing it — in ever more efficient ways, and labels are nothing if not devilishly efficient. And second, the actual design of these tools allows them to do this with ease! Many platforms actually solicit labels from their participants and allow them to block, ignore, or even silence other humans for no reason other than being different from themselves. Thus, with only a little prodding on your part, you can effectively guide your subjects in creating the most vitriolic, isolated, and homogenous echo chambers imaginable, where they incessantly rage against the idiocies of the unrepresented other while having their moral egos continuously stroked by those most like them.

It is amazing to think that rather than learning to love the quintessential other in the form of one’s neighbor, as the Enemy implored them to do millennia ago, human technologies have instead veered toward empowering ever more selectivity in determining who one’s neighbors are, thereby not requiring humans to make any kind of soul-stretching growth! Rather than following the Lamb’s uncomfortable commandment to “love thy enemies,” humans have rather decided to separate themselves more fully from their perceived enemies. After all, all religious and humanist arguments for loving others is predicated on the belief that the other is human, but if we can convince them to think of the other as something less than human (via a smorgasbord of available labels), then all such mandates become null and void, and those labels only develop teeth if they have a safe place where they can demonize labeled others without intellectual interference or empathetic overtures.

I am mindful of my time and that the hour draws late. As you might guess, I have much more to say on these topics and encourage you to visit my work published in Tormentors’ Quarterly and the Journal of Soul Corruption Techniques for more detailed guidance on how to use the internet to full effect. But allow me to just close by providing a few words of encouragement.

This is an exciting time for us as the demonic host, because humans have found themselves with more unbridled power and less soul-searching discipline than at any other time in history. The Enemy seeks to use these tools for promoting love, goodness, and salvation, but there is no doubt that we are winning. Humans today live on the privileges afforded to them from the sacrifices of previous generations and squander their time and resources on selfishness, self-delusion, and self-destruction. This old devil, for one, has never seen anything like it. What a time to be dead!

#fiction #social media #internet #christianity #cs lewis

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imagine-lcorp · 7 years

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A Step Into the Light (Part IV)

A/N: So, here it is! Part 4 of this fic! It took me a while to finish it cause Im preparing the last part of the whole story. Be ready for a bit of angst and a full chapter with Lena next time. Hope you enjoy it! and please, let me know what you think. Remember next update will be on wednesday!

You knew the pain wouldn't last as much as the outrage that was driving you at the moment. Still, and fortunately, you weren't that reckless to simply let bullets fly all over Lena's office and let her exposed to them. So the most viable option was to move the action to the other side of the room.

Two more bullets hit your back by the time you had knocked the first man against the wall, on the opposite side from where Lena was. Another hit your left leg ,as you took a step towards the second minion. He foolishly thought getting closer to you would make the bullets more effective. The moment you disarmed him, and left him unconscious, revolver man had shot you in the right shoulder. Making it hurt like the devil.

He hadn't moved from behind the desk but at least his attention was no longer on Lena. You couldn't see her directly, but you knew she was crouching down, quickly thinking about what to do. She was looking back and forth between you and revolver man. One part of her was decided to step in and disarm him, the other was surprised you weren't dying.

But before any of you could do anything, Supergirl stormed from the balcony. She looked at the situation and was equally surprised to find you still standing.

"Lena, keep low!" Supergirl managed to shout and a final gunshot followed.

One more bullet from that revolver had impacted in your chest, sending you backwards again. Supergirl punched revolver man, making sure it would still hurt when he woke up, and used her super speed to reach Lena.

"(Y/N) got shot!" Lena's voice was filled with panic and Supergirl was by your side in a rush.

She observed the bullet holes in your body, bits of blood barely staining your outfit. She offered you a hand to try to lift you but you shook your head no, and moved your eyes to point to your wounds. The bullets were slowly moving, pulling out from your flesh.

"Don't let her see this." You whispered through the creeping pain you started to feel. It took her a millisecond to recover from her astonishment. She nodded her understanding and went back to Lena.

"Lena, I need to take you somewhere safe. (Y/N) is going to be fine, I promise." And before Lena could protest, Supergirl lifted her in her arms and flew through the balcony. You hoped Lena wouldn't get mad at her; she didn't appreciate being dragged against her will. But it was a peculiar situation and Supergirl and you had silently agreed it was for the best.

Meanwhile, you tried to sit on the floor. The bullets caught in your chest and arm were slight bigger than the ones on your back and leg, and the wounds deeper. Your movements were slow due to the discomfort but you managed to finally sit and look at Lena's office. It was only a bit messy and three bodies were sprawled around it; behind the desk, near the couch and near a wall.

"I thought you said you could take bullets." You didn't notice when Supergirl came.

"Yeah, but I didn't say bulletproof. Help me up." You complained and made a move to stand up as she offered a hand.

