#random theology ramble--

[fortes-fortuna-iogurtum]

.

#random theology ramble-- #(everyone ignore unless you really just want to interact with my complaining/rambling right now I'll probably delete this in a couple hours #I'm starting to wonder if the way we use typology is actually that great and helpful #bc it feels to me like a lot of times we just defer to typology instead of trying to understand Things in the Bible??? #like I guess if you're using it to say that God writes the story of the universe and he likes to use foreshadowing the same way human autho #*authors do... but like... sometimes I think we overuse it a lot. #also literary devices in the Bible should be understood as such. imo. #we gotta be careful not to apply things that were MEANT to be understood as poetic/metaphorical/etc as if they are strictly literal #which is something that must be done with a lot of discernment and study! #but something we should be striving to do nonetheless #delete later

[chaoticsh3p]

God is dead, we have not killed him

But rather it was his stupidity

In creating us as we are

That united him with oblivion

#lmao did someone order random 3am poetry rambling on abt theology? #no? #too bad bc it’s here #poetry #3am #ok so this wasn’t posted at 3am local time but tumblr was weird and was like #hey you wanna finish that draft you discarded? #apparently referring to this #which I thought I already posted but I guess not

[nayeliq1]

People really be out there like "well you can't prove to me that God exists so I don't believe it"

Like bruh. That's...the whole point?

That's literally what faith is?

Belief is trust without certainty

And to me, that's the beauty of it

Anyone can trust in something that's certain. But trusting in something uncertain, that takes a hell of a lot of hope

#as a theology student who's a believer but not into religious practices that sort of thing is hilarious to me #if I could prove it it wouldn't be god anymore lol #that's like the whole nature of it xD #this is me rambling #random night thoughts

[radicalwobbly-blog]

Immanence

I'm not in any real position to adress this (few people are) but I feel like I need to write about this stuff so anyway here goes.

what I'm planning to do here is layout something thats going to be pretty borning to most people. and thats theology or more accuratly I'm going to be trying to put a more formal spin on a pretty common neo-pagan belief

basicly the idea that the divine or gods can be seen through the natural world. In fancy socialogical/scholar of religon terms this idea is call Immanence

what the idea boils down to is this, the gods (I'm using polytheistic terms here because I am a polytheist) are reflected in the natural world. The most common use of this idea is that the gods exist in things like trees rivers and wind etc. I however want to take this idea further.

the gods are found within the natural world not just in the natural world on earth but in all the world and we can observe how they influence the world via physics and what seems to human eyes to be random chance.

In the dying of stars and their reconsitution into new planets and stars we see the wheel of time the cycle of rebirth not just on a human or seasonal scale but on a galatic level. Just as the gods die and are reborn in the cycle of the year so too do stars die and return in some cases being vital in the creation of life.

Further if the gods exist as stars then the gods may also exist in the smalled microbe and atom. Their influence can be felt in everything because they are in everything. As the spiritual origonators of life therefore the gods motions and actions can be seen and measure through the natural world which they have influence. To put it simply although we know from science it is gravity we shape the earth it is just as true to say that divine hands gave the earth shape gravity was the tool they used to do it. like a potter using a wheel or wire to shape clay so to do the gods shape costlines and form planets and set seas in their places through the means of the natural world.

This also extends to issues of climate change. Our relationship with the gods is reciprocal while the gods to provide for humanity out of what one might call a sense of duty (though humans are so far removed from the gods using terms like this are misleading). but that duty the gods have towards us must be returned. Both via a reciprocal relationship with the natural world which recognises it as a reflection of the divine. In addition we must also cultivate a reciprocal relationship with the gods. Just as they provide for our needs we too must provide them respect and honor via offerings hymns and songs as well as prayers and good deeds which reflect the gods own provision and kindness in human affairs (the mythological lapses of some gods notwithstanding).

to conclude this very rambling (sorry) point. The gods as shapers of the natural world can be seen in the natural world menaing that physics or biology can be seen and I would argue should be seen. As ways of seeing and understanding the gods and the wider divine powers of our world. And the importance of cultivating a properly respectful and reciprocal relationship with the divine

#paganism #hellenic pagan #hellenism #wicca #wiccan #pagan wicca

[autisticempathydaemon]

What is your Enneagram type? Is a type 9w1, but also really resonate with 4.

Do you love gargantuan Youtube video essays, and if so, which is your favorite and why? History. I love history. Tell me all the most random obscure factoids about our past that will impress but likely amount to nothing.

What Redacted boy holds no appeal to you, and why? Like, not the one you hate but the one who you don’t get the hype for. (I won’t judge, I promise.) Caelum. No hate to the little cutie, but he really reminds me of the kids I used to teach back when I worked at a preschool. I loved them to death, but there's a reason I'm not a teacher anymore. Also Ollie. No hate, just no interest.

Tell me about that one book/movie/tv show you know all the words to. Phantom of The Opera. My first musical love.

Which Redacted boy are you platonically attracted to? Like- forget dating, which dude do you want to be your best friend? Sam. There's something comforting about his accent. I'm a Texan, born and raised. I feel a kindredship with him. His frustrations when he finds "Darlin's" pantry and fridge empty is so southern, I felt seen in my heart of hearts. (Still wanna date him tho...)

Do you have a go-to thing you ramble about when you’re tired, and if so, what is it? (For example, my boyfriend knows I’m ready to sleep when I start talking about space.) It's either ADHD, Christian theology and apologetics, or history. No inbetween.

