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retrocontinuity · 3 years

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Eat, for this is Her Body: Chainsaw Man and the Doxology of Cannibalism

"One day," Anthony Oliveira writes in "The Year in Apocalypses," [Jesus'] disciples approached their master while he was silent in prayer and made a request: 'Lord, teach us how to pray.'" From here, Jesus teaches them the Lord's Prayer, what the Catholic Church once called "the summary of the whole gospel":

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Denji is no one's disciple. When we first meet him, he is closer to how Oliveira describes Jesus himself, "homeless, gleaning for food in the field like a sparrow and relying on the kindness of strangers to put him up, . . . a man cheerfully resigned to powerlessness." And so, Denji doesn't need to be taught how to pray. He has always known. Every bone in his body at the opening of Chainsaw Man sings out the Lord's Prayer: "forgive me my debts", "deliver me from evil." And, of course, Denji is intimately familiar with the prayer's most pitiable, most powerful line. It's this line that he cries out to Makima when he rests, Pieta-like, in her arms at the end of the first chapter. It can only be this line, one that Denji might have written himself:

Give me, from this day forward, and for all the rest of my days, daily bread.

Bread runs throughout CSM like a mocking scent that you only fully identify in the last two chapters. It should have been a sign to all of us when the first meal Makima buys for Denji is not bread (but rather a hot dog and udon noodles). It isn't until Denji meets and enters Aki's home that he is seen making a hideously overladen slice of toast for himself, luxuriating in having all the toppings he was denied. The morning after she forces Denji to open the door to Power's death, Makima makes the very breakfast she once promised to serve Denji: eggs, coffee, salad, and sliced bread. But this is a meal that Denji never eats—maybe the only meal in the entire series that he, a survivor of the meanest starvation and poverty, ignores. There is only one other time we see this meal in CSM, and it is subtle, almost off camera, though no less meaningful: in Chapter 53, after Reze's death, as Denji sits down to breakfast once more with Power and Aki.

To revisit CSM's public safety arc is to see all the ways the plot connects itself to food and the act of eating, both appetizing and revolting, both profound and profane. Denji, eating gyoza at a bar for the first time. Denji being forced to swallow barf as he is kissed for the first time. The Fox Devil, who eats indiscriminately and on command, who refuses to return to Aki after being fed something disgusting. A fox that is hunted and transformed into stew. Denji eating sandwiches at Reze's cafe. Aki and Angel eating noodles. A woman sitting down to eat a hamburger for the first time, before she commits mass murder. She is worried she has lost her taste buds, yet she exclaims, "So delicious!" We know, later, that this woman is a liar, that no part of her is what she presents herself to be. Should we take this moment at its face value then? Was Santa Claus simply lucky enough to have preserved her sense of taste? Or was it her one last act of humanity, to recognize that it is not enough just to eat, that man does not live on bread alone, that there must be at least food that is also delicious, that inspires people to get up and dance—even if it means she has to lie about what she can experience?

Food is necessary for survival, and CSM is a story about survival. But CSM is also a story about glimpsing the after. After you know you can keep living, what next? After you are no longer starving, after you have been forced to kill a friend, after you have touched your first boob, after you have been betrayed, what next? After you are tired of eating toast with jam for breakfast, what do you eat next?

The version of the Lord's Prayer we tend to recite asks for "our daily bread." But this, most modern scholars believe, is a mistranslation. The Greek adjective as it appears in the Gospel of Matthew and Luke is "epiousios," which doesn't mean "daily" at all, but rather something too complicated etymologically for me to even begin to parse. The point is that what we ask for in the Lord's Prayer is not just bread for today, but bread for tomorrow. Both the physical bread and the spiritual bread. Bread on this kingdom of earth, and bread that is the kingdom of heaven. Bread to feed our bodies, and bread to feed our souls. The realm of the divine is full of these moments, isn't it? Of two things existing at once, in one.

Denji starts the series asking for daily bread, and ends the public safety arc with Nayuta, Makima's reincarnation, asking him for daily bread. Trash heap Denji, living with his not!dog Pochita, really was just asking for daily bread. A slice to eat for breakfast, maybe even with butter and jam. But he too learns that bread, physical bread, is not enough. Merely to subsist, to eat good food, is an empty life. And what he must give Nayuta is not just bread, as was given to him. Otherwise, he will be trapped in a cycle of creating more Makimas. Instead, he must give her a relationship, a family, a world that Makima was unable to create. He must give her, in Pochita's words, lots of hugs. He must give her, in the words of the Lord's Prayer, epiousios.

To be clear, I am not arguing that CSM is meant to be read through a Catholic lens, and I doubt Fujimoto had all of this in mind when he wrote it (though he must have thought something, given that he drew a very large print of Gustave Dore's "Satan descends upon Earth" in Makima's entranceway!). But there is something primal (primordial?) about the Lord's Prayer. If every reader can understand the horror that the Darkness Devil represents, so too we can understand the intimacy and comfort of the Lord's Prayer. It is, as Oliveira writes, "a simple peasant's mantra for detoxing anxiety." Jesus opens by addressing God as father—not king, not an all-mighty spiritual being, but rather "abba, which is rather closer to 'dad,' and not in the intercultural Greek of his adulthood, but the Aramaic of home and childhood." The Lord's Prayer asks for what we always want, the only thing any of us have ever wanted since leaving the womb as infants: for no bad things to happen, for there to be enough to eat.

Even if what we have to eat is another person.

At the center of the Christian liturgy is the Last Supper, and at the center of the Last Supper is a meal that functions as ritual, abomination, accusation, transubstantiation, paranoia, and an early example of cracking open a cold one with the bros. Here, Jesus shares bread and wine with his disciples and then, as if trying to invent r/creepypasta years before its time, informs them they are actually eating his flesh and blood. This image is so powerful and heretical that the Romans accused early Christians of being cannibals. And why shouldn't they? It's there in the text. "Take, eat. This is my body. This is my blood." Stripped of the grandeur of tradition and ritual, this is downright vampiric. And yet it goes on to become the cornerstone of the Christian faith.

Oliveira begs us to see the Last Supper as a family meal, one shared by Jesus and his found family. "All he is really saying is, 'I hope when you eat together, you remember me.'" It's a good reading, one that moves me to tears, and is the framework through which I see the events of chapter 80. Because Makima is not the first time that Denji "consumes" a friend, and I don't just mean him sucking Power's blood or taking Pochita into himself. When Aki died, he left half his fortune to Denji, who uses it to support himself and Power. They "pigged out on good food," he tells us. This is Aki's symbolic body, through which he provides Denji his daily bread. Eat ice cream and onigiri in remembrance of me.

But it is not how I see the events of chapter 96. Denji does not eat Makima in the context of a feast. He does not partake of her in a communal meal, as Jesus did, among his found family. He eats every bite of Makima alone. Jesus said before his death, "this is my blood, which is shed for many." Yet Denji says to Makima, I alone will absolve you alone of your sins. I alone will bear you alone.

Denji's Last Supper is a lonely remembrance. He is hoping that no one but him will remember her. He is hoping to wholly consume her, because he loves her. "We love as cannibals," French philosopher and activist Simone Weil wrote. "Beloved beings . . . provide us with comfort, energy, a simulant. They have the same effect on us as a good meal. . . . We love them, then, as food." In fact, Weil believed we cannot love any other way. As humans, we are forever doomed to want to eat the ones we love. In order to escape, we must both be devoured by God and then become food for our fellow human beings. As Alec Irwin writes of Weil's philosophy, "the devouring violence of God must be positively harnessed in order to dismantle the machinery of human cruelty."

If Weil is right and being devoured is transformation, a crucial part of salvation, then in eating Makima, Denji redeems her. He turns her into food to break the cycle of her cruelty. For Makima's power itself is consuming, cannibalistic. She "eats" humans in order to use her power, which remains mysterious like God moving across the face of the earth, leaving only broken corpses as a sign of its presence. So it must be Denji, not Chainsaw Man, who does the consuming. If Pochita had consumed her, as she had always prayed for, then it would simply be another act of violence being enacted. Instead, Denji gives her salvation by turning her into human food—his food.

To Denji, Aki was human, his family, his brother, his friend. It is Makima he loves as a God and a woman. To him, she is Satan and God, his betrayer and his creator, his salvation and his friends' damnation. So he must take her, consume her, digest her, excrete her, reduce her to nothing, as she once consumed and excreted and reduced him. "I ate her to become one with her." He ate her to become her. There is no truer form of his love than for Denji to take Makima into himself. I use those words purposefully, because this is the rejection of classic cishet PIV penetration, that old hoary chestnut of men inside women. As Don Delillo famously outlines in White Noise, we talk about sex as if women are containers, rooms, elevator lobbies: "He entered me," "I want him inside me," "I took him into myself." Denji and Makima never have physical sex, but this is a consummation, a reversal of roles. We are given the only sex that Shounen Jump will allow us, with Denji taking Makima into himself. She enters him. She is inside him. He is—physically, emotionally, willingly—penetrated by her flesh. She is released inside of him, becoming part of him.

Because the divine is full of moments like this, isn't it? Of two things existing at once, in one. That is the kingdom and the power and the glory. For Makima now lives in that country inhabited by God, where loving and eating are one and the same. For that country is none other than Denji's body.

In conclusion:

Substitute Makima for "God", and the preceding statements are still rigorously accurate.

Further Reading:

Anthony Oliveira's ongoing podcast reading the Gospel of Mark (Patreon exclusive, but I highly recommend, even/especially if you are a heathen like me)

Hannibal (NBC)

Daniel Birnbaum and Anders Olsson, An Interview with Jacques Derrida on the Limits of Digestion

David Farrell Krell, "All You Can't Eat: Derrida's Course, "Rhetorique du Cannibalisme (1990-1991)." Research in Phenomenology, vol. 36, 2006, pp. 130–180. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24660636.

Alec Irwin, “Devoured by God: Cannibalism, Mysticism, and Ethics in Simone Weil.” CrossCurrents, vol. 51, no. 2, 2001, pp. 257–272. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24460795.

#chainsaw man #cannibalism as love #love as cannibalism

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historic-old-guard-lover · 4 years

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Historically Booker’s native language would be Occitan and not French . He would also probably deeply resent standard / Parisian French since the government did their damnest to erase regional languages and still do it today .

Agreed! There was another post about this, but since I got an ask (I love you, anon) I’ll elaborate. Buckle up for a primer on the evolution of the French language with a brief aside for troubadours, traveling musician-poets you wish were still a career option. No, being a rock star is not quite the same.

In the early medieval period (as early as ~900CE), the country we now call France had a language divide between the northern and southern regions. In the north, they spoke langues d'oïl which is what eventually became modern standard French. In the south, they spoke Occitan or lenga d'òc and a modern form of this language is known as Provençal. Looking at the regional sub-dialects, the more northern Occitan begins to sound like a langue d’oil and the more southern dialects begin to sound like Spanish.

As I touched upon in a previous post, this is because they all share similar roots as a romance language. Even though modern standard French is a langue d’oil, occitan managed to sneak a few things into the language. If you’ve learned French as a second language, you’ll know that when you respond yes (oui) to a negative question (you don’t like cheese? / tu n’aimes pas le fromage?) that you use a different yes (si). This is a skeleton of Occitan!

The why of the invention of “standard French” is, as most “standard” things are, a detour into nationalism. In 1635, Cardinal Richelieu (under Louis XIII) founded the Académie Française (French Academy) which was tasked with standardizing the French language so that it could be exported to the rest of Europe and used to gain further prestige of the role of French philosophers during the Enlightenment. During the French Revolution, it was disregarded, but Napoleon Bonaparte restored it as part of the Institut de France (Institute of France) in 1803. To this day, the Académie is tasked with publishing the French dictionary and inventing new words for things such as “e-mails” so that the French needn’t stoop to using English loan-words.

Another part of this was the Toubon Law (August 1994) which required French (the standard French from the Académie) to be used in all official documents and advertising. It required all advertising to use French and even set a certain percentage of music on the radio that must be French. This law was literally the government going “let’s make the French french again.” If a school doesn’t instruct in French (modern, standard French of course), then they can’t receive government funds. The only exception is Breton-language schools (Breton is as north as it gets and is a langue d’oil so it still helps crush Occitan).

Since the previous paragraph probably made you mad as heck, let me give you some irony to laugh at: some French people refer to this as the loi Allgood (“law” Allgood). To explain this joke, it helps to know that Toubon is the last name of the Minister of Culture at the time the law was passed. If you break down his last name, it sounds like “tout bon” in French which translates to “all good.” People took this law saying make everything French, goddammit and replied, sure thing Minister All-Good. I love it.

Now, for the troubadours! I learned standard modern French in high school, but at university I came across Occitan because of those romantic poets. I’ll put this aside below the break so you can continue on with your day if for some reason you’re not interested in medieval French rock star-poets...

Let me begin by quoting the Wikipedia definition:

A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word troubadour is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz.

Right away you may notice a few things: 1) they wrote and sang in Occitan; 2) it was an equal-opportunity field (though it was rare for a woman to be one). The first Troubadours were mostly noblemen, but later ones could come from any social class. Yes, you read that correctly: egalitarian travelling poets! If that doesn’t sell you on these performers, I don’t know what will. The troubadours spread their tradition throughout Europe and the only thing that could stop them was the Black Plague.

As you’d expect, they mostly sang about love. A lot of their poems were about courtly love and chivalry, but they could also get bawdy. The especially good performers would be sought after by courts like famous painters. Troubadours are essentially the apex bards: romantic, witty, charming, talented, and able to make serious bank.