"What happened? I was starting to think it was a false alarm when I heard the shots." She was studying you.

"Where's Lena?" You asked.

"I took her back to the party. She's with my sister. She's a DEO agent, she will take care of her and the rest.” She took a glance at the three men and turned her head to check up on you. “Oh, oh, wait. You're bleeding. Why are you bleeding?”

"It's nothing, it will heal soon...I think." You looked at your wounds.

"You think? Aren't you supposed to be a supernatural being with mystic powers?" Kara's tone was of incredulity.

"Like you, it doesn't mean I don't have my limits. “You were becoming impatient.

"It looks bad. The DEO must have something that can help." She offered.

"You are not taking me there." The pain making it difficult to stay composed. Your wounds weren't healing as fast as you were used, and it was clear you needed something to drink. "Look, I know you don't like the whole blood-thirsty thing but, if you want to help, take me to my place. Or I might as well get my way with these guys."

Supergirl was debating herself if it was a good idea. She still needed to get back and explain the situation to the DEO. But explaining what had happened to you would be hard. "All right, well, just hold tight." She finally conceded and took you flying.

"Is this really your home?" She said a bit confused as you landed inside the balcony of your own department. A loft on the third floor with great space and big windows.

"No. I got rid of the previous owner." You walked away with a slight limp and felt Kara's stare as you entered the kitchenette. "I'm joking, again." You sighted.

"Do you ever take something serious?" She lost her patience.

"What's the phrase? Don't take life too seriously, nobody gets out alive anyway." You took a blood bag and a straw from their respective cabinets and stared to drink. Then you made your way to one of your couches. "What's bothering you? Please, humor me for a moment here, the wounds will take a while."

"You know, Lena could have been hurt. “Kara started pacing around the room with crossed arms. "Cadmus could have kidnapped her, her family could have killed her and I'm sure you will hurt her somehow and-are you using a straw to drink that?" She stopped her rant and squinted her eyes at you.

"It prevents spilling." You shrugged. Kara sighted and sat heavily beside you, covering her face with her hands.

"Lena's my best friend and I promised to protect her. Always. And I wasn't with her when all this happened. Not as Kara, not as Supergirl." She sounded defeated.

"You're afraid she will get hurt because of you." You reasoned. Tonight's events had put Kara between a rock and a hard place, unable to help without putting her secret on jeopardy.

"No. I mean...yes. It's...It's starting to feel like this," she waved at her suit, "is opening a breach between us."

Kara let her arms fall at her sides and raised her face to the ceiling. It was true she had a complicated situation in her hands but everything was reduced to one single matter. Lena. She deserved to know. She had a right to care and worry when her best friend was out there saving the world. And how could Kara be at ease if she kept such important part of who she was from Lena? It gave you some thoughts.

"Okay, I'm not the best at this but listen. If you tell her or not doesn't matter cause Lena will find out, sooner or later. But she will get around it because you're National City's heroine, Catco's best reporter and, after all, her best friend." You tried your best to reassure her.

"What if she thinks I didn't tell her because she's a Luthor? Or worst, that I pretended to be her friend for that same reason?"

"Well, yours is a big secret, right, but is a good secret. Besides, both of you want to make the world a better place and, for what I've seen, you help each other accomplish that. Most important, you're there for each other." You said with all confidence. "And, when you finally tell her, make sure to keep that promise."

You were never that much of a dependable person but you hoped all your years had given you some useful wisdom. Kara was thoughtful for a moment, pondering your words. Maybe you were right after all.

"Thank you, I guess." She said calmer this time. Then furrowed her eyebrows and looked puzzled at you. "So, what's your deal with Lena? Like seriously? Want a taste of her, steal her fortune, offer her a membership to your clan or...what?"

"You believe me that simple?" You roller your eyes at her and then took a deep breath. "I... I fell for her."

"W-wait what?" She jumped on her seat. "As in you're in love with her?"

"Yes." You said nonchalant. It was of no use denying such a simple truth.

"Are you telling her about that? About this? About you?" She waved her hands all over you. Disbelief and confusion rising in her voice.

"I did. She didn't believe it." You took a sip of the blood bag. "That's was my fault, you know my sense of humor." You admitted.

"Then, if you wanted her to believe you, why didn't you let her see your wounds?" By that time, the bullets in your back and leg had popped out and the wounds were healed. The rest were almost done coming out.

"Too many emotions in one night, don't you think?" But then you looked at the ceiling, same way Kara had done a minute ago, and responded with the same defeated tone. "I didn't want her to see me because this will be all she sees after."

If you were to compare, Kara and you had the greatest secrets to keep. However, your circumstances were completely different. Where she was a symbol of hope, you were feared. Where Kara saved people, you had condemned them to satisfy your own hunger. While she lived under the sun, you could only live under the shadows it casted.

