Religion has always been a fascination of mine. So much so that I have taken it upon myself to read and study a lot of religious texts. I have read the KJV and derivatives probably more times than most sitting in church this coming Sunday. I have read the Mormon texts, I am familiar with SDA, JW, teachings, I have studied Buddhism, Jainism, and other such religions, a few years ago I finished the English translation of the Quran. I am most familiar with Christianity tho, and will concentrate this post around the teachings of the KJV (or derivatives, if you prefer).

What I'm not:

• I'm not here to win an argument
• I’m not here to change your mind
• I'm not here to show you how silly your little christian beliefs are
• I'm not here to impress anyone with my vast knowledge and intellect. It's non existent, so no worries there.

What I am:

• I am a rather direct speaker. I've always thought that direct conversation was the best. You may not like what I say, you may not agree with what I say, what I say may even offend (Which I will try not to do), but you probably won't wonder much about how I feel about any certain topic.
• I do speak with a bit of snark. Sarcasm is a valid form of humor, and I received a double dose, but I will try to temper that for the audience.
• I do support your right to worship as you see fit. In the US I will fight for your right to do just that, as long as it strictly meets 3 criteria: Legal (obvious), Peaceful (obvious), but one that is not so obvious to a lot of people is that your religion stays out of my politics. This is by design and I cannot think of one civilization that has existed with a religiously dominated government, that turned out great. They all turn out bad, bad, mainly because you have two factions vying for all the power and dominance, but using each other to achieve that goal.

My issue lies in the belief in an omnipotent god. I have asked these questions of just about everyone who expresses a belief in a deity and practices a religion. At this point, all religions/gods/beliefs are the same to me. I realize you have made your choice, and firmly adhere to that choice...you are convinced. They are all the same to me in that every one of them basically state the same thing: "If you do not believe the way we believe and worship the god we worship, then you will not go to our heaven (eternal reward), but will go to our hell (eternal damnation.)" Now, they all have their different avenues by which they receive reward or damnation, but that is the crux as I see it.

Omnipotent god: In a nutshell, christianity believes in an omnipotent god. A god who does all, sees all, knows all, created all, seen and unseen. For the sake of a baseline, what would an omnipotent god know about me personally. I hear you say 'EVERYTHING", but lets try to quantize that. An omnipotent god of this caliber would know me on a cellular level. When I brushed my hair this morning, an omnipotent god would be intimately familiar with the skin cells that sloughed off in the process. This god would know me on a molecular level, an atomic or sub atomic level, a level scientist can't wrap their noodle around at this point. An omnipotent god of this caliber would know every last word I am about to write before I write it.

At this point, most christians would agree, that yes indeed their god knows us on levels that boggle the mind. Herein lies the rub tho. If this god knows us and is so familiar with us, then he knows something else too:

• An omnipotent god would have express foreknowledge of those who will spend eternity in reward, or damnation. God would either emphatically know this bit of information and retain his omnipotence, or he does not, and is not omnipotent, and therefore not worth of my worship and adulation. You cannot insert a ‘but’ into omnipotence.

When did he know this? He knew long before there was anything to call anything. When the earth was null and void. Jeremiah 1:5 - Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations. So, he created a human being, with express foreknowledge that person x would receive eternal reward, and person y would receive eternal damnation. Again, he either knows this and is omnipotent, or he does not and therefore is not omnipotent.

If I were to boil the ox down to the bouillon cube, there is one pivot that the entire biblical story rests on, and it's not Jesus coming to the earth to die on the cross for 'our sins'. No, it rests on the creation of angels, and one angel in specific: Lucifer.

God knew, before there was anything to call anything, that he would create Lucifer initially in a 'blameless' form, that Lucifer would rebel against God, God would kick him out of heaven, Lucifer would tempt the first two humans, they would sin, and this would plunge the world into sin, sorrow, pain, agony, and suffering......and he did it anyway. He created sin. In fact he sort of brags about it in Isaiah 45:7 - 'I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.'

This also calls into question our own freewill. True freewill, in my thinking, would be the ability to do something that an omnipotent god didn't anticipate. That would be freewill. But if an omnipotent god already knows all, then there is no freewill. What do we know about things that god knows? They happen! The entire book of Revelations is aout what IS going to happen, not what COULD or MIGHT happen. Christians themselves vocalize this notion regularly saying: 'God has a PLAN for your life'.

