Evangelicals just make sh+t up all the time. Now, I know what you are thinking, “Nathan, the entire Bible is just a collection of made-up stories; what makes the evangelicals any different?” Well, let me explain. No, there is too much; let me sum up. Even if the entire Bible contains no mystical whispers from God, has zero inspiration from the Almighty, and is actually just a collection of stories compiled by goat herders on shrooms, we still have to treat the original texts within their proper context. What I mean by this is, we all know that comic books are made-up stories, but there is still a canon that is accepted by the general fandom. You can’t just go around making sh+t up about Spiderman, and it's now real; there are basic rules of decency even within the confines of fiction.
I've always thought on the "heaven" and "hell" bits as metaphors. Not ACTUAL places. You can have a "hell" of your own making right here, right now. So don't be an ass to everyone. Same goes for "heaven". Right here, right now, so JUST DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I'm not Christian. I'm Indigenous and my People have a hard time embracing the religion that literally tried to wipe us off the planet. But I read the Bible. If humans could manage to stop acting like they're so worried someone else is getting something they're not, maybe this place could improve. Til then I'm sticking to my spiritual thoughts. I love reading your breakdowns.
Love this SO much. The bit about fandom cannon is so edifying! And the bits about the different location names that all got pushed into "hell" along with the plot of land Judas bought is gold. Thanks.
The problem, imho, is that too many preachers are not too picky about what version/translation of the Bible they source from, not too picky about sticking to the context of the Biblical events, and are reading and preaching IN ENGLISH (or whatever lingua franca). Very few seminary students obtain a complete grasp of Biblical Hebrew and Greek and Aramaic in their 3 years at seminary. Again I will reference that painful hour I spent listening to a rabid preacher foaming at the mouth while trying to convince us that our salvations depended upon the placement of a comma in the King James Version verse. One thing I have never yet experienced is the combination of humility, scholarship, respect, and servanthood in any cleric I have ever met (nb, I haven't met you yet, Fr Nathan!) or been married to. Especially the latter. I think it's a sad thing that Christians, without any cultural, historical, and language references, are abusing the Whatever The Faith Is Supposed To Be, just as you have described above. Truly, we are ALL lost and wandering, and anybody -- clerical collar or not -- who tries to tell you that they've been "saved" is a liar.
I've always thought on the "heaven" and "hell" bits as metaphors. Not ACTUAL places. You can have a "hell" of your own making right here, right now. So don't be an ass to everyone. Same goes for "heaven". Right here, right now, so JUST DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I'm not Christian. I'm Indigenous and my People have a hard time embracing the religion that literally tried to wipe us off the planet. But I read the Bible. If humans could manage to stop acting like they're so worried someone else is getting something they're not, maybe this place could improve. Til then I'm sticking to my spiritual thoughts. I love reading your breakdowns.
Love this SO much. The bit about fandom cannon is so edifying! And the bits about the different location names that all got pushed into "hell" along with the plot of land Judas bought is gold. Thanks.
The problem, imho, is that too many preachers are not too picky about what version/translation of the Bible they source from, not too picky about sticking to the context of the Biblical events, and are reading and preaching IN ENGLISH (or whatever lingua franca). Very few seminary students obtain a complete grasp of Biblical Hebrew and Greek and Aramaic in their 3 years at seminary. Again I will reference that painful hour I spent listening to a rabid preacher foaming at the mouth while trying to convince us that our salvations depended upon the placement of a comma in the King James Version verse. One thing I have never yet experienced is the combination of humility, scholarship, respect, and servanthood in any cleric I have ever met (nb, I haven't met you yet, Fr Nathan!) or been married to. Especially the latter. I think it's a sad thing that Christians, without any cultural, historical, and language references, are abusing the Whatever The Faith Is Supposed To Be, just as you have described above. Truly, we are ALL lost and wandering, and anybody -- clerical collar or not -- who tries to tell you that they've been "saved" is a liar.
I love the idea and this whole picture.. can you help with when God tossed Lucifer and the other "bad angels out? Where the end up?
thanks..