Answering Any Questions People Have

Baptist. Here to have conversation

[greater-than-the-sword]

One thing I've observed is that cheering one person's death makes it easier to cheer the next person's death and so on. No one batted an eye when it was a war criminal, we were mildly annoyed when it was an old woman who died peacefully, and when it was a CEO who personally slighted you we said we understand but don't agree. Now it's an innocent normal man who never harmed any of you, having the same beliefs as your own conservative family members. But you've learned well how to be ghouls now. If you don't repent, one day you will celebrate death squads and genocides.

[ask-a-baptist]

Coming back to say celebrating the death of someone is always morally reprehensible regardless of your politics or the politics of the person who died

[ask-a-baptist]

I'm asking just in case you start answering asks again: do you believe baptism is a requirement for salvation? I'm part of a Baptist church and it's pretty much the idea of all attendees and pastors that it is, but my reading has led me to view faith alone (and the resulting manifestation of works) as all that is necessary. I'm curious to see your viewpoint and reasoning on whatever answer you provide and am seeking guidance as well, especially as I have not been able to be baptized yet. Thank you.

Great question!

No, it’s not a requirement. It is the next step in your Christian walk though

salvation is, as you said, is genuine faith alone. The thief on the cross was never baptized and he made it in

baptism is a public signal of identification with Jesus and His kingdom.

Baptism is necessary for the Christian walk, as it's a command given in Matthew 28:19. We also see every time people get saved post crucifixion, they get baptized. It is the next step after salvation, you could liken it to your first good work in your Christian walk

[limp-wristed-pagan]

At risk of sounding like I'm a monster, murder is bad because humans are a social species. Killing someone is killing someone else's caretaker, employee, employer, heir, parent, etc.

Wtf does a fetus do for society besides wait to become a person? Their only social connection is their parents and the parents don't want them.

You can be against abortion, but it is definitely not the same as murder.

Edit: I keep running into these arguments so I'm putting caveats

1. I do not follow Christianity.

2. The disabled, unemployed, homeless are still a part of society. The only people I can think of with 0 connections are like dumpster babies, who are going to die of exposure without help. Yeah, you could probably get away with killing it legally, given no one knows about it besides the person who put it there. I wouldn't recommend it though personally.

3. Existing IS contributing to society, because again, humans are a social species. The only connection is to the mother / parent, and they don't want it.

4. I didn't say anything about biology. It could be biological murder, but it doesn't have the same social ramifications as murder, unless you believe all ovulation and male completion is murder, given those are also potential people.

5. ALSO: if you're forcing people to have children for God, you're forcing people to glorify your own God, which is weird.

6. What I'm trying to say is: Is preventing a potential member of society from existing on the same level as harming for murdering a current member of society.

[limp-wristed-pagan]

Hospital tells family brain-dead Georgia woman must carry fetus to birth because of abortion ban

A hospital is using a breathing tube and other measures to keep a brain-dead Georgia woman's body functioning because she is pregnant.

Like what's the point of this? The mother is not waking up. The family wants to take them off life support. Both will die naturally. You can't be THIS afraid of people having PIV.

[ave-immaculata]

The biggest issue I see with your perspective is how point 3 can extend to other aboninable acts, as well as how 4 doesn't really work.

For example, a newborn doesn't serve any purpose but existing either. Their only connection is to their parents as well, and if their parents don't want them, it doesn't make it moral to kill them then. How has their value changed? Even if adoption were completely off the table, it would be immoral to kill them, and even with adoption, I think point 3 could be extrapolated to include killing them as another choice on the table.

I also don't think it's fair to say that a fetus or neonate's only connection is to their mother, but I agree that that particular connection is the strongest and most basic

Also, while sperm and ovum are alive on a cellular level, they are not a human stage of development like an embryo is; an embryo has a full and unique genetic code. It is already a person, albeit a very small one in early development. A sperm, in a suitable environment, will never develop into a neonate. Neither will an ovum. An embryo, however, will, because it's already a human being in the process of growing and developing. I understand this might not carry the same social weight to you, but I think it's worth mentioning.

[greater-than-the-sword]

If murder is only bad because humans are a social species, the logic for why murder is wrong breaks down entirely. For example, why is it wrong to kill someone's parent? Because it causes harm to their child? But the only reason it's wrong to kill the child is if it causes harm to their parent? So the two of them have no value separately but somehow value magically appears in reference to each other?

