older/marriage feelings
From “Cats in the Sun”, Greek Islands, published 1994 by Hans Silvester
DEVASTATING the lyric you've been mishearing is better than the real one
Every 21st century piece of writing advice: Make us CARE about the character from page 1! Make us empathize with them! Make them interesting and different but still relatable and likable!
Every piece of classic literature: Hi. It's me. The bland everyman whose only purpose is to tell you this story. I have no actual personality. Here's the story of the time I encountered the worst people I ever met in my life. But first, ten pages of description about the place in which I met them.
Modern writing advice: Yes your protagonist should have flaws but ultimately we should root for them and like them from the beginning :)
Charles Dickens: Here is the worst ugliest rudest meanest nastiest bitch you’ve ever met in your life.
Modern writing advice: Make sure your POV character goes through a significant arc! Make sure they are changed by the narrative! Make sure they learn a lesson!
Narrators of every book of the 19th century: the lesson I learned is these people fucking suck, sayonara you freaks
Modern writing advice: It’s all about the character overcoming obstacles and learning! They learn their lesson so they can fix their mistakes and make good choices in the future! It’s a character arc! It’s called growth! Readers love it!
Everyone from ancient times through the 19th century: would you like to watch a Guy fuck up twenty times in a row
Somewhere or other, C. S. Lewis points out (and I'm paraphrasing here) that every era of writing has its own tropes and its own blind spots; its own failings and its own successes. This is why it's important to read in lots of different eras: so you can see what does and doesn't work, in the long run, and be able to make your own informed choices about how to write.
you ever feel too much like a body that has too many needs and wants
In general, I think it's currently really important for progressive Christians to be very loud about being both progressive and deeply religious Christians, and for everyone else fighting for progressive values to be supportive of them doing just that. I know that's like, idk, counter-intuitive or cringe or whatever, but seriously folks, the alternative is that progressive Christians have to be quiet about their faith to be accepted within broader secular and interfaith progressive advocacy, which means that the regressive asshole Christians (a) sound that much louder and (b) dominate the USian religious landscape all the more. That's a problem, for all of us.
We need people pushing back within the faith as well as outside of it, because that destroys any edifice that this is about Christianity and religious freedom.
You can be a devout Christian and also:
- Openly, proudly, and without being forced to remain celibate or otherwise limit your full expression of self, identify as LGBTQ+ or be a supportive ally.
- Advocate for full reproductive autonomy and comprehensive sex education.
- Love and support people of other religious groups, non-religious people and/or atheists, by choosing to believe that a truly loving God would not pursue anything less than universal salvation.
- Stand against evangelism and proselytizing as they have thus far been interpreted and used, because there are ways to interpret the Great Commission that don't promote colonialism and cultural genocide.
- A steward of the earth, protecting God's beautiful creation and lovingly tending to it as the unique and incredible gift that it is.
- A believer in science, rationalism, and human progress as part of God's divine plan for humanity.
- A believer in history and someone who understands that the Bible can be both divinely given and open to interpretation (no really)(if you're confused, please talk to a knowledgeable traditional Jew)
- An ally to Jews, who stands against supercessionism and antisemitism in the church.
And in before regressive Christians come shouting at me that (1) what do I know, I'm a Jew and (2) no lol you can't because of ___ reason:
My source is that I've personally met and talked to Christians of great faith and integrity - people who embody the closest forms of kindness I've seen to what Jesus himself advocated - who are each of these things.
It is 100% possible; you just choose to believe otherwise.
At this point I think it's time to start preaching and claiming the moral high ground here.
Right-wing evangelical Christians want you to think that they're the moral ones, when they EXPLICITLY defy the word of God. They routinely:
- Evade taxes intended to help the poor
- Oppress the foreigner
- Hoard wealth
- Hate their fellow in their hearts
- Destroy God's creation that they were entrusted to steward, intentionally and recklessly as well as carelessly
- Cast the first stone
- Preach idolatry through the prosperity gospel and the American cult of nationalism
- Sacrifice their children to Molech through encouraging a culture of gun violence
- Commit true sexual abominations, such as rape and pedophilia, and/or cover these things up or engage in apologetics
- Encourage actual child and spousal abuse while calling it "traditional family values"
- Oppress and demean women, when their main guy uplifted and valued women outside of marginal roles
- Smugly quote scripture to satisfy their bigotries and to benefit themselves without caring about the true message
- Fail to acknowledge God as the True Judge by substituting their prejudices for God's love and mercy
.......and plenty more. These are not just a few bad actors; this lifestyle is ENCOURAGED by this irresponsible and immoral cult. They are leading people astray into a life of sin and a culture of callous cruelty.
Is this the Christianity you want the world to know you by?
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
I just wanted to draw attention to your tags:
You very correct that there is a balance, and it can be hard to identify when to step back and when to step up. I am obviously only one person and I'm sure you have lots of your own ideas and experience with approaching this issue. (Notably, I've seen your posts and you are someone I respect a lot for your wisdom, compassion, and spiritual insight.) I certainly won't lecture you on what to or not to do, but I think the points you put in your tags create a great opportunity for suggestions for folks thinking about how they might balance these competing values.