Tell me your go-to gas station and drink combo. "I pray at my altar of slush, yeah, I live for that sweet frozen rush." Before Gavin, Heathers converted me to the cult of the 7-11 Slushie.

Tell me about your favorite playlist at the moment. Beauty and the Beast Broadway OST. Trying to learn the part of Belle. Why? No reason.

What’s your guilty pleasure media, and why? Heathers. A musical that features underage drinking, sex, suicide attempts, and murder! Heaven forbid!

And whatever else you think tells me about who you are! I love research and learning, but it does have to be on my own terms. I'm also really painfully shy at first, and I'm horrible at remembering...anything really. I love listening to people nerd out around or to me, because I love that they feel comfortable enough to not worry what I'll think of their passions, even if it's something I have no personal interest in.

Okay, now hear me OUT, lend me your ear. I’m thinking “shy introvert meets comfort extrovert” vibes. I’m thinking “musical theater nerd meets EDM raver” gap couple vibes. I’m thinking Hudson.

The little ways the two of you contrast would be so cute in a relationship. Like, I don’t think Hudson would be a musical theater guy at least at first, but he likes when you sing it, plays your favorite songs on the station when he knows you’re on the road and listening. He knows nothing about history, but he always has a new documentary picked and queued for when y’all destress after your days at work.

Then there’s the big ways. Hudson knows you’re shy, but radio hosts are skilled at getting people to talk, at letting people know how genuinely interested they are. Hudson knows 9w1’s can be more inclined to listen, to blend in, to mediate, but he is always there to make sure to listen to you and to sing your praises when you stand out.

Song:

All I wanna do is get to holdin' you/ And get to knowin' you/ And get to showin' you/ And get to lovin' you

I’m talking a lot about Hudson being sweet, which he is, but he’s also a fuckin menace. He loves that you’re from Texas, especially if you have an accent, and play the most ludicrous country music around the house to get you to dance with him.

Runner-Ups:

If I were to pair shy with shy, introvert with introvert, you and Geordi would be a darling match. He could benefit a wonderful, patient listener, and I think he’d take you to any musical you want, even if he’s not a fan. Guy, in my head and in my heart, I know to be a musical theater boy. I think he could play a fun, devil may care Danny Zuko or Sandy across you, and he’d have a great time.

Read this post and send me an ask if you’d like a match-up of your own! 💌

Note: back to our regularly scheduled positivity 💕

#redactedasmr #redacted asmr #redacted #redactedaudio #redacted audio #redactedverse #busybee matches

[lyra-brie]

Intro Post

(Every few days I remember something I forgot or have new links to add lol it's constantly changing a little bit)

So I go by Lyra (or Library lol) and I use she/her pronouns. That's all I can think of to put here lol.

I'm a reader and a writer. I love romantic fantasy in both, but I'll read almost anything. Not really into horror, but I've dabbled in most other genres when it comes to reading, all the way to non-fiction. I'm always accepting new recs even though I have a ridiculous tbr and wishlist lol.

Always happy to talk about books with anyone, but be wary of that once you get me started I won't ever stop annoying you about it lol.

Some of my favorites right now are:

The Folk of the Air trilogy [the cruel prince, etc]

The Grishaverse books [my favorite is either Crooked Kingdom or Rule of Wolves]

Once Upon a Broken Heart series (as of Oct 15. I'm hyperfixating on this one, so you're getting a lot of fandom content for them)

I have ADHD (if you couldn't tell from my overuse of parenthesis and brackets [every thought comes with a bonus thought and sometimes an extra bonus thought like this!]). I'm a Christian with more progressive theology, but this blog is a safe place for everyone as long as we're all loving to each other and respect each other's beliefs and identities (and I love having good faith dialogue [not debates!! 0 interest in theological debates.], I love hearing other perspectives and getting to talk about it, so feel free to dm me about that, too). I'm an ISFJ and a 9w1, and I don't know that much about it yet but I love typology. I also love video games, mostly Stardew Valley and the sims right now (thinking about making a secondary blog for that).

I post fandom stuff and writing things for my wips. You'll probably get lots of stuff for my wip Idk, Dragons ocs once NaNo starts. And just random stuff for whatever I'm hyperfixating on in the moment lol. I'm totally open to asks about anything involving my wips or fandom-related asks. I participate in Storyteller Saturday and Worldbuilding Wednesday every week, and feel free to ask for any of the other events, too. Tag games are also cool!

I also have an instagram @lyra.brie and you'll find a couple pics of my crocheted dinosaurs, some random faith thoughts, and song. I'm very inactive there, but feel free to check it out.

And now the fun part!! Intros to my wips and ocs:

Wisteria and Wanderlust: you can find the blurb here, as well as the link to my wattpad which has a few snippets and skits and full character intros. An overview of Zal and Clay's dynamic here.

Short overviews of the original three here.

Unnamed Academic Rivals WIP: here is a sort of summary I wrote.

I Don't Know, Dragons [this is a placeholder title, but I might just keep it lol]: this post isn't exactly a blurb, but it's everything I know so far that I can share without spoiling. (I actually need to update it and make a real post for it soon lol. The main development is that Elara's love interest is a werewolf boy.) This one is still in the planning stage so everything is heavily subject to change. I'll be doing it as my NaNo project this year, so it's posted about a lot right now. New Cynthia post here.

The Flourescent Iguana: here's the intro post. I've finished the first draft of this one, but it needs heavy replotting/rewriting.

