#or at least that's the idea

[queenlucythevaliant]

Hi Leah! I have what is probably a stupid question if you feel like answering it? (If not, that’s alright too!)

Like a lot of people, I was brought up to believe in a very literal interpretation of the book of Genesis, told that evolution was a worldly lie, etc., but I’ve grown much more curious and open minded about other views in recent years. So my understanding was that there was no such thing as death until Adam and Eve’s sin? And I was wondering if/how evolution and natural selection and everything would all work if death had not yet entered the world?

I have a feeling this is probably a very common question, and certainly something I heard a lot growing up, but framed less like a genuine question and more as a sort of well-obviously-a-real-Christian-can’t-believe-in-evolution statement. (Which is such nonsense! There are so many Christians who believe in evolution!) But I genuinely would like to know because I’m sure there’s a good answer!

Hey Juliana! Not a stupid question at all, my goodness. People dedicate whole lives and careers to considering these things and I've seen a pretty wide range of views on the subject, so I don't have a simple answer for you. That said, I do think there are good answers to be had and I'd love to opine as best I can!

So it's my understanding that the Hebrew word for death, mût, can refer to physical death and/or spiritual death (ie being alienated or cut off from God), depending on context. A really great example of where it's obviously used for the latter is Ezekiel 18, because the whole passage is a warning about spiritual death. I've excerpted verses 20-24 below with some help from Blue Letter Bible:

The soul who sins shall die (mût). The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die (mût). None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live.  Have I any pleasure in the death (mût) of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die (mût).

I think it's obvious to any orthodox Christian (or heck, probably plenty of secular folks too) that this passage isn't talking about physical death, but about the death of a person's soul/the second death. This same word, mût, is also the word that's used in Genesis 2 and 3.

After Adam and Eve sin, they feel shame, try to hide from God, and try to avoid taking responsibility for what they've done. They realize their nakedness. They are alienated from God and from one another: something within their souls is broken and is now barreling straight towards complete separation from God in a novel way. Since spiritual death is a legitimate sense of the word die in Hebrew, we can actually read the passage pretty much at face value and see that this alienation between man and God is death coming into the world.

So that's that then, right? The curse is purely spiritual in nature and physical death has always been perfectly natural?

Yeah, no. I mean, clearly not, right? Jesus didn't just conquer spiritual death (though He very much did that), he also physically resurrected in the body. This is a pretty big deal. Throughout Scripture, physical death is treated as something for which we were not made: we do not welcome it and we are right to grieve it. We can learn the spiritual skills to die well, but death is still portrayed as the enemy. It will not exist in eternity.

However, I do think that this spiritual aspect makes it pretty clear that the death that came about as a consequence of the fall is specific to spiritual beings (ie humans with souls). Thus, I don't think there's any problem with acknowledging that purely physical deaths of animals without the Imago Dei occurred routinely prior to the fall.

(Also, to engage with YE creationism on its own terms for a moment: why would God create predators with claws and teeth and carnivorous metabolisms if they were not meant to kill other animals?)

But we are still left with the fact that physical death is an enemy, unnatural to the human condition, and furthermore that it is tightly bound up with spiritual death (no Platonic dualism here). Thus, the death that entered the world when Adam and Eve sinned must be both physical and spiritual in nature.

To the remaining question of how, exactly, that squares, I haven't got a good theological answer. This is as far as my current research and understanding can take me; from here, I can only share my own personal speculation.

I don't think it's a stretch to say that there is something inherently eternal in the image of God, and thus in the human soul. For my requisite Lewis quote, "You have never talked to a mere mortal." I speculate that when God breathed into Adam's lungs and endowed him with the Divine Image, whether in Mesopotamia or in Africa, Adam really was physically immortal, regardless of the fact that his ancestors had been dying for millennia. The Divine image is not one created for physical death, even when the material from which its bearers are sculpted has hitherto been mortal and fleeting.

So in summary, I think that the death that enters the world in Genesis 2-3 is both spiritual and physical in nature, and thus it is specific to spiritual beings. I draw this view from a number sources, including MDivs I know personally, but a good starting point is C. John Collins, the Old Testament theologian that I referenced in my other Adam and Eve post, if you're interested in learning more. I also tentatively speculate that the Divine Image with which God endowed Adam and Eve came with a physical immortality that they lost as a result of the Fall. That part is my own gloss.

