Twid's spiritual exploration thingie.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Other thoughts on Christianity-

-We are created in God's image. We fall short of perfection. What, then, does this say about God? Especially when he sees the whole deal from our perspective?

I always wondered why religious folk thought this made God so awesome if we were made in his image. Dude sounds messed up if he's a more all-powerful version of us. If everyone was made in his image then why are women and people of color held at such disparity? Clearly God is a rainbow-colored pansexual hermaphrodite.

Ultimately, I think (since I am still currently Christian, and about to be Jewish) that what that really means is a model of consciousness. We have humanoid bodies because that just happens to work, so race and gender are irrelevant in God's eyes. However, even then, the fact that God thinks like a human, but has all of the powers of the Universe is even more telling. I think that's why, in the evening of my revisitation, I'm attracted to the idea of Jesus as more human than god. Human and god are otherwise identical. Hell, even within the mythological construct, we ate a magic apple and realized that our junk was just all out there. We are as wise as God. We just had to sacrifice immortality in the process.

Tower of Babel? Heh- these guys are getting a little too good at engineering, I'mma muck up their jibber-jabber.

The Old Testament is about God maintaining control. The New Testament is about God relinquishing that control. As I understand it in mutual context from a Christian perspective. It will be interesting how that outlook changes when I completely nix the latter and accept the former.

[Cardinal Pizza Deliverance.]

Other thoughts on Christianity-

-We are created in God's image. We fall short of perfection. What, then, does this say about God? Especially when he sees the whole deal from our perspective?

I always wondered why religious folk thought this made God so awesome if we were made in his image. Dude sounds messed up if he's a more all-powerful version of us. If everyone was made in his image then why are women and people of color held at such disparity? Clearly God is a rainbow-colored pansexual hermaphrodite.

Ultimately, I think (since I am still currently Christian, and about to be Jewish) that what that really means is a model of consciousness. We have humanoid bodies because that just happens to work, so race and gender are irrelevant in God's eyes. However, even then, the fact that God thinks like a human, but has all of the powers of the Universe is even more telling. I think that's why, in the evening of my revisitation, I'm attracted to the idea of Jesus as more human than god. Human and god are otherwise identical. Hell, even within the mythological construct, we ate a magic apple and realized that our junk was just all out there. We are as wise as God. We just had to sacrifice immortality in the process.

Tower of Babel? Heh- these guys are getting a little too good at engineering, I'mma muck up their jibber-jabber.

The Old Testament is about God maintaining control. The New Testament is about God relinquishing that control. As I understand it in mutual context from a Christian perspective. It will be interesting how that outlook changes when I completely nix the latter and accept the former.

Kinda sounds like space aliens, when you put it that way. But I see what you're saying.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Other thoughts on Christianity-

-We are created in God's image. We fall short of perfection. What, then, does this say about God? Especially when he sees the whole deal from our perspective?

I always wondered why religious folk thought this made God so awesome if we were made in his image. Dude sounds messed up if he's a more all-powerful version of us. If everyone was made in his image then why are women and people of color held at such disparity? Clearly God is a rainbow-colored pansexual hermaphrodite.

Ultimately, I think (since I am still currently Christian, and about to be Jewish) that what that really means is a model of consciousness. We have humanoid bodies because that just happens to work, so race and gender are irrelevant in God's eyes. However, even then, the fact that God thinks like a human, but has all of the powers of the Universe is even more telling. I think that's why, in the evening of my revisitation, I'm attracted to the idea of Jesus as more human than god. Human and god are otherwise identical. Hell, even within the mythological construct, we ate a magic apple and realized that our junk was just all out there. We are as wise as God. We just had to sacrifice immortality in the process.

Tower of Babel? Heh- these guys are getting a little too good at engineering, I'mma muck up their jibber-jabber.

The Old Testament is about God maintaining control. The New Testament is about God relinquishing that control. As I understand it in mutual context from a Christian perspective. It will be interesting how that outlook changes when I completely nix the latter and accept the former.

Err.... I should probably say Gospels instead of New Testament.

Fuck St. Paul. (it probably would have done him some good)

[Nephew Twiddleton]

That was a tricky thing about revisiting Catholicism too. I am clearly biased against some of the Elect, as well as the concept of Papal infallibility. Also, I'm a staunch liberal. There were a lot of reasons why I couldn't bring myself to go to Confession (I still haven't). Matter of fact the closest I came was me waiting for ten minutes and then storming out of church and then going to Villager's and having premarital sex with her. I only took Eucharist once during the entire time (since I was and still am in a state of mortal sin), and that was last week at Pat's dad's anniversary Mass. And I took it because I knew that I was going to reconvert again soon (I decided on Judaism a few hours later, after talking to the one Jewish person there). It was actually pretty fulfilling. Not out of a sense of rebellion, but in that I own my spirituality and that if God knows anything at all it's that I don't want to offend it intentionally. So fuck the priests' ears.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Other thoughts on Christianity-

-We are created in God's image. We fall short of perfection. What, then, does this say about God? Especially when he sees the whole deal from our perspective?

I always wondered why religious folk thought this made God so awesome if we were made in his image. Dude sounds messed up if he's a more all-powerful version of us. If everyone was made in his image then why are women and people of color held at such disparity? Clearly God is a rainbow-colored pansexual hermaphrodite.