Writing Snippets

I only have two actual writing bits on here so far, but I intend to have more, so I'll update this as I go! (Let me know if you guys want me to post the Wisteria and Wanderlust stuff I have on wattpad here, too, cuz I can totally do that.)

Idk, Dragons:

I have a bunch of small snippets posted under #nano updates

Fanfics:

EvaJacks "Who Are You?" FanFic

EvaJacks Bunny Saving FanFic

EvaJacks Baby Dragon FanFic

Wisteria and Wanderlust:

Just a quote

Poetry/Songs:

Just Broken

~~~

So that's me! I'm always happy to make new friends and my dms are open, feel free to message me just to ramble about your wip or a hyperfixation!

@writeblrsupport

#blog intro #introducing myself #writeblr #writer #writerscommunity

[starbuck]

In 1929, a lecture taught by Dr. Dwight Irvin Roush, a self-proclaimed “health missionary” and part-time fruit farmer, was quoted before a committee of the United States Senate as they weighed whether or not to place a tariff on imports of bananas. According to Dr. Roush, “The banana, unlike other fruits, should be used very sparingly, if used at all. [...] If eaten at all, the entire meal should be made of bananas, for they do not combine well with any other food.” 

Other (apparently) popular health lectures by Dr. Roush included “Unfolding the Secrets of Health,” “The Fountain of Fun,” and “How to Become a Real Man.”

#history #is that a normal tag to give this?? i don't know lol #i've been doing genealogy research and this weirdo is (apparently) my first cousin five times removed #every new thing i learn about him is more wild than the next and he seems like a self-centered dickwad but i still find him delightful #i was already howling over 'how to become a real man' and then the banana thing pushed me over the edge - i NEEDED to share this #the world needed to know #i only wish there were copies of his lectures somewhere because i would literally die to hear his other off-the-wall health opinions #other fun facts about the good doctor: #at one point he was 'in ill health' (i'm assuming TB) prompting him to go out west where he was 'healed completely' by an unspecified.. #..'new scientific discovery' (suspicious) #and afterwards he started his own private sanatorium in ohio #as i mentioned before he also farmed fruit apparently which is why he was considered a valid witness for the banana tariff thing #and he was also a devout methodist with a degree from the School of Theology #he moved around a ton from ohio to north dakota to indiana to florida where he died in 1954 and he visited England at least once #but yeah sorry to ramble about this random dude lol - i just find him really interesting and funny #even if he is a bit of a quack #i feel like he meant well #also no i don't know what 'the fountain of fun' means and i think that's for the best

[pudgyroo]

LGBT+ Christian Radio Documentary

For my Final Year Project I am making a radio documentary on LGBT+ Christians, their experiences, discrimination from both the LGBT+ community and Christianity/Church, why and how LGBT+ Christians stick with their faith, and how non-LGBT+ Christians and non-Christian LGBT+ folks can support or do better to LGBT+ Christians.

IN ORDER TO TAKE PART YOU MUST BE 18 OR OLDER (it’s just for compliance issues and unfortunately I can’t legally include you if you are under 18).

If anyone is up to having an interview or even just talking about your experiences with being LGBT+ and Christian (no matter which domination) please message/DM me.

My final deadline is 13th of May but I need to have the interviews/audio all recorded by 19th April at the absolute latest, so if you are interested please get to me asap. If I record something with you and then you are not comfortable being in it, you are more than welcome to back out and your audio won’t be used, so don’t worry.

Also if you are closeted and would like to take part but remain anonymous, you are more than welcome to take part, and I can either give you a false name and/or if you would like I change the pitch of your voice to disguise it

If its okay could you spread this around: @thebichristian @queerlychristian  @queerchristianaffirmations

#lgbt christian #lgbt+ christian #lgbt catholic #side a #side b #side a catholic #side a christian #side b christian #side b catholic #queer theology #random rambles #og posts #' edit: this has been completed now please dont message me about it

[filipinoizukuu]

Pls share about the Gospel of Judas 👀

, im SO glad someone asked because this topic is nigh always pingponging around in my head and the fact i get to ramble about it means the WORLD to me. TW ahead for canon-typical violence, gore, and other such discussions of all that fun heretical stuff!

 Now, to preface this, I just wanted to say that I’m not a licensed professional in anything related to theology nor religion nor historical artifacts. I am. as we all are deep down inside, a simple teenager with ridiculous hyper-fixations and a vast ocean of random information that will not be of any importance to my career or home life whatsoever. Easily, many of the things I talk about could either be wrong or debunked, but I will try my best to explain the Book of Judas as I understood it.

Among the many books that make up what we know as the Bible today, there were various seemingly ‘missing perspectives’ and inconsistencies that existed between gospels. One of the reasons for this was the fact that the Bible in and of itself was a compiled work that was originally recorded years after the oral tradition had passed. What is or isn’t ‘canon’ often depended on the rulings of past Popes who worked with historians to determine the authenticity of ancient artifacts that either proved or contested the canonical teachings of the Bible--one of the more popular debunked samples being The Shroud of Turin, which while being ruled as a fake by Pope Clement the VII a long time ago, still has its authenticity being debated until today.

It’s important to remember that the canon status of ancient artifacts. while somewhat reliant on Papal confirmation, can sometimes be contested and interpreted to each individual’s discretion.

And among all of these artifacts, there is my favorite one of all--The Book of Judas. Now, factually speaking, the Gospel of Judas was written in (somewhere between 2 to) 5 A.D., not actually that farfetched considering that only in 1 A.D. was the first version of the Bible we know today written. It was found somewhere in Ancient Egypt but was declared as fiction at some point in 180 A.D. by St. Iranaeus of Lyon. To understand the impact that The Book of Judas would have on the Bible (which, to put it simply, was revolutionary), you’d first have to have a quick review and understanding of who Judas Iscariot was in the gospels that we know today. 

