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there-must-be-a-lock · 3 years

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Play Pretend

Spencer Reid x (gender neutral) Reader

Word Count: ~4170

Warnings: I don’t think there are any? Some language. Egregious amounts of fluff. A blanket fort and a Star Trek onesie. Gratuitous descriptions of Spencer Reid’s bone structure, because apparently I can’t help myself.

A/N: For the “treat yo’ self” square on my @cmbingo card, and also for @railmereid‘s 2k challenge! Prompt for the latter is bolded.

It’s been a godawful case, and in the BAU, that’s saying something. At least nobody ended up in the hospital this time? But as you all troop onto the jet in a straggly line of wrinkled clothes and puffy eyes, that’s about the brightest spot you can find in this whole fucking week.

As you get settled, though, Hotch clears his throat. “Your attention, please. We’re taking a long weekend, Strauss’s orders.”

“Oh thank god,” you mutter under your breath.

“Once we get back and grab our things, you are not to return to the office for a full seventy-two hours.” Hotch looks sternly (well, even more sternly) at Spencer, who’s on the couch next to you, curling up for a nap. “Understood? And you are not allowed to take case files home, Reid. I mean it this time.”

“Understood,” he says grouchily. You can’t help but laugh at the pout on his face.

“Seriously?” you ask.

He shrugs, lips quirking up like he does actually realize what a ridiculous human being he is. “I have many talents, but ‘taking it easy’ is not one of them.” He does the air quotes, even.

“All those PhDs and you never got a degree in relaxation?”

“That’s not—” He realizes you’re teasing and grins. “No. No I did not. I just… never really know what to do with myself, I guess?”

“Shocking.”

“What are you going to do, then?”

“I am going to have a treat yo’ self day,” you declare proudly.

“A what?”

“You know, like in Parks and Rec?” He gives you a blank look. “No, you totally don’t know. Of course you don’t. But there’s this one episode where two of the characters have a ‘treat yo’ self’ day, and they go shopping and get, like, really self-indulgent things that they wouldn’t ordinarily buy themselves.”

He frowns. “You’re going shopping all weekend? You’ve never struck me as a particularly materialistic person.”

“Fuck, no. It’s more about indulging in experiences. Self-care. Things that make me feel relaxed. Just… whatever makes me happy.”

“Like what?” He still has this totally puzzled look on his face, with his nose wrinkled up. It’s so much more endearing than it has any right to be.

“I like painting. I’m not good at it, but I like it, so I’m gonna get some new paints and a big canvas and make a mess, because it makes me happy.”

“Huh.”

“What about you, then? What do you do to relax?”

“That’s… a good question, honestly.”

“Well, what’s your idea of a perfect day?”

Maybe it shouldn’t surprise you that self-care is a foreign concept to him. You wait patiently as he overthinks it.

“Perfect seems unrealistic,” he concludes wryly.

“So, like, remember when you were a kid and you walked into a really awesome toy store?” you prompt. “Just feeling that sort of carefree, giddy kind of happy?”

“Not really.” He shrugs.

“What did make you feel like that, though?” you ask. “When you were younger? There had to be something.”

“I think I just — I didn’t do much normal kid stuff.” He lets out a huff of a laugh and runs his hands through his messy curls, suddenly self-conscious. “Didn’t get to play pretend, or… I don’t know. Didn’t have time.”

“Right,” you say softly. “Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about.”

You nod, throat suddenly tight. “Yeah. Get some sleep, Spencer. Sweet dreams.”

He gives you a tired half-smile and tugs his blanket up to his chin, tucking his hands under his cheek, and the dark hollows under his eyes are hidden by his long lashes as he falls asleep almost immediately. You need to rest too, but it takes you a while; you sneak a glance at him every so often, feeling that twist under your breastbone that happens all too often when you’re around Spencer.

By the time the jet lands, though, you have a plan.

* * * * *

You second-guess your plan approximately a thousand times on your way over to Spencer’s the next morning. When you get to his door, you almost convince yourself to walk away before you manage to knock; is this totally presumptuous? Is Spencer going to think you’re ridiculous? Is the whole thing just plain stupid?

Then again, you were stupid enough to fall for Spencer in the first place, so. What’s another stupid decision on top of that whole mess?

When he opens the door, he’s wearing pajama pants, a t-shirt, and a phenomenally hideous bathrobe, and he’s all messy-haired and sleepy-eyed, and for a moment you’re panicking because oh shit I woke him up. It’s almost noon, to be fair, but he did have some serious sleep to catch up on. Then you notice the coffee mug in his hand, and after a moment of relief, that morphs into more of a oh shit he’s so fucking beautiful type of panic.

You’re used to that, though.

Then you realize he’s staring at you, smiling but puzzled, and you haven’t explained yourself. Oops.

“Um. Trick or treat yourself day?” you blurt out, hoisting your shopping bags and giggling at your own lame joke. “I… brought you something. Sorry, I didn’t mean to surprise you — I should’ve texted, I just—”

“You’re always a good surprise,” Spencer says shyly, and then seems to shake himself. “Come in. Sorry. Coffee?”

“Please.”

You set down your shopping bags and follow him to the kitchen, where he fixes you a mug of your own — exactly how you like it, because of course he remembers. Then he takes a couple deep gulps of his own sugar-sludge and tops it up, and by the time you go back out to the living room, he’s starting to look vaguely awake.

“What’s all this about?” he finally asks, head cocked to look curiously at the bags.

“Well,” you start slowly. Now that you have to say it out loud, it sounds even more stupid. “I was thinking a treat yourself day would be a lot more fun with company, and it seems like… maybe you’re overdue for some of that? For… self-indulgence, and just, like, enjoying yourself without worrying. And you deserve it. So. You wanna?”

His eyes are soft and bright, oddly vulnerable, and a smile spreads slowly across his face, twitchy at the edges like he’s not sure he’s allowed to smile yet.

“Really? I don’t know what to do, though.”

“Well, I have some ideas about that. But first, you gotta make a deal with me.” The way he’s beaming makes you feel a whole lot more confident as you tell him, very seriously, “This is the sacred covenant of treat yourself day. You have to solemnly swear to do whatever you want. Anything you can dream up. Indulge every whim. Take an oath to give in to every one of your silly, random, frivolous desires, without any form of self-denial or doubt. Can you do that, Spencer?”

“I can try,” he says, and his voice cracks. It’s like he can’t shape the words, with the way his smile has taken over his entire face.

“Okay, good enough. And… I have a few ideas.”

“Like what?”

You shrug. “Like… some things I thought maybe you didn’t get to do as a kid? Here, let me—”

You rummage until you find what you were looking for, and then you turn around, holding it out like an offering. Spencer’s mouth drops open.

“Is that a Captain Kirk costume?” he asks squeakily.

“It’s a Captain Kirk onesie,” you correct. “And it’s for you.”

“Holy—”

He shucks the bathrobe and sets down his coffee hastily, and he’s zipping the onesie up before you can say “Beam me up,” looking down at himself with this joy on his face, totally giddy in a way you’ve never seen him before, and holy hell, even if he hates the rest of your ideas, this will be one hundred fifty percent worth it for the memory of that smile on Spencer’s face.

“I have one too,” you admit, and pull your Chewbacca onesie out of your backpack. Once you’re both appropriately attired, you tell him, “Next order of business is cartoons.”

“I don’t actually have TV?” he says apologetically. “I mean, I have a TV, but it’s only for —”

You grin. “I came prepared, though!”

Spencer’s the only person you know who still has a VHS player, but you’ve been holding onto some things you rescued from your parents’ attic a while back; you find your VHS of Tom & Jerry cartoons and wave it at him triumphantly.

“I’ve never watched that before.” He examines the cover, bemused.

“It’s essential viewing.”

“Okay,” he says slowly.

While he performs whatever arcane ritual makes his ancient TV work (there’s like a rain dance and an animal sacrifice involved, you’re pretty sure) you settle on the couch, nesting in all the blankets and sipping your coffee contentedly. Spencer presses play and sits down next to you, but you can feel his uncertainty; he’s holding himself stiffly, and he keeps sneaking glances at you.

“Spit it out,” you tell him, a few minutes in. “If you hate it, you can just say so, Spence. I won’t take it personally.”

He shakes his head. “It’s not that! I just — is this really how you want to spend your Saturday?”

“What do you mean?” You have a Chewbacca onesie, a perfect cup of coffee, and great company; you’re not entirely sure how this could get any better.

“Doing nothing,” he mumbles. “This is… there are so many things you could be doing. Don’t you have a whole list of things you wanted to do? But instead… I don’t know. You’re here. With me.”

Sometimes you want to scream until he realizes how awesome he is, but the screaming is probably not the best way to convey that particular message.

Instead, you keep your voice very quiet as you tell him, “There is absolutely nowhere else I’d rather be right now.”

It’s a little too true. Your cheeks burn as you turn back to the TV, trying not to dwell on the way you can see him watching you in your peripheral vision.

“Okay,” he says hoarsely. He settles himself more comfortably into the blanket nest, and before long, he’s giggling along with you.

You watch in peaceful silence for a little while, but at some point, Spencer’s stomach growls, and you pause the tape to make food — chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream, as per his verdict on “ultimate treat food.” As it turns out, he knows a lot about the science of cooking, but not a whole lot about the actual practice, so he sits cross-legged in a chair and directs you to various cabinets as you measure and mix and whisk. When you get the batter poured out on the griddle, he’s pattering on about the chemical differences between baking soda and baking powder.

He looks utterly dismayed when the first chocolate chip hits his forehead. Turns out his lack of hand-eye coordination applies to mouth-eye coordination too, and the floor is littered with semi-sweet projectiles before he actually catches one, but he’s laughing, so you really can’t bring yourself to care.

The pancakes are a total success. When you’re both stuffed and sugar-high, you grab the syrupy plates and bring them to the sink for a quick rinse.

“You don’t have to,” Spencer protests. You ignore him. His next words are much softer, scratchy and hoarse: “Thank you. I don’t — just — thank you.”

“Nothing to thank me for,” you say briskly. Then you turn around, and you freeze, because he’s a whole lot closer than you thought he was; he’s right there, close enough that you could reach out and run your fingers through his hair, or trace the sharp line of his jaw.

He has a tiny streak of whipped cream at the corner of his mouth, right where his lips curl up as he smiles, and for a second you can barely breathe with how much you want to stand up on your tiptoes and see if he tastes as sweet as he looks.

For a second he looks like he wants you to. He’s frozen too, for a moment, and you can hear his breath catch, but then he scoops you up in a hug, squeezing tight. And yeah, it’s just friendly, but it’s a hug from Spencer, and that happens rarely enough that it feels like a treat of its own, so you go with it, forehead pressed to his shoulder, heart racing.

When he releases you, you tell yourself you’re not disappointed.

“Right,” you say, bossy to cover how flustered you feel. “Back to business.”

“I think I need more practice sitting still,” Spencer confesses, following you back out to the couch. “It feels weird just… not doing anything.”

You pause, deliberating. “Well, we could keep our hands busy?”

With a quick rummage, you produce paint and an extra large pad of paper, holding them up for Spencer’s inspection. He frowns.

“I don’t have any paintbrushes.”

“They’re finger paints,” you say, grinning, and he laughs.

“Of course they are.”

You set everything up on the coffee table while Spencer presses play, and the two of you sit down on the floor, side by side. Spencer looks down at his onesie, then at the paint, frowning.

“It’s all washable, Spencer.”

“Still,” he mumbles. “I don’t want to take it off, but —”

He unzips the onesie halfway, peeling the arms off and letting the fabric bunch up around his waist.

“There we go, putting that genius brain to work,” you tease, but you’re touched that he cares enough about your present to worry about stains.

It’s hard to ignore how close you’re sitting. You do your best, keeping your eyes on either the TV or your masterpiece of Abstract Expressionism, but Spencer’s knee is pressed to yours, a constant warm pressure, and your hands keep brushing as you both reach for containers of paint, and you can smell him, like vanilla and maybe old books. The whole thing has you feeling flushed.

Other than that, though, it’s comfortable. It’s always been easy to talk to Spencer, which makes sense considering how much he knows about every subject imaginable, but it surprises you sometimes how easy it is not to talk to him, too. Silence isn’t awkward, with him. Neither of you say anything for the next hour or so. You just giggle at the TV and paint, wordless and companionable, and it’s the happiest you’ve felt in… longer than you care to admit.

Life is rarely perfect, especially not in your line of work, but this? This is pretty close.

As the credits start to play, you stretch, and then you look at his paper. It takes you a second to recognize yourself, but the likeness is unmistakable. Spencer’s got the exact angle of your eyebrow when you’re looking at him skeptically — apparently you do that often enough that he’s memorized the expression. He somehow managed to capture your smile, the curve of your lips, all in tiny delicate pinky-strokes of purple and turquoise… trust Dr. Spencer Reid to bring that level of precision to finger-painting, and oh god you are not going to think about his fingers any more.

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah,” you manage. You clear your throat. “Yeah, I really do.”

Then he makes it worse by rubbing the side of his neck, bashful and self-conscious, smearing blue-green paint from his collarbone to the sharp line of his jaw, and he’s so busy smiling at you that he doesn’t seem to notice. He swallows, and his Adam’s apple dips, shifting a streak of color, making it flicker. It’s such a silly thing, but it draws your attention to his skin — makes you want to touch. Worst of all, it reminds you that he’s already art, that the shape of him, the delicate precise way he’s put together, is more beautiful than anything you’ve ever seen in a museum.