"I mean, you took a look at my so called records and instantly wanted me miles away from her. I can only imagine her reaction." You acknowledged with resignation.

"Well, I can't believe I'm saying this but you should follow your own advice. Tell her, (Y/N). She will get around it." It was your turn to look confused. "Because she likes you. Why do you think I background-checked you? I wanted to know if you were a good party."

"Well, thanks." You managed to say through your stupor.

"Oh, don't thank me. That sunbath is still on the table." She stood up, cutting short your conversation. "I should go back to check on Lena. What should I tell her?"

You inspected your injuries. All bullets were out and the wounds closing. You thought for a moment.

"That I'll recover. Just that...for now." She nodded and, without further ado, she left.

Her words were still echoing in your head. Lena Luthor liked you. A small smile forming in your lips. If you hadn't been so happy with that revelation, you would have surely felt a hint of embarrassment for yourself. There you were, a two hundred years old creature taking bullets for someone you had just found out liked you back.

When you finished with the blood bag, you closed the curtains of your windows. Then headed to bed, deciding it was better to worry tomorrow about everything else. Lena Luthor liked you and you simply wanted to rest and sleep with that thought on your mind.

#lena luthor #lena luthor imagine #lena x reader #lena luthor x reader #lena luthor fic #vampire reader #vamp!reader #a step into the light #kara danvers #supergirl imagines #kara danvers imagine

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trailcatjim-blog · 13 years

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Devil's Tongue

September 9-11, 2011

Devil's Tongue (8048')

I look forward to hooking up with Mike T and Fay at least once every summer to do a climb, but it has become increasingly difficult to find a peak that neither of them has already done. This year, I hit the jackpot by suggesting Devil's Tongue, a relatively obscure peak in the northeastern Chilliwack Mtns. My interest in Devils Tongue began a few years ago, when I first saw the new North Cascades National Park commemorative license plates; the "Tongue" stands out like a stone beacon in Lee Mann's remarkable long-distance photograph (although it took me some head-scratching to identify it). Mike and Fay had their own reasons for wanting this peak. Ultimately, it proved to be a worthy summit in an incredibly scenic part of the Cascades, but the Devil managed to get plenty of licks in.

Day 1: We drove to Hope, B.C., and followed the loooong Silver-Skagit Road to Chittendon Trailhead. Our hike began by crossing the Skagit River on an interesting suspension bridge, then working upstream about 3 miles on a crude shoreline trail, then hiking up to Galene Lakes on a well-defined miner's trail. Early in our hike, it became painfully obvious that getting to the Devil's Tongue would involve passing through the Devil's Petri Dish: we were hounded and attacked by hordes of voracious mosquitoes for mile after mile. Even though we hiked with headnets on, the buzzing squadrons made it nearly impossible to stop for any reason, except in some areas of very dense forest partway up the trail. At one point near Mile 7, I stopped to rest in a swarm of biting blackflies and actually found that they offered a nice reprieve from the mosquitoes...but only for about 10 minutes. I pushed on up the trail at frantic pace, trying to outrun the insect pack. Only by jumping into Middle Galene Lake, farther up the trail, was I able to escape satan's little minions. Around 5:30pm, Mike and Fay arrived at the lake, which had some agreeable campsites, but we decided to ascend another 500 feet to Upper Galene Lake in hopes of getting above the bugs. This strategy did not pan out at all, because the mosquitoes were every bit a prevalent when we arrived at 7:00pm (7.4 hours from car). On the positive side, we had better views and were closer to our objective peak.

Day 2: We awoke about a half hour after the mosquitoes began their morning onslaught. After a non-relaxing breakfast, we headed up grassy slopes to the ridge crest above camp. The bugs were still plenty bad on the crest, but the wildflowers and mountain views were wonderful. We headed southwestward to Monument 70 on the international border swath, then turned westward and followed "Silver Ridge" for about 3 miles over several wide-open knolls. Terrain on the gently rounded crest alternates between big patches of green heather and bleached-white rhyolite fragments. Hozomeen Mtn, Jack Mtn, Mt. Prophet, and the Chilliwack Mtns all stand out strikingly on the horizon. Undoubtedly, this must be some of the finest ridgetop strolling in Washington.

The only obstacle along the ridge was Point 7103, which we surmounted on the left side via a steep, loose, rock face. After more easy wandering, we finally reached the base of Devils Tongue. The tall, triangular east face looks quite intimidating, with its steep rock bands separated by four distinctive horizontal snowfields.. However, we easily traversed across to the southeast ridge and found fun Class 2 - 3.5 scrambling over a series of ledges, ramps, and faces. We reached the seldom-visited summit at 2:30pm (6.8 hours from camp). Mt. Spickard and Custer Ridge rise above the summit and form a ring around the unearthly blue water of Silver Lake. Perhaps more than any other summit scene that I can recall, this one seems like a painting. The total absence of mosquitoes here made for a truly enjoyable visit.

