GUYS. I Know That I'm Not The Most Social Of Tumblr-ers But I Really Really Really Wanna Have A Discussion

God is calling YOU.

I decided today that I resent the phrase “full-time ministry” when referring to pastors. ”Full-time” ministry, as opposed to everybody else who’s only part-time? I believe that EVERYBODY’S ministry should be full-time. I believe that witnessing and outreach should be a way of life, not a job.  I have many friends who want to be pastors or did want to at some point (the official count is up to six at the moment.) And sometimes I think that people feel like if you’re a Christian, the only job God can call you to is to be a pastor or a missionary - like those are the only “Holy” jobs. Like you HAVE to do one or the other to truly be a good Christian. Because, for a long time, when my very best friend was absolutely 100% certain of God’s calling on her life to become a children’s pastor, I felt like I didn’t have a calling on my life. I think I know what it is now. :)

I want to put it out there that God calls all types. I believe I have friends who are called into social work. God calls doctors and nurses. God calls business men. God DEFINITELY called my mom to be a teacher. She says she knows that teaching is where she is supposed to be, with junior high kids who are messed and lost and just need love and guidance. I know people who have a heart for kids and want to love on them so they’re going into social work to help children have better lives. And I want to be a pediatrician, because I love children and I want to help people.

God gave you talents and interests and skills and passions for a reason! And whatever He calls you to do, it’ll probably line up with whatever He’s already equipped you to do well. He might call you to be a stay-at-home mom, or a lawyer or a plumber!

Not because he and I are one, but because we are opposites, I take to me the services which thou hast done to him. For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath’s sake, it is by me that he had truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him. And if any man do a cruelty in my name, then, though he says the name Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted.

The Last Battle, C.S.Lewis // in which Aslan represents God and Tash represents the devil.

kinda super proud of this braid today 

Wow, that last answer I wrote was MASSIVE. I'm sorry anon, I just got really passionate about your question! I'm hoping that you appreciate my enthusiasm in question-answering and read the whole entire thing because I must admit, I think it's one of my better works of answer art. If you're staggered by its absurd length, again I apologize and entreat you to read it all anyway, to really understand what I'm trying to say. If not, at least skim it to get the gist of it. :P  Love, me :)

Kinda urgent (tho it may not sound it) I'm trans and I watched some videos saying bein trans is a sin. This disturbed me deeply. I'm afraid what if God wants me to stop my transition, or else I won't be able to be with him. If thats what Jesus meant by picking up my cross? I don't want to stop transition at all but I don't want to go against Him either. I'm scared and confused. I don't want to think my gender identity is a temptation from Satan since it's so deeply who I am. (1/2)

(2/2) I feel so distraught and like my world is coming apart. I feel distant from God and fearful of Him rather than knowing His love. I’m scared and I don’t know what to do or how to reconcile my gender identity with Him. It’s making me question my faith, when all I want is to be close to God. I know this may not sound urgent but it’s destroying me inside and I don’t know why. Do you have any thoughts on this whole thing? I’m sorry if this is a bother or not seemingly urgent.

Hi there, anon. I’m sorry those videos shook you so much – I’ve been there. It’s sucks, but it’s okay. You’re okay.

First off, I promise that God loves you so, so deeply. And God made you how you are. Jesus came that we might have fullness of life, not to make us live in fear or so that we might continue to live under the chains of social norms. Because the gender binary is a social norm – and we are called not to conform to the world but to be transformed in Christ.

God does not set ultimatums that force us to chop off pieces of ourselves, or squeeze ourselves into boxes that don’t fit, in order to live with God. This post has a quote from a womanist theologian on how God calls us to wholeness, and what that means for LGBT+ Christians in particular. And here is a post with a string of tweets that show how God loves us as we are – rather than saying, “In order to love you, I must make you into something else,” God says, “I receive you as you are – and I come to help you become your fullest, truest self.”

