[TheArcaneAxiom]

@the_lost-journal

Ah yes, I can see why you are asking that. We are taught both that we should confess both big and little sins. (Which we call Mortal and Venial sins) but if you have Eucharist with venial sins on your soul all those venial sins are forgiven.

Good to know, thanks!

Yeah, that was a lot so I am unsure what to respond to first 😅 when I hear church or think of it in media is catholic, but I think that is just me.

No worries! When I hear “the Church” I think of the LDS faith as well, so it’s a good thing to clarify.

Wow, my grandma was right! You really are a nice cult! (JOKING! I am sorry… did that offend you? Sorry..)

No you’re good🤣 I don’t mind any jest, I joke about it myself actually (sometimes even as a form of rhetoric against it). It’s when someone says that to shut down any conversation before it even begins that ruffles my feathers.

yeah, I think God enjoys some of the jokes people make! As long as (like what you said) they are respectful at the same time!

Yep! I also think God has an awesome sense of humor Himself with they jokes He sometimes plays on us😂

Ah, I remember being an infant sliding down my custom made water slide into a pool and doing a cannon ball down into the pool made of chocolate pudding. 😂😂 My church is a mega church, but at the same time it is pretty traditional! Like how we do traditional baptism or readings. Also I have to say, this one person complained about how we have Eucharist adoration in a separate room so you can be alone with Jesus. But why would you complain?

Chocolate pudding pool sounds fun although very unsanitary😂 Yeah, I don’t know enough about Eucharist in other denominations, so I don’t have any context on why he would have any issues with that.

Wow! You admitted you were human! Unlike all of the others who said they were unsure or out right said no, that is impossible! Thanks!

Thanks in return!🙏 I’ll make sure to not let such praise of my incredible unequaled humility get to my head🤣🤣

Everyone has the natural inclination to push away guilt. It’s even a natural defense mechanism to pin potential blame away from ourselves. It’s just that the question you gave is essentially “have you ever lied?” Most people the first time they hear that will have not only an inclination to say no, but they would convince themselves with a genuine belief that they are free of that guilt. Even if they admit that they have lied, they often justify it as a white lie or less serious falsehood. Being more self-aware of those things I think helps, as well as simply coming to terms with one’s own vices. I talk about Church and scriptures a lot, and to say that I’ve never said any falsehood for the duration of that time concerning those things would be a fat lie. This makes me think of Doctrine and Covenants 42:14 “And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach.” Something I can say with boldness is that I have sought to teach without the Spirit in the past (of course not intentionally, but simply being of the wrong spirit, specifically a spirit of contention), instead relying on my own intellectual prowess to convince people of the truth. It is for that reason that I know that I have also taught falsehoods to varying degrees. Even if I spoke with sincerity, I spoke from a place of authority I had no right to claim.

He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.

[TheArcaneAxiom]

@the_lost-journal

Hi Kefa (just realized I haven’t said anything on your WIP page yet, still need to do that)

What are your thoughts on catholic reconciliation? (For those who don’t know, reconciliation is where catholics go (supposed to be at least every month) to confess their sins. And then they are forgiven for them.) And what questions do you have. (That definition is the most simple version, there is more to it.)

I think it makes sense, as we’ve talked about before, we have a very similar thing, if not essentially just the same thing. Though perhaps a big difference is that it’s not necessarily a periodic thing we need to do. Here’s a question I have actually: in the LDS faith, when we need to talk to the Bishop to confess sins, usually that’s more for serious sins and sins that we have trouble forsaking, such as addiction or sexual transgression. More minor sins you’ve committed you can simply repent of through prayer and partaking of the sacrament (Euchrist). In the Catholic faith, are you supposed to confess all your sins to the priest, big and small, or only the big ones? Of course, theologically all sin is equal unto God, but what about in practice?

What are your thoughts on how the church is portrayed in media?

