#The Walk of the True Christian Part 1 of 3 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jedipoodoo · 4 months

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Secret Kingdoms (Sergeant Hunter x Reader Fantasy AU)

Lady Luck (Prequel)

Notes: FINAL PART. Sequel to follow. Thank you for following this story and enjoying Knight Hunter and His Lady with me. Christianity-based wedding ceremony (spoilers). Beta-read by google drive Divider by @saradika

Padme gifted you the blue dress, saying it became you more than it ever had for her. Since it was the dress you were wearing when you first met Hunter, it only seemed fitting that you wore it when you married him.

Padme’s new maid, Dorme, styled your hair, and Padme threaded greenery through the twists and turns like a crown. It felt strange having Padme help you with your hair when you had always been the one to do hers. She insisted that this was what friends did for each other on their wedding days, and that was what you were, after all. A maid and a princess. No, a duchess and a princess.

“If you weren’t leaving for Serenno after this I’d make you one of my ladies-in-waiting when I become queen,” Padme lamented, her face hovering next to yours in the mirror. You traced the braid and the greenery in awe. Dorme worked magic with her hands.

“Hunter and I will be too busy helping rebuild Serenno anyway,” You pointed out.

“True,” Padme sighed, but smiled. “You look radiant. Everything a bride should be on her wedding day.”

You held your head high and squared your shoulders. You felt radiant. Confident, beautiful, everything those you loved said you were. How much you had changed in the last few months.

Padme and Dorme walked you to the chapel, where Crosshair was waiting for you just outside the doors.

“Are you ready, little lady?” he asked, offering his arm like a gentleman.

You were smiling so broadly you could hardly form the words to express your excitement. Crosshair chuckled and kissed your forehead.

“Is everything else ready?” Padme asked.

“They're all set up,” Crosshair nodded, “All we’re missing is the bride.”Hunter's got more pent up energy than one of the hunting dogs. “

“Just so you know, I'm proud to have you as a sister-in-law.”

You smiled down at your bouquet. It was the middle of winter, so there weren't many flowers available, but you and Padme had managed to find some wildflowers growing in the woods. The tiny pastel blossoms were sprinkled in the bouquet amongst boughs of pine and ivy, all tied together with the bandana Hunter had given you.

“That being said, if you hurt him, I'll kill you.”

You laughed nervously, but Crosshair's face was deadly serious. You quickly composed yourself.

“I promise I'll take care of your brother, Crosshair.”

“Good,” the organ inside the chapel played a fanfare, “Someone has to.”

The doors swung open, and Crosshair escorted you down the aisle.

Only the first few pews of the chapel were filled, with the few friends and family you'd invited. Duke Kenobi nodded as you passed him and his wife, Wrecker gave you a thumbs up, and your aunt and uncle who'd gotten you a job at the castle in the first place dabbed at their tears with their kerchiefs.

Padme and Anakin were standing in the front row with her parents. Anakin's hand was clutching his betrothed tightly, daydreaming of their own future wedding. The wedding of the Naboo princess would be a much more lavish occasion, with delegations and royalties from all across the Nine Kingdoms venturing to wish the future Queen and Prince Consort the best of luck in their marriage. Your wedding was much smaller, but you and Hunter agreed you didn't need anything much more than that.

With butterflies fluttering in your stomach, you looked to Hunter, standing next to the altar.

He was standing at attention, like he would at the training grounds, but you could see his shoulders trembling as he smiled at you. Tears bubbled at the corners of his eyes as he watched you. He looked as handsome as ever, wearing a bright red tunic over his polished armor. It gleamed in the light of the stained glass windows, like a star on a dark night.

He couldn't even wait for you to reach him. When you reached the steps of the dias, He stepped down towards you, taking your hand from Crosshair to lead you to the priest.

The priest was a short little man who reminded you of your grandfather, and he chuckled softly as Hunter helped you kneel at the altar beside him.

“Together, to witness this union, we are gathered.”

The priest continued his speech on the sanctity of marriage and the loyalty spouses should have for one another. You tried to pay attention, but it was hard when you could see Hunter looking at you out of the corner of your eye.

He leaned over to whisper in your ear. “You look radiant.”

You held back a laugh out of respect for the priest, “Did Padme tell you to say that?”

“No…” that threw him off for a moment, “But it must be true if we can both agree on it.”

Hunter squeezed your hand as it rested on the altar.

“You look stunning,” You complimented back.

Hunter glanced at the priest to show that yes, he was actually still listening, and then quickly lifted your hand to his lips to kiss your knuckles while the priest looked out over your wedding guests.

You wanted to get him back, but the priest looked at the two of you again.

“Do you, Duke Hunter of Serreno, take this woman to have and to hold, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, until death do you part? “

“I do.”

The Priest asked you the same question, to which you replied-

“I do.”

“The ring, do you have?”

Hunter reached into his pocket with his free hand, cradling your hand in his palm as he produced a small ring. It shone like gold, though it was just polished wood, and the pattern of twisting vines and leaves resembled the pendant on your necklace.

Under the guidance of the priest, Hunter slid the ring on and off your first two fingers before placing it on the third, as tradition dictated.

“This couple, I now pronounce as husband and wife, I do. The bride you may kiss.”

Hunter took your face in his hands, gently turning you to face him. He smiled at you as he tapped his forehead to yours before he kissed you.

You knew that people must have been cheering, it was only natural, but all that existed for you in that moment was Hunter, your husband. His hand slid down to cradle the back of your neck and you gripped his shoulders, pulling him closer. When your first kiss as husband and wife ended, you kept your eyes closed for just a bit longer to savor the moment. You could feel Hunter's warm breath inches from your face as he chuckled.

“What's so funny?” You asked, finally opening your eyes.

Hunter kissed your forehead, ignoring your crowd of cheering friends in favor of drinking in the vision of you that sat before him.

“You look so beautiful right after we've kissed. It's like it makes you glow.”

You doubted you had ever loved him more than you did at that moment.

At long last, Hunter pulled you to your feet and you wrapped your arms around his. Your family and friends rushed forward to congratulate you once again.

“Welcome to the family, little lady! “ Wrecker gave you a big hug and a whoop of joy, and his brothers gave you similar salutations while your little cousins all threw themselves at Hunter with a million questions.

The dining hall was a bit smaller than the throne room, but it was the perfect size for your party. A few more lords and ladies were invited to the celebrations after the wedding ceremony, an effort to make a good impression on your now-peers. And if the king and queen were there, most of the court insisted on attending anyway. But if they were going to vie for Ruwee and Jobal’s attention, that was fine with you. You had more important people to worry about.

The minstrels began to play the first notes of a waltz, and Padme and Echo dragged Hunter and you out to meet on the dance floor.

Despite everything you'd been through, Hunter still approached you shyly. His primary objective for most of his life was working from the shadows, keeping an eye on everything from the background.

Hunter waited until everyone had gotten a good look at you dancing before be spoke to you in a hushed voice.

"Are you sure you're alright with this?"

You looked at him. You had just said “I Do” to marrying him in front of the whole world,and now he was asking you if you were certain about all this?

"Going back to Serenno," He clarified, "The last few days have been hectic, and I never... I asked if you would marry me, but I never thought to ask you if you wanted what came with it."

You laughed softly. You thought over your answer as you swayed back and forth on the floor with your husband.

"Hunter, I want you, and everything that comes with it."

"Even if it means returning to Dooku's lands?" he looked at you in earnest. His dark eyes reflected the glimmering candlelight as he searched your face for any doubt.

Dooku's men had kidnapped you, yes. But Dooku was dead, killed by the man in front of you. His followers had been ousted from the Serenno, according to the letter from Captain Romar. The people who were left were the innocents who had suffered from Dooku's reign, you didn't have to fear them.

"Someone has to take care of the people of Serenno. It might as well be us."

Hunter sighed in relief, his cheek resting against the crown of your head as you tucked your head against his chest.

“It takes a certain amount of bravery to be kind in the way you are, my dear wife.”

You chuckled, ”It's a good thing I have an equally brave husband to help me then.”

Hunter laughed at the compliment. He secured his hold on your waist and lifted you up in the air to spin you around, sending the train of your dress swirling around you like some kind of far magic. You squealed in delight, and your audience applauded.

With that, the waltz ended abruptly, transforming into one of the vibrant, lively tunes that they played in the village where you grew up.

Squeezing Hunter’s hand tightly, you took the hand of your nearest cousin. She grasped Tech’s hand, and led a good part of your guests in a circle to the tune of the music the castle minstrels played. You wove in and out of the crowd feeling lighter than air. Several people tried to talk to you, but you simply threw yourself back into the dancing with your husband and friends.

Hunter kept true to his promise that he would never let you dance with another. Even the Duke of Mandalore tried to offer you a dance when his wife’s discussion of politics with Lord Taa became too heated for his own liking. He failed, to no one’s surprise. Hunter kept his hand in yours the whole night, even when you had to stop and get a bite to eat.

It was in the later hours of the night when you spotted Anakin and Padme sneaking out together. Old habits died hard.

Hunter noticed them too. “We should follow their example,” he whispered into his goblet of wine. His cheeks were flushed, and his hair was a bit unkempt from all the dancing, but his eyes were sharp as ever.

“Do you think it’s be rude if we left without a goodbye?” You scanned what remained of your guests.

Crosshair and Tech had left a good while ago, thought Echo and Wrecker were seated on a bench with several other knights from the training grounds with their own casks of wine. King Ruwee and Queen Jobal had plenty of courtiers to talk to, and your aunt and uncle and their children would be staying for another week. You’d be able to say farewell before you left for Serenno around the same time.

With all this in mind, you allowed Hunter to convince you to leave. You led him into the servant’s quarters and up the narrow spiral staircase that led to the private chambers. Upon receiving their dukedoms, Hunter and his brothers had each been granted their own guest quarters on the floor just below the royal family. You almost skipped past the door to the right floor, so used to the one you would take to go prepare Padme’s rooms, but Hunter tugged at your arm.

“I guess I have a few habits you break,” You looked down so that he couldn’t see your embarrassment.

Hunter stopped outside the door to his room- your room- and took your chin in his hand, tilting it up to look at him.

“You, my lady, look down for no one. And especially not to me. I am your husband, your equal, remember?”

Before you could say anything, Hunter led you into the room. It was dark but for a few embers in the fireplace, and the moon shining through the glass window. It reflected off the crisp, fallen snow, casting more light than usual. You stood there for a moment, staring out the window. The world was so still, so peaceful, so calm. Like the new beginning of your marriage. You didn’t even realize you’d started to shiver until Hunter wrapped his cloak around you.

“Thank you,” You whispered. Hunter stood there for a moment, just staring into your eyes. You couldn’t quite tell what he was thinking, but it felt like he was studying you, trying to engrave this memory of you into his brain.

“Hunter,” You whispered his name and reached up to caress his face. In the cool stone rooms, so far from the heat of the palace kitchens, his skin was growing cooler too.

Hunter kissed the palm of your hand and pulled you closer. His eyes fell to the pendant he’d made you, secured twice as well around your neck this time.

"When we get to Serenno, I'm going to get you a proper wedding present." Hunter said. He slipped around behind you so that he could look out the window with you. His cheek pressed against yours as his arms wrapped around your waist. You reasted your arms on his.

"A necklace made of diamonds. One for every star in the sky."

You didn't know what to say. You were still getting used to the elegant hand-me-downs from Padme when she insisted that a Duchess deserved better. You'd never even dreamed of owning a diamond necklace.

Hunter turned to press his nose to your cheek.

"I'd give you the world if you asked for it," He said, almost in a whisper.

You ran your fingertip over the flowers he'd carved in your pendant.

"I... I don't need the world," You stammered, your cheeks flushed with heat despite the chilly night, "I just want you."

