Terrorism Is Terrorism Is Terrorism Is Terrorism. Hate Is Hate Is Hate. There Is No Variation In Form

You say you're a virgin, so what's your definition of virginity?

(For your convenience, I have gotten into the habit of bolding the sentences that summarize my opinions, so you don’t have to read it all if you don’t want to.) So my friend was telling me this super awkward story today and the punchline was basically “and then he went to Australia!” -The intended joke being that Australia is…the land down under. So let’s go with this: My definition of virginity is someone who has never been to Australia! Or, by extension, I guess, someone who has never let someone else go to their Australia?? HahaOkay metaphor over. We all know the typical definition of sex that most people carry around in their heads: what might also be called “intercourse” - you know, penis in vagina, pretty straightforward. But then there’s “other stuff”. Anal sex, oral sex, and then stuff like fingering, and a handjob (What do you even call that? “Manual sex?”). I’ve heard people say “I’ve never had sex but I’ve done pretty much everything else.” Oh, story time! So I have these jeans that are made by the brand name Lucky. And when you unzip them, it says, RIGHT INSIDE THE ZIPPER, “Lucky you” which I think is hilarious! So I was telling my friend about them once and he goes “maybe I’ll be the first to see it” and I was like “uh, sure, if you wanna put a ring on my finger…….” and he was like “you can still have fun without a ring.” No. No you can’t. Not that kind of fun, anyway. I dunno, that’s just me. When someone says they’re “technically” a virgin, I don’t think they’re *actually* a virgin. You see, sexual health professionals consider all the “other stuff” real sex too, not just intercourse. Actually, I’ve read articles that say that masturbating is real sex too. I personally think that’s taking it a bit far. Sure, from a biological standpoint, when looking at arousal and orgasm and stuff like that - if that’s how you define sex - then yeah, masturbating is sex. But I define sex by the intimacy shared with another human being. And having someone’s hands or mouth down there is pretty much just as intimate as having a guy’s penis down there. You just can’t get pregnant. If it helps you understand it my definition a little better, I have rules for physical boundaries in dating:1) Don’t touch me anywhere that would be covered by a bikini. 2) No clothes are coming off.Pretty simple, but effective in preventing me from getting anywhere near sex. Like, even if someone breaks rule 1, when we come to our senses and stop it, there’s really not much harm done. But once you break rule 2, you’re a pretty slippery slope. I guess I just don’t really like living on the edge. I like to stay faaaaarr away from that line. I probably just wrote waaayy more than necessary. I’m sorry I’m so wordy! Haha yeah soooo….basically anything involving the below-the-belt area is sex, and anyone who has had sex is not a virgin, ergo anyone who has participated in below-the-belt activities is not a virgin. Again, a reminder, that’s *MY* definition of virginity. I would not be arrogant enough to tell anyone else what to do or what not to do. Peace and love! -KatherineP.S. The link to my blog is on facebook and the other day my mom mentioned something to me about something I had posted here. So, hi mom… :P (actually, mama Milly is pretty blunt, and wouldn’t even bat an eyelid reading this post.) 

How do you feel about the scandals that revolved around the Christian brothers (sexual assault towards youth) in Newfoundland and other similar scandals? Things like this have caused many to loose confidence with their faith, what are your thoughts on that?

Hey baby! (Don’t be weirded out, I use a various terms of endearment with all my friends and acquaintances) 

And ugh. I have a bunch of different thoughts on this topic. I’ve heard soooo many different opinions on this. I’ve heard of churches going door to door to collect donations to bail priests out of jail, priests who were incarcerated for sexual assault on a minor. Now, the reliability of these reports is dubious, at best. I honestly cannot formulate an opinion on that idea, or its truth. Now, in my own church, we had a scandal a couple years back. One of the pastors at my church was convicted of sexual deviancy, the likes of which is apparently a crime. Man, I dunno what happened. It was kind of a mess, tbh. Obviously, he lost his job at my church and I’m pretty sure with the PAONL in general. I also think they told him he could be re-ordinated if he took counselling and stuff. 