Like I said before, I'm still young and I'm definitely not a theologian. Evolutionary biology is my academic wheelhouse much moreso than Adam and Eve. Like you, I'd like to keep learning. Ask me again in thirty years ;)

[dr11ft]

chicana miku 🤎

[crowkip]

yeehaw, baby!

[hinamie]

I'll rip in hands and teeth and take a bite

[deadpoolsmom]

as far as one piece antagonists go Crocodile truly gets absolutely scooby-doo’d at unmatched levels

He immediately falls for a phone scam and from basically little garden to rainbase he doesn’t even know the strawhats are alive (and clowning towards him at incredible speed). As soon as he does, they’re in his house tearing at his walls and bringing marines into his villain lair.

He uses a literal floor trap door over a gator pit to catch them, gets phone scammed again, full scooby-doo chase scenes after Chopper through the streets while still missing him, and suddenly his prisoners have escaped his impossible cage, and his giant bananagators are dead. and Nico Robin saw it all happen.

He then spends rest of the arc complaining about those meddling kids and their dog “strawhat pirates and their weird pet” and at no point does he even know how many strawhats there are.

Like yeah he keeps having plans on top of plans to stop everything Vivi can do but also she keeps coming up with a new thing to do (Tom and Jerry ass dynamic).

Part of it is that he’s underestimating them and keeps grandstanding villain monologuing but also teens keep killing hundreds of his grand line bounty hunters and he straight up does not know what is happening.

Cause he IS trying to kill them he’s sending top assassins after them and ripping out luffy’s organs, the whole time he’s yelling HOW ARE YOU ALIVE?? DIE. as whack-a-mole Luffy keeps inventing new ways to hit him.

[chloesimaginationthings]

Michael is very subtle about his daddy issues in FNAF..

[emphistic]

Sukuna—being a tough guy—always had a rough exterior; but when it came down to his daughter? Ah, he could loosen up a bit. Especially now that school was starting up, his cortisol levels were starting to go through the roof.

"Do you have your water bottle?"

"Uh huh."

"What about your lunch box?"

"You packed it for me."

"Where's your backpack?"

"Daddy!" the little girl giggled. "It's on my back!" And as if to give a proof, she twirled around to show that the glittery rainbow backpack was, indeed, on her back.

You put a hand on Sukuna's arm, laughing, "Honey, you're making it sound as if our baby's going on an expedition to Antarctica."

Sukuna, frowning, turned to you, "She might as well be. You don't know how dangerous Kindergarten can be."

"Oh yeah? Well, luckily, our girl is a tough one just like her daddy, isn't she?" you pinched your daughter's chubby cheek.

In response, the girl let out a confident "mhm!" whilst pretending to flex her muscles.

After you dropped off your daughter at school, you turned to face your husband with a grin on your face. "See? Easy peasy. There was nothing for you to stress about, babe."

"No. No, you don't know how vicious these little five year olds can be. If I had to, I would—"

You covered Sukuna's mouth with your hand, "Don't tell me you would go beating up little kids."

"I don't care if they're fucking five," Sukuna removed your hand, "if they mess with my baby, I'll—"

You watched the widening eyes of nearby parents of said kids, and quickly interjected. "Okay, okay, I think that's enough. We should be going now," you laughed nervously, leading your husband to the parking lot.

"Do you want to hear what I'd do if someone made our little girl cry?" a very genuine Sukuna asked.

"Ryomen, please, let's not."

Okay, maybe Sukuna was still as rough as always.

[cutetanuki-chan]

she's mesmerized

[joshuamj]

Okay, but what if EoW!Zelda had to impersonate Link

[sparkletastic-cookiedough]

Bruce is horribly immune to most pranks… but Steph has a plan to mess with him.

Steph blames Dick for Bruce’s nonchalance. Mr. “Climbs a chandelier and breaks it” ended up breaking a lot of Bruce’s sanity as well.

Bruce barely reacts when she puts salt in the coffee instead of sugar. She gave him ghost peppers at the last Gala, and he gave his Brucie Wayne performance around the sensation of his mouth on fire. She dyed all his shirts purple, he convinced business investors it was a new fashion trend.