Could Lucifer have had freewill? Could he have passed on his attempt to take over heaven? If so, would god have to create a Lucifer 2.0 in order to carry out the rest of the biblical story? Without Lucifer, the whole story kind of falls apart. There would be no sin, sorrow, suffering, agony, no hell. Imagine!

Take any biblical story...say Noah and the Flood. Beyond the fact that this event is scientifically impossible, we'll just imagine that 40 days and 40 nights of the most torrential, global, downpour the likes that have never been seen, would raise the sea level to the current highest peak on our planet. The logistics of a vessel that would not only house two of every animal, but enough sustenance to feed and maintain them are outrageous. An omnipotent god knew before he created the inhabitants of this earth, that they would not do as he commanded, that he would send magic water to cover the entire earth killing all, save Noah, his family, and two of every animal. He knew it for fact, and did it anyways.

It's very hard for me to hear christians talk about a loving and just god, when he does these kind of things. There are a small handful of people I truly love on this earth. I love them unconditionally, meaning, there is nothing they have to do to receive my love, and there is nothing they can do to make it stop. One of them is a ladyfriend I've known for over 40 years. I don't go over to her house and beat the crap out of her do I? No. For one, I don't know that much karate. LOL Mostly because we do not intentionally cause pain to those we love. However, this loving, just, god does exactly that. That seems very twisted.

The word know’ shows up in the KJV about 700+ times. 'That ye may know ye are sons of god.' In Job, 'I know my redeemer livith.' There seems to be a whole lot of knowing. But when I ask, 'How do you know' the answers are vast. Even though I have never seen a phenomenon called wind, I know emphatically that it exists. I can prove it, I can demonstrate it, I know the mechanics of what causes wind, I can even create it. So, even tho I've never physically seen wind, I KNOW it exists.

It gets a little tricky when you ask a christian 'how do you know you are going to eternal reward.' Most of the time the convo digresses to circular reasoning which gets one nowhere. You cannot prove a negative. Some would say 'I have faith'. That's all well and good, but I suggest that everyone on this planet that is alive or has ever been alive, all had faith. Faith is not unique enough to bet your eternal soul on.

The attendees at the Jim Jones massacre party....do you think they had faith? Absolutely. They had faith to the last drop. Now, I realize towards the end of the party, some faith was wavering and they were shot, but for the most part they had unwaiverable faith. Take the Heavens Gate people. Did they have faith? Yes. I do believe all these people had faith and were quite sincere in their beliefs, tho I believe they were sincerely wrong unfortunately. However, everyone has faith. Even the most obnoxious, militant atheist has faith. Faith by it's very definition is not knowing. So, right off the bat, when you say you have faith, that's not enough for me.

Some would say that they had an epiphany or a profound change in their lives. Again, that is awesome that you saw an area of your life that was causing you trouble, and took steps to remedy that situation. However, profound changes happen to people 24/7/365 on a global basis. Profound changes are not enough to bet one's eternal soul on.

When I ask these questions of people of faith, I am most often confronted by 'How dare you question an almighty god!', to which I reply, 'I dare because I am supposedly one of his creations, and he gave us a direct order to do just that. He said '...test the spirits to see if they are of god for many false prophets will come.' Also, 'Come, let us reason together...' So this is a direct command to question. All knowledge and wisdom comes from a single question, so why not ask it?

Not only are we OK with immoral, inhumane treatment of humans, whose only "crime" may be seeking a better life for themselves and their families, but we are making fun of it and celebrating it. Humans in literal cages, in the heat of the swamp, unprotected from the elements, treated worse than we treat animals in this country. This makes us no better than the people who jeered and laughed at Jesus on the cross.

I feel the tears and pain of Jesus as he looks upon us, wondering how we could even claim him. I keep saying there are no words for what is happening, for what our country is becoming, but I am working hard to find a way to let the world know this is not me, this is not who I am, not who my friends are, not what America is supposed to be. If my heart is broken, I can't even contemplate how Jesus is feeling about His people right now.

Colours.

