@trailblazer
Active 20 hours, 53 minutes ago- Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
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“those d*** Christians” Did she say dumb? Or something else Idk about… but besides that, I think that would take patience, not snapping back at them.
No- I didn’t type the whole word because most people consider it a cuss word- she said “damn”. I don’t consider it as bad as the f-word but I definitely still don’t use it.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
1. What are your thoughts on Catholic reconciliation?
I don’t think we have to go to a priest to have our sins forgiven. Jesus is our great High Priest, and He is the One through whom our debt has been paid and sins forgiven, so all we have to do is ask Him for forgiveness and we can receive it. Now if it is a sin against another person, I do think there should be the appropriate confession to that person and asking them for their forgiveness. And if it is not a sin against another person, I still think confessing it to someone you trust is powerful and can bring another layer of healing. I don’t have a problem with going to a priest to confess sins, but I don’t think that is necessary to be reconciled with God.
2. What are your thoughts on how the church is portrayed through the media?
I’ve seen so many different portrayals depending on who is giving the news, the report, the podcast, whatever it may be. It varies… as one of the others mentioned, it’s hard to expect a secular media source to give a positive view of Christianity when some of them have probably had bad experiences with people who weren’t an accurate representation of Christ.
3. I haven’t really seen videos making jokes about the Bible… but I agree with what others have said before about the difference between a video outright mocking God and videos just poking fun at some things that aren’t that important.
4. What do you think of the new churches (like mega churches)?
Not all new churches are mega churches, if you’re defining new churches as churches that tend to be nondenominational and have been established within the last 50 years. I think I’ve already shared my opinion on mega churches before, so I won’t go into all that again.
5. Not on purpose- I don’t remember ever saying anything false about the church or Bible to someone. Of course, it’s possible I have, if I had a wrong interpretation of Scripture and didn’t realize it was wrong. But for years I’ve done my best to be honest with anyone and everyone, to the best of my knowledge. I’ve grown and changed and my theological views have matured over the years as well, so it’s likely I said something to someone years ago that wasn’t true, but I didn’t know at the time that it was false.
6. I think it depends on the situation, like Ellette said, but typically I would respond with grace. I’m not going to retaliate or mock them back- likely they’ve already had a bad impression of Christians and that would only make it worse. I would try to keep my tone gentle and respond with kindness. I also like Whaley’s idea of simply asking them questions, rather than responding with my own defense. But if I’m defending someone else than I would probably still be more firm without attacking them. There was one time during my singular year in public school that I overheard a classmate ranting to a friend about “those d*** Christians”, but she wasn’t talking to me, and I don’t think she would have said it to my face. I don’t think she was aware that I was a Christian at the time, because it was still the beginning of the school year, but she definitely knew where I stood by the end of the year, and she never said anything about it to me directly.
7. I’m pretty careful about what I consume, whether music or entertainment or media of another kind. I think it very much depends on the situation, but if someone I’m following gives hints or blatantly releases something that goes against Biblical values or is dark and demonic, then it raises red flags and I’m going to pay closer attention to whatever they’re putting out. My discernment is gonna be on high alert, and again, it depends on the situation, but generally “from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks”. If it’s starting to come out of them, then it’s a good indication of what’s in their heart. There are some cases where there is still good content (books or music or whatever), but I would be much more careful when consuming it, and there are other cases where I would just disregard entirely whatever they’re releasing. If it doesn’t honor God, is it really worth my time and attention?
This is more of a side note, but I love what @thearcaneaxiom said:
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 definitely agree! I think it applies to more than just Christianity- for years the media has pushed out a lot of views that are counter to the beliefs of the majority of people, but they want you to think that what they’re telling you is what everyone else thinks when it really isn’t. Fortunately, I’ve seen more people waking up to this and bringing more balance into the realm of media in the past few years.