When you say church, you’re simply talking about Christianity in general right? Or the Catholic Church? I’ll just give three separate responses:

The representation of the church as in Christianity in general I find hard to pin down because I’m not really sure if I can say it’s been represented as more positive or negative globally, though I’ve seen a lot of both. That being said, the face I think most people imagine when they hear the word “Christian”, at least in the US, is Evangelical. (🔥HOT-TAKE WARNING🔥: this is in no way an attack on my Evangelical brothers and sisters here or anywhere else, this is just what I’ve perceived in the media.) Evangelicals I think are generally viewed more negatively because some (definitely not all, probably a minority really) of the mainstream Evangelical pastors participate in forms of cancel culture, instead of testifying of Christ and His love, they simply condemn everyone around them who doesn’t conform to their views, which leaves a bad taste in peoples mouths. This wouldn’t be a unique issue to Evangelicals obviously, as there can and will be people like this in every faith. Various factors would be involved for why it’s Evangelicals that are perceived in this light specifically, but if I said anything more it would just be speculative musing.

The representation of the Catholic Church I think is interesting because it has such a long history, and thus many caricatures. On the far negative end, when people think of the word “cult” they often imagine hooded monks in a cathedral. While they might not directly connect this to Catholicism, that is the obvious root of the notion. Then there’s the overly-strict nuns, and the corrupt priests. The Catholic moms that are intolerant of their children wanting to explore other views. Or since you brought it up, I think a lot of people think of confession as merely the act of saying “I have sinned”, and you’re all good to go even if you don’t feel truly repentant. The kindly down-to-earth priest or monk is a nice trope I’ve seen a bit of, which is good.

I wanted to also mention how the LDS faith is portrayed in media. One of the very most common tropes you’ll ever see regarding us is “they’re the nicest people you’ll ever meet, but they’re also the most naive”, or “they’re the nicest cult members you’ll meet.” Beneath that, I would actually go as far as to say we’re the most hated Christian faith, both by non-Christians and Christians alike (once again, not hating on any of my brothers and sisters in Christ here, this is just a statistical phenomenon. Everyone here that I speak with maintains a true, loving, Christ-like demeanor that I hope I can embody more myself). Why are we so disliked? I could offer no explanation beyond my own testimony of its truth. Over the past two years, there’s also been a lot of recent movies and shows explicitly about us that people have started making, such as Under the Banner of Heaven, Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Heretic, and American Primeval, all of which betray us as very sexist, ignorant/brainwashed, and even dangerous.

I’m being negative, for which I must apologize. This is just something that has really bugged me, especially with the more recent developments that talk about us instead of to us. I think a big thing is that the media makes people feel alone in their worldviews and opinions where everyone is against them, when in reality they’re actually part of the majority, which applies heavily to Christianity. I think that’s enough of a rant here though. What do you think?

How do you feel on videos doing a joke based on something from the Bible. (Ex. this video titled “Their conversation at dinner after Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac.” )

Personally I actually don’t have much of an issue with this. Of course we shouldn’t make light of sacred things, but where is the line in that exactly? I think humor can be both clean and respectful while also admitting some of the absurdities we see from a modern 20th-century era, knowing full well that things were just different back then. Like Bible Cop from JK Studios makes fun of Elisha and the she-bears, which I found hilarious, and I don’t think God is offended by that. I think there’s also a time and place for everything, a time to laugh, and a time to be reverent. Maybe I go to far on this, but I don’t know.

What do you think of the new churches (like mega churches.)

I don’t know much about them honestly. Some are probably better than others, I know some literally do things like water slide baptisms and such, which I find to be a turn off, but I’m at least assuming the majority are pretty conservative. One of the big things I have is the Pastors claiming authority to lead people, and those same pastors are paid by the congregation essentially, which I see to be problematic both theologically and in practice.

Have you ever told something false to someone about a church, and or the bible?

Definitely. Though my intent is always sincere, I am not perfect and have at some point or another said things out of the ignorance of my mind and the pride in my heart.