Colours. A funny word. Some people can live without it, some cannot, some create it everyday. We have our own preferences of colours. Blue, green, yellow, red, etc. etc. But the most interest of all the colours to me are black and white. White is often depicted as a sybol of all goodness, purity, Godliness, and all good things. Black is the symbol of rudeness, profane things, and so on.

But, the God who made day also made night. The great God who made the daylight so bright also made the nightsky so dark. All these preconceptions for thousands of years, influenced by different cultures, have poisoned the mids of all men.

What if we stopped thinking like that? What if, instead of thinking of the devil as some black/red figure with horns, he was an angel of light, who deceives all men of all good in their lives? That is something to think about.

I'm not trying to say stop using white for holy things. I'm just saying: some things are not as they seem, and the devil can use anyy tactic to pull you over to his side...
Share some of your thoughts as well. I may be wrong on this matter, so feel free to correct me too.

@christianity@lemmy.world

#whatif #thoughts

I was taught that God made us all in his image and to treat others as you would be treated. I still believe that.

This man began teaching in 2003, and was asked to sign a morality clause each year. His husband died in 2023, and at the end of the 2024-2025 school year, a disgruntled parent searched his name on the internet and found him listed as a surviving spouse.

It's heartbreaking enough to imagine losing a partner after 22 years (they met in 2001), but to add to that the insult of being fired in the name of "morality," after spending 22 years working in a school community that he describes as having felt like his own family, is simply appalling.

There has always been unnecessary evil and suffering in the world. It's a story as old as time unfortunately. However, when I look around my country right now, it feels like I'm watching so much evil being committed in the name of Jesus, as though this is the message that he wanted people to remember and spread when he made the ultimate sacrifice.

The reality is that this teacher is only one person, with one story of injustice and hypocrisy being carried out in Jesus' name. He is one person in a country with countless other stories happening every day.

You don't have to look very hard to see the evidence of families being torn apart, terrified children screaming for their parents as they're separated by unidentified masked strangers, and the people responsible for this (who are making a fortune with these policies btw) claiming that this is what is best for the country. That what they are doing is steering America back towards "Christian" values.

There isn't much I can do or say when I see evil happening in other parts of the world, where children are being killed and starved in the name of religion. It's painfully frustrating, but it's also a fact of reality.

What's even more frustrating though, is that I've learned there also isn't much I can do even when I see evil happening in my own backyard.

However, I can make a choice to not be silent about it, especially when I see Christ being removed from what is being called "Christianity." The religion I was born into, which in many ways is part of my own cultural identity, is being exploited and used in name only, to weaponize evil. I won't just shut up about it and pretend it's not happening.

My voice is all I have, and I will use it to defend Christianity against blasphemy, at least for as long as it's allowed in a country that allegedly so highly values free speech and liberty.

What is happening in America right now is wrong. An evil chapter of history being written in front of us, whether you want to see it or not, and things will only be getting worse.

Choosing to stay silent while its being written in your own backyard, is your choice. You don't need to defend that choice to me, but don't forget that one day you will have to explain yourself, and defend it to someone much more important.

I was taught that God made us all in his image and to treat others as you would be treated. I still believe that.

This man began teaching in 2003, and was asked to sign a morality clause each year. His husband died in 2023, and at the end of the 2024-2025 school year, a disgruntled parent searched his name on the internet and found him listed as a surviving spouse.

It's heartbreaking enough to imagine losing a partner after 22 years (they met in 2001), but to add to that the insult of being fired in the name of "morality," after spending 22 years working in a school community that he describes as having felt like his own family, is simply appalling.

There has always been unnecessary evil and suffering in the world. Unfortunately, it's a story as old as time unfortunately. However, when I look around my country right now, it feels like I'm watching so evil being committed in the name of Jesus, as though this is the message that he wanted people to remember and spread when he made the ultimate sacrifice.

The reality is that teacher is only one person, with one story of injustice and hypocrisy carried out in Jesus name. He is one person in a country with countless others continuing to happen every day. You don't have to look very hard to see the evidence of families being torn apart, terrified children screaming for their parents as they're separated by unidentified masked strangers, and the people responsible for this (who are making a fortune with these policies btw) claiming that this is what is best for the country. That what they are doing is steering America back towards "Christian" values.

There isn't much I can do or say when I see evil happening in other parts of the world, where children are being killed and starved in the name of religion. It's painfully frustrating, but a fact of reality.