Judas was a disciple.

He was one of the 12 disciples that were closest to Jesus and a disciple that most accounts of the story would say actually truly deeply loved him at some point. Judas was, as all memes about Christianity are fond of reminding, also the traitor that eventually chose money and greed over his love for God’s son and turned him in with a kiss in a garden that led to Jesus Christ’s death at the cross.

That is until you read the translations of the Book of Judas.

In the original books--whether it was because he was possessed by the Devil or simply a man who had fallen into greed--Judas was portrayed to be a sinner and a horrible traitor. After his betrayal and Jesus’ eventual death, Judas had then become guilt-ridden and anguished, choosing to end his own life in the Gospel of Matthew and even tarnishing a field with his blood and sins according to St. Luke in Acts. 

The Book of Judas, however, CHALLENGES these motives. Instead, it takes what brought all past Christian texts together by changing the portrayal of Judas on its head and putting the previous ‘traitor’ under the light of something else entirely.

According to the Book of Judas, Jesus had asked Judas to betray him.

The 26-page manuscript was a brief retelling of the dynamics we were lead to believe in the story told by the main four books. In the Book of Judas, we were told that the original other 12 disciples were actually quite... foolish. They were described to be sort of arrogant and clueless, constantly misinterpreting and forgetting Jesus’ words because while he was teaching them to be better and to spread the words of God, the disciples were still, at their core, human sinners. The manuscript was believed to have reported that of the disciples that were closest, or at least best tolerated by Jesus--Judas was by far the most understanding of His words.

Judas, in accordance with his book, was the only one who could understand the significance and cryptic lessons behind Jesus’ teachings. Because of this, Jesus knew he was the only capable one to serve him in what was to come.

You see, part of the prophecy was that Jesus had to die. He had to suffer and fall for humanity’s sake so that we would be able to be forgiven. As much as it sucks to even think about it, Jesus had come to expect that someone would need to cause his death and hurt him all so that he could fulfill his purpose.

In the end, he thought that death by the hand of an enemy was far worse than a death at the hands of a friend.

During the Last Supper, Jesus approached Judas and placed him into a vision. He placed Judas in a fantastical, wonderful dream where Judas sat facing the house of heaven and saw Jesus. Jesus, who looked at his beloved friend and said: “you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.” Judas will exceed all of them. And he will sacrifice the man that clothed Jesus.

In this interpretation, Judas was essentially told that he was the one who would finally free Jesus from his physical form. Judas, the supposed traitor disciple, would be the one to fulfill Jesus’ prophecy and thus sacrificed his beloved friend to bring about forgiveness for humanity.

And he understands.

In this manuscript, Judas Iscariot understands the will of God and what he has to do. He understands the weight of his betrayal and what he has to do in order to obey Jesus--so then it isn’t money or fear or anger or evil that motivates him to surrender Jesus to the soldiers but utter obedience and adoration for the Son of God. Judas gives his ‘yes’, knowing that for years and years he will be slandered and labeled as a traitor but at his core, Judas knows that it was not a betrayal to begin with.

So he led the soldiers to Jesus in the garden. He kissed him and let him be taken away and let him die.

-

This was the official translation approved by BBC and National Geographic according to the original translations done by Stephen Emmel, a Coptic studies professional.

Later on, this interpretation would be challenged by Dr. April DeConick, who claims that the mistreatment and mistranslation of the paper actually told the complete opposite, in the way that the revelation in the Last Supper was not created by Jesus but, in fact, by Judas, who had revealed himself to be the 13th demon of hell. This interpretation, while less popular, served as a direct challenge to the recharacterization BBC and NatGeo had approved of. I don’t really know too much about this debate, but I do know that this second interpretation does exist.

Of course, the original Judas text itself is currently impossible to truly translate to be sure. It was torn and shuffled, put into a freezer, and possibly even missing a few pages (which you can blame Bruce Ferinni for), ultimately making the authentic manuscript really difficult to properly restore.

The takeaway from this whole Book though--whether you accept it as canon or not--is that there were many interpretations and beliefs early Christians and Gnostics had that the time that criticized the way the four main gospels had passed down God’s teachings. People believed what they thought supported their own beliefs and at the end of the day. it's all still just a matter of who we choose to credit.

The real author to the Book of Judas remains anonymous to this day, but I am very glad to have been able to share this with you all :) 

not proofread since i did this at like 4 am    |    x   x   x

#tw long post #long post tw #gospel of judas #christianity

[oculus-de-malus]

Interested to know what your spiritual beliefs & practices and/or main philosophy are? Your blog has this occult vibe, but is it more than an aesthetic preference?

Thank you for the question! 🖤

I'll try not to ramble too much on this one, but I cannot promise anything to that regard unfortunately! : )

My blog does have an occult vibe, and I actually started it off as a more occult / dark art blog originally, before expanding into other things that interest me... and that's what it is really, it's basically a repository for all the things that fascinate and interest me, and the occult and art along with history / mythology has always been a big part of that. So, no it's not really an aesthetic nor something I believe in or practice, as such - just a vested interest.