Hunter breathed deeply, "You deserve everything good that this world has to offer you, my lady."

You closed your eyes, and tried to think of your childhood dreams. Some of them had already come true, and now you had the ability to make others come true, and then some.

“It gave me you, didn’t it?”

For once, you had left Hunter speechless. You laughed softly, and he joined you, gently swaying you back and forth as he had during your dance.

You hummed softly, only for yourself and Hunter to hear.

"If that secret kingdom's ours to share, I could never wish for more, for you'd be there. Just two subjects, you and me, In our private monarchy All alone together We would love forever In our secret kingdom far away somewhere"

When I started writing this series, I was a single college student. It's been over two years since then, and now, like Hunter's lady, I am married to my own Knight in Shining Armor 👰😁 thank you guys for reading this story and for all your enthusiasm for it. I hope you'll keep an eye out for other works in this universe, coming soon!!

#lizart writes #fantasy au #sergeant hunter x reader #tbb hunter x reader #tbb hunter x you #secret kingdoms #hunter bad batch x reader #bad batch fantasy au

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wimble-warcrime · 2 years

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Call Me Alpha - part one

Synopsis: Ever since you were little, you rejected anything omega related. So imagine what it feels like to have your worst fears come true. Step one to your two step plan to a happy life is in cinders, and the next best thing is suppressants and enough cologne to let everyone in a 5 mile radius know you're the most obnoxious alpha to ever walk the earth. Still, some good things can come of this, right...?

Pairing: Alpha!Bukugou Katsuki x Omega! NB Reader

Warnings: readers has a deep set hatred for their second gender; lots of angst; descriptions of gender dysphoria; deku is widely disliked; reader is actually capable of making decisions(no weak omegas in the Christian household); suppressant sickness; descriptions of death.

Author Notes: this is not the first fanfic I've written, but it won't be the last. Here's hoping I can actually finish it this time! Let me know what you think, and if you want to beta the rest of the chapters!

Hc's | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Ever since you were little, you'd rejected any kind of activity, behavior and style related to being an omega.

In preschool and kindergarten, you'd worn shorts and overalls, insisted that your hair was short, gone mock hunting with the other 'alpha' kids in your class. You'd play with Legos, and lament of how you would build cool inventions for heroes one day.You refused to wear dresses, play with dolls, play house or grow your hair long.

Your father was fine with this, he, like most parents, knew that the way a child acted before their turning was indicative of their second gender after turning. He'd expected you'd be a strong and dependable alpha, just like your teacher at the time.

Everyone who met you as a young child expected you to be an alpha, after all, you were the most aggressive of your age group. All the 'omegas' insisted you be their alpha, some even going as far as to try and court you. You rejected them. Refusing to associate with anything omega related.

As the years went by, more and more people, including yourself, expected you to present as an alpha, and when the end of middle school rolled around, people were surprised you hadn't presented yet, most of you classmates having turned already, save a few. Notably the obnoxious and stutteringly shy Midoriya Izuku. You insisted you were a late bloomer, and they believed you.

Then on the last day of school for the year, everyone was surprised that you started to smell like an omega. You dismissed these inquiries, stating that your beta father had recently gotten a new omega boyfriend, and you'd finally let him scent you last night. Only for, at the last hour of class, your tuning began; at first it was a wave of heat, like some had opened a hot oven into you face; then it was cold sweats, you were shivering almost imperceptibly but sweating so much you'd been sent off to the nurses office.

There, your worst fear had been realised: your symptoms aligned with an omegan heat. If you were an alpha, you would have lashed out at any one even looking at you weird, and then started growling at any alphas when they got to close. At least, that was the case for the school bully, who happened to share a row with you, Bakugou Katsuki. He'd snapped and snarled so much, that the teacher had to call his parents and restrain him until they arrived to pick him up.

The nurse consoled you as your heat progressed to the final stage. The first heat an omega experiences is usually an hour to two long, and is relatively tame compared to the second heat, which comes at the age of 16. The nurse complimented you on your sweet new smell, stating that you smelled of elderberry and morning glory. "A tamer, more subtle omegan smell than most," but still distinct in it sweetness.

She go on to list all of the benefits of being an omega; you would find a nice alpha, maybe a beta even, and go one to have many pups after you'd mated and bonded with them. If your alpha allowed it you could continue working after pups or even after being mated.

Of course, all of these things had been explained to you; but you considered them to be negatives. Why would you want to settle for being a weak, submissive, simple minded omega when you could be an engineer. Your dream job was to design and build support gear for heroes; and since your quirk was one that aligned with the necessary skills needed for said job, who were you to pet some big alpha take it all away from you?

No, the second your father came rushing into the school infirmary, you'd thrown yourself into his chest, and cried. He'd be shocked to scent you and find the smell of an omega mixed in with your scent. He pulled you to his chest, and carried you out to his car. Once secured in the passenger seat, you lamented to him your fears of omenganhood and how it was the worst thing that could ever have happened to you.

He was shocked to hear such things, never once had you bad mouthed omeganhood, but he knew you preferred more alphan mannerisms. When asked as to why you saw your newly acquired second gender, seeing as your biological mother was omegan, your response horrified him;

"She died, remember?" Between sniffles and stray tears, you continued; "You said she was weak, too weak to survive. It's because she was an omega. She was weak and stupid and she died. If she was an alpha or a beta, she would have survived." You, clearly, didn't see anything wrong with your response, and while you weren't wrong, it was abhorrent that you would equate omegas as weak and simple minded.

He stayed silent on this drive home, contemplating what to say to your feelings of omeganhood. By the time he'd unlocked the house, you stopped crying, and beelined to your room, school bag left forgotten at the door.

He heard you crying up in you room, and he felt sick as he played over the confession you'd attested to. He made dinner, well, really he heated up leftover curry that the neighbour's young boy had given him; spicy chicken katsu. He and his father had made too much, but he had a feeling that really, he fancied you. And based off of the sticky note that you discarded in the trash, you didn't quite feel the same. He watched you that day, peel off the sticky note, and with out bothering to read it, tossed it in the rubbish bin and dug into the curry.

He was grateful at least one person in the house liked spicy food, because an was it hot. He served himself a fried egg and rice, cut up a plate of fruit and headed off to you room with the plate and bowl in his hands.

He set the food on the floor outside and knocked, letting you know that your dinner was on the other side. He knew there was no point in trying to persuade you to join him for dinner; you'd always stay in your room to draw up blue prints for new gear designs. So he wandered back down the stairs, huddled up on the couch and watch the latest k-drama while he ate his food.

Back upstairs, you'd gingerly opened your door to find a steaming bowl of spicy chicken curry and rice, along with a plate of sliced mangoes and strawberries; your favorite fruit. You pulled the plates up off the floor and kicked the closed as you wandered over to you desk.

A sudden urge to draw up some quirk enhancing equipment for an alpha in your class had seized you and despite your hatred for your neediness to please said alpha, your dominant human brain could agree that the designs were very good. As you scribbled into night, you munched on your dinner, thanking whoever made your dinner that it was so spicy; you needed something to distract from the immense amount of emotional heartache you were experiencing. Soon it was eight p.m, and you could feel your eyes growing tired. Eight turned into nine, and nine to ten. By midnight, you were slumped over your desk, empty bowl and plate discarded on the table adjacent.

You father crept into your room after not getting a response to knocking. There he saw you asleep at you desk, clearly worn out from such an eventful day. He placed a throw over you shoulders flicked off the desk lamp, grabbed the dirtied dishes and headed down to wash them.

He contemplated on how he could cure your hatred for you second gender. You were old enough now to go on suppressants, especially now that you'd presented, but the amount of horrific side effects that omegas suffered from due to extended use was deplorable; that was also why your mother had died. A weakened immune system mixed with one too many cold winters, and she died to a cold. He was also one of the scientists who had disagreed with the patenting of the drug, due to its deplorable side effects.

He figured that putting you on suppressants for now, while he figured out a way to further develop them wouldn't hurt you too much. They would help to prolong your omegan development. Maybe if a doctor signed off on it, you may be eligible for secondary gender change. But the procedure was risky, and rarely ever a doctor signed off.

He had hope that he would be able to further develop the suppressants to be more masking of your omegan nature than to erase it completely. Find a way to change your scent somehow as well. He'd have to talk to you later about it, but seeing as you were on summer break, he'd have plenty of time to discuss at length the future of your secondary gender.

For now he laid in bed restless, eager yet hesitant to go forward with his idea

#bnha #bnha fanfic #bnha abo #abo #bakugou katuski x reader #bakugo katuski #x reader #katsuki bakugo angst #angst #alpha bakugou #omega reader #mha abo #abo angst #abo au #omegaverse #bnha omegaverse

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in-christalone · 2 years

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Sorry one more ask: My heart and mind are opening again to the Word of the Lord and I want to learn more about God's beliefs on Homosexuality. My heart and mind want me to believe that God is okay with it, but I feel a pull to learn more about what many Christians say that God thinks. I can't make a full decision on my own thoughts until I thoroughly educate myself on both sides. I've been on Tumblr for 10 years so I know the pro LGBT side of things. What are some resources I could look into to learn more about why homosexuality is wrong according to many Christians?

By the way, I just bought myself a new Bible, so verses are also welcome to be cited! Thanks!

I just ran (not walked) to my room after reading this, [i type better on desktop] I GOT YOU FAM.

Firstly, I can give you the verses by which the evidence is there that homosexuality is indeed a sin. Chiefly, it doesn't matter what the Bible says if you don't believe in its authority. So I'd like to start there.

2 Timothy 3:16 "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,"

[This means that every word in the Bible is directly from God. Did men write the Bible? Yes, but think of it this way. When you write a story on paper, is it the pen writing the story, or is it you? Same thing with the Bible. It's God who wrote the Bible, [otherwise known as His Word] and men are only instruments of God. His writing utensils in this case]

Everything in the Bible is without error, additionally, every prophecy that has been written in the Bible HAS come to be true and fulfilled or WILL be fulfilled, there was never even one prophecy that hasn't come to be true or WILL come to be true in time.

If you ever have questions or find "contradictions" I'd love to walk you through it. 10/10 times this is "found" because there's something the reader didn't understand about the context of the Bible.

We as Christians are meant to be conformed to the Bible and to submit to it as our authority, this is what it means to be Christian when we love God so much [because He first loved us in redeeming us from death] that we obey His Word. If you don't submit to God then you will never grow in your life.

Now that we got the "The Bible is inerrant" speech done, I can show you the verses.

Leviticus 18:22

You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.

Some objections to using the Old Testament verse:

There are laws against wearing two different fabrics and no eating of shellfish, but you're a hypocrite cause you do that too, so what's the deal?

There were three types of laws that were implemented, the moral, the ceremonial and the civil. These laws were in place because the Israelites were meant to be an example to the world and show them how to serve God, [they failed miserably, that's why Jesus had to come, but Jesus was always a part of the plan before God even created the world] Anways, Jesus, since He perfectly obeyed all the laws, [ He never sinned ] He fulfilled the civil and the ceremonial law. "“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." [Matt 5:17] to Even more so He declared all foods clean to eat [Mark 7:18-19] but the MORAL law [could also be referred to as the Ten Commandments] remains, which Leviticus 18:22 is a part of.

I'll move onto the New Testament verses about homosexuality now, which are a bit more black and white.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Romans 1:26-27

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with lust for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

But why? God, as our Creator is the one who our designer, He is also the designer for marriage.

Genesis 2:24

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Anything apart from this, is sin.

(I'm not going to sit here and excuse all heterosexual relationships though, if there is sexual relations of any kind outside of marriage, that is sin too. So those heterosexuals who are giving into sexual temptations outside of marriage are in sin too.)

but God is clear in saying that marriage is only between male and female. Even more, Jesus Himself reiterated this.