It reminds you that you want some things you can never, ever have.

“You’ve got — um,” you say, gesturing helplessly. He blinks at you, slow like he’s coming out of a trance, and tucks his hair behind his ear, smearing more paint there before he remembers. You giggle, sharp and nervous, and it breaks the tension all at once. Spencer laughs too, rolling his eyes at himself. You get up clumsily to go grab a wet paper towel from the kitchen.

The moment is gone, but your heart is still racing.

“What’s next?” Spencer asks softly, once you’re both cleaned up.

He missed a tiny spot; there’s a blue smudge right at the corner of his jaw, and you want to touch it, feel it under your fingertips, see if the skin is as soft as it looks, right there where the bone stretches it thin.

“Blanket fort,” you blurt out, before you can do anything embarrassing.

His eyes light up.

It really shouldn’t surprise you that Spencer and his engineering PhD make quick work of a pile of sheets and clothespins. You’re pretty sure that he could revolutionize the entire field of blanket fort construction, if left to his own devices, but you keep poking him when he gets lost in his head or starts muttering calculations to himself. The point is having fun.

The end result is a lot more Frank Lloyd Wright than any of your childhood creations, but Spencer looks absolutely gleeful, so. It’s the spirit of the thing.

“One more thing,” you say. “Do you have any Christmas lights?”

Spencer frowns. “I don’t — oh! Wait!”

He runs to the closet, and he ends up halfway inside the closet, digging around on his hands and knees. You’re about to make a crack about Narnia when he comes out, holding up a box with a triumphant smile.

You read the label: “Halloween decorations 3 of 4.”

Because of course Spencer Reid has Halloween lights. He pulls out several long ropes of them; a couple are shaped like tiny skulls, one is strung with Jack-o-Lanterns, and two could pass as Christmas lights if they weren’t orange and purple. You help him detangle the knot of them and drape them over and through your fort, and when you turn out the normal lights and draw his heavy curtains, the whole thing glows in patches of orange and purple and white.

“After you,” you tell Spencer, and he crawls in without any more prompting.

There’s more than enough room to sit up, but Spencer is lying down on his back in the nest of blankets and pillows that you’d relocated from the couch. He’s staring up at the “ceiling” in silence, eyes glittering with some unreadable expression where they catch the twinkling shards of light. You make yourself comfortable next to him, looking up and wondering what he’s seeing.

“I always wondered what the appeal was,” he whispers. “Of blanket forts. And… childhood in general, I guess.”

“You grew up pretty fast, huh?” you say quietly.

“Yeah. And I never — I feel like most of the team doesn’t take me seriously sometimes. Like I’m still a kid to them. I always feel like I have to prove myself.”

Your instinct is to deny it automatically, but you know what he means. They laugh him off for his quirks, for the way he gets excited about things and for the things he gets excited about. That’s what’s so incredible about him, though: that dichotomy of knowledge and curiosity, the breathless excitement when he makes a discovery.

“I liked pretending I had my own little world,” you tell him. “Blanket forts. Felt like I could actually shut all the bad things out.”

“Still feels like that,” he says, and you can hear the smile in his voice.

“Nothing wrong with acting like a child, sometimes. We need that. Even if it’s just pretend.”

“I think I get it now.”

“Hmm?”

He’s silent for a long moment before he says, “In here, everything’s perfect.”

“Or we can pretend it is.”

You turn your head to find Spencer looking at you, and he doesn’t look away when your eyes meet. You barely want to blink for fear of breaking whatever spell you’re under.

There’s something raw and earnest and almost scared shining all over his face, like you’re catching a glimpse of the child he used to be, before the world taught him to put on a brave face and keep his most intense feelings to himself. It makes you feel shaky in ways you were really not prepared for.

There’s a heavy moment of silence. You’re painfully aware of how loud your breathing sounds.

It’s a hell of a thing, to have his focus like this. You fell in love with him watching him work; you know how intensely he can devote himself to a task, to a puzzle, to a map… and every so often, when the two of you talk, he focuses all that brilliance on you, and he listens so completely that you feel his attention like a spotlight.

That’s when he usually looks away, dropping his gaze like it’s something to be embarrassed about, because too many people have told him to stop staring.

He’s not looking away now. He turns onto his side to completely face you, curling up in that sweetly childish way with his hands between his cheek and the pillow, and you mirror him.

“Feels like we’re alone.”

He’s right; there are no distractions, no excuses to be made, no interruptions. It’s just the two of you, and it’s terrifying.

“Feels safe,” you whisper, because that’s true too. Your heart is racing, and it’s like you can hear your pulse in your ears, but it’s the quietest sort of panic you’ve ever felt. “I think that was exactly what I wanted, after the last couple weeks. To get away. To feel safe.”

There’s an orange light throwing most of his face into shadow, but you can see the corner of his mouth a little too clearly. You’re maybe a foot apart. It would be so easy —

“We don’t get that often.” His voice is barely more than a breath.

“Safety?”

“That too, but —” His breath hitches, and he clears his throat. “What we want. I don’t usually get what I want, but this was — this was very close to perfect.”

“Yeah, well, when is life ever perfect?” You manage a smile. “What would make it perfect? If you could have anything.”

“It’s not something I can have, though.”

“So pretend. It’s just us, and there are no rules today. What would it be?”

He bites his lip. “I don’t think —”

“For once in your life, Spencer, stop overthinking it,” you half-laugh, and then he’s propping himself up on one elbow, shifting forward, leaning closer, close close close until he’s all you can see, and —

He kisses you.

It’s the most gentle, feather-light brush of a kiss you’ve ever felt, barely more than a graze of his parted lips over yours. It’s there, and then it’s gone again before you can even begin to process the sensation.

As your eyes flutter open you can already see the fear setting in, dark intense gaze fixed on you as he inhales sharply.

You’re still trying to remember how to breathe; you’re too stunned to react beyond blinking at him.

“I’m sorry. Can we just —” He shakes his head, hand over his mouth like he’s trying to hold onto the kiss. “Do you think we could pretend — can we pretend I didn’t do that? I’m so sorry.”

“I don’t want to pretend,” you say shakily.

He stares.

This doesn’t seem real. It’s such a strange moment that you might as well be trapped in a Dali canvas. There’s fingerpaint on his face, and he’s wearing a Captain Kirk command uniform onesie, and there’s a tiny Jack-o-Lantern glowing over his head. If you’d imagined the “perfect” moment, this would not be it.

But you reach out, running your fingertips over the dark smudge of paint on his jaw, and the skin is hot and smooth. He shivers at the touch. It’s real.

“Spencer?” Your throat is tight, but you manage a choked, “I want you to kiss me again.”

He does, with a careful hand cupped to your cheek and a smile curling his lips when they meet yours. You run your fingers through his hair, and you both laugh when they catch on dried paint.

“Perfect,” he whispers.

It really is.

#renswritingchallenge #cmbingo21 #criminal minds fic #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fluff #cm fic #criminal minds #spencer reid

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grinoir · 3 years

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Religious Medievalism: “Stregheria”, Wicca and History - part 1

[TN: This article will break the Introduction to Stregoneria series for a second, but I believe it’s important to set things into perspective about both Witchcraft and this blog. My goal is to put out content, translated or redacted by me, in order to give people the correct historical information. I see a lot people on TikTok messing with things they don’t know, appropriating and distorting practices and cultures and profiting off of it. The only focus of this blog is the practice and the history behind it, I don’t want to “put people down”, I want to make the information available so you won’t hurt yourselves.

Also, I do not support fa***sm, na**sm or any other movement/ideology that oppresses and discriminates people. I’m specifiying this because I’ve received an anonymous ask about it and it kind of hurt just reading it. I hope this will clarify things and make whoever asked me that more confortable with my blog and my content. I’m a history nerd Strega, nothing more.

This article will be a translation, synthesis and re-elaboration of the following articles

https://tradizioneitaliana.wordpress.com/2020/11/12/medievalismo-religioso-stregheria-wicca-e-storia/

https://medievaleggiando.it/la-legittimazione-storica-della-wicca-margaret-murray-e-la-manipolazione-delle-fonti/

https://medievaleggiando.it/il-vangelo-delle-streghe-e-linizio-della-wicca-il-fascino-di-un-falso-storico/

The first being a rectification of the two that follow.

This article will be divided in two parts because it’s way too long to read and to translate, i’m drained af]

THE DEBUNKING OF MURRAY

Margaret Alice Murray (1863-1963) was a British Anthropologist and Egyptologist, well known in the academic environment for her contributions in the studies of folklore. Even if she was very criticized and her reputation as an historian was poor, her work became popular bestsellers from 1940 onward.

The most well-known and controversial one is “The Witch-Cult in the Western Europe” published in 1921. In this book, Murray alleges that there was some sort of secret model of pagan resistance to Christianity spreaded all across Europe, and that the witches’ hunt and the proof presented to the trials were an attempt to eliminate a rival cult.

This book was clearly influenced by “Satanism and Witchcraft” by Jules Michelet, that alleged that Medieval Witchcraft was an act of popular rebellion against the oppression of feudalism and the Roman Catholic church, that took the form of a secret religion inspired by paganism and organized mainly by women.

To support her narrative, Murray chooses to analyze some of the trials that took place during the great hunt and employs 15 primary sources, mostly British or Scottish (not paneuropean, or sources from the european continent), that describe famous trials. Murray’s analysis of the Somerset Trials in 1664 offer a good example of her work ethics; quoting the testimony of Elizabeth Styles:

“At their meeting they have usually Wine or good Beer, Cakes, Meat or the like. They eat and drink really when they meet in their bodies, dance also and have Musick. The Man in black sits at the higher end, and Anne Bishop usually next him. He useth some words before meat, and none after, his voice is audible, but very low.”

Murray conveniently seems to “forget” to quote the immediately preceding phrase:

”That at every meeting before the Spirit vanisheth away, he appoints the next meeting place and time, and at his departure there is a foul smell.”

Other details offered by Styles are omitted, like when she alleges that the Devil presented to her in the shape of a dog or a cat or a fly, that the Devil offered her followers an oinment to use on their heads and wrists that made it possible to move them from a place to another. Or that sometimes the reunion involved only the spirits of the witches, while their bodies stayed at home.

Murray was fully aware of the fantasy element in the testimonies she included in her books, but she was able, by deliberately manipulating historical sources, to make people believe the fake narrative that a Medieval religion of witches with covens, rites and their own beliefs that relentlessy opposed Christianity really existed.

In her “The God of the Witches”, published in 1933 and clearly written for a commercial audience, she further broadened the scope of her claims on the witches’ cult. In this book, she alleges that until the C17th BCE the there was a religion, older than Christianity, that kept existing in all of Western Europe. Said religion, was focused on the worship of a two-faced horned god, known to the Romans ad Diano; this god presided the witches’ gathering and was mistaken by the Inquisition of the Devil, conclusion that made them associate witchcraft with a satanic cult.

Murray claims the existence of a *specific* non-christian organized cult spread all across Europe that worshipped Diano and relentlessly opposed the Roman Catholic church, but the sources she quotes are late and recount the flattening of the various “pagan” cults to the assimilation with the christian Devil, operated by the Church.

In fact, the Devil that the trials report on, depending on the religion, overlapped with different figures: in British and Scottish traditions the Devil was the result of the demonization of the King of Elphame. In the Basque country, the Devil substituted Mari. In Northern Italy it overlapped with the Donna del Buon Gioco. This means that the “Northern Italian Devil” is different from the “British Devil” and the “Basque Devil”.

This “Devil” is a figure that flattens everything and overlapped and substituted so many different figures, depending on the religion and the figure it ended up overlapping with.

Therefore, Murray’s narrative of a paneuropean cult of the Horned God stems from the analysis of late sources and to the false equivalence of the Devil that presided the Ludus (Sabba) in Scotland (where he masks the King of Elphame) and the Devil of other countries (where he masks other entities).

Since the Devil isn’t the same entity in all of Europe, the narrative of a counter-christianity organized paneuropean cult of prehistoric origin falls too. Instead, what we’re dealing with are Medieval, non-christian rielaborations of different remainders of the Religions of the Gentiles that survived in the Christian age and were absorbed in the legend of the Faery Procession/Procession of the Dominae Nocturnae first, and the legend of the Ludus (Sabba) later.

The following quote by Ronald Hutton, English historian who specialises in Early Modern Britain, British folklore, pre-Christian religion and Contemporary Paganism and professor at the University of Bristol, confirms this:

“Over a quarter of a century ago, I adopted the expression “Pagan survivals” to describe elements of ancient Pagan culture that had persisted in later Christian societies. In doing so, I was drawing a distinction between such survivals, of which there seemed to be many, and “surviving Paganism”; that is the continued self-conscious practice of the older religions, of which there seemed to be none. This point was worth making because even in the 1980s, there was a persisting belief, based on outdated academic texts, that Paganism had survived as a living force among the common people in much of medieval Europe: it was widespread in other scholarly disciplines than history, let alone among the general public. My formula and approach was adopted by other authors in the 1990s. During that decade, however, a reaction set in against it among historians who preferred to stress the comprehensive Christianization of medieval European societies and to relegate elements that had hither to been identifed as of pagan origin to categories of religiously neutral folklore or of lay Christianity. Some emphasized that the undoubted tendency of some Christians at the time to condemn such beliefs and practices as pagan was a hallmark of a highly atypical, reforming, intolerant and evangelical strain of churchman. Michael’s system of classification, in this volume, may be said to take its place in this, apparently now dominant, set of scholarly attitudes. Revisiting the issue myself, I am inclined to meet it halfway. I am startingto agree that to speak of aspects of medieval culture as “Pagan” might indeed be misleading and inadequate. Moreover, it would be especially inappropriate to characterize fgures such as the lady of the night rides, the fairy queen or the Cailleach as “Pagan survivals” when they seem like medieval or post-medieval creations. However, I have equal diffculty in describing them simply and straightforwardly as “Christian” because of their total lack of reference to any aspect of Christianity, including theology, cosmology, scripture and liturgy; all of them would indeed fit far more comfortably into a Pagan world-picture. […] It may be that the old polarized labels are becoming inadequate to describe a medieval and early modern religious and quasi-religious world that is coming to seem even more complex, exciting and interesting than it had seemed to be before.”