First up. Obviously, pastors/priests/reverends/whatever are people just like the rest of us. They’re gonna screw up. That’s a-given. But when they screw up in such a way that it hurts other people, we absolutely must acknowledge it. We must acknowledge the damage done, and we must take steps to show that we acknowledge it and to attempt to rectify it. I am sorry, but child pornography, and sexually assaulting young boys, or whatever, that’s straight-up awful. And I would be in 100% agreement with the church if they fired the people who committed these crimes. Any other company would. We don’t have to pretend like we’re perfect. It’s no secret that we’re really not. To preach sexual purity and selflessness and love for others and a straight moral path and then to defend those who CLEARLY violate these teachings is hypocritical, it’s not grace. Hate the sin. Love the sinner. But really, really hate the sin. Don’t defend it. Don’t excuse it. Don’t justify it. Hate it. 

On the other side of that, grace is a part of this too. Churches are full of hypocrites. That’s why we’re there. We as Christians do not think we’re perfect, rather we are acutely aware of our imperfection. We strive everyday to become more Christlike but it is a battle against our very nature and by default is possible only by the grace of God. We absolutely must forgive and accept the people who commit these heinous crimes, because that’s what God does.

I know it’s really hard for us to wrap our brains around, but all sin is equal to God. Lying is the same as murdering. Envy is the same as rape. It sounds ludicrous to us, because human morals have a measurement of severity, based on the effects the transgressions have on the people around us. God’s only measurement is “perfect” or “not perfect” and any sin, no matter how awful, or how trivial, is in the “not perfect” category. Romans 3:23 says “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” …”fallen short of the glory of God”. That’s what sin is. It literally means not being divine. Well if that’s the definition, then heck yeah everybody has sinned! 

So my point in saying that is that we need to forgive even the worst of humans, because we are just like them. I listened to this talk by Judah Smith about how we hate Barrabbas so much, the guy the jews told Pontias Pilate to free instead of Jesus. He was a murderer and they let him go free instead of Jesus! Like what the heck? Oh wait a minute…he’s me. Jesus bought his freedom just like he bought mine. We are all the same. We sin the same and God loves us the same. 

HOWEVER. All our actions have consequences. Forgiving someone and extending grace to them does not always mean that they will be exempt from the consequences of their actions. Losing your job and going to jail may be the consequences of your actions. So be it. That’s only fair, as far as fair goes on earth. 

And finally, people are gonna let you down. They’re going to shock, dismay, disappoint and hurt you. We are an imperfect being, plagued by mortality. But don’t give up on God. He’s the only one who will not disappoint you. I know His church screws up. I know some of His so-called “followers” are batcrap crazy. I know He gets a bad rep cause people misuse His label and they say one thing but do another. I know, I know, I know. I heard a comedian put it this way: “I like Elvis but I don’t like all his crazy fans.” This is why I think it’s so important for the church to be very careful about their reaction to scandals like this so that we demonstrate that we acknowledge the pain and the damage, we do not condone the behaviour, we apologize for it while still being gracious. It’s a very tricky situation. But at the end of the day, everyone’s relationship with God is their own business and their own responsibility. No one’s gonna take the credit or the blame for your eternity. My advice is to look past the stupid manmade institution called Religion. [Sidenote: I am a strong advocate of the church. I love the church. I think serving and being a part of a body of believers who will edify you in your faith is awesome.] Because God cannot be contained by a building or a group of people or a list of rules or even an idea in your head. 

God is bigger and greater than anything we’ve ever known or ever will know. He is the first, the last, the everything. He is in all and through all and nothing can be apart from Him. So don’t diminish Him to the church. Find out for yourself who He is. Read the Bible, spend time in prayer, don’t rely on secondhand information. Be a critical thinker and find out about God yourself. And find a church that you think exemplifies biblical values well and that you feel is good for you at this point in your life. 

That’s all I have to say :P 

Thanks for the question! Peace and love!-Katherine 

some positives:

Seven states voted to protect abortion rights, including the deeply red state of Missouri

Sarah McBride became the first openly trans woman elected to congress

Mark Robinson, the man who called himself a "Black N*zi" will not be governor of North Carolina

Angela Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt Rochester become the first duo of black women senators ever in the history of the senate (sadgressive but good for their constituents)

Kentucky voted to protect public education!