Matthew 19:3-9

Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Okay, I'm sure you might know of my testimony in being exgay. I DONT believe in the typical "pray the gay away", I think that belief is moreso bull if anything. You can't always pray away temptation because it can always come back to resurface. Temptation isn't a sin anyways [Jesus was tempted in Matt 4:1-11]

To reiterate, I'm saying that same-sex attraction isn't a sin because we can't always control who we are attracted to, but we CAN control our thoughts and impulses, and we can deny any fantasies that we are tempted to play in our heads. I don't think I need to say this, but our thoughts lead to actions and of course, those actions of entering into a same-sex relationship is wrong too.

It's like if I started dating a male, if I am sexually tempted by him then as a Christian I am going to obey God and throw away those thoughts of sexual fantasies instead of letting it get so far in my heart that it becomes an action. If you don't deny those thoughts and you entertain them, that is a sin too because you are entertaining the thought of sin [God can see our thoughts too if you didn't know, there is nothing hidden from Him]

You wanna know the second half of that 1 Corinthians 6 verse I shared up above?

Vs.11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

Here's the Good News: you and I broke the law of God with our sinful lives, but Jesus paid the fine. That means if we repent of our sins [to forsake, to turn against, to cease] and we submit ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus, then we will be saved. It means that when we die,[we who are in Christ Jesus] then God will not see our wicked lives, but He will see Jesus who died on the cross, who atoned for our sins.

There is no sin too great for God to forgive. And you won't be alone in your walk with Christ if you surrender to Him. He will help you to love Him, He will never leave you or forsake you, He will make you into a beautiful new creation that will live and love good instead of evil.

Let me know if I wasnt clear in something or if you need more explanation!

#lgbt #gay #mlm #wlw #pride #gaypride

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childofchrist1983 · 7 months

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Our hearts are shattered beyond repair when we lose our loved ones. When we experience grief, it feels as though our hearts will never heal. It's comforting to know God's heart also breaks when we feel sorrow and pain. We are His beloved creation. And for all true and born-again Christians, we are also His beloved children. His steadfast love is beyond our understanding. When a child falls, his or her mother steps in quickly to bandage the wound. We are thankful to be children of the loving, Almighty God who bandages our broken hearts when they've become shattered by grief and sorrow. We know that God's love is beyond our understanding and we have faith that He is always with us and that He will bandage every wound. May He continue guide, correct and protect us, so that we continue to grow in Him and not weaken and stray. May we all remain faithful to Him and to this duty and purpose He has called us to. Seek and put your faith and trust in Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ and let Him do the rest. May He humble our hearts and help us focus on following and serving Him daily and helping others with joy and happiness. We lift our voices in praise to Him for His love, mercy, peace, faithfulness and grace. - For EVERYTHING!

It is vital that we remain rooted in Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ through prayer and His Holy Word and Spirit and that we live and walk as a beacon of His light and love and share and spread the Gospel Truth daily, so that the lost souls in this world can come to know Him and be saved. The more we focus on Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ, growing spiritually by building our relationship with Him, leaning on Him and His Holy Word and Spirit, the better off we will be. Thanks to this and our faith in Him, we know that everything will be alright. And we will forever be grateful to Him. As true and born-again Christians, we believe in Him and His Holy Word and we strive daily to walk in His Holy Spirit. We know though our mortal bodies should die, He will raise us up and into new and glorious bodies (The Rapture). We who are truly His and alive at His second coming will never die, and our bodies will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and so shall we ever be with Him in His Kingdom of Heaven forevermore (1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). This is one of many promises given to us by God Himself. Thank God for His strength and guidance when we are faced with sin and temptation. Thank Him for His mercy and grace. Through Bible study and prayer, God reveals His wisdom and guides us to see opportunities to grow closer to Him and grow spiritually. He gives us direction to live our lives daily according to His will.

Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to Heaven (John 3:5, 14:6), the ONLY way to salvation (Acts 4:12, Ephesians 2:8-9) and He is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25-26). Jesus Christ the LORD of lords, KING of kings, the GOD of gods (Deuteronomy 10:17, 1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14, Revelation 19:16) - He is the Living, Almighty and Everlasting God (Isaiah 9:6, Revelation 1:8, John 3:16, John 3:36, Jeremiah 10:10). There is no other God besides Him (Isaiah 45:5). We MUST humble ourselves before Him, turning our backs on false teachers, false gods and idols and our sinful ways. We MUST repent and turn back to God and recognize who He is and love Him in return for His great love for us. We MUST make God top priority everyday! May we be motivated to spread God's Holy Word and Gospel Truth to all the Earth, knowing that it is the only hope of all those lost in their sins. Let us not hold out a false hope for men to be saved without the Gospel, but instead, strive to do our part to get the Gospel out to a lost and dying world.

Leaning on Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ through prayer and His Holy Word and Spirit strengthens us and our knowledge and wisdom about God and His Gospel Truth, exposing these imposters. May God help us to seek and lean on Him daily to gain the strength, wisdom and spiritual discernment needed to expose Satan and his imposters who seek to destroy us and God's ultimate Truth. Everyday, we must remember to share Jesus Christ's Gospel Truth with the world and to thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for the grace that He poured out for us on the cross at Calvary. He has freed us from the burdens of sin and from the eternal damnation of Hell. In all we say and do, may all praise, honor and glory always be given to Him and His Kingdom of Heaven.

With renewed minds, hearts and wills, let us serve Him humbly and faithfully out of pure love and grateful rejoicing. May He remind us of His presence and to remain at peace, fully knowing that all will be well because He is always with us. Let us seek Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ today and everyday with all our heart and being, looking for His love, light and will for our lives with each step we take. Let us seek to please Him with our thoughts, words, and deeds and seek to advance His Kingdom of Heaven and His glory with our lives. Let us seek Him from a pure and humble heart, and when we so seek, we believe Him and His promise that we will find. May He help us all to be more sensitive to the teaching ministry of His Holy Word and Spirit, relying on Him and allowing Him to speak to us and guide us every step of our Christian journey.

God gave us the Holy Bible - His living and Holy Word - to let us know of Him and His abiding love and care as well as guide and prepare us for all our lives. May He help us encourage one another as we continue our walk with Him and our duty to Him daily. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for being present for all our new beginnings and all our lives. May He redirect any anxiety we feel as He provides countless opportunities for growth and change. May we humble ourselves before God always, asking Him to forgive our sins and make our hearts and lives anew through His Holy Word and Spirit. May He help us make Him and His Holy Word top priority, so we can grow spiritually and grow in our relationship with Him as we apply it to our daily lives. Thank God that we can focus on Him and everything about Him, for that is what keeps us sane and at peace. May our words and actions always be a reflection of Him and His Holy Word and Spirit and will.

May He help us to always walk in His grace and Holy Spirit, not by our own measure. May He give us the humble humility to know that our freedom and eternal salvation is found only in Him, so that His grace may sustain us, and we may never lose sight of His love and light and mercy. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for calling us to Him and to serve Him. May He equip us to do all that He has called us to do so that as He works through us, He may use us to produce fruit, to reach others, and to encourage all brothers and sisters in Christ. May He work all of these things in us and through us for His Kingdom and His glory. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for all His creation, for His miraculous ways and for everything He does and has done for us! Keep the faith and keep moving forward in your walk with Jesus! He loves us and He knows what is best for us. Seek, follow and trust in Him - Always!

Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His Holy Word and for sending His Holy Spirit so that we might have His grace, not only to awaken us and transform our hearts in our spiritual rebirth and guarantee our eternity with Him, but to also call upon Him whenever we are in need. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for all the reminders of His love and mercy and faithfulness within His Holy Word. He is bigger than any challenge or circumstance in our lives. Knowing this within our minds and our hearts, nothing can deter our faith in Him and His Truth. May we all accept Him and His eternal gift of salvation and ask that He would transform our hearts and lives according to His will and ways. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His Holy Spirit who saves, seals and leads us. May we always thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His almighty power and saving grace. For He is our strength, and He alone is able to save us, forgive our sins and gift us eternal salvation and entry into His Kingdom of Heaven.

May we make sure that we give our hearts and lives to God and take time to seek and praise Him and share His Truth with the world daily. May the LORD our God and Father in Heaven help us to stay diligent and obedient and help us to guard our hearts in Him and His Holy Word daily. May He help us to remain faithful and full of excitement to do our duty to Him and for His glorious return and our reunion in Heaven as well as all that awaits us there. May we never forget to thank the LORD our God and our Creator and Father in Heaven for all this and everything He does and has done for us! May we never forget who He is, nor forget who we are in Christ and that God is always with us! What a mighty God we serve! What a Savior this is! What a wonderful LORD, God, Savior and King we have in Jesus Christ! What a loving Father we have found in Almighty God! What a wonderful God we serve! His will be done!

Thanks and glory be to God! Blessed be the name of the LORD! Hallelujah and Amen!

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psalmonesermons · 8 months

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Finding the will of God for your life Part 1/8

Does God have a plan for your life?

This set of teachings is a modified version of a course delivered by Pastor Paul Meiklejohn assisted by Charles Green as part of a 'Digging Deeper' module.

Any changes and amendments have been made exclusively by the latter.

Almost every Christian would like to know what the will of God is for their lives. What is the will of God? Does he have a specific plan and if so, how do we go about finding out what it is? It can be frustrating when we don’t have a clear sense of direction. God spoke to Moses through the burning bush, to Gideon through a damp fleece, and to Paul with a big burst of light. However, it would be fair to say that these are atypical methods of God talking to people.

Proverbs 3:6 "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

Psalm 37:23 "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord...."

Isaiah 30:2 "Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left."

From the above three scriptures, we can see that God's word clearly is saying that God will help us find his direction, but how does he do it?

Defining the ‘Will of God’.

Do we mean the ‘will of God’ or the ‘will of God for my life’? There is an important difference, the former is God-centric and the other is self-centric. When we talk about the will of God for my life, then we become the subject of the enquiry and the focus is on ourselves rather than God. When we talk about the true will of God then he becomes the primary subject and we become consequential. This is a vital aspect in the study of God’s will; his will needs to overshadow our lives. If our lives are the subject of the study, then it’s necessary for God’s will to ‘fit around our lives’ and not the other way around. Keeping God central is paramount if we are to discover and do God’s will.

So, we start with God, not us. If you are making decisions based primarily on what makes "me" happy, then you have your priorities backwards and you will stumble at every turn. We are first and foremost studying ‘God’s will.’ Matthew 10:39, "If your first concern is to look after yourself, you'll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you'll find both yourself and me" (The Message).

Motivation is also an important aspect to our study. Many people want to find the will of God so that they can decide whether or not to do it! God will not reveal his will to people who are undecided as to be part of it, he only reveals his will to those who have already committed themselves to doing his will. If our motivation to finding God’s will is merely for information’s sake, then God will not answer our enquiry.

James 4:2-3 You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

1 John 3:22 We have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.

1 John 5:14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

What is your motivation for finding out God's specific will for your life?

Amen

Prayer

Next time in Part 2 we consider the need for relationship when we try to discover God's will for our lives.

#christianity #bible study #bibletruth #blog post #blessings #psalmonesermons #finding God's will

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walkswithmyfather · 1 year

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“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” —1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV)

“We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously.” —1 Corinthians 10:13 (TPT)

“What does 1 Corinthians 10:13 mean?” By Bibleref.com:

“Paul's words in the previous verse might bring understandable concern, even to Christians: "let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12). The context of that comment was avoiding sin, and not assuming that salvation brings us immunity from the earthly consequences of our own behaviors. Taken with other comments made by Paul (2 Corinthians 13:5; Galatians 6:3), it also serves as a warning to those who are arrogant or careless about their standing in Christ.