Also Michael Ostling, religious studies scholar focusing on the history, historiography, and representation of witches and witchcraft, confirms this in Fairies, Demons, and Nature Spirits: “Small Gods” at the Margin of Christendom, published in 2018.

“Christians encompass aspects of their prior paganism both by inversion and revaluation. But where traditional spirits remain salient to a Christianized culture in encompassed or inverted form, their ongoing reality ought not to be counted by scholars as a pagan survival—though it is likely to be so construed by Christians themselves. Such “surviving” spirits are not just marginalized or diabolized pagan remnants, they are continually re-performed, recreated through Christian ritual and Christian discourse. We find such re-creation of the small gods throughout Christian history, and throughout this volume: when the Urapmin drive out the motobil by the power of the Holy Spirit, when Andean people frame their propitiation of the yawlu with devotion to the Christian God, when Mami Water appears primarily as a trope of Pentecostal deliverance ministry, when thirteenth-century Frenchwomen see, in an unoffcial Christian saint, their best hope of negotiating the return of their stolen babies from the follets, when the brownie and Robin Goodfellow appear in prayers of protection against them, in assertions of their diabolical status, or in tolerant mention of superstitious old wives who stillbelieve in such “harmless devils,” when cunningwomen insist that they only use “good devils” or that the fairies who facilitate their divination have no fear of the cross, this is because the beings involved have succeeded in taking up a niche within Christian discourse. The “good people” have not departed, have not been driven out by the sound of church-bells or the smell of gasoline. There are no pagan survivals: small gods are Christian creations with which to think the limits of Christianity.”

In essence, Murray’s version of events that describes Paganism as an anti-church, anti-society isn’t backed by any historical evidence.

Sources:

https://tradizioneitaliana.wordpress.com/2020/11/12/medievalismo-religioso-stregheria-wicca-e-storia/

https://medievaleggiando.it/la-legittimazione-storica-della-wicca-margaret-murray-e-la-manipolazione-delle-fonti/

https://medievaleggiando.it/il-vangelo-delle-streghe-e-linizio-della-wicca-il-fascino-di-un-falso-storico/

Michael Ostling. Fairies, Demons, and Nature Spirits: ‘Small Gods’ at the Margins of Christendom. Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.

#witchcraft #wicca #reconstructionist traditional witchcraft #traditional witchcraft #stregoneria #stregheria #witch #medieval witchcraft #spirits #familiar #familiars #pantheon #italian witchcraft #sabba #sabbat #strega #streghe

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too-much-fandoms-trash · 4 years

Text

MBAV theory and ending

Hello everyone ! Here I am to discuss our beloved but too soon cancelled show : My Babysitters’s A vampire’s. Mostly its ending but not only. Damn you Disney for that cliffhanger...

Warning, it’s a really long post ! It’s around 2k words. I didn’t put it under a cut, but I can if asked. The first part (half ?) of this post is something about the MBAV universe, that I use to explain my theory about the ending. Then I will explain it, what happened and all with that, and they a small paragraph of what could have been the beggining of season 3. I’d be really happy if you guys read, and what do you think about it. So, here we go ! (Please forgive the typos)

Anyway, before talking about the ending I want to speak about the vampires and their so called “immortality”. Throughout all the show it was clearly stated that all vampires are immortal. Yet, we see a lot of them dying (killed by wooden stakes, holy water, special daggers, etc.). Sooo, are they really that immortal, or can they just live as long as possible until they’re killed ? The show doesn’t answer it, and we never saw a vampire that was killed coming back. (Except for Jesse, but his case is a bit special, with the Cubile Animus and all, so we’re not talking about it here). But ! The movie answers it, more specificly Sarah. Remember the scene when they are at Ethan’s house and they are attacked by the pizza guy, who happens to be a vampire sent by Jesse ? Yeah ? Cool, because it tells us an intersting thing. So, Sarah kills him with a wooden stake, and a bit later Ethan asks if he’s really dead. Sarah then answers, and I quote : “ Not...dead, no, just in some kinds of limbo for souls.”

Oh boy. So, it’s clear : when vampires are killed, they don’t die. Their souls go into a limbo. But first of all, what is a limbo, you may ask ? I’m going to answer as simply as I can. A limbo is something from the catholic theology. Well, not only, but in the case of the show, it’s in this sense; let’s not forget that vampires can’t approach someone who’s holding a christian cross or just making a cross with sticks or whatever (I’m almost totally sure we see it in MBAV, but correct me if I’m wrong on that). So, in catholic theology, the “Underworld” is composed in 4 parts : Hell as we know it (”Hell of the Damned”), the Purgatory, the Limbo of the Fathers and the Limbo of Infants. Here, we don’t care about the second limbo, because it is for children who weren’t baptized. So the Limbo of the Fathers it is ! That’s still not very helpful to you, I know, but I’m getting to it. So, what is it ? It’s a place where the souls of those who have commited sins but died in the friendship of God (I’m quoting wikipedia here, ahem). So, bad people but that could still go to Heaven but only if Mr. Jesus Christ come to pardon them. But I may be going a bit too far for MBAV here. Let’s continue, shall we ? Vampires are by definition a sin, for the Religion. So, it’s clear they’re not going to Heaven. But, they are immortal beings, so it’s not as if they could go to hell anyway. However, the souls of the killed vampire have to go somewhere, so they go in the limbo. Why not the Purgatory ? I don’t really know, and my theories are not really useful in the point I’m trying to make here about MBAV. And I probably already digressed too much... but hey, a little culture never hurts.

So ! It could stop here : the souls of the killed vampires go into that limbo because they can’t go anywhere else, and it’s done. But Sarah’s sentence is not done ! Just after the limbo thing, she says : “But he won't be back here.” If she just said that the pizza vampire guy wouldn’t be back, it wouldn’t change anything, it would just emphasize that he’s dead. However, notice the “here” at the very end of the sentence. Just that little word changes the meaning ! He won’t be back here, but he will be back somewhere else. Then, we understand that vampires are really immortal ! First they are “killed”, their soul go into the limbo for an unknown time, and then they come back. As I just said, we don’t know how long their soul stay in the limbo. Sure, we never saw vampires come back on the show, but I think it’s just because it’s not in the plot. I would say it takes a few days for the soul to come back, maybe weeks but not more. Maybe it depends of the cause of death ? I don’t know. Remember that it’s just me founding out things out of just one line, I can only theorize what I don’t know.

Well, it’s great that we found that. But... what for ? Okay, we learned something but it doesn’t really apply to the MBAV story / plotline... Or does it ?

Now, I’m bringing on the table “The Date To End All Dates, Part 2″, aka the awful cliffhanger that we all hate deeply. That left us with SO many questions, and no answers. This post is now going to be about “what would have happened in season 3 episode 1 (and possibly 2 too) ?” Here’s a quick recall of how the episode ended : VP Stern, Ethan, Benny, Sarah and Jesse are at the Council and there is a big boom all over White Chapel. Anastasia, Erica and Rory are in what looks like the mountains, at least they’re not in White Chapel. Anastasia said she was waiting for the explosion to happen, and visibly just wanted to go far enough to not be in it with the remaining vampires (are Rory and Erica the two last of the Council that could make it with her ?). So, she knew what Stern wanted to do. What was his plan already ? Jesse tells us that the Council has a broadcast system, originally used to communicate with other covens, that Stern would use to spread the Lucifractor’s power all over White Chapel and thus, killing all vampires in town. But, aren’t vampires immortal, able to come back and all, as we’ve seen before ? As you know it, the Lucifractor is designed especially to kill vampires definitely by “absorbing the dark energy that keep vampires alive”, to quote Jesse. We saw Stern use it on vampires, it “shoots” like a purple lightnight, and the vampire turns to dust. So, the explosion happened. What would be the most logical thing to happen after that cliffhanger, aka season 3 ep 1 ? Main theory would be that the Lucifractor worked, which implies Sarah and Jesse being dead, along with the other remaining White Chapel vampires in town (but not Anastasia, Rory and Erica, because they are “safe” far away). Benny, Ethan and Stern on the other hand would be alive, because the Lucifractor only kills vampires and doesn’t affect humans. But... is it really what happened ? Of course not.

First of all, it is a Disney Channel show. That cliffhanger was made in the optic of having a third season, to continue the story. The show would never have killed one of its main character, especially Sarah. Count it as an argument or not, it’s true. Second of all, I bet the explosion that happened didn’t go the way Stern intended. The plan was just to broadcast the Lucifractor’s power, nothing more. But if you don’t remember, Ethan went into Stern’s mind just before the explosion. I won’t describe the entire scene, but basically Ethan tells Stern that he is just a human. That without the Lucifractor, he is totally powerless. Ethan emphasize the fact that Stern is nothing without the Lucifractor, in a cocky and clever way. And let’s not forget it’s Ethan, the “brain” one of the group. Yet he wasn’t panicking, he was confident in what he was doing, going into Stern’s mind. He had a plan. What next ? Ethan’s remarks kind of angered Stern and he tells Ethan “Stop saying that ! I can draw all the energy I need from this and then the power will be in me and I can get rid of this little bubble.” Ethan says a last thing that pushes Stern over the edge. Stern stops what he was doing (which is shooting Jesse and Sarah with the Lucifractor, who are okay just after that) and then, he takes the Lucifractor and makes the mistake. He takes the power for himself. He feels it, he says “I can feel the power, the deepest darkness. You’re such a fool, you’ll never stop me now !”. Then, still with confidence, Ethan tells the other to run, and the explosion happens.

I believe that Ethan’s plan worked. I believe he wanted Stern to take the Lucifractor’s power to himself. By dragging him down, saying he couldn’t handle it... and it worked ! Stern thought he could take it and be all powerful and everything. But... he’s still just a human. And a normal human can’t physically handle all that power, that darkness. The explosion wasn’t Stern broadcasting the Lucifractor’s power, it was him. Stern’s body couldn’t bare all that and, because of the Lucifrator, exploded. But, theeen, what if if it had the same effect, and still killed Sarah and Jesse ? To that I will answer that even if the explosion looked the same as it would if the plan worked (as Anastasia is probably thinking), it is probably way less powerful than if should have been. First because Stern was trying to take the power, the Lucifractor wasn’t in “attack mode” (I think ?). But mostly because Stern took the Lucifractor in his hands, therefore ending the “broadcast” thing. My two other arguments are that, well it’s still a Disney Channel show, and Ethan’s confidence. As I said, he pulled a very clever move. He probably remembered Jesse telling him that Stern’s great great grandfather was mostly hella greedy of power, more than willing to clean White Chapel from vampires. It’s still canon that Ethan has a crush on Sarah and that he cares deeply for her (as Grandma Weir says, more for her than anyone ! (Just because it’s canon doesn’t mean I agree with that, okay ? But that’s what it said, and I’m working with the canon)). So he definitely didn’t waste precious time running away if he didn’t have a smart plan that he knew would work.

Hey, I’m still not done ! God that’s a long post. But then... what happened to Jesse and Sarah ? Yes, I said that the explosion was less powerfull than intended, but it still happened. Remember the first part of this post ? That’s right. The limbo for souls. That’s where I believe Sarah and Jesse would have been in the beggining of season 3. Sure, they would be weak. But they wouldn’t be dead. Now, that’s just my theory coming. I don’t really have the canon help anymore at this point, so here’s what I think is the most logic thing that could have happened.

Boom. They explosion went all over White Chapel. Benny and Ethan are knocked off and wake up after a few hours, possibly at dawn. Because hey, that’s still an explostion. Ironically, Stern’s the one who turned into dust. His body really couldn’t handle that. Benny and Ethan are relived, Sarah’s body is still here and intact, yet unconscious next to Jesse’s. But even after hours, they don’t wake up. Benny and Ethan kinda panic, and go to Evelyn (grandma Weir). She has theories but isn’t an expert in vampires, so can’t really help. The plan is to find Anastasia, Rory and Erica. They believed the explosion went as planned and went away. As Anastasia said before, they’ll just wait until Stern dies of old age. (Erica and Rory want to go back to check on Sarah, but missy vampire child tells them she is dead, and with her mind control thing, they can’t do anything). But Sarah is not dead, at least that’s what Ethan says, but they could start to loose hope at some point, and the guys are on their way to find Anastasia, because if anyone knows something about what to do, it’s her (they also want to have their friends back). They find her, and here’s the what happens : Sarah (as well as Jesse) are stuck in the limbo. Normally, they would be able to “come back to life” by themselves, but the Lucifractor weakened them, therefore they can’t escape the limbo. At least, not alone. It’s up to the fang gang to go there and bring their friend back (and they hesitate, but bring back Jesse too). They go back to White Chapel, and season 3 continues.