To finish this, I will leave you with one of the bawdiest troubadour poems I know of, Farai un vers, pos mi somelh (The Ladies with the Cat) by Guillem de Peiteus. It’s essentially the story of a dude who has sex with these women who pick up a knight on a pilgrimage (though it plays with reality and this guy’s fantasies). I’ll include it in the original Occitan, and then a translation by Robert Kehew (I believe), verse-by-verse. Forgive me for my commentary in between, but I just want you to understand how freaking clever this poem is!

Farei un vers, pos mi somelh Em vauc e m’estauc al solelh. Domnas i a de mal conselh, E sai dir cals: Cellas c’amor de cavalier Tornon a mals.

While sound asleep I’ll walk along In sunshine, making up my song. Some ladies get the rules all wrong; I’ll tell you who: The ones that turn a knight’s love down And scorn it, too.

The singer is establishing himself as a troubadour. The protagonist is dreaming, so we should be careful about what is real and imagined. He’s also invoking the trope of the philandering knight constantly falling in love and breaking his heart.

Domna fai gran pechat mortal Qe no ama cavalier leal; Mas si es monge o clergal, Non a raizo: Per dreg la deuri’hom cremar Ab un tezo.

Grave mortal sins such ladies make Who won’t make love for a knight’s sake; And they’re far worse, the ones who’ll take A monk or priest-- They ought to get burned at the stake At the very least.

The Middle Ages were not at all chaste; yes, monks and priests were having sex. This isn’t as sexist as it may come across on a first reading however. He’s not saying women shouldn’t have sex (he’s actually saying that it’s a sin not to being having sex), he’s just upset that women who are clearly willing to have sex are turning *him* down. He’s not going to get any awards for feminist of the year, but he’s not the worst. I’m sure this would rouse cheers from a tavern.

En Alvernhe, part Lemozi, M’en aniey totz sols a tapi: Trobei la moller d’en Guari E d’en Bernart; Saluderon mi simplamentz Per sant Launart.

Down in Auvergne, past Limousin, Out wandering on the sly I ran Into the wives of Sir Guarin And Sir Bernard; They spoke a poper welcome then By St. Leonard.

These are recognizable locations along a pilgrimage route. There’s a good chance that these names are replaceable (Bernard can be replaced with any last name that rhymes with a saint) and this song could be used to goad the audience. And no, he hasn’t had sex with these ladies yet. They’re just saying hello (for now).

La unam diz en son latin: “E Dieus vos salf, don pelerin; Mout mi semblatz de bel aizin, Mon escient; Mas trop vezem anar pel mon De folla gent.”

One said in her dialect, “Sir Pilgrim, may the Lord protect Men so sweet-manned, so correct, With such fine ways; This whole world’s full of lunatics And rogues, these days.”

I think most would agree that this is happening in the knight’s sex-dream because she’s just sweet talking him. The awesome part is that the “dialect” reflects the singer actually adopting a Northern French language (they’re mutually intelligible). Guillem didn’t have to go that hardcore, but he did.

Ar auzires qu’ai respondut; Anc no li diz bat ni but, Ni fer ni fust no ai mentaugut, Mas sol aitan: “Barbariol, babariol, Babarian.”

For my reply--I’ll swear to you I didn’t tell them Bah or Boo, I answered nothing false of true; I just said, then, “Babario, babariew, Babarian.”

This guy just mocks their accents as a reply. Wildin’.

So diz n’Agnes a n’Ermessen: “Trobat avem que anam queren. Sor, per amor Deu, l’alberguem, Qe ben es mutz, E ja per lui nostre conselh Non er saubutz.”

So Agnes said to Ermaline, “Let’s take him home, quick; don’t waste time. He’s just the thing we’d hoped to find: Mute as a stone. No matter what we’ve got in mind, It won’t get known.”

In this stanza we see two repeats and a new thing. First, the names are easy to replace (Agnes doesn’t even have to rhyme with anything) so that this can be done to call out a specific woman’s name. Second, the language skills are being flaunted again as this Occitan-speaker is just casually showcasing that he can sing about sex in other languages too, thankyouverymuch. Lastly, this is WOMEN voicing their desire, not men. The man is silent, they think he’s incapable of speech. This is two women in a poem/song getting to steer the story how they please. Stepping back, this is a guy’s sex-dream so you could argue he’s just got a kink for dominant women, but regardless that’s a pretty cool way to turn masculinity on its head.

La unam pres sotz son mantel Menet m’en sa cambra, al fornel. Sapchatz qu’a mi fo bon a bel, El focs fo bos, Et eu calfei me volentiers Als gros carbos.

Under her cloak, one let me hide; We slipped up to her room’s fireside. By now I thought one could abide To play this role-- Right willingly I warmed myself At their live coals.

Yes, this dude is saying he’s more than happy to let the women take charge. Don’t kink-shame him.

A manjar mi deron capos, E sapchatz agui mais de dos, E noi ac cog ni cogastros, Mas sol nos tres, El pans fo blancs el vins fo bos El pebr’ espes.

They served fat capons for our fare-- I didn’t stop at just one pair; We had no cook or cook’s boy there, But just us three. The bread was white, the pepper hot, The wine flowed free.

A capon is a castrated rooster, fattened for eating. He’s being fattened (and emasculated by letting them take control) before the women get down to their fun with him.

“Sor, aquest hom es enginhos, E laissa lo parlar per nos: Nos aportem nostre gat ros De mantenent, Qel fara parlar az estros, Si de renz ment.”

N’Agnes anet per l’enujos, E fo granz et ac loncz guinhos: E eu, can lo vi entre nos, Aig n’espavent, Q’a pauc non perdei la valor E l’ardiment.

“Wait, sister, this could be a fake; He might play dumb just for our sake. See if our big red cat’s awake And fetch him, quick. Right here’s one silence we should break If it’s a trick.”

So Agnes brought that wicked beast, Mustachioed, huge, and full of yeast; To see him sitting at our feast-- Seemed less than good; I very nearly lost my nerve And hardihood.

So yes, he’s joking about almost loosing his boner and there’s that language play again. The big part of the ending, however, is the imagery of the red cat. Cats are typically associated with women, and the color red tempts the mind into thinking of it as female passion or some kind of prowling sexuality (with undertones of evil). The subtext here is that they’re going to test him by letting this cat scratch him up to see if he’ll cry out. If he can keep his mouth shut and allow the womens’ passions, he can stay. If he can’t, he’s out. Ultimately, I’m going to say that this poem is subtly for women’s empowerment. Go scratch up your knights, ladies.

#the old guard #historic #reference #sebastien le livre #booker #french #nationalism #language standardization #occitan #troubadours #i wish i was as cool as troubadours #so underappreciated #asks #lovely anon

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petrashappyplace · 4 years

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RIOT

By Gwendolyn Brooks

A Poem in Three Parts A riot is the language of the unheard. —Martin Luther King, Jr. John Cabot, out of Wilma, once a Wycliffe, all whitebluerose below his golden hair, wrapped richly in right linen and right wool, almost forgot his Jaguar and Lake Bluff; almost forgot Grandtully (which is The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Scotch); almost forgot the sculpture at the Richard Gray and Distelheim; the kidney pie at Maxim’s, the Grenadine de Boeuf at Maison Henri.

Because the “Negroes” were coming down the street.

Because the Poor were sweaty and unpretty (not like Two Dainty Negroes in Winnetka) and they were coming toward him in rough ranks. In seas. In windsweep. They were black and loud. And not detainable. And not discreet.

Gross. Gross. “Que tu es grossier!” John Cabot itched instantly beneath the nourished white that told his story of glory to the World. “Don’t let It touch me! the blackness! Lord!” he whispered to any handy angel in the sky.

But, in a thrilling announcement, on It drove and breathed on him: and touched him. In that breath the fume of pig foot, chitterling and cheap chili, malign, mocked John. And, in terrific touch, old averted doubt jerked forward decently, cried, “Cabot! John! You are a desperate man, and the desperate die expensively today.”

John Cabot went down in the smoke and fire and broken glass and blood, and he cried “Lord! Forgive these nigguhs that know not what they do.” THE THIRD SERMON ON THE WARPLAND Phoenix “In Egyptian mythology, a bird which lived for five hundred years and then consumed itself in fire, rising renewed from the ashes.” —webster The earth is a beautiful place. Watermirrors and things to be reflected. Goldenrod across the little lagoon. The Black Philosopher says “Our chains are in the keep of the Keeper in a labeled cabinet on the second shelf by the cookies, sonatas, the arabesques. . . . There’s a rattle, sometimes. You do not hear it who mind only cookies and crunch them. You do not hear the remarkable music—‘A Death Song For You Before You Die.’ If you could hear it you would make music too. The blackblues.” West Madison Street. In “Jessie’s Kitchen” nobody’s eating Jessie’s Perfect Food. Crazy flowers cry up across the sky, spreading and hissing This is it. The young men run. They will not steal Bing Crosby but will steal Melvin Van Peebles who made Lillie a thing of Zampoughi a thing of red wiggles and trebles (and I know there are twenty wire stalks sticking out of her head as her underfed haunches jerk jazz.) A clean riot is not one in which little rioters long-stomped, long-straddled, BEANLESS but knowing no Why go steal in hell a radio, sit to hear James Brown and Mingus, Young-Holt, Coleman, John on V.O.N. and sun themselves in Sin. However, what is going on is going on. Fire. That is their way of lighting candles in the darkness. A White Philosopher said ‘It is better to light one candle than curse the darkness.’ These candles curse— inverting the deeps of the darkness. GUARD HERE, GUNS LOADED. The young men run. The children in ritual chatter scatter upon their Own and old geography. The Law comes sirening across the town. A woman is dead. Motherwoman. She lies among the boxes (that held the haughty hats, the Polish sausages) in newish, thorough, firm virginity as rich as fudge is if you’ve had five pieces. Not again shall she partake of steak on Christmas mornings, nor of nighttime chicken and wine at Val Gray Ward’s nor say of Mr. Beetley, Exit Jones, Junk Smith nor neat New-baby Williams (man-to-many) “He treat me right.” That was a gut gal. “We’ll do an us!” yells Yancey, a twittering twelve. “Instead of your deathintheafternoon, kill ’em, bull! kill ’em, bull!” The Black Philosopher blares “I tell you, exhaustive black integrity would assure a blackless Amrica. . . .” Nine die, Sun-Times will tell and will tell too in small black-bordered oblongs “Rumor? check it at 744-4111.” A Poem to Peanut. “Coooooool!” purrs Peanut. Peanut is Richard—a Ranger and a gentleman. A Signature. A Herald. And a Span. This Peanut will not let his men explode. And Rico will not. Neither will Sengali. Nor Bop nor Jeff, Geronimo nor Lover. These merely peer and purr, and pass the Passion over. The Disciples stir and thousandfold confer with ranging Rangermen; mutual in their “Yeah!— this AIN’T all upinheah!” “But WHY do These People offend themselves?” say they who say also “It’s time. It’s time to help These People.” Lies are told and legends made. Phoenix rises unafraid. The Black Philosopher will remember: “There they came to life and exulted, the hurt mute. Then is was over. The dust, as they say, settled.” AN ASPECT OF LOVE, ALIVE IN THE ICE AND FIRE

LaBohem Brown In a package of minutes there is this We. How beautiful. Merry foreigners in our morning, we laugh, we touch each other, are responsible props and posts. A physical light is in the room. Because the world is at the window we cannot wonder very long. You rise. Although genial, you are in yourself again. I observe your direct and respectable stride. You are direct and self-accepting as a lion in Afrikan velvet. You are level, lean, remote. There is a moment in Camaraderie when interruption is not to be understood. I cannot bear an interruption. This is the shining joy; the time of not-to-end. On the street we smile. We go in different directions down the imperturbable street.

#RIOT #Gwendolyn Brooks #poetry #words #bbp #black lives matter #blm

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beelsfeels · 4 years

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A profile of my Obey Me OC, Shoshi! (Pronounced like Yoshi)

Picrew 1 Picrew 2

Name: Shoshi (short for Shoshana)

Age: 27

Pronouns: She/They

Sexuality: Bi

Height: 5′6″

Background: raised Jewish, got into Jewish Mysticism as an adult, began worshiping Lilith, and has Lilith's sigil tattooed beneath her bellybutton. She feels VERY awkward about it in the House of Lamentation.

Random HC: Namaah exists at RAD and is a totally hottie BAMF that Shoshi has a Huge Gay Crush on, to the point she can't really form cohesive thoughts around her, a fact that Satan and Asmodeus love to team up and exploit for the LOLs.

Summary: Horny-For-Yall Death-Wish with Crippling Anxiety. Copes with humor and memes. The ultimate self-insert.

Relationships with the brothers:

Lucifer:

- Shoshi and Lucy have a very complex relationship, she both admires and is intimidated by the eldest.

- Shoshi is a huge brat and it gets her in trouble a LOT with Lucifer. He goes easy on her though, which is good because her anxiety skyrockets when this man get That Look™️ when anyone is acting up.

- When Lucifer tried to intimidate her at Diavolo's weekend retreat while dancing, Shoshi straight up cussed him out and stormed off to the balcony to angry cry.

- Eventually had an argument so heated she wasn't sure if she was about to be murdered or have the best sex of her life.

- it was the latter

- they started casually dating after that, and Shoshi would often stay up late with Lucifer to keep him company while he does paperwork.

- Lucifer is very protective of her, and often walks her to each of her classes, a hand on her lower back. This draws many stares from the other students and becomes harder for her to make friends outside of the HoL.

- HC that Lucifer teaches one of her classes and she can NOT pay attention which earns her lots of after class "punishments"

- listen up, Morningstar

- "What did you just call me?"

