New #blog post: You can never be apolitical
https://rldane.space/you-can-never-be-apolitical.html
#CW: Deals with religion and politics
376 words
cc: my wonderful #chorus: @joel @dm @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @solusspider @clayton
(I will absolutely remove you from the chorus upon request 
)
#rlDaneWriting #blost #USPOL #religion #Christianity #Trump #Musk
@joel @dm @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @solusspider @clayton
Now the real question is, do I go back this coming Sunday, and do I tell my friend (who invited me) about this #blost. :/
I had a much harsher blog post in mind a few days ago. A pleasant breakfast meeting with some Christian men did a lot to improve my mood. ^___^
Ah, but there are so many wonderful prophets to choose from! You can pick your delusions with the best of them! There really is no limit!
😢
No, I get it. I just marvel that the prophetic gift, calling, and office has been so thoroughly prostituted in this day.
@bogdanoviste @joel @dm @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @solusspider @clayton
I think you're right!
The work of the Gospel will always be antithetical to the trappings of power, always seeking out the lowly, the outcast, and the disenfranchised.
It took the American church manifesting its full monstrousness for me to be able to see Jesus' message with full clarity.
@solusspider @joel @dm @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @clayton
I definitely don't want to slap you, but in love, I will absolutely challenge you.
Who does your silence benefit?
Is there an important truth hiding inside of the folds of a carefully-constricted false dichotomy you might not have considered?
If Jesus wasn't neutral on the value of the harlot's tearful faith, the true size of the widow's mite, or the danger of the Pharisee's leaven, why are we neutral on anything where there is a clear line between good and evil?
How is it the church can speak out against vaccines and masks like they're some demonic thing, but remain quiet on the monstrous abuse of the stranger, the orphan, and the widow?
I cannot.
@solusspider @joel @dm @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @clayton
But that is a form of silence: "Not bringing up politics."
My whole point is that while non-partisanship is acceptable and even laudable, being non-political is a contradiction-in-terms. Everything is political, particularly decisions to avoid politics.
It's one thing if we were talking about the usual kind of partisan politics. But we're way past that. We are in a very evil day, and for the church to just pretend that things are ok and that she doesn't have to speak to the issue is honestly just wrong.
@rl_dane @solusspider @joel @dm @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @clayton
I disagree that everything is political.
Politics, I argue, is almost more like a way of talking about things, like a proxy or symbolism; An abstraction.
Abstractions are _absolutely_ helpful, nay, necessary. All of language is an abstraction. But not all languages are equally good at expressing all things. And this is true of all abstractions, like sort of meta-languages.
Sciences, for example, are very big on these meta-languages. What the average person means by a word is likely not what a software engineer means by a word is certainly not what a biologist means by a word.
And thus is politics. It is supposed to be a meta-language for talking about societal issues. But just as a biologist and a software engineer have totally different goals despite both being scientists, there are many people with many different goals in politics.
A common language, as helpful and desirable as it is, is also impossible. Nothing can truly be all things to all people.
Thus politics is just _a way_ to talk about things, and often _not a helpful way_
@OpenComputeDesign @solusspider @joel @dm @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @clayton
But I'm not talking about politics as a language for describing issues. I'm talking about the artificial blindfold of "don't talk about politics," or in other words, "here are a list of subjects to avoid."
I'm saying that avoiding subjects when there is violence involved is itself a form of violence.
I'm saying that as someone who was abused, who couldn't get anyone in his family to talk about the abuse.
Enough of that fuckery.
*deep breath*
Sorry, raw moment.
@rl_dane @solusspider @joel @dm @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @clayton
This is clearly a topic that requires more care than I've given it. For which I apologize. I will admit to lacking a great deal of, what's the word... (Sorry, I'm *polite word to describe so tired as to be as though I had taken an unreasonable amount of drugs*) Erm, anyway.
My point, though, was not that we shouldn't talk about things. But rather more that "politics" ruins every word it touches until no one else wants to. And that, I feel, is why people don't want to talk about these things.
I'm uhm, not sure that's an entirely helpful concept either, though. Sorry
@OpenComputeDesign @solusspider @joel @dm @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @clayton
Nothing to apologize for 💗
@rl_dane @solusspider @joel @dm @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @clayton
Believe me, I always have _something_ to apologize for
@rl_dane @solusspider @joel @dm @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @clayton
It is true, I _do_ feel the need to apologize for excessive apologies
@OpenComputeDesign @solusspider @joel @dm @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @clayton
Literally the only apology I will accept from you. XD
@rl_dane @solusspider @joel @dm @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @clayton
True, I _am_ generally beyond forgiveness, so
Because it helps you deal with the internal conflict.