With all of the above information – that God comes to affirm our fullest selves – we do need to take the concept of carrying the cross into account as well. Luckily, Austen Hartke’s Transgender and Christian series has a video on how being trans is not “Our Cross to Bear.” (If you have trouble hearing videos, let me know and I’ll write out a synopsis of the video for you tomorrow!)

His videos “Self Denial or Abundant Life?” and “Abundant Life AND Self Denial?” are also ones that would help you understand how God calls us to abundance that includes transitioning. (Again, let me know if you need a textual summary of the vids.)

Jesus assures us that we can know sin by its fruit, and we can know goodness by its fruit. So let’s look at the fruits of trying to live as cis when we aren’t, versus the fruits of embracing being trans.

Common fruits of living as cis when we aren’t: depression and anxiety from dysphoria; feelings of isolation from other humans and from yourself; feelings of anger, often against God, and thus a lack of strong relationship with God

Common fruits of embracing being trans: gender euphoria!; renewed energy and feelings of joy and thanksgiving that we can use to serve and connect with others as well as to praise God; deeper understandings of ourselves and new experiences that may shape who we are and give us wisdom; a connection to a marginalized community that helps us develop empathy we can use to serve others.

(Some Austen Hartke vids related to these ideas of good fruit: x, x). 

Embracing being trans bears good fruit, while trying to repress it (as well as transphobia) tends to bear harmful fruit. For more on the idea of good fruit, see this tag. Satan is not “making” you trans, because if that were the case, it would not bear good fruit.

God delights in diversity, anon. We are all made so uniquely, with different gifts to offer. I believe being trans is a part of that – we have a unique perspective to offer others – a unique view on our bodies, our minds and spirits, on the gender binary and harmfulness of gender roles, and more. 

Another video to help calm your worries about physically transitioning, this video by Austen is helpful too. 

Here’s a prayer on transitioning that also might help.

For more resources, including responses to common arguments against trans/LGBT people using Scripture, see the “But what does the Bible say?” and the trans section of our resources page. 

I’m going to post now so you’ll have this; I might add to it tomorrow so keep a lookout for updates. Take a look at the links, and take a moment for some self care. Then, if you have more questions, you are welcome to ask them here! We are here for you anon; you are not alone. <3

Terrorism is terrorism is terrorism is terrorism. Hate is hate is hate. There is no variation in form of terrorism or hate. They exist as independent phenomena - free floating entities. They are darkness and evil and depravity. They cannot have any religious affiliation, because no religion deals in hate. Anyone who truly believes in a higher power also believes in love and grace and compassion and altruism. Terrorists and hate groups worship the powers of hell, not of heaven. So whether it’s Hitler, the KKK, the Westboro Baptist Church, or ISIS, they are not religious organizations. They are hate groups. They are terrorist groups. But never religious organizations.

This is the guy who, ignoring the opinions of others, bee-lined toward those whom His culture had identified as sinful. Jesus modeled it for us and He told story after story to make sure we got the message. He desperately wanted us to know that His Father seeks the lost like a shepherd looking for His scrappy sheep. He searches for us like a woman who’s lost a precious coin. He welcomes the very worst sinners with the delight of a father whose son was dead but is now alive. Before He ever suggested, “Go and sin no more,” Jesus first welcomed and received unrepentant sinners.

I am lying here thinking about how I literally cannot fathom that we live in a world that actually makes people feel bad about who they are. Like, this actually boggles my mind. That with 7 billion humans on this planet, some humans tell other humans that they’re being a human wrong. There is no wrong way to be a human. Sometimes, when I take a moment to come up for air, and I have this brief shining clarity, I am overwhelmed with outrage. Because how is it possibly acceptable for someone to feel inferior due to the traits that make them unique? Someone please try and explain this to me. I dare you to try and make this make sense. Out of all the glorious diversity of human life, some traits were labelled “right” and some were labelled “wrong”, and due to these completely arbitrary and 100% fake standards, humans give themselves the right to discriminate against other humans. Are you hearing this? Are you understanding the sheer absurdity of the world we live in? The worst part is that it’s not even anything these people have a choice about. It’s not like they did someone really shitty to deserve some kind of negative reaction. No no, this is literally how they were born and they have no control over it. And our world now somehow works in such a way that they are made to feel that that’s bad somehow?! Stuff like skin colour or gender or sexual orientation? That stuff is the stuff that condemns you?! All things that - really - at the end of the day, don’t matter. Things that are used to divide people because we’ve created these false barriers between one another. This is literally insane! This is complete and utter madness! This makes zero sense at all! The world is so messed up! How the heck did we manage to created a world wherein people actually feel like they cannot be who they truly are? What have we done?! WE MESSED UP! Oh my gosh I hate this world so much.

How do you feel about the 7 deadly sins?

Hey hey! :) 

You’re definitely getting tired of hearing me say this but……”I’m pentecostal”. And the 7 Deadly Sins were not taught to me in Sunday School or in church…ever. I always thought they were more of a Catholic thing. 

That is absolutely not to say that they’re not biblical. They are never explicitly listed and labeled as such, in the manner of the 10 Commandments, but they are undoubtedly mentioned in the bible on various occasions. 

Proverbs 6:16-19, for example: 

There are six things the Lord hates,    seven that are detestable to him:17         haughty eyes,        a lying tongue,        hands that shed innocent blood,18         a heart that devises wicked schemes,        feet that are quick to rush into evil,19         a false witness who pours out lies        and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

Or Galatians 5:19-21:

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

For anyone out there who doesn’t know, the 7 Deadly Sins are as follows: 

1. Lust (well no worries there, there’s all manner of verses about lust in the bible)

Matthew 5:28

1 Corinthians 6:18

Galatians 5:16

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

Colossians 3:5

Job 31:1

1 Peter 2:11

2. Gluttony (lesser known, and undoubtedly lesser discussed, but no less valid)

Phillipians 3:19

Proverbs 23:20-21

Psalm 78:18

1 Corinthians 16-17

Romans 13:14 

3. Greed (definitely talked about a fair bit in the bible) 

1 Timothy 6:9-10

Proverbs 28:25

Hebrews 13:5

Matthew 6:24

Proverbs 15:27

Psalm 10:3

4. Sloth (otherwise known as laziness, and perhaps a bit surprising that it’s featured with the “deadly” sins, right? Well, let’s go to the good book) 

Proverbs 13:4

2 Thessalonians 3:10

Proverbs 12:24

Proverbs 15:19

Ecclesiastes 10:18

5. Wrath (otherwise known as anger, and given a fair amount of screen time in the bible)

Ephesians 4: 26-27

James 1:19-20

Ecclesiastes 7:9

Proverbs 15:18

Colossians 3:8

Proverbs 14:17

Proverbs 16:32

6. Envy (this one is even part of the ten commandments! Number 10: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Exodus 20:17) 

James 3:14-16

Proverbs 14:30

James 4:2-3

Galatians 5:19-21

1 Corinthians 3:3 

7. Pride (this is my personal favourite of the 7 deadly sins, because I think it’s a very damaging vice, and one that I know plagues me)

1 Samuel 2:3

Provers 8:13

Isaiah 13:11

Mark 7:20-23

Leviticus 26:19

2 Chronicles 26:16

SIDENOTE: This method of rhyming off random scripture references is not the best way for me to provide support for my argument. It’s quite incomplete, and I’m only doing it for the purpose of saving time and space. Taking a scripture verse or passage out of context is the quickest way to sow misconceptions, and if this answer were a sermon being preached, I would be disgusted, because I far prefer expository sermons to topical sermons. Expository sermons take a passage or a chapter or a story and really unpack it, delving deep into the historical context and themes and symbolism and ancient greek lexicon. Topical sermons pick a subject and find a bunch of verses that support it. Which is exactly what I’m doing. And I mean, I guess it’s necessary in this situation, because you asked about the 7 deadly sins. HOWEVER, if you really wanna learn about God and the bible, I strongly suggest and even implore you to look beyond a single verse. Effective study comes from understanding the context, scripturally and historically. 

Okay, so we’ve established that the 7 deadly sins are definitely biblical. That’s a good thing! And so I would undoubtedly venture to say, you should not do these 7 things. Absolutely. I’m very impressed that someone took the time to compile this list. I would just like to caution you about the name. “The Seven Deadly Sins” sounds quite ominous, doesn’t it? Almost like the Unforgivable Curses in Harry Potter. I don’t want you, or anyone, to get the impression that the committing one of the 7 deadly sins condemns you to hell forever. Nor would I want you to believe that these sins are in any way worse than any other sin. Because as we’ve established before, all sin is equal in the sight of God. Here’s some stuff I’ve said about that in past posts: 

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! 

***

But here’s the thing. All sin is equal in the sight of God. (James 2:10). So why are people making this big stinking deal about homosexuality when some of us have so much pride in our hearts, we can’t even hear God anymore and we probably think we wrote the bible! Some of us have so much hate that our souls are corroding away inside of us. Some of us have so much lust and secrets and shame that we can barely make eye contact. And you’re gonna look at me and say “homosexuality is a sin”? No my son (Newfoundland expression). I’ve got bigger things in my own life to deal with than homosexuality. And chances are, so do you.

I think that perhaps, these sins are regarded as deadly because of the corrosive effects they have on the people who commit them. You know how humans have a measure of severity for our sin, decided by social norms and laws? Well I think we also have an internal measure of severity for how much a given sin messes us up. There are some things that can really mess us up. And I would say that pride is absolutely unequivocally one of them. Pride messes me up every single day of my life. So maybe the people who made the Deadly Sins list looked in the bible for sins that mess us up. Lust will definitely mess you up. Porn addictions and cheating come from lust. Wrath could really destroy some relationships in your life. Sloth will make you miss every good opportunity in your life and cheat you of your future. I’ve had a bit of experience with that one. And gluttony can give you heart disease and diabetes and high blood pressure and all sorts of other scary medical problems. As for greed, well the bible says that “love of money is the root of all evil”, so there you have it. 

IN CONCLUSION, the Seven Deadly Sins are no worse than any other sin. But all sin should be avoided, and the seven are no exception. I would totally advise you to avoid them if you can. Just remember: the sins are biblical, the list is human. 

Thanks for the question :)Peace and love! -Katherine

RANT Warning: indelicate language and imagery. Okay, so apparently as much as 54% of men and 42% of women are STUPID. I'm sorry but I'm not gonna be all politically correct about this. Anyone who answered yes to any of those questions is STUPID. STUPID AND WRONG.  For anyone out there who's a little bit confused....

RAPE IS NEVER OKAY. 

No matter what. No matter who long you've been dating, no matter how much money he spent, no matter what her level of sobriety, no matter what he's seen of her or done with her, no matter what mixed signals he's gotten, NO MATTER WHAT. It's not okay to force sex on a woman who does not want it.  And let's just stop and examine two of the conditions up there:  a) He is so turned on he thinks he can't stop. b) She gets him excited sexually. 

Ohmygoodness. MAN UP. Newsflash: Guys get turned on all the time. It's not exactly a novel thing. Guys can get turned on for no apparent reason. 

As a guy, are you seriously gonna try and tell me that you couldn't help it?  (This is where it gets graphic) ...That your dick was hard so you just HAD to ram it inside of her? That's bullshit! (I get vulgar when I get angry).  Oh, you were horny. Oh you poor baby. My heart bleeds for you, it really does.  MAN UP.

You're not an animal. You're not a robot. You don't HAVE to do everything your body wants you to. As a human, you SHOULD have morals. And you are able to reason and make choices. If you know that rape is ALWAYS WRONG (which it is) then you CAN walk away. You are not so weak that you are helpless against the primitive desires of your flesh.  So when I hear someone say something like "he's so turned on he thinks he can't stop" or "she gets him excited sexually", you know what I think? I think that "he" is a cowardly, lazy, spineless, weak, pathetic BOY. Because any man who cannot master his body and decide to respect women despite his physical urges is no man at all.