- ::books it at high velocity towards wherever Diavolo is::

Mammon:

- Shoshi is his Ride or Die (Ride AND die more like) best friend.

- will destroy anyone who talks crap on the 2nd eldest.

- maybe a tiny human but WILL throw hands for his honor

- always ends in Mammon having to save her which is counterintuitive

- they share one (1) braincell when they are together and it's full of the literal worst ideas.

- snuggle buddies, Mammon won't admit he likes her out loud but will end up in her room Every Night that Lucifer hasn't already sanctioned her time.

- Jealous of her relationships with every other brother, but will tolerated a three way spoon with Beel since he's a walking teddy bear.

- "after this hare brained scheme we will have enough money to buy you a bigger bed"

- they never do

- invented a silent eye contact language for when Lucifer is lecturing them for hours about how irresponsible they have been.

Leviathan

-Leviachan! ::Jump hugs him::

-"Shoshi!! You can't just hug me without warning!"

-Levi is always having a heart attack around Shoshi either because she's flirting with him or she's absolutely crushing him at video games

-Shoshi would literally die for this boy, is absolutely in love with this Otaku king.

-she thinks it is unrequited until one night she's crushing him too hard at Mario Kart and he finds ways to... Distract her.

-Shoshi will protect Levi at all costs and he REALLY doesn't need her to, why does this human think she can take on everyone she's so bad at fighting.

-what that tail do?

-"please stop asking me that"

Satan

-fast burn enemies to lovers

-Satan does not appriciate Shoshi's humor, as it relates to him.

-"Shosh, do you want to study together tonight?"

-Not Today, Satan

-"Shoshi I brought you your homework"

-Hail Satan!

-Turns into her closest confidant

-lots of book reading, philosophical conversations, and wine nights

-Got Satan to join her in her morning yoga rituals to help with his wrath problem

-Loves going on dates with Satan, he's so upfront and honest, though not as affectionate as she would like

-she respects his personal space

-he lectures her on her "death wish" for all the times she says "fight me" unless it's to Lucifer then he buys her a new book or hands her a kitten he happened to have on hand.

-cat memes back and forth 24/7

-Her actual "first demon" 😉

-"You little brat" (that is a threat)

-she loves it

Asmodeus

- gossip girls

- weekly bath night, bubble bath, face masks, painting each other's nails

- Asmo gives her all the latest DevilDom gossip, and even when it's about people she doesn't know at all she will still chug that tea

- casual nakedness, don't pop into one of their hangouts if you're not ready for an eyeful

- Satan learned that the hard way

- Beel also did, but didn't mind as much

- has to literally put a ward on the door to keep Mammon from busting into Asmos room and dragging Shoshi out

- "no older brothers allowed" sign on the door.

- sneaks out to go clubbing, Shoshi doesn't drink much but she LOVES to dance

- "describe Lucifers abs to me, do not leave out any details"

- ASmo No! i don't want to die over some glorious abs!

- "excuse you, what would be a better way to die than that??"

- also has a secret language for when Lucifer lectures them, but it involves mostly puppy dog eyes and trying to guilt Lucifer into forgiving them

- has never worked once

Beel

- the most dramatic friendship 180 in the history of the DevilDom

- Shoshi thought he was an anger issues Jock who punches walls and threatens to eat her

- Well cannibal serial killers have stated on record that humans with tattoos don't taste that good so you probably shouldn't eat me

- can't believe that worked

- staying in his room after the kitchen incident and cuddling with him in bed, talking about the loss of their sisters, and how important family was, she realizes he was a soft boi that needed protected

- that night beel became her second demon 😉

- Shoshi loves cooking, so they cook together a lot, helping each other when they're in charge of meals

- Shoshi starts a vegetable and fruit garden outside the house of lamentation, teaching Beel how to grow food, which he takes to very well (after a few casualties of fully eaten tomato plants)

- this significantly helps the fridge situation at HoL, which all are grateful for

- the fridge checks, while occaisionally sexy, mostly actually involve Shoshi jumping at Beel to see if he will catch her (Brooklyn 99 gag style)

- "Beels what's your T-Shirt made of? Cause it feels like husband material"

- "oh, I think it's a demon cotton blend"

- I love you, my sweet Himbo.

Belphie

-Belphi take me to Majolish

-"No, I'm tired."

-Remember that one time you literally killed me

-"okay I'll be there in 5"

-Shoshi is the only one who could possibly out nap Belphie

-Beel/Belphie/ Shoshi cuddle puddles and snack nights.

-rarely hangs out with him alone because he did, in fact, murder her once

-They leave each other super soft pillows without notes or any context and it has turned into a rivalry to find the BEST pillow. Winner gets bragging and napping rights.

BONUS:

Diavolo

- You're my Dad! Boogie woogie woogie

- teaches him all the latest memes and dances

- No fear for this man, which disturbs and upsets pretty much everyone.

- one time Lucifer asked Shoshi to Please Stop asking the Prince of Demons for piggy back rides

- Shoshi told on Lucifer and in fact got MORE piggy back rides.

- They have Lucifer Imitation contests where they just say "Don't Dissapoint Diavolo" back and forth till one of them cracks up.

- Did not anticipate any sexy business with this Goliath Friend, but caught Luci and him smooching one time and one thing lead to another...

- Did not change their friendship at all, the Two Most Immature People In The Entire DevilDom

Solomon

- ::stranger danger siren goes off::

- I don't trust you Wizard boy

- Asmo said you can have a little rights, but you're on thin fucking Ice mister

- oh you got 72 demons? It'd be cooler if they were cats and dogs.

- only teams up with him for kareoke nights and other human themed activities because no one else understands

Things Shoshi has said without context:

"Why does everyone in this house have bigger titties than me"

"Lucifer took his gloves off and I almost passed out"

"I'm from the United States of America in the year of our Lord 2020, you can not scare me"

"It really do be YEET or be YEETED in this house, huh?"

"Mammon if you even look at that cat wrong I will round house kick you into the next century and claim my rightful place as second oldest"

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me MC #obey me OC #obey me headcannons

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talvin-muircastle · 4 years

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The Last of the King’s Men (Original Fiction)

This was the first story I wrote in November 2015, when I was doing my Short-Story-A-Day challenge.

Content warning: violent death.

And so I begin again, for the fourth year. It's semi-traditional that I start out with something that has a "spooky" element to it. I've had this one stirring in my head for a while, but I had to sit down and write it after a very long day. Still: a single draft. It stands.

The murder happened around midnight. They woke Inspector Arrensby at a quarter to three. "Beg pardon, sir," said the patrolman at his door, "Man found dead in the park, and it's a strange killin', it is. I have a coach waiting." "Of course. Come in out of the cold while I get ready." He could barely see the lanterns through the fog when they reached the park. Together they made their way over to the body. The patrolman filled him in as they walked. "It was me as found him, sir, on my rounds. Literally tripped right over him in this soup. No sign of a struggle, no sign of a weapon, and well, it's not gonna be the sort of thing you can stick in your pocket...look." "In the King's Name!" swore Arrensby. The body lay on its stomach, and the head sat on a rock a short distance away, bearing a crown made of browning oak leaves. "Aye, sir. This is why we wanted you. Man beheaded, wearing a crown of oak...looks kinda like the old King's crown from the books, don't it? Except there ain't no King no more, not for a century and some." "No," whispered Arrensby, "there is no more King." And it was true. The King lay dead at his feet. Late morning, and Arrensby had had no sleep, no food, and no answers. The first two he would remedy soon enough, but first he had a duty to perform. A hired coach dropped him at the front door of Wallens House, the home of the recently deceased. He had been there many times before, but always by the back way, by night or disguised. Today, none would think it odd if he used the front door. The sun shone brightly through the crisp air, the first sun that had been clearly seen in a month. It was bitter irony that the death of a great man should be heralded by pleasant weather. Storms and gloom seemed more appropriate, somehow. Yet they had had enough of both this last year, with a poor harvest, ships lost at sea, and an outbreak of the fever that had left families mourning their children and elders too soon. I should be glad of the sun, thought the Inspector. I suppose I should. The door opened, and Arrensby was shown into the parlor. A young woman sat there in a chair that would only suggest a throne to someone inclined to think in such terms already: Catherine Wallens, only daughter of Cecil Wallens. He knelt before her, "My Queen." "Not yet, Andrew. Frederick: the blade." Her butler handed her a slender sword, which she lay across her hands. They shook slightly, but he pretended not to notice. He set his right hand upon the sword and his left upon his heart. "The Queen is the Land, and the Land is the Queen. I, Andrew Stewart Arrensby, do swear upon this blessed blade that I shall serve the Land by serving my Sovereign the Queen, and that I shall serve Her by serving the Land and Her People. I further swear that none not of the Court shall know my true allegiance, nor that the Line continues unbroken!" He withdrew his hand, and she laid the sword across her lap. "I accept your oath and your loyalty, Guardsman. Now I beg of you: tell me of my father." "My Queen, I know too little. It...it was clearly ritualistic. Perhaps some attempt to raise power. I must consult with Master Kenneth: if Magic was involved, it both shortens our list of suspects and increases the threat to you. Ah...forgive me. Has Mr. Perry been informed?" She blinked back tears and nodded. "The Admiralty sent a message by wireless this morning. He is currently serving as Commodore Entwright's Flag Lieutenant, and the Commodore is putting him on the next fast ship home, on compassionate leave. The wedding...will of course be delayed, as I will be in mourning." The Queen's Fiancee safely across the water. Inwardly, Andrew breathed a sigh of relief: none were above suspicion, yet it eased his mind to be able to move that one further down the list. "Your Majesty, I must continue my investigation. I have spoken to the other Guardsmen already, and the watch upon you will be increased. If there is anything else I may do, call for me." "Thank you. Please keep me...Us...informed." The butler showed him out, asking if he should summon a cab, but the Inspector declined: he wanted to walk to clear his head. Soon he found himself taking his lunch at one of the capital's many cookshops, eating without really noticing the taste as he pondered the death of his Sovereign Lord. A hundred and fifty years ago, the last King had died without issue--or so it was thought. The Age of Magic was ended, the Age of Reason begun, and already many felt that time of the Kings and Knights was done as well. For centuries it had been said that the King was the Land and the Land was the King, and that if the Line ever ended, so would the Kingdom and her people. The death of a childless monarch had been heralded as proof that the old stories of magic and wonder were only that: stories. They were wrong. The King had hidden a daughter from all but his closest advisors, and she had been raised--secretly, but in plain sight--to assume the throne upon his death. As the Kingdom transitioned to a form of government based on elections and public debate, the Royal Court slipped into the shadows. Its members occupied key positions in the government--though never the Prime Ministry--and subtly guided this journey into self-government. They were content to act only when this young, untested form of rule faltered. For a century and a half, it had worked. "Mr. Wallens", descended of an old Yeoman family of good fortune and good character (which that first secret Queen had married into) was a respected scholar of law, the sort of man that the courts and the politicians turned to when matters were less than clear. Thus he had served his people openly, while speaking more plainly to the members of his Court behind closed doors. Mr. Wallens was not the sort of man who would be murdered in some bizarre ritual. King Cecil II was almost certainly the intended victim. Sleep would have to wait. He needed answers, and Master Kenneth. Kenneth Owen, Ph.D., R.S.M. A Fellow of the Royal Society--still called that, out of tradition. Naturalist, Philosopher, Ordained Minister, a Navigator in the Navy in his youth, a polymath of wit and skill. Also: Royal Mage. He opened the door at the first ring, "Inspector. I knew you would seek me out. Come in." Arrensby went in, marvelling as always at the decor. Most Mages had to hide their vocation in this Age of Reason, but an man as eccentric and eclectic as Master Kenneth could put his tools on public display: "A fascinating study in anthropology!" he would tell the curious, and proceed to tell his visitors the precise use of each bit in a tone that implied that he didn't believe a word of it. Master Kenneth also fancied himself Court Jester at times, and the old King had never corrected him for saying so. "You're here about His Majesty, of course. Dreadful, utterly dreadful...but he hadn't been feeling well all this year, and so now he is spared that at least." Master Kenneth was an odd sort, but this was strange even for him. He puttered about his office nervously, moving things about. Arrensby felt a stirring of concern. "I...found the manner of his passing to be most peculiar. It looked more like a sacrifice in some ritual, truth be told." "Oh, most definitely, most definitely a sacrifice. Old magic, it was. The King is the Land, the Land is the King. If one prospers, so does the other. If one is overcome, both are overcome. Normally it passes...well, normally! Sometimes, though, stronger measures are called for. He knew that. That's why he came to me." "What...what are you saying?" Arrensby was sweating, now, despite the draft from the window at his back. "The King is the Land...we say it, but that's not how it really works." Kenneth turned, and his eyes shone with a frantic inner light. "That is the Reason in you speaking. Ask the Guardsman, the one who is also a Knight. Look outside, Andrew! Not a cloud in the sky! The land is young and fresh again!" Sir Andrew was on his feet, now, without memory of having risen. "You couldn't have...that would be treason!" "No, not treason! He left a letter here, explaining it all. And this book here...this is the diary of a madman. I have been preparing it ever since His Majesty gave me my orders. And this," Master Kenneth snatched at a sword hanging on the wall amidst the other curios, "is the murder weapon. EN GARDE, SIR!" There was no time to think, no time to attempt to reason with him. Master Kenneth, aged though he was, lifted the blade over his head and charged screaming. Arrensby's hand darted inside his jacket. CRACK! The pistol-shot was nearly deafening in that old office. Outside, he heard the whistles of patrolmen. Near midnight, he knelt again before his Queen. Sleep would come soon, but first he had to make his report. He handed over the King's Last Will and Testament, in which Cecil had explained that he knew that his own illness and the sickness of the land were one, and that only his death would end them both. Over his own seal, he said that he had ordered Kenneth to do it, and that Kenneth planned his own death as well, to bring closure to the case in the public eye. The diary had satisfied Arrensby's superiors in the force: poor old Master Kenneth, his mind had snapped. He had attempted some spell out of an old book that required a human sacrifice, an act of madness from one who had spent too much time with such things. Only a few knew the truth. "Thank you, Andrew. I wondered, when Kenneth did not come to me. I sent him word at first light, but he did not come. Always before, he had come when I asked for him. Had he come today, though, he would have had to swear to me, and he couldn't. He held faith with my father, even as he betrayed me." She looked down at her father's letter again. "Truly, he was the last of the King's Men."