Ultimately, I think (since I am still currently Christian, and about to be Jewish) that what that really means is a model of consciousness. We have humanoid bodies because that just happens to work, so race and gender are irrelevant in God's eyes. However, even then, the fact that God thinks like a human, but has all of the powers of the Universe is even more telling. I think that's why, in the evening of my revisitation, I'm attracted to the idea of Jesus as more human than god. Human and god are otherwise identical. Hell, even within the mythological construct, we ate a magic apple and realized that our junk was just all out there. We are as wise as God. We just had to sacrifice immortality in the process.

Tower of Babel? Heh- these guys are getting a little too good at engineering, I'mma muck up their jibber-jabber.

The Old Testament is about God maintaining control. The New Testament is about God relinquishing that control. As I understand it in mutual context from a Christian perspective. It will be interesting how that outlook changes when I completely nix the latter and accept the former.

Kinda sounds like space aliens, when you put it that way. But I see what you're saying.

Well, if this Universe was created by an outside force, the creator would be an alien by definition. Stepping outside of whatever paradigm I'm currently working with, I don't consider God to be an outside force, but rather... co-evolutionary? God develops at a similar rate as the Universe does. When a species arises to conceive of a god, God becomes self-aware.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

From a scientific perspective a thought that keeps coming back to me is that maybe the Universe seems so quiet because we are the first technological species. Ever. Someone has to be. This thought terrifies me, by the way. But the Universe is still pretty young. Elements necessary for life are kind of a recent thing, on top of that. It's entirely possible. Maybe we're created in God's image because there were no other images available at the time for God to model itself after.

[Suu]

We're discussing God right now in class. The description and view of God as YHWH/Iehovah/Allah in the tradition of the Abrahamics. It's actually very interesting, because a lot of it has to do with a view of Personhood. God is a PERSON, but he is not human. He has Personhood because he can think and act on his own free will, but he is not a temporal or physical being and he is infinite while humans and angels are finite. However, referring to him as a person can upset Muslims, because to them, Allah is an indescribable being, but they do agree that he does exhibit the above traits, and did create mankind out of love. They just express it differently.

But basically, you should think of us being created in God's image by the way that we have the ability to make our own decisions and create in our own ways. Not the physicality of the human appearance. Angels were not created in God's image, they were created to adhere to God's Will, but they are also NOT Temporal and are NOT human, but still have Personhood, because they are capable of making decisions and acting on their own, but they are bound to their relationship with God, a bond that humans were not created as having. They technically do not have a shape, though are portrayed as winged humans in human artwork, so that they could have a shape in the human mind. Follow?

This shit is bananas.

[Bu🤠ns]

Here's an interesting perspective imo...

Alan Watts pretends he's God for 10 minutes

I'm not sure if it addresses any of your thoughts but it might. 

[Nephew Twiddleton]

We're discussing God right now in class. The description and view of God as YHWH/Iehovah/Allah in the tradition of the Abrahamics. It's actually very interesting, because a lot of it has to do with a view of Personhood. God is a PERSON, but he is not human. He has Personhood because he can think and act on his own free will, but he is not a temporal or physical being and he is infinite while humans and angels are finite. However, referring to him as a person can upset Muslims, because to them, Allah is an indescribable being, but they do agree that he does exhibit the above traits, and did create mankind out of love. They just express it differently.

But basically, you should think of us being created in God's image by the way that we have the ability to make our own decisions and create in our own ways. Not the physicality of the human appearance. Angels were not created in God's image, they were created to adhere to God's Will, but they are also NOT Temporal and are NOT human, but still have Personhood, because they are capable of making decisions and acting on their own, but they are bound to their relationship with God, a bond that humans were not created as having. They technically do not have a shape, though are portrayed as winged humans in human artwork, so that they could have a shape in the human mind. Follow?

This shit is bananas.

I follow.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

So, obviously the sun has set on Boston and I am now essentially a Hebrew Catholic. I am observing the Yom Kippur fast as described by my Reform acquaintance (clear liquids are acceptable, probably going to have some chicken broth tomorrow), unless my hands start shaking and I feel like I'm going to die from rapid loss of blood sugar (sometimes I can go a long time without food, sometimes I can't. It's unpredictable).

It's a little difficult for me to follow the established patterns though (though I did recite the Kol Nidre three times in English when I got home). So tomorrow I will go to Mass, and make my confession for the first time in over 2 decades, and in the meantime mumble in Latin and translated Jewish prayers.

[Suu]

Good luck, Yom Kippur is tough.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Good luck, Yom Kippur is tough.

Like I said, I might be physically capable, I might not. Time will tell.

It might also be a good time to reflect on the purpose and benefit of asceticism, even if only obligated for 25 hours.

[Suu]

Good luck, Yom Kippur is tough.

Like I said, I might be physically capable, I might not. Time will tell.

It might also be a good time to reflect on the purpose and benefit of asceticism, even if only obligated for 25 hours.

Are you going to Temple?

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Good luck, Yom Kippur is tough.

Like I said, I might be physically capable, I might not. Time will tell.

It might also be a good time to reflect on the purpose and benefit of asceticism, even if only obligated for 25 hours.

Are you going to Temple?

Mass only. Since my conversion is abrupt and concurrent, it seems the best choice. The nearest church does Confession on Saturdays, so it works for the atonement angle. I'll have to talk to a rabbi or two before I actually go to Temple. Need to make sure that the synagogue in question would be ok with what I'm doing, and ok that I'm probably going to be Muslim or Hindu shortly after the next Yom Kippur.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Also, I'll have to see if the synagogue in question will want me to learn Hebrew or just mouth it when called for. I understand that Biblical Hebrew has a fairly limited vocabulary and would be somewhat easy to pick up in that regard, but it's also not an Indo-European language, so the grammar and syntax will be alien to me.