If someone makes fun of the church, or mocks it, how do you respond.

First I would try to reason with them and invite them to see more, but if they don’t listen, I just have to walk away.

What do you react to finding out that an artist you like begins to do wrong things. (Like a draw and art piece disrespectful to God, or Jesus. Or makes a song about demons and worshiping them or something. Any range of “art”)

Depends on the magnitude. I’ll still follow and respect people I disagree with heavily, but if they are going as far as you describe, then I would be disgusted, and would simply stop following them.

He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.

[TheArcaneAxiom]

@the_lost-journal

oop, uhh, I will make a topic for it!!!!!!!!!

Sounds good😂

Nice, because I know other denominations just forgive to one another… 😬 that sounds worse.

And of course, we should reconcile ourselves with our fellow man, especially those we have wronged, but man cannot forgive sin, only God, and by extension those He’s given authority that He might work through them.

I couldn’t find the exact one I was talking about, but here is a similar one! “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” – Revelation 3:15-16

Very intriguing verses! Though, I wonder if this is really referring to belief. The sin is later specified in the chapter as basically thinking that your fine with your worldly possessions, when you are in reality very poor and miserable in spirit, at least as far as I’m currently interpreting it. And then I wonder what “hot and cold” really means, does it really imply for or against God? I’m just not sure. (I’m merely musing btw, thanks for giving me a rabbit hole to explore:)

That is a really good question! I would say the same thing, about how they are so closed to being saved, they just need to be taught that there is only ONE TRUE GOD!!!! 😁

But what if they argue that they believe in one true God/creator, they just merely recognize the existence of other lesser gods?

I’ll be fully transparent and admit that I myself am henotheistic, meaning that I believe in one true God, and worship no other, yet believe that beings that bear the title “god” or elohim also exist, though in modern language the majority of such beings would merely be refered to as angels or demons, even though biblically/historically they were all elohim/gods.

I know! 🥹

🙏

He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.

[TheArcaneAxiom]

@theducktator

*Steals your questions*

Please do, Most Esteemed Feathered One. Your abducktion of my questions is an honor.

I would say you can tell if someone is a true Christian by whether they believe the Bible, and how they treat others.

I think that’s a good answer, though what if someone says they believe the Bible, and treat those around them nicely enough, but then they have interpretations of the Bible that you would consider (for a lack of better terms) unBiblical? How far is too far?

“Whoever desires to be saved should above all hold to the catholic faith. Anyone who does not keep it whole and unbroken will doubtless perish eternally.”-The Athanasian Creed (Note that the catholic does not have a capital c. This was written before the church split.)

What about those who simply don’t know there is a faith more true than their own, but desire salvation, seek after truth, and love their neighbor and enemy alike?

I don’t know. I have a lot of questions.

Fair enough, admitting one has no answer is sometimes the best one.

He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.

[TheArcaneAxiom]

@the_lost-journal

Ah, hello intelligent being! And I would love to tell you all about my fantasy book I am writing!

Great! If you could point me to where you talk about it, that would be awesome:)

I feel I can be that way too…

Luckily we have the Atonement, so that we can progress and become perfected through Christ

Oh, that makes more sense, is it considered a different belief?

Depending on who you ask. A lot of people say we have a different Jesus and stuff, because we have additional scripture to the Bible and some of our more unorthodox beliefs (of which there are indeed many). For me, I’m Christian to my core, but it’s all a matter of definition. The important part to me really is how God feels about you, and you Him, rather than how things are categorized.

🙂‍↕️ I agree! I feel like it was a little foolish for the other denominations to remove so many! I am not sure if you have reconciliation, but I feel like that is one everyone should have!

So it’s weird because we absolutely have the analog of reconciliation, where we repent and confess to a Bishop (one of authority over your ward (mass)), and resolve to be better. It’s just that we don’t really see it as an ordinance, even though it must be done with authority. If it’s defined as a catholic sacrament though, then yeah we have it for sure.

