#like honestly judaism and islam were right

[borntolurk]

METATRON: or an explanation about why his inclusion in the S2 and S3 narrative is fascinating and weird, actually

Originally, this was going to be a stupid, unlikely, and mildly cynical theory about what I think is going to happen in S3 and how it might compare to my third least favorite TV show finale.

But while I was writing it I went down a Metatron rabbit hole and honestly? It's pretty crazy. Like, really crazy.

Part 1: Metatron

So who is Metatron, anyway?

(This gets a bit detailed but I promise it pays off!)

I think a lot of people, because Metatron is in the book (which is a Book of Revelation parody), assume that he was also a figure in the New Testament- or barring that, in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. But he wasn't! In fact, Metatron isn't in Christian scripture or early literature at all.

Metatron is really a (very nearly, he's also mentioned in Islamic texts) Jewish figure. The exact origins are a bit fuzzy to me, as while I'm a scholar of Jewish history this isn't my era (it also gets pretty mystical and my worst grades were on mysticism-related papers), but essentially you're not seeing the name until a century or two after the Common Era at the very least. In antiquity, the name is largely found in the 3rd Book of Enoch (and later other Merkabot/Hekhalot literature) and in the Talmud.

The 3rd Book of Enoch is a work whose origins date back to anywhere from the 1st to the 5th century CE and it continues the themes of the 1st and 2nd books which discuss Enoch, the seventh generation from Adam in the Book of Genesis. In Genesis, Enoch is noted as having been taken by God rather than dying, and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Book of Enoch expands on this idea of Enoch being a massively powerful figure in Heaven (keeper of treasures, God's right hand figure, leader of the archangels, etc)- and even potentially being a lesser/dual version of God. In the 3rd book in particular, the word Metatron is used to describe him.

For those who are aware of Jewish theology, it might have occurred to you that the idea of there being a duality of God in any way is a pretty fraught one; Enoch is largely non-canonical in Judaism*, but it was still cited reasonably frequently by Jews in the early Common Era. In the next few centuries, we start to see more mentions of Metatron (at this point, not explicitly identified with Enoch) in Jewish literature, and this becomes a pretty big deal.

We then have three Talmudic mentions of Metatron, and one of them (Avodah Zarah 3b) is relatively minor, but does suggest, importantly, that God deputizes Metatron to do tasks that God would otherwise do. The other two are more interesting here. In Sanhedrin 38b, we see a debate between Rav (Rabbi) Idit and a heretic, who suggests that perhaps Metatron, which Rav Idit has mentioned as a representative of God, should be worshipped on par with God; Rav Idit makes clear that this is not correct.

The most interesting, though, is the story in Chagiga 15a, which tells the story of Rabbi Elisha ben Abuyah, otherwise known as Acher (the Other, signifying that he is a heretic). The story of Acher is a quite famous one, but here it's told with a particular twist that didn't make it into the versions that I learned in Jewish day school- the involvement of Metatron and its influence on the precise nature of Acher's heresy.

Rabbi Elisha ben Abuyah was a 1st century rabbi and teacher who was one of the leaders of his generation who is described as having been one of the four rabbis who entered the "Pardes," or orchard- and he cut down the saplings, becoming a heretic. This is usually interpreted to mean that he was exposed to deep, fundamental understandings of God which caused him to turn away. In this particular version of the story, what he saw was a vision of Heaven in which Metatron was sitting in God's presence. To Elisha ben Abuyah, this was a massive affront to God- surely one should stand in God's presence! This led him to believe that maybe there were two powers in Heaven, and thus led him down the road to heresy and the epithet Acher.

The story continues that as a result, Metatron was beaten with fiery rods to make a statement that he was not parallel to God, contrary to what Acher believed. Metatron was also asked why he hadn't stood up when Acher arrived, to avoid the conclusion. The answer is that the Metatron had permission to sit in order to "write the merits of Israel."

And, because of this heresy by Acher, Metatron is given permission to erase Acher's good deeds. There is a voice from Heaven saying that all sinners may return- except for Acher. This leads to Acher's purposeful slide into heresy more broadly (his first stop is literally to a sex worker, something that would be unacceptable for a rabbi, to PROVE that he's now gone bad).

(Also worth noting- in the Jerusalem Talmud, an entirely different reason is given for Acher's heresy- not that he believed in dualism but that he was angry about unfair human suffering.)

The story of Acher is interesting, in this context, for two reasons:

it's another indication that Jewish tradition is going to absolutely reject any possibility of duality and

it gives a clear indication of what Metatron's power is

So... we know all that. Now what? (You may already have some inkling.)

Part 2: Cosmic Megatron

I've called this section by this name because everything I'm going to say should be foregrounded by my belief that most of this is likely coincidence.

Metatron is a character in the original book of Good Omens, and as far as I can tell is there to fill two functions- to have a heavenly representative and thus avoid having to write dialogue for God, and so that they can have a joke where Pepper confuses him with the Cosmic Megatron, apparently a toy made of plastic, which features laser cannon and can turn into a helicopter.

(He's also called the Metatron- I'm not 100% sure why.)

We know from what Neil Gaiman has been saying that he and Terry Pratchett wrote the book in a pretty casual way. Obviously, the book is written with a certain amount of knowledge about the Bible and Judeo-Christian** religion, which from things that Gaiman has said I think he attributes to their being two bright, well-read men who were educated in a Christian-majority country but which I'm sure also included a decent amount of research- hence the bit in the beginning with different calculations for the year of creation. (Gaiman is of course Jewish but I don't get the impression that he had any formal Jewish education, though I could be wrong.) But it seems to be written largely as satire of some pretty well known Christian concepts, for the most part, though nicely detailed.

That's why my assumption is that Metatron must have been included as an offhand joke, by one of them who had heard of him as a spokesman figure in some other context. Because despite the fact that the Book of Enoch is known within Christianity, that's largely the 1st Book of Enoch, not the 3rd, which is the one where the name Metatron is identified with Enoch. If there are any scholars of Christianity reading this, please correct me if I'm wrong, but- I don't think that Metatron would be a familiar angelic/heavenly figure to the average person given a cursory de facto Christian thinking in purely Christian terms. Therefore, presumably the name was one that either Pratchett or Gaiman had heard in another context and that one of them (possibly Pratchett, as he was apparently the one who mostly wrote the kids) thought would make for an entertaining joke about plastic toys that turn into other plastic toys.

We then know that in a hotel room, after they wrote Good Omens, Pratchett and Gaiman plotted out a potential sequel, tentatively titled 668: Neighbor of the Beast. We know that this was going to feature more of Heaven's side, as Gaiman said in the run up to the expanded S1 (which of course featured the new-to-us characters of Gabriel, Uriel and Michael) that the angel characters were already part of the plan for the sequel. We also know, of course, that S2 is meant as a transition to S3, which is the actual plot to the sequel book.

Obviously, we don't quite know yet what that plot is going to be- but presumably, at some point in it Aziraphale was going to go up to Heaven. But presumably Gabriel, who we can now be quite confident was written out of S3, would have been part of that story in the book! The fact that we AREN'T getting Gabriel in a S3 that's based on a sequel idea that specifically included Gabriel (or so we're told) means that that role must be filled by someone.

It seems very likely that

what would have been Gabriel's role is being filled by Metatron and

Metatron wasn't necessarily supposed to be in the sequel, and thus (in theory) S3, at all.

Now Point 2 is only a guess, and it's entirely possible that it's wrong. But I wonder (and this is a totally separate theory, in some ways) whether the role that Metatron played in S2 is one that would have been played by Gabriel if Jon Hamm had wanted to stay. The casting of Sir Derek Jacobi in S1 was not one that implied to me that this was a character who they had plans for- it was a one-scene role in a show with a decent number of minor cameos for well known actors. His return this season was honestly a pretty big shock to me- and seems to be setting him up as a significant figure in the upcoming season. (Which, incidentally, seems like one that can be pretty easily acted in voiceover/green screen, making it a good role for an actor who may not want a full six episode season of a show.)

So- whether we accept my above hypothesis as true or not- why Metatron?

Part 3: Cosmic Metatron

So mostly these are questions. I obviously don't know the answers any more than anyone else does. I could even be wrong about some of my basic assumptions as far as the timeline.

But regardless, I think that the use of Metatron will be incredibly interesting this season for a few reasons.

First of all, let's discuss the Book of Life. It is, unlike Metatron, actually in the Bible- both Hebrew Bible and Old/New Testament. (In fact, the Book of Life is mentioned in the Book of Revelation- the main source material for the book/S1!) In Judaism, the Book of Life is actually something that is still part of Jewish tradition to this day. On Rosh HaShana, the first day of the year, our prayer for a new year is so that our names can be put in the Book of Life due to our good deeds.

We already know, from Part 1, that Metatron is God's scribe, who writes down people's good deeds- and while the story of Metatron and Acher above is never directly connected to the idea of the Book of Life, the thematic similarities are undeniable and it seems pretty clear that they're talking about the same idea. So we have a potential connection between Metatron as a potential character in Good Omens with the Book of Life as a potential concept in Good Omens- along with the fact that a person can be erased from the Book of Life with eternal ramifications.

It seems pretty clear that, whatever reason Pratchett and Gaiman may have had for including Metatron in the book, he now has a pretty solid reason for being here in the show, based on what we already know.

Also relevant is the status of Metatron. In the 3rd Book of Enoch, we know that he is God's right hand, head of all the archangels, and even is given a title that connotes him as a "lesser God." Which is, as noted, pretty theologically wild for Judaism, and a big reason why Metatron and Enoch don't get a lot of play in contemporary Jewish theology (besides for mysticism). We also know that it's the idea that there can be TWO powers behind the throne that led Acher to be eternally condemned as a heretic.