Is killing itself not also harm? If it's wrong to harm someone emotionally then surely it's also wrong to harm them physically, right?

And finally, why is it wrong to harm the community? If humans have no intrinsic value then who gives a shit about the community or the species as a whole?

[ask-a-baptist]

The value of a human life is not determined by how well liked they are

[ask-a-baptist]

The tumblr app doesn't show me dates. When was the last time you posted here?

July.

I haven’t been active on most of my blogs because of several reasons like busy schedule and doom scrolling.

I still log on every day, I just haven’t posted much. Feel free to look over my blog tho

[disgruntled-neighborhood-wife]

Don't let anyone gaslight you into thinking lockdowns didn't happen. People were arrested for going on boats. Churches were raided. People were ticketed outside in parks. Lockdowns created the greatest and fastest wealth transfer we have ever seen from small businesses to corporations. My state alone lost over 30% of its small and family businesses. People lost their livelihoods and plunged into poverty. Children lost years of development and socialization. Government locked sick people up with the most vulnerable of the population, creating thousands of unnecessary and excessive deaths.

Do not let anyone tell you that didn't happen.

[count-incel]

ok but can we raid churches again? only if they're spreading hate or lying to their populace a la the iblp cult, itd be so funny to see the worst of society get arrested like that

[disgruntled-neighborhood-wife]

Sorry people with badges next to their url don't get a vote :/

[siryouarebeingmocked]

What if they bought the badges ironically?

[ask-a-baptist]

sure we could raid churches who are bad, as long as we let everybody harm anyone who thinks they're bad. let's see how long civilized society lasts with purge rules

[purpleisnotacolor]

I think Tumblr's (or just general liberal culture) difficulty understanding that you can call an action immoral and not hate the people doing it, and their belief that you have a moral obligation to hate evil people might be connected.

[purpleisnotacolor]

If you're part of a culture where nazis need to be punched, where all cops are bastards, where people who do/say/think wrong things are all "pieces of shit" and "assholes", where someone getting caught doing something immoral means you need to stop interacting with them completely, where "toxic" people need to be "cut out of your life", where certain evils are "too bad to forgive", and it is immoral to forgive people who've done "too bad" things...

I can see why hearing someone say "what you're doing is a sin" could be interpreted as them hating you.

[celtic-pyro-deactivated20230725]

Nothing will ever be funnier than non-Christians “informing” Christians about things they’re already aware of like they’re showing electricity to 12th-century peasants or what they have to say is going to shake our faith to its very core.

“Did you know the Forbidden Fruit wasn’t really an apple? That depictions of the fruit as apples only came about because it was a pun on the Latin word “mala?”“ “Yeah we’re aware,”

“Did you know that Jesus wasn’t white? That He was a brown Middle-Eastern Israeli Jew?” “We learned this in CCD class at age 5,”

“Did you know The Prince of Egypt is a Jewish story?” “We know what the Old Testament is and where Christianity originated, so…”

“Did you know that Hell is actually a frozen wasteland and not a fiery pit?” “That was actually from Dante’s Inferno which isn’t considered doctrinal since it’s basically glorified self-insert fanfiction, however it’s a very interesting and thought-provoking read full of symbolism,”

[thecaroliner]

Or one I saw recently, “Did you know thay the names of the Bible were changed for the English translation to sound more American?? Nobody in the Middle East was actually named James or John or Matthew!”

Yes. This is extremely common knowledge.

[nanshe-of-nina]

What’s especially fun is that the names from Scripture were simply Anglicized isn’t totally accurate, either, because it’s more like they were Hellenized then Latinized and then often Gallicized before being Anglicized. For instance:

Hebrew: Avrahám, Greek: Abraám, Latin: Ābraham, English: Abraham Hebrew: Binyamīn, Greek: Beniamín, Latin: Benjamin Hebrew: Dāwîḏ, Greek: Dauíd, Latin: David Hebrew: Elishéva, Greek: Elisabet, Latin: Elisabeth/Isabella, Old French: Élisabeth/Isabelle, English: Elisabeth/Elizabeth/Isabella Hebrew: Eliyahu, Greek: Ēlías, Latin: Elias, Old French: Elyas, English: Elias/Elijah Hebrew: Gavri'él, Greek: Gabrīḗl, Latin: Gabriel Hebrew: Ḥannâ, Greek: Ánna, Latin: Anna, Old French: Anne, English: Ann/Anne Hebrew: Mattiṯyāhū, Greek: Matthaîos, Latin: Matthaeus, Old French: Mathieu, English: Matthew Hebrew: Mîḵāʾēl, Greek: Mikhaḗl, Latin: Michaēl, Old French: Michiel, English: Michael Hebrew: Miryām / Aramaic: Maryām, Greek: María, Latin: Maria, Old French: Marie, English: Maria/Mary Hebrew: Moshé, Greek: Mōüsês, Latin: Mōsēs, Old French: Moyses, English: Moses Hebrew: Netan'el, Greek: Nathanaḗl, Latin: Nathanael Hebrew: Rivka, Greek: Rhebékka, Latin: Rebekah, Vulgar Latin: Rebecca Hebrew: Shim'ón, Greek: Símōn, Latin: Simon Hebrew: Shlomo, Greek: Solomṓn, Latin: Solomōn Hebrew: Yakov, Greek: Iakov/Iakovos, Latin: Iacobus, Vulgar Latin: Iacomus, Old French: James, English: Jacob/James Hebrew: Yehonatán, Greek: Iōnáthan, Latin: Jonathan Hebrew: Yeshua, Greek: Iesous, Latin: Iesus, English: Jesus Hebrew: Yəhôšūa, Greek: Iosoúas, Latin: Iosue, Old French: Josué, English: Joshua Hebrew: Yiṣḥāq, Greek: Isaák, Latin: Isaac Hebrew: Yōḥānān, Greek: Iōánnēs, Latin: Iōhannēs, Old French: Jehan, English: John Hebrew: Yoséf, Greek: Iōsḗph, Latin: Iosephus, Old French: Joseph Hebrew: Yehudit, Greek: Ioudíth, Latin: Iudith, Old French: Judith Hebrew: Z'kharyá, Greek: Zakharías, Latin: Zacharias, Old French: Zacharie, English: Zachariah/Zacharias/Zachary/Zechariah

[glowing-disciple]

Just a friendly reminder: cults, especially pseudo-christian cults, often promise to let you in on special or hidden knowledge that other groups either keep concealed or were never gifted with.

Christianity is literally an open book. There is no “secret” knowledge. Don’t fall for this trick.

[piano-princess]

Wow the Christianity subreddit on Reddit is absolutely full of blasphemous deceivers, they're preaching that genesis isn't true, or that you can be lgbt and Christian..... Have you people studied the scriptures??

[ask-a-baptist]

It’s Reddit. So even the Christian side of Reddit hates conservatives and Christian conservatives are included in that

[fictionadventurer]

Just once, I'd like to see a show where the characters are arguing Catholic/Christian doctrine and the Catholic/Christian responds to the "difficult, unanswerable questions" the way that someone who was knowledgable in their faith actually would. Because they always leave the religious person stumped or shut down the argument with "we're just supposed to believe, you heretic" or "I guess we'll never know the full truth" or "everyone needs to find their own truth". I'm not saying we need full-on apologetics. I just want the realism of religious people actually believing their religion.

[anonsensicalgirl]

Just once I'd like to watch a show where a basic theological question is asked and I DONT have to yell the obvious answer at the screen like a 5 yr old watching Dora the Explorer

[takineko]

Just once I’d like positive Christian representation on tv like at all. All we have had for years is Ned Flanders and he’s just the butt of the joke.

[tiaramaki]

Mild amendment: a positive Christian representation that’s not a heretic.

[yarrayora-deactivated20230104]

ok like. disclaimer: im not christian, i have never been a christian, i was not born and raised within the christian majority and in fact i live my entire life in a muslim country where christians are still oppressed in 2020s

if an actual christian speak up about this, you’ll ignore them, because clearly they only have brainwashed sheeple in their ranks. but will you listen to me? someone who was taught since young that it was normal to treat my christian neighbors like they were evil spies of the western world? someone who was taught that christianity and judaism were the same thing simply because those were not islam?

you see i made a post before talking about the danger of treating christianity as the ultimate evil. in it i also discussed the kind of terror christian minority has faced that westerners are definitely not familiar with

somehow in the reply there are still people who say “remember, christianity is a curse but–” to support my point of view

i don’t appreciate that.