Jesus is Loving Barrabas Interlude

I received an Anonymous question...oh, quite some time ago...asking me what I thought of Mormons. Well, I didn't know what I thought of Mormons; had never even asked myself what I thought of Mormons until I read the question. I have since embarked on quite the daunting quest of discovering the differences between Mormonism and mainstream Christianity, i.e. Catholic, Pentecostal, Baptist, Anglican, Salvation Army, etc.). I'm quite interested and I'm trying to become as informed as I possibly can, to give you an unbiased answer. Please be patient with me :) I'll get there!

Love > Hate  Last rant of the day :) 

Today is #WorldToiletDay. Did you know 2.5 billion people - 36% of the world’s population - don’t have access to a clean and safe toilet?

Learn how we work with communities around the world to end #opendefecation and provide clean and safe toilets for all: http://uni.cf/1qrPCSk

"How the Media Failed Women in 2013," courtesy of Miss Representation. This is mind-boggling and you must watch it right now.

“To speak of the suffering God is dangerous language, and we need to beware of any tendency to glorify suffering and to forget that suffering is bad, that God is opposed to suffering and seeks to end it, and that Jesus was not abandoned but supported by God throughout the anguish of the passion and death. Yet, in spite of these qualifications, such language is demanded of us by the truth to which we bear witness. God on the cross means God in pain, God in distress, a suffering God. Only the suffering God can help.”

— Kenneth Leech, We Preach Christ Crucified

How many? How much?

My friend is really smart. She also happens to have anorexia. She once said to me, “Anorexics aren’t supposed to be around numbers. The’re just tools humans use to destroy themselves.” As you can tell, the latter statement had a profound impact on me. That’s why I’m writing about it. Numbers define our lives. Our age, height, weight and BMI are measured in numbers. Our academic accomplishments and athletic accomplishments are measured in numbers. Our schedules revolve around the clock - also numbers. “How many calories?” “How many hours did it take?” “How many people were there?” “How much do you make?” “How many pages?” “How many words?” “How many points?” “How many goals? How many assists?” “How many years?” How many? How many? How many? I think that so often, we fall into the trap of thinking that these numbers that measure our bodies or measure the things that we do are also measuring us. And the problem with that is that once you start measuring, you find that you will never measure up. As soon as you put a numerical value on your identity you will find that there will always be someone who has a higher number, or lower number. Here’s the thing: you’re not a number. You’re thinking, “well obviously, Katherine.” But hear me out. You are not your weight. You are not your GPA. You are not the number of points you score or how much money you make. You’re a person. There is absolutely no conceivable way in the known universe, in the limitations of time as we know it, that numbers could logically be used to express a person. We can graph the curve of your face and we can create a function for the way you walk, but mathematically we will never capture you. You’re a person. You were created by God, in the image of God. As He is beautiful, so are you. As He is spirit, so are you. And you are His masterpiece. His piece de resistance. This all-powerful deity, who always was and always will be, who mapped the stars, who knitted the fabric of the universe, who choreographed the dance of the planets, who paints every single sunset, who filled the seas with fish and the skies with birds...He thinks that you are the best thing He made. [Talking about God gets me TURNT but I’ll leave the rest for another time.] He gave you a soul. Do you even know how exciting a soul is? A soul is intangible. It is infinite. It is the part of you that recognizes God’s face and it will last forever. It remembers the beginning of the world and it will see the end. It has the entire universe in it. It has ancient empires in it. It has lost civilizations in it. It has dead languages in it. It has unborn languages in it. It has novels in it. It has symphonies in it. Let me edit that last paragraph: You are intangible. You are infinite. You recognize God’s face and you will last forever. You remember the beginning of the world and you will see the end. You have the entire universe in you. You have ancient empires in you. You have lost civilizations in you. You have dead languages in you. You have unborn languages in you. You have novels in you. You have symphonies in you. Do you honestly believe that a being so majestic, so beautiful, so wonderful, can be MEASURED? The answer is absolutely not. You are immeasurable. There’s no scale or standard or system by which you can be counted. You are invaluable. Your worth is far beyond measure. Therefore, there are only two numbers you can use to describe yourself: 1. That’s how many of you there are. You are unique. You are one of a kind. You can’t be compared to others because you’re in your own category. ∞ ← That’s the infinity symbol. Admittedly, infinity, by its nature, is not a number. It’s mathematical concept. And that’s how valuable you are. This reminder has been brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Katherine. Love y’all! Peace and love! -Katherine