Someone posted a VERY interesting meta here- I can't find it right this moment- which suggested that God is no longer really around in the world, and that the Job minisode- the final time in the show's chronology when we hear God's voice as anything but narrator- Heaven is bathed in golden light, whereas afterward it has a more sterile and empty white light. I find that to be an fascinating idea- that Metatron is actually serving in some kind of parallel-God role in God's absence.

I'm not going to pretend to know WHY this is. There are lots of interesting potential plot angles- you could have Metatron deposing God, you could have God purposefully withdrawing from humanity/the bureaucracy of religion (maybe something similar to in Pratchett's Monstrous Regiment, which would actually make quite a bit of sense if this was part of the unwritten sequel as he could have recycled the idea), you could have some kind of a power struggle, etc. But it does seem clear- we have Metatron as what is essentially a Godlike figure, with enough power to completely depose Gabriel, shut down the other angels, and elevate Aziraphale (if that's indeed what he does- he is at least able to convince Aziraphale that he has that power, which is something).

We have a Metatron strong enough for someone to, potentially, question whether maybe HE'S the one exercising Godly power. And potentially face the worst of consequences for those questions, consequences that we know Metatron is able to deal out. Consequences which were already threatened in S2.

Now that would certainly fit in VERY well with the kinds of plots we might expect from a Good Omens 3...

It also could lead to a fascinating dynamic if they give Metatron an origin story of being Enoch. Having the big cheese in Heaven be someone who used to be human? That's a fantastic concept, just like how S2 centered a character for whom so much can be explained by the fact that he's a demon who was once an angel.

Basically, I think there is the potential for some interesting stuff here.

Caveat

None of this answers a separate question that I have- why bring in a Jewish angelic figure for a story as intensely Christian as the Second Coming? I have a feeling that the answer is going to be "because it's fun"- regardless of how Metatron is used. That said, if there ends up being a narrative where there's Metatron representing the vengeful God of the Old Testament and Jesus as a nice dude who represents something more forgiving then... Idunno, I'm not gonna be super thrilled.

And also- I'll put it out here now- I didn't love S2. Among other things, I think it was pretty simplistic and I don't think that it developed its ideas to their full potential. I don't know that I trust S3 to be as interested in these details to have ANY of this show up in the plot. It could totally be that Metatron is only there because he's in the book, and the Book of Life is only there because it's in the Book of Revelation. Obviously, I don't know.

But I do think that, whatever Gaiman does write if the show gets renewed, there's a lot of material here for him to work from, if he wants to.

*with the exception of among Ethiopian Jews- in fact, the only extant complete version of the 3rd Book of Enoch is in the Ethiopian religious language Ge'ez

**this is a terrible term and I use it only under protest

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens season 2 #good omens spoilers #good omens 2 spoilers #gos2 spoilers #metatron #neil gaiman #terry pratchett #meta #bible #fan theory #actual scholars of christianity please don't hesitate to correct me #actual scholars of ancient judaism also #i'm a modernist lol #good omens meta #go2 #good omens 3 #good omens 3 speculation

[batboyblog]

Jewish Heritage Month!

May is Jewish Heritage Month (here in America any ways) and I was thinking how to mark this and I thought I'd list out some common questions I get asked as a Jew. Spoiler, most of them are offensive, but usually people are asking honestly.

"wait Jews are real?"/"wait there are still Jews around?"

This happens more often then you would think. People raised in areas with few to no Jews, raised in a Christian Church environment are often shocked to learn in their teens or even in adulthood that Jews are not just historical. Yes we're real! unlike the Romans or other groups in the Bible we didn't pass into history, no the Jews did not become Christians, we're still around we're still our own religion/people.

"Are Jews Rich?"

This, along with "why are Jews Rich" "why do Jews like money so much" "are Jews Greedy?" etc etc is one of the most common questions Jews get. To answer honestly, like any group of people there are rich Jews and poor Jews. There are Jews in the top ten richest people in the world, and there are Jews who live in grinding 3rd world poverty without electricity or running water. The idea that Jews are rich, love money, and are greedy is an antisemitic stereotype used to demonize Jews.

"So Jews, it's like Christianity without Jesus right?"

This often comes from people raised Christian. The answer is no, Judaism is its own religion and is very different. Jews have their own holidays totally different from Christian ones, we use a different calendar, we worship on Saturdays rather than Sundays, our traditions are totally different. Going to Synagogue would be nothing like going to a Church where no one talked about Jesus.

"Do Jews hate/dislike/think they are better than Christians/Arabs/Muslims/non-Jews?"

No, I get asked versions of this, and accused of it, all the time. Unlike most religions Judaism does not require (nor does it even want) all people to join their faith to be "saved". Jews see gentiles as serving a different spiritual role in God's plan than Jews, not a lesser one, just a different one. So No Jews don't hate anyone

"Wait are Jews a race or a religion?"

both? but also neither? Jews are an ethnicity, an unique culture. Our religion, Judaism is a religion of a people, a lot like different Native American believe systems it tells the history of our people and the land we come from. As such while people can become Jewish, Jews don't seek to make people Jewish and becoming Jewish is a much longer and more complex process than conversion to Christianity or Islam.

"What's that funny hat you guys wear?"

In the US it's most commonly called by it's Yiddish name, a yarmulke, in Israel and by more religious people by the Hebrew name, a Kippah. Mostly worn by men, some women in liberal communities particularly women Rabbis in the Reform movement wear them. Traditional Jewish men wear them most of the time, less traditional Jews only where them during prayer or at synagogue or other religious events. The Kippah serves as a reminder of God above us.

"Do Jews celebrate Christmas?"

Short answer: no. Somewhat longer answer: Some Jews, particularly American ones, put up Christmas trees, like ginger bread cookies, and give gifts. The USSR banned Christmas after the Revolution but couldn't get people to stop celebrating it so declared the tree and gift giving "New Years" celebrations so many many former Soviet Jews in Israel, Russia, Ukraine, and the US still put up "New Years Trees" however none of these Jews with trees and gifts are celebrating the virgin birth of Jesus.

"Do you have Jew Gold?"/"Where is your Jew Gold"

Thanks to South Park I was asked this question about a million times in middle school and high school and even some times in College. Some people were joking, some people were "joking" some people were totally serious. For the record, no, Jews do not carry around a little bag of gold.

"What do Jews think of Jesus?"

We don't, we do not think about Jesus. Most likely the only time your average Jew thinks about Jesus is when a Christian very awkwardly and intensely looks us in the eye and asks for our thoughts on their god.

"Jews are like white Europeans right?"

This gets phrased a lot of different ways. First off there are Jews who are clearly not. For example 4 million Jews are Mizrahi, Jews who originate in the Middle East and North Africa, another example are the Beta Israel community of Ethiopian Jews. Jews are an ethnicity so can be from many different races, there are hispanic, black, Asian and Native American Jews.

"Hanukkah thats like Jewish Christmas right?"

I literally never know what this even means, "Jewish Christmas"? If they're trying to ask if it's like the most important Jewish holiday then the answer is no. While Hanukkah is fun, it's not one of our major holidays. It also has nothing to do with Jesus if that what the question means, since it's celebrating events that took place 200 years before Jesus' birth.

If you're Jewish feel free to add your own favorite "favorite" wacky, odd, intrusive or strange questions you've been asked about our tribe. If you're not Jewish well feel free to just reblog, hope everyone has an enlightening Jewish Heritage month (and the hate crimes are low this time)

#Jewish #Jews #judaism #jewish heritage #Jumblr

[menalez]

I'm not indian, I'm actually mexican, so take what i say with a grain of salt, but the conversation about hindu right wingers reminded me of something interesting I saw in college, about how feminist reinterpretations of female historic figures from hindu tradition was seen as left wing and radical in the 90s, when it first started, but as the nationalist movement grew and the xenophobia against other religions and communities within india grew, they appropriated part of the feminist discourse regarding feminine figures like goddesses, heroines or philosophers, to incorporate them into the discrourse of "hinduism is better than islam".

What I find interesting about that is that i've seen similar things happen with feminist reinterpretations of women's history in every culture. For example, I've seen christians defend christianism as a "truly equal religion" based on the ideas that feminists from the 80s build up about the value of biblical figures like Mary, Magdalen and Judith, or important nuns and saints like Christine de Pizan. Nowadays Christians talk about those ideas as if they originally came from christian communities, when they actually come from feminists that were ostracized for daring to make an argument against the oppression of women. These feminists were trying to use an argument that made sense under a christian worldview to criticise christianism from inside, they weren't celebrating christianism as perfect or saying it didn't need any change, but the complete opposite.

And I've even seen similar things within indigenous mexican communities or even in feminist interpretations of judaism or islam, where feminists try to use arguments based on tradition to criticise modern day patriarchy... it's never an attempt to celebrate how perfect the culture is, but an attempt to use it's own logic to dismantle it... but then, pretty soon after they begin making this argument, right wingers apropriate their discurse to make it seem like their culture "was always feminist".

honestly yeah ive seen this happen w christianity too lmfao like christians were big anti-gay losers for centuries and then the second they wanted to argue that theyre superior to muslims & more specifically middle easterners, they were like "well WE dont think gay people should die for being gay!" like um luv the story of soddom & gomorrah didnt start w islam and stoning as a punishment was even more prominent in the bible...

i cant comment on hinduism or judaism but i can say that at least islam and christianity have pretended to be progressive (& sometimes actually became more progressive) simply to be able to argue that theyre the more Humane and Better religion

#anonymous

[researchgate]

Anytime a western woman expresses fear and concern about muslim male immigrants they give her a sermon about how the situation in the global south is the west's doing and she should shut up and take it. as if women in the west should sacrifice their hard earned rights by accepting men who literally need to take why-rape-is-bad classes and refuse to shake a woman's hand bc females are dirty. or they say that white men also rape and abuse women. no shit! does that mean we have to regress further back still? back to when marital rape was legal for example? bc thats what a man who needs to be taught not to sexually assault women believes in. honestly fuck that cuz if a moid from my country who was so grotesquely and loudly misogynistic wanted to move somewhere else I'd be the first to say he has no place endangering women's lives there. any man who needs to be taught rape is bad should stay where he is and be put to jail

while I may sometimes make weird, dark jokes about it, I never blame Germans of today for the holocaust, nor do I do so to Austrians. Yet somehow white women today are to blame for the problems western men caused in the middle east, southeast asia, and the global south, or for slavery, or for whatever. There's just this inability (or lack of willingness) to separate the women and mainly men of the past and women of nowadays. It's clear that they still seek women to blame for their own victimhood. All under the guys of feminism is also anti racism or whatever. Feminism is women's liberation regardless of race and/or ethnicity, yes, but it has nothing to do with men, not even men of color. Feminists know how to criticize Christianity's misogyny very well, and it's time they applied it to Islam and Judaism (which you can do without being antisemitic, it's extremely easy actually), but instead they go for the victim of a different oppression card. It's stupid and goes against feminism, which denounces all forms of female oppression, regardless of the oppressor, even when said oppressor is other women.