After an hour on top, we carefully down-climbed our route and then began a long traverse back to camp. But not directly back to camp, mind you, because MIke insisted on tucking in a bonus summit. So, in the waning dusk, we marched up "Silver Ridge Peak" to plant a register. Getting off the summit and back to Monument 70 in the dark was made somewhat more interesting by the fact that both Fay's and Mike's GPS units suffered power failures. No matter; our IFR navigation quickly turned to nighttime VFR, and with the help of my trusty analog compass, we soon located the monument. From there, we were able to take advantage of a full moon illuminating the wide-open wildflower meadows. If not for the return of mosquito swarms, this would have been pure delight. We stumbled into camp at 9:30pm (6.0 hours from summit).

Day 3: This day was a blur of mosquitoes and downhill trail as viewed through a headnet. Upon reaching the Skagit River, we elected to make a quick ford through the hip-deep water rather than follow the 3-mile shoreline trail. If we thought this place seemed like an insect hell, it was confirmed by a nearby angler who told us that this is the worst mosquito season he's encountered in 20 years of fishing the Skagit. I should hope so! Once across the river, we hurried along a wide trail to the Nepopekum parking lot. I dumped my pack and set off 3.5 miles down the road to fetch our car. Even on this dry, dusty road, the mosquitoes tormented me and demanded a brisk pace. I also discovered that no driver will pick up a hitchhiker wearing a headnet. Who knew!

Approximate Stats: 25 miles, 10,700 feet gained & lost, 1000 mosquitoes killed (mostly by Mike), 3 pints of blood lost.

Hozomeen Mountain from the trail

Jack Mountain above Ross Lake

Middle Galene Lake at sunset

Upper Galene Lake at sunrise

Chilliwack Mountains from Galene Lakes ridge

Fay and Mike below Devils Tongue

Strolling along silver ridge crest

First view of Silver Lake

Scrambling up Devils Tongue

Mike and Fay on Devils Tongue summit

Mount Spickard and Silver Lake from summit

NCNP license plate photo by Lee Mann annotated

#Devil's Tongue #devils tongue #Chilliwack mountains #chilliwack #north cascades

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thedesperatehousehusband · 5 years

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It’s the Super Bowel. Or Bowl....

It’s finally time for that most American of events. The Super Bowl. Pitting the Kansas City Chiefs against the San Francisco 49ers. I don’t really care who wins but Kansas City hasn’t played in a Super Bowl in 50 years so I’m rooting for them even though that Jimmy Garapolo is very, very, very attractive while Patrick Mahomes doesn’t do much for me.

Let’s talk pre-show. Yolanda Adams was lovely during America the Beautiful. Demi Lovato sang the shit out of the national anthem. She’s a talent and I like that she is very open and vulnerable about her issues and problems.

Shifting to commericals…..

· Secret – Let’s Fight Inequality. It’s strong. It works. I dig it.

· McDonald’s – All the favorite orders of celebs was great. Because who doesn’t love McDonald’s? If you don’t love McDonald’s, the commies win.

· NFL 100 – I don’t know if this was a spot or if this was a pre-game video but whatever it was it was amazing. 100% loved it. That kid who ran onto the field was the HAPPIEST kid in the W-O-R-L-D!

· Fast & Furious 9 – Who gives a fuck?

· Quibi – What is Quibi? That spot was heinous. What a fucking waste of money.

· Tide – The stains can wait. I don’t love it but I am appreciative of the pull through from P&G. It seems to be their Super Bowl thing. They’ve just focused on this idea that the stain can wait the whole game. I love Charlie Day and Emily Hampshire from Schitt’s Creek is a hoot but do people know who they are? I mean run of the mill Americans watching the Super Bowl. It feels a little niche with the casting.

· Wal-Mart Pickup – I hate to say it because Wal-Mart is the devil but that was a good spot.

· Black Widow – I’m into it plus it features Florence Pugh and after Little Women I am in love with her.

· Rocket Mortgage – Clever, clever, clever. I like the Jason Momoa gag and closing with Lisa Bonet was an additional level of meta clever. Maybe too meta?

· Porsche – Terrible.

· Snickers – This is my favorite spot so far. Hilarious. Luis Guzman is a riot. A damn riot.

· Hulu with Tom Brady – Not today, Satan. Not today. What a douche.

· Mountain Dew Zero Sugar – If there’s no sugar, what’s in it? Crank? Mountain Dew is garbage. Regardless of Bryan Cranston and Tracee Ellis-Ross, that shit ain’t good.