#My writing #Original Fiction

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wisdomrays · 5 years

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Time to Concern Ourselves

QUESTION: Why are we not as concerned as we should be, in spite of the heart-rending incidents we encounter every day in our world? How do you think one should act in order to be a considerate believer in the sight of God?

ANSWER: There are circles of concern for a person, from the closest to the most distant ones. The person is at the center of these concentric circles. In other words, a person is naturally concerned about oneself. first of all. The fact that the following prayers from the Qur’an begin with referring to oneself first while asking forgiveness points to this natural situation:

“O our Lord! Forgive me, and my parents, and all the believers, on the Day on which the Reckoning will be established!” (Ibrahim 14:41);

“My Lord! Forgive me and my parents, and everyone who joins my household as a believer, and all the believing men and believing women…” (Nuh 71:28).

Despite this selfishness, it is unthinkable for real believers not to be concerned with what goes on around them. Actually, let alone being a believer, but everybody who has some share of humanity will suffer from another person’s grief and troubles. We see this when clashes and killings begin, and when innocent people are subjected to oppression and violence. All people are like the branches, fruits, leaves, or flowers of the same tree.

The Qur’an addresses us as “O children of Adam!” (al-A’raf 7:31).

Therefore, every person who has not lost conscience will be concerned about the sufferings their brothers and sisters go through. Depending on the depth of their feeling of compassion, they burn from within and it profoundly tugs at their heartstrings.

As for a real believer with an immense feeling of mercy and compassion, he deeply suffers for the troubles, oppression, and injustice all other people go through. This naturally begins with those closest to him—his family, those who share the same values, and those in his community, such as fellow believers and other citizens. No matter who is struck by calamities, such a believer suffers deeply, as if he himself had been struck.

Suffering, like a gong resonating in the night

People who are aware of the present situation of the Islamic world and the schemes orchestrated against Muslims are especially wounded by the suffering of others. It is impossible not to lose sleep, feel agonized, and moan day and night over what is happening. Different groups of people in the Muslim world lived peacefully together, without any problems, for a certain period of history.

Unfortunately, there are efforts abound to make Muslims into enemies of one another. Seeds of dispute and disunity are being sown by outside groups, and various conspiracies are carried out in order to bring Muslims to loggerheads. Those who will do anything to retain power are continuing their schemes to divide and factionalize Muslims in order to rule without disruption.

While Muslims are at one another’s throats, others come near them, playing the arbiter, and appropriate their resources of wealth. They have divided the Muslim world into pieces, and thus exploited the riches over and under the ground. Today, the same games are being played with the same goals and desires. Those who provoked fires of discord between Muslim groups once are continuing to commit the same evil today, in an even stealthier fashion.

In addition, the immune system to protect Islamic values and criteria is in a weaker state, for hypocrites are harming Muslim societies from within like a virus. It is so difficult for people who are constantly in conflict with one another to present balanced thoughts and sound judgments—perhaps it is even impossible. Individuals and masses in confrontations are doomed to lose their senses and to act emotionally. As the Qur’an also points out, some even begin to behave instinctually, like animals. They do not think for even a moment whether all of these clashes and confrontations do any good to the Islamic world. They do not ever wonder in self-criticism, “Why do some assume an arbiter’s role and slam down on us, while the Islamic world is engaged in conflict with itself?” If a person thinks about all of these facts, can analyze them, and can see what is going on behind the scenes but does not feel concerned despite all of this, then that person has lost his feeling of basic humanity.

Even if you do not cry, feel ashamed to laugh at least!

Actually, those who can cherish conscientious scrupulousness not only feel concerned about what they see in the world of humanity, but also fear for animals, plants, and even non-living things. It is an outward reflection of humanity for conscientious people that they feel a kinship with every being and feel troubled by their struggles: this is true in terms of both the fact that each thing in the worlds point to the Lord of the Worlds, and that the human was rendered the master of all creation.

I was very much impressed by some documentaries I watched many years ago. For example, a few lions killed a water buffalo. One of them jumped onto its back, one of them caught its feet, another bit the buffalo’s throat, and these lions finally ate the buffalo. I still cannot forget this scene. Although that innocent animal had horns, there was not much it could do before the sharp teeth and strong claws of the lions. Sometimes when I go to bed and draw the blanket over myself, I lay imaginary traps for those lions that unjustly killed that water buffalo, expand my bow, and take aim at them by saying, “Why did you kill that innocent animal? Take it, this is your just deserts!” Then I shoot an arrow at them.

There is a food chain in the animal world. An animal that God created as a carnivore survives by eating other animals. As herbivores start eating grass as soon as they come to this world, carnivores are naturally oriented to eating meat; this is what their natural traits require. Even we slaughter an animal we wish to eat when the time comes. On the other hand, although we cognitively accept the situation, we emotionally remain under the influence. On witnessing an innocent animal being devoured by a few predators, our heart sinks, and we feel disturbed and upset. I think everybody who listens to their conscience will have the same feelings on this issue.

If a person feels disturbed by such sights even when animals are concerned, it is impossible for him not to feel disturbed and agonized for people being killed. As for people who have not lost their humanity, they definitely feel upset because of the suffering in today’s world.

As a matter of fact, the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, once stated, “Whoever does not care about (the sufferings and troubles of) Muslims is not one of them.” Namely, if a person deserves to be called a Muslims, even a marginal one, he or she should feel the sufferings Muslims are subjected to as an inner trouble. One who does not feel these as an inner trouble will naturally not bother to think of developing alternative solutions to tackle those problems.

However, everybody must look at oneself first in this respect and avoid baseless negative thoughts about others. We cannot know what is going on in another person’s head. The people around us may seem insensitive on account of their being very patient and steadfast. Actually, they too may be feeling the same pain we do. Their heart may also be continuously bleeding with the problems inflicted upon Muslims. Due to having a strong immune system, they may be not giving any outward signs of their sorrow, and may not reveal their suffering to others.

War-mongering, which might bring about the end of humanity

The following is an important aspect of the issue of suffering in the face of the troubles and misfortunes people go through: As it is not right to remain indifferent, it is definitely not right to yell, engage in destructive acts, or to resort to violence. Such a reaction, made in the name of a solution, can neither be reconciled with Islam nor humanity. Therefore, such extremisms must never be allowed. On the contrary, it is necessary to put a barrier before every kind of violence by bringing human values to the fore.

For this reason, it is necessary to point out at every opportunity that the acts of violence and terror which kill innocent people without distinguishing children, women, and the elderly have nothing to do with religion, even if they are committed as a reaction against oppression and injustice. Those who commit such murders must be openly protested; we must reject the idea of brutal force. If possible, it is necessary to rehabilitate those in deviation of thought in this respect and save them from the misguided path they have taken. While this is being done on the one hand, sensible politicians, sociologists, philosophers, pedagogues, and educators must come together, and they must try to develop a language of peace between different civilizations, instead of dialogues of violence and war. Against the war language and war mongering some states try to incite for the sake of their interests, it is necessary to form a language and environment of peace by means of common sense.

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bbclesmis · 5 years

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Just Like Jean Valjean, Dominic West Is Done Being A Bad Guy

After a career of playing notable villains, actor Dominic West says he’s ready to turn a new leaf. So his role as the tortured thief, Jean Valjean, in the new MASTERPIECE production of Victor Hugo’s classic novel, Les Misérables, is a helpful bridge to be a better man on screen. In an interview, he talks about what it means to play Valjean, how his character seeks personal redemption and what the rest of the series has in store for the repentant former prisoner 24601.

Transcript:

Jace Lacob: I’m Jace Lacob, and you’re listening to MASTERPIECE Studio.

The story is well known — an impoverished man steals a loaf of bread to feed his family, and spends 19 years in prison. Upon his release, the convict nearly falls prey to old habits… but instead spends the rest of his life struggling to prove he has truly reformed.

CLIP

Old Woman: What are you doing there, my friend?

Jean Valjean: Trying to sleep, what does it look like?

Old Woman: Why don’t you go to an inn?

Jean Valjean: I did. They wouldn’t take me. No would take me.

Jace: In Andrew Davies’ sweeping new adaptation of Victor Hugo’s legendary epic, Les Misérables, the bleak stakes of the story take on dazzling new heights.

CLIP

Bishop: Consider this: even if the world has done you a great injustice, does it really serve you to have a heart full of bitterness and hatred?

Jean Valjean: How could I not have a heart full of bitterness and hatred? I’d like to see you after 19 years in the hulks! So don’t preach to me about God and love.

Jace: Best known for his turns in The Wire and The Affair, actor Dominic West has made a name for himself playing villainous rogues on American and British television, and his role as Jean Valjean includes its fair share of monstrous rage and sly trickery. Despite all this, he also found room for moral clarity.

Dominic West: This man’s a brute…who for whom compassion and humanity has been withheld for 20 years, and it takes a bit more to for him to be able to control that bestial side.

Jace: West joins us to explore Valjean’s story still to come in Les Miserables, why he might be done with playing scoundrels, and how he and his wife have become their own real-life Monarchs of the Glen in their castle-hotel in Scotland.

And we are joined this week by Les Misérables star and executive producer, Dominic West. Welcome.

Dominic: Thank you very much. Hi.

Jace: Jean Valjean has preternatural strength and a secret identity. Is he the first superhero in literature?

Dominic: He’s not the first because I suppose you’ve got the Greeks, but he’s the best. And he climbs buildings like Spiderman and he beats people up like Iron Man and he rescues children like Superman. But none of those superheroes did 19 years hard labor in a 19th century French jail, so he’s the toughest of the lot. I think.

Jace: We all know Jean Valjean’s prisoner number by heart and his story of redemption. What was the initial appeal of playing Valjean?

Dominic: The initial reservation was that the been played so many times before and that the film of the musical had just come out, and therefore what the hell have we got to add to it and certainly what have I got to add to the part? But the appeal came once I started reading the book and I realized it’s the best book I’ve ever read, and probably ever written. And that he’s I think the greatest hero in literature. And I quickly fell in love with him and suppose what was most appealing about him, apart from his strength and ability to save children’s lives, etcetera, was his inner heroism, his heroics of battling your own demons and trying to do what’s right rather than what you impulsively and emotionally feel like doing.

Jace: We see Valjean not when he’s released from prison, but at the thick of it at the quarry. He strikes a massive boulder and it plummets down onto a guard, the same man who hit him earlier when he’s led through Toulon in chains. Is this an accident, or an intentional act on his part?

Dominic: Is very much intentional. He’s been brutalized for 19 years and he’s quite happy to want to kill anybody and certainly kill his tormentors. What becomes an accident is that he then rescues the guy that he’s just dropped the rock on and that of course is usually significant later on in Javert’s recognition of Valjean later. So no, he’s a brutalized brute who wants to harm people, wants to get revenge.

Jace: Even in these early scenes there’s an almost magnetic pull between Valjean and Javert that feels almost psychosexual, in a way.

CLIP

Javert: Well now, 24601. What was all that about today? You saving that guard’s life, why? If you were trying to get yourself an early release, you tried in vain. There’s no hope of that, no hope at all.

Jace: And why is Javert so obsessed with this particular prisoner?

Dominic: Well it’s the big question it was the first question I asked in rehearsal, it’s the obvious question — What the hell is wrong with this guy? You know? What’s his beef? Why is he…? Because it’s not very apparent in the book at all. And I think we discuss this a lot and my preference is always to go for the big motivators which are love and sex. I think that’s what motivate most of us the most. And so I think there’s a huge magnetic attraction that Javert has for Valjean, and David hints that in the scene where I’m stripping off and he has a look, and it’s just one look, and it’s sort of…it just lets it hang there. David didn’t want it to overplay that bit because I think he thought what was more important was the attraction that a very small bitter mind has for the big mind, that a mean person has for a generous person, that the devil has for a saint. You know, I think that that’s probably more interesting.

Jace: These two men come to represent two very different sides in a philosophical debate about good and evil. Why is Valjean’s ultimate optimism, the notion that change and forgiveness are possible, so refreshing particularly right now?

Dominic: Well I suppose it’s fairly standard thinking now, that we’re not born bad, that we are the products of our environment and of of how people treat us. But when this book was written this was very much a philosophical debate that people believed, you know, people like Javert, that people are born bad and there’s nothing you can do about it. I think after, you know, a century of psychology and modern psychology and we realize that that’s not necessarily the case, but it’s worth being reminded of these things because I suppose you know, in modern political life in the UK and the US there’s a lot of currency in vilifying people for what they are, rather than who they are.

Jace: I mean even recently in France protesters called Emmanuel Macron president of the rich. I mean Les Misérables feels incredibly relevant and timely given the class struggles and sort of wealth inequality of today. Does that notion sort of stick with you, having played this part?