While the west is very much to blame for a lot of issues and problems in the places I mentioned above, it's not like there was no oppression of women, rape, and violence against women before the arrival of the White Man. This is genderist rhetoric used to describe how gender was not a thing/was equal/diverse in societies pre western contact. Women were still inferior in these societies based on their sex. They were still raped and discriminated against in religious roles. It's not hard to grasp that misogyny existed and exists in most cultures and societies regardless of contact with the West.

--

The fact that such classes on why rape is bad exist shows a deep rooted problem in the societies of which men need them. The problem is not their race/ethnicity, not even their culture as a whole, but rather certain issues such as the approval and normalization (and even encouragement) of IPV and marital rape. They don't even see this as "marital rape" because a woman who marries gives away her right to consent to anything basically. She now belongs to the husband. And when it comes to women outside of said society/religion, they're by all means inferior and thus their consent is also invalidated and given no mind. It's not even considered.

We do not deserve our rights to be regressed for the sake of pandering to anyone, white or not. If we pander to them, we also pander to incels and white misogynists.

and I agree, although in some countries jails have too good conditions. I think there should be jailing system for misconducts such as drug use or prostitution (which should be decriminalized) and jails for rapists, sex buyers, murderers, etc. which should not have good conditions at all. But that's unrelated and wishful thinking.

#f: other #anonymous #asks

[rosiewitchescottage]

What does "Christo-paganism" look like for you? What does it entail in day-to-day life? When and how were you introduced to it and why did you take it up?

Not trying to convert you or anything like that, honestly just curious.

Thank you for your courteous question. And I'm very happy to answer it for you.

I left Christianity around 2004, because I was finding things that to me just didn't quite ring true with all I heard about Jesus.

I embraced Paganism, because I saw that all of Creation is honoured for its sacredness, because it all bears the hand-print of God, as much as we do.

But even though I loved this, and still do. Something still wasn't quite right.

I'd left Christianity, but I hadn't left Jesus and he certainly hadn't left me.

Plus, as much as I respect the freedom of expression that's another big part of Paganism, I find myself disagreeing strongly with many things that I hear expressed.

I found a Youtube channel called Spirits in Space Suits by an Irish priest called Fr Sean O'Loaire Phd. And they are rather 'alternative'., as to his interpretation of things.

To me, many of them were a revelation. He has his own website as well as several books.

I saw other people who were mixing Christianity with Paganism, and calling it Christo-paganism.

Many of them involve Pagan deities and witchcraft, and I could see why that would be see as a serious problem by Christians.

But multiple deities had never gone further than an academic interest for me.

Worship for me has never gone from God the Creator. If I use Christian prayers then I'll retain the address of Lord/Father.

But if I pray in my own way I'll say Father and Mother, Lord and Lady. One God as our Creator doing the creative work of both male and female.

Seeing God as potentially both male and female is another aspect of Paganism that still appeals to me.

I found another Youtube channel, Norse Magic and Beliefs. This is run by a Norwegian gentleman who uses writings like The Poetic Edda, and other Pagan written sources to try to piece together what the original Norse Pagans believed and how they actually practiced.

Again it's a revelation, as well as fascinatingly informative. It's taken me into the realms of Animism, which apparently is thought to be the root, out of which polytheist faiths grew.

Here I've learned that pagan deities were probably not seen in the same light as the Abrahamic God of Judaism, Christianity, Islam etc.

They only tended to be worshipped on particular occasions. Day to day spirituality was centred on spirits of nature, of the land, ancestral spirits etc.

These Pagan deities then, were more akin to the spirit entities of major natural phenomena.

I heard of a minor Celtic goddess believed to be linked to a major river in Lancashire. And whilst I had no interest in worshipping her as a goddess.

I do get close to that river frequently, and seeing her as the spirit of that well known feature, to be respected, as all of Nature should be, for the primal power it exudes, given to it by God.

That began to strike me as feeling right.

I found a book called 'Christian Animism' by Shawn Sanford Beck that has many things to say that I disagree with. (I'm one of the many people who is liberal on some issues and conservative in others. It's just a fact that the majority of what one finds written about paganism and animism tends to be heavily left leaning. )

I've learned that I can agree with people on one thing, whilst disagreeing on others. And that's not a bad skill to practice.

(Something I learned from Norse Magic and Beliefs is that the Norse concept of the soul was that for us as humans, it has 8 parts. Some animals may have around 5 or 6, plants have 2 or 3 and rocks only 1.

But what he had to say about loving the world God created, with us as a part of that Creation, meant to help God as stewards of our fellow creatures, not masters.

And our fellow creatures, the plants, the rocks, the Sun, Moon and Stars, even the weather. All with a life force of their own. There I was right with him.

I don't suppose that the number is that important. But it gives me a solid ground to think of other forms of life with a spirit essence, that doesn't have to be quite as complex as our own souls.)

It gives a whole new vibrancy to St Francis' Canticle of The Sun'. I really can think of birds singing their praises to God, a babbling brook doing likewise, the wind in the trees, the rain falling, the Sun and Moon shining.

And it makes me more aware of the need to consider them as truly living beings, that I should treat with loving respect.

I appreciate that what I know of Animism is basic and surface level at most. But I'm not claiming to be an Animist.

I simply want to share the honouring of the God who made us and Loves us, as much with our non human neighbours as with the human.

I wanted to know Jesus more,from the Christian perspective. I needed to balance out gratitude for his role as our Saviour, free from the nagging feeling that all the heavy guilt that I heard being so heavily expressed didn't balance out right with Divine Love.

No, we're not perfect, we make mistakes, we're far too easily tempted.

My mind looks on the concept of sin as 'moral mistakes'.

We have to make choices about how to act. And like The Good Shepherd's straying sheep, off we go sometimes, down the wrong path, taking us away from the loving presence of our shepherd, and potentially towards danger.

I found myself considering how we are designed to learn from mistakes. And who made us that way, if not God?

I considered that perhaps God wants to guide us to the right paths, find us when we get lost, and tenderly carry us home.

He knows that our wisdom is limited. He knows that the powers of evil take advantage of that, to tempt us, wanting to separate us from God.

God sent prophets to his people throughout The Torah and Old Testament. But clearly more direct guidance was needed.

God came literally In Person, as Jesus Christ. He taught us about the right path and how important Love is.

Fr Sean on Spirits in Space Suits has a couple of amazing videos talking about Jesus Passion and how he was still teaching us about Love in the depths of his own suffering.

I think about that Loving Sacrifice that the powers of evil are totally floored by. I don't think it's any coincidence that extremely guilty Barabbas goes free while innocent Jesus goes to the cross.

If we look through mythology, in which there are some of the deepest truths that never change. We see time and again that evil cannot understand Love, in fact, it's often fearful and mistrustful of it's power, that it all too often mistakes for 'weakness'.

'Greater Love hath no man than that he will die for his friends'. Perhaps that's partly what Jesus was getting at?

This amazing sacrifice, plus the fact that even the grave couldn't hold this power of Divine Love for more than 3 days.

What does evil have to offer us that's even remotely comparable to this?

I now find myself thinking and reading about Jesus more than ever before. I've been watching The Chosen, which has helped me understand a lot more. I'm saying a decade of The Rosary every day.

I did go on quite a bit there, apologies for being wordy. But I hope that explains things for you?

The very last thing I intend is disrespect to Jesus, to The Church, or to Christians.

I've just found my way of combining the sacredness of the whole of nature along with a fresh appreciation of Jesus.

Thanks again for your ask, and how you asked it.

God Bless You.

[iputthediscoindiscourse]

also its really frustrating that despite radical feminism being so misportrayed in the mainstream, many people on here wont take 2 seconds to think about what you mean by tradfem and automatically assume the worst caricatured sexist version possible. whereas i hve seen lots of content on here that technically follows under tradfem that centers on women setting standards and boundaries on the men they allow in their lives, refusing sexualization, enjoying traditionally female roles but the ones that are actually valuable work (childrearing, cooking, sewing etc.) not stupid pornified stuff. like does it suck that for centuries women were forced into those roles? duh! but there is also so much valuable female knowledge there, it is a sphere where women worked together and apart from men and i totally get not being interested in it but its sad to see it disregarded just bc of its origins. anyways sorry to rant in your inbox. i just really Felt ur post lol

also its really frustrating that despite radical feminism being so misportrayed in the mainstream, many people on here wont take 2 seconds to think about what you mean by tradfem and automatically assume the worst caricatured sexist version possible.