· SquareSpace – Winona, MN. We’ve done this whole Fargo send up before. For like 20 years. I’d rather see jokes about Amy Klobuchar bringing a hot dish casserole to a fundraiser potluck.

· New York Life – I really was into this until it was for New York Life.

· Fanduel – Bullshit.

· Hyundai Sonata – John Krasinski, Rachel Dratch and Chris Evans ALL IN ONE PLACE. This is a close second to the Snickers commercial.

· Cheetos Popcorn – You can’t touch this. So, so, so smart and such a funny spot. New favorite.

· Olay Regernist – I want to like this one but it was silly AND heavy-handed. That’s hard to accomplish but not in a good way.

· Michelob Ultra – Gimme a break. They’re giving donations to organic farmers to grow shit for Mich Ultra? Lord….don’t pee off the roof and tell me it’s raining.

· Avocados from Mexico – Pretty funny and who doesn’t love a moment with Molly Ringwald? No one. Similar to McDonald’s, if you don’t like Molly Ringwald??? The commies win.

· Hard Rock Hotel – Ugh. What a waste of J. Lo and A-Rod. Why, oh, why did they have to bring in DJ Khalid? I just don’t understand why he’s a thing.

· Pringles – Rancid.

· TurboTax – I want to like this but I just don’t think I can. All people are tax people? I dunno. It’s not like anyone wants to pay taxes.

· Tide – Still with the laundry later. It’s a smart approach.

· Genesis SUV – John Legend and Chrissy Teigen are quickly become America’s couple, no? I liked it.

· Coca-Cola Energy – What’s up with Jonah Hill? He looks like shit on a shingle. Martin Scorsese looks fine and he’s nearly 80. The same cannot be said for Jonah Hill.

· Planter’s – I KNEW IT. I knew the death of Mr. Peanut was a part of something else. Super, super smart. Not sure it’s worth the investment or whether or not it will drive sales but VERY smart.

· James Bond No Time to Die – Like Black Widow, I’m into it.

· Google – Fuck me. That poor man trying to remember Loretta. We sobbed.

· Sabra Hummus – This is how I mus? I don’t think so.

· Verizon – Awful.

· Pop Tarts – Jonathan Van Ness hawking Pop Tarts? I don’t get the connection.

· Hummer – An electric Hummer? If I had a dollar……

· Minions: The Rise of Gru – I’m NOT into it.

· Saint Archer – What the fuck?

· Wal-Mart – The pickup spot was waaaay better. Thank god. I though Wal-Mart was stepping up their marketing. They are not. Still crap.

Halftime show. Folks, I’ve had a on again, off again relationship with J. Lo. Right now, it’s on again. I am really digging her at the moment. Not sure that Shakira actually sang a note but whatevs. It was a solid show with the emphasis on the show. No one is expecting to witness a “Grammy” moment at the Super Bowl. Just do your hits. Bring the fireworks and wheel the set off the field.

This game is actually quite good.

· Sodastream – Mars Water or Mark’s Water? Funny shit.

· Hunter’s on Amazon Prime – Ummmmmm. What is this show? We’s a-gonna be watching that. Holy shit.

· Pepsi Zero Sugar – You know what’s stupid? Pepsi invoking Coke colors and iconography. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

· Heinz – Pretty OK.

· Bud Light Seltzer – Post Malone is probably the right spokesperson for this particular product but it sure doesn’t speak to me.

· Little Caesar’s – Meh.

· Doritos – No.

· Kia – Not terrible. Not great. Not the reaction you want after dropping 4 million for 30 seconds.

· Turkish Airlines – Pretty smart but where can you actually find Turkish Airlines in the US? New York, Atlanta, Chicago? Where else? I’m not ever getting onto a Turkish Airlines plane from Indy.

· Reese’s Take 5 – I really enjoyed this spot. Funny stuff.

· Tide – Now with Wonder Woman and Charlie Day. It’s a solid campaign.

· Alexa – Good stuff with Ellen and Portia. Do you think that everyone understands they’re married? I still wonder if Linda, Donna and Brenda from middle America actually get that they’re a couple and not just friends.

· Michelob Ultra – The Jimmy Fallon and John Cena spot was pretty funny.

· Xfinity – Terrible.

· Nissan Rogue – This is not a new spot. I’ve already seen it. Don’t waste our time on old creative. So stupid.

· Toyota Highlander – I wanted to like it but it was just too much.

· Disney+ - All this new Marvel content makes me a little excited.

· Discover No then Yes – I didn’t hate it but you kind of need to be paying attention. It happened quickly.

· T-Mobile – Anthony Anderson’s real-life Mama. In the club. With cell service. Not bad but also a bit of cheap joke.

· Budweiser – Typical American. Cheap.

· P&G – Why?

· Microsoft – This is how you extend your creative. They introduced their Katie Sowers spots a few weeks and NOW they’ve cut something new and made it about the Super Bowl. Solid.

· Jeep Rubicon – SMARTEST AD IN THE SUPER BOWL. Loved it. Billy Murry reenacting Groundhog Day the movie on Groundhog Day the DAY to drive a Jeep over and over? Inspired.

· Tide – We’ve wrapped it up with a clean shirt, everyone’s older and now with a dirty sweater. What started as not my favorite has turned into a solid outing by Tide.

· Audi – So stupid. What the fuck was even happening?

Side note. Kyle Shanahan is 40. He also knows how to rock a hat. Hubba hubba. Also, this game continues to be quite exciting.

Great job, Chiefs! Fun, fun game.

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yourgodmoments · 5 years

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The Final Destinies of the City of God and the Earthly City - part 2

Since the beginning of the commingled history of these two cities, God has judged the citizenry - beginning with Adam and Eve. This continual judgment could have been avoided had the citizens adhered to the word of God. But alas, we have human weakness and a proclivity towards self-indulgence:

…no man acts rightly save by the assistance of divine aid; and no man or devil acts unrighteously save by the permission of the divine and most just judgment. - St. Augustine

‘For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the LORD, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’ Jer. 29:11 AMP

God’s plan is bigger than we can fully comprehend. We see some good people live difficult lives while we also witness many of dubious character live lives of wealthy excess with a continual satiation of sinful appetites - where it seems that no apparent penalty is being applied.

In spite of what looks like an unresolved imbalance, (which somehow fits into God’s design), at the end of all present things, God has wondrous things in store for His children in the city of God, of whom all receive His promised eternal rewards:

And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to HIs plan and purpose. Rm. 8:28 AMP

So, regardless of our difficulties in this earthly life, we must do our best to stay on Jehovah’s path:

…in these days of vanity it makes an important difference whether he resists or yields to the truth, and whether he is destitute of true piety of a partaker of it - important not so far as regards the acquirement of the blessings or the evasion of the calamities of this transitory and vain life, but in connection with the future judgment which shall make over to good men good things, and to bad men band things…For whosever has real existence is this, is a keeper of God’s commandments; and he who is not this, is nothing. For so long as he means in the likeness of vanity, he is not renewed in the image of the truth… - St. Augustine

When all has been heard, the end of the matter is: fear God [worship Him with awe-filled reverence, knowing that He is almighty God] and keep His commandments, of this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, every hidden and secret thing, whether it is good or evil. Eccl. 12:13, 14. AMP

To better understand that end, we must visit the events in the book of Revelation. Accordingly, however you view the concept of the ‘rapture,’ there will be a time when many of God’s children will be sequestered from the tumultuous events during the tribulations. In addition, there will be some holdouts that come to salvation through Christ as that time.

Thus, the city of God, (which we must remember is also the ‘kingdom of God’, exists in the present, but has its full realization at the end of time), is co-existing with the city of the earth during the tribulations.

The resurrection of the ‘two witnesses’ signals the end of the tribulations, and the last chance for any of the city of the earth to change citizenship is then lost…

Following will be the ‘first resurrection,’ that is when the elders, the dead and still living saints, the Jewish converts to Christ, the ‘great multitude’ and the two witnesses come to reign with Christ on the earth for 1000 years.

Note that nations are still existing on the earth (those unbelievers that managed to escape death during the tribulations - still having babies). All other dead unbelievers will stay dead during this ‘millennium.’ So, in effect, the city of God is again co-habituating this earth with the living remnant of the citizens of the city of the earth, all of whom are existing in their ‘soul state.’

During this 1000-year period, remember that the devil is bound up with the rebel angels in the abyss. (Rv. 20:1-3). And so, he has no direct influence in this time.

Thus, all without exception, were dead in sins, whether original or voluntary sins, sins of ignorance, or sins committed against knowledge; and for all the dead there died the only person who lived, that is, who had no sin whatever, in order that those who live by the remission of their sins should live, not to themselves, but to Him who died for all, for our sins, and rose again for our justification, that we believing in Him who justifies the ungodly, and being justified from ungodliness or quickened from death, may be able to attain to the first resurrection which now is.

For in this first resurrection none have a part save those who shall be eternally blessed; but in the second, of which He goes on to speak, all, as we shall learn, have a part, both the blessed and the wretched. The one is the resurrection of mercy, the other of judgment. - St. Augustine (see Jn. 5:28,29.)

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love… Col. 1:13 NKJV

Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such, the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. Rv. 20:6 NKJV

After the 1000 years have elapsed, the devil is loosed, whereupon he seduces those outside of the church to make war against Christ and His followers. Thank God, the devil and his minions lose this final battle in a big way and are devoured by divine fire.

