#theism

[creature-wizard]

I dunno who all needs to hear it, but "all-powerful being that created the world as a habitat for humans and gets very very angry if they don't live their life a very specific way" is not the only concept of God or the divine that exists.

Go look into animism. Go look into pantheism. Go look into anything that isn't part of the worldview you're accustomed to. I'm not suggesting this because I want people to be theists, but rather so that they become more culturally literate and to think more critically and in more nuanced ways.

[emeraldislewitch]

i cannot say it enough: RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP

research your ancestors, research your gods, research the land you come from, listen to the stories told by your family, your community, your elders and take notes. research research research.

[atheostic]

If we were to find out with certainty that alien life exists, how do you think that would affect theistic religions here on Earth?

[wroothful]

Something that really demonstrates the unyielding stranglehold theists have on human civilization is the fact that they can murder, pillage and oppress in the name of their gods unceasingly for hundreds or thousands of years, defend and justify every wrongdoing by their members, and creep their way into legislation and show zero sign of ceasing this behavior any time soon, then call atheists greasy, edgelord losers because some of them are a little smug.

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Heeeey Sol! Love your meta and your aus, was delightfully surprised by your Narnia breakdown

I do love the franchise, and when I eventually encountered the, yk, stuff surrounding it on the Internet I mostly just ignored it after a brief prod to feel out the validity of your average argument, and my ease with my understanding of the og content, but I digress; (it's still really nice to see some counterpoints laid out so neatly)

Anywho, How well do you think Tobias would fare if he eventually ended up in Narnia, in one the nicer eras maybe? (Early Caspian descendants maybe? Golden era? )(Ik the timelines and whatnot don't line up but handwavy time dilation stuff)

The contrast between the intentionally raw depiction of nature/wildlife and literal fluffy woodland creatures having hearty breakfasts and dances would be fun, methinks; but there is plenty of variety of lifestyles among Narnians, and explicit distinction between talking/non-talking animals, so he could still follow his instincts there

maybe he could find that happy balance

Do you think Narnia has good thermals? Jsjs

Tobias: Met God. He's an asshole.

Trumpkin: No duh, we've all met him, you're not special. And honestly, what'd you expect? A tame lion? For him to condescend to your little feelings? Brat.

Tobias: Okay, first of all, it probably wouldn't kill him to at least listen to my suggestions, and second —

Tumpkin: Suggestions? Your suggestions. You had suggestions for how the measure-and-mucking UNIVERSE should be MANAGED, and your little feelings are hurt that an immortal omniscient didn't take advice from an INFANT? Is that correct? Am I hearing that correctly.

Tobias: I'm fourteen.

Trumpkin: Like I said, an infant.

Tobias: And anyway, it was the least he could do for me after kidnapping me.

Trumpkin: I sincerely doubt that's what happened.

Tobias: He teleported me miles away from where I was flying to, and was all "save the hork-bajir right now," and then—

Trumpkin: And was this a bad goal? Do you regret doing it?

Tobias: No, but...

Trumpkin: Sounds to me like he asked you nicely, then. Maybe even made a suggestion.

Tobias: If he's so all-powerful, what's he need me for, huh? Why not just save them himself?

Trumpkin: There's no pleasing you people, I swear! He intervenes directly, you're all, "But free will, I need free will!" He doesn't intervene at all, you get on about "Boo hoo, why did he let this happen?" He intervenes indirectly, and you complain about his making suggestions that are actually good ideas.

Tobias: Okay, fine, but what about the part where he isekaied me here?!?!??

Trumpkin: Oh yeah, he does that to humans. Haven't the faintest idea why. But if you think about it, it'd be weirder if we did know how his mind works, wouldn't it?