Also, as a side note on your and Duck’s conversation, we categorize things as saving or essential ordinances or saving ordinances. Then there are ordinances that are still ordinances but are not necessary for salvation, and not everyone partakes of them. The cool thing about the saving ordinances is that everyone on this earth will get the opportunity to receive them one way or another because of the Temple.

I feel like you have to (well obviously) carry out Jesus’ teachings! And as the Bible says, follow the ancient  scripture and traditions! And to add on, here are some of the KEY attitudes I believe all christians should follow: Kindness, patience, self-control, knowledge, understanding, joy, love, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness. If a Christian is missing too many of these virtues, then I wouldn’t really consider them a Christian. Plus you need to attend mass (or service) every Sunday, and practice the sacraments (or ordinances). And to add onto the virtues, I myself do not have self-control and patience, but I do practice them regularly.

Amen to all of that. Ultimately I think it’s just in the name, Christian just means one who follows Christ. If someone is sincerely seeking Him, seeking to embody His teachings continually, then you are a follower in my book.

I feel as if they’re SO CLOSE and yet so far away. But I feel it is better to believe in something, than nothing. Because yes, God did say “you shall have no other gods besides the Lord your God”, but he also said “better for a man to hate me, then to be lukewarm.” (I know I probably miss typed those passages, 🫤) So using that logic, it is probably better for someone to worship a different god, then not care about God. Because this is what I have been taught: going off of that passage, then God is saying a man who hates him, truly believes he exists, because why would you hate something that doesn’t exist? But a man who does not believe or care, then he believes that God isn’t even real, and that pains God more.

I don’t think I’ve heard that second one before, do you know where the passage is? This is really interesting. I would point out James 2:19 “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” I would say that directly opposing/hating God would be the more negative case, because at least in the case of non-belief, that’s an act out of ignorance rather than defiance, though that may be an overgeneralization, because each individual is different.

I think the most fascinating element to this subject is what does God really value the most? Belief, manifestation of faith, action according to available knowledge, ect.

So going off that, that means others who believe in another god is so close to the truth, you could probably save them! (people who believe in multiple gods on the other hand… 😬) But if they believe in God, but just call him a different name 🤷‍♂️ I don’t think that is that horrible. Say if you are Jewish, muslims, or something else… the only thing is most of those religions do not believe Jesus IS the savior of the world and God… so that is the only real problem I have.

Interesting, what would you say to someone who believe Jesus is the Savior of the world and God, but also believe in multiple other gods?

HUG HIM! Then ask as many questions I can think of! Like how did the dinosaurs truly die?! And what did they look like?! Are Adam and Eve here? What do you think about the other denominations?! And then I would probably feel bad for crucifying him on the cross 😓. (Because everyone did, everyone crucified him, even if you were not alive.) 🙁

Amen to all of it🙏 But you know the cool thing, He chose to suffer on the cross for you, and He would do it all again if it were for only you.

He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.

[TheArcaneAxiom]

@the_lost-journal

Hello! It is even more nice to meet you!!!! Also, let me introduce myself! I am The lost journal (something from my main WIP) Also know as my real name Kefa, or my split personality, which is the magic potato! (Don’t ask questions…) I work for the potato army, but have also made a truce with the avocado army!

Tis a pleasure, Potatoed One, I myself am the Arcane Axiom, one of math and a seeker of fundamental truth. I read/write sci-fi/fantasy and my main WIP is a multiverse called the Sceptrum. (would love to hear more about your WIP btw).

Hee hee hee… this place is anything but 😁 (A little fighting happens here 😅)

That is the way of the world, many on here can probably attest to the fact that I’m not one to back down when things get heated. I always pray for fruitful discussion, mutual understanding and learning, and I think that’s achieved more often than not, but I am a heavily flawed human being.

Wow, that is a long title! Also, I have never heard of that denomination!