We have now come to the end of time, the day of the LORD, judgment day. Those citizens of the now eternal city of God are not subject to a ‘second resurrection,’ but enter into their eternal promise with their new immortal, incorruptible bodies, living on a new earth, resting in new heavens, in the city of God, New Jerusalem, which has come down from heaven.

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not come to mind. Be glad and rejoice in whatever I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.” Is. 65:17 - 19. NKJV

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, arrayed like a bride adorned for her husband; and then I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “See! The tabernacle of God is among men, and He will live among them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them [as their God,] and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there will no longer be sorrow and anguish, or crying, or pain; for the former order of things has passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Rv. 21:2 - 5. AMP

Now they themselves, when they have been purified, shall be sacrifices of complete and perfect righteousness; for what more acceptable offering can such persons make to God than themselves? - St. Augustine

Unfortunately, those who have steadfastly rejected the Father and the Son, are resurrected for a second time - to judgment, damned to the ‘second death.’ They do not get incorruptible bodies, but rise with bodies that are changed in such a way that they cannot truly die, but must suffer eternal anguish:

“For just as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, will remain before me” - this is the LORD’s declaration - “so you offspring and your name will remain. All mankind will come to worship me…they will see the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me; for their worm will never die, their fire will never go out, and they will be a horror to all mankind.” Is. 66:22 - 24. CSB

Yes, this is the final judgment, where everyone meets Jesus:

For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment [that is, the prerogative of judging] to the Son [placing it entirely into His hands]… Jn. 5:22 AMP

It is at this point that the two cities are finally separated into two distinct final destinies: the city of God to heaven on earth, and the city of earth (now the city of the devil), to Satan’s damnation. How does that look? We’ll take a look see next time…

Goodnight and God bless.

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gracedman · 7 years

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The Days Are Evil

Ephesians 5:15–16 (ESV) Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. The moral and social climate of our days is highly charged and infectious. It seems that Pandora’s box has been opened and it can never again be shut. You may remember that the contents of her box were released and spread far and wide. One of the meanings of the Greek word translated “evil” is to be infectious. Satan and his minions are not content to be just existent, they are actively recruiting new members to their causes. He wishes to defeat, dethrone and destroy every trace of the image of God found in humanity and on the earth. His agenda is laid out in these verses from Isaiah: Isaiah 14:12–14 (ESV) “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ You will notice the repeated phrase: “I will.” This the spirit of our day. Perfectly captured in these words from Judges: Judges 21:25 (ESV) In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Satan does not come full frontal to most of humanity. He cannot afford to come out of the closet. People would not stand for a full disclosure and revelation of his hand in their lives. Not many would actively serve the Devil. But they will take up his character and mentality if they can be convinced that it is truly their own. And so, the devil acts as a silent partner and hidden practitioner in people’s lives. He cares very little what most people do, just as long as they don’t get saved and then live to honor and obey the word of God in their lives. He is very content to have everyone doing their own thing and live to simply please themselves. When Cain left the presence of God, he founded a city and then “culture” developed. Craftsman and musicians soon arose. The first polygamist arose as well. He proudly boasted to his wives: Genesis 4:23–24 (ESV) Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say: I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.” Sin increases outside of the presence of God. We should notice how evil is on the up rise. If one does sevenfold the next needs to be seventy-fold. Evil is not content to remain the same. It grows worse and worse. It is infectious, active, and increasing. God hates the fallen nature of man. He will never be at peace with it. Anything that comes from it is alien and hostile to his character and purpose for mankind. He has categorically rejected all of it. There are no exceptions. Paul directly said so: Romans 3:10–18 (ESV) as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Romans 8:5–8 (ESV) For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. God not only hates the outward manifestations or sins of mankind. He also detests the inward nature which produces them and which stands in permanent rebellion apart from him. He also hates the world system which provides the ambiance and encouragement which promotes such open rebelliousness. God does not bless sin. He may tolerate it as he attempts to draw men and women from it. Bur his grace does not provide a cover for or a permission for any sin. Eventually, your sin will find you out. Sin will have its fruit in your life. And it will not be pretty. Therefore, we, who are biblically minded, hate sin as well. It brings spiritual death, blindness, and a diseased condition to the soul. When there is no fear of God before one’s eyes and we do what is right in our own, much damage will result to us, to our loved ones and to our communities. This is why we are so against the alternative lifestyles of the alphabetic prototypes. Not because we hate people, but because we love people enough to want the very best for their lives. God loves us all so much that he came and died so that we could have his alternative lifestyle. And what a glorious one it is. Receive Christ today and all things are made new, brand new with the freshness and satisfactions of heaven.Lord Jesus, take us from the powers of darkness and every vestige of our fallen lives. Bring into our experience the renewal that only ambrosial grace can bring us. Amen!!!