Exactly!! Like it seems like tradfem seems to be a trigger word to them and it sends the worst to me. Like all I want is a good partner who will take care of me, and a house to turn into a home. Which is like very traditional, you know? I just want to serve the creator, and have a simple life, which shouldn't piss people off but I digress. Like I grew up with a stay at home mother, and that was a hot mess for many many reasons which is why I was very very hyper independent until recently. Like it was a trauma response and honestly I am too mentally ill to be that independent. Like I function better when being take care of by a lover. And honestly I cannot wait for the day I am married and am able to dotted on my future spouse and create a home full of love happiness and laughter with them.

whereas i hve seen lots of content on here that technically follows under tradfem that centers on women setting standards and boundaries on the men they allow in their lives, refusing sexualization, enjoying traditionally female roles but the ones that are actually valuable work (childrearing, cooking, sewing etc.) not stupid pornified stuff.

Like honestly, if you want me to get religious on main. In both Judaism and Islam, there is religious law that basically protects and gives women rights, which in the middle ages and up til recently in human history it was extremely progressive. Like in both religious, if you, the woman, are not sexually satisfied with your husband you can divorce him!! Along with that, in Islam, his money is your money, and he cannot touch your money if you decide to work; Judaism has similar protections. Which is partly why I like dating Jewish or Muslim men cause they seem to treat me better than secular non religious men. But I will say if I am not nearly as religious as them, they can become cunts so it is a double edged sword. But when it comes to like women's work I personally prefer childrearing and cooking way better than other stuff, like i plan to get more college degrees but it is just to give myself more credentials for my writing and cause the thought of being a children's librarian sounds so lovely. Because children's media is a special interest of mine and i love talking/studying it!! Also now that I think of it the fact they instantly think of the pornified shit just proves they are really into black and white thinking and probably have some shit they need to work out tbh.

like does it suck that for centuries women were forced into those roles? duh! but there is also so much valuable female knowledge there, it is a sphere where women worked together and apart from men and i totally get not being interested in it but its sad to see it disregarded just bc of its origins.

Exactly!! Like I would never want anyone to be forced to do anything they didn't want to. Like this world needs all kinds of wonderful personalities and people who specialize in all kinds of different work. Personally I just want to be a role model for children who come from the background I did to show them it gets better. While advocating for better rights for both children and women. Just because I want to be more traditional in my work doesn't make me bad or good. It is just a neutral quality you know. The only reason it so demonized by both males and radfems is because it is gendered as female. Which is straight up sexism imho.

anyways sorry to rant in your inbox. i just really Felt ur post lol

don't be sorry!! I loved reading this and glad someone else feels the same way dear!! Love and power to you <3

#anon #answered #religion #gabe.txt

[demoisverysexy]

I feel like when it comes to leftism, I agree with just about every point you make (although there are some areas of politics that I honestly just don't know much about, so it's difficult for me to form an opinion on those things), but every time you talk about religion, it sounds like you have almost no idea what you're talking about. It also seems like you only bring up religious drama so you can be like "lol y'all mad" anytime anyone criticizes mormonism or challenges your views. The only reason I'm still following you is because you reblog a lot of nice furry art that I otherwise wouldn't see on my dash, but you're more and more on thin ice every time I see one of your posts or reblogs about religion. It you're going to talk about religion, maybe do some actual research and listen to others outside of your small circle of "progressive mormons." The majority of the lds church is full of conservative bigots, and pretending it's not is just going to cause more harm than good.

Hi. Thanks for your thoughts.

I presume this is in answer to my question about whether people like to hear my thoughts. You certainly have answered my question here, and I appreciate your honesty and candor. I hope it's okay that I use this as a place to address some of the points youve brought up, and my thoughts both on Mormonism, and religion in general. If you ever have more questions, always feel free to reach out to me through a DM. Though I can appear cantankerous and argumentative on my blog, in reality, I am always down for a chat, and I appreciate the opportunity to set aside differences and talk.

Ok, so let's get into it.

To be honest, I am a bit surprised that you think my leftist arguments are things you agree with, while my religious arguments you think I dont know what I am talking about, and am out to get peoples attention and get people upset. If anything, I feel the opposite is more usually true. If I recall correctly, most of the times I have been looking to rile peoples feathers with my takes was when I was posting leftist political shit, such as most recently when I brought the wrath of tankie tumblr upon me by saying I thought it was a shame they were the face of leftism on tumblr. When it comes to my religious takes, while I sometimes can be a bit cheeky, I try to be more careful and reserved (though this time that didnt work out: while I think a lot of the hate I am getting isnt warranted, I see why some of my wording got people upset). In fact, religion is more of my strong suit than politics, to be honest. And while, yes, I do get obnoxious and crass when people challenge me on my Mormonism a lot, that is less interesting to me than having dialogues with people about religious belonging and furthering productive discourse. In fact, right now I am working on a few essays in that vein that I hope to share soon, which I hope will show how deeply and carefully I do think about these things.

As to the points about me not talking about issues more broad than the circle of progressive Mormons that I interact with on tumblr, I both agree and disagree with you. On the one hand, I agree that there is more I can do to learn more about religions outside of Mormonism. I have been wanting for a while to study Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism, though not necessarily in that order. I never quite get around to it, to my shame. I do try to at least listen to voices outside of my religious bubble, though I could do more there. Everyone could, I think.

On the other hand, I disagree that I dont do enough to focus on the sins of my church. I am very aware of them, and have spoken out against them numerous times. I even try to associate and listen to former Mormons and people who have left (I need to do better here, in all honesty), and to speak out where I can against my church's bad policies.

And bad policies there are aplenty. Where to begin. We have a history of racism, sexism, imperialism, queerphobia, and more. In our history, we have committed atrocities, opposed gay marriage and the equal rights amendment, and more. People have criticised the missionary program for imperialism, and preying upon vulnerable people (fair criticisms, I think). The church has been a source of pain for far too long for far too many, and there is much that needs to be done to begin to right our wrongs. I do what I can to keep aware of that, and speak out where I can.

But at the end of the day, being Mormon isnt only about being ashamed of my churchs wrongs. It is about drawing closer to Christ, and helping my fellow Mormons do the same. It is about doing good where I can. This is what I try to do more than anything else with my religious sentiments I share on tumblr. It is not meant to ignore the wrongs my church, which are legion, but rather to help out people like me, queer Mormons who are looking for a place where they are heard, and where they can belong. I need to do more to that end, and I do get caught in the weeds of the internet sometimes. But I do try.

If at the end of the day, you decide that I am someone who is married to a bad church and wont stop standing up for them even though theyre awful, and I'm not doing enough to listen to others: that is your judgement to make. At the end of the day, as rational and impartial as I try to be, I am prone to be biased in favor of myself. Perhaps you see something in me that I am failing to see in myself. And at the end of the day, if I am a source of frustration or annoyance on your blog, you can always unfollow me, or block any tags that get you upset. I wont lie and say I wouldnt be hurt by that, but I would understand. But I hope that you can see that I am trying to listen, to learn, and to help where I can. I have a long way to go, and today has taught me that, and humbled me in some ways I didnt realize I needed. But if nothing else, I am trying to be better at this. I hope you can forgive me for that.

#mormonism #religion #queerstake #asks #demo answers

[followthestarpath]

My beef with every organized religion

This might seem blasphemous but honestly it's just my observations and if that makes me a heretic, then so be it. I still believe in God. I guess it's just in a different light.

Christianity

Well I was actually baptized when I was 8 and attended church regularly but I was always secretly agnostic. It didn't make sense to me how so many things in the Bible contradicted what we were learning in school. (I think I blame Santa for jumpstarting my urge to question everything).

When I went away to college and went through my own self discovery, only then did I feel comfortable enough to reveal my agnosticism. The first person I ever told was a Muslim and his response was that I have to believe in something or else I'll go to hell. Safe to say, I went back to keeping it secret.

Since the beginning of mankind. We have used religion to justify colonialism and Genocide. If Jesus and his followers happened in one side of the world, how would people on the other side know? If it's your job to spread the good word of The Lord, then why would you slaughter people who have never heard of Him? How could they by anything other than heathens if you don't even get them the option.

Also I can't handle the circular reasoning. Where does it say you can't be gay? Ok, well who wrote that down? Where's the proof? Oh okay. If we ever get time travel, I will bet a million pesos that Peter, Paul, and whoever were buttfucking each other in an orgy.

In Matthews when Judas betrayed Jesus, he kissed him to reveal his identity to the angry mob. To which Jesus replied, "Friend, why have you come?" which to me does not sound like something someone would say if their friend kissed them for the first time.

Why does it say it's wrong to get information from the stars? Cause it's witchcraft? Oh okay, well why is that bad? Cause the book says so? But how did the three Wiseman know Jesus was born?

Astrology was started by royal astronomers hundreds of years before the common era and they were pretty much one in the same. It wasn't until Constantine legalized Christianity in 313 AD that it became taboo.

The Book also talks about slavery and it doesn't condemn the philosophy of it at all. It's right there in the The Ten Commandments. Everyone knows, "thou shall not kill", "though shall not steal" and maybe a couple more but what about the rest? You don't just get to pick and choose which parts to listen to.

(Fuck, why is this so long? )

My point is that if I blindly follow someone's advice on how to navigate the world from two millennia ago, that would be dangerous in any field. And I also think that if a stranger said not to listen to anyone else but them and follow them to live for eternity, I would think they were a super villian.

If your truth is so Supreme, then there shouldn't be anything against exploring other options because they would come back every time. Or does God think we're all idiots that would get lost if no one was there to guide us?

If I wrote a paper in college and my sources were from even 50 years ago, the whole paper wouldn't be credible. So how did we all choose to follow this book with no amendments ever?

And is Catholicism so big that the Vatican needs to be considered its own country? That's gotta be gluttony or pride or something.

Judaism

My main critique is that anytime someone mentions that Jews control the world, they immediately get canceled and labeled as antisemitic. But I don't understand why that is taken as such an insult. And the fact that it goes down like that makes the claim seem that much more accurate. Have you seen that documentary Three Identical Strangers? All I'm saying is that they came off real shady.

Not to get too political, but during the current situation in Gaza, Israel is seeming to play both, victim and abuser.

Islam, Buddhism, Christianity (again)

My perception of a lot of religious stuff is that someone found one way to do something, wrote it down, and somewhere along the line, it became the only way. Because Muhammad thought pigs were dirty, people shouldn't eat pork? Because Buddha didn't do drugs that means that no one should else should try them. Jesus turned the other cheek so I'm not supposed to defend myself against enemies? Spoiler alert: that did not end up being well for him. I'm all for peace and love but at no point in time will I ever not fight back against people attempting to nail me to a cross.

Atheism

I never meshed well with nonbelievers who only care for what science says. We used to believe the earth was flat, you could fly to the sun, and that flies were born from rotten meat. There's a reason why the Big Bang and gravity are still considered theories.

Paganism adjusts and upgrades frequently. Back when tarot was developed thousands of years ago, the major arcana was proposed as 22 cards represented by the 12 zodiac signs and 10 luminaries. Even though we had not discovered 10 luminaries yet. Uranus wasn't discovered until 1781, Pluto in 1930!

Astrology updates with the times the birth chart house associated with work used to represent slaves and the house associated with friends and community now includes social media. When the outer planets were discovered, they filled in the missing spots and made everything more even. It's kind of like when the Texans joined the NFL.

So what I do enjoy about science is that it is constantly reviewing information and reconsidering the truth. So now we know for sure that the earth is super round, the sun is hecka far away, and that flies are flipping disgusting. That is something that none of the big three seem to be open to (and even four if you wanna count Buddhism)

Mattafack...

Buddhism (again)

For a long time, I thought my ideals aligned with Buddhism. Cause I'm all about peace, meditation, and being one with nature. I really appreciate the idea of reaching Nirvana as a goal but their actual ultimate goal is to ascend past samsara and basically erase yourself from the ether. You aren't supposed to desire anything and should never be upset cause that's poison for your spirit. That is the only way to beat suffering but I feel like that's like chopping off your hand cause you can't stop sucking your thumb. I much prefer Shintoism because it simply just is and that's it. And maybe even Hinduism? I'll dig more into those.

Jehovah's Witnesses

Growing up, I never understood why Jehovah's Witnesses weren't allowed to celebrate holidays. After researching, the best answer I could find is because they contribute most of them to paganism paired with the belief that celebrations displease God.

Now I really appreciate them not pretending that there isn't a direct correlation of Christmas to Saturnalia and Easter to Ēostre (which is why the date is so dependent upon the equinox and full moon and why there is a rabbit that lays eggs) but to dwindle down birthdays as paganism just seems like a reach. Sure the pagans kept track of the sun but if that’s your thinking then you might as well ignore the whole Gregorian calendar.

There are some good points like refusing to join the military and pleging aligience to flags cause fuck war and nationalism but everything else just seems so stiff. My personal philosophy is to celebrate as much as possible. Shoot, one of my resolutions is to celebrate more small victories. So if that sends me to hell then so be it, I won't have any regrets.

Anyway shuning people for not living in your same truth, restricting simple pleasures, and trying to convince strangers in book stores that they need to conform to your ideals if they want to live forever seems like a pyramid scheme wrapped in a cult. So it's a no from me.

Speaking of cults...

Latter Day Saints

Mormons, oh boy. Seems like a ploy to just have a bunch of wives and sex. If there is a greater goal than that, I can't tell. Not for me.

and of course,

Scientology

I bet you could make up some random conspiracy like "scientology planned 9/11" and it would probably hold some validity. I already gave my views on science and my communist ideologies just won't even let me think about this too long.

Amish

Not a cult but I honestly don't get it. I googled "why don't Amish use technology" and it came up with an FAQ from the Amish community website so then I was even more confused.

Everyone and everyone else

This sentiment goes across most religions for me: if having fun is a sin and the only way to reach salvation is to eliminate them all when I go to heaven, will I have fun then? Or will it be the same restrictions? I gotta chew on that one for awhile.

#astrology #birth chart #religion #christianity #muslim #buddhism

[violet-moonstone]

incoming rant about my upbringing - this is not about all christians, but my family specifically and a lot of the christians i grew up around

fun thing about my family - most people in my (very religious christian) family know jack shit about other religions (and honestly very little about christianity itself - they were taught to be compliant, not knowledgable). growing up, whenever i heard people talk about other faiths it was either to demonize them or to speak about them in a condescending way (or go: yes, its important to respect other people but remember that what they believe is invalid and we got it right...oh also dont think about that too long or else you might question your faith and that's wrong)

someone in my family just learned recently (as in like...within the last 3 years) that islam is an abrahamic religion. She's spent decades just assuming they worship an entirely different god. people at my "friendly accepting church" have laughed at a joke in a sermon where the punchline was someone believing in god but not in jesus' divinity - because haha that's such a ridiculous concept??? (wait until they learn about judaism, it'll fucking blow their minds). my family talked about hinduism like it was backwards for being polytheistic (same rhetoric used to justify the enslavement and colonizing of our ancestors but ok). They also think reincarnation is silly - which to me as an agnostic is fucking wild considering that (imo) no belief in the afterlife is inherently more logical or more valid than any other.

its particularly fun (not) to hear them talk about wiccans as if theyre demonic cultists scheming to take down christianity (i used to dabble in wicca and im still interested in it, so those were fun conversations to have)

they also speak similarly about atheists and ex-christians (who they call backsliders). love feeling like an outsider in my own home. love hearing people who say they love me also talk about how turning away from god is the greatest sin that cannot be forgiven. its nice to know just how conditional their love is.

i used to think i disliked religion but thats not true - i love (and miss!) community, shared stories, and spiritual comfort

what i actually dislike is the way close-minded people in my family have combined their religious beliefs with being proudly ignorant and bigoted

I would love to be part of a spiritual/religious community...just a better one

#religion

[sinfulandsarcastic]

would you consider your reaction okay if the advertising were muslim, or jewish? There have been lots of ads for lots of things over the course of television history. we are not as a nation required to approve of everything we see advertised on our TVs.

Honestly, yes and I understand why you would use those as examples. However it is also within my right as American to share my disapproval. Nothing is more hypocritical and devious than saying "we aren't like them" while forking over 10 million for an ad slot on a national event.

Admittedly, I would be less bothered by an ad that was pushing for Islam or Judaism, or hell, even Mormonism, as they have less so molded into our government and possess less control over our interests and rights. Christianity is the religion with the worst track record when it comes to positions of power. However, if the advertisement was Muslim or Jewish, it would make it no less devious than one of Christianity. No single religion is exempt of judgement.

I hope this is a good enough answer.

[soracities]

Hi!! Do u believe in God?

Beautiful blog❣❣

"god" is a very, very loaded word for me so i try to stay away from it in this regard. i think i tend to believe in something but it’s not something i can classify, and the older i get the more i believe that i don't need to either (it also, ultimately, matters very little to me tbh); it's like love in that way, i think: the less you speak of it, the better.

#ngl whether there is or isnt - the whole isness of it on the whole - is an irrelevant thing to me and i dont think about that part at all #i dont even not think about it just does not feature in my life whatsoever #like i do have a Lot of thoughts on this but on the whole the word 'god' leaves me feeling very weird in any talks about belief #like honestly judaism and islam were right #but yeah #theres an ada limon poem where someone says you dont believe in god? and she responds no i believe in this connection to nature and people #and the person says 'yeah. god' and that's it. that's more or less it #ask #anonymous

[likealittleheartbeat]

read an atla meta recently about guru pathik where they called his voice actor a “white guy.” i honestly didn’t know anything about the voice actor and def thought it was a possibility within what i knew about the show’s production. His voice actor, Brian George, turned out to have a family story evocative of the show’s central themes about diaspora, racial constructions, and global history. 

Brian George’s father was born in Lebanon and grew up in Mumbai. His mother was from India. Both of them were Baghdadi Jewish, a Sephardic Jewish culture (as opposed to Ashkenazi Jewish with their ties to Germany and Eastern Europe), meaning it’s liturgical ties lay in Islamic rule on the Iberian peninsula, although tolerance declined in the region forcing movement eastward across North Africa and towards the Middle East. Baghdadi Jews, as indicated in the name, founded their identity in the famous cultural center in Iraq. Many of their cultural practices developed and continue today to reflect a synthesis of Judaism and Arab culture. They carried these traditions when persecution increased under Muslim Turkish rulers in the 18th century, and many fled to India, taking advantage of favored cultural and economic positions under British colonial rule. However, this group had trading relationships to the region long preceding Britain’s involvement in the region and their own migration there. 

When the region was finally able to resist their oppressive colonizers, the emergence of India was dramatically racialized and nationalistic, with horrific violence and forced migrations among the different religious groups between new borders. The Badghdadi Jewish populations, like Brian George’s parents, found themselves without the same economic possibilities in this new environment. Another nation state had recently begun to emerge that they sought shelter within: Israel. In 1952, three years after around 80% of the Palestinian was violently expelled due to the end of British colonial influence, a UN decision in the wake of the Nazi antisemitic genocide, and the subsequent Palestine War, Brian George was born in this new settler-colonial state with family ties to the Jewish religious culture of the state and the Arab material culture of the oppressed. Like many Bagdhadi Jews who retained their unique Sephardic traditions, Brian George’s family immigrated to London only one year after he was born, and then later to Toronto, Canada. 

As an actor, Brian George, like many Asian actors until recently, found work playing characters reflective of a vague region connected to a racialized idea about his voice and appearance. He didn’t have any connection to Pakistan when he played the Pakistani cafe owner, Babu Bhatt, on Seinfeld. He is not Hindu, though he played a culturally generic Hindu father to Raj Koothrappali on The Big Bang Theory. Playing in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine the father to Julian Bashir, with his Arabic last name, touches on a piece of his identity, but it’s scant. So Guru Pathik with his Tantric wisdom is not exactly a new kind of cultural alienation for Brian George. And technically, according to the US census, OP is right: Brian George with his Middle Eastern roots is white. But then again, his Indian family history might place him in the Asian category, and clearly within the visual medium looks-based categorization, he’s not white (otherwise we would assume he’d be getting some different roles). But Katara, with her Arabic name, her Chinese martial arts tradition, her Inuit garb, and her indigenous traditions, seems to point to the kind of existence Brian George embodies--something more broad, complicated, interconnected, and less categorizable. 

We can critique the way ATLA appropriated Tantric practices and beset the passing of that wisdom to someone’s voice that reflected the region but whose own ties were quite unrelated. But maybe we ought to frame those critiques within an industry and culture that depends on strict racial constructions for comprehending identity. And we also might want to be cautious about making demands for further representation in Hollywood, as if constantly drawing people away from their own communities and into a United States metropolis and centralized money-making industry necessarily is the best thing for those communities. I don’t know the answers. I don’t know exactly what’s right and wrong. History is long and the world is wide.

#atla meta #the world is wide #guru pathik #brian george #aanglove

[dangermousie]

No matter how progressive people on tumblr make themselves out to be, ultimately they don't hesitate to justify homophobia under the guise of cultural sensitivity

Yes.

And honestly, it applies to issues other than gay rights as well.

Yes, you should respect other cultures and not impose your own morality. Of course. BUT!! That only applies to things that do not involve oppressing a group of people. To be blunt, if your cultural or religious beliefs discriminate against and mistreat a group of people, like fuck will I respect them! If your society thinks women shouldn't get education, gay people should be jailed, political dissent is bad, blah blah blah, I am not gonna play along.

And people conflate cultural choices people make for themselves (always valid) and imposing them on others (not valid.) Take various dress codes for women related to various religions from Christianity to Islam to Judaism. People who scream e.g., that wearing hijab or a wig is per se oppression are dumb as hell - if a woman wants to wear it, it's her right and her choice, and yes, do not judge. But I am never just gonna say a society which mandates it and punishes you for not wearing it is OK because "culture." There is a difference between personal choice and coercion.

According to this logic, we should never judge anything ever except our own modern society. Are people gonna say slavery in 19th century American South or serfdom in 19th century Russia were OK because in that society it was viewed as normal? Spartan infanticide and helot hunts are a-ok because it was the norm? Pogroms? Child labor and marriage? Racism? Marital rape? Criminal penalties for birth control? Murders of albinos? Genocide? Execution for the "wrong" sexual orientation or religion? Because all of these were once considered the norm within various societies (and some still are.)

I grew up in a culture where there were a lot of attitudes that should be abhorrent to any right-thinking person and the thought of someone excusing all of it "because hey, it's their culture" is SICK.

Cultural understanding should mean understanding why people in a particular culture think a specific way or maybe being understanding and not judging them as irredeemable because they don't know otherwise; it doesn't mean approving of various horrors because it's "culture."

It's just a bit of hypocrisy to make themselves feel superior from the safety of their own corner where none of this will ever affect them.

#asks #few things get me hot under the collar but this one of them

[ghstandpucks]

Nothin’ Like You ~ Cale Makar

In honor of reaching over 200 followers, here is a song fic based on Dan and Shay’s Nothin’ Like You. I have a few requests in my inbox that I will be working on. If you have any, feel free to send them in using this prompt! Thank you for 200!!!

Master List

I remember when I first met you Sipping coffee in a corner booth You were twirling your hair And I just had to stare For a minute or two

Cale was with Tyson and J.T. after practice one Wednesday afternoon. The three of them decided to stop and get some coffee as it was a cold winter day outside. They were waiting in line talking about something E.J. had said earlier that day when Cale’s eyes landed on you in the back corner by a window. You had a cup of coffee and were staring at your laptop, completely oblivious to the world around you. He couldn’t help but stare as you wound and un-wound a strand of hair around your finger, every so often stopping to type something. Tyson kept talking as J.T. realized their defenseman was completely distracted by something. Following his line of sight, he chuckled. “See something you like? Or someone?” he chirped his teammate. Cale started to turn red as he looked away from you.

“I thought maybe I knew her,” he muttered. Tyson had stopped his monologue and was paying attention also now. He looked over as you had your head buried in a book, slowly typing something out.

“How did she carry all those books?” he asked with a slight laugh. Cale had noticed the numerous books you had scattered around the table. Didn’t people just do their research online now? “You like studious girls Makar?” Tyson elbowed him.

I was laughing at your stack of books Then you shot me that smile Hey beautiful girl, in your own little world Let me in it

“Man shut up,” Cale said turning on his friend. Unknowingly to them though, you had actually heard all the commotion. It was why you enjoyed doing your research in coffee shops; the garbled noises made it easier for you to concentrate. This doesn’t mean that you had heard what they said exactly, but who could really miss three hockey players walking into a small coffee shop in the middle of the week.

You looked up right as Cale was glancing back over at you. As you locked eyes, you sent him a shy smile and looked back down, trying to focus on your work again. Of course you knew who they were, all of Denver practically did. You were just an overstressed grad student with too many deadlines coming up though; he was probably just looking around the place.

The three of them ordered their coffees, and Cale noticed that you had looked sadly at your cup after taking a sip. He walked up to the counter and got the attention of the barista. “What did that girl in the corner order?” he asked, and was told it was a caramel latte. “I’ll take one of those too,” Cale said, paying for a second coffee. J.T. gave Tyson a look before he could say anything as they watched Cale walk over to you with two coffee cups.

You got all of my attention And you ain't even trying Yeah, you're my kind of different And I never seen nothin'

Nothin' like you

“Um hi. I hope you don’t mind, but I thought you could use this,” Cale said, announcing his presence at your table. You looked up, slightly startled as you had been engrossed in a thought you had while typing out your research. “Didn’t mean to scare you,” he chuckled nervously.

“No, you’re fine! Sorry, I had a train of thought going,” you sputtered out just as nervous as him. “Thank you, that’s very kind. What do I owe you?” you asked, instinctively reaching for your wallet. Cale shook his head.

“Nothing,” he said, trying to think of what the guys on the team might say in this situation. “Your number maybe?” he made a face like he couldn’t believe he just said that, and you couldn’t help but giggle.

“Um, sure, yeah,” you squeaked out, writing your number on a piece of notebook paper and ripping it out to give to him. “I’m Y/N,” you introduced yourself.

“Cale,” he said, taking the paper from you. He was about to ask what you were doing when Tyson called out to him.

“Makar, are you coming?” Cale turned toward his friends who had big, goofy grins on their faces watching the interaction. You blushed slightly at the thought of others watching you.

“I’m sorry. I’ll text you,” he stuttered out, putting your number into his pocket. You smiled softly at him and nodded.

“Thanks for the coffee,” you said and he smiled at you.

“My pleasure.”  

Shades on spinning in a summer rain Dancing when there ain’t no music Just the right kind of crazy, baby

           Cale had texted you like he said he would that same evening. You honestly weren’t expecting it, but felt completely giddy when you saw the unknown number and read his message. He explained that he would be gone on a road trip with the Avs for the next week, but would like to take you to dinner when he got back. You accepted and plans were made; the two of you talking regularly throughout the week getting to know each other better.

           The Avs returned home on Thursday, and a few hours later Cale was at your apartment knocking on your door. He had brought you flowers and you couldn’t help but smile at the kind gesture. The two of you made your way to dinner, talking the whole time. He had just finished telling you a funny story from the trip, beaming at the giggle he had enticed from you when your food arrived. As you looked down at your plate, you started moving your head and shoulders in an excited fashion. “Are you dancing?” Cale questioned you with a chuckle. You stopped immediately.

           “Oh my gosh, sorry. I tend to have a happy dance with food. It’s a weird family thing. I don’t even realize I do it until it’s pointed out to me,” you rambled on, face turning red. Cale shook his head.

           “Don’t be sorry. I though it was cute,” he said in a low tone. You smiled and giggled nervously; Cale deciding then and there that he wanted to continue seeing that smile for as long as you would let him.  

Something about you Rocking that rock 'n roll t-shirt Whole party dressed up But you just doin’ your thing Ain't nobody ever seen nothin' like you

           You were working on your research the following Friday night, having the game on in the background. Cale had taken you out to dinner once more since your first date, and the two of you had been nonstop texting. The Avs had won, Cale scoring that night. After the game you were about to text him a ‘congratulations’ when your phone started to ring, the caller ID showing it was him. “Congratulations!” you said as you answered and heard him chuckle on the other end of the line.

           “Thanks Y/N. Hey, what are you doing tonight?” he asked, and you heard a few wolf whistles behind him with muttered ‘shut ups’ coming from the defenseman.

           “I’ve just been working on my research since I got out of class earlier. Why?” you asked, trying not to laugh.

           “Come out with us. We’re all going out to celebrate,” he said in a more hushed tone, and you could imagine him trying to avoid the whole locker room from hearing.

           “Cale, I would love to but I’m not dressed to go out,” you said.

           “Who cares. Please? I would like you to come,” he pleaded with you ever so slightly. You looked down at your outfit, deciding it wouldn’t take much to put on some jeans quickly. Your Red Hot Chili Peppers shirt didn’t look terrible at least.

           “Text me the address,” you said into the phone, and you could hear the excitement in Cale’s voice as he said he would.

When you're wearing them worn out jeans Purple untied shoestrings You're a light in the dark And you're stealing my heart like a gypsy

           Showing up to the bar, you became a little self-conscious. Maybe you should have changed? The second Cale spotted you though, he thought you were the most beautiful girl in the room. The front of your band tee was tucked into your ripped black jeans, your white converse showing years of wear as they were no longer exactly white and the shoelaces were frayed at the ends. Cale knew you were probably stressed with your research, and yet you still had the softest smile and a sparkle in your eyes when you found him in the crowd. “You made it,” he whispered into your hair as he hugged you close. He felt you giggle into his chest.

           “Couldn’t let you down,” you answered simply. Cale smiled at you and took your hand, leading you over to a table where some of the team was sitting.

           “Coffee shop girl!” A slightly tipsy Tyson shouted.

           “Oh my God,” Cale muttered as you giggled. You were introduced to everyone as you took a seat between Cale and someone he called Gravy.

           “So what is your research on?” Gabriel Landeskog asked when you said you were a grad student at the University of Denver.

           “The archaeology of Zoroastrianism,” you said, and caught many blank stares.

           “Zoro what?” Andre asked.

           “It’s an ancient Persian religion. Today’s modern practices of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism all have common ties to it,” you briefly explained.

           “Wait, that was the religion Freddie Mercury practiced,” Sam Girard commented, looking interested. You nodded.

           “That’s how most people have heard of it now,” you responded.

           “What is your research trying to say about it?” he asked.

           “So I’m basically writing a big literature review to make sure it is preserved in the archaeological record. It was the first dualistic religion in a time where civilizations had their pantheons to believe in. It spread with the Persian conquest, but no one they conquered was ever forced to convert to it. Now it’s a rare religion to come across, and their numbers keep getting smaller. With it being one of the oldest organized religions, it needs to be preserved and the traditions documented before we lose it all through modernization attempts.” To you, your explanation was simple and one that you had said many times whenever asked what you were studying. It seemed you had impressed the table though, and you slightly blushed as a few questions started flying your way. You didn’t notice Cale softly smiling at you while you talked about a topic that you loved so much; he couldn’t take his eyes off of you. His teammates noticed though, and boy were they going to give it to him at practice.    

I love the way that you kiss me In front of everybody So baby come and kiss me They ain't ever seen nothin'

Nothin' like you

           The following day at practice, the guys were giving Cale crap for how head over heels he seemed for you. The fact he hadn’t kissed you yet was another source of ridicule. Everyone who had met you ended up adoring you within the time span that you spent with them at the bar; and they could easily see that their defenseman was taken by you as his cheeks would turn red at the mention of your name. They were all happy for him, but that didn’t mean the chirping would stop.

           They had another home game to play the following day, and Gabe convinced Cale to invite you and have you sit with Mel and Linnea. Later that day Cale went to your apartment and handed you his jersey, asking you to be there for the game. You couldn’t say no to him, not that you wanted to anyways. That Sunday you put on the jersey and headed to the stadium. Meeting Mel at the front, you quickly got along and enjoyed the game. The Avs came out victorious again, and you followed the captain’s wife to the locker rooms. You stepped aside as Gabe made his way over to his wife, feeling a little out of place. Luckily for you, Cale wasn’t far behind.

           He didn’t know if it was from the guys comments or seeing you in his jersey, but one second he was smiling widely at you, then the next his lips were on yours and his hands on your waist. Without a second thought, you kissed him back, your hands holding his face to yours. You were both grinning ear to ear as you separated, chirps flying all around but all in good nature. Giggling, you hid your face in Cale’s chest as his face turned bright red.

Shades on spinning in a summer rain Dancing when there ain’t no music Just the right kind of crazy, baby Something about you Rocking that rock 'n roll t-shirt Whole party dressed up But you just doing your thing Ain't nobody ever seen nothin' like you, yeah

           A year had passed and you were at the end of your grad program. You were set to present your research at the graduate fair, having been selected to present your research on behalf of your department. The Avs were scheduled to be flying back home that day, but Cale wasn’t sure if he would be there in time to see you present. You told him that it was fine, that you understood; and you really did. He was hell bent on making it though. You weren’t that surprised when you saw Cale sneaking into the back of the auditorium. What did surprise you was that half the team had followed him in. Having become good friends with them, they wanted to be there to support you too. As your name was announced, you swear you had the loudest applause.

           You calmly presented your research, smiling at Cale when you finished and a few questions were thrown your way. Having worked so hard, the questions were simple to answer. Finding Cale afterward, he took your poster from you and the two of you made your way to his apartment so he could unpack from the trip. Changing into some leggings and one of his shirts, you showed him the bound copy of your 105 page thesis. He was so proud of you and couldn’t help but share the cover on his Insta story. The two of you cuddle and slept better that night then you had in a while. For him it was being back home with you, and you finally had the stress of your research gone since the first time you met him.  

Nothin' like you Shades on spinning in a summer rain Dancing in the rain no music Nothin' like you Rocking that rock 'n roll t-shirt Whole party dressed up But you just doing your thing Ain't nobody ever seen nothin' like you, yeah

           Once you graduated, Cale asked you to move in with him. You had secured a job at a museum as a curator in their Antient History section. Setting up an exhibit all morning, you met up with Cale at the same coffee shop you had met at two years prior later that day. “Sorry I’m late” you muttered to Cale as you found him. He smiled and gave you a quick kiss.

           “You have nothing to be sorry about. I already put your order in,” he said as you sat across from him, taking a sip of the coffee he got you.

           “You know me so well,” you hummed with a giggle, the caramel latte tasting sweet. Cale grinned at you.

           “Technically, your coffee order was the first thing I learned about you, so I better get that right,” he chuckled. “That and you seemed like a huge nerd.” You faked offense, but laughed anyway.

           “It was all those books that got you. I knew my tactic of sitting in a coffee shop would work for me one day,” you winked at him.

           “It did. I’d never seen nothing like you,” he grinned, reaching into his pocket to take out a small velvet jewelry box.

Never seen, never seen nothin' like you Ain't never seen anything like you Mmm Never seen nothin' like you

Tagging: @yeahcalesy @avsfans95  @tysojost​ 

#nhl imagines #nhl x reader #nhl fic #nhl fanfiction #cale makar imagine #cale makar x reader #colorado avalanche imagine #nhl imagine

[huntingorbits]

Greetings!

I don't know how many of you are out there reading this, if there's only one of you, or maybe even none. Maybe this post floated across your dash or popped up while you were looking at a specific tag. Who knows? In any case, I'd love to take some time to introduce myself to you and the community properly.

I want to preface this introductory post with the fact that Tumblr has changed a lot since my last foray into the absolute chaos of this site years ago, so bear with me while I re-learn a number of things on the technical side.

That aside, let me tell you a little bit about myself.

Maybe someday I'll share my given name, but today is not that day. In the meantime, you can call me Archer Sims.

This blog exists solely for use with my journey into magick and any other occult topics I might look into in the future.

If that's not for you, then just move along and be on your merry way. I won't be offended if you decide our paths shouldn't cross again.

Here's my story:

(Apparently it's long. Sorry not sorry.)

I started my journey into practicing magick a couple of decades ago as a kid, but nothing really stuck. At that time, all that really existed as resources for us young misfits back in the day was Silver RavenWolf's books and the like, and they just didn't sit right with me. I think it's because they didn't set realistic expectations or properly explain witchcraft to my skeptical mind. I wanted to believe, but the exercises and information just didn't work for me the way I thought they should, and the rules seemed so strict that I didn't walk away with even a vague understanding of what witchcraft actually is.

Still, even though I was raised Lutheran, I considered myself largely Agnostic for an extremely long portion of my life. College opened my mind to a number of other religions and practices, and immediately I was hooked. Their belief systems and the way culture and spirituality were often intertwined was absolutely fascinating. Not only that, but a lot of the ideas were new (to me at least) and made a lot more sense to me than what I was raised on. (Side note, everyone should have a copy of this book for interacting with other religions courteously, because it's phenomenal: How to Be a Perfect Stranger)

I studied most of these religions from an anthropological viewpoint, but the concepts I was introduced to blew my mind. I started digging into some of the ideas I liked most a bit more and realized that I no longer knew what I believed. Was I a Deist? Free will and scientific exploration were/are very important to me, but no, not quite. Was I more closely aligned to Buddhism? That didn't seem to fit, either. Islam? Judaism? Hindu? Was I an Athiest in denial?

I was struggling to find answers, and it was frustrating. As life got busier, I stopped looking, and I quickly found myself in a spiritual limbo that lasted years. Maybe even a decade, honestly, but the feeling was pretty nebulous and I didn't even realize it until very recently.

My sister is a practicing witch, mostly guided by the Norse traditions, and sometimes we would talk about religion and beliefs, even if I couldn't put into words what exactly I believed. I've always admired how confident she is about her practices, and how excited she gets whenever I ask questions. I still had a bad taste in my mouth from my last try at reading a witchcraft book, so even though I never thought less of witches or pagans, I didn't think either were for me.

And yet, I've always enjoyed reading tarot (mostly for myself, but I did read for friends at a LARP event once), something about runestones just feels "right" when I hold them, and it occurred to me recently that anytime I prayed in my life, rare though it was, I always addressed my pleas to "God, Goddess, [and] Gaia". It never even occurred to me that it was "abnormal" for my upbringing. This was just how I was.

Some of you may be aware of The Alleyman's Tarot that was funded through Kickstarter. This project and the Facebook group that came from it changed everything.

I'm the type to look up words, terms, phrases, etc when I don't recognize something, especially given how much language constantly evolves. So when someone in the group asked if there were any other chaos magicians excited for this deck, naturally I went to find out what it meant.