Now, I’m done ! I really hope I didn’t annoy you guys with my long post. If you like my theory, I’d be very happy if you tell me, I might try to write it, as a real fanfiction more than just a paragraph. Please, tell me what you think about it !

MBAV will ride again !

#my babysitter's a vampire #my babysitter is a vampire #mbav #benny weir #ethan morgan #sarah fox #rory keaner #erica jones #mbav headcanons #mbav theories #mbav season 3 #mbav thought #grandma weir

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emisfritish · 4 years

Text

Thicker Than Water (Part 2)

Pairing : Sarawat / Tine (2gether the series)

Summary : Type comes back to spend a few days with them, and Sarawat is almost certain that none of them will make it out the experience unscathed.

Or - Type comes into town, take two. They bicker, they fight, they hurt, they learn, they grow, they heal.

Chapter : 2/6

Previous chapter : 1 /

Next chapter : 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

Notes : So for anyone that thought this story was basically just going to be 6 chapters of fun bickering between all of our boys, sorry I’m about to hit with all the feels instead and it’s not what this story will actually be about... Oups ? I have MANY feelings about what Type’s presence meant and the feelings that it could have brought out in Sarawat and Tine, so this is my exploration of that. Hope you do still enjoy though ;)

Title from the quote : “The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb”.

-----------

Sarawat is tuning his guitar in preparation for the concert he has in a couple hours, and he honestly can’t remember when the last time he’d been so happy to have an excuse to leave the apartment actually was, but he is definitely counting the minutes.

Three days. It’s been three days since Type had come back to stay with them, and somehow, it feels like he’s been there for so. much. longer. Sarawat doesn’t know how three mere days can feel like a year, but somehow these have, and he’s just about ready for this whole week to be over and done with.

When Type and Tine had walked through the door three days ago after Tine went to fetch his brother from the parking lot to help him with his bag, Sarawat had been fidgeting in the kitchen and trying to prepare himself mentally for what was about to come.

“Type,” he said when the older boy walked through the door and instantly glared at him. “It’s nice to see you,” he gritted through his teeth, and Type just smiled sarcastically at him, clearly hearing the lie.

“Sarawat,” he’d nodded in answer, before looking around the apartment and lifting his eyebrows in judgement. “I see cleaning day hasn’t happened yet this week.”

At the words, Sarawat had immediately turned towards Tine and he glared, while his boyfriend just winced. See what’s happened there, Tine ?

Not a tyrant. Right.

Since that moment, it’s been constant comments and judgement all around coming from Type, and although Sarawat has tried to keep his opinions to himself to respect Tine’s brother, the older boy was making it increasingly difficult to do so.

“Well, we can’t really say cooking is one of your talents can we,” had been the comment made when Sarawat cooked them dinner on the first night.

“I stand corrected, I can see how much care you’ve actually given my brother,” was the sarcastic jab that came out of his mouth when he found the condom bouquet that Tine had definitely not done a good job of hiding.

“Oh no, please don’t stop on my account, I’m only Tine’s older brother after all,” was what him and Tine got to hear when Type caught them kissing sweetly one morning, causing Tine to flinch and pull away from Sarawat.

And this, this is actually the part that Sarawat is just about done with. Because the jabs and the comments he could live with. He doesn’t like the fact that someone who is so important to Tine apparently hates his guts, but he can deal with it. What he can’t deal with, however, is the total wrench that Type throws in their relationship through his mere presence.

Because it’s been three days of Tine sharing their bed with Type while Sarawat sleeps on the couch alone, having to make do with stolen moments whenever Tine manages to crawl to him when his brother’s asleep. It’s been three days of Tine flinching away from him whenever they’re touching and his brother walks into the room. It’s been three days of Tine unconsciously pulling away from Sarawat and tip-toeing around him so as to not cause his brother to be even more annoyed.

Hell, Type had even tried to pull out that damn yellow tape again to separate them, only for it to mysteriously disappear when he’d gone to the bathroom. It had earned Sarawat one of the worst glares he’d received since meeting the boy, but he can’t say he’s too sorry about it. Seriously. If he has to see yellow tape again even once in his life it’ll be one time too many.

So yeah, all of this to say that Sarawat is just about ready to lose it and he’s very much counting the seconds until Type just goes away, because he misses Tine.

He misses Tine, which is ridiculous when they live together. And although he’s trying to not let all of this get to him, he can’t lie to himself and pretend that Tine pulling away, even if unconsciously, isn’t actually starting to hurt, a little. Because it does.

So yes, the concert, tonight. That sounds pretty perfect to him. Of course, what would actually be perfect was if Tine came with him, but well.. He’ll settle for a little time away from his judgmental new roommate.

He finishes tuning his guitar, and he bends down to put it away in its case, before standing up and gathering all of the things he’ll need for the concert and making his way downstairs. He finds Tine sitting at the kitchen table while his brother is sitting in a chair in a corner of the room, and he beelines for Tine.

“You all ready for tonight ?” Tine asks him with a sweet smile, and Sarawat nods his head in answer, smiling back at his boyfriend.

“Are you sure you guys don’t want to come with me ?”

He sees Tine open his mouth to answer the question, before another voice comes from the corner of the room and prevents him from doing so.

“No thank you, if we wanted to listen to some noise, we’d just turn on the mixer and listen to that instead.”

“Type,” Tine says sharply towards his brother. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Sarawat and his band are actually really good.”

Type lifts his hands in answer, in the universal gesture meant to apologize, but Sarawat can tell he doesn’t mean it one bit. He glares at Type and grinds his teeth, before turning back towards his boyfriend.

“Okay,” he says, and Tine throws him an apologetic smile. “Then I’ll head out. There’s some leftover food in the fridge if you want Tua Woon Wai.”

“Nuisance. What a sweet nickname to have for your loved one,” Type pipes up again, and Tine hisses at him while Sarawat locks his jaw, trying to hold his tongue.

Ok, it’s time to go before he says something he might regret later.

“I’ll see you later Tua Woon Wai,” he repeats firmly. No way he’s letting Type get away with ruining this for them, and he sees Tine smile towards him at the words.

Sarawat walks to the front door, guitar case on his shoulder, and Tine walks behind him to see him out.

“Kick ass tonight Wat,” he says sweetly, taking one of Sarawat’s hand in his and squeezing it. “I’m sure you’ll be amazing.”

Sarawat smiles at the words, but he can’t help the disappointment that rushes through him at the fact that Tine doesn’t push forward to kiss him goodbye like he usually would.

Of course, this isn’t really their usual. If it was, Tine would be coming with him, for one.

He squeezes Tine’s hand in his one last time, before turning towards the door to make his way out of the apartment, uncomfortable weight sitting on his stomach like it has been for three days now.

Four more days. He can do this. Maybe.

#sarawat x tine #saratine #2gether the series #2gether #saratine fanfic #2gether fanfic #sarawatine #saratine fic #2gether fic #emi's writing

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volturisecretary · 5 years

Note

Hi! Could you recommend your favorite Twilight tumblrs? Thank you, love your blog!

Hey, there 💜. Thank you so much! Below the cut are some of the Twilight-Tumblr blogs I really enjoy with a short description. They are listed in no particular order.

@kyilliki: Volturi-centric blog; She wrote this amazing Heidi x Rosalie fic that I’m still gushing over as my favorite rare-pair (more about my favorite ladies here). She has wonderful headcanons and insight about all of the twilight characters, and has a wonderful tag-system that makes it really easy to find whatever you are interested in.

@hallowedhuntress: A Volturi-centric blog; writes wonderful headcanons, as well as fanfiction/writing. She has a cool YouTube account too. And I’ll stan Lawful Neutral Volturi until I die tbh.

@panlight: Always has the best answers to your questions; has a wonderful side-blog called @keepingupwiththecullens that gives me life (reality-show styled characters answering your questions). Makes good twilight + text-posts too.

@illbeintheattic: Wonderful headcanons and fanart; I really enjoyed Oz’s thoughts on a Twilight and Percy Jackson cross-over AU that you can read about here too.

@statticghost: Has plenty of wonderful headcanons and writing. I especially enjoyed their headcanons regarding Volturi + weapons here and the Volturi playing pranks on their human secretaries. Some other favorites: X, X.

@flight-less-biirb: A twilight artwork blog, and has made some of my favorite Volturi artwork. Did a cool a earlier version of the Volturi crest, and drew my favorite tall vampire with awesome backstory headcanons.

@alecvolturi: Her original tag is to die for (some of my faves: X, X, X)

@alilaro: Volturi-centric blog with wonderful headcanons and artwork. I especially love Arin’s twilight vampire science posts (some of my faves: X, X, X, X).

@darkforestimagines: Wonderful imagines and headcanons. Ranger wrote a really amazing two part imagine about Heidi x (Y/N) that I’m still dying over (X, X). Ranger does ships (you’d have to check to see if they are opened right now) that are really wonderful too (personally I got shipped with Heidi who is way too cool for me but I’m low-key in love with her so it was great).

@vanitysimaginativevoid: Multi-fandom imagines blog, and I absolutely adore her writing. She wrote a post inspired by Jenna Marbles which I died for here. Her requests are opened, so totally go send some her way!

@breakingisabella: I really enjoy Fi’s writing tag and shitposts. Has a really great fanfiction called Newborn that you should read too.

@pack-runt: one of my favorite blogs to scroll through; great mix of content! I really enjoy his original posts too (some of my faves: X, X, X, X)

@shameless-volturi-lover: I absolutely adore her incorrect quotes. Here are some of my favorite: X, X, X, X, X, X). She also has plenty of great headcanons, and is Volturi-centric.

@totallycorrecttwilight: A collection of wonderful incorrect totally correct quotes that breathe life into my soul. Really wonderful.

@twilight-af: Wonderful twilightsagaedits, twilight shitposts, and headcanons. A few of my faves: X, X, X.

@denalis: Wonderful posts, and I like that she posts about the Denali Coven, who I’m in love with so (some of my faves- X, X). Also wonderful twilightsagaedits.

@kellythepitiablefangirl: Multi-fandom blog that makes beautiful twilight fanart. Has a specific blog dedicated to twilight artwork, which is @twilightanimatedseries.

@tinyjanevolturi: Make the most beautiful gif and edits. A few of my faves: X, X.

@volturialice: wonderful fics and has a really cool fics recommendations section on her blog. really great mix of content too!

@masenrys: Multi-fandom blog with gorgeous twilightsagaedits

@vampireguarddogs: She makes a lot of awesome twilight aesthetics. She writes wonderful fanfiction and headcanons as well.

@delunamontecore: Volturi-centric blog, did a cool MBTI for the Volturi characters, and I enjoy her twilight + text posts edits.

@telesillaaofargos: Volturi-centric blog; I really enjoyed her fanfiction that you can read here too.

@edwardsvirginity: a wonderful edits, wonderful headcanons, and has a great queue of posts.

@withered-rose-with-thorns: Multi-fandom blog with wonderful twilightsagaedits. A few of my faves: X, X, X.

#I probably forgot people so im really sorry :c doing these makes me nervous because I know I am bound to leave someone out #also if i got your pronouns wrong pls let me know and i apologize #blog recommendations

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darkpoisonouslove · 5 years

Note

I’m torn because GIMME GIMME GIMME every single thing possible for Warmth of Rage, Cold of Love - but I’d also like to hear about other fics that maybe haven’t gotten as much attention. So... Okay, I’ll try to be reasonable and only give you three fics, lol. Heartless, Let Me Down Slowly, and No Battlefield Between Us, pretty please :D

Okay, so I don’t have many headcanons about my own fics that don’t make it into the actual fic, but I’ll try to give you something more juicy than just plain facts.

“Heartless”:

1. It is the first fic from a four-part series (that is currently put on hiatus because “Kiss, Then Bite” and now Kinktober (you know how it is)). This one was sort of an accident but then I connected it with fic ideas I already had and suddenly there was a series XD. It was written surprisingly quickly, especially looking at the quality of it (I still consider this one of my best works; every word is where it is supposed to be if I do say so myself), on a late night when I definitely should’ve been in bed… Oops! But then again, when is that not the case, really? XD

2. Next part is the library thing (you know the one), then we have Griffin and Faragonda feat. a nightmare (which is written but I haven’t edited it because I haven’t written part 2 yet (I only realized this would be part 3 after I wrote it)), and then we also get some Winx in the last part (some events from season 1 will come up as well because they bother me and I want to address them).

3. This entire series deals with Griffin getting over the guilt that her love for Valtor is causing her and that is bringing out the ugliest side of her, and how Faragonda and Winx react to that side (as well as some other characters that make cameos). It shows Griffin dealing with her complicated emotions and the collision between her past and her present and I love the storyline I have here.

4. The second biggest focus in this series (I’m gonna talk about all of it tbh (but no spoilers)) is Faragonda and Griffin’s friendship which is so important to me (I love it just as much as I love Griffin and Valtor’s relationship) and I am really excited about what we get to explore here. A key thing about their friendship is how understanding Faragonda is and here we see just what happens when she can’t understand Griffin and all that guilt she still has and, surprisingly, Griffin manages to understand her even despite all that guilt (this may sound vague and confusing rn, but will hopefully be cleared up when you read the fics). (I got thoughts on this now and I think I finally found the missing pieces!) And of course, Griffin and Faragonda don’t stop supporting each other, no matter what.