Dominic: Yeah I mean the French revolution happened because the gap between rich and poor never been wider. And I think it’s a lot wider now. And I think one thing that Victor Hugo understood was that once that chasm between rich and poor widens enough, there’s going to be trouble. And that it’s unsustainable. And I think I remember making this realizing that, you know, this what we have now, which is an enormous gulf between rich and poor in the world and in America, it’s pretty dangerous territory. And revolution tends to follow that of territory.

Jace: One year later Valjean is released from prison and giving one hundred nine francs after various deductions. But more importantly he gave his name back and becomes more than just a number.

CLIP

Javert: Here is your passport. You are required to show it to the authorities in every town and village you pass through. You have your name again, Monsieur 24601. I wonder if you can remember what it is.

Valjean: Jean Valjean.

Javert: You sure about that?

Valjean: JEAN VALJEAN!

Jace: Why is this such a powerful and profound moment of self identity for the prisoner?

Dominic: Well I suppose from what you says, he you, know he becomes a human being again, rather than a statistic or a number or a commodity. And hence his shouting to the echoing forests and wide open valley that he’s now free to roam. He shouts his name. And it’s very interesting with Valjean, his journey goes from being a number, to being Valjean, to being Monsieur Madeleine, when he’s the mayor, to being one in denial of Jean Valjean and of that being a personality that he is ashamed of, until his final embrace of that. And so it’s it’s very crucial to his arc and his development and his evolution that his names plot very clearly, what he’s called is very, very relevant to his state of mind.

Jace: I love the scenes between you and Sir Derek Jacobins Bishop of Dean.

CLIP

Valjean: You give me a bed here, right next to yours? Are you crazy? How do you know I’m not a murderer?

Bishop: That’s the Good Lord’s business, not mine. Or to put it another way, I’ll take my chance with you, my friend. Good night now, and sleep well.

Jace: What was it like filming these scenes with Derek Jacobi?

Dominic: Well it was bliss. It was. I mean I’ve admired him for years, and it is a tricky one when you got to cast the sort of most virtuous, nicest best man who’s ever lived, which is how he reads in the book. It’s so hard to write about virtue, it’s so hard to make virtue interesting. It’s easy to make the devil funny and interesting but it’s hard to make a saint interesting. And that’s what Victor Hugo does and that’s what Derek Jacobi does. And there’s very few actors who can do that, can make virtue interesting. But acting with him, who is a real hero of mine was in one sense, it’s dead easy because he does it all for a year and he’s so sympathetic and another it’s very salutary, it’s very…he was extraordinarily, he was very detached, you didn’t get involved talking much, you sat very quietly at the side of the set until he’s called. He’s very contained as an actor. And very generous, but it was great watching a master at work.

Jace: There’s a beautiful moment right before the Petit Gervais incident when Valjean collapses under the tree. We hear the church bells ringing out. We see the sunlight streaming through the leaves of the tree. It’s a really beautiful moment and then there’s temptation in this sort of Garden of Eden. The singing boy with his coin. What makes Valjean fall once more?

Dominic: Well it’s interesting, but in the book and I think in the script, too, but we didn’t end up filming it, is when he’s under the tree, after having encountered love and kindness for the first time in 19 years from the Bishop, he remembers his mother and he remembers the last time he felt loved, which was from his mother. And so that was what was going on at that moment of where the transformation is starting to happen. It’s been put in place by the Bishop, he remembers his mother and in the book that sort of precipitates his anguish, when his best side comes out, what makes him fall, what makes the scorpion sting? You know, he’s a scorpion and this man’s a brutalized man who for whom compassion and humanity has been withheld for 20 years and it takes a bit more for him to be able to control that bestial side.

Jace:You’re a dirty thief,’ Petit Gervais screams at him. How much will these words haunt him in these episodes to come?

Dominic: Well totally, and I think what’s interesting, what’s so beautiful about how Victor Hugo makes the agent of Valjean’s change being a little child, a defenseless child who is essentially, Valjean sees him, the bestial Valjean sees him as someone weak and therefore to be exploited. And what he learns is that the weak are what give us humanity and one’s attitude and one’s treatment of the weak is crucial to our humanity.

Jace: You mentioned a damascene conversion. After stealing Petit Gervais’s 40 sous, he changes his mind. He calls out to him. There’s a look of profound agony on your face as he searches his soul. Is this the moment where he where he does decide to be good?

Dominic: Yeah I think it is. I think the whole tragedy of his life and of his brutality comes crashing in on him he realizes that the deep, deep, deep sorrow of what’s happened to him in the last 20 years. And I think as soon as he’s allowed to pity himself in a way is is when he starts to love himself again.

Jace: Valjean collapses on the road curling up into a fetal ball in the dirt. Should we read the scene as a spiritual or moral or rebirth?

Dominic: Yes, very much so. Yeah, and I think that that element of the remembering the mother, which was we didn’t show explicitly, that is very much what Victor Hugo was writing I think that this is, he is reborn back into humanity.

Jace: What was it like filming this particular sequence?

Dominic: It was bloody hard. And really hot. It was really hot and it was the end of a long day that finally I had had to collapse. And I did seem to spend a lot of the shoot in tears. But for some reason at this point I couldn’t, the tears didn’t come. Which is fine, because they have to, but I was very conscious that this was probably the most important single moment of the whole story. And that can be very daunting to try and act. So I found it hard, and I’m still not entirely happy with it.

Jace: This first episode centers on both Valjean and Fantine. There are circumstances in this first episode are very different but they’re forced to make a choice by the end of the installment. Are they mirrors for each other in a way?

Dominic: Yeah, I suppose as she descends, he ascends. I suppose her attitude to Valjean the prisoner would probably be similar to what her daughter’s is later on, of revulsion and horror and what happens of course when they meet is that he becomes her protector.

Jace: Before this next question, a quick word from our sponsors…

Jace: You’ve played a lot of philanderers in your career, whether that’s McNulty or Noah on The Affair. Hector Madden in The Hour. Willie in Collette. Many, many philanderers. Why is that, do you think?

Dominic: I don’t know. I mean I’ve played a lot of villains and this was one of the, I suppose that was the initial attraction of Valjean was not playing a villain, playing the hero and the good guy, but as to why it’s philandering I don’t know. I’m not, I don’t know, I’ve no idea why people think I suited for philanderers. But they think I seem a villain. So hopefully after this I’ll be just plain, monogamous heroes.

Jace: Your big break came with David Simon’s seminal HBO series The Wire, my favorite all time series where you played Jimmy McNulty. Was there a sense at the time that this was a groundbreaking piece of television?

Dominic: I don’t think so. I think I’m sure we were all aware that with The Sopranos and that this was the dawn perhaps of a new golden era. But it’s very hard I find to take an objective view on things, I mean, and I’m only just starting to get an objective view on Les Misérables, in fact. And certainly while we were shooting no one, no one was watching it, really. I mean, a few law enforcement people and lawyers and a few gangsters but no one really was watching and certainly no one from the UK, and so I didn’t really, I wasn’t really aware of how how important it was and how what a groundbreaking series it was until much later, I think. You’re just too close to see these things.

Jace: True or false you joined: in Argentina you joined an Argentinian circus for a spell.

Dominic: I did, De La Guarda. Yeah it was, it was only in New York for a while and I did it in London for five months. Best job I ever had.

Jace: Sarah Treme, who created The Affair said of you quote, ‘He’s not afraid to let a character be complicated. There’s a flawed humanity that he seems to understand inherently.’ How do you react to that?

Dominic: What a lovely thing for Sarah to say. Yeah, I do get a lot of philanderers and a lot of villains but usually they have another side to them, and I think it’s essential no one is purely evil or purely good. Most of us are conflicted. So it’s important to be an actor who can portray that.

Jace: Given how well you nail the accent in The Wire and The Affair, are fans ever surprised to realize you’re not American in real life?

Dominic: They Oh I’m great I’m glad Yeah they still are. People still come up and I’m amazed. But I remember when I did it when The Wire had just come out in the UK and was getting quite a big following and there was a charity night and I was asked to go along. And it was a quiz night, that was as a charity night that was a quiz night, and the way the quiz was entirely about The Wire. And so it was full of Wire nuts, you know, people who really knew the show. And I remember going in and I had to ask the final question or something like that and I started speaking and I just remember sensing the whole room deflate with disappointment that hearing my accent when they realized I was a Brit. And so I you know usually in America people are pleasantly surprised, in the UK, people are unpleasantly surprised that I’m just a Brit.

Jace: Off screen you’re living your own version of Monarch Of The Glen. You recently rescued your wife Catherine’s family seat Glin Castle in County Limerick and converted it into a family run hotel. How is that project going?

Dominic: Well it’s great fun. It’s not true to say we rescued it, it was run as a hotel by her parents and then her father unfortunately died. So it was put on the market. But yeah, we decided to keep it going and to try and make it a going concern. It has been in my wife’s family for 700 years, really not much choice, but it’s going OK, actually. It’s going remarkably well, I think. You know, Ireland is sort of booming at the moment and I think once nobody from Europe is allowed to go to Britain anymore, then they’ll all flock to to Ireland.

Jace: Who is funnier —Dominic West or Olivia Colman?

Dominic: Olivia Colman is spectacularly funny and able to laugh and joke right up until they say action, when she is then able to go into a serious moment, as you can, which is not something Dominic West can do quite as well. And I felt as I found to my cost on the set of Les Mis, it was maybe that scene where we had the big fight at the Thenadier’s, and we were all crying with laughter at what Olivia was saying and then I realized of course that I had to do some proper acting. So I then tried to avoid her after that.

Jace: You directed an episode of The Wire and an episode of Jimmy McGovern’s Moving On. Is directing something you’d like to do more of in the future.

Dominic: Yeah I after doing that I thought that’s what I wanted to do forever and then I realized actually, well two things happened — when I started getting very good acting parts, I didn’t really have time for the writing, and the other one was I realized that a director is first in and last out, whereas an actor is last in and first out.

Jace: You left Guild Hall in 1995 one of your first onscreen roles that year was the Earl of Richmond in Richard III opposite Sir Ian McKellen. Was it a formative professional experience.

Dominic: Oh very much so. Robert Downey, Jr. was in it, Annette Bening was in it, Maggie Smith was in it. It was an amazing cast that I was just out of drama school and was able to sort of go around watching them all at work. And it was headed by Ian McKellen who’s a really great leading man in terms of his compassion and his ability to lead a cast and keep everybody happy. It was yeah, it was a wonderful job and an amazing job to have at an early stage in your career, because it was with a lot of people who were very generous with their knowledge.

Jace: You once reached out to wine critic Robert Parker to try and interview him. What ended up happening?

Dominic: He lives in Baltimore, so I was in Baltimore and I said, ‘Look can I come and interview you?’ and he said, ‘No you can’t but I’ll tell you what, you bring some of The Wire cast, I’ll bring the wine.’ And so we went out for dinner and there were four or five of us from The Wire. Andre, who played Bubbles, was with us and insisted on drinking Jack and Coke the whole time. I was telling him, ‘This is the best wine you’ll ever have in your life, and you insist on Jack and Coke?’ So we drank a lot of extremely great wine and I can’t remember much about it other than Robert Parker very generously gave us an hundred year old bottle of cognac and he said ‘I want you to open that when you finish the last frame of The Wire,’ and we did, which happened to be at six o’clock one morning in Baltimore. And we nailed the whole bottle.

Jace: That’s amazing. Dominic West, thank you so very much.

Dominic: Thank you very much.

Jace: Jean Valjean is the narrative core of Les Misérables. But his lifelong nemesis, the relentless Inspector Javert, keeps things moving in his pursuit of personal justice.

David Oyelowo: He has no problem in in saying that person is a criminal. And so therefore they deserve this punishment.

Jace: Actor David Oyelowo joins us next week on the podcast with a close look at how Javert’s need for truth and justice propels Victor Hugo’s epic forward.

MASTERPIECE Studio is hosted by me, Jace Lacob and produced by Nick Andersen. Elisheba Ittoop is our editor. Susanne Simpson is our executive producer. The executive producer of MASTERPIECE is Rebecca Eaton.

#les mis bbc #bbc les mis #dominic west #Jean Valjean #podcast #Interviews #pbs

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earlgraytay · 6 years

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thathopeyetlives commented on thathopeyetlives's post “Actually, something kinda clicked for me. Sex-positive types don’t...”

From my perspective, I’ve been switching off parts of myself for people who are indifferent to me or who even despise me for many years. This has been the sorrow of my life. (the other thing is that in the OP i was mostly addressing people who find our sexual ethics incomprehensible and come up with incredibly uncharitable/paranoid explanations, not just people who disagree.)So then the root of my converted faith is very much arising from the divine grace of the will to do that, for the greater good of the world and everybody who interacts with me ever. (“INSTEAD OF HOPE YOU SHALL HAVE A PRINCE OF POWER! AS HANDSOME AND HEARTBREAKING AS THE FAERIE LORDS! MORE TREACHEROUS THAN THE SEA! MORE UNMOVED THAN THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH! ALL SHALL ADORE ME AND DESPAIR!No! I pass the test. I will diminish, and live out my life as a pilgrim and, and remain Hoffnung.”)And I think it would be sad if the only thing you can say is only “farewell”, that shouldn’t be necessary and I expect the Lord who forgives sins in contrition and gives the strength to sin no more would help you to do this.

So first off- I’m sorry that happened to you. It wasn’t okay, and you shouldn’t have to have done that. But that’s mad unhealthy and if you can stop doing it without endangering yourself, it’d probably be better for you.