We live in a day and age where there is so much in front of us, being fed to us, and we have been taught to consume it all at an alarming rate. Lately God has been telling me to slow down and cut out a lot of the things I usually watch or listen to- shows and podcasts that can be really good and offer some wisdom in certain situations, but when I’m absorbing multiple per week, in addition to scrolling social media and news outlets, I’m overloading myself with a flood of information that I really don’t have time to process. This crowds my mind and makes it harder to focus on what really matters and listen for the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit. It might not necessarily be bad things, but if it’s noise, it clutters the space I need to leave open for Him to speak.
Anyway… that’s been my soap box this week and I’ll get down now lol.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
I’ve got a few non-fiction books that have been highly impactful for me, and if you haven’t read them, you should XD.
-When Dreams Come True, by Eric and Leslie Ludy (basically their love story- there may be a few references to things such as p*rn, but it’s all from a Biblical perspective)
-Made for People, by Justin Whitmel Earley (talking about how humans were created for relationship and we’ve lost some of the art of friendship today. He gives very practical habits to cultivate deeper relationships) And yes, I quoted him in my signature.
-The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, by John Mark Comer (discussing how today’s world is so rushed and sharing insight into how we can deliberately slow down our lives and make space for what really matters in life- God and the people He’s placed in our lives) It’s super powerful, and to be honest, I’m not even quite finished with the book yet, but it’s been so good!
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
Likewise I am not very familiar with how this works but it sounds like a fun idea!
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
You know you’re a writer when you come back from camp thinking about all the people you met and what parts of them are going in a book. I can finally picture one of my character’s hair now!
Haha I definitely have put real people into my stories before…. Mostly strangers who had interesting quirks or personalities or something about them struck me and I couldn’t help myself.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
This sounds interesting! I’m excited to hear more!
now you gotta put a chili pepper in a random scene somewhere as a joke.
Also I agree with @keilah-h, that would be really funny!
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
Worst. Idea. Ever! My brothers won’t stop jabbering about all the new stupid slang! XD
Yeahhh I considered telling my brothers and then decided against it lol. There is so much new “brain rot”, as my brother would say, that sometimes I feel out of touch with my own generation. I can’t tell you how many times I pretend I know what someone said and then Google it later.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
I’m a little late to responding, but as I was reading the things you shared, I just had a couple thoughts. Not sure if they’ll be helpful or not, but I figured I’d share anyway and let you decide lol.
One thing I noticed that could potentially be a lie (and maybe this fits more for future scenes after this all takes place) is “you’re weak” or “you’re a traitor”. I noticed how Sef didn’t jump in to defend Neveah even though she felt like she should, and that could be used against her. It seems like something she could easily believe about herself based on the way the scene played out- if you know someone loves you and you’ve loved them, defending and protecting them is the natural response, and it seems like Sef is almost starting to believe this about herself before Iver would even say anything; it’s a point of weakness that could easily take her down.
Hopefully that makes sense… again it might not necessarily be what you need for this scene, but it could be something that subconsciously bothers Sef after this moment, where she feels like she could and should have saved Neveah, but didn’t. That would lead to believing those lies of “you couldn’t stand up for her”, “you’re weak”, “why do you deserve to be loved if you couldn’t stand up for your own mother?” I know those are longer versions, but I’m using them to help paint the picture a little bit. There’s probably a way to shorten them if you need to, or you could just use them as internal dialogue.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
Can it be any lies or does it have to be something that has to do specifically with Pythonos? I’m not familiar enough with your stories to help if they have to be specific, but I might be able to give a few suggestions otherwise.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
Oops I read your response and totally forgot to reply! Thanks for the suggestions!