Temptation is a routine part of life. Our desire to sin can sometimes feel so much more powerful than our desire to do what is right before God. What if we cannot resist? What if, as some suggest, God puts us in a position where resistance is impossible: a scenario where we have no real choice, other than to sin? Or, at least, no hope of resisting the temptation?

In response to that kind of fear, the Bible offers reassurance: overcoming any given temptation is entirely possible. That is true for every Christian. First, Paul points out that none of us are uniquely tempted by sin—in the sense that our desire to sin, whatever unique form it takes for us, is common and ordinary. It has been experienced by countless others down through the generations. We are no more or less subject to temptation than those who came before us or walk alongside us. The experience of human temptation is part of what makes Christ's relationship to us one of trust and hope (Hebrews 4:14–16).

Second, our God is still for us. He loves us. He is not waiting for us to fail; He is ready to help us. One way that He helps believers is to actively work in our lives to keep us from ever being tempted beyond what we can resist. We might not always believe we can overcome temptation. Satan might encourage us to see some temptations as irresistible. God promises that we can, in the power of the Holy Spirit, respond to any given temptation by resisting it.

Finally, Paul adds to this promise that God will always make a way of escape out of whatever temptation stands before us. If we look for a way to say no to whatever sin compels us, God promises we will find it. In some cases, that might mean literally "escaping" from a situation, as Joseph ran away from his master's wife (Genesis 39:7–12). God is actively working to help those who are in Christ, who want to do what is right, to be successful.

Of course, we can turn down God's help in overcoming temptation, if we choose to willfully indulge. And that, ultimately, is what all sin is: a willful choice to do something other than what God wills (Romans 3:10).

Context Summary: First Corinthians 10:1–13 describes how the generation of Israelites who escaped from Egypt were blessed by God and yet fell repeatedly into idol worship. God severely punished many of them, including the fate of wandering the desert until death. The Corinthians should read their example as a warning unless they, too, fall at God's hand for participating with idols. Their standing in Christ does not mean that God will not act against unfaithfulness to Him with false gods. Still, such temptations are common, and God always provides His children a way to escape from sin.

Chapter Summary: Idol worship is an extremely serious sin. Paul reminds the Christians in idol-saturated Corinth of that by referring to the history of the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness. Though blessed by God, they worshiped false idols. God killed many of them for it. Paul commands his readers to flee from idol worship. To participate with idol worship in any way is to participate with demons. God always provides some way to avoid sin. So, they must avoid giving anyone the idea that they approve of idol worship, even by knowingly eating food offered to idols. Their first question must always be, ''Will this glorify God?'

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officialyourdailyinspiration · 6 months

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Like Israel, the Church is a Chosen People by John MacFarlane (1798–1875)

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light — 1 Peter 2:9

It is useful often to remind believers of what they are. A remembrance upon their part of this, can scarcely fail to renew their sense of infinite obligation and thus to humble them and animate them to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him” [Colossians 1:10].

The Israelites were a chosen generation. Likewise, believers in Christ are the objects of God’s everlasting love, irrespective of any foreseen qualities in themselves. They have not chosen him, but he has chosen them and called them with a holy calling. And, although they belong to different people and languages, they are of the spiritual seed of Abraham. Born from above, united in one head, and partakers of one life, they have one hope on earth, one home in heaven.

To represent the higher honor of the saints in the gospel age, Peter combines two offices never united in the Jewish church. Jewish kings were not priests; neither were all the tribes of ancient Israel admissible to the priesthood. But in regard to Christians it is true of them all that they are kings, inasmuch as they are made conquerors in Christ over their spiritual enemies. They are priests—the way into the holiest of all has been open to each of them. No exclusion but that of their own unbelieving and suspicious hearts exists to their entering in. The altar has been prepared and consecrated upon which they are enjoined to lay the bloodless sacrifice of their whole persons “holy and acceptable unto God, which is their reasonable service” [Romans 12:2].

Like Israel of old, believers in Christ are a holy nation. The true church of Christ, separated from the world, washed in the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness, sanctified by the word applied by his efficacious working, in whose hand it becomes the incorruptible seed that lives and abides forever, the church stands forth with the inscription upon it of HOLY TO THE LORD [Exodus 28:36, Jeremiah 2:3, etc.].

The family of Christ are, like the Jews, a peculiar people: peculiar in their principals, because constrained by the love of Christ; peculiar in their aims because their good is no earthly thing but the desire to glorify God; peculiar in their hopes for they desire to be satisfied with the likeness of God.

He who has transferred them from the darkness, oppression, and misery of sin, into the light and privileges of the gospel, has expressly told them that he has done so with the intent that they should show forth his praise. Insofar as they fail to do so, they frustrate the very intention of their heavenly calling.

Let us seek grace to prove that we are a chosen generation by choosing God as the portion of our souls; that we are kings by maintaining the dignity of Christian character and ascendency over the lusts of the flesh; that we are priests by devoting ourselves anew as living sacrifices to God; that we are citizens of the holy nation by being holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners; and that we are called out of darkness by living as children of light.

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albertfinch · 9 months

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COMPELLED BY CHRIST

One of the first signs of true Christian maturity is having our identity more in citizenship in heaven than our citizenship on the earth.

If our first thought when asked who we are is what we do for a living, then we are still married to the world more than to Christ, or at best we are still babes in Christ, regardless of how much knowledge and experience we have.

This is presently the state of more than 90% of all Christians, which is the result of making converts instead of disciples.

Jesus who has taken up residence within our spirits comes to empower and enable us to be everything we have been DESTINED to be and do.

Every Christian is called to a ministry (our CALLING in Christ) and given gifts of the Spirit as tools for accomplishing that ministry. As we mature, we become more effective in our ministry just as we mature in a profession and become more proficient in it.

INDIVIDUAL DESTINIES

Our unique Christ calling includes many facets, such as our individual DESTINIES which are connected to discipling the nations (Matthew 28:19) and advancing His Kingdom throughout the earth. God offers us supernatural ability and power to fulfill OUR CALLING IN CHRIST and His plans for us with limitless resources.

"Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work," says the Lord. - Jeremiah 1:5

We must constantly seek to understand what God wants us to become (HIS PURPOSE FOR OUR LIFE) - (Matthew 7:7).

To have our identity in Christ more than in this world does not mean that we must leave our jobs or professions to fulfill our ministry. We should think of ourselves in full-time ministry even when we are serving in a job or profession.

That job or profession should be seen as a mission field where we are called to do the work of the ministry. The most important thing is our Christ identity, not what we do for a living.

Church is not something we go to, but what we are. We are the church twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. What many think of as church today is about to radically change.

Church is not just attending meetings or services. We are compelled by Christ's love to DISCIPLE others as Jesus set about it -- calling disciples to Himself, one by one, and instructing each one with patient care.

True church life is everyday life, walking with Him and abiding in Him who does His work through us.

We understand what love is when we realize that Christ gave His life for us. That means we must give our lives for other believers. 1John 3:16

DISCIPLESHIP OF THE SAINTS

One of the unique things about the Church of the New Covenant is that God has authorized and commanded every believer to do the work of the ministry! God wants an entire army of workers out doing the vital work of DISCIPLESHIP of the saints and building up His Body, the Church. The failure of ministries to equip the saints (train believers to DISCIPLE other believers) so that every individual part of the Body of Christ is functioning is a primary reason for the overall ineffectiveness of the church.

You should teach people who you can trust the things you and many others have heard me say. Then they will be able to teach others. - 2 Timothy 2:2

True Christianity is a life of sacrifice. Even so, slaves of Christ are the freest people on earth. Dying to ourselves so we can bear fruit that remains for His advancing Kingdom is the path to the most abundant, fulfilling life.

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY

#jesus #calling #destiny #purpose #bible #devotional #daily word #revelation #inspiration #holy spirit

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afatlotofchance · 10 months

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7 deadly sins: All about gluttony (2)

WARNING: I get quite darker with this post. Mentions of murder, rape, incest, and eating disorders await! Those who have a slob kink or a corruption kink will certainly be pleased

III) Some context and consequences, to better explain gluttony

We talked about what gluttony was in essence, we talked about the most commonly shared classification of gluttony and its implications, but there is still a lot to add to fully understand and comprehend gluttony as it was conceived and perceived for centuries and centuries. So here is a little selection of various points:

1) The sin of gluttony was a criticism of Roman society. If you do not know, before the Roman Empire became the first Christian Empire and helped spread the religion throughout Europe and Northern Africa, the Romans were the biggest persecutors of Christians, and they were perceived by the early Church as their number 1 enemy. Heck, it is thanks to the Romans that Jesus got crucified! And so, the early list of the seven deadly sins (which were eight before) was designed to actually criticize and condemn the Roman lifestyle and morals. Gluttony is the most obvious of these attacks, because the Christians were actually demonizing the Romans’ habit of lavish feast and banquets, regularly held in upper classes and as a typical social entertainment – the famous “orgies” we know today. The Romans had cultivated a true aesthetic of the excess, and this was what the original Roman orgy was about – to have the best party of all times, you need to eat a lot, and drink a lot, and have sex a lot. The Christians were especially shocked by one habit of the Romans, something that heavily influenced the “overeating” part of gluttony: the vomitorium. To keep having their orgies, the Romans invented this small room or area in mansions, where the guests of feasts and banquets, feelings too stuffed or too full, went to make themselves vomit, all so they could return to the table and keep eating with an empty stomach!

Small historical edit: I checked back and the “vomitorium” is actually a legend propagated by Christians themselves. Don’t get me wrong – Romans did purge themselves and forced themselves to vomit during their orgies and banquets so they could eat and drink more, this is historically attested. But the “vomitorium” wasn’t a room in the house dedicated to vomiting, unlike what the Christian historians said – in truth it was just an entryway of the house, metaphorically “vomiting” the guests in the main room.

2) Speaking of orgies, Christianity strongly believed that Gluttony and Lust were two deadly sins that went together hand in hand. For Christian thinkers, gluttony always led to lust – again the influence of the Roman orgies, that started as sickening banquets and often turned into sex parties, is felt. Christians classified both gluttony and lust into the “material” sins like greed, as opposed to spiritual ones like anger, pride or envy. But they sub-classified these two as the “sins of the flesh” since both were tied to the body. Even more, theologians and moralist had clearly noticed how these sins “seated” in parts next to each other: gluttony’s stomach and belly area being located right above the genitalia, the “underbelly”, the realm of lust. So it was thought that gluttony always led to lust – and remember when I said the Church had a thing against sauces and spices? Well they truly believed sauces and spices were one of the reasons gluttony turned into lust, since they were convinced (based on the aphrodisiac property of some spices) that sauces and spices were by nature designed to excite and inflame the sexual senses and desires.

3) Tying back into the previous topics: gluttony being related to the Roman orgies, gluttony being thought to lead to lustful and lecherous behavior, gluttony making a man into a beast walking on all fours and rolling under the table… This was being gluttony wasn’t just about food – it was also about alcohol! Drunkards were a type of gluttony sinners, and the excess of alcohol was just as condemned as the excess of food. In fact, it is quite interesting to see how gluttony “evolved” depending on which social class you wanted to mock or criticize: when you did a caricature of the glutton as a rich lord, wealthy merchant or fancy bourgeois, it was all about food (especially since the rich were accused of taking away the food of the poor and the needy below them), but when the peasant, the villager, the low-class man was accused of gluttony, it was him being a drunk – since they were too poor to have lavish feasts, and everybody knows the age-old stereotype of the lower class alcoholic.

4) Gluttony was thought to make you stupid. I talked before of the various “endings” of the “gluttony game”, ranging from bestial behavior to lustfulness. But one recurring belief was that gluttony actually destroyed or remove a person’s intelligence, and made them idiots. Saint Thomas of Aquinas (him again) listed the “five flaws” born out of gluttony as: witless joy, buffoonery, impurity, jabbering, and stupidity of mind. Beyond impurity, all these flaws were basically different ways to say: being a glutton will make you idiotic. Sure, eating and drinking will make you joyful and merry – but it will be the superficial joyful stupor of being full and drunk, not the true, deep, philosophical happiness of living and existing that Christianity keeps searching for. By spending your time eating and drinking, you remove time from more intellectual activities such as reading or studying. Only concerned with satisfying yourself through your body functions and through culinary pleasures, not developing any social existence or craft whatsoever, living in a superficial, temporary and instant happiness that is not true or lasting (since it stops by the next hunger pang), you slowly lose your wit, your caution, your prudence, you stop concerning yourself with higher subjects or topics, you get accustom to acting silly or stupidly due to the weight of all this food on your body and mind, or due to the drunkenness becoming your by-default state of being, and basically for the Christian theologian you become a brainless, smiling blob. A “cow-like stupor” to take back the words of a fellow kink writer. Eating too much and drinking too much makes your thoughts rusty, your movements clumsy, removes reasonable boundaries and cautions (think of the drunk who starts talking about things he shouldn’t talk or spill secrets he shouldn’t spill), and encourages a form of pure disorder – the “buffoonery”, where nobody waits for anything, nobody cares for anything, and everybody just act like drunk clowns and fools in a big sloppy feast.

A sloppy and dirty feast – because as I said, “impurity” is also there. And impurity is here to understand in the sense of “dirtying” and “soiling”. Thomas of Aquinas raises up the topic of making oneself vomit – either unconsciously, just as the result of eating or drinking too much, either purposefully, to have more room to eat afterward. For him this is the ultimate symbol of gluttony, as the glutton literally soils himself to be able to eat even more, abandoning his health and dignity in the process (as you can see, the early Church was actually an anti-bulimia militant). But more generally, it was all related to the “bestiality” of gluttony and gluttony as a “sin of the flesh” – theologians and moralists disliked gluttony because it reduced the human to a mere body, to a mere set of organ, to a digestive track. The glutton, by spending his time drinking and eating, turned himself into a poop-and-piss machine, because all this food had to come out one way or another. It reduced the man to the bodily functions of ingesting and expelling, and it multiplied all the dirty substances a body can produce: urine, feces, saliva… I hear all those who have a “slob” kink screaming in joy in the background, but yes, this was the horrible picture of gluttony for these moralists. I think the video game “Dante’s Inferno” translated this Christian vision of gluttony perfectly well, taking back the idea that this sin turned a human being into a walking digestive system to decorate the level of Hell of gluttony: their idea of the third circle of Hell was a gigantic stomach filled with gastric acid, hungry maws gnawing, tapeworms vomiting everywhere, puddles of feces and even anuses constantly expelling nauseous gazes and fiery farts…

5) While gluttony is a strong criticism of the Roman culture, its roots are to be found in the philosophies and morals of Ancient Greece, more specifically in the system of vices and virtues codified by Greek philosophers such as Plato, Socrates and Aristotle. Aristotle had a system of virtues and vices in three parts: for each domain of the human existence (honor, social conduct, shame, fear) Aristotle considered that there were two vices corresponding to the two extremes of this domain (too much or too little), and one virtue that was the just middle. He considered what Christians called lust and gluttony to be part of the same field of action: the one of “pleasure”, where the first of the two vice was an excess of pleasure – licentiousness, and pure, undiluted self-interest. A selfish debauchery where you are only concerned with your earthly pleasures, such as eating, drinking, having sex… Its twin vice being a lack of pleasure, what is often translated as “indifference” or “insensibility”, a complete rejection and ignorance of the things that physically make life enjoyable and nice. The virtue, right in the middle of the twin vices, was temperance. [And it is very interesting because, as we will see in the next part, the Church itself while fighting licentiousness was often guilty of the vice of insensibility, at least by Ancient Greek ethics). Plato also had some things to say about gluttony: more precisely he explained that eating and drinking in itself was fine. Plato held in his belief that when a man ate a good meal, and drank some wine, it made him more sociable and more thoughtful – as in, it encouraged conversation, it encouraged sharing, discussing and debating, it allowed the thought to be sharper as you lost some of your shyness or inhibitions that wouldn’t have allowed you to say the truth or interesting things… But Plato also pointed out that when a man ate too much, and drank too much, this was where everything was spoiled – when a man made himself heavy, nauseous and drunk, his speech became disorganized and incoherent, his thoughts blurry and foggy, and all he did was fall under the table and roll there like a mindless beast. A bit of food and wine sharpens the wit ; too much food and wine blunts the mind.

6) Gluttony might be the worst of all the sins! At least according to some theologians. You see, there is an Original Sin in the Christian religion, the sin that introduced evil into the world and that doomed humanity: Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. And there is a VERY big debate in the Christian religion as to what exactly is the nature of this original sin. For some it is the sin of pride (which is classified as the king and roots of all other sins), for others the original sin was rather disobedience – but there is a firm position and a large group of theologians that rather claimed the Original Sin was the sin of gluttony, since it was about eating a fruit… This interpretation did not really stick, but it exists, and so if you ever want to include gluttony as a theme in whatever fiction you want to write, you can imagine it as the original sin that doomed humanity if you wish it so, or at the first and oldest of the seven deadly sins!

In fact, there is an English legend that does depict gluttony (in its drunkenness form) as one of the worst sins of all: it is an obscure medieval legend surrounding the figure of saint John of Beverley. According to this tale, before John was a saint, when he was still a regular man, he met the devil and the devil forced him to choose between three sins he offered him: drunkenness, rape and murder. John thought he could trick the devil and so instead of becoming a rapist or a murderer, he chose to be a drunkard, thinking it would be the lesser of the sins. But he didn’t know that gluttony always led to lust and rage… He ended up in such a drunk stupor and such a drunk state that one day, when returning to his bedroom, he entered the wrong room, and found in what he thought to be his bed a woman asleep… Overtaken by lust, John forced himself upon the woman, and when another man entered the room to stop him, John killed him in a drunken rage. Only once the fumes of alcohol had dissipated did he realize he had raped his mother and killed his father… There is a less Oedipian variation of this legend, where the victim of both John’s rape and murder is actually his own sister – but the message is the same. Gluttony might look like a lesser sin, but it always leads to darker and more dire consequences.

IV) Gluttony, through religion and society

As I said above, gluttony is a very social sin – and so to fully understand it, we must understand how it impacted or was influenced by the way Christianity lived and existed, and the way medieval society organized itself. Because back in those days, religion and society made one.

1) Medieval Christian society was suffering from a massive eating disorder. This tongue-in-cheek affirmation actually reflects something very true: the way the medieval European society had organized itself, based on the religious principles of Christianity (Catholicism to be precise), created a cycle of under-eating and over-eating which, in light of the theologians’ view of gluttony, allows one to understand the particular relationship these people had towards food.

The Christian year had two big forty-days period during it, that were fasting periods, where all the Christians had to abandon meat, eggs and other rich products, limit their food intake, reduce their meals, and live a very dry and hungry life. The most famous of those two periods, because it is still practiced today, is of course Lent, which is still known as the “grim and sad part of the Christian year”, and the other is, quite surprisingly, the Advent. Today we think of the Advent calendar with its chocolates, but in older times, the Advent was just a wintery Lent. Officially, these forty-days of fasting existed to commemorate the sacrifice and suffering of Christ and affiliated characters, and to prepare the Christians for the big religious holidays that came afterward (Christmas for the Advent, the Holy Week/Easter for Lent) – but historians and sociologist know today that unofficially, these two-fasting corresponded to the most infertile and hungrier part of the year, where food was very scarce and famines were most likely to explode. So it was actually kind of a religious excuse for the lack of food due to the poor climate and bad harvests.

But in return, each of these fasting periods was cornered by celebrations of overeating, where everybody stuffed their face as much as they could – people stuffed their gut before undergoing the fasting because they knew it was their last time eating good things, and then people busted their bellies once the restrictions were over to celebrate the return to “normal”. The Church of course heavily criticized and complained about these explosions of gluttony, but they realized it was kind of needed for people to swallow the pills of Lent and Advent. As a result, we had the apparition of Mardi Gras, “Fat Tuesday”, the last day of eating meat and fat before Lent, where people guzzled down as much meat and butter and fried stuff as they could, while Easter at the end of Lent was all about a large meal with multiple course, beautiful roasts, and lots of eggs and chocolate. Similarly, the fasting of the Advent was part of why Christmas became a jolly and merry feast where people stuffed themselves as much as the animals they ate, and got severely drunk. As for the last of the “four corners”, it would be Saint Martin’s Day, a Christian feast day that fell in the days preceding the beginning of the Advent and which was known as “The Day of the Pig”, since each farm and household had a pig they had fattened up throughout the year, and on Martin’s Day it was time to kill the pig and turn him into all sorts of meats and delicatessen – a killing that was celebrated by enormous banquets and large meals of ribs, sausages, and other forms of pig meat. So, to summarize it all, the Christian medieval society kept oscillating between belly-bursting festivals and monthly strict diets, switching very brutally between gluttony and hunger.

2) Beyond these big events of the calendar, the regular Christian medieval life was very… problematic when it came to food, and encouraged some strange behaviors.

Many people think that of the three Religions of the Book, Christianity is the easiest when it comes to food, due to lacking the strict alimentary restrictions of Judaism and Islam. But it wasn’t always like that, and Christianity used to be very big on limiting and forbidding food. As you might or might not know, since Christianity demonized gluttony and made of temperance a virtue, for it the practice of fasting was a good and holy thing. Before great religious rituals or important holidays, people underwent some fasting to purify themselves. You were forbidden to eat or drink before mass, so that the ritual wouldn’t be “soiled”. Priests and monks and men of the Church limited their food intake, regularized their meals and did frequent fasting to keep their mind clear and their thoughts sharp. Fasting was also a common penance after confessing a sin – it was a way to clean one’s soul for whatever petty or venial evil you committed. This was tied to specific religious bans on certain foods – you might have heard of how up until a very recent day, Christians did not eat meat on Fridays, rather going for fish due to religious reasons. The ban of meat on Fridays was a very big thing in medieval societies, so much that there were big religious debates about what kind of animal you could and could not eat in Fridays (for example, powerful lords managed to tweak the religious rule by convincing churchmen to claim that swans were not actually true birds, and rather counted as fishes due to living in the water – so that Christians could still eat some meat on Friday). During the Renaissance, as cooking became an art and chefs were recognized as artists, a new trick developed itself: the disguising and sculpting of food. For example, some chefs cooked and reshaped fishes into the shape of a ham or a roast, so that nobles and aristocrats could still have the illusion of eating meat on Fridays.

I know, I know – all these peculiar food obsessions and picky eating are literally the kind of gluttony I described at the very beginning of my last post, the people who are obsessed with limiting their quantities and measuring their portions… It was! But in the Middle Ages it was thought to be a good and virtuous behavior, and we had to wait for our modern times for people to realize that maybe it was just as obsessive and unhealthy as the overeating gluttony. And this unhealthiness notably showed up in the Church itself…

3) You see, originally monks and priests, in the early Church, were really, REALLY hating gluttony’s guts. Being a man of the Church was basically starving yourself constantly.

The first monk who created the list of the seven deadly sins, Evagrius Ponticus, was part of a community that lived in the desert, far away from fields, farms or cities, isolating themselves in a dry and arid land purposefully to find God. This reduced them to a very poor and lacking life – and Evagrius based his original list of vices based on the flaws he noticed among his fellow desert-monks. Gluttony was then a big problem because these communities purposefully secluded themselves in a life with limited rations of food, and so whenever one monk hogged it all to himself, he condemned the others to starve.

For a very long time, the Church was so intensely decided to fight off gluttony they want to the extreme of declaring that merely enjoying food was bad! Yep, they were convinced that (just like with sex) if you felt the slightest pleasure or joy when eating, you were a sinner doomed to hell. Eating (again, just like sex) was supposed to be a body function like breathing, and thus not supposed to be enjoyed. Eating was supposed to be merely to survive, it wasn’t supposed to be a game, an entertainment or a passion. For these fanatics, the pleasure of eating was in itself a sin of gluttony, and food had to be swallowed, not tasted, eaten but not enjoyed. Saint Augustin for example (yet another big authority on the deadly sins) held this belief, that finding pleasure in food was an insult or offense to God since (in his very warped view), one should only find pleasure in God and nothing else.

This resulted in extremely strict table etiquette in monasteries – for example in some places you were ordered to chew your food a given amount of time before swallowing it to avoid yourself becoming too “fancy” when eating. In many orders you only had two meals a day, in the morning and evening, with a ban on all meat (or just the meat of four-legged animals), and an interdiction to speak during the mealtime. In order to avoid those harsh restrictions, monks found a ruse, especially those of the Saint Benedict order, that created in their monasteries a special room called the “misericord”, a room inside the religious building that was thought to represent and embody, the outside, secular, non-religious world. As a result, since the food restrictions were only supposed to be applied INSIDE the monastery, the monks could go in this room to stuff their face and eat the forbidden food, since this room was technically “outside” of the building.

Of course this rejection of food did cause a problem to all those church men and friars when they were invited to a feast or a banquet by a lord, king or nobleman, since they were forced to eat, it was the rule of hospitality – if you rejected your host’s food, you insulted him… Saint Francis of Assisi, who founded the mendicant order (begging friars) of the Franciscan, was especially concerned with this, since his entire religious model was based on depending on the charity and generosity of others, and when the others wanted to thank you with large, fatty, heavy meals, it was the road to gluttony… So he invented the solution of carrying with him a bag of ash everywhere, so that when he (or his brothers) were given a meal too rich for them, they would sprinkle the ashes on top. Like that they could eat everything… But without enjoying it! Because again, the Church has a massive obsession with just not enjoying food. This was the early times of the Church and the Middle Ages, when monks and priest were basically walking colorless skeletons… The perfect image of Lent. In fact, this was something very specific to monks: “the perpetual Lent”. Monks were forced into an eternal state of Lent, which meant they could never in their life eat things such as meat or butter.

Things changed when we reached the late Middle Ages! Things changed a LOT. On one side, the Church became more lenient towards food stuff. The eternal Lent vow was removed, so that monks and priests could eat meat and fatty products. The Pope Innocent XI asserted that no, enjoying food was NOT a sin, that it was natural to enjoy food, and that it was impossible to eat without some sort of pleasure – and that saints like Augustin might have been a bit too fanatical. Plus, if food was placed on Earth by God, and if God created our bodies so we had to eat, and if God organized things so that we would enjoy food, it doesn’t make sense – and is almost heretical – to believe enjoying food as God planned would be insulting God… Innocent clarified that it was normal to feel pleasure and joy when eating good and tasty food, and that the real sin derived from when people enjoyed food that was not good, pleasant or morally acceptable – and that similarly, meals were to be enjoyed, and only became a sin if you partake with enthusiasm in a “wrong” meal (organized for the wrong reasons, at indecent times, etc…).

Finally, the Church became filthy rich, as they became vast land-owners, turned into merchants (since monasteries were farms and craftsmen shop), seated with lords and noblemen in their castle, and imposed taxes left and right. So, less food restrictions, their boss telling them it as okay to enjoy eating, and a new wave of riches… The “fat monk” comes in. This very famous and widespread cliché of the monk as a fat drunkard was a stereotype spread by the very literature and arts of the late Middle Ages, but it was because indeed monasteries started to become embodiments of gluttony, as the monks started to feast and party on all the good food they had, and since all they did all long was sit around, pray and read, all this excess of wine and food quickly went to their waistline. It was actually part of a wider phenomenon where the Church through corruption became its own antithesis, since monasteries also started to have monks inviting women or prostitutes in, and the higher-ups of the Church being bought with money. In fact, it was this burst of gluttony, lust and greed that was part of the Reformation and the Protestants splitting from the decadent Catholic church: Luther criticized the theologians that had turned into “theologastrists”, worshippers of their own belly who wouldn’t recognize Lent even if it hit them in the face, and who celebrated masses in their kitchen.

4) Another example of how the early extremes of “sacred starvation” were VERY unhealthy, and it is a good thing they changed, is the case of a few saints, female saints, known today as the “Holy Anorexics”. Back then, these women were heralded as saints for taking asceticism to its most extreme, but today we can look back and identify all the symptoms of anorexia, that religion wrongfully glorified. You can find it under the term “Anorexia mirabilis”: it was this firm belief by young girls and women that by starving themselves they could share and honor the suffering of the Christ, and the practice of creating hunger-induced hallucinations to have visions of the “glory of God”. The most famous of those “anorexic saints” was Catherine of Siena, who rejected all forms of food to stay pure, only ate what was given to her at the Eucharist, refused to obey her superior’s orders to eat (since they saw she was getting ill and told her she was going too far), and even induced vomiting with a twig. This was the extremes the fear of gluttony could bring one to.

And this allows me to fall back on a fascinating parallel: the destruction of one’s body. This is one of the argument that the Church raised against the sin of gluttony, that one of its nasty effects was the sickening, soiling and destruction of the body, which is supposed to be a gift of God and a thing one should take care of. Nausea, digestive problems, diarrhea, gout, obesity, indigestions, heartburns, heart and liver diseases, were all condemned as the “evils” and “diseases” of gluttony by religious men and doctors alike. This was one of the warnings against gluttony: do not keep on this path, or you’ll end up in a bloated, sick and painful body. But in a paradoxical way, the destruction of the body was also the argument that served to destroy and oppose the opposite extreme the Church went to. Continuing with the topic of the “holy anorexics”, they were very divisive cases because very often they became very obviously sick, and by their stern refusal of eating they doomed themselves to die. While some glorified them as “saints”, another part of the Church rather condemned them as doing the exact same thing gluttons did with their body, ruining it and self-harming it due to an obsession with food. In fact, in the Renaissance, there was a group of theologians that created a specific sub-type of gluttony focused on phenomena such as this “holy anorexia”.

It is a lesser, not-well-known type of gluttony known as “spiritual gluttony”. It might seem very abstract for non-religious people, because its official definition is “seeking in exaggerated and obsessive ways the pleasure of God and the comforts of God, the same way gluttons seek obsessively and exaggeratedly the pleasures of food and the comforts of meals”. What does it mean? In practice it means for example – accumulating fasts and keep fasting despite your religious superior or religious authority’s orders of stopping, because it is clearly bad for your body. It can also mean, keep accumulating penances, even when you don’t need it anymore, just for the perceived pleasure of “purifying” yourself through them. It can also be translated as, for example, continuously praying and praying so much you start ignoring your actual job or your other duties; or, reading so much religious texts and studying so much religious topics you neglect your family, your friends or the human/social aspect of your life. Or growing an addiction to things such as confession, never getting enough and constantly getting confessed. This is very interesting because it shows that the Church itself, through time, ended up recognizing that gluttony could exist outside of food and drinks, under the shape of forceful and obsessive accumulations and addictions to pleasurable and comforting things. Because it is the very essence of gluttony: self-pleasure, self-comfort, but taken to such a point, such an extreme, that the pleasure becomes nauseating and the comfort harmful or wasteful.

5) More of a trivia than anything else, despite the early Church’s hatred of food and eating, the New Testament (aka the purely Christian part of the Bible) is notorious for being filled with banquets scenes and descriptions. Some people go as far as call the Gospels “the books where people eat all the time”, and Jesus himself is noted to take part in a lot of those feasts. There’s the Wedding at Cana where the Christ turns the water into wine, there’s the feast at Zaccheus’ house to which the Christ participates, and there’s of course the miracle of the multiplication of breads and fishes to feed the crowd… But, as theologians observed, in the last example, despite Jesus summoning enough food to leave an entire crowd satisfied, there are still leftovers once everyone’s hunger is satisfied, and people do not force themselves to continue eating. The crowd eats its fill, enough to not be hungry anymore, but doesn’t just devour everything gluttonously. Heck, the first temptation Satan uses against the Christ when he spends forty days in the desert (the forty days commemorated by Lent), is the temptation of food, as Satan suggests Jesus could just turn stones into bread to satisfy his hunger – showing that Jesus was a guy who could be won over by food.

Theologians did use stories and tales from the Bible to illustrate the sin of gluttony – but they usually did so by taking elements of the Ancient Testament, not the New one. The most famous “gluttony stories” of the Bible are Esau selling his birthright for a dish of lentils, Holofernes’s love for drinking being used against him by Judith, and the drunkenness of Noah which led to him humiliating himself and then cursing his own children. Given we are on a kink topic, I will also mention a fascinating secondary character of the Ancient Testament, which also embodies gluttony: king Eglon, who was a notorious glutton only living for eating, shitting, and then eating some more, and renowned as massively obese. When he was killed by a murderer who plunged his sword inside his belly, the sword was literally sucked up in the fat of the king, his murderer unable to retrieve it – but this also made the weapon of the crime disappear. And the death of the king wasn’t even noticed for some times, as his servants mistook the position and behavior of his dead body, hunched over his chair, for their king relieving himself as he so often did…

#seven deadly sins #gluttony #christianity #history of christian #christian theology #medieval society #medieval calendar #greek philosophy #biblical stories #eating disorders #vices

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nicosraf · 2 years

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Hi Rafael! You've written such an achingly beautiful story, for which I am eternally thankful, but a question that came up for me during reading still haunts me. Please exorcise me and tell me where beloved Lucifer's shame originated from!! It seems the only true innocent moment not tainted by that shame was at his birth and first waking moments in the infirmary. From the moment he unknowingly gazed in awe upon himself in the mirror, his tragic ending slowly started unfolding. I can't help but read something very.. homosexual hidden in the intense admiration for his mirror image, or at the very least the birth of a "sinful" kind of desire or love for (his own) beauty.

Hello! Aaah, thank you for all the kind words! I'm really really touched that you enjoyed the book! Thank you!!

I'm a little hesitant to answer because I'm one of those "dead-author" people where I think the reader's takeaway is more important than my convoluted intentions, but I might as well take this chance to ramble. Lucifer's shame itself is kind of a complicated little theme in the story, but I'll try to be brief (with no spoilers, I think) under Keep Reading:

The first instance of the narrator explicitly stating Lucifer feels shame is actually when he's offered help (to walk), just a little after drinking water, but it's not so much the origin of his shame but the first sign of it. To me, the "birth" of his shame is a process rather than an event, with a beginning and a culmination, and the culmination of that birth (shame's delivery into reality, so to speak, aha), is when Lucifer sees his reflection and says that he can't stand the sight of himself. So where is the actual conception of shame? It's in chapter 1!

Lucifer nervously eats the first fruit, but he's eager with the second – the one of knowledge – and sensual. Without going too much into the theme of sex in this book – sensuality is something Lucifer can only happily wield after he's lost his shame. But here in chapter 1, he has no shame until, that is, he eats that fruit of knowledge and, after he does, he screams. It parallels the story of Adam and Eve, who weren't ashamed of their nudity until they were tricked into eating the same fruit.