i talked about christians being bombed, about how there are still many places in this world that prevent christians from building churches even in this era, and even provided links for it. yet somehow, your personal experience with christianity, the one where you got hurt, is the only experience that could possibly define christianity

please have some self-awareness

[yarrayora-deactivated20230104]

christians who reblogs this but have pro-life on their bio are like. lacking self-awareness too.

you’re the christian experience that hurt people, bro, this post is about the christians who have nothing to do with that

[abnerchadwhitewaterduck]

The surpressed Christians may be pro life too (I personally do not care about abortion, neither for nor against)

[yarrayora-deactivated20230104]

and? the christians who agree with anti-abortion laws in my country are still oppressed by indonesian govt so clearly being anti-abortion doesn’t help you being less oppressed but it does help oppress everyone possible if you think your government should make laws that adhere to your personal religious belief and force it on people who don’t share your belief

funny how that works

[yarrayora-deactivated20230104]

do people think because i condemn US christofascists for trying to co-opt this post i think christians who are anti-abortion doesn’t deserve basic human rights

[siryouarebeingmocked]

Just so I’m clear; do you consider unelected national-level government officials giving up their power over abortion “Christofascism”?

Because to me, it seems like it’s the precise opposite.

[ask-a-baptist]

There are valid secular reasons for being against abortion. For example, I’m against it because I’m against killing babies

[myunconditionalgift]

Gun Control NOW

“Well I’m from Texas, so I’ll use a gun.”

“It’s my right to have a gun.”

Really?? Would you be able to say that in front of families and friends who lost their loved ones to shootings from home, school, clubs, mall, movie theater, etc.?

You may support for your right to bear arms, but I’m fighting for someone’s right to life.

Please reconsider having a gun because it could possibly take away someone’s life.

[hell0-there-lady]

Speaking as someone whos been on both sides of that exact scenario, those two things are totally unrelated and irrelevant. My town has been through the horror of a theater shooting thats taken lives and it hasn’t changed anything in terms of gun ownership, as it shouldn’t. I’ve been a member of a community rocked by a shooting and we healed through love and understanding. I’ve looked into the tear-filled eyes of a close friend and comforted her when her best friend was killed in that very shooting and we are both still gun owers. We didn’t justify the 2nd amendment in the aftermath because it doesn’t need to be justified - it simply is and that will never change. As gun owners we are also fighting for someone’s right to life; by protecting it with firearms. Please reconsider having gun ownwrship because it could possibly SAVE someone’s life, maybe even your own @myunconditionalgift

[idly-raven17]

If Americans where brave enough they could give up all their guns and use their bodies as weapons, they could learn martial arts, self defense, knives attacks and even fight with swords to “defend” themselves but they are too fat and lazy to do something brave. A bunch of fearful cowards. If you rely in a gun to be “secure” you have a big, big problem and try to use a stupid logic to justify guns is not going to solve it.

[goodboysandgirlswhoplaysmash]

“Stupid old lady in a wheelchair, why don’t you learn martial arts to deffend yourself!”

[friendly-neighborhood-patriarch]

I’ll learn a martial art.

Gun-Fu

[westballz-baptist-church]

“A bunch of fearful cowards. If you rely in a gun to be “secure” you have a big, big problem and try to use a stupid logic to justify guns is not going to solve it.“ idk man who’s the one more fearful of an object that they want everyone to stop using one

[misshorrorotaku-deactivated2024]

The fact they present martial arts as the “braver” option is just laughable. XD Huns, even the Samurai preferred guns when they came into existence. “Bravery” ain’t got shit to do with it.

A gun is the best, most effective way to defend oneself. If you think it cowardly to defend yourself the best way you can, I have some cloud insurance to sell you.

[ask-a-baptist]

I’m in a martial arts class and I know that a gun is more effective at defending myself than my fists. My black belt instructor is a gun owner

[revelation19]

[liftingtovalhalla-deactivated20]

Please don’t compare my years of experience and hours of learning in a classroom to someone making mac & cheese. Making a meal and educating someone are completely different things, and this comparison just shows the lack of respect that this country has for educators.