5. I do find the thematic connection between Griffin and Winx worth exploring (at the time when this fic is set which would be after 3x14 and through 3x15 and 3x16). Tecna is currently lost in Omega (and Bloom has gone to Pyros and may never return) and Griffin’s students are currently in Valtor’s hands. They are all experiencing strong feelings of loss courtesy of Valtor, but they are also at opposite sides in the conflict. Winx represent to Griffin her own students which she couldn’t protect from Valtor (and let’s not forget the added guilt because she still loves him). But in that quality of theirs, they can also help her see that she’s not responsible for Valtor’s actions. And Griffin can also help them since she understands their anger on a level Faragonda… can’t really let herself to (because she needs to keep her cool and think about her students and their safety; meanwhile, Griffin is past that point). I think that part will have an abundance of emotions and I am so excited about it.

This was less about “Heartless” and more about the storyline throughout the entire series, but I do hope that you’ll find it interesting (also, I can come to this and get reexcited about writing it if I lose my motivation :D).

Also, we need a cut:

“Let Me Down Slowly”:

1. That was inspired by the thought of “What if Valtor actually caught Griffin leaving but his reaction was the total opposite of what she expected? And that just made it that much more fun for them?” (because I am cruel af XD)

2. The title is taken from “Let Me Down Slowly” by Alec Benjamin which I listened to while I wrote it. The lyrics do not fit the piece precisely but I think the vibe matches so well with the one of the fic. (Also, I was in a desperate need for a title and it was late, and I just wanted to post it! 😅)

3. The creative process for this one was very fun as it was full of questions such as: Am I being too repetitive here? Am I sure this isn’t annoying? Does the ending tie in with the rest? So it was a lot of fun.

4. This was my fifth fic and I’d only written about them in the past once before that and I wasn’t really sure what I was doing with it. I was also going for flipping expectations for both the readers and Griffin as to what Valtor’s reaction to catching her leaving would be and that was also a thing I needed to consider. On the one hand, I needed to have Valtor be in love with her enough to let her go and save her life, but on the other, I still needed to keep him in character and respect canon when it came to what comes after those events. And I also had to keep Griffin just on the cusp of deciding to throw it all away and stay with him. It was challenging to write but also fun.

5. I wanted something softer after “Warmth of Rage, Cold of Love” and “Flame of Love” but I still hadn’t jumped on the Griffin x Valtor fluff train completely (Will I ever, though? I just love their potential for angst too much!) so that was sort of a compromise that had a bit of both with angst being more prevalent.

This was more of a mood/mindset and writing process study and I’m sorry if that’s not what you were after. (This is an older one and I don’t really know what to tell you about it).

“No Battlefield Between Us”:

1. This one was inspired by a prompt. It was supposed to be a part of “Kiss, Then Bite” but then it got out of control and it became its own story. That tends to happen to me a lot! XD

2. Griffin is at a very dark place in that fic. She’s staying at Alfea of all places, and the only reason for that is that she doesn’t know where to go. At that point, she still hasn’t reconnected with Ediltrude and Zarathustra, she’s just left Valtor and broken both their hearts, she’s in danger of being killed by the Coven, and the only friend she currently has is Faragonda (who has good intentions but dragging her to that fairy party sure wasn’t her best idea. Can you imagine Griffin at a fairy party? The best thing she can do is get into trouble which she isn’t really in the mood for rn, considering all the trouble she’s in already). And then Valtor suddenly appears but not to kill her. He wants her back and the temptation almost wins over, but she resists it. It’s a big show of character on Griffin’s part (or a rather unfortunate choice, depends on the perspective) and it was so interesting to write.

3. And something that did not make it into the fic but Griffin realized later when she was replaying the interaction in her head for the millionth time (because I’m evil and like to torture us all) is that “he came here to kill me” was a legitimate sentence that ran through her head. Just the fact that she had that thought, and that he didn’t deny it completely (”I’ll have plenty of chances to do that on the battlefield if you choose to fight against me.” (quoted that just from memory and it is correct, how even?!)) is enough to make her ask “Does he really love me if he is totally fine with the thought of killing me?”. And that’s what she uses to make herself believe that she chose the right thing.

4. Valtor’s mindset is really interesting here. Because he loves her, he does, it’s why he went there to offer her to come back to him. He wants her by his side. But he also knows that he has to kill her if she decides to betray him. He can’t let anyone betray him. Not even her. What is interesting about this fic is that he’s not possessive to the point where he won’t let her out of their relationship (which is rather selfless on his part and proves his love for her) but he also won’t let her betray him. And the fact that he goes as far as to spare her life after she left him, but not far enough to say he’ll never harm her is a very interesting line to walk with him. It plays again into how Griffin and power are connected in his mind and which one he values more. So again we reach the conclusion that he loves her, she is the only one he’s ever loved, but he still loves power more than her. Only, this is from a slightly different angle.

5. I wanted to really mess around with the love to anger ratio in this one and I think I succeeded. While it is clear that they love each other and there are moments of genuine emotion and tenderness between them, it is impossible to forget about all the tripwires that Griffin has to avoid. There’s this underlying sense of danger and tragedy throughout the piece that I really love and it was exactly what I was going for. So, one last thing here - Did I successfully break your heart?

Sorry if I’m gushing too much about my own fics. I just love them too much and this is the perfect opportunity to talk about them!

“Warmth of Rage, Cold of Love”:

1. Griffin will have a conversation with Faragonda that is really critical for her. It’s so much angst that even I wanted to hit her by the end of it. She’s just being so… difficult. Thank goodness, Faragonda is having none of it and knows how to deal with her (and would never give up on her). There’s also a moment with Saladin (that I had figured out and then forgot (Oooooops! I should really write these things down.)). I do have something that I need them to discuss and I am really excited to explore this relationship because it was so painfully ignored on the show! And they are supposed to be friends, you know. So time to make them friends! XD We already saw a little Saladin and Faragonda friendship (and there will be some more of that as well) and we also need to see some Griffin and Saladin, too.

2. Griffin will have a moment with Ediltrude and Zarathustra as well. There are some formal affairs that they need to take care of, but the biggest part of what they need to work out is emotional (and also the one I got stuck on). Ediltrude and Zarathustra learned some things about her that she did purposefully hide and now it’s time to figure out where that leaves them because all actions have consequences. (I promise this all works out, don’t worry.)

3. Griffin will need to talk with Bloom as well for plot reasons, but not only. There is something that happened on the show that just annoys me all the more every time I think about it and I need to address. (I’m like that. I see unexplored things and I need to write a fic.) Also, moral dilemmas because why not? (Any guesses as to what that convo will be about? I feel like I gave too many hints here, but that might be because I know what I’m talking about.)

4. Valtor will make another appearance in the last chapter and there Griffin and he will both need to really face their feelings as well as the other’s feelings for them. Hate? Love? How do they interact between the two of them as well as within each of them? How will that affect them? I have a general sense of direction, but two outcomes that I have to decide between (or rather one outcome that needs to get cleared up).

5. I don’t know if you noticed but chapter two was hella mad. I was in a… weird emotional place at the time so I might have poured a lot of anger in it which works from Valtor’s perspective, really. Anyway, I’m saying this because thanks to my emotional state, I was going to take the story into a completely different direction from the one it’s going in currently. It was going to be dark and full of hatred. Now it is quite the opposite, actually, and I am so much happier with how it’s turning out. (Also, this is the first thing I wrote for Winx and the first thing I wrote this year. I started it with Winx and I intend to finish it that way. Oops, did I give things away again? Me and my big mouth! :D)

Okay, that’s enough spoilers for you and self-promoting from me! I hope these are at least somewhat what you wanted to learn, and if you want to know something else, just ask! :) It might get me a while to get to answering some questions, but I’d love to.

#ask #her-majesty-wears-jeans #heartless #let me down slowly #no battlefield between us #warmth of rage cold of love #griffin x valtor #winx club #griffin and faragonda

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patriotsnet · 3 years

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What Does The Bible Say About Republicans

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/what-does-the-bible-say-about-republicans/

What Does The Bible Say About Republicans

What Does God Say About Democrats

What Does the Bible Say About 2016 Election – Hidden Secrets Revealed – Republican vs Democrat

Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Saving America

Steven Andrew is leading the nation to reaffirm covenant that the USA follows Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches covenant is the most important action to save lives, restore safety, strengthen the church, and raise godly generations.

testimonials

Michael

I know of no one doing everything they can to help our nation to turn away from wickedness and sin, and turn back to God, like Steven Andrew.;

Craig

Giving to USA Christian Church is the most powerful way to support God’s will for the nation and defend Christianity.

The USA is in a national emergency. Our only hope is to surrender our lives and the nation to God and agree to obey the Lord. We have hope. It is not too late to find Gods mercy. Steven Andrew

People are very concerned. The news shows the USA is in a freedon verses tyranny national emergency. It could even be a life verses death crisis if the nation goes into captivity as happened to Israel and Judhae for their sins. If we want to honor God and have God bless our lives and nation, it is important we know: What does the Bible teach about Democrats?

I am Steven Andrew, the pastor who believes like the founding fathers. I am on a mission from God

Pray

Is the Bible your final authority or do you go by your feelings and own ways?This is Gods opinion, not mine.

For protection and national security, the nation needs to see Democrats hearts the way God does.my This is Gods opinion not my opinion.

Grist Is The Only Nonprofit Newsroom Focused On Exploring Solutions At The Intersection Of Climate And Justice

Our team of journalists remains dedicated to telling stories of climate, justice, and solutions. We aim to inspire more people to talk about climate change and to believe that meaningful change is not only possible but happening right now.;Our in-depth approach to solutions-based journalism takes time and proactive planning, which is why Grist depends on reader support.

This September, become a monthly donor, and your entire yearly amount will be matched. Grist hopes to welcome 200 new monthly members by September 30, and were closing in on our goal! Help us further advance our reporting by giving us the stable, reliable funding we need. Consider becoming a Grist member today to ensure this important work continues and thrives.

Bible Verses Violated By The Republican Party

Please note this article is not another case of a Democrat insulting the Republican party and their religious members.; I dont like either political party and Ive lost hope in the current political system until major changes are made.

While Ive lost most; interest in national politics,; some things still catch my eye. But what bothers me the most, and always gets my attention, is when a politician campaigns on a the premise that their allegiance to their God makes them a better person than the other candidate. Fast forward a few months after their election and there they are obstructing ethical legislation; for their constituents only to make their donors happy.

If a politicians; adherence to the Bible is what makes them a good person and good elected official, what do they become when they no longer adhere to the Bible?

You can understand why I feel my arguments made here are sound: The voting and campaign records of Congress are widely-available public records, and since 7 out of the 10 Bible verses I used are from either Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, meaning that 70% of this is literally the Gospel truth

You May Like: Trump Calls Republicans Idiots

James : 19 Niv: Everyone Should Be Quick To Listen Slow To Speak And Slow To Become Angry

Well THAT’S a big red flag if I ever saw one. Any of the above points show that Donald Trump does not have a reasonable filter. Whatever comes to mind comes straight out of his mouth, especially when he gets angry. If our president acts out in anger, we are going to have a lot of issues on our hands. Can you imagine how he would converse with other world leaders? What would he do if they insulted our government, or heaven forbid, Trump’s hand size? How would he react to negative criticism from countries we very much need to remain on good terms with? Not only is this dangerous, it also gives more reason for people not to respect America. It would say a lot about us if our leader had the same temperament as a two-year old in a time out. A true God following leader would participate in rational discussion, in which all sides are heard and acknowledged.

I’m not trying to tell anybody that Hilary is the Christian candidate we’re looking for. In fact, I don’t even believe we need a Christian candidate at all. This is America, where anybody of any race or religion can do the job. What I am trying to say, is that if you think Donald Trump is your closest bet to having a Christian in office, you’re making the wrong choice.

Your choice matters. Choose wisely.

Abortion Is An Integral Part Of The Vaccine Industry

For you created my inmost being;;you knit me together;in my mothers womb.;Psalm 139:13

The Bible makes clear that life begins at conception. It says that every child is a gift from God . If Jesus were here today, I am not sure if He would be carrying a sign, but we can agree He would be pro-life.

Many are surprised to find that in fact, vaccines do contain;aborted fetal tissue,;including lung and kidney tissue.

This is because scientists grow live vaccines in living tissue. You can find aborted fetal tissue in 23 total vaccines, including:

MMR

Read Also: We Are All Republicansâwe Are All Federalists

Gop Lawmaker: The Bible Says If A Man Will Not Work He Shall Not Eat

This storys headline;has been corrected. A quote from Rep. Jodey Arringtons remarks at a congressional hearing has also been added.

One lawmaker is citing a godly reference to; justify changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Rep. Jodey Arrington recently quoted the New Testament to question the strength of current work requirements.

The biblical passage, 2 Thessalonians 3-10, was a rebuttal to one of the hearings expert witnesses, a representative of the Jewish anti-hunger group MAZON. It is also a familiar refrain to anyone who has watched past debates about SNAP.

House Republicans have historically cited the verse if a man will not work, he shall not eat as justification for cutting some adults SNAP benefits. Arrington referenced the verse in a discussion;about increasing the work requirements for unemployed adults on the food stamp program. But critics say that;advances;a pernicious myth about the unemployed who receive SNAP.