What's even more frustrating though, is that I've learned there also isn't much I can do even when I see evil happening in my own backyard.

However, I can make a choice to not be silent about it, especially when I see Christ being removed from what is referred to as "Christianity." The religion I was born into, which in many ways is part of my own cultural identity, is being exploited and used in name only to weaponize evil, and I won't just shut up about it and pretend it's not happening.

My voice is all I have, and I will use it to defend Christianity against blasphemy, at least for as long as it's allowed in a country that allegedly so highly values free speech and liberty.

What is happening is wrong. An evil chapter of history being written in front of us, whether you want to see it or not, and things will only be getting worse.

Choosing to stay silent while its being written in your own backyard, is your choice. You don't need to defend that choice to me, but don't forget that one day you will have to explain yourself and defend it to someone much more important.

Several years ago, a mission team of laypersons preached the morning sermon at First Baptist Church of Abilene, Texas. They had just returned from completing medical and construction projects at a small Christian hospital in the mountains near Chihuahua, Mexico.

Their stories of building much-needed medicine cabinets and relationships, repairing clinic doors and broken bodies, and salvaging discarded equipment and forgotten lives touched our affluent congregation profoundly. In one testimony, a family physician summarized how he viewed their missionary efforts in that needy setting: “Some will call what we did the ‘Social Gospel’; I just call it ‘obedience.’”

This mention of the Social Gospel more than a decade ago highlights a misunderstanding that has been perpetuated by evangelical leaders and churches for a century. Quite recently, in fact, a friend told me that the “true gospel” is salvation through Jesus Christ, and not just doing good works.

But I contend that the true gospel is social. It has a personal aspect, of course, yet the implications of the true gospel are social. The first and greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul and mind — and, for Christians, that means loving Jesus as the Incarnate Word, the human face of God. But the second mandate, as ultimate as the first, is to love our neighbors as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40) — which grounds the social nature of the gospel in the person of Jesus himself.

This is a pretty nest story.

I think the point is that Christ does fail here. That if God is becoming “like us” - trying to understand us, trying to maybe see why we fail and then ultimately deciding above all to redeem us - that he’s kinda a racist jerk at one point, is called out on it, and changes is maybe the point.

“Even the dogs deserve the crumbs.”

She acknowledges it. She calls it for what it is. She turns the other cheek. Like Judah and Tamar, the Son of Man has to admit he’s been outplayed. They’ve failed to be kind, they’ve not even followed their own rules (dogs and crumbs reminds me of widows and orphans protected right to the cast offs of the fields.)

(Similarly, cursing the fig tree? Have we all not been hangry?)

I think it is safe to say that Jesus was a jerk in this story. I think Matthew above all shows us a human Jesus, a Jesus who can save us because he knows us. He must ultimately concede defeat - he must say, look at how this woman has shown that she is not Less Than You, a reverse image of David and Goliath - redemption instead of death.

This man gets my worst. I have no Pearls to offer him.

The best I have to offer is an invitation into my house (letting him know my address, then telling him to do what Hitler did (the way hitler succeeded in the end!)

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/28536074

Are Churches communicating with there Chuch Goers that Donald Trump is the Anti Christ from Revelation 13?

It’s not a joke anymore the signs are all there. What does he actually need to break ground on the holy land before people take it seriously.

I mean come on. I and the entire world, whether they are against or for Trump are in constant WONDER over him.

You can even tell who the second beasts are.

Putin-Duh the name

Elon- Supplier of the Mark. The check mark on X. As of now the mark only means what you says maters but Elon has made clear aspirations to make X a central hub for everything, including shopping, and you can be damn sure you will have to have your mark!

Did you not see the fire come from the sky on the same night from these two?

Don’t forget Bibi, a week late, said he wanted to make fire come from the sky too!

It’s not a joke anymore the signs are all there. What does he actually need to break ground on the holy land before people take it seriously.

I mean come on. I and the entire world, whether they are against or for Trump are in constant WONDER over him.

You can even tell who the second beasts are.

Putin-Duh the name

Elon- Supplier of the Mark. The check mark on X. As of now the mark only means what you says maters but Elon has made clear aspirations to make X a central hub for everything, including shopping, and you can be damn sure you will have to have your mark!