Lol, yeah, sometimes we shorten it to The Church of Jesus Christ, the second half is the part that indicates that this is His Church for our day specifically on an organizational level, though ultimately it’s the same Church as the days of old with true apostolic authority. We also have various other informal nicknames like LDS. A lot of people would tell you that it’s not a denomination at all, I would also hesitate to do so, but for different reasons. It’s restorationist, meaning it’s a restoration of the fullness of the Gospel of Christ and His authority on the earth.

Cool! Most other denominations keep very little, but yours seams to add a bunch! Personally, (from my stand point, Idk what the Catholic Church teaches… But I believe it is better to have more sacraments then less… please don’t come at me other denominations…)

For sure, I think it’s an important thing as far as using God’s authority properly to minister to His children with the practices that bring about salvation, sealing, and joy on this earth. Both Catholicism and Orthodoxy preserved that tradition very well because of their old roots, which is totally awesome.

Besides the “Our Father” Prayer, there seems to be one more thing that unites the entire church, and all of her denominations! WAFFLES AND PANCAKES!!!!!

AMEN!!!!

 

Now some questions for you:

What do you think is the very most important element to the Christian identity? In other words, what tells you whether someone is a true Christian or not?

How do you feel about people in other religions in general, especially concerning their salvation?

What do you think would be the first thing you would say to Christ when you meet Him in this life or the next?

He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.

[TheArcaneAxiom]

@freed_and_redeemed

Hi Freedom! I am intrigued. have you developed how these different arcs blend into the overall story? What’s the worldbuilding you’ve done like so far?

He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.

[TheArcaneAxiom]

@the_lost-journal

This place looks cool, not sure if we’ve met, I haven’t been active lately, nice to meet you!

1. My denomination is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

2. I grew up in my faith, and will always be growing up in it on a path of continual conversion

3. Formally speaking there are the four standard works which include the 66 books in the kjv, as well as The Book of Mormon (which itself contains 15 books), Doctrine & Covenants (138 sections/chapters), and Pearl of a Great Price (5 books). The Church also states that there can be truth found in additional texts, including the Apocrypha, which must be read prayerfully and with the Spirit for truth to be found.

4. Of my nuclear family, everyone is baptized and confirmed

5. Ok so we have a lot of what we call ordinances, which is the analog of Catholic sacraments, all of which are done by Priesthood Authority. Essential ordinances include: baptism, confirmation, ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood (for men), the temple endowment, and the marriage sealing. Then there are also plenty of others including baby blessings, anointing of the sick, sacrament (Euchrist), patriarchal blessings, father’s blessings, blessings of comfort, and other various things.

6. President Russel M. Nelson is the current seer, prophet, and revelator of the Church, acting as God’s mouthpiece as prophets of old.

7. Moses is probably too easy as well, Melchizedek is really interesting, as well as Enock, not a lot is known of either of them biblically though. Gotta love Peter too. They’re all great

8. I love General Conference which is a worldwide conference to hear the words of the prophet, apostles, and other general authorities. My family has started a tradition of having pancakes and waffles for the Saturday morning session.

He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.

[TheArcaneAxiom]

@keilah-h

Nah, you’re just that predictable. No offense, if our roles were reversed and you came to me with a Bad Batch or Team Fortress fanfic idea, I’d react pretty much the exact same way.

Lol, fair enough

The original crossover was posited as occurring 1-2 generations after Korra’s time, I believe, and I think I’m gonna stick with that for my own tale.

Gotcha, cool, so you’re entering the far more modern era of Avatar, at least in theory

He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.

[TheArcaneAxiom]

@whalekeeper

Perfect reason to venture out of KP hibernation. 👌

👌

@keilah-h

AHAHAHA how did I know you were gonna do that?

Either you have a connection to supernatural powers, or I’m just very predictable

yeah just little things like that. Not too big of a deal to like not touch the fandom at all, but large enough that I can’t just ignore it. Fortunately, it seems like fanfics don’t have to delve too far into the nuances of it.