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yourgodmoments · 6 years

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The Book of Revelation Revisited 7: Antichrist

We’re in the middle of John’s vision of the earth at the latter half of the tribulation period. The devil and his rebel angels have been kicked out of heaven. Because of God’s intervention, Satan has been unsuccessful in trying to kill Jesus, or the last remnant of Israel, who call Christ their Messiah. So, he turns his wrath towards the Gentiles who came to faith during the tribulations:

Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his head a blasphemous name. Now the beast I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him power, his throne, and great authority. Rv. 13:1, 2. NKJV

With the ten heads and horns, the beast is a mirror image of Satan. His crowns represent ten nations that the devil will assemble, to build a world empire to rival all that came before. The physical description of the beast is a composite of four beasts the prophet Daniel saw in a vision. (Dan. 7:2 - 8.) Daniel also prophesied about the coming of this future empire. (Dan. Ch. 2)

Biblical scholars see Satan’s beast(s) as symbolizing a world empire, an antichrist, and a false prophet. Many see the dragon, the Antichrist, and the false prophet as a perverse imitation of the Godhead.

John continues:

I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast and who is able to wage war with him?” Rv. 13:3, 4. NASB

The beast represents a new world system - one that has suffered death and has been resurrected (insinuating something homologous to the resurrection of Christ). All ‘God-rejecters’ who survived the first half of the tribulations will fall under the sway of this satanic world order.

And the beast was given a mouth (the power of speech), uttering great things and arrogant and blasphemous words, and he was given freedom and authority to act and to do as he pleased for forty-two months (three and a half years). And he opened his mouth to speak blasphemies (abusive speech, slander) against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, and those who live in heaven. He was also permitted to wage war against the saints (God’s people) and to overcome them, and authority and power over every tribe and people and language and nation. All the inhabitants of the earth will fall down and worship him, everyone whose name has not been written down since the foundation of the world in the Book of Life of the Lamb who has been slain [as a willing sacrifice]. Rv. 13:5 - 8. AMP

So, the beast gets a ‘mouthpiece’ - the Antichrist. This is also described in another vision of the prophet Daniel (Dan. 9:26, 27.), whereby he describes the Antichrist as a ‘little horn.’ Many interpret the vision of Daniel to mean that the Antichrist will first come as a ‘man of peace’ (after God has destroyed the ‘army of the north,’ that came against Israel), and that he will strike a peace accord with Israel.

However, at the tribulation midpoint, he breaks that accord and wages war against the followers of Christ - even forbidding any worship of God in the new temple in Jerusalem. Moreover, the Antichrist will demand worship for himself, declaring that he is God. Many of the saints are martyred at this time. (Rv. 12:10 - 12.)

However, because of the saints’ steadfast endurance for Christ, their eternal outcome will be one of triumph over Satan and his minions.

Finally, we see that those who do worship the Antichrist, will not find their names in the Lamb’s book of life - meaning that they have no heavenly hope.

John resumes the telling of his vision:

Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the whole earth and those who dwell on it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs so that he even makes fire come from heaven on earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. Rv. 13:11 - 14. NKJV

Here then is the manifestation of the second beast (the false prophet) - one who appears meek and pious, but his dragon-speech reveals his evil character to those who can discern his true nature. Satan gives power to the false prophet to manifest miracles in the name of the Antichrist, in order to prop up the Antichrist’s claim of divinity. Lastly, the false prophet commands that an idol be made in the image of the Antichrist’s so that the people could worship it. [This was previously foretold by the apostle Paul (2 Thess. 2:9 - 12.), where we learned that God allowed this deception to take place because of the people’s steadfast rejection of His salvation.]

John elaborates further about the false prophet:

And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also it causes all, both great and small, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast, or the number of the beast, for it is the number of man, and his number is 666. Rv. 13:15 - 18. ESV

Thus, the false prophet animates the statue of the Antichrist. It must be some form of an elaborated illusion, because only God can create life. If one is not convinced by the illusion to worship the idol, that same one will be killed.

We also see the false prophet promote the ‘mark of the beast,’ one required to having indelibly placed upon their person in order to buy or sell anything. Note: no one really knows what ‘666’ means except that it is the number of man. But because ‘sevens’ are the biblical number for ‘completeness,’ it suggests incompleteness.

Ultimately then, what we are seeing is the establishment of the complete satanic world system: the Antichrist is directing the political and economic landscape, and the false prophet is controlling religion; and all of this is being orchestrated by the devil himself. The plot thickens…

Goodnight and God bless.

#Antichrist #beasts of Satan #Book of Revelation #false prophet #latter tribulations #mark of the beast #Satan the dragon

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