In another example, let’s say your character Ellie has the character arc of… looking at her summary, I’m going to go with this: She feels compassion for those who are suffering, specifically trafficking victims, but struggles to actually step out and act on her values. This could stem from a desire for others’ approval, in which she might believe that she has to try to be as “normal” as possible for others to like her. (Sounds cliche, but if done subtly, this could be really powerful.) In that case, her “Want” might be for others to approve of her, or to fit in. Her “Need” would be to act on her convictions and step out in faith without worrying about what others think. Or, to put it another way, she needs to find enough strength in God’s love for her to stop worrying about others. In the story, this could manifest itself by Ellie struggling to fit in with girls at her school. When she’s given the opportunity to help Declan’s dad find the information, and uncovers the trafficking ring, she begins to wonder if this is too “big” and if she really wants to be a part of it. How will she go back to normal life after this? But she has to make the continuous choice to speak out and act against the evil she sees.
I’m not sure that’ll work with the plot, but thanks for trying! Her parents have been involved in anti-trafficking work since she was little (the kidnapping of Ellie’s sister is what started their involvement, in hopes of finding their daughter one day). So she’s pretty much grown up around rescue operations (her sister was kidnapped before she was born, so she never even met her), even though she hasn’t directly been involved with them up to this point.
I’m gonna go check out that article now…
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
yeah I threw in the chosen thing just to give a mini heart attack to everyone reading 😂😂
Yeah you got me too lol
I haven’t actually watched the Chosen… I’ve heard a lot of good things about it but never took the time to actually sit down and watch.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
Yeah, unfortunately it’s really messy. Usually stems from insecurities, I think.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
It was rough, and it was subtly done…….. yeah. I won’t go into it, but I went through a lot of abuse from them, but so subtly that it looked like I was the problem (I even believed I was) It wasn’t until things started to come to light and people started finding out what was really going on that i was able to see the truth.
Sorry to hear about that! Manipulation like that makes situations so complicated! I have a friend who has grown up in a household that’s pretty toxic, and she thought she was crazy most of her life until realizing recently she’s been manipulated this entire time.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
Wow, that is a lot! Do you go to a mega church? I assume that because you talk about lasers and fog and such.
I don’t consider it a megachurch. That might depend on your definition, but most megachurches have more than 2000 members, and we’re not that big. We do have lights and such, but there are other smaller churches who use those things too- it’s not just the megachurches, although those are the ones who have drawn more attention to those things.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
How big is your church? (if you go to church.)
Roughly 1700-1800
What is one thing you disagree/don’t understand with a different denomination?
Ummm… probably the biggest thing is what some of us were discussing above, regarding whether or not spiritual gifts are still active in the church today (I believe they are).
What is your opinion on Mary?
She’s the mother of Jesus. God chose her for that special purpose, in the same way that He chose other figures in the Bible for certain purposes. I don’t worship her or pray to her.
What is one thing you don’t understand about your own denomination?
Well I’m non-denom, so there’s not really anything my church does that I don’t understand. But the one thing that does frustrate me sometimes is using colored lights and fog and other “special effects”- like what good purpose does that serve? It usually ends up being more distracting to me.
Do you have (or did you ever have) a friend that has (or had) a negative impact on your faith?
The majority of my friends have been good friends. Not all of them have actively pushed me to grow closer to God, but they didn’t necessarily hinder my faith. I’ve been careful about pursuing friendships that will help me to grow in my faith.
Where do you usually go for a place to pray to God? (It could be your favorite place, either inside or outside your own home.)
Well, I talk to Him literally anywhere, anytime of day, so it’s hard to define one place where I pray. But if I need a place to be alone with Him for an extended period of time, my bedroom offers the most solitude.
If your friend ever has a question about God, how do you answer?
The majority of my friends believe the same I do, so I don’t often run into this problem. The one friend I do have who isn’t a believer doesn’t talk to me very much anymore, and she’s aware of what I believe but doesn’t ask me about it.
Do you believe that God created everything, or that evolution had a hand.
Creation- it makes way more sense than evolution.
What are your plains to grow in the faith?
Continue surrounding myself with Godly people who will encourage me to grow, and keep up a habit of daily spending alone time with God and reading the Bible.
And finally, how do you feel on calling Christianity, a faith?
I don’t have a problem with it. Not that I’ve ever really thought about it before.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley