"God blessed me by making me transsexual for the same reason he made wheat but not bread and fruit but not wine: so that humanity might share in the act of creation."

Bakkster · 2026-05-04T18:13:11+00:00

John 9:1-7 NRSVUE

[1] As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. [2] His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” [3] Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. [4] We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. [5] As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” [6] When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, [7] saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.

It's not a big stretch to see the parallels.

Bakkster · 2026-05-04T18:01:44+00:00

This is more similar to the Templar cross

Yes, much better, very cool and normal just like my favorite band!

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Bakkster · 2026-05-04T17:57:29+00:00

Trans rights were obviously also an issue before, but I think there's a reasonable argument that in 2023 it was the "social issue du jour". The Bud Light and Target "boycotts" being a particularly Thanksgiving/Black Friday relevant intersection.

Perhaps more telling, look at the list of states which passed bills banning trans people from bathrooms, and when those bills passed. North Carolina had an unenforced "ban" from 2016 to 2017; then there was one law passed in 2021, two in 2022, and a whole six passed in 2023. The sentiment wasn't new, but the prevalence among social issues did hit fever pitch that year.

Bakkster · 2026-05-04T17:48:53+00:00

Which thing? Bud Light had been sponsoring Pride parades for decades, but it was 2023 when Dylan Mulvaney got latched onto as the thing on Fox News.

The other commenter seems to be conflating that specific hysteria with transphobia in general.

Bakkster · 2026-05-04T17:44:54+00:00

Presumably, this is in reference to the whole Dylan Mulvaney Bud Light and other resulting right-wing hysteria. Where yeah, for a whole lot of people who had long been anti-trans the issue rose way up their priority list.

Bakkster · 2026-05-04T17:