Fair enough, though I would say that such notes are very easily ignored and can even go completely unnoticed, and even when noticed, is up to interpretation.

ahhh okay. I feel like a lion-turtle giving a power is cool, but if I didn’t implement it right it’d seem like “oh this is just a copout to give this character an ability, a deus ex machina.” So I might go with this: my character in question, he would’ve been born with his waterbending, but it would’ve just been too weak for him to do much with it until he’s able to get a proper teacher. His mother (technically his adopted mother but she and him share the same ability) tried to teach him, but maybe her teaching style just didn’t really work with him or something, so he doesn’t progress far until he joins the group of main characters and the other two waterbenders help him out.

Would that work?

Yep, that would definitely work.

Yep, I learned about that! Thinking of having two metal-specializing earthbenders with major roles–one was part of the original crossover and one’s my own character.

Cool! So is this in any way parallel to the actual Avatar cannon, and in which case, at what period would it be? Metal specialization is only really a thing at all in the sequal series, though that’s only about a generation after the original.

Thank you for the rant actually, that was super helpful. Gonna do some wiki page reading and come back to you with what I think the basics of writing a story in this world would be, just in case you wanna add something important.

No problem, good luck with your exploration of this world!

He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.

[TheArcaneAxiom]

@keilah-h

-Me being chronically inactive cause I’m about to serve a mission

-Someone mentions Avatar

-Me, breaks through the ceiling falling before you

I am here

I’m iffy on the show itself. I don’t need another fixation. There are a couple issues I’d like to avoid with the mythology of it all.

Always fair, however, I will say that you are severely missing out. Whaley is right that it’s arguably the greatest kid show, I would personally venture to the greatest show at all, though that gets far more controversial. Not sure what issue you would have with the mythology, though there is one note I personally don’t like is the implications of Aang’s past lives, though I personally just have a more nuanced head cannon that essentially just plays it down.

But anyway, my question. Three of the main characters in this storyline are powerless. No bending abilities. They were born like that.

Is it possible, though, for someone like that to gain their ability later? Or, perhaps, to have a weak one that never showed up until one day they’re like “WAIT I CAN MANIPULATE (insert element)?!” Cause I can do some MAJOR stuff with that.

As Whaley pointed out, you should probably watch the show before writing fan fics. You are free to do as you will of course, but people who have watched the show may become frustrated with any obvious inconsistencies between the Avatar world and your story. I don’t know the fan fiction community much though, and it would make sense if things like cannon and consistency were less stressed and focused on. At the same time, the name fan fiction, indicates that you are a fan of the world/story, and wish to engage in it on a more intimate level, which in this case feels more second hand. Of course, you feel inspired by this writer’s crossover world, and that’s what you wish to engage in on a more intimate level rather than what it itself was inspired by, so in that sense, the system works.

As for your question, If someone is born with no bending ability, then no, they cannot develop one later. However, like Whaley was talking about with Katara, she was always a waterbender, but the manifestation of her abilities started out with very little, then progressed. Her brother Soka is not a bender and will never be one. So a better way to say this is that you are either a bender or your not, but if you are a bender, it may be possible you may not realize until much later. That doesn’t functionally change anything for you, just a little bit of how things are described.

Aang himself shows this very clearly. He’s always been the Avatar, and therefore can bend all four elements, however, such powers do not manifest until he engages in the powers and learns from a teacher. He struggled the most with earthbending, as it required him to think in a completely opposite way in how he interacts with the world, so he was unable to bend earth in any way until he was able to get past that.

Another good thing to know for fan fic stuff and this question is that there are sub-elements that masters can manipulate with enough practice. Toph for example invented metal bending, which is really just a more refined form of earth bending. Before she did though, metal was considered unbendable, with her included, until she figured it out.