... here’s the thing. When I said ‘turning off parts of yourself’, I wasn’t just talking about homosexuality or transgenderism. Have you heard of Osamu Tezuka?

Osamu Tezuka, in case you don’t know, is the “father of manga”/”father of Japanese animation”. He’s one of the most influential cartoonists ever- in the West, he’s mostly known for creating Astro Boy and/or the controversy over whether Disney ripped off his work Kimba the White Lion. But he was super prolific and super beloved; without him, the Japanese animation industry wouldn’t be nearly as big or successful as it is today.

And after Tezuka died.... when they went to clean out his desk, they found a giant cache of furry porn. Like, extremely lewd anthro art he presumably drew and kept tucked away where no one would find it. People were shocked and dismayed- imagine finding out that Walt Disney had a stash of Tijuana bibles and you can guess the reaction. But artists drawing porn related to their work, or writers writing it, is... it’s not that uncommon.

If you’re an artist, you create things that appeal to you. Sometimes, the appeal comes from a sentimental attachment, or a philosophical interest, or an aesthetic attraction. Sometimes that appeal is because the appealing thing starts a party in your pants.

Most of the time, though, it’s a mixture. Shakespeare wrote a lot about crossdressing, for instance- it’s a recurring thread through his plays that leans into themes of identity and liminality. It was also probably a matter of convenience- putting your boy actors in trousers was easier than getting them in a dress- and, in a society where men’s clothing and women’s clothing is strictly segregated, crossdressing is a pretty common kink. Shakespeare could have written crossdressing into his plays for any or all of these reasons- but if you took the crossdressing out of Shakespeare’s plays, they’d lose something, right?

A lot of other artists are the same way. Look at the gorgeous curvy women that Rubens made a name painting, or Joss Whedon’s cinematic eye for barefoot waifs, or .... whatever the hell is going on with Don Bluth. There’s some evidence of desire in all of those artists’ work- but take out the object of desire, and the work loses something as a result.

If you’re going to be a good artist- and, I think, if you’re going to live a good life- you have to understand what appeals to you and why. You have to know what you find interesting or exciting or arousing, you have to know what effect it has on you, and you have to know what effect it’ll have on the people surrounding you. If you want to make something desireable, you have to know what you desire.

....and here’s the rub. Most people are sexual creatures. Most people’s desires cannot neatly be cordoned off into ‘things I like for Teh Sex0rs’ and ‘things I like for innocent reasons’. And we’re not even talking about “kinky” stuff here. If you like fashion, for instance, you probably enjoy thinking about what certain attractive people would look like in certain outfits. If you’re interested in food and wine, you might daydream about cooking your beloved a certain meal or kissing the taste of wine off their lips. If you love music, there are certain beats that can get you going- especially if they’re loud and vibrate.

None of these things are bad in and of themselves. There’s nothing inherently wicked about a three-piece suit, or a pinot noir, or a loud dance song. In fact, someone else might find these things unpleasant or gross. It’s all in your mind- what you like, what you love, what you want.

If you decide that your desires come in two flavours- ‘innocent’ and ‘sinful’- and that you have to purge all sinful desires from your mind and heart, you lose all the other parts of that ‘sinful’ desire. To steal a metaphor for a second- if you cut out your own eyes rather than look at something that makes you sin in your heart, you lose the ability to watch a sunset, to read a good book, to paint a picture, to gaze into your beloved’s eyes. None of these things are bad. None of these things hurt anyone- in fact, most of them do more good than harm. But they’re connected to the thing that makes you ‘sin’. Because the things you love and the things you want are often also the things you desire.

If you really want to follow conservative Christian sexual ethics, you cannot remain yourself. Because your self is at least as much made up of the things you love and want and desire as it is your soul. You cannot keep those things close to your heart, because any one of them could suddenly become something that makes you a filthy sinner.

You aren’t just diminishing yourself once; you are shaving bits of yourself off with a paring knife, every hour of every day for the rest of your life. You feel like you have to beg forgiveness for every slip, for every time you indulge yourself with something you love that God hates.

Do you know what we call a human who makes other people diminish themselves like that? We call them a bully. An abuser. A complete fucking monster. Because that is what they are. Hurting other people- making them shave themselves down, deny the things they love, forcing them to grovel if they displease you? That’s monstrous.

If your god exists, saying a simple ‘farewell’ to him would be far too kind.

#thathopeyetlives #general malarkey #conservative malarkey #religion #christianity #religious malarkey #christian malarkey #long post is long #the earl speaks #the earl rants #the earl has an opinion

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apenitentialprayer · 6 years

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In light of what happened on Saturday, I’m going to be telling you two stories. Both center around brave women who were inhabitants of Alexandria. They lived about a hundred years apart from each other. Both were brutally killed because they didn’t conform to the majority opinions of the societies that they lived in.

The first of these women would have been known by her friends and family as Ekaterini. She was a bright girl and a member of a noble family, possibly the daughter of the governor of the Roman province of Egypt. Early in her life, she revealed an interest in schooling and education, a passion that her parents happily indulged. By the age of fourteen, she was among the most learned individuals in the city. That was also the age that she decided to convert to Christianity.

The year 301, which would have been around the time that Ekaterini was baptized, marked the beginning of one of the darkest periods of Christian persecution in pagan Rome. Before this point Christians had been persecuted, but such persecutions had always been on a local level at the command of a regional official. This was not the case of the great Diocletian Persecution. This would be an empire-wide persecution, marked by a ferocity and intensity that had not been seen since the persecution headed by Nero over two centuries before.

This was not a sudden process; the seeds had been sown since the year 284, when Emperor Diocletian rose to power. For a long time already, Christians had come to be seen as an “anti-national” minority. Though they may have prayed for the Roman Emperor, as per Saint Paul’s orders (1 Timothy 2:1-2), but they refused to pray to the gods of the Roman elite. As such, they risked angering the gods, and thus were a threat to the metaphysical stability of the empire. Diocletian took this a step further; he identified himself more closely than any other emperor with the Divine, referring to himself as “Iovius” (Jove/Zeus) and demanding that he be worshiped as Lord.

But for Christians, Christ is Lord. He is the only Lord. And so many Christians felt that they could not venerate Diocletian in the way that he wished to be venerated. This made him very upset. First he had decided to purge Christians from the official bureaucracy and the army, but this was not enough; in the year 303, a general persecution calling for the extermination of all Christians who would not worship him was launched. This would be the political landscape that Ekaterini would have to face.

In the year 305, as the story goes, Ekaterini’s conversion to Christianity was made public, and she was confronted with this revelation. Given her young age –she would have been around 18– and the fact that she had a reputation for being well educated, she was questioned by fifty of the most influential philosophers living in Alexandria. The hope was that she would be humiliated by their skill in argument, but that did not happen; in the public debate that followed, several of the philosophers converted to Christianity, as did several hundred members of the crowd.

It was then that the governing officials switched from humiliation to violent cruelty. She was publicly scourged, and then starved while imprisoned for twelve days. During this time, she prayed, gave comfort to fellow Christians who had come to visit her, and received comforting visions of Christ Himself. The order for her execution was ultimately given, and she was beheaded. Those who had converted due to her example were killed afterwards. Today, Ekaterini is one of the most famous of all Catholic saints, Catherine of Alexandria.

The Alexandria that existed a century after Ekaterini’s death was a very different city. In the year 318, Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity and forbade further persecution. In the year 380, the Edict of Thessalonica declared that the official religion of the empire was Christianity, and that all should convert to this official religion. The roles had been reversed; Christianity was ascendant, and paganism, already dying a slow death within the Roman Empire, would never recover. By the time of our second story, which occurred in the year 415, Alexandria had become largely Christian.

Among those dissenters was a woman between the ages of 45 and 65, a remarkable philosopher and scientist known as Hypatia. Hypatia ran her own school for mathematics, philosophy, and astrology. Several major Christian thinkers are numbered among her students, and she was regarded with warmth by pagan and Christian thinkers alike. As it has been mentioned, she took on Christian students; Hypatia did not think that the gap that existed between their community and hers could not be bridged, and she worked hard to make peace between the two groups.

Unfortunately, Hypatia became embroiled in a political struggle between two Christian factions fighting over the position of Bishop of Alexandria. The dominant claimant, a man named Cyril, ultimately earned the ire of the secular ruler of Alexandria, a friend of Hypatia and a recent convert to Christianity named Orestes. As tensions between these two men got worse, rumors began to spread that Hypatia’s influence was the reason that the two groups were not reconciling.

In March of 415, a group of Christians led by a lector named Peter took matters into their own hands. Waiting in ambush, the group seized Hypatia when she was traveling to her home. They dragged her into a church and butchered her. Her eyes were ripped out, her flesh was torn open, and she was ripped limb from limb. They took her parts outside the city and burned them to ashes. So ended the career of Hypatia the brilliant, Hypatia the teacher, Hypatia the bridge-builder. And so it was decided; there would be no peace between Christians and pagans.

It’s amazing how quick the Alexandrian Church had forgotten their roots. In the course of one hundred years, Christians went from being a violently oppressed minority to a violently oppressive majority. According to the records following the immediate aftermath of this tragedy, Christians expressed their disgust and horror at what the party of Peter had done. But that didn’t change the fact that the ever-shrinking pagan community became increasingly seen as outsiders, a minority that simply could not be an acceptable element of society.

I hope and I pray that Hypatia is in heaven with her ‘sister’ Catherine; I hope and pray that she can forgive the sins of my Christian brothers who performed this act of barbarity against her. And I hope that she and Catherine are both praying for the families of those eleven people who were shot dead during their visit to the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh this past Saturday.

I said I was going to tell you two stories, but I lied. There is a third story. On Saturday morning, at 9:45 am, a man walked into a synagogue full of people getting ready to worship God. He opened fire on them because they were Jewish. He had a twenty minute reign of terror that claimed the lives of eleven people who had come to worship God. What should have been a time of peace and celebration was transformed into twenty minutes of blood, and shrieking, and horror.

In the past decade, the question of whether or not the United States was formed as a Christian country has been fielded many times. And it’s an interesting question. But here’s the thing; I don’t care whether the United States was formed as a Christian nation or not. That question is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that we are currently the majority of this country (75% of our population at least identifies as Christian) and that means that we have certain responsibilities towards the minorities that live among us.

The mind behind this tragedy saw Jews as an anti-national force, an existential threat to the stability of our nation. Does that sound familiar? He saw Jews as foreigners, as the architects behind the decline of our nation, as the children of Satan, as the murderers of his God, Jesus Christ.

That’s right. Robert Bowers was a Christian, just like me. Beyond that, he was a Christian nationalist, someone who did not see any room for non-Christians in our public discourse. He drew upon traditions of antisemitism that run deep in my faith.

For a millennium, the Jew has been the visible “Other” that Christianity has defined itself against. The Jew has been declared guilty of murdering Christ, despite being as temporally removed from that event as you and I are today. The Jew has been slandered as a butcherer of Christian children, a mutilator of Jesus in the flesh, as a greedy parasite who has contributed nothing to society while leeching off of the ‘virtuous’ Christian man. The Jew has been rhetorically transformed into a foreigner, despite having lived among us since the beginning of our shared history. The very word “Jew” has been transformed into an insult.

And today we see the fruits of these actions. Saturday was the most devastating antisemitic attack to ever occur on American soil. But Saturday was not an isolated event. In 2017 alone, over 2,000 incidents of antisemitic crimes were reported. Rates of violence against Jewish people are at their highest since 1979. The world looks at the Holocaust as the worst that can possibly happen to a minority. And maybe the world is right to do so. But we can’t look at the Holocaust as the only bar by which we view violent suppression of minorities. When we do that, we can distance ourselves from the pain and the suffering that occur in our very midst. Because, hey, at least we’re not Nazis, right?

It’s not right. Christianity in the United States has been on the decline for decades, but we’re still the majority. And the scary thing about being the majority is that we have the option, if we so choose, to steamroll over minorities, whether by performing the acts of violence ourselves or by ignoring those acts of violence. It is so, so important that we fight that majoritarian impulse with all we have. That’s the road to madness; that’s the road to fascism. And we cannot let that happen. We have to fight against antisemitic rhetoric when we see it. We have to fight against relegating minorities to being somehow outside our national pale. Because the truth is, minorities don't merely live alongside us. Minorities are a part of us as a nation. And we have to protect our own.

#Christianity #Antisemitism #Catherine of Alexandria #Hypatia #Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre

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haitianqueen123 · 5 years

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Put First Things First

Shortly after we were married, Pippa and I went to a conference about marriage. One of the sessions I will never forget was about priorities. We were given five cards – each with a word on it: ‘work’, ‘God’, ‘ministry’, ‘husband/wife’ and ‘children’. We were asked to rank these in order of priority. With hindsight, I can see I got them in completely the wrong order.

I put ‘God’ first (at least I got that one right – but it was fairly obvious!), followed by ministry, wife, work, and, finally, children (we didn’t have any children at that stage so they didn’t seem very important!).

As the leaders of the conference took us through these priorities, it became clear to me that my order should be: first of all God, then my wife (my primary calling), our children, my job (my primary ministry), and finally my ministry – which, though obviously very important, should not be allowed to displace the primary responsibilities of my life. As the philosopher Goethe put it, ‘Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.’

Put first things first. The things which matter most to God should take first place in our lives.

Psalm 22:12-21

Priority of relationship

Your relationship with God should be your number one priority. In this psalm we see that the psalmist’s first priority (and prophetically Jesus’ first priority) was his relationship with God.

The gateway through which we pass into a restored relationship with God is the cross. As with the first part of the psalm, we see a continuation of the prophecies about Jesus’ death that are fulfilled in the New Testament.