I was floored by the concept that a personal paradigm using belief as a tool and drawing from infinite sources to get results existed. Never in my wildest dreams had I ever even considered that something like that could be real. It wasn't a perfect match, of course (I'm not well versed in quantum anything or some of the other scientific fields suggested to boost it), but it was scarily close.

Cue research frenzy #1. I devoured websites, articles, webpages, and started working my way through some of the better rated books I found. I took notes and wrote my thoughts in a journal (I didn't know what a BOS was, so that was a pleasant surprise later), and started to explore some basics for sigil magick.

The one sigil I activated came back to me in a way I didn't expect, but it worked, and I was beginning to truly understand that there was more to the world than I'd been led to believe.

I admit that I neglected my studies for a while after that. I'd started a new job and making time to research and practice fell by the wayside. But to me, chaos magick wasn't inherently spiritual, and so when my mom died last year, I didn't think to turn to it for any sort of comfort. I was too depressed to even draw a daily tarot card.

Between then and this month, life kept happening and I just focused on surviving and hitting personal productivity goals. My sister is amazing though. When I was researching before, she'd offered to loan me some of her books so I could explore other witchcraft paradigms. Something this month reignited that spark (probably the fact that our Alleyman's Tarot decks should be shipping anytime now), and I made the decision to just go for it. After all, if I didn't like it, then I didn't have to use it.

She started me off with How to Become a Witch by Amber K and Azrael K. Just from the introduction, I realized that my personal avoidance of witchcraft from that childhood experience had been warped by misunderstanding and time. No one likes admitting they're wrong, but sometimes I love being wrong. It means there's something new to learn and experience, and I can gain new insight and perspective and grow as a person.

I really enjoyed the book. It laid things out in a way that completely changed my expectations for witchcraft (no special effects or gross violations of the laws of physics) and made me even more open to the truth. I was extremely relieved that in the introduction as well as a later chapter, there was a warning of red flags regarding scam artist covens/cults and a real discussion of the social risks involved if you make the choice to come out of the broom closet as a witch (things like having your kids taken from you if things go sideways).

For me, this was the introduction I really needed. It was open, honest, shared several examples to help broaden my understanding, and most importantly, it didn't feel like a fad book for preteens in the 90s who just wanted to be "cool" (I say, having been one of those kids). It felt concrete and something about it demanded that it be taken seriously - without taking itself too seriously. I had the added benefit of being able to discuss topics with my sister when I had questions, which helped me solidify a lot of concepts even more.

And that leads us to tonight...

I'm still figuring myself out - am I a chaos magician, an eclectic witch obsessed with space, or something else entirely? What feels right? What resonates? That's why I'm on this journey, and I can't wait to see where this road leads. 😀

I'm going to reread "To Ride a Silver Broomstick" by Silver RavenWolf now that I know what to expect. Before you yell at me, let me clear this up: I know she's problematic on numerous social fronts, and I know she's full of herself and believes her way is the Only Right Way. But part of learning is taking in multiple perspectives, and now I have a much more solid foundation to make those judgment calls and take what I read with a grain of salt. (Also I have beef with this book from the past and want to be able to properly explain what parts I think are terrible now that I'm a better researcher. That'll teach it to mess with me. lol)

Anyways, if you stayed with me this long, thank you. 😊 It's nice to know I'm not just shouting into the void.

If you have any resources or tips you'd like to share, I'm open to suggestions!

I'm not online all the time, but I'll check in fairly often. I don't know if I'll be posting regularly or exactly what I'll be posting, but I wanted to create my own cozy little (private) corner of the internet for learning, growth, and a base from which I can connect to all of you lovely people!

Special thanks to my sister for helping me learn without boundaries. 💖

~Archer

#queer witch #eclectic witch #chaos magician #witchcraft #witchling #baby witch #occult #occultism #spirituality #magick #beginner witch #chaos witch #witch #witch books #witch blog #witchblr #witches of tumblr #magick studies #the alleyman's tarot #bigender witch

[skinfeeler]

it might be worth stating my method in formal terms for once, and where it comes from, since some seem determined to misinterpret. i believe that there is not just a place but the dire necessity in the left for a theory and praxis which does right both by religious minorities who are ('in the west') targeted by white supremacism, and those who either have a complicated relationship to or have attempted to leave their religious communities who are not only targeted by white supremacists but also subject to disenfranchisement within their own communities for whatever reason. that's really all i should have to say, however...

this necessarily comes with a full denunciation of the logics of both nation and family, which are those mechanisms through which religion propagates itself, although what we know now as christianity, judaism, islam, buddhism, hinduism by no means should need to, but i’ll get to that later. it's hard to deny that most religions propagate through non-elective membership of offspring, even if this non-electivity is often framed as some reified grand cultural truth or some nonsense theological-ontological nature of these children like indelible marks or whatever, with other ways of marking children not being much different. this understanding alone is crucial, because once we acknowledge this we can look more honestly at religion and its particular embodiment through topologies of time and space. we can, for example, speak freely about the fact that the coptic christians are genuinely oppressed, and moreover we can speak candidly about the ways in which not only christian nations do harm unto both their own peoples and geopolitically. moreover, we can see quite easily how even in completely bigoted societies, people who are subjugated within communities and families belonging to religious minorities do not actually benefit from that in the slightest— although some apostates of minority religions in european countries as well as the united states of america have indeed been successfully courted by far-right groups. plainly, all these things become unintelligible if we embrace anti-sociological ideas which essentialise oppression as a concept instead of studying its mechanisms and how it propagates, where it propagates, and unto whom it can assert itself— which is through self-propagating families and nations, which allows us to consider the workings of the family and therefore the state (cultural fronts subjugating each other) as operating in a different manner from although necessarily contextually entangled with those which intrinsically work against such (struggles against sexism, homophobia, and transphobia). believe it or not, the rest of my critique comes quite naturally and consistently with due respect for everything as extant and a careful application of the above, so long as no due respect to the anti-philosophical is given and real explanations are sought.

the consequences of this are ineluctable in an intellectual sense as well as in terms of advocacy. it comes with denying the reductive and worthless histiographies about religion throughout history which both uphold and constitute this anti-philosophy we speak of. there are implications as to what we can and cannot tolerate with regards to child-rearing and rituals which impress upon parents full authority over both their children's minds and bodies, as the family ineluctably constituse capitalism and other such maladies. it will cause us to ask questions about supernaturalism and what we can expect, ethically and interpersonally about people whose theism quite literally constitutes the worship of a godhead — which against the claims of some continues to be prolific especially in communities where the most marginalised have no access to sophisticated ideas of 'god' that would do away with people's authority over them — to whom they both attribute the will/understanding (thus, an anti-sociological denial of such things as collective effervescence and anthropology of how ideas about god and community get formed in these communities in the first place) and their sole loyalty and moral duty as opposed to a view of other people in which we may or may not all owe each other something or another (thus, morality becomes the plaything of whatever people think god or may not want and complete farce). these things are not uniformly relevant and with the same qualities across all organised religions, or even congregations within said religions or even the individuals that comprise them, indeed, it is completely necessary to approach these things with utmost accuracy and care exactly because what's at stake. nevertheless, merely judgements about the logics of family and nation as already endemic among (and in fact, crucially define) leftist and progressive factions are the supplicants of the brunt of critique of organised religion. the rest can be done with inquiry in the nature of prophecy and clergy-laity divisions— the latter of which is arguably the defining factor of what we call 'organised' religion. such figures as the iranian atheist al-razi and the dutch atheist spinoza did away with the first, and people like me will do away with the rest. this will first take an inquiry into how 'organisation' can be intelligibly defined as both a descriptive and predictive thing (as all science is about both describing and predicting phenomena), but i'll assure you, it's really not that difficult.

moreover, this opens up an extremely valuable opportunity for solidarity across religious lines, across your so-called 'cultures'— it is clear that those who are simply not the most abject from the mechanisms of family as is possible (i don't know, whatever cisbian rabbis and imams and priests and gurus and swamis and assorted clergy are out there) should not be those whose words we should take when it comes to oppression, but those who are abject, if anything. it is clear that while religions and their peoples can very much be meaningfully minorities in certain locales, for the sake of argument, i'll pay lip service to the idea that this isn't a ridiculous reification of geopolitical dynamics which simply don't really adhere to that pattern the way people pretend they do, and that these 'nations' and 'cultures' have not only ever been enforced to exist as non-syncreticisms and as set apart through the artifices of violent religious fanatics such as the crusaders, isis, and the maccabees, and whose very concepts are acts of ontological and epistemic terror unto apostates and the idea of lasting peace in and out of themselves. however, universally it is true that people whose very existence goes against the logic of family and nation are abject from that in turn. this means that there can be and in fact is meaningful solidarity between say, trans lesbians oppressed by their respective minorities and none of this requires ranking the 'different kinds' of oppression in the slightest, by the way, or acting as if they're mutually exclusive. indeed, it is queer people from different religious backgrounds who were either apostates or in constant conflict with their religions who informed the brunt of my pan-religious critique and it must be said that i owe my life and my intellectual acuity to those bonds, and this was deeply reciprocal— some of those who have been most invaluable have been people who converted from judaism having been born to christian parents (note the specificity of that sentence) and who knowing what shape apologia for modesty codes take in christendom completely and utterly reject the same as seen in justifications of say, the concept of t’znius, and their willingness to engage with religions as actually exist in the world, always placing sociology supreme above theology has taken them far. my fealty is to all these critics, apostates, and skeptics moreso than those who wish to erase them and their stories (or at it most evil, indeed the idea that they have separated themselves) much more than i will ever have sympathy for those who after having been victims have chosen to become either complicit (through erasing their stories and denying the very insights which would allow us to acknowledge them) or perpetrators (those who seek to continue the cycle).  this, fundamentally, is my atheism: the solidarity between the universally (rather than contextually) culturally abject.

#avery speaks #atheism