[inbabylontheywept]

All that remains: Part I

In the land just past the Decapolis, by the tombs of the city's most ancient forebears, there lived a man called Legion. Some days, he howled like a beast, laughing as he savaged his own flesh with the jagged edges of stones. Other days he wept like a child, teeth chattering even as the sun blazed overhead. But more days still, he lingered in the quiet spaces, haunted but lucid: A stranger to the land and a stranger to himself.

He called himself Legion because he was made of many parts. Memories without attachments, stories without endings. Fragments. Worse, he felt like he could only hold a few of the pieces at a time. Trying to assemble himself felt like an endless effort of cupping his hands together tight, filling them with details, reaching up to his mouth, and realizing they had already slipped through his fingers. An endless thirst for which he had no cure. 

The town called him Legion, because they remembered what he often forgot: That he was a Roman, as well as a former soldier. If he’d been anything less, they’d have driven him away. Instead, they fussed over him endlessly, all too aware that to harm a single hair upon his head was to invoke the wrath of the largest army the world had ever seen.

(Which was a problem, because he was all too willing to harm himself.)

On Legion’s good days they simply gave him space. He’d tried describing once, all the things that could bring his demons out: The clash of metal, the twang of a bowstring. A scream of pain. Those were easy enough to remember and avoid, but others were not. Certain phrases in Latin, ones related to marching, used for giving directions. Certain smells - the roasting of pork, the burning of sulfur. The way some men from distant lands braided their hair. 

So many little things. 

They were a lot to keep track of, and the cost of failure was high. It seemed easier for the people of the town to simply avoid him altogether. That it let them ignore his suffering was simply a pleasant side effect. 

On his bad days, they had to intervene more directly. He was strong when he was well, but his sickness could make him almost invincible. Whole teams of men would be sent into the tombs while he screamed and roared, and it could take them hours to tie him down and pry the rocks from his trembling fingers. To put a rolled up rag into his mouth and silence the phrase he shouted over and over, summoning more demons into himself with each incantation: TORNA MIRA, TALIS EST COMODUM MILES BARBATI. 

Sometimes, it took more than a day of being restrained that way for him to find himself again. They’d send children out to the edge of the town to listen, and when he finally went silent they’d travel back to free him from his chains. It was a beastly, shameful task every time, and Legion made it worse by never being angry. Without fail, the first thing he said every time the rag was removed was:

Συγγνώμη, δεν ήθελα να σε τρομάξω.

Forgive me, I did not mean to scare you. 

Everyone knew that the way things were being handled wasn’t enough. Everyone, even Legion, knew how things would end. They just weren’t sure when. 

It turned out that it was longer than six years.

[thisisinbloodink]

What would you recommend reading, to learn more about satanism in general?

I have a couple! There's many differing views on theistic satanism since it's not an organized religion, so these are the readings that reflect my own personal beliefs and may differ from some other people

The Infernal Gospel - Rev Cain

The Satanic Philosopher - Rev Cain

The Goetic Devils + The Goetic Hymns - Rev Cain

The Satanic Sacraments - Rev Cain (these are rituals and not necessarily ideological information)

The Satanic Altar - Mary Ravensoul (out of print prayer book so may be harder to find. Mary converted to Christianity so do with that what you will)

A few more that don't necessarily reflect all of my own personal beliefs

Book of the Fallen - Martian McGreggor

Rites of Lucifer - Temple of Ascending Flame

The Satanic Scriptures - Peter H. Gilmore (atheistic LeVay satanism. The Church of Satan has a very problematic history and I'd recommend taking with a grain of salt. An important part of occult reading is doing so with a critical eye)

Books more rooted in Christian ideology but worth reading (critically) imo

Paradise Lost - John Milton

The Divine Comedy - Dante

[kawaii-pigeon]

'i know you have problems with religion but have you tried-'

Stop. Stop offering that. Put that thought riiiiight back in your fuckin head.

If somebody has a problem with religion the answer is not more religion. You are just either going to be annoying to the person or they're actively going to have a negative reaction. Either move on..

Or recommend some fuckin- cooking recipes. Literally anything else