She needs to prank Bruce, absolutely befuddle him in a way that makes him question reality. She’s even prepared to use the other family members to do this.

She manages to get the other bats (and even Alfred!) to agree on this prank.

Steph has a plan. She has a new friend from school, Danny, who Bruce doesn’t know about yet.

She’s going to Gaslight Bruce Wayne into believing he has an extra child.

This is a good plan.

[artkaninchenbau]

People keep on asking for more Baby Robin and Papadile so here is more Baby Robin and Papadile. Now never ask anything from me ever again

[batpersik-art]

celebration

[bet-on-me-13]

The Ambassador

So! It was finally happening. After Years of Pleading with the Guardians and other Ruling Bodies of the Galactic Community, the Justice League had finally gotten then to agree to create an Alliance with Earth.

With an Alliance, Earth would gain the Protection of Multiple Empires and The Guardians, which would mean an end to the Constant Alien Invasions they faced. There was also the legal opening of Trade Routes between Planets to exchange Technology and Resources on the Galactic Scale.

Of course Earth would return the Favor, legally being able to defend it's Allies with its unusually large population if Superheroes and quickly advancing Tech, while also trading Tech and Resources between Planets.

Of course the battle was not entirely won yet.

They still needed to begin Negotiations to see if both sides would even agree to the Alliance in the First Place, as well as decide on the specifics of the Treaty. The United Nation's would decide on Ambassadors to represent the different countries, while the different Alien Governments would send an Ambassador Each.

When the Ambassadors arrived, they asked to be introduced to the Representatives of the Planet. Except, they claimed that there was a missing Member.

They claimed that there was one more Major Kingdom on the Planet, the most Powerful One, which they felt must be at the Negotiations.

When asked who this missing Ambassador was, they simply replied, "King Phantom of the Infinite Realms, he and a Shard of his Kingdom reside on this Planet, do they not?"

Now they are working around the clock to find this missing Kingdom, because the Alien Ambassadors refused to negotiate without the most powerful Kingdom at the Table, and they woud not wait forever.

Just who was this "King Phantom", and why had he not revealed himself yet?

...

Sam and Tucker sat on the Couch in their apartment, staring at the TV as the Chosen Representatives for America finished their Speech. Apparently the Peace Talks had been put on Hold for a few more days as they did some last minute preparations. Something about making their Guests more comfortable before they began discussing politics.

"Hey Danny, they're delaying the Negotiations for a few more days." Sam called over to the Kitchen.

"Aw, what?!" Shouted Danny from the Kitchen, sounding extremely disappointed, "I just finished making all the Popcorn!"

"I know Honey, its too bad." Tucker comforted his Partner, "Let's marathon Star Trek instead, how about that?"

Danny slumped out of kitchen and into the Couch between them, steaming bowl of Popcorn in his Lap, "I guess. We can make good use of all this popcorn at least."

Sam patted him on the arm, "Hey it's okay, the Talks will just take a few more days."

Danny shrugged, "Yeah, you're right. Man, what I wouldn't give to be in that Room."

[keystrokecascade]

character idea: girl mecha pilot who gets dysphoria from being human and spends as much time neural-linked into the mech as possible because that body feels more like her than the flesh does.

mechs are expensive so maybe the only way she can possibly get regular access to one is to put herself in debt to a mercenary corps, running disposable missions until she can pay her junk-tier mech off.

sleeping in her mech to spend as little time out of it until she starts dreaming of static. wearing long sleeves to try and stop herself from picking at the squishy human flesh on her arms. it doesnt work.

maybe neural-links are dangerous for the feedback they provide to the pilot, with few risking to install them. maybe they dont usually provide sensation, but she disables the safety measures because its the only way she can feel alive.

[thepuff09]

Alright one more then I’m probably gonna take a nap

The rule is this: no powers. Yugi’s cards have no special powers, and Light has the Death Note, but it doesn’t do anything. So they can hit each other with their objects, but Yugi can’t just blow everything up with Exodia, and Light can’t just write his name.

Alternatively, Light just doesn’t have any writing materials.

[eva-birdman-art]

This is what malevolent feels like to me