When Lucifer sees his body in the mirror, his shame, metaphorically, finishes blooming. And yes, there's a strong homosexual/queer element to the scene. Within the story, the concept of homosexuality doesn't exist (why would it? there is no idea of gender or sexuality), but it was intentionally written to play with the idea of vanity = homosexuality that has persisted in Christian thought for a long time. (That idea, by the way, is part of the reason I wrote the book. If pride and vanity are going to be associated with homosexuality, then might as well explore that). There's a lot of layers to this scene, but a relevant one is Lucifer being attracted to his reflection until he realizes it's himself.

Is Lucifer's original sin, then, great beauty, or that he recognizes that he is beautiful? It's the latter. It's self-love that he immediately tries to suppress.

Oh and, "Wait, if Lucifer is shameful because he ate that fruit, how come none of the other angels are so shameful?" Maybe their bodies aren't shameful in the way Lucifer's was built to be. Or, maybe, other angels haven't had the fruit of knowledge. Maybe I left it vague on purpose :) Anyway! Thank you for the ask and thank you for indulging me <3

#angels before man #mine #thank you so much for reading!!!! :))#yes this was as brief as I could get #ask

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anthrofreshtodeath · 2 years

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Untitled Pt. 4

You can read parts 1-3 here.

Maura finishes her Linguistic Anthropology lecture about ten minutes earlier than it is meant to go simply because Father Kelly had approved her request to see the church archives again this evening. Her course is filled with over 120 undergraduate students, and she has chosen the creoles and pidgins of Louisiana for its subject, both because the source material is readily available and because of the amount of Sicilian and German immigrants in the state. Fascinating stuff, really, along with fascinating new ideas from her students, but she cannot shake the anticipation that takes hold of her when she closes her presentation on the media cart at the front of the hall and bids her students good night.

The class ends, officially, at six pm, but she is in her office packing up her research bag at five til. There are parts of BCU that are very new, add-ons that have shiny linoleum and modern architecture, but those buildings have been designated for the booming engineering and medical programs of the university. Maura’s office, maybe rightfully so, resides in one of the oldest edifices on campus - with its polished, creaking hardwood and drafty, crank-to-open windows. Her desk, huge and with dings aplenty from its former inhabitors, sits in the middle of the floor as an imposing presence to any student that may walk in, despite the fact that Maura wants only to be welcoming.

She looks upon that desk one last time as she lingers in the doorway, thinking perhaps it fits with the more… ancient tone that her research has taken in the last few hours. Perhaps the oldness of it fits with the oldness of the things she intends to uncover. She read Virgil last night, for god’s sake.

At least that had been Roman - pre-christianity.

She readies herself - rushes herself, really - reminded that she has the closest thing to a living, breathing primary source waiting for her once she wraps up her digging through the St. Paul’s archives for stories about werewolves from the Europeans who settled in the Commonwealth.

She thinks of Jane.

She thinks of how Jane carries herself, how Jane walks, how Jane talks about the fantastical stories Maura sees as academic gold like she lives them out in her day-to-day life. Or, perhaps night-to-night life would be a more apt descriptor, since Maura has a hard time imagining Jane in the blazing sun of the Boston summer that has just passed, or even Sicily’s bright daytimes.

She thinks of Jane when she trots down the stairs to the first level of the anthropology building and when she exits the one modern portion of the place: a sliding door at the entrance. The air is cold and heavy, the first such evening this early autumn, and rain settles in the cilia of Maura’s lungs though it hasn’t yet begun to fall. She surmises that this is what a pleasant drowning might feel like, when you can taste the water in your nose and mouth, but still, you live.

It's one of her favorite things about living in New England - usually. But the reduced visibility and the way she has to pull her light coat just a bit tighter over her body raises her blood pressure because she feels… exposed. And somehow, those thoughts: the fact that she’s never felt like this in the streets of Cambridge before, the tickling little new fear, mingles seamlessly with thoughts of Jane.

She wishes Jane were walking alongside her now, knowing that Jane has watched her before. It was true, what Maura said: she resented Father Kelly and Jane coddling her without her permission nor her knowledge. But it is also true that, for some reason she cannot explain, she feels that she may need that protection now.

She crosses several streets with haste, looking several extra times at the crosswalks for both sneaky cars and threats on foot. Instead of increased clarity, however, only more fog seeps along Mount Auburn when she approaches the front steps of St. Paul’s, and it presses against her back, as if prodding her to the church doors.

Father Kelly is waiting for her there, his arm outstretched. “Dr. Isles! I have to admit I was surprised that you wanted to come back so soon,” he says, smiling like he knows something she does not. “Come in, come in, before the downpour starts.”

Maybe there’s a lot he knows that she doesn’t. “Like I said on the phone, I had somewhat of a revelation last night,” she tells him. “And I’m hoping that some of your materials may be relevant to that.”

Father Kelly nods thoughtfully when they are nestled within the vestibule of the church. “Anything I can help you with?”

Maura crosses her arms. “I met Jane,” she says in reply.

“Dr. Isles, I just…”

“I told her what I’m going to tell you: I don’t like people conspiring behind my back, even if it’s for my benefit,” Maura meets his contrite gaze, and licks her lips. “But I also understand that your faith… constrains what you deem appropriate interactions with women. And I respect you for trying to ensure that neither of us felt uncomfortable last night.”

“Hmm,” is all Father Kelly responds. His brows knit together in pensive quiet, and he crosses his arms behind his back.

Maura takes her opportunity to further steer the conversation. “How… how do you know Jane?” she asks him. She has been curious about that since she learned that he had. They make very strange bedfellows, despite their shared religion.

Father Kelly nods his head toward the pews so that they can make their way to the archives. Instead of taking her out the side door they exited last night, he leads her behind the altar to another wing that was a later addition to the church. Later, of course, meaning the late 1800s. The rain has started, and Maura guesses that this rather clandestine route will lead them to the library without going out into the night. He opens the entry door to her, and she nods to him in thanks. “Did Jane tell you what she does?” he asks when they pass under the right side of Christ crucified, six feet tall against the far wall of the church, illuminated only by dim lamplight and candles.

“She said she works in security,” Maura answers. They enter a small room and even Maura can see that this is where the priests and altar boys prepare for mass, because of the robes and the eucharistic paraphernalia. Transubstantiation, a folktale of the highest order, she thinks, just before they go through a narrow, burgundy-carpeted hall.

“She does,” Father Kelly says as he sighs. “She’s helped me and the church out in several sticky situations.”

“Sticky security situations?” Maura asks, with a suspicious quirk of her lips. “What might that entail, at St. Paul’s parish?”

Father Kelly smirks. “Sounds weird, I know. But, believe it or not, even in this day and age, there are those that would mean to do harm to this church and its parishioners.”

Maura recognizes the language of holy war when she hears it - the documents of the church have been her main sources for most of her career. But she believes the conviction with which Father Kelly speaks, that is, without the forced piety that people in his standing often use to justify the altercations they found themselves in. Or worse, orchestrated. No, Father Kelly wears his honesty with enough simplicity and clarity to be obvious. Maura stops their slow march past the pastoral offices. “Father, what exactly are you saying?” she whispers, puts her hand on his elbow to show him that she can be trusted. She congratulates herself for taking that body language class when she was an undergrad at BCU.

He puts a beefy hand up to his face and taps fingertips against his jaw. “Jane has… a unique set of skills that can combat some of that harm.”

“Skills in dealing with loose dogs?” Maura posits to highlight the frustration of his cagey answers.

“Exactly that,” Father Kelly surprises her with his candor, his fervor. “Maura- Dr. Isles. Your research…”

“Maura is fine, Father,” she urges him more in the nod of her head and the turning of her shoulders toward him than her words. “What about my research?”

“You may think it’s all stories,” he says to her. “Things that people tell each other to make sense of things that don’t.”

“To be honest? Yes. I do think that,” she replies. But she smiles to show him she means no disrespect.

“Well, there are…”

“Others?”

“Others that take them very seriously. And others that wouldn’t necessarily like that you’re poking around those stories, or that this church houses them,” says Father Kelly, motioning her toward the next hallway that would lead them to the archive.

“Has… has someone threatened you? Or threatened me?” Maura turns stern in the way that she presses close to him, attempts to keep eye contact while they walk.

“No, no,” Father Kelly says as he shakes his head. “But you asked about Jane. I’m just telling you that she knows how to protect the church. And I will say that this kind of weather helps her out.”

Maura leans into the shiver that runs down her back when he says this. She wonders how exactly Jane would use the fog and the rain and the dark to her advantage. “I… how much do you know about what I’m studying, Father?” Maura asks, previously under the impression that he knew very little of her research. She wonders why suddenly every person around her knows more about the subject than she does.

“I know most, if not all, the material in our archive. I was on the team that recently updated the catalog,” he says. Maura watches him retreat back into a little bit of obfuscation. At that moment, they arrive at the door to the archive. “I don’t think you should stop,” he tells her. “I think you might find more than you bargained for, however. I’ll leave you to it, Dr. Isles. I’m just down the hall if you need me.”

Maura thinks to ask a thousand more questions, to pressure him into spilling everything he is so very obviously keeping from her. She tilts her head, watches the sweat travel from his hairline to his glasses, just before he takes a kerchief out and wipes it. She decides against it. “Send Jane in, if she gets here early. Would you?”

He nods once, smirking at the break he’s just been given, and then shuffles back to his office.

___

Late, around ten pm, Maura hears the gate to the courtyard because the church grounds are so quiet. The padlock jingles against the wrought iron, clanging, and she knows the key slips because it sounds wet when whoever is there tries again. She doesn’t think that groundskeepers would be here now, especially after the rain, but stranger things have happened.

She returns the text on the table. It’s one of the newer books in the archive, published in the early 19th century, shortly after the first walls of St. Paul’s were erected. She has chosen it specifically because it has entries on several monsters. She reads the original Sicilian haltingly, respecting its status as a literary language giant of the West in its own heyday and wanting to get the message just right.

This passage, the one she’d read several times before, relays the story of the evolution of the werewolf - somehow, somewhere along the line, Sicilian werewolves started to turn more than just one night a year - Christmas Eve - and in order to do so, they got smaller. Maura shrugs; she can buy the conservation of energy. Theoretically, it would take a lot more out of someone to transform into a creature the size of a horse than into a creature slightly larger than a regular wolf. Which, apparently, these new and improved werewolves could do. Maura guesses that this particular aspect of the legend evolved to explain smaller, quieter wolves that ransacked farms close to bigger cities and villages - folklore tended to follow that pattern.

And, apparently, werewolves 2.0 could change back at will, without the help of the clergy. Overall they had more control over their appearance and their actions, as well as their transformations themselves. One could tell a potential werewolf by their increased body heat, their low set ears, and possibly, bristles under the tongue. She pauses, however, when she reaches a section she had never paid much attention to previously.

She translates it in her brain: Contrary to commonly held perceptions, the wolves are not susceptible to religious iconography. It has been reported from some villages that the wolves do not have reflections in mirrors or any other reflective surfaces, but this is not true. It may be that these cases actually involve vampires, seeing as they can transform into large dogs that can be confused with wolves. Werewolves are, however, susceptible to silver in the same way that vampires are. See vampire, page 247.

Maura’s mouth goes dry. She thinks of her front door.

Then, there is a light pounding on this door, the one facing outward toward the courtyard. She doesn’t want to stare out of the sliver of a window in it, more frightened of what she won’t see than what she will.

She counts to three, breathes through her nostrils with closed eyes, and then resolves, despite the oncoming shakes, to look.

It’s Jane.