My main philosophy is difficult to explain and this is probably the part where most of the waffle/rambling will take place. I try to absorb as much knowledge and information in every sense, whether it be through science, philosophy, literature, history, theology, psychology, sociology etc. I have a basic framework of ideals, but I like to understand different ideals, beliefs and opinions too, whether I believe in them of not, mainly as I find them fascinating to explore. It's part of our species' history after all. I understand this response may sound a little confusing or even non-committal to the question, and that's probably because it is! It's difficult enough to explain whilst sober!

I am fairly open-minded and do not practice a single or even multiple structured belief systems (having a random conversation once about the existence of ghosts and how they could in fact be time signatures from alternate timelines / parallel universes for instance - we were both high, but still...), but I love that... always learning about and duscussing other ways of looking at or explaining things. I know that we don't have all the answers, and likely never will.

Plus, I guess if I had to pigeonhole myself (which I hate to do) I'm more attuned to nature and the natural world, I feel the most 'alive' in nature and around elements of the natural world. We are in sync with nature whether we think we are or believe we are or not. When we die, our physical bodies, our atoms and molecules will return to the earth to become nutrients and the building blocks for other life here. Then, when the Earth is no more and our Sun dies, we will be recycled within the universe and part of a brand new cycle, just like the matter that makes up our bodies now, was part of countless bilions of cycles before us too - I guess in a way, that is everlasting life, at least at an atomic level... but as for our 'consciousness'? Who knows... there are several theories on this, of course, but no one alive knows for sure and there are no right or wrong answers. : )

Thank you again for the question though, you got my brain running away with itself.

#ask #answered #more drunk ramblings

[ettawritesnstudies]

🍪✨🦨 (and feel free to ramble a bit, if you’d like)

Thanks for the ask these are really fun!

🍪 — Cookies / biscuits: left-over, fresh out of the oven, or just plain dough?

All cookies are good cookies as far as I'm concerned. I eat the dough as I make them, do the dragon breath thing because I grabbed one off the tray too hot, and dip them in tea and coffee when done.

✨ — What’s something you love to ramble about to people?

I love talking Catholic theology and apologetics but it very much depends on the person because it can very easily turn into a debate as if I'm trying to convert them or if I feel like I have to defend myself and I don't want to risk ruining friendships over that. That being said, I'm ALWAYS happy to discuss religion in a mutually respectful manner and teach people if they want to learn. I've found myself surrounded by a lot of ex-catholics and agnostics who are "faith shopping" at uni, and there's a ministry in just authentically living my faith, shutting down offensive jokes, and answering genuinely curious questions with thought provoking reason. If conversion happens, it's not me, it's the Spirit. But being in such a secular space means that I can only really infodump about cool Saints or church history with my other Catholic friends. You can only really go "OK SO ABOUT CULPABILITY AND PURGATORY..." if you don't have to first walk through the story of salvation, the catechism, and the doctors of the church to bring someone up to speed. I've been able to keep in touch with my friends from homeschool though, and met some awesome people here at uni through the Newman center so it's not uncommon for Amanda and I to stand around outside the church after noon mass and just ramble at each other for an hour lol

🦨 — Tell me about a collection of yours (physical or digital)

I collect the most random stuff. I have a box full of things I love and want to keep but it's got everything from 3D printed knicknacks my boyfriend made me, to the anklets I've made for myself the last three summers, to a HEART full of glitter @abalonetea sent me one time. I also have a bunch of the NASA tourism posters but they're kind of ratty and keep falling off my wall because I've moved with them so many times dfkl. And notebooks. So many notebooks.

[waukrife]

@tvpeongsstuff​ also asked:

well....depends on where he goes?

It’s interesting to think about what he would do in the past, whether he would change anything, and if he did, would he keep his cards close or tell the council everything (I lean towards the former), would he make sure they avoided the fight on Naboo or would he kill the Sith and survive. Would he knight Obi-Wan and train Anakin himself (yes because he’s stubborn and doesn’t realise Obi-Wan deserves better)? What knock on effects would this have, up to and including Obi-Wan keeping his head down and being a perfect (-ly miserable) Jedi Knight, Dooku potentially staying with the Jedi, etc? However, in terms of scenario, I got a bit stuck on the future rather than the past, and also rambled about how Tim-Travel Is Real and Here’s How in maybe too much incoherent detail. 

Not to ramble about Jedi theology on main or anything, but I think that the Force exists beyond time, as in the Force is everywhere, and the Force yesterday is the same as today and tomorrow. It’s how Jedi have visions of the future, because that future already exists within the Force. So, when a Jedi ‘becomes one with the force’, constructs like time don’t exist. Neither do objectives like ‘this universe’ or ‘the universe where Anakin did save Padmé’ or even less prophetic twists like ‘the universe where Obi-Wan DID take the deathsticks’. 

In my headcanon, Force Ghosts absolutely could figure this out and manifest in the past. They don’t do this because they are boring and small-minded. Jedi these days...I guess when you’re working for the Republic there’s no time to sit down and ask why Jedi can see the future but not reach in and change it, or why some Jedi can teleport but not time-travel? It’s all just space and the force, isn’t it? So say the last time Qui-Gon hit a bong and decided to study the living force enough to become a ghost when he died, he got MORE esoteric with the meditations and figured out Force Ghost time-travel too. 