The verse in question applies specifically to people who can work or otherwise contribute to society but choose not to, said theologians from several denominations who spoke to The Post. There is a perception, among some voters and lawmakers, that many adult SNAP recipients are exactly this sort of freeloader.

More from Wonkblog:

James : 26 Esv: If Anyone Thinks He Is Religious And Does Not Bridle His Tongue But Deceives His Heart This Person’s Religion Is Worthless

Wow. That was blunt. I commonly hear people say that they like Donald Trump because, “He speaks his mind.” There is a monumental difference between speaking your mind, and throwing words about without caution. The things that Donald Trump has used his platform to say should not only shock you; they should offend you. His words are rash, prejudiced, and hurtful. You don’t believe me? Here are some examples:

“You know, it really doesn’t matter what the media write as long as you’ve got a young, and beautiful, piece of a**.”

“My fingers are long and beautiful, as, it has well been documented, are various other parts of my body.”

Now I don’t know about you, but this doesn’t sound like the kind of man who has proper control over his tongue to me. Words are some of the greatest indicators of who we are. The president of our country should be able to possess certain qualities, such as engaging in foreign affairs without flying off the handle. Not only is this concerning to our national security, it is also a warning sign of poor character.

You May Like: When Did Republicans And Democrats Switch Platforms

Looking For Some More Related Articles

Take a look at these other similar type articles:

Robert

Great article Jack,Sure a lot of good points you brought up. A lot to ponder as an election grows near.

It seems like the people who get elected reflect the sentiment of the nation. If we are concerned with the economy, we vote for the people we think will fix it. If we are concerned with moral issues, we vote for those we think care about what we care about.

This may also be a way in which God judges, or blesses, a nation. As the individuals of a nation move further from God, they elect representatives that are also further from God. These representatives are then naturally going to be motivated by something other than God and His love. Therefore, the nation suffers.

On the other hand, as the individuals of a nation move closer to God and elect godly representatives, these representatives seek Gods will for themselves and the country. The nation is blessed.

Thanks again for a wonderful, thought-provoking article.

Yours in Christ,

Friendship Is The Goal Of The Gospel

What does the Bible say about voting in 2020?

Christians rightly think about salvation as forgiveness of sins and eternal life. But it is more than this. Jesus gives all who trust him the privilege of being his friends . And what is eternal life, after all? According to Jesus, this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent . He rescued us to forge an intimate relationship with the triune God . God forgives us that we might share in his triune fellowship of love forever.;

In the new creation we will enjoy true friendship with all other believers. Our future is a world of friendship.

You May Like: Republicans Wear Red Or Blue

Matthew : 28 Esv: But I Say To You That Everyone Who Looks At A Woman With Lustful Intent Has Already Committed Adultery With Her In His Heart

Now, I’m not trying to single out Donald Trump for having completely natural biological urges. All of humankind has fallen prey to the allure of lust. However, to battle with that in one’s heart and to voice it out loud to others are two completely different things.

The LORD calls men to honor and protect women. Women are handcrafted by God, and they are to be respected. Donald Trump has been quoted saying things that go directly against this God-given duty:

“Grab them by the the p*ssy.”

If that wasn’t vulgar enough for you, here’s a list of adjectives he has publicly used to describe women: Fat. Dog. Pig. Slob. Disgusting animal.

I don’t know what it’s going to take for this country to start valuing women properly, but having this guy in charge isn’t going to do it. As a woman, you should be concerned that a candidate for president is getting away with talking about your demographic like that. As a man, you should be standing up for the women in your life by saying that this is NOT okay! Young girls in this world should not grow up thinking that those words are okay because the President of the United States says them. If we elect this man, that will be the standard our girls will have for the men in their lives.

Exercising Our Civic Responsibility: What The Bible Says About Voting

Before we look at what the Bible says about voting, let us look at how our individual votes count.

Song of Solomon 2:15 says, Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes. Foxes sometimes, in search of food, would enter into the grape orchards and devour the grapes and spoil the crop. However, the little foxes were too small to reach the grape bunches so they would chew on the vines and it would kill the whole vine. Instead of the farmer just losing his crop, he would lose his vine which was more disastrous. Spiritually some things we do or allow that we might think are little or insignificant can also be disastrous for us.

Listed below are some of the little foxes that generally keep us from our civic responsibilities, in the area of voting. The devil uses these lies and others so that he can keep godly men and women away from the polls and get the candidates of his choice elected. If we do nothing, it makes it easy for the enemy to help those who could become the wrong leadership for our nation.

My one vote doesnt count anyway.

Im disillusioned by the whole political process.

Im already too busy to take the time to cast an informed vote, so I just dont vote at all.

Politics are corrupt anyway and as a Christian I dont want to be involved.

What the Bible Says About Voting

_______________________________________________________________

Don’t Miss: How Many States Are Controlled By Republicans

Achieving Racial Justice And Equity

The Bible is very clear that God does not show favoritism, and neither should his followers. So, there is no place for racism in the church or in America. The Democratic Party is absolutely just in standing strong against racism in America.;

Now, personally I think that some of the Democrats policies for eliminating racism are not biblical at all. But the fact still remains: The basic policy position is biblically just.

As the election approaches, remember: As Christians we are called to lead people to Christ, not to an elephant or a donkey. Dont allow your politics to sabotage your witness to unbelievers or your fellowship with believers.;

Our loyalty must be to Christ. So, do some research, and vote in line with the heart of Christ. Lets do our best to vote for right and just leaders, and to pray for righteousness and justice in the hearts of those who are elected.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join Impacts live outdoor worship service at 9 a.m. Sunday at 17746 George Boulevard in Victorville, or tune in online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page.

Christianity For Votes: How Republicans Are Using A Religious Facade To Gain Political Power

On full display: Rep. Ted Yoho, in his non-apology to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, remarkably argued, I cannot apologize for my passion or for loving my God, my family, and my country.

Talk of God has been brought into and out of national politics throughout American history, with various partisan and non-partisan causes, but rarely in our history has any political group weaponized faith for political goals as comprehensively as todays Republican Party. Although the name of God has been used as a rallying cry for Republicans for decades, the party that claims to support Christian values has developed a twisted ideology where the mere mention of God has become a license for injustice. Consequently, his name is being thrown out in vain by Republicans who seek to avoid being held responsible for their actions, even when those actions go directly against the Scripture.

The contradictory nature of devotional statements made by GOP;members;was put on full display in a recent scandal in Congress,;when Rep.;Ted;Yoho, R-Florida,;was forced to resign from a Christian organizations;board after publicly exhibiting a behavior profoundly opposite to the values he claimed to stand for.

Yohos non-apology

A powerful political tool

If we want to resemble a hope for uniting and healing;within our;nation, we must rebuke lies, hate and division. We must rejoice in the truth.

WANT TO ADD YOUR VOICE?

Read Also: Why Do Republicans Wear Blue Ties

Christians Cannot Serve Both God And The Gop

The Christian right is the backbone of the Republican Party. Christians of all stripes from Catholics to Protestants and evangelicals consistently vote Republican. The core tenets of the modern Republican Party, however, are at stark odds with biblical scripture.

Over the last four decades, few priorities have consumed the Republican Party more than economic policies that benefit the ultra-wealthy. The Ronald Reagan presidency, in particular, ushered in an era where corporate bottom lines took precedence over fair wages for American workers. The rise of the Reagan-Republican ethos, which preaches the elevation of over virtually all other considerations, directly influenced of American jobs to countries with vast pools of cheap labor. Ditto for union-busting and the adoption of job-killing automation in pursuit of maximum profit.

These factors, unsurprisingly, the American middle class. Moreover, Presidents Reagan, George W. Bush and Donald Trump all pursued radical tax policies that overwhelmingly; if not solely; benefitted a small group of exceptionally wealthy Americans at the expense of the working and middle classes.

Republican policies favoring the ultra-affluent, however, stand in stark contrast with biblical scripture. The Bibles condemnations of the wealthy and the accumulation of riches leave zero room for ambiguity.

In short, followers of Christ must choose between God and money.

Property was sold and the proceeds distributed to anyone who had need.

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sound-under-the-sea · 2 years

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Coven Scout: What time is it?  Steve: I don’t know, pass me that saxaphone and we’ll find out  Steve: *BLASTS the saxaphone*  Lilith: WHO THE FUCK IS PLAYING THE SAXAPHONE AT TWO IN THE FUCKING MORNING?! Steve: It’s 2 am.

#lilith clawthorne #toh steve #coven scout #the owl house #toh #incorrect quotes #totally correct coven quotes #shennanigans in the emperor’s coven #source: unknown

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christianstevefinnell · 3 years

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Are 'The Ten' Binding Today?by David Vaughn Elliott The Ten Commandments are arguably the most famous law ever written. Many people are confused about this law. Did Jesus come to destroy the law? Are the Ten Commandments God's greatest commands? Should we join the fight in the U.S. to defend them? Are "The Ten" binding on Christians today? The first three questions are discussed in Insights #143, #230, and #142. In today's Insight we discuss the final question. We will examine both some of the arguments used to answer the question in the affirmative, as well as some of the NT texts which directly speak of The Ten. To begin with, there is the question of ... "The Law of the Lord" and "the Law of Moses" The Bible frequently speaks of "the law of the Lord" and other times of "the law of Moses." Are these two different laws? Is "the law of the Lord" eternal, while "the law of Moses" was temporary? Does "law of the Lord" refer to The Ten, whereas "law of Moses" refers to other commandments which Moses wrote in the books of the Law? In 2 Chron. 31:3 we read of "the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the Lord." Note that the text refers to "the Law of the Lord," but it is not quoting The Ten. The OT often uses such expressions as "the book of the law of Moses, wherein the Lord commanded" (2 Kings 14:6). Thus we see "the Law of Moses" was not composed of Moses' ideas. It was God's law from beginning to end! Moses was just the scribe. In Nehemiah 8, Ezra reads the law to the people. In that chapter, the book of the law is called both "the book of the Law of Moses" (verse 1) and "the book of the Law of God" (verses 8, 18). The same is true in Luke 2:21-24, 39, relating what Mary and Joseph did after Jesus' birth in order to fulfill the law. Luke 2 in part refers to the requirements found in Lev. 12. In Luke 2 these requirements of Leviticus are called both "the law of Moses" (Luke 2:22) and "the law of the Lord" (Luke 2:24, 39). There was only one law before the death of Christ. It was interchangeably called "the law of the Lord," "the law of Moses" and variations of "the law of the Lord given by Moses." It included The Ten and all the other commandments found in Exodus thru Deuteronomy. One law! Can God's "Everlasting" Law Change? Various texts in the NT say that God's law was changed in Christ. (Col. 2:14; Heb. 7:12-19, etc.). But other texts in the Bible say things like: "All his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever" (Psalm 111:7-8). How can we harmonize this apparent contradiction? Does "forever" mean "forever"? In 2 Chron. 33:4 we read: "the Lord had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever." Verse 8 adds: "Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from off the land which I have appointed for your fathers, if only they will observe to do all that I have commanded them even all the law." "If only." God's "forever" includes conditions. God can change his "forever" when man sins. Jeremiah prophesied a change of covenants. One reason for the change: "My covenant they brake" (31:32). Israel broke the covenant; God planned "a new covenant" (verse 31). God also changes his covenants according to his own eternal purpose. In Gen. 17:9-14, God said: "This is my covenant... Every man child among you shall be circumcised... My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant." And yet in Gal. 5:6 we read: "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision avails any thing, nor uncircumcision." God's "everlasting covenant" of circumcision ceased when Christ died. God's commands and law can change, did change, and had to change. God had said that the Aaronic priesthood would "surely be an everlasting priesthood" (Ex. 40:13-15); yet that priesthood was changed when God made Christ our High Priest. God added: "For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law" (Heb. 7:12). Over and over in the OT "forever" and "everlasting" simply indicate that a covenant or law will continue in force, year after year and generation after generation. However, the "forever" is frequently conditioned, on the one hand, by man's faithfulness and, on the other hand, by God's own plans. Many times, in the light of total Bible teaching, "forever" can only be understood as meaning "continuously" until the arrival of the Messiah. "The Ministry of Condemnation" The NT often quotes individual commandments from The Ten. But 2 Cor. 3 is a text which discusses The Ten as a single unit. When verse 3 says, "tables (tablets) of stone," it must be speaking of The Ten. Deuteronomy 4:13 says: "He declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone." Exodus 34:28-35 narrates that at the giving of the "two tables," "the ten commandments," Moses' "face shone," so "Moses put the veil upon his face." Then 2 Cor. 3:7, 13 says: "The children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance... Moses, who put a veil over his face." Thus there can be no doubt that 2 Cor. 3 is talking about The Ten in their entirety. The chapter is contrasting The Ten (the old covenant, OT) with "the new covenant" (NT). Study the contrast: The Ten Commandments vs. the New Covenant2 Cor. 3:3....Written in tables of stone vs. Written in the heart 3:6....Of the letter, which kills vs. Of the spirit, which gives life3:6,14....The old testament vs. The new testament3:7,8....Ministration of death vs. Ministration of the spirit3:9..Ministration of condemnation vs. Ministration of righteousness3:10....No glory in comparison vs. Excelling glory3:11....Is done away vs. Remains3:13-14....Given thru Moses vs. Given thru Christ 3:14-17....A veil on the heart vs. Veil taken away; liberty The ten commandments -- in their totality, as a code of law, as a covenant of God with his people -- were a ministration of death and condemnation. Yes, it was a glorious covenant; but as the sun outshines the moon, so the new covenant outshines the old. On the basis of 2 Cor. 3, we can affirm that whatever parts of the OT may not have been done away, one thing was clearly done away: the covenant of the Ten Commandments! The Old Testament is Old; We Have a New Testament The words "testament" and "covenant" are the same word in the Greek. In each text where the Greek word is found, the various Bible versions may translate the word either way. Some 600 years before Christ, Jeremiah prophesied the coming of "a new covenant" (31:31; Heb. 8:8). Hebrews 7:22 and 8:6 says that the covenant of Jesus is "a better covenant." Then Heb. 8:13, making a contrast, says: "In that he says, A new covenant, he has made the first old." Since the Bible speaks of various covenants before Christ, it is important to correctly identify the "first," "old" covenant. Hebrews 8:9 says that it was the one that God made with Israel when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. Hebrews 9 further identifies "the first covenant" (verse 1), by giving many details. There was a tabernacle and candlestick (verse 2). There was an "ark of the covenant," in which were "the tables of the covenant" (verse 4). We have already identified these tables as containing The Ten. So the "tables of the covenant" (The Ten) were an integral part of the covenant which, when Hebrews was written, "decays and waxes old" and was "ready to vanish away" (8:13). Hebrews 9:14-17 explains that the new testament came into effect at the death of Christ. And 10:9 says: "He takes away the first that he may establish the second." Ephesians 2:11-22, addressed to "Gentiles in the flesh," explains that before Christ they were "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants." Verse 14 explains that before Christ there was a "wall of partition between us," (between Jews and Gentiles). But Christ broke down the wall, "having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances" (2:13-15). Thus it is clear that the old commandments (The Ten and the rest) formed a divisive wall between Jews and Gentiles. But Christ, dying on the cross, put an end to the old covenant, thus breaking down the wall, so that in its place both Jews and Gentiles could receive a glorious New Testament! Nine of the Ten Are Repeated in the NT How could the ten commandments be done away? Is it all right today to steal, to murder, to dishonor parents? Of course not. Nine of The Ten are repeated in the NT. Some are repeated in identical words, while others are found in synonymous expressions. The Ten themselves, found in Ex. 20 and Deut. 5, are here shown in abbreviated form. The Ten Commandments in the New Covenant1. Have no other gods.....Lk.4:6-8; 1 Co.8:5,6; 1 Ti.2:52. Do not bow down to any image.....Jn.4:24; Acts 17:29; 1 Co.6:93. Do not use God's name in vain.....Mt.15:19; Ro.2:24; 1 Ti.1:204. Do not work on the seventh day.....----------------------------5. Honor your father and mother.....Mt.15:4; Lk.18:20; Eph.6:26. Do not kill.....Mt.15:19; Lk.18:20; Rom.13:97. Do not commit adultery.....Mt.15:19; Lk.18:20; 1 Co.6:98. Do not steal.....Mt.15:19; Lk.18:20; 1 Co.6:109. Do not bear false witness.....Mt.15:19; Lk.18:20; Rom.13:910. Do not covet.....Mt.5:28; Rom.13:9; 1 Co.6:10 The fourth commandment of The Ten is not commanded in the NT. Jesus, indeed, living under the law, kept the Sabbath. He also corrected some false concepts held in his day regarding the Sabbath. But there is no record of Jesus ever commanding anybody to keep the Sabbath. Nor did the Apostles ever command it. Today we must obey nine of The Ten -- not because they were part of The Ten, but because they are a part of the New Covenant. In a later Insight, Lord willing, we will examine the Sabbath question in depth. The Ten Commandments in their entirety, as a code of law, as a covenant, are not binding upon us today. As a code of law, they are old and done away. Nevertheless, nine of The Ten must be obeyed -- not because they are part of The Ten, but because they are part of the New Testament. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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quranreadalong · 6 years