Jane and that crooked grin. “You gonna let me in?” she points downward to the door knob and Maura jumps up from her spot. Her hip bangs the table and her bag and notebook clatter to the tile below, but she pays it no mind as she hustles to the door. She opens it and stands aside. “Can I come in?” asks Jane, even though Maura has moved for her.

“Y-yes,” Maura stammers. Jane enters, in black slacks, a white button-up with pinstripes, and a black trench coat that has mostly dried.

Her boots clack when she notices the mess on the floor. “Things alright in here?” she says when she bends down and picks up the notebook.

“I-I just knocked the table. Not a big deal,” Maura tells her. “Why are you here?”

Jane stands, and when she rises to her full height, she is inches from Maura’s face. Maura’s lungs fill with that same type of pleasant drowning feeling, this time with the tinge of something sweet. Again, a smell? Just barely.

This time, however, it gives her a twin heartbeat, one that starts in her ventricles and then slithers all the way down to between her hips. Jane chuckles dark and low. “You asked for me,” she says.

Maura remembers. “Oh yes, I did. Was that you? Coming through the side gate?”

Jane furrows her brow, and Maura steps closer, under the pretense of grasping her book with both hands while it still resides in Jane’s. “Yeah,” says Jane. “Father Kelly let me in.”

“Why didn’t you come through the church? I’m sure it’s still unlocked.”

“It is,” Jane curled her left eyebrow up while she looked Maura in the eye. “I don’t go in, remember?”

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t,” says Jane. “I think I said that last night, too.”

“You did,” confirms Maura. She is emboldened by the fact that Jane stands here, and not a homicidal wolf man. Elation thrums inside her, even. “Come look at something with me.” She nods to the table where the textbook has remained.

Jane continues to study, and her smile tells the story of her apprehension.

So, she is capable of feeling fear, Maura thinks. She surprises herself with it. When did she assume that Jane wasn’t capable? She takes her seat and points to the chair across from her.

Jane sits. She gathers up the bottom of her coat so she can better spread her knees, her standard way of inhabiting a chair. “Whatcha got?”

Maura turns the open book, points to what she has just read. “Do you need me to…?”

“No,” Jane says, with a Mediterranean intonation. Within seconds she looks up. “And?” That part sounds Bostonian.

“Tell me something,” Maura says. She puts her elbow up on the table, and rests her chin on its hand. “I’ve had a kind of epiphany in the past five minutes or so.”

“Tell you what?” Jane dares, stare hard and lips closed. Almost like they strain over what is behind them.

“Is this why I couldn’t see you last night?” Maura cannot believe she is asking this. She doesn’t believe in any of this.

Does she? Do I?

“You couldn’t see me last night?” Jane mirrors Maura’s posture, chin rigid on her palm. “I walked right next to you.” Her teeth are clenched as a result and she sounds all mushy.

Maura hears it, like she hears everything Jane says. Every word. She shakes her head. “You know what I mean. In the window. You disappeared behind me.”

“Did I?” now Jane is obtuse for sport. “What if I just was too off to the side for you to notice?”

Maura clicks her tongue. “Is this why I couldn’t see you last night?” she asks again, with more force. “You shouldn’t be able to read this,” she continues. “Not if your family came here a century or so ago. Not unless you studied this in school.”

“Who, uh, says I didn’t?” Jane challenges. She leans back again and her shoulders spread against the back of the chair, so she appears imposing. Large and long. But, she has given Maura an in, should Maura be bold enough to take it. The short, quick uh after the who. The distinctly Italic cadence of carrying one word to the next consonant within the ease of a vowel.

Maura feels like she’s going mad. Like she is a boomerang going from logic to fantasy and back again so many times that the two are hopelessly entangled. She tells herself that she should be afraid enough for a cardiac infarction if she’s right. If Jane affirms her suspicions. She should fear for her life. But, she sasses Jane instead. “Who are you really?”

Jane crosses her arms, smiles so broadly her eyes crinkle. Then, like a flame has been lit, her dark brown eyes erupt into that unearthly yellow again, but this time they stay. That wet blade unsheaths for a second time in Maura’s presence, but this time, she sees it. Two canines that grow, almost an inch and a half long right out of the gumline.

And then, an accent so thick it takes Maura a moment to realize they are still speaking English. “You figured out my secret a lot quicker than I would have thought,” says Jane, dripping with the sounds of the island. “You’re smart.”

Maura faints.

#we are officially in the realm of absurdity 😂#are we at least having fun? idk #lauren writes rizzoli and isles fanfiction #let's meet more characters soon if I keep working on this thing

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howwelldoyouknowyourmoon · 11 months

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Young woman with a baby was told by the UC that she could stay, but only if she got rid of the baby and gave it up for adoption

Voices of parents of children lost to the moonies 4

April 3, 1976

To whom it may concern:

My son became involved with the Unification Church when he made a bicycle trip to California. This was about the first part of September in 1974. He stayed with them for a whole year and left to return home in September 1975. He left of his own accord because of his many questions that the church could not, or would not answer, and also because he knew his family was quite upset about his association with the cult. The church made every effort to persuade him to stay, even transferring him to their mountain camp near San Bernardino, California and making him a “teacher”. My son now says that he believes his year with the Unification Church was one of the worst things that has ever happened to him, and the worst part of it, he feels, is that he persuaded other young people to join it. He wants to completely forget the experience, but states that if anyone wanted to have him answer any questions about it he would do so.

There are three things in particular that my son observed while with the cult which he feels should have some investigation.

1. During his entire time with the Unification Church, my son saw no sign of any charitable work being done by the church. It is true that the young people often earn hundreds of dollars a day selling their flowers and candy, but apparently all of the money is being spent to meagerly support the young people, to support the church leaders in a lavish fashion, and to buy property for the church. My son feels that a full investigation of the finances of the Unification Church by the Internal Revenue Department [is needed]. No explanation or statement on how the money is spent is given to the members of the Unification Church. He questions their “tax free status”.

2. There are apparently many illegal aliens in the group.... Germans, French, Japanese, etc. At one time when my son was in the California mountain camp there was a rumor that the Immigration authorities were on their way up to the camp. Every last foreign member of the camp “took off” for a long walk in the mountains and told my son to “handle the matter”. They didn’t explain to him what they wanted him to say or do, and at that point he really began to ask himself what he was doing in a situation like that. He couldn’t see himself lying in order to “handle the matter”. All the foreign members of the cult should be thoroughly checked out by the Immigration authorities.

3. Just before he left the cult, my son was at the Huntington Drive house of the cult in Los Angeles. While there, a young woman with a baby came into the group and wanted to stay and join them. She was told that she could stay, but only if she got rid of the baby and gave it up for adoption. My son even tried arguing with the Japanese leader of the group about the matter, but they insisted that the young woman had to give up the baby if she wanted to stay. For a cult that preaches “family” this does not make any sense, and my son viewed it as the final unanswered question to make him leave the cult. If such a thing is not illegal, it certainly does not fall within any kind of Christian morality.

My son left the cult without telling them that he wouldn’t return, although he knew that he would not go back. He told them he was going home on a “visit” and they even gave him money to buy a ticket back, which he returned to them once he arrived home. In other words, he really didn’t feel that he could leave of his own free will, it was a bad experience for him. We hope something can be done to prevent others from having such an experience.

Name withheld

___________________________________

One Family meeting with Onni Durst scarred my soul

Boonville: The children would often cry hysterically when the mothers would leave after a short visit.

Moon instructed: “Whenever the Blessed couples have children, as soon as the child become 100 days old, they will put him in the nursery school.”

Voices of parents of children lost to the moonies 1 Ken Sudo’s 120-day Training Manual and Moonie telephone fraud

Voices of parents of children lost to the moonies 2 Moon’s mass marriages are “a form of sex perversion”

Voices of parents of children lost to the moonies 3 Our son “seemed to be in a bizarre world of science fiction”

Voices of parents of children lost to the moonies 5 Moon is a man devoid of of human compassion

Voices of parents of children lost to the moonies 6 “One of your ancestors was a peeping Tom.”

Voices of parents of children lost to the moonies 7 Secret 1975 marriage, shaking and vomiting

Voices of parents of children lost to the moonies 8 Many parents suffered heartbreak after losing their children to the Moonies

#Unification Church #moonies #forced adoption #parents of moonies #Family Federation for World Peace and Unification

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scribeforchrist-blog · 1 year

Text

Have We Rejected Christ? He Hasn’t Rejected Us

Verse of the day

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+Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.

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Topic: Have We Rejected Christ? He Hasn’t Rejected Us

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** SAY THIS BEFORE YOU READ; HERE’S SOME CHRISTIAN AFFIRMATION **

I AM ACCEPTING CHRIST

I AM NOT OFFENDED

I AM FREE

I AM A CONQUEROR THROUGH JESUS

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Thoughts

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When Jesus walked this earth, plenty of people rejected him, and they often reminded him where he came from; most of all, they called him out by his name, but we still do that today we reject him, and it’s plenty of reason why people reject him then and rejects him now, it’s because they didn’t want to give up the comforts of life to accept repentance or because they didn’t believe. We do this today when we sin when we pick our desires of obsessive drinking or smoking to find peace. Don’t get me wrong; some people smoke because of pain and such that’s different than smoking to find peace or to not deal with the decisions we have made. REJECTION

We reject him when we take on false philosophies and new age ideas; we reject him when we don’t read or word or pray; we reject his presence, today the world has picked feeling good about themselves over Christ; they have picked to remove the Ten Commandments and prayer and have picked changing science books and health classes to suite peoples emotions. REJECTION

“Matthew 11:6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” Jesus was saying here blessed in the ones that never lose faith in me, that never rejected me, that never turn away from me because he knew it would be rumors; he knew that people would doubt and say this or that, but he knew that it would be people that will love him and accept what he says and apply it and change, it was sinners that sat with him not the Pharisees or the Sadducee no not them those where some of the people that reject him, it’s people today that know the way but rejects it because they want to be part of the world they want to be famous and known and have Facebook status and Instagram status but what status do you have in God where is your heart in God ???

“1 Peter 2:4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,”

We come to the living stone; every day, we as believers come to the stone everyone rejected, but God has chosen; God chose his son to save us from our own selfish ways and our mindsets; he wanted to save us from what we thought was true, he wanted to save us from what we felt we needed, and honestly we all are searching for him, it doesn’t matter how long you have been serving it’s about to do you accept his teaching, it’s about to do you change what he says is wrong, or do you continue to deny and reject his call and his teachings.

Rejection means to dismiss or refuse; how many of us have refused to turn to the living stone and to drink the living water? How many of us reject time with God to watch tv or How many of us reject his presence to over sleep? How many of us continue to go down this path? How many of us continue to reject and reject that one day it might be too late for us?

“John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

**Today, stop dismissing his presence, stop dismissing his word, because that’s why we have the problems; we have anxiety and depression because we are too busy holding on to things to fill us. Instead of letting him fill us, we let prescription pills fill us, then him; we allow our liquor and other things to fill us, then him, because it’s instant. Right, but what do we turn to when those things don’t work? Jesus is the only way to peace; he’s the only way to deliverance; he’s the only way to joy! ©Seer~ Prophetess Lee

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Prayer

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Heavenly Father, thank you for today; thank you for life, health, and strength; Father, we don’t want to reject Christ anymore; we don’t want to reject his love anymore, Father, we don’t want to reject Him. Father, thank you for giving us mercy and grace every day; thank you for saving us from ourselves. Lord, every day we look for you, and we need you to help us change! We need you to be our best friend, Father; we need you more than anything in this world; Father, protect the ones that have a fear of leaving their home, a fear of being in public places; lord, we ask you to cover them in your blood to top of their head to the souls of their feet in Jesus Mighty Name Amen.

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Reference

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+John 3:19-20 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.

+Mark 12:30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.

+Hebrews 4:15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.

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