It is as though this psalm is written in the first-person singular by someone hanging on a cross, hundreds of years before the Romans even invented crucifixion. It is an extraordinarily accurate prophecy about the suffering of Jesus – describing the cruelty of crucifixion.

‘All my bones are out of joint… My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth’ (vv.14a,15b; John 19:28).

‘They pierced my hands and my feet’ (Psalm 22:16c; John 19:37).

‘A band of evil people has encircled me. I can count all my bones, the people stare and gloat over me’ (Psalm 22:16b–17b; Luke 23:17,35).

‘They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing’ (Psalm 22:18; John 19:23–24).

As we saw yesterday, the suffering of Jesus on the cross was far greater than even the horror of crucifixion. He bore our guilt and was God-forsaken on our behalf (Psalm 22:1). Jesus died for you so that you could be restored to a relationship with God.

Thank you, Jesus, that you went through the agony of crucifixion for me in order that my relationship with God could be restored and become the number one priority in my life.

Mark 1:29-2:17

Priorities of Jesus

I love Jesus. He is absolutely amazing and wonderfully attractive. He loved the people: he was filled with ‘compassion’ for them (1:41). The people loved him: ‘The people... came to him from everywhere’ (v.45). Everyone wanted to see Jesus: ‘Everyone is looking for you!’ (v.37).

They would do anything to get other people to see Jesus (2:4). The crowds came to him (v.13). When he said to people, ‘Follow me’, they followed him (v.14). They brought all the sick to Jesus and he healed them (1:32–34), including Simon’s mother-in-law (vv.30–31). He loved tax collectors and sinners and was quite happy to go and have dinner with them (v.15). He came for us ‘sinners’ (v.17).

You can tell people’s priorities by how they spend their time. In this passage we see how Jesus spent his time.

Praying to God

Most people do not get up very early unless they have something important to do. Jesus’ first priority was his relationship with God the Father: ‘Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed’ (v.35). This challenges us all to get up early, find ‘a secluded spot’ (MSG) and pray.

Personally, I have found the only way to get up early on a regular basis is to go to bed early on a regular basis!

Proclaiming the kingdom

Jesus said, ‘Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so that I can preach there also. That is why I have come’ (v.38). The message he preached was good news about the kingdom of God and the need for people to ‘repent and believe the good news!’ (vv.14–15). It was a message all about forgiveness (2:5,10) and it was good news especially for ‘sinners’ (v.17), which everyone needed to hear. For Jesus, forgiveness was an even higher priority than healing.

Power evangelism

Jesus was ‘filled with compassion’ (1:41). Out of love for the people he wanted to bring them first the good news of forgiveness. But it was not just words. He also acted to heal the sick (vv.40–42; 2:8–12) and to drive out demons (1:39). Through the healing of the paralytic, Jesus demonstrated that he is the one who has the authority and power to forgive sins (2:9–11).

Jesus’ priorities were clear. It was God first and then people second – and everything else was about acting out those two great priorities.

Lord, help me to prioritise my relationship with you. Thank you that I am able to proclaim the good news of forgiveness to others. May I be filled with compassion as I pray for the sick and seek to see people set free.

Exodus 19:1-20:26

Priority of love

Although God invites you into intimacy with him, never forget the wonder of his holiness and power. God has such a passion for you, and therefore he will not let you be less than you can be. He wants us to learn holiness from him.

From Exodus 19 to Numbers 10:10 the people of God stay in the same place learning how to be God’s people. They begin by learning the holiness and power of God. They cannot even touch the mountain on which his presence rests. Then he speaks to them about their prioritiesthrough the Ten Commandments.

God loves you

The context is in 20:2: ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.’ God is a God who shows ‘love to a thousand generations’ (v.6). We see pictures of his love earlier in the passage. God says, ‘I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself’ (19:4). He says, ‘You will be my treasured possession…’ (v.5). Our love is a response to God’s love.

The context of the Ten Commandments is God’s love for you. Some people miss this fact and see them merely as a set of rules. God gives the commandments as an act of love for you. Seek to obey them as an act of love for God.

Love God

The first four commandments are about how we respond to God’s love by loving him: ‘We love because he first loved us’ (1 John 4:19). Our love is to be exclusive (Exodus 20:3–4), respectful (v.7) and is demonstrated by setting aside time to be with him (v.10).

Love others

The last six commands are all about our love for others – our families (v.12), our husbands/wives (v.14) and our neighbours: ‘No murder. No adultery. No stealing. No lies about your neighbour. No lusting after your neighbour’s house – or wife or servant’ (vv.13–17, MSG).

Jesus summarised it like this, ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments’ (Matthew 22:37–40).

The Ten Commandments were not given as a ladder that people had to climb up to get into God’s presence. Rather they were a God-given pattern of life for those who had already known God’s grace and redemption. They are not given to restrict your freedom, but to safeguard it. They help you enjoy the freedom of living in a relationship with God, showing you how to live a holy life just as God is holy. Your love for God flows out from, and is a response to, God’s love for you.

Heavenly Father, I worship you today with reverence and awe. Thank you that you carry me on eagles’ wings and bring me to yourself. Thank you that you say that I am your treasured possession. Help me to make it my first priority to worship and to love you with all of my heart and with all my soul and with all my mind. Help me to love other people unconditionally in the way that you love me.

Pippa Adds

‘Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.’ (Mark 1:35)

I am challenged by the words ‘very early’. I am not very good in the morning and even worse while it is ‘still dark’. The temptation to stay in a warm bed just a little longer I find hard to resist. But, I realise that it probably is the best time to find uninterrupted peace. If Jesus got up early to pray, I should at least try to do the same.

Verse of the Day

‘Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed’ (Mark 1:35).

References

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.

#repost #daily devotional

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steepingt3a · 2 years

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We are three days into the year, and I have quite a bit to review with my therapist.

It is the third day of 2022, which will be my twenty-sixth year on the planet, and I am currently steeping in an unsettling amount of regret and fear.. I have never been one to deal with uncertainty well, especially when the uncertainty is a situation that I caused. You see, the thing about my entire being as a person is that I don't enjoy hurting others... especially not those that I hold nearest to my heart. While I won't go into grave detail about the way that I betrayed myself, my own morals, and someone who meant a great deal to me, I will openly admit that I very well may have really fucked up this time. That's the thing about actions and words, though. At the time of this event, I acted fully out of character and betrayed every belief that I held for myself, and there is no excuse for that. And regardless of the words that I could use to try to explain the instantaneous regret that came with this action, my behavior at the time completely contradicts any thousand word essay or well-written sonnet that could be written as an act of remorse. Our words in this life mean nothing if our actions do not directly reflect the code of ethics we verbally swear we live by; The love letters that we whisper into people's ears in dark rooms may as well be burned to ash if our actions towards them feel like nothing more than casting stones. So, what is the big philosophic lesson that comes with all of this? While it is incredibly, gut-wrenchingly painful to hurt someone that you deeply care about, the first step to moving on from what feels like an Earth-shattering mistake is to heal the parts of yourself that you hurt, because if those parts of you were truly evolved, the mistake wouldn't have been made in the first place. I lucked out today, and the state of New Jersey is supposedly expecting ten inches of snow, so I have the opportunity to sit in my bathrobe, eat vegan food, cry at the newest season of Queer Eye (To be discussed later, I promise!), and really reflect on who I claim I am, who I want to be, and how I will be able to personally move on from this. While I have learned far too much about betraying my own values in the past three days, I have also had to reflect on the hard fact that you cannot allow your fuck-ups and self-pity to effect the day that your child has.. So here I have been, in my bath robe, face unwashed, surrounded by children's toys and haunted by Owen Wilson's voice as Lightening McQueen floats around on my televison, because none of this pain and anger that I currently feel has anything to do with my child. So, I have to continue to care for a tiny human who loves me more than life itself, I have many big emotions and mountains of soul searching to do, and another human being who I love deeply that I need to apologize to not with words, but with my actions. I need to develop consistency, show humility, and make it my own personal mission to find redemption from a number of parties. But the thing that matters most, I realize, is that these are all facets of forgiveness and healing that come with time. So, while I seek out serotonin from an over-priced hibiscus tea, and watch our Lord and Savior, Jonathan Van Ness makeover a very aesthetically pleasing cowboy, the only other thing that I can do is remind myself that I am absolutely flawed, I will never be perfect, but I love deeply growth does not occur during phases of life that mirror perfection.

#positive mental attitude #mental health #relationship #shadow work #january #queer eye #narrative

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dfroza · 3 years

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A sacred act of rebirth means everything:

Christ’s resurrection is your resurrection too. This is why we are to yearn for all that is above, for that’s where Christ sits enthroned at the place of all power, honor, and authority! Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm.

Your crucifixion with Christ has severed the tie to this life, and now your true life is hidden away in God in Christ. And as Christ himself is seen for who he really is, who you really are will also be revealed, for you are now one with him in his glory!

The Letter of Colossians, Chapter 3:1-4 (The Passion Translation)

we see now, dimly, just a mirror of what is promised to be pure (Clarity)

Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the New Testament is the 3rd chapter of the Letter of Colossians:

So it comes down to this: since you have been raised with the Anointed One, the Liberating King, set your mind on heaven above. The Anointed is there, seated at God’s right hand. Stay focused on what’s above, not on earthly things, because your old life is dead and gone. Your new life is now hidden, enmeshed with the Anointed who is in God. On that day when the Anointed One—who is our very life—is revealed, you will be revealed with Him in glory! So kill your earthly impulses: loose sex, impure actions, unbridled sensuality, wicked thoughts, and greed (which is essentially idolatry). It’s because of these that God’s wrath is coming [upon the sons and daughters of disobedience], so avoid them at all costs. These are the same things you once pursued, and together you spawned a life of evil. But now make sure you shed such things: anger, rage, spite, slander, and abusive language. And don’t go on lying to each other since you have sloughed away your old skin along with its evil practices for a fresh new you, which is continually renewed in knowledge according to the image of the One who created you. In this re-creation there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and conqueror, or slave and free because the Anointed is the whole and dwells in us all.

Since you are all set apart by God, made holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a holy way of life: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Put up with one another. Forgive. Pardon any offenses against one another, as the Lord has pardoned you, because you should act in kind. But above all these, put on love! Love is the perfect tie to bind these together. Let your hearts fall under the rule of the Anointed’s peace (the peace you were called to as one body), and be thankful.

Let the word of the Anointed One richly inhabit your lives. With all wisdom teach, counsel, and instruct one another. Sing the psalms, compose hymns and songs inspired by the Spirit, and keep on singing—sing to God from hearts full and spilling over with thankfulness. Surely, no matter what you are doing (speaking, writing, or working), do it all in the name of Jesus our Master, sending thanks through Him to God our Father.

Wives: be submitted to your husbands as is appropriate in the Lord. Husbands: love your wives, and don’t treat them harshly or respond with bitterness toward them.

Children: obey your parents in every way. The Lord is well pleased by it. Fathers: don’t infuriate your children, so their hearts won’t harbor resentment and become discouraged. Slaves: obey your earthly masters in all things. Don’t just act earnest in your service only when they are watching. Serve with a sincere heart (even when others aren’t watching), fearing the Lord who is always watching! So no matter what your task is, work hard. Always do your best as the Lord’s servant, not as man’s, because you know your reward is the Lord’s inheritance. You serve the Lord, the Anointed One, and anyone who does wrong will be paid his due because He doesn’t play favorites.

The Letter of Colossians, Chapter 3 (The Voice)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 17th chapter of the book of Jeremiah about choosing whether or not to trust in the Eternal:

Eternal One: Judah’s sin is engraved on the tablets of their hearts, inscribed on the horns of their altars with an iron tool, tipped with a diamond point. Their children remember their pagan altars and the sacred poles used in idol worship beside leafy green trees on high hills. I will see that My mountain in the land, your nation’s wealth, and all your treasures will be handed over as plunder to your enemies. I will even give your pagan high places to pay the cost for the sins you committed all over Judah. You’ll let this inheritance I gave you slip through your fingers. I will make you slaves to your enemies in a land you have never known because you have stirred My anger into a roaring fire that will last forever.

Cursed is the one who trusts in human strength and the abilities of mere mortals.

His very heart strays from the Eternal.

He is like a little shrub in the desert that never grows;

he will see no good thing come his way.

He will live in a desert wasteland,

a barren land of salt where no one lives.

But blessed is the one who trusts in Me alone;

the Eternal will be his confidence.

He is like a tree planted by water,

sending out its roots beside the stream.

It does not fear the heat or even drought.

Its leaves stay green and its fruit is dependable, no matter what it faces.

The heart is most devious and incurably sick.

Who can understand it?

It is I, the Eternal One, who probes the innermost heart

and examines the innermost thoughts.

I will compensate each person justly,

according to his ways and by what his actions deserve.

Like a partridge that hatches eggs that are not hers,

so is the person who gains wealth unfairly.

In the middle of his life a fool’s money will abandon him.

In the end he, too, will be shown for what he is—a fool.

Jeremiah (to God): But from the beginning, Your throne of glory,

our holy place, has always been exalted.

O Eternal One, the hope of Israel,

all who forsake You will be put to shame.

Those who turn their backs on You will be written in the dirt,

because they have forsaken You, the spring of living water.

Heal me, O Eternal One, and I will be healed.

You alone can save me; to You alone do I sing my praise.

The scoffers keep mocking me, saying,

“Where is the word of the Eternal you keep talking about?

Why haven’t His words come to pass?”

You know I have not run from my calling—

I have been a shepherd to Your people as You commanded.

I have not secretly desired the day of disaster and sorrow.

You know everything I’ve spoken to these people,

because it was the task You’d set before me.

Do not turn and terrify me.

Be my refuge when the dreaded day of reckoning comes.

Bring shame on those who persecute me, but save me from that shame.

Bring terror on them, but save me from that terror.

Bring them to the day of disaster; shatter them, destroy them with double the destruction.

Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Go, stand at the public gate of Jerusalem, the one through which the kings of Judah come and go; then take up your post at the other gates around the city. Say to them, Listen, you kings of Judah, you people of Judah, you citizens of Jerusalem, and any who pass through these gates. Listen to the words of the Eternal; this is what He says: “For the welfare of your lives and the good of this city, be careful! Stop violating My Sabbaths by carrying your loads through Jerusalem’s gates on the Sabbath day. Do not bring your loads out of the house on that day—do not work at all on the Sabbath. Keep the Sabbath day holy as I commanded your ancestors all those years ago. But even then, they did not listen or pay attention to Me; instead, they stiffened their resolve not to listen or accept any instruction from Me.

“But if you will listen to My words and obey Me by not carrying your loads through these city gates on the Sabbath, if you will live differently on the Sabbath, differently from the rest of your week by not working on it, I promise Jerusalem will be your home forever. The family of David will always reign on his throne here. The kings and rulers of this land will pass through these gates in chariots and on horses. As for their officers, the people of Judah, and the citizens of Jerusalem, they will live securely in this city forever. People will come from Jerusalem’s surrounding villages and the towns and the regions in Judah. They will come from the territory of Benjamin, from the rolling hills in the west, from the hill country, and from the Negev wilderness. They will bring their burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings, incense, and freewill offerings to the Eternal’s temple. But if you refuse to obey Me—if you continue to bring your loads though the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath even though I’ve separated that day as a time of rest—you will be punished. I will kindle a fire to these very gates that cannot be quenched, and all Jerusalem will burn—even her palaces.”

The Book of Jeremiah, Chapter 17 (The Voice)

to be accompanied by these lines in The Message:

“But blessed is the man who trusts me, God,

the woman who sticks with God.

They’re like trees replanted in Eden,

putting down roots near the rivers—

Never a worry through the hottest of summers,

never dropping a leaf,

Serene and calm through droughts,

bearing fresh fruit every season.

* * *

“The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful,

a puzzle that no one can figure out.

But I, God, search the heart

and examine the mind.

I get to the heart of the human.

I get to the root of things.

I treat them as they really are,

not as they pretend to be.”

The Book of Jeremiah, Chapter 17:7-10 (The Message)

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for monday, August 30 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons about the “essence” of Love:

The central message of the Scriptures is to turn to God for life... Rabbi Sussya once said, "There are five verses in the bible that constitute the essence of the Torah. These verses begin in Hebrew with one of these letters: Tav (תּ), Shin (שׁ), Vav (ו), Bet (בּ), and Hey (ה), which form the word for repentance, "teshuvah" (תְּשׁובָה). The five verses are 1) Tamim tiheyeh (תָּמִים תִּהְיֶה): "Be wholehearted before God" (Deut. 18:13); 2) Shiviti Adonai (שִׁוִּיתִי יְהוָה): "I have set the LORD always before me" (Psalm 16:8); 3) Va'ahavta lere’akha (וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ): "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev. 19:18); 4) Bekhol derakekha (בְּכָל־דְּרָכֶיךָ): "In all your ways know Him" (Prov. 3:6); and 5) Higid lekha (הִגִּיד לְךָ): "Walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). In other words, the way of teshuvah, of answering God’s call for you to return to Him, is to sincerely set the LORD before you, to love others, and to walk out your days in heartfelt gratitude.

In other words, "teshuvah" (repentance) is an acronym that stands for being whole, seeing God, loving others, knowing God in all your journey, and walking in humility... [Hebrew for Christians]

and another about this week’s Torah reading:

Our Torah reading for this week, parashat Nitzavim (פרשת ניצבים), is always read on the Sabbath before Rosh Hashanah, serving as a prelude to the holiday. The sages found an allusion to Rosh Hashanah in the opening verse: "You are standing today all of you before the LORD your God" (Deut. 29:10), where "this day" refers to Rosh Hashanah, when "all of you" shall stand before the LORD your God in judgment. The "last" shofar blast refers to Rosh Hashanah when the dead shall be raised (Rosh Hashanah 16b), whereas the "great" shofar blast is sounded at the end of Yom Kippur, after Israel has received the atonement.

Rosh Hashanah has long been associated with the Day of Judgment (יום הדין) in Jewish tradition. According to many of the sages, the time immediately preceding the appearance of the Messiah will be a time of testing (nisayon) in which the world will undergo various forms of tribulation called chevlei Mashiach (חֶבְלֵי הַמָּשִׁיחַ) - the "birth pangs of the Messiah" (Sanhedrin 98a; Ketubot, Bereshit Rabbah 42:4, Matt. 24:8). Some say the birth pangs are to last for 70 years, with the last 7 years being the most intense period of tribulation -- called the "Time of Jacob's Trouble" / עֵת־צָרָה הִיא לְיַעֲקב (Jer. 30:7). The climax of the Great Tribulation is called the great "Day of the LORD" (יוֹם־יהוה הַגָּדוֹל) which represents God's wrath poured out upon a rebellious world system. On this fateful day, the LORD will terribly shake the entire earth (Isa. 2:19) and worldwide catastrophes will occur. "For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?" (Rev. 6:17). The prophet Malachi likewise says: "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,' says the LORD Almighty. 'Not a root or a branch will be left to them'" (Mal. 4:1). Only after the nations of the world have been judged will the kingdom of God (מַלְכוּת הָאֱלהִים) be established upon the earth. The remnant of Israel will be saved and the 1,000 year reign of King Messiah will then commence (Rev. 20:4). For more information, see "As the Day Draws Near" (find link below). [Hebrew for Christians]

8.30.21 • Facebook

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

August 30, 2021

Showing the Way of Salvation

“The same [a demon-possessed servant girl] followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.” (Acts 16:17)

Paul and Luke first witnessed to European unbelievers in Philippi and saw them wonderfully converted (v. 14), but a young “soothsayer” continually interrupted them, mocking and interfering. Paul cast out the controlling spirit of divination (v. 18), denying her owners their source of income. In retribution, they convinced the city leaders to have them brutally flogged and thrown into the innermost prison (v. 24).

But God had other plans. A mighty earthquake seemingly freed them, causing the jailer to prefer suicide rather than face capital charges for his “offense.” Paul intervened, and the jailer desperately pled, “What must I do to be saved?” (v. 30).

What would cause a Roman official in a decidedly pagan culture, who had heard little (if anything) of the truth, to abruptly turn to God for salvation? Certainly the earthquake had captured his attention, as had Paul’s behavior through his trial and abuse, but what made him think the truth was with Paul? Why did he ask for salvation from an incarcerated prisoner?

Perhaps during the trial he had heard of the slave girl’s testimony. In our text she had exclaimed, “These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.” Was this ringing testimony, given in derision but heard nonetheless, involved in his decision?

We can’t know for sure, but we do know that this was the introduction of the gospel to Europe. Surely God’s ultimate plan can be seen in the events at Philippi that day. Even the unknowing truth from a demonic soothsayer contained lasting truth. Christians should never hesitate to declare gospel truth, for God will not allow it to go unheeded (Isaiah 55:11). JDM

A tweeted question mark (?) by illumiNations:

@IlluminationsBT: DID YOU KNOW...some languages have evolved so much over the years that the most recent Bible translation in their language is longer easily understood. illumiNations also works to bring revised Bibles that are understood by today's people.

8.30.21 • 12:03pm • Twitter

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tribeofdavid · 3 years

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21 Keys to grow spiritually in God.📌

1. Be a river, not a swamp.

The Bible says: “Rivers of living water will flow from the heart of those who believe in me” (John 7:38, margin).* Remember, it is the mountain stream that carries fresh, life-giving water because it flows out. However, the swamp is stagnant and life-devouring. A swamp collects and retains water that comes its way. Don’t be the kind of person who seeks to accumulate much before allowing a little to flow through.

As Christians we are to let blessings flow through us and on to others. When we hoard and dam the blessings in our lives we are in danger of becoming spiritually stagnant, emotionally detached, and intellectually cynical. Resolve to break up the dam and let blessings flow like a river. The freshness is in the flow.

2. Identify blessings.

Too often we go through life oblivious to the good that comes flowing into our lives. Try this spiritual exercise for one week: At the end of the first day, identify a blessing that came to you from a family member. At the end of the second day, a blessing from a neighbor. Third day, from a friend. Fourth day, from a work colleague. Fifth day, from a stranger. Sixth day, from a child. On the seventh day, a blessing that came from an “enemy.”

3. Be like Moses-speak words of blessing.

One of the most beautiful and compassionate passages in the Bible contains these words of blessing pronounced by Moses:

May the Lord bless you and protect you.

May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.

May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace

(Numbers 6:24-26).

Get creative with language, and speak words that will uplift, encourage, hearten, and bless other people. As you build them up, your own spirit will get stronger.

4. Nurture a shared prayer life.

Increase the amount of time you spend in prayer by sharing in prayer with others. Some ways to do this include:

Letting friends know you are always available for prayer.

Attending regularly held prayer groups.

Participating in a prayer chain.

5. Take a step of faith.

Spiritual growth means taking a leap of faith from time to time. Rather than trying to get everything in place before you start something important, why not follow God’s leading and allow the plan to evolve? This means taking a step of faith and trusting God to provide what may be needed for success.

6. Restore someone’s faith.

Today, make time to heal a wounded heart, to extend kindness to someone who really needs a friend, or to help gather up pieces of a broken dream. Today, do whatever you can to radiate God’s unconditional love.

7. Be a grateful person.

Start every day with a morning prayer of gratitude to God for the gift of a new day. Do this even if the day ahead appears ominous. Conclude every day with an evening prayer of gratitude to God for the gift of the preceding hours. Do this even if you’ve had a very tough day.

8. Share the journey.

Hook up with one other person who is seeking to grow spiritually. Agree to meet once a week for a period of time to study and reflect on spiritual matters. A friend of mine, who is a busy executive in Toronto, Ontario, met for six months with another man to do Bible study. “No matter how hectic our schedules, we always met each week during our lunch hour at a downtown church that kindly provided us with a room for our meeting. Those were good months when a lot of spiritual growth took place,” he says.

9. Serve.

Look for ways to serve the community, especially tasks that promise no reward, such as picking up litter on the streets. Read and reflect on the action of Jesus in John 13:1-5.

10. Cultivate a little solitude.

“Solitude makes us tougher toward ourselves and tenderer toward others; in both ways it improves our character,” noted philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche. Spend some time away from the crowd and the noise of life. Set aside a few minutes to be alone-just you and God. In quietness we turn our minds away from the problems of life and fix our thoughts on the mind of God.

11. Fast and pray.

Prayer linked with fasting was often done by people in the Bible. Ezra 8:23 reports: “So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.” The next time you are asked to pray urgently for someone in difficulty, consider combining your praying with some fasting.

12. Turn worries over to God.

This is a clear teaching of Scripture: “Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you” (Psalm 55:22). Do this each time a worry crops up.

13. Spread love wherever you go.

That is the advice of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who advised: “Spread love everywhere you go: First of all in your own house. . . . Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.”

14. Keep your priorities straight.

Know what is ultimately important and what is not. Consider the words of former President George Bush: “I am blessed with a close and wonderful family, and I want to spend the rest of my life letting them know how much I love them and appreciate them,” he said. “One of my most important accomplishments, one I am still working on, is to be a huge success in the grandfather business. I would like to be remembered for integrity, service, and family.”

15. Strive for excellence.

The Bible tells us: “Whatever you do, do well” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). Be the best that you can be at whatever station in life God has placed you.

16. Use it or lose it.

God has generously endowed each of us with unique gifts and talents. Make use of them or you will run the risk of losing them. “Use your gifts faithfully, and they shall be enlarged; practice what you know, and you shall attain to higher knowledge,” noted ninteenth-century poet Sir Edwin Arnold.

17. Meditate on Scripture.

The Bible is loaded with verses of comfort, encouragement, and wisdom. Make it a habit to read and study your Bible in a regular, disciplined way. Highlight verses that speak to you. Meditate on those words. Memorize some of the passages so you can recall them from memory at a future time.

18. Be reliable.

Do what you say you will do-whether it’s convenient or not. Follow through on all of your commitments, large and small. By your actions, show others you are a person who can be trusted and counted upon.

19. Ask God to make you a blessing today.

A great way to grow in wonder and amazement is by asking God to turn your life into a blessing. Do this each morning before resuming your daily activities. Offer a short, simple prayer like this one: “Dear God, on this day make my life a blessing to someone, somewhere.” Then pay close attention to every person you encounter during the day, as God will honor your prayer, sometimes in surprising ways.

20. Spend time in nature.

This was something done by the psalm writers, and they gleaned spiri-tual lessons from their time in nature. “The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship” (Psalm 19:1). “When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers-the moon and the stars you have set in place-what are mortals that you should think of us, mere humans that you should care for us?” (Psalm 8:3,4). “Mountains rose and valleys sank to the levels you decreed. Then you set a firm boundary for the seas, so they would never again cover the earth” (Psalm 104:8, 9).

21. Exercise your power of choice.

No matter what happens to you, you always have the freedom to choose. You can select joy over despair. You can select love over hate. You can select forgiveness over revenge. You can select growth over stagnation. Remember that a crisis can evoke the best in us or the worst in us. The choice is o

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