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#124, Surah 23

THE QURAN READ-ALONG: DAY 124

Surah 23 is called Al-Muminun, meaning “The Believers”. As far as I recall, it does not contain a single original thought that we have not seen in a previous surah. Because of that, I’m gonna pad this surah with a lot of shit that hasn’t fit in anywhere else. We got some history lessons, we got some, uh, abortion debate. Get ready.

Most of this late Meccan surah concerns Mohammed yelling at disbelievers who question certain aspects of his theology, like resurrection and the afterlife. While the surah as a whole is undoubtedly from Mecca, there are some who believe that parts of it, including the first eleven ayat, are from Medina. You’ll see why in a sec.

The best thing about Al-Muminun is that we’ll only have two more suwar more than 100 ayat long to go once we’ve finished it.

The possibly Medinan, possibly Meccan introductory ayat state the following: Muslims who are humble before Allah in their prayers are awesome and will be successful in life. They avoid “vain conversation” and pay the zakat. They do not have sex with anyone except their wives or their sex slaves. (Those who do have sex with women who are not their slaves or wives are transgressors.) They keep their covenant with Allah and keep up their prayers, so they will go to jannah.

Right. So... what have we got here? It’s mostly neutral, as each ayah is a short little line. I’ll put down the raping of sex slaves as bad and the avoidance of “vain conversation” and paying the zakat as good as per usual.

Here are a few reasons why this section might’ve been from the Medina days. First of all, as you’ll see, the style of these ayat is different from those that come after them--the rest of the surah has longer ayat, and the section after this starts with a totally different train of thought. Second, most (but not all) of the time the word “zakat” is used, it’s a Medinan ayah. (Some say that the zakat mentioned here is meant in a general sense of paying money to the community, rather than the specific tax from Medina with all the rules associated with it.) Finally, the only other suwar that allow raping sex slaves are from Medina. It’s totally possible that this is nonetheless from Mecca, but it’s hard to tell either way. I guess it doesn’t matter much, tho.

Anyway, today’s second section concerns an entirely different topic: fetal development! Allah created humanity (Adam) from clay, “Then placed him as a drop (of seed) in a safe lodging”, ie in his mother’s womb. The “him” here appears to refer to humanity in general, since it doesn’t really make sense in the context of Adam himself. Lo! Allah needeth to work on making his pronouns clearer.

The word translated as “a drop (of seed)” here, by the way, is nutfah. This literally means a drop of liquid, and in the context of conceiving a child refers to semen. So Mohammed is saying that from Adam and Eve’s kids onwards, humans have been created by men splooging into women, thereby forming babies that grow inside their mothers. Fair enough!

The embryology lesson continues in 23:14:

Then fashioned We the drop a clot, then fashioned We the clot a little lump, then fashioned We the little lump bones, then clothed the bones with flesh, and then produced it as another creation.

So the timeline here is semen -> clot -> lump -> bones -> bones with flesh -> baby. A hadith from Sahih Bukhari elaborates:

The creation of every one of you starts with the process of collecting the material for his body within forty days and forty nights in the womb of his mother. Then he becomes a clot of thick blood for a similar period (40 days) and then he becomes like a piece of flesh for a similar period. Then an angel is sent to him (by Allah) and the angel is allowed (ordered) to write four things; his livelihood, his (date of) death, his deeds, and whether he will be a wretched one or a blessed one (in the Hereafter) and then the soul is breathed into him.

From this, the “drop” stage lasts until day 40 or so. The “clot” stage lasts until 80 days, and the “lump” stage until 120 days. After each stage is completed, according to another hadith, an angel reports to Allah and Allah decides whether he wants the pregnancy to continue or not. After 120 days, the bone stage begins, at which point the fetus receives a soul, its destiny, and becomes “alive” in a religious sense. At least according to that. This other sahih hadith in Sahih Muslim implies something else:

When forty-two nights pass after the semen gets into the womb, Allah sends the angel and gives him shape. Then he creates his sense of hearing, sense of sight, his skin, his flesh, his bones, and then says: My Lord, would he be male or female? And your Lord decides as He desires and the angel then puts down that also and then says: My Lord, what about his age? And your Lord decides as He likes it and the angel puts it down. Then he says: My Lord, what about his livelihood? And then the Lord decides as He likes and the angel writes it down, and then the angel gets out with his scroll of destiny in his hand and nothing is added to it and nothing is subtracted from it.

Here, it seems like the fetus’ destiny is decided much earlier on--with the process starting closer to 40 days and its endpoint being left unspecified. This doesn’t explicitly have the breathing-in-soul part, but it nonetheless suggests some form of humanity or “life” is present at an early stage of pregnancy, as the fetus’ lifespan, sex, occupation, etc are all decided here.

Now you may be wondering, based on the above, how Islam in the modern era approaches abortion. The answer: it’s complicated, just like other religions. Like Jesus (one of the rare times I can use this phrase!!), Mohammed did not discuss women intentionally terminating their pregnancies anywhere, either in the Quran or in any ahadith. So Islamic jurists have had to base their opinions on everything I quoted above. Everyone agrees that after 120 days (~17 weeks), it’s not allowed, unless the mother is literally dying or the fetus itself is dying or something.

The question is whether it’s okay before that or not. Some schools of Islamic jurisprudence say it is frowned upon but allowable, at least in some circumstances, based on the Bukhari hadith. Others say it’s absolutely forbidden after 40 days, based on the Muslim hadith, but allowed before that. Still other jurists say it isn’t allowed, period, based on the prohibition against killing one’s children. So to summarize, the main positions on abortion are:

never allowed

allowed up to ~40 days

allowed up to 120 days

Which is correct? No one knows! No one can agree! There is evidence for all three opinions! You can read more about this debate here if you want, but see what happens when you bill yourself as a prophet but can’t get your stories straight... damn it Mohammed!

Anyway...! I assume it goes without saying that, uh, none of the above is an accurate description of fetal development, nor are other... curious ahadith about the topic. It is instead based on what the products of a woman’s miscarriage look like--clotted blood, small lump, identifiable fetus--at the given stages, and the designation of the 120 days point for ensoulment is due to the fact that this is the point at which fetal movement can be felt by the mother (17-18 weeks). This is called “quickening” in English, literally meaning the point at which something comes alive, so in fairness to Mohammed, he’s not the only one who thought of that.

This turned out to be a long section, so I’ll wrap it up with 23:15-16, which just says that all people die and will be raised on the Day of Resurrection. All of that is neutral I guess.

NEXT TIME: Cows! Olive oil!! Death by drowning!!!

The Quran Read-Along: Day 124

Ayat: 16

Good: 2 (23:3-4)

Neutral: 13 (23:1-2, 23:5, 23:7-16)

Bad: 1 (23:6)

Kuffar hell counter: 0

⇚ previous day | next day ⇛

#quranreadalong #surah 23 #al muminun

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drdehooks · 4 years

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The first part of this message is a paraphrased quote from Creflo Dollar’s teaching “Living Under the Correct Covenant” Part 4, and the next part is what God gave me from listening to part of the teaching.

It’s time to STOP pointing fingers and blaming people who you think caused your life to be messed up, and get a relationship with Jesus, and ALLOW Him to straighten your life out!! Creflo Dollar

Holding onto unforgiveness is keeping YOU in bondage; most times those people you blame for messing up your life, don’t have a clue they did anything to you, they have passed on, or know and just don’t care!! You cannot continue to live in bondage to those thoughts; turn that stuff over to God and He will help you forgive, and release those people from your soul!!

I know about being hurt at an early age by my parents, and it continued on throughout my adult life, with seven abusive marriages, betrayal, after betrayal by people who I thought were my Friends, mostly in the Church, betrayed by Pastors, my Family, etc. The majority of my life, I have lived in one pain after the next; the last major betrayal was in 2014, which I just wanted to die - I prayed to God for Him to take my life it was soooo bad!! It was like my heart was being ripped out of my chest!! It took me really up unto last year to get over that thing!! When I wanted to give up, God would not allow me to; Holy Spirit was pushing me from the inside out - giving me the strength to go on!!

Thank God He didn’t allow me to die; thank God Holy Spirit was giving me inner strength to go on; thank God that Jesus carried me when I was too weak to walk on my own!! God is the reason I am here today; God did this - God brought me out of that horrible pit of depression, and put NEW life in me, and gave me a will to live!! I owe God my life, and I give it to Him FREELY FOREVER!!

I don’t normally give my testimony, and this is a very, very small part of where God has brought me from, but this is what I feel God wants me to share now; someone needs to hear this!!

For so very long I was angry with my parents, especially my Mom, for abandoning me when I was around 2 years old; I felt neglected and unwanted!! But thank God for my Great, Great Grandmother, Lula McGrady, the one God told me in 2007 to name my Nonprofit after!! She took me in loved me, and raised me until I was 17 years old, and I moved from GA to FL to be with my Father! Grandmother Lula was my Mother, Father, Sister, Brother, was EVERYTHING to me!!

During those years after I moved to FL, I was hurt by a lot of people, including my parents even after I left GA, but God softened my heart for them; God let me knew they had issues themselves and they loved me the best way they could. I found out that people who we expect to love us, and they hurt us, they are not capable of loving us because they have issues themselves, and when we put pressure (they see it as being pressured) on them to love us, they act out even more - they don’t know how to love, nor know how to be responsible for someone else!

