#not your standard christian

[ivaspinoza]

Is there any interaction with a stranger recently that sticks in your mind? Or if not, a stranger you saw that you still remember for some reason? Also do you think you could beat me in a fist fight?

I've had such cool asks lately, and I do want to answer them all, but time is not on my side. Patience! What can a modern human being do besides getting angry at the Industrial Revolution at this point? And listen to some delta blues, I mean...

Let's go to the ask of the day, made by my beloved friend. I have a story for you related to faith.

Firstly, I absolutely can not beat you or anyone in a fist fight. Maybe if I get angry enough I could? I used to think I could never be violent until I've been through some shit that showed me why some people get violent. Not advocating for it at all, just saying it's a possibility for every human. That would never happen with you, though, because you're an angel.

As for a stranger's story, I must say: not only my memory is bad, but I am distracted all the time, so I rarely remember these situations. However, the other day, I was sitting on a bench downtown when this homeless man walked into me, asking for money. It was a very fortunate timing, for I was about to ask for a car and, "for some reason", I just waited a little longer — just enough for him to pass by and talk to me.

Well, I've seen lots of things in the streets, some really dangerous, some really sad, but this guy was not about to cause any trouble. He told me his story while I went through my purse. Not a single coin! I asked if he smoked and offered to roll him a cigarette. He almost cried: "Would you do that for me?"

At some point, he just went: "I can't blame anyone, not even God, for my life. It's bad choices I made, and the only reason I'm living through this hell is... me."

So I told him about my awful choices as well. I told him about my God and what He did for me. About forgiveness, about His Son on the cross, and then alive. He cried, asking if someone like him could have a second chance. "Jesus walked among sinners like us for a reason", I told him. "We make the wrong choices, but he doesn't".

"I could never get inside a church", he said, "but I guess God took you down here to talk to me!" If he only knew that a church is not a building... But I had no time to explain that. We prayed, we cried, and told me he believed. In fact, the most important thing he said was: "I don't know what happened, I really don't, but I met you as one person, and I'm leaving you a totally different one."

Of course, it was not me. I truly think that guy was born again on the spot. I've seen it happen a few times by now and there is this distinguished atmosphere about it. Not only that, but also a unique smell and taste that I feel at the back of my mouth. It's not something easy to explain, as it is truly supernatural. Although I have had many experiences, this one was remarkable. I still remember his eyes, shining, so full of life.

I met a stranger, but he was my brother. I don't think I will forget that at any time soon.

[dimsilver]

conservatives who think posting a photo of a model-looking conservative woman next to a photo of a normal-looking or overweight or blue-haired liberal woman constitutes a slam-dunk ideological argument: I am Biting you

[fictionadventurer]

The worst part about reading in a genre where you have low expectations (in this case, Christian historical fiction) is that when a book impresses you, you have no idea if it's actually good or if you're just overly impressed because it was a fraction of a degree better than the usual garbage.

[talesofwhimsy]

I'm 100 pages into Moby Dick and they just got on the goddamn boat

This book actually kinda fucks hard it's great?

[ellis-reblogs]

Looked through the She-Ra tag and immediately found someone who thought Catra didn’t deserve a redemption arc .

I thought we went through this already with Azula’s poorly handled end.

SHE IS A TEENAGE GIRL.

A TEENAGER.

an ABUSED teenager at that. ABUSED. A lot of people react with extreme anger and withdrawal when they are abused and abandoned over and over again!!!

Also it is a CARTOON. Not everyone is going to be horribly gruesomely punished and ostracized like someone who got canceled on twitter for fuck’s sake! The whole POINT of the show is that friends, family, love and connection are what make us strong.

And it’s reiterated over and over and over again throughout the WHOLE SHOW that the Rebellion are KIND and FORGIVING people. And while yes, Catra may not have been “punished enough” by the people she hurt… she also paid so many high prices for what she did. And ultimately sacrificed herself even when she could’ve benefitted from just following along the next big bad.

[daybrightsims]

***SPOILERS (AGAIN) FOR TWISTED LIES BY ANA HUANG*** I am surprised Ava is as shocked that Christian did what he did with Stella's dossier or was as mistrusting of Christian. Girl, your fiancé had a whole motive behind befriending your brother to get closer to your not actual dad. Then lied to your face that he didn't love you then FOLLOWED YOU to London until you took him back.

Is what Christian did okay? No, but... Ava, girl, your man and Stella's man are the same man in different fonts. Alex is Times New Roman and Christian is Helvetica. Be so for real.

[lemonduckisnowawake]

Me, today: I will not get angry about people slandering Jesus. I will not lose my temper seeing yet another post throwing His character in the garbage as some politically woke or politically conservative people pleaser. I will not stab my hand with a fork when I see people poking fun at his friendships as homoerotic - *sees a post like that and slowly steps out of the internet*

No seriously. I am shaking the screen and BEGGING people to remember that even though Western Christian traditionalism has deep, *deep* wrongs, There Are Literal People Dying And Being Tortured Because Of Their Faith In Christ In The Modern World. And the way I see people making light of faith and outright mocking it or "dumbing it down" to appeal to their own moral worldview is sometimes kind of painful

[idiosyncraticrednebula]

There are certain chicks who just give off that "mean girl" vibe to me. "You hate girls like me because we know our worth" Nah, you are just a b*tch who thinks she's above everybody else just for existing.