Your brain wants an easy resolution, and it is easier to self-condemn than walk the plank of a thousand cognitive dissonances as you try to imagine yourself any better than you are right now and wonder why you feel like you can't improve.
But you can. It's not even hard, once you give yourself a little hope.
@rl_dane I don't know, I'm pretty sure I'm a monster and there's no fixing that.
My parents are a bit "aren't you ever gonna get married?" right now, and I just can't imagine facing anyone, erm, face to face, knowing how evil I am inside
Monsters don't usually think of themselves as monstrous. Monsters are usually not particularly self-aware.
Nobody can be a problem. That's ontologically an impossibility.
You can have problems, you can cause problems, but you can't be a problem.
@solusspider @joel @dm @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @clayton
It's still a very artificial distinction to say that a church can't discuss political issues. Jesus obviously spoke on political issues in His sermons, example, the tower of Siloam in Luke 13:
1 About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. 2 “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? 3 Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. 4 And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? 5 No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”
How can leadership equip believers for the work of the ministry if there's an artificial gag order on some of the most pressing and distressing subjects of the day?
@solusspider @joel @dm @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @clayton
Yes, the audience is primarily the local church, but the subject matter isn't just the Bible. i know that, because the bible doesn't just preach on the bible. Jesus doesn't just speak about the Bible. Just read Matthew 23! Very political!
@solusspider @sotolf @twizzay @krafter @roguefoam @thedoctor @clayton @dm @joel @rl_dane @pixx @adamsdesk @orbitalmartian
The church corporate in the USA has been bought and sold for 2-3 generations now; what’s taught in the pages of the New Testament bears little resemblance to the actual policies and public statements by most of evangelical American congregations / leaders.
#imnotbitter #grewupasapastorskid #thebibleteachesloveandacceptanceandtheforgivenessofsinsnotthejudgementofman
@krafter @solusspider @sotolf @alatartheblue @twizzay @roguefoam @thedoctor @clayton @dm @joel @pixx @adamsdesk @orbitalmartian
Fair, that goes to my point of political vs partisan.
@alatartheblue @solusspider @sotolf @twizzay @krafter @roguefoam @thedoctor @clayton @dm @joel @pixx @adamsdesk @orbitalmartian
Well, the declension of the church from the purity of the Gospel has been going on for millennia, with periods of revival and apostasy following each other to varying degrees.
The real question is, will you let their folly (whomever exactly it is they are) define what you are capable of? Will their ceiling be your ceiling or your floor?
Ok, that was corny, but I meant it kinda seriously. ;)
@dalias @solusspider @joel @dm @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @clayton
Every time. --___--
@joel @dm @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @solusspider @clayton
I mean, the salute was enough.
"Let's gather around and talk about the times we live in, and how to properly respond as Christians."
I would have been ecstatic to hear just that. But we didn't even get that much.
@rl_dane In this climate it is damn near impossible to be apolitical. You don't need to be outright rude, but at the same time the time for politeness is at an end.
Turn the other cheek, but do so to ensure your voice will be heard.
@joel @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @solusspider @clayton
@dm @joel @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @solusspider @clayton
And honestly, I'm not even talking about trying to convince people, or rebuke people, but for leaders to equip their own people to do good in an evil day.
But they're not even doing that.
I remember an anecdote I heard years ago (I have no idea if there's even a shred of truth to it) in the context of pro-life: as the story goes, the trains full of condemned Jews would see that they were passing by a church and would cry out for help. The Christians in the churches would respond to the cries for help by singing their hymns even louder to drown out the unpleasant sounds.
This is exactly what pastors are doing today: saying nothing at 100 decibels.
@rl_dane @joel @dm @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @solusspider @clayton
This is now displayed on my third monitor
Fascinating subject, thank you for sharing!
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Haha, this is where I just either copy and paste the visible part of the webpage into the #AltText, or just say, "A screenshot of https://example.com" ;)
@RadioAzureus @joel @dm @sotolf @thedoctor @pixx @twizzay @orbitalmartian @adamsdesk @krafter @roguefoam @solusspider @clayton @altbot
Thank you for reading and engaging on it! <3
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