Now I’ll actually say that I’ve partially lied, because if you watch the sequel series The Legend of Korra (which is mid, but gives a few interesting notes regarding the mechanics of bending), you’ll know that you can also gain bending abilities as a gift from a lion turtle, each turtle as far as we know gives a particular ability, but they’re not really rare and hidden, despite their size. You could explore in your story perhaps something like finding a lion turtle if you wanted.

That’s my rant, hopefully that clears some things up and gives you more ideas of what you can play with, in the world.

He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.

[TheArcaneAxiom]

@hybridlore @theshadow

Thank you for sharing that experience Hybrid, though I haven’t necessarily dealt with these same trials, I do know pain and doubt. I don’t want to force myself into this conversation, but I just wanted to say that God is aware of you both, and He wants to end your confusion and pain, but there is a plan in all things. Anxiety is real, hard, and really hard, but remember that fear doesn’t come from God, for fear is the opposite of faith, so you need not pay it heed.

I saw a video yesterday that featured this post from someone who said this to the question of “what if you’re wrong about God and Jesus and the Church?” and I feel that it’s worth sharing in this conversation:

Well, if I am wrong, I wasted my life engaged in a Joy that can only be found in Service. If I am wrong, I needlessly kept the commandments that blessed me with health, safety, and happiness. If I am wrong, I blindly followed an imaginary Savior that made me more kind and forgiving. If I am wrong, then I felt a “fake” comfort when loved ones passed away provided by a false hope of eternity with them again.

In other words, even if I am wrong, my error made me a better man, a better husband and father, a better brother and friend, I have lived a life of fulfillment, I have learned to serve and respect others. To be kind and generous. To donate if I have extra. To ask for help, when I don’t have enough.

In short…

If I am right, my eternity is beautiful.

If I am wrong, my life is beautiful.

God bless both of you on your journeys though this life, and Merry Christmas

• This reply was modified 1 month, 4 weeks ago by TheArcaneAxiom.

He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.

[TheArcaneAxiom]

@theshadow

Well, people who choose to live apart from God on earth are kind of living a personal hell, right?

Right, it’s self-inflicted. It’s choosing to be something lesser than you could be, which leads to sorrow.

How can someone get to the point where having the ultimate good would be worse for them than hell?

Because of who they chose to be. Heaven won’t be heaven to those who do not choose to be heavenly. To put it into perspective, there’s a story Brad Wilcox talked about: A young man made bad choices throughout his life, and only continued to choose wrong. Brad talked with the boy’s father about getting him into a youth camp, knowing the good it does. Once they put him into the program, however, he called the first day saying “get me out of here.” The camp was nothing but good, yet the young man hated every moment of it. Similarly, the unrepentant sinner if forced into the gates of heaven will scream “get me out of here” despite Christ begging them to use his atonement and change.

He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.

[TheArcaneAxiom]

@theshadow

That is true, he did have that point in between after the betrayal and before his death to repent. I guess we’ll never really know for sure why God allows us to go to hell. After all, as Judith said in her book, not even humans can a know for sure what is on other humans hearts, let alone the God of the Universes’ mind. Maybe people that die and face God at the end are given one last chance to choose, or maybe not. It’s a little frustrating not knowing these things sometimes.

Well if you ask me it’s not so much that hell is a punishment for sin as much as the state you choose to exist in. If God forced you into His presence, it would be worse than hell, and so He loves you enough to let you live outside of His presence, despite knowing you’d be happier if you chose Him instead. He’s letting you decide who you want to ultimately be, and therefore where you’ll be the happiest.

You’re absolutely right though, we simply don’t know all things, and shouldn’t act like we do, we can only trust in Him.

He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.

[TheArcaneAxiom]

Love this movement, protect Adolin! I’m on the final stretch of Rhythm, and I’m not worried about it, but you really never know with Sanderson, he’s really good at things like that. He’s killed favorite characters before, but it’s generally still fulfilling when he does, like with LightSong.

He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.

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