[ivan-fyodorovich-k]

“What compels people to risk their lives to leave their homes for Europe and ignore offers for help that they fear will send them back to the place they just left” is not the same question as “why did rich person take stupid risk for tourism”

[badolmen]

Incredibly frustrated by how condescendingly jaded my uncle can be but I’m being so brave about it <- not blowing him up with my mind even though I want to

[brontes]

Gonna get in trouble at church because I genuinely don’t think “Christian” media should exist as a genre. I think Christians should write good and even excellent stories about the nature of the human condition and if they truly follow Jesus the evidence of that joy and wisdom and goodness will pervade whatever they make whether they like it or not. Stop worrying about what you want people to learn like it’s a lesson and just say something true and beautiful.

And as an audience, stop being afraid of stories that might not agree with you and seek things that are good and true and beautiful.

[hexastitchimera]

I think I understand now why I'm honest to Stars nervous every time I interact with online communities like the animation meme one, the furry one, etc.

It's for the exact reason why I'm terrified of talking to former classmates who entered nursing school.

A huge majority of the vocal minority never left behind their grade school bully mentality. I'm not kidding, throwing insults, or even calling anyone childish. This is as big of a problem as it is in nursing, and it takes lives in the exact same way. I'll explain.

Having had family who were in the medical field, I have heard utter horror stories about one side of nursing. Not even in a medical malpractice sense. But how some of them can have the sweetest, "empath" mask on when they are around you, but will smear your name behind your back at the very least, try to get you disciplined/fired (especially if you're a "rival" nurse/student) at unfortunately common worst.

Now, because I am a firm believer in nuance, I have to state that for as many malpracticing nurses there are, there are just as many nurses who put their patients before their ego always. I myself have had several nurse family members who didn't have even the slightest infraction to their records, and retired late despite how their patients AND fellow MPs yearned for them to stay.

But, it has to be said: It only takes one to kill. One word, one intentional slip-up, one accidental pill too many. The side of the accuser only need speak, while the side of the victim has to frantically fight for their right to the role- to the life- they worked so hard for.

Why? Well, because it's easier to destroy the perceived enemy than it is to build your own self up. Destroying the competition has been a tale as old as time, and it can ALWAYS be for the pettiest of reasons.

If you want more of your supervisor's attention for better odds at better pay, intimidate and belittle nurses of your standing or lower so they're demotivated, demoralized, and struggling in comparison.

Hell, if you just don't like another nurse, watch their every move, and rat on the few, harmless, honest mistakes they made!

Who cares how many patients die, either because of a growing lack of nurses, or because of straight up nurse-on-nurse sabotage!

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Do you see how people can put the grandstanding of their own ego above entire LIVES?

The near-homeless artist whose callout you are mindlessly reblogging, what of their life?

The kinky trans woman?

The genderqueer person with neopronouns and "conflicting" labels?

The literal teenager who doesn't- and CANNOT- know better because of their horrifically bigoted family? Not without external guidance, of which they can only have through the online, and are immediately shunned from?

You all want an easy answer.

There are none here.

There never will be.

The only answer is to practice media literacy, to wait until both sides have come out with their sides of the story, and to understand a very rarely spoken of Golden Rule:

If it isn't hurting anyone nor contributing to harm period, mind your own business.

Otherwise, if still hard pressed:

What do YOU get out of ending the life of someone as they know it?

If it's the same sense of satisfaction a cop would get, I don't know what to tell you.

All I know is that you cannot, AND SHOULD NOT, be doing their "job" for them.

And if you do, wipe that ACAB off of your bio.

We do not use the weapons of the oppressor on our own. ESPECIALLY on our youth.

[neonphoenix]

Hate the number of people I know who just want to leave the US because of xyz political issues that don't exist in the imaginary other country they hope to move to. Not One of these people ever puts in the leg work to make the world around them better (at least one isn't even registered to vote) and it is literally the height of privilege to think you can just go live somewhere else where someone else has made everything work without doing anything to participate in your community first.

[meirimerens]

re: last ask.

artemy: “is that your mom?”

daniil: “that is. the theotokos.”

artemy, raised in the steppe, then went to the capitol and immediately stopped having time to look at anything but textbooks: “the what”

daniil: 😧

shalt not lie i do not think burakh would be that ignorant about it just because he was raised rurally & within another spirituality especially since the area has been eastern orthodox since. let me not bullshit you actually i'll check. since 987. over 900 years of the dominant powers of having it as a state religion if we take patho as being in the 1910s [even as the borders & politics have Massively Changed from the time Volodymyr I declared it so]. he spent 6 or 10 years (depending on the game you take as canon) in the Capital and whether you think that's St-Petersburg (pre-1917 revolution) or Moscow (post-1917 revolution) they both have A Shitton Of Churches. which i'm sure he'd have time to see in 10 years because some of them are fucking massive. a lot of people living in ToG are also settlers from western russia so i'm sure there are plenty of the non-Kin folks in the city who are orthodox. he's indigenous, not completely ignorant to the dominant + sprawling + colonizing force of the [christian, orthodox] culture of the country (as emphasized by his dad who sent him off to The Center of said culture for educational purposes)

however i knaur for a fact he goes "haha aw this one looks like you and your mom lol. the brows" and dankovsky would be like "oh she would love hearing you say that. i'll invite her over you can repeat that and pretend it's the first time saying it". i know this..... yeva can have a little [accidental?] blasphemy. as a treat. her son has suffered more than all the martyrs combined.

[heavenaintaniceplace]

“oh sorry you can’t just Apologize for being culturally christian because thats also culturally christian💖our standards are different💖you have to do work for the rest of your life to make up for any harm have or havent done because our standards are different and even though you dont adhere to them and arent a part of any group that adheres to them and arent obligated to💖we expect you to agree and do this or youre a bad person💖you are inherently guilty and need to make up for it 💖i dont care if you were a brainwashed 8 year old in a high demand cult and you were a victim you need to repent💖for the rest of your life💖“

[administer-distractions]

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