I kept marrying to find love, looking to people who I thought were my Friends for love, looking to Family, Church, and running here and there (carrying ALL that baggage from my early childhood) but could not find love - I search everywhere!! But I didn’t run to God; didn’t know God loved me - no strings attached!! I didn’t know I didn’t have to search for love, because God had loved me before I was born, He loved me when I was not thinking about Him, when I didn’t know Him!! Jesus died for me because He loved me; I didn’t have to make God love me, He loved me because He is my Father!! WOW!! What am AMAZING moment when I realized, God loved me!! And He wanted me to come to Him just like I was; God wanted me to stop running, and allow Him to heal me from the inside out!! God wanted a relationship with me, but I was too broken to see in; God ALWAYS had been with me but I didn’t know it!!

That’s what God wants for you; He loves you and wants a relationship with you and to heal you from the inside out!! Will you say yes to God, by accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior right now? If you are born again already, do you have an intimate relationship with God? If you have backsilden, come home, God is waiting on you - Jesus has His arms opened wide to receive you!!

Now I know, I am loved by my Father God, and I now believe my Mother and natural Father, loved me too, they showed me the best way they could - they are both gone, and I miss them VERY MUCH😪😪!! I thank God for reconciling me to them - my Mother before she passed, and my Father after he passed - God helped me forgive them both!!

God has done a 360 degree turn around in my life; I have no bitterness in my heart against anyone who ever hurt me!! ALL glory goes to God, BUT I had to make a CHOICE to forgive everyone - forgiveness is a CHOICE, not a FEELING!!

Of course it was hard but the more I begin to listen to the Word, desiring a deeper relationship with God, allowing the love of God to transform me from the inside out, allowing Holy Spirit to take out the bitterness, and fill me with His Gifts, and guide me, I begin to see a difference in my life, the people I could not stand to be around, I begin to behave differently around them - I didn’t mind being around them!!

That’s Holy Spirit doing, cleaning my soul, changing old behaviors, from the inside out!! And me working with Holy Spirit by transforming my mind with the Word; I have to take time from everything else, and spend time in the Word, go to Church and listen to the Word, spend time with God!!

Once we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, instantly our spirit man is regenerated, but not our soul!! It’s up to us to renew our minds (soul which house our mind, will, emotions), with the Word of God, so the soul can come into agreement with the Holy Spirit living in our spirit man, and then the body will follow!

If you need a physical healing (you already healed by Jesus’ stripes in the spirit realm), to manifest your healing in your body, your soul MUST come into agreement with your spirit man (Holy Spirit), your soul MUST be convinced through the Word, that you are healed, which causes it to see itself as God see it - healed and restored - this is your real identity in Christ, you ARE the healed and restored of the Lord!! Jesus HAS ALREADY carried away from you, sin, sickness, disease, infirmities, pain, sorrow, guilt, shame, and EVERYTHING else that comes to steal, kill, and destroy from you or your Family!! YOU have authority to open your mouth and rebuke the devil, don’t sit passively by and allow the devil to destroy you!! If you have accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, the only power the devil has over you is what YOU give him!! KICK him OUT your life!!

I am soooo very thankful to God, for the Place of Worship He has assigned me to, Lisbon Church, and my Leaders Bishop Gary Greer, and Cheri Greer!! I am learning so much!! I thank God for all the other avenues of learning God has given me too, like being able to attend Pastor Pat Lawerence’s Church, Living Grace, on Tuesday nights, right now we are studying, “Spirit, Soul, and Body” by Andrew Wommack (here is Andrew’s site that has that teaching: https://www.awmi.net/popular/), and I am listening to Pastor Creflo Dollar’s teachings on Grace and the Covenants! I am saturating my soul with the Word, and allowing Holy Spirit to work in me!!

I also thank God for all the other Ministries and Leaders where I have been, all the way back to when I was a child growing up in Church!! No experience I have ever gone through, good or bad, is a waste; God has turned all that stuff around that was bad, for my good, and is now using it all, to help others!!

This is just a snippet of my life; of where God has brought me from and still bringing me through things - as they say, “I have left the station, but have not arrived!!” As you see, I know pain, betrayal, deception, and bitterness which is the principality (root cause) of unforgiveness (check out the teaching on “Principality of Bitterness” by Dr. Art Mathias, taken from his book, with his permission, “Biblical Foundations of Freedom Destroying Satan’s Lies With God’s Truth!”

http://www.recovery4abusedwoman.org/files/38488412.pdf

If Holy Spirit has brought someone to your mind as you were reading this that you need to forgive, do it. Whatever you are doing stop and forgive that person; God has already forgiven you, because Jesus took all your sins, upon Himself and delivered you from death (wages of sin is death)!!

God is NOT mad at you, He loves you and wants you TOTALLY free in your mind (soul) - you are free because of Jesus but as long as you decide to hold onto unforgiveness, you are holding your own self in bondage! Let them go! No, you are not excusing what they done, it was horrible, you are freeing yourself - remember, God has forgiven you because Jesus loved you so much, He died so you could live, so forgive your Brother, Sister, or who ever else you need to forgive!

Make a decision that this is the day, October 30, 2019, you are going to let go of old grudges, and allow Holy Spirit to saturate your being with the love of God; allow Holy Spirit to take all that STUFF out of your soul, as YOU surrender to Him, by FIRST surrendering to Jesus, and diving into the Word, so your mind (soul) can transformed so you can learn who your Heavenly Father is, who Jesus is, who Holy Spirit is, and who you are!! ALL things ARE possible with God, IF YOU only believe - believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you SHALL be saved!!

God’s Blessings to you and your Families!!

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catholiccom-blog · 7 years

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A Primer on Richard Rohr

Full Question

I've heard that Fr. Richard Rohr teaches some pretty sketchy stuff. Do you know anyone who has a summary of his teachings?

Answer

For whatever good he does, Fr. Richard Rohr, O.F.M., is not a reliable teacher of the Catholic Faith. All quotes below by Fr. Rohr are taken from his book Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer.

To Fr. Richard Rohr, Jesus Christ is an ideal guide of sorts, but he’s not truly Lord.

Jesus made clear that he came to save the world (John 3:16), and to this end he founded and commissioned his Church to make disciples off all nations (Matt. 28:18-20). Jesus made clear that he is uniquely the way, truth, and life (John 14:6), that his truth would set us free (John 8:31-32), that those who listened to his apostles and their successors listened to him, and that those who didn’t rejected him and his heavenly Father who sent him (Luke 10:16).

Jesus wasn’t afraid to be a demanding teacher, and many left him when they couldn’t stomach his teaching, e.g., on the Eucharist (John 6:47-71). Jesus also proclaimed that he came to bring a sword and not peace if peace meant a false irenicism in which merely human family members were chosen at the expense of faithful alliance with him, their Savior (Matt. 10:34-39).

Rohr’s Jesus is much more benign. For Rohr, Jesus merely gives “ideal eyes by which to see the real nature of reality” (emphasis added). “Real nature” is important, because Rohr does not present Catholicism as it really is. Rather, it’s a non-demanding, non-threatening, ultimately optional way of life: "The gospel is not a competing idea. It’s that by which see all ideas in proper context. We believe as Christians that Jesus gave us the ideal eyes by which to see the real nature of reality. He does not lead with his judgments"(95, emphasis original).

Some might say Rohr is at least partially right. For example, Jesus did not lead with judgment against the woman at the well (John 4). But after introducing himself as the Messiah and showing the woman her worth, he called her to holiness, noting she had been married five times and was living with someone to whom she wasn’t married. Rohr misses this in assessing the Gospel as he overlooks the hard words Jesus has about various sins in the Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere: "But note that Jesus’ concept of 'the reign of God' is totally positive—not fear-based or against any individual, group, sin or problem" (107, emphasis original).

Even more fundamentally, Rohr falls into religious indifferentism regarding the basic mission of Christ and his Church:

I think Christianity has created a great problem in the Western world by repeatedly presenting itself, not as a way of seeing all things, but as one competing ideology among others. . . . Simone Weil, the brilliant French resistor [a woman who sadly declined to be baptized and become Catholic], said that 'the tragedy of Christianity is that it came to see itself as replacing other religions instead of adding something to all of them.' I could not agree more (93, emphasis added).

Rohr provides insight into his spiritual outlook when he reveals that he believes in apokatastasis (also spelled apocatastasis), a heresy known more in modern times as “universalism,” which teaches that all the damned, whether men or women or fallen angels, will ultimately be restored and join God in heavenly glory for all eternity. This belief was made somewhat popular by the Church Father Origen, who was misguided on a number of doctrinal matters.

Citing unnamed early Church Fathers, Rohr describes this “universal restoration” as “the real meaning” of Christ’s resurrection, which means that God’s love is “so perfect and so victorious that in fact it would finally win out in every single person’s life” (131). He erroneously says that this view “gave rise to the mythology of purgatory” (131). He adds incorrectly that apocatastasis is not a heresy:

When I read the history of the church and its dogma, I see apokatastasis was never condemned as heretical. We may believe it if we want to. We were never told we had to believe it, but neither was it condemned (132, emphasis original).

It’s true that some people, like St. Gregory of Nyssa, espoused apocatastasis in the early Church when the Church had not pronounced definitively on the matter. But as the belief spread it was condemned by the regional Council of Constantinople in 543, and Pope Vigilius confirmed the council's pronouncements.

Ten years later, the Second Council of Constantinople, an ecumenical or universal council, reaffirmed the condemnation of various heretics and “their sinful works,” including Origen, with no correction on the recent condemnation of apocatastasis (canon 11). If apocatastasis were indeed true, the Church’s infallible teachings on mortal sin and the eternal punishment of hell, for example, would be rendered meaningless.

It is true, as Rohr says, that the Church has never pronounced that any particular person is in hell (132). But the Church has reaffirmed the existence of hell and its eternal punishments, most recently in Pope Paul VI’s Credo of the People of God (12) and the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1033-37). Lest there be any doubt, the Catechism affirms—citing St. John Damascene, who lived from 676 to 749—“There is no repentance for the angels after their fall, just as there is no repentance for men after death” (393).

In light of his espousal of apocatastasis, Rohr’s book title—Everything Belongs—makes more sense. In the end, there is no condemnation, only reconciliation and eternal communion with God: “For me, the utter powerlessness of God is that God forgives. . . . God seems to be so ready to surrender divine power” (153). Rohr’s God is all mercy, and a distorted mercy at that, and thus there is no justice.

Consequently, for Rohr there is a tension between truth and love. Jesus says that his truth will set us free (John 8:32), but Rohr says “the law does not give life; only the Spirit gives life, as Paul teaches in Romans and Galatians” (40). But Paul is speaking of the Old Covenant law, not the liberating New Covenant law of Jesus, and Rohr overlooks St. Paul’s hard pronouncements on mortal sin and damnation. “True religion is always about love. Love is the ultimate reality” (103), Rohr adds, whereas “a lot that’s called orthodoxy, loyalty and obedience is grounded in fear” (102). “The great commandment is not ‘thou shalt be right,’” he says. “The great commandment is to ‘be in love’” (88).

Love trumps truth, because God will win out in every person’s life, Rohr says, since “God will turn all our human crucifixions into resurrection” (132). Here Rohr fails to see that hell is man’s “definitive self-exclusion from communion with God” (CCC 1033, emphasis added), and that true love entails not compelling one to have communion. God will not force us to accept heaven.

In citing Acts 3:21 to defend universal restoration, Rohr fails to see that those who will not listen to the prophet—namely, Jesus—will be destroyed (Acts 3:23). This is not to pronounce eternal judgment on non-Catholics and thus exclude invincible ignorance but rather to affirm further that hell exists and that human beings can choose it. Choices do have consequences, some of them possibly eternal. In that light, the Second Vatican Council Fathers teaches in sober urgency regarding non-Catholics:

But often men, deceived by the Evil One, have become vain in their reasonings and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, serving the creature rather than the Creator. Or some there are who, living and dying in this world without God, are exposed to final despair. Wherefore to promote the glory of God and procure the salvation of all of these, and mindful of the command of the Lord, 'Preach the Gospel to every creature,' the Church fosters the missions with care and attention" (Lumen Gentium 16, emphasis added, footnotes omitted).

In contrast, even though Jesus founded Catholic Church (Matt. 16:18-19) and gave the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20), for Rohr the Church and her mission are not so important and urgent:

Institutional religion is a humanly necessary but also immature manifestation of this 'hidden mystery' by which God is saving the world. . . . Institutional religion is never an end in itself, but merely a wondrous and 'uncertain trumpet' of the message (180, emphasis original).

I personally do not believe that Jesus came to found a separate religion as much as he came to present a universal message of vulnerability and foundational unity that is necessary for all religions, the human soul, and history itself to survive. Thus Christians can rightly call him “the Savior of the world” (John 4:42) but no longer in the competitive and imperialistic way that they have usually presented him. By very definition, vulnerability and unity do not compete or dominate. n fact, they make competition and domination impossible. The cosmic Christ is no threat to anything but separateness, illusion, domination, and any imperial ego. In that sense, Jesus, the Christ, is the ultimate threat, but first of all Christians themselves. Only then will they have any universal and salvific message for the rest of the world" (181-82, emphases added).

Jesus Christ does indeed love all and thus died for all, but the true unity he preaches requires a choice to accept or reject him and his Church, as he preached 2,000 years ago. The Christ whom Rohr preaches is not the authentic Jesus, and his related proclamation of the gospel is not the one that that the Church has proclaimed and safeguarded for 2,000 years with the power of Holy Spirit. As a result, Rohr remains an unreliable and spiritually dangerous guide for Catholic and non-Catholic alike.

#Catholic Answers #Richard Rohr #Tom Nash #Ask An Apologist #Contemplative Prayer

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