Nobody would compare an exquisitely prepared seven course meal to my bowl of easy Mac and say they are of equal quality. Yet individuals with no training in the content or in teaching claim to be qualified teachers, and just as good as the teachers in the classroom who have worked their asses off for years developing their craft and working on ways to help our students succeed.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[hostis-the-white-wizard]

Wild that a bunch of “untrained” parents are better at their jobs than teachers with a cute participation award from the state, it’s like you guys suck hard at your jobs or something

Turns out you’re the bowl of easy Mac, whoops

[ricwulf-banned]

You know what the best thing about it all? Most teachers aren’t absolute scum. They mean well. They truly do. And despite that, they are still bad at their jobs and routinely harm children’s mental health and well-being. In some cases, this is “Just Following Orders” from the education department, but in most cases, it’s just plain old apathy from years of their job with nothing to really show from it. It’s not like there’s a whole lot of career momentum when the best you can hope for is from teacher to (let’s not mince words) glorified administrator better known as a principle, having even less impact in their role.

And that isn’t even touching the teachers unions, or the hard fact that their “years of developing their craft” has routinely resulted in TERRIBLE policy for education, or have we all forgotten about Common Core?

Are there good teachers out there? Sure. But every single one has their hands tied by bureaucracy and are complicit with the abuse of children. No teacher is free from this reality and if they say they are, they are either incredibly stupid to be that oblivious (and therefore shouldn’t be teaching anyone anything) or they are directly involved in the abuse.

[siryouarebeingmocked]

>Making a meal and educating someone are completely different things,

Yes, they are.

They’re also things literally anyone can do, whether they meet an arbitrary standard or not.

>and this comparison just shows the lack of respect that this country has for educators.

I love your snuck premise that only people with Proper Qualifications™ are Real Educators™. You know homeschooling still has to meet standards, right?

>Nobody would compare an exquisitely prepared seven course meal to my bowl of easy Mac and say they are of equal quality.

This discussion wasn’t really about the quality of the end product.

It’s about someone trying to stereotype homeschool teachers as bigoted, incompetent right-wingers, using quality as a fig leaf.

Also, public schools are notoriously bad at educating kids.

> Yet individuals with no training in the content or in teaching claim to be qualified teachers, and just as good as the teachers in the classroom who have worked their asses off for years developing their craft and working on ways to help our students succeed.

And how exactly would you prove them wrong? Because you…you haven’t actually done that. You haven’t proven the homeschoolers can’t work hard. Sometimes they literally are “qualified” teachers.

You’ve just stamped your feet and gone “no, us real teachers are BETTER!”

And I say this as someone whose parents were both educators.

[ask-a-baptist]

As I’ve said before, people will complain about public school until they’re blue in the face but if you decide to try homeschooling then suddenly it’s the best and only viable way to be taught

[atomic58-blog]

[white-cishet-snail]

Our blessed tumblr

[greatnorthernofficial]

A holy site

[toastyboobs]

Nah nah nah, you ain’t hiding this in the tags

[siryouarebeingmocked]

Bold of you to assume Tumblr is not all of them at once.

[ask-a-baptist]

So tumblr is man?

[pia-fantastic]

Conservatives hate Queer people not just because we are less likely to produce children- but when we do, we produce the "wrong kind" of children.

All Conservative Ideology is fundamentally Eugenicist- viewing all people as "Breeding Stock", thinking that "good" people can be bred like livestock. They dehumanize everyone- especially children- because we have become Products not people.

This is why Eugenicists so vehemently appose Individual Abortion Rights- Reproductive Bodily Autonomy is the ultimate sin under Eugenics. The choice is not the parent's but the State's.

Queer children- like Queer parents- are an "evil" in the eyes of a Eugenicist, because they will not be made "Stock" for their project of making "perfect" people.

This why Conservatives want to control- especially- the Bodies of Trans and Intersex children.

[ask-a-baptist]

This isn’t what they believe at all. I know many conservatives and they don’t think of anyone as “breeding stock” nor are they eugenicists. They’re individualists more than anything

I’m not saying there’s not bad ones, or that they don’t do mental gymnastics to fit their politics and whatever bigotry they have. But you don’t need to make stuff up, you could just talk to them and ask them what they believe and why

[periegesisvoid-deactivated]

Your social justice should be founded on love for others, not on a desire to be the most visibly enlightened.

[super-sootica]

Some of you aren’t coming from a place of love, and it shows

[cheshireinthemiddle]

Some of you are reblogging this and pointing the finger at others with no self awareness that it equally applies to you.