All this to say, when he dies and pops back as a ghost, his first thought is probably hmmm better check on Anakin. His next thought is probably oh shit, and Obi-Wan, my student of 12 years. I also think it’s quite easy to get lulled into just merging into the Force or getting lost, rather than concentrating enough to go somewhere, let alone chose where you end up. Maybe for a laugh he’d accidentally get stuck in some artefact in the temple for a bit, like...just him and some echo of a long-dead darksider chilling in the force attached to a cursed robe in the depths of temple storage or something. Or maybe he’d accidentally tune into a couple of people’s force dyad space-time calls ("Can you see my surroundings?""You're gonna pay for what you did!" oh dear, wrong number) before actually going anywhere deliberately or getting stuck somewhere. 

In canon, Qui-Gon is too boring and traditional to actually risk doing anything more than occasionally whispering vague encouragement into a couple of Jedi’s ears. So I don’t think he’d choose to actually explore time, or change the past. But that sucks and also so does studying really hard for your entire life and then in death maintaining the concentration to exist visibly using the force only to then look like a glitchy blue hologram. So, I think it would be cool for him to accidentally focus too hard and and accidentally properly re-embody himself somewhere in the gffa. Qui-Gon’s characterisation, as most Star Wars characters, is made very difficult by the breadth of material available, and the relative lack of actual screentime in the canon films, but he seems to be both a traditionalist, and also a bit of a renegade. Like, libertarian uncle energy. So it would be very interesting to see him confronted with the changes that overtook the Jedi in the near future, rather than the past. 

I think it would be most fun if he could accidentally get stuck in the clone wars. 

A clone scuba unit on some random planet in the middle of nowhere, doing underwater recon suddenly fish out some guy claiming to be a Jedi, look, I have a lightsaber- wow ok the blade is invisible, it didn't used to do that, oh wait yeah I'm actually made purely from the force and so are my clothes and accessories, don’t make me lose concentration or I might turn back into a blue ghost or just vanish or explode or something. Or more likely, he wouldn’t say anything, even when he figures out he’s not going to vanish any time soon and actually he doesn't need to concentrate that hard to keep the body, he can just use the force very powerfully to explode some droids- wait, why are there droids now? He'd probably just say some vague jedi catchphrases until someone comms their Captain who comms their Commander who comms the General who comes to check it out, who goes white and very bravely doesn’t pass out, who comms the Council who verify, this is dead Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn only somehow alive, and decide that “actually we can’t recall General Kenobi from undercover, and the 92nd just lost their general....” and put this possible ghost-creature that just emerged from the depths like the world’s lankiest space-shark (if sharks wore dripping beige robes and had kind of eldritch force powers even if they were reluctant to use them or speak in a way that made sense to people who don’t read Jedi philosophy treatises for fun). 

The 92nd aren’t really in the thick of it, anyway. They need the Jedi manpower and they need to keep Jinn out of trouble until they figure out whatever the hell the madman’s done this time. Hey, at least he’s not Pong Krell or some shiny knight who’s never been anywhere without their master, let alone had a command of an entire battalion. There’s no way this could go wrong. 

#thank u for asking this scenario will be living rent free for the forseeable #sorry again for rambling this is insane #the potential.... #scroll to like...the last 2 paragraphs if u want the actual scenario rather than #me going on about the force and qui-gon for....too long #is it not enough to like time-travel fix-its and be incredibly sexy #which is surprisingly a tag I already had...interesting #wait a minute I have to check for this on ao3...it has to be out there somewhere #ask game #tvpeongsstuff #star wars

[firefletch]

7, 8, 11 u-u

7. What do you think are the characteristics of your personal writing style? Would others agree?

Heh, I am not great at self-analysis. I would say perhaps a strong focus on internal thought processes and what’s going on in the head of the characters, and not as much what’s happening externally. Not that I only stay in the characters’ heads or anything like that, it’s just that I will occasionally write an entire scene comprised entirely of actions and thoughts and realize that I have done zero (0) description of any kind (unless it directly relates to action or thoughts). When I do go back and add descriptions, we get to another characteristic: lots of metaphors and similes to try and get my point across.

I think others would agree? I think @granny-griffin once said something about my tendency to write internal processes, but I am not 100% sure my memory is correct (though that might be why this is my answer - subconscious memory and all). I haven’t really asked people so I don’t know what their opinions on my writing style would be.

8. Is what you like to write the same as what you like to read?

I would say yes - fantasty/sci-fi adventures are a large part of what I read. Maybe one day I’ll also start writing theology and apologetics stuff, too XD (probably not mysteries, though - I tried once and I kinda low-key was terrible at it, which obviously means I can never try again).

11. What do you envy in other writers?

It varies from writer to writer, but most of it boils down to stuff I try to do but struggle with. Things like vivid descriptions, incredibly subtle and satisfying foreshadowing, complicated but still coherent/understandable magic systems (cries in wHAt tHe HeCk iS hApPeNInG iN KosMyLdaR), full-fledged languages and scripts, inventive worldbuilding, effective characterization, anything that invokes Actual Feelings.... 

I don’t know if “envy” is the right word - through long (painful) experience I’ve learned to not compare myself to other writers, despite the (strong) temptation. But there are many things that I admire about specific authors, which I wish I could emulate to a degree. Sometimes that means “let me analyze this to see exactly how it worked,” other times that just means me internally screeching in delighted awe (and spamming a pre-selected victim with random and rambly all-caps reactions).