I would say that some key things are:
- Be situationally aware. You don't need to be extra loud at your comrades who already share your values but not your religion. I would say instead just be yourself and show your religion in the ways that are most authentic to you. You don't and shouldn't need to hide your faith, but you don't need to pump up the volume, either.
- However, we *really need* you to be loud in the public sphere in response to right-wing Christians who are trying to claim sole authority over all Christianity. To them, I would encourage you to be extra loud about you and yours being the real Christians who actually follow the true message of the Bible: to love your neighbor as yourself.
- I would also encourage you to learn your religion deeply and on multiple levels: textually, doctrinally, historically, theologically, etc. You want to be able to argue your point well and truly; the facts are on your side. I'd also heavily encourage you to learn about different methods of textual analysis and interpretation for a good measure.
- The people who you think are good people who have been fed bad religion, to them I would model what a progressive Christianity could look like and use all of your evangelism skills at them. Work on them to help open their eyes to the truth of what God's love looks like in action and lead by example. Why? Because at the end of the day, this type isn't going to listen to us, but they are far more likely to listen to you.
- To the blatant assholes who aren't going to listen to anyone, though? I would feel free to point out their behavior, words, and deeds as rhetorical counterpoints to what good Christians do, and sort of talk past them. Think, for example, about how this type of person talks about "homosexuals" as if there are no gay Christians. Instead of naming anyone, you can talk about "the idolators who would rather pledge allegiance American nationalism than help their brothers and sisters and siblings at the border or in the detention camps." Just as an example.
- This is a little off-topic from this reblog, but I am also begging progressive Christians to unpack the antisemitism baked into the foundations of Christianity and do the work to become good Jewish allies. The relationship between Christianity and Judaism creates a unique dynamic that makes it one of the more important axes on which to focus your allyship. And, while obviously combating antisemitism is important in its own right, it's also critical for not undercutting your other important messages. I strongly recommend this site for common pitfalls and possible alternative readings: https://www.betterparables.com/
I hope that clarifies a little of what I was saying and provides folks with some food for thought.
Hey. OP here.
This post has blown up, which like. Good. I'm glad it's reached a receptive audience.
However, I've seen a lot of surface level engagement with it and not a lot of deep reflection about what I'm actually saying here.
So let me be more blunt:
We don't need you to push culturally Christian ideas on the rest of us, which is a form of soft proselytizing. We need you to do some tochecha at your fellow Christians and become a bulwark against christofascism. We need you to walk the walk.
This is not a drill!
That is my point to you, progressive Christians who want Christianity to be a religion of love and justice. That is a promise in the New Testament that has remained unfulfilled. My point to my fellow yidden and other non-Christians is that if you are doing the work, that work should be valued, respected and appreciated, and that you should feel welcome in progressive spaces as your whole self, faith included. I'm Jewish. I know what it means to be told to check your religion at the door. I know how profoundly not okay that is and how much it hurts. I am also painfully aware of how much Christianity has been used to hurt my people and numerous other peoples, both throughout its history and in our present day. I need you to make yourselves painfully aware of this reality as well. I need that deep understanding to not paralyze you from action, but instead spur you into righting those wrongs.
Christianity is not going anywhere. We are at a crossroads: you can choose to allow the status quo of a blood-soaked Christianity to remain, or you can choose to envision and build a better future.
Which one do you think your God asks of you?
"I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life — if you and your offspring would live" - Deuteronomy 30:19
@catididnt your tags here are really important:
This is it. This is exactly what I am asking people to do here, and so thank you for putting it so succinctly.
(appended to this version of this post because I would like to hammer home this particular point)
E.E. Cummings, from “i carry your heart”; Collected Poems: 1904-1962
I've been thinking about the nuclear family structure so tag this with your ethnicity/nationality, because I think it could interesting to bring into the conversation <3
Ok cousins, which one(s) are best for a laptop that will probably be used in a professional setting
it is so so funny listening to new stuff by Marina (formerly & the Diamonds) because the lyrics are so flat & preachy & I am begging her to sing songs about being an evil blond bimbo again, PLEASE. those lyrics were GOOD.
heres the @ s and the links to their websites (cuz tumblr wont let people pause🙃) under readmore
99% of the time I’m like “art’s only job should be to produce an emotion or reaction in a person!” and now I’m having the 1% of the time where I’m experiencing said emotion from art and I’m like dude what the FUCK???
If you see this you’re legally obligated to reblog and tag with the book you’re currently reading
girl dinner. fattest fucking plate of pasta you've ever seen in your life
hosted our first proper game night with new friends! feeling sad for myself that the game that always seems to impress people when we bring it out, Cryptid, is really losing its shine for me! it can only be played with 3+ people so it is like a “special occasion” game but it’s just…not that fun for me anymore 😭😭