Did you not see the fire come from the sky on the same night from these two?

Don’t forget Bibi, a week late, said he wanted to make fire come from the sky too!

Christ is risen, alleluia!

Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Easter!

Today at last, the singing of the “alleluia” is heard once more in the Church, passing from mouth to mouth, from heart to heart, and this makes the people of God throughout the world shed tears of joy.

From the empty tomb in Jerusalem, we hear unexpected good news: Jesus, who was crucified, “is not here, he has risen” (Lk 24:5). Jesus is not in the tomb, he is alive!

Love has triumphed over hatred, light over darkness and truth over falsehood. Forgiveness has triumphed over revenge. Evil has not disappeared from history; it will remain until the end, but it no longer has the upper hand; it no longer has power over those who accept the grace of this day.

Sisters and brothers, especially those of you experiencing pain and sorrow, your silent cry has been heard and your tears have been counted; not one of them has been lost! In the passion and death of Jesus, God has taken upon himself all the evil in this world and in his infinite mercy has defeated it. He has uprooted the diabolical pride that poisons the human heart and wreaks violence and corruption on every side. The Lamb of God is victorious! That is why, today, we can joyfully cry out: “Christ, my hope, has risen!” (Easter Sequence).

The resurrection of Jesus is indeed the basis of our hope. For in the light of this event, hope is no longer an illusion. Thanks to Christ — crucified and risen from the dead — hope does not disappoint! Spes non confundit! (cf. Rom 5:5). That hope is not an evasion, but a challenge; it does not delude, but empowers us.

All those who put their hope in God place their feeble hands in his strong and mighty hand; they let themselves be raised up and set out on a journey. Together with the risen Jesus, they become pilgrims of hope, witnesses of the victory of love and of the disarmed power of Life.

Christ is risen! These words capture the whole meaning of our existence, for we were not made for death but for life. Easter is the celebration of life! God created us for life and wants the human family to rise again! In his eyes, every life is precious! The life of a child in the mother’s womb, as well as the lives of the elderly and the sick, who in more and more countries are looked upon as people to be discarded.

What a great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day in the many conflicts raging in different parts of our world! How much violence we see, often even within families, directed at women and children! How much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalized, and migrants!

On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas! For all of us are children of God!

I would like us to renew our hope that peace is possible! From the Holy Sepulchre, the Church of the Resurrection, where this year Easter is being celebrated by Catholics and Orthodox on the same day, may the light of peace radiate throughout the Holy Land and the entire world. I express my closeness to the sufferings of Christians in Palestine and Israel, and to all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people. The growing climate of anti-Semitism throughout the world is worrisome. Yet at the same time, I think of the people of Gaza, and its Christian community in particular, where the terrible conflict continues to cause death and destruction and to create a dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation. I appeal to the warring parties: call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace!

Let us pray for the Christian communities in Lebanon and in Syria, presently experiencing a delicate transition in its history. They aspire to stability and to participation in the life of their respective nations. I urge the whole Church to keep the Christians of the beloved Middle East in its thoughts and prayers.

I also think in particular of the people of Yemen, who are experiencing one of the world’s most serious and prolonged humanitarian crises because of war, and I invite all to find solutions through a constructive dialogue.

May the risen Christ grant Ukraine, devastated by war, his Easter gift of peace, and encourage all parties involved to pursue efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace.

On this festive day, let us remember the South Caucasus and pray that a final peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan will soon be signed and implemented, and lead to long-awaited reconciliation in the region.

May the light of Easter inspire efforts to promote harmony in the western Balkans and sustain political leaders in their efforts to allay tensions and crises, and, together with their partner countries in the region, to reject dangerous and destabilizing actions.

May the risen Christ, our hope, grant peace and consolation to the African peoples who are victims of violence and conflict, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Sudan and South Sudan. May he sustain those suffering from the tensions in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region, as well as those Christians who in many places are not able freely to profess their faith.

There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and respect for the views of others.

Nor is peace possible without true disarmament! The requirement that every people provide for its own defence must not turn into a race to rearmament. The light of Easter impels us to break down the barriers that create division and are fraught with grave political and economic consequences. It impels us to care for one another, to increase our mutual solidarity, and to work for the integral development of each human person.

During this time, let us not fail to assist the people of Myanmar, plagued by long years of armed conflict, who, with courage and patience, are dealing with the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Sagaing, which caused the death of thousands and great suffering for the many survivors, including orphans and the elderly. We pray for the victims and their loved ones, and we heartily thank all the generous volunteers carrying out the relief operations. The announcement of a ceasefire by various actors in the country is a sign of hope for the whole of Myanmar.

I appeal to all those in positions of political responsibility in our world not to yield to the logic of fear which only leads to isolation from others, but rather to use the resources available to help the needy, to fight hunger and to encourage initiatives that promote development. These are the “weapons” of peace: weapons that build the future, instead of sowing seeds of death!

May the principle of humanity never fail to be the hallmark of our daily actions. In the face of the cruelty of conflicts that involve defenceless civilians and attack schools, hospitals and humanitarian workers, we cannot allow ourselves to forget that it is not targets that are struck, but persons, each possessed of a soul and human dignity.

In this Jubilee year, may Easter also be a fitting occasion for the liberation of prisoners of war and political prisoners!

Dear brothers and sisters,

In the Lord’s Paschal Mystery, death and life contended in a stupendous struggle, but the Lord now lives forever (cf. Easter Sequence). He fills us with the certainty that we too are called to share in the life that knows no end, when the clash of arms and the rumble of death will be heard no more. Let us entrust ourselves to him, for he alone can make all things new (cf. Rev. 21:5)!

Happy Easter to everyone!

...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

I created a signal group called "Global Church for the Broken" (since "International" made the name too long). The description: "A community of broken people seeking Jesus, no matter their issues, baggage, background, or challenges."

Basically an open group for whoever wants a community. We can share encouragement, prayer requests, questions, or just ask how we're doing with light-hearted conversation about off-beat TV shows. If you'd like the link, DM me, and I'll try to respond within 1-2 days.

My inspiration was that I'm in the middle of trying to find a church where I belong, and I'm weary because it seems like Christians tend to be some of the most closed-off and unwelcoming people (and, yes, I am, myself a Christian). I wanted to find Jesus-followers who are willing to admit they don't have it all together and are willing to reach out and help others.

Revelation 13:1-18 NIV

[1] The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.

[2] The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. [3] One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast.

[4] People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

[5] The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months.

[6] It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. [7] It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.

[8] All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

[9] Whoever has ears, let them hear.

[10] “If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed.”

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.

[11] Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. [12] It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. [13] And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people.

[14] Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. [15] The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. [16] It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, [17] so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.

[18] This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.

(N̶o̶t̶e̶:̶ ̶a̶ ̶P̶r̶e̶s̶i̶d̶e̶n̶t̶i̶a̶l̶ ̶t̶e̶r̶m̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶4̶2̶ ̶m̶o̶n̶t̶h̶s̶)

I grew up in an evangelical nondenom tradition. I've since found Anglicanism, and I've been working to understand the broader discussions of Christian history. I've recently become sold on the idea that Bishops are super-important.

Christianity in America is largely of the "literally anyone can open a Church and teach whatever crap they make up and there's no authority to contradict them" variety. Naturally that results in a fake god that blesses the actions those random pastors already chose. Thus, evangelical Christianity in America, which broadly resembles Christ not at all.

In the classical Church tradition there are specific people whose sole purpose is to ensure the Church keeps teaching the things it has always taught. Those people are called bishops. And Bishop Budde of the Episcopal Church is an example of why that system works while others have failed so miserably. She keeps the faith, in the very literal sense that she protects and shepherds it.

Some may have problems with her being a woman or SGM-affirming, but that's beside my point. This is a person doing something Bishops were always meant to do, and (at least in the recent areas of discussion) doing it extremely well.

Episcopal oversight FTW.

I wish you joy for the birth the christ Jesus, which we commemorate on this day.

I don't have anything special to share, so here is a link to my favorite Christmas song Gaudete.

From the YouTube channel Speak Life, which I like because it focuses on the topic that Christianity brought many values into this world, but today's culture tries to decouple the values from Christianity, which doesn't work.

I just finished the kerygmatic phase and on Monday I gotta decide whether I wanna continue in the Way. Any thoughts on them?