#ask #ask game #thanks for the ask

[incarnateirony]

I think I'm starting to understand your ideal ending, so basically (please correct me if I misunderstood) the system would be that no one has full control over the souls in their universe, because when they die everyone ends up in the same in-between and can go wherever they want? Even to create their own universes? And in this case, would anyone be allowed to create souls like Chuck claims he did, or only organise their sandbox and souls come and go as they please like in an MMO public map?

Here’s the thing – when it comes down to it, Chuck probably can’t make souls.

Bear with me on this one.

He’s vagueblogged about creating people or including free will in the package, but when it comes down to it, when he was pushed, he whined they were “complicated even for him.” Writers lie. Either angle could be a lie. But we also know he can’t destroy them. Death can’t either. So why do we automatically assume, beyond assumption of YHVH – Jehova – as the supreme force due to christianity, that god has ANY fuckin’ say about souls? Sure, about the bodies they’re in. That’s part of the sandbox he made. 

It’s one of several possible “ideal endings”. I have a few more terrestrial focused ones, but it’s one I honestly want to put into discussion in general because I find people are SEVERELY fixated on the earthly perspective and consider it synonymous with the human perspective when, in hermetics, these two are not really mutual as much as have obvious overlap for obvious reasons.

If I had to label one creator of the human soul, it would be The Shadow. This overlaps with multiple layers of hermetics variably called The Primordial Adam, The First Man, The Inky Man, The Shadow (yes, it’s literally just called the Shadow), or the Prima Materia. It is the first thing that doesn’t exist and yet does, the ultimate paradox, and by it man gains his paradoxical nature.

I’ve dropped this before, many times,

(There’s also other parts that makes correlations like Shadow = Inky Man, Albedo = Blossom, Citrinitas/Xanthosis = Eagle Flying towards the Sun [Icarus songdrop recently says hello as well as all the rooster and phoenix imagery], Rubedo = Lion)

But really go and look over the chart, and look back at the 46 & 2 video I dropped, or cruise my S15 playlist where I really started playing into color usage and realize these associations by proxy. These are the stages on route to gold. And gold can be impure, and come in lesser forms, and once it has become gold it does not easily give up its form, but CAN be putrefied back to Nigredo for us to build on our paths again [hence the corrupted version of the path I used the Qlipotic names for vs the standard Sephirotic ones – if you go load my S 15 playlist (x) google the words associated with each video, or send asks if you need help – also, Thelemapedia (x) can be a huge help, but be prepared to navigate by menus because there’s multiple spellings because Hebrew Be Wildin’ To Translate]

Also this video (x), while it can get kinda droll to listen to, does try to help explain the Shadow and Soul as the Prima Materia and how it cycles into Mind and Body and basically the construct of existence.

—-

That said, with those additions, yes. That’s an example of how it could be structured to work better, your suggestion. There’s several formats but yeah, you’re vibing. Because again, why the fuck not? 

There’s other ways FOR it to go more terrestrial but I’m all for encouraging people to think more abstractly with our current structure, because regardless of *how* abstract they go about it in the end, it’s probably not going to be squared away as the human earthly one life experience being the end all be all to fight for, in a world so heavily immersed in eternal life, souls, and the beyond. They’re fighting GOD. YHVH. JEHOVA. The DEMIURGE. They are *fighting the demiurge.* I can’t emphasize that enough, and by result, most things and rules and limits we think inside of we *really* need to challenge our mental boxes on.

Random note: another reason i’m clowning hard on team “Cas has a human soul” is, all of the above minded, Castiel is THE ONLY being the Empty has reflected. Not Lucifer. Not Billie. Not even soulless Jack. Just cas.

“The Arcanum which we seek is nothing but gold exalted to its highest degree of perfection, through the operation of Nature.” – The Hermetic Museum, Chapter VII, A.E. Waite

So are we to believe what Chuck wanted them to hear–that nothing gold can stay?

Surely not.

—-

Forgive me, if at times I seem to be rambling. Feel free to send as many asks for clarification as you need. This is a sort of Curse of Knowledge thing. This way of thinking is literally just natural to me after decades of it and I struggle to perceive where people are running into walls of their own understanding of the line of thought.

But in many ways, this kind of stuff has been in your media for far longer than most people have realized.

Not exactly my favorite or the most widely accurate usage of it, but it wasn’t exactly subtle either. In my experience between things like FF7 and Matrix, EVERYONE has had some kind of brush with this theology, some more abstract than others.

Now one series I AM very fond of the usage of that’s far less known

@casgirlsam said watching that and the below vid while sleep deprived made all my SPN ranting suddenly make sense so we’ll give linking it a go.

“This is my heart’s world, right?”

No matter what you say to me. I. Will. Live.

(TW on next video, suicidal-seeming imagery even if it’s actually not)

#supernatural #spn #meta #my meta #pagan life #souls #shadow

[ruthenian-knyaz]

Thoughts on Slavic Polytheism

I just needed to get some of my thoughts out on this topic so this may seem very unorganized and chaotic, but I hope to have better organized posts that are much more informative and stick to a single point, but I do not have the time for that currently with everything going on at university. The concerns I raise are found consistently in Western academia, “Slavic academia” (whatever that means), and of course on tumblr which pulls heavily on outdated materials because thats all they have access to. I am currently compiling a list of articles in English which I think may help clear some of the misunderstandings and offer actually credible/up to date sources, but you’ll have to wait for that.

Also, as a disclaimer, I am not an academic on Slavic polytheism or a professional on the matter (yet!), but these random musings come from years of personal research. And when I say years I mean years. But to just quickly state the biases I might have: I am practitioner of the folk religion of the Slavic peoples, but more specifically the Ukrainian branch of it. Most of my resources have focused on the Ukrainian flavor of the Slavic pre-Christian faith, but most definitely not exclusively as that would be impossible to get any sort of understanding of the faith without comparing it to my neighbors. 

First and for most, Slavic polytheism has had influence from the Nordic and Germanic polytheisms, but it is no where the closest or most related. I see this mostly in imagery and how people conceptualize the deities. Thor and Perun are not two sides of the same coin, sure they might have similarities being both derived from an Indo-European source, but seeing Perun as a Slavic Thor is very much bad academia. Slavic polytheism and folklore has a whole load of connections to ancient Iranian polytheism. I would even venture to say that Slavic polytheism is a very interesting blend of Baltic and Iranian mythologies and folklores. This is not to say it is one and the same, but when looking into comparative studies these will offer the richest and most accurate comparisons. 

We need to stop seeing Slavic polytheism in terms of Christianity and other institutionalized/state religions (Like Greek or Roman polytheism). Knyaz Volodymyr attempted to institutionalize the Slavic pantheon and failed, converting the people to Orthodoxy only a couple years after this attempt. His pantheon was not universal to Slavs. It pulled from various Slavic tribes and non-Slavic tribes and therefore is perhaps more representative of the elite’s conceptualization of the deities, and not of the common people.

Attempting to reconstruct the Slavic religion without recognizing ancestor veneration is impossible. This is the backbone of the entire religion. The deities were seen as the first ancestors, not like in Greek polytheism where the Gods are a different “species”, for a lack of a better term. We see this reflected in folklore about the Saints being the people’s ancestors, or naming the Moon as an ancestor. 

(This concern is more pointed towards people who wish to worship the slavic gods: You can not worship Perun or Veles or Mokosh, etc. without worshiping ancestors. I mean you can, but you aren’t reconstructing the slavic faith, but rather implanting Perun into a, dare I say, New Age/Wiccan(?) structure/conceptualization of paganism.)

People need to start changing how they conceptualize the Slavic pantheon not as a rigid religion controlled by a state, like Greek or Roman polytheism, but rather look into folk religions like Vodou, and rely more on Folklore then on sources writing about the Slavic pre-christian faith through a Christian lens. Of course these few and far between sources can point us in a direction, but when reconstructing the “theology” of the Slavic faith it gives us close to nothing. What I mean is, these sources do not offer anything in terms of how the pre-christian slavs conceptualized the the cosmos, spirits and their gods.

I’m not even going to touch the embarrassing amount of fake gods propagated in academia and on tumblr. I tried making a post about this and failed because i didn’t even know where to start. And many gods are just mislabeled rather than being outright forgeries (I’m looking at you Svarog and Stribog). But please don’t say that every holiday name (Koliada, Kupala, etc.) are gods... and stop with Bilobog and Chernobog... I can’t take it anymore (sarcasm, I will fight you to my grave and then some more in the afterlife).

These ideas and theories are of course are based of my own research, and these ideas will continue to shift as more knowledge is brought to light. Also do not take this as gospel, this is mostly ramblings. When the Gods and ancestors allow it, I want to support these claims with sources so people can read them and decide for themselves. Would love for people to submit their own evidence and theories and claims, so we can have a discussion about the faith that means so much to us. 

#Slavic Paganism #slavic polytheism

[rainbow-sheeps]

Hi! I’m Nizzy (she/they pronouns), I’m the new Social Media Director for rainbow-sheeps, which sounds a lot more official than I should be, because this is basically just an excuse for me to spend more time on tumblr, and I already spend more than enough time here. I’ve only recently joined the rainbow sheep discord community (https://discord.gg/mxq65ak), so it feels a little scary to be a part of this, but queer Christian blogs have been really helpful to me in my faith journey as a queer person, so this seemed like a great opportunity to be able to give back and potentially be that for someone else.

So, who am I? I’m a 22 year old, British, autistic, greybiromanitc asexual non-binary person. I’ve been openly bi and ace for years, but I’ve only come out as non-binary in the last year, and I’m still figuring out what that means for me, because gender is complicated. 

I grew up in a church that has gradually become more evangelical over the years. Queer issues were never talked about, but I assumed that the church would be accepting, however, earlier this year we learnt that this was not the case, and as a result of this (and some other issues we had with the place), me and my parents left the church, and this summer have started attending a new Anglican church that is queer affirming, and it’s been really good for me. I’m currently at a place with my faith where I am figuring out what I believe for myself, as opposed to just blindly following what I grew up hearing in church, and I find it so exciting to get to understand what God and Christianity mean for me personally. I grew up feeling like I had to know all the answers, but I’m realising that people who know a lot more about theology than I do have been debating what parts of the bible mean for centuries, and they don’t agree, that’s why there’s so many denominations, so of course I’m not going to know all the answers, and all I can do is share my own experiences, and my own understanding.

Outside of church and being queer, I’m working my way through a maths degree, and my main interests are crochet, podcasts, and puppetry (I’ve been involved in puppet ministry for 13 years, so I guess that isn’t really outside of church). 

Sorry that this is such a long post. If you’ve made it this far through all my ramblings about myself, send me a random fact about you, because I’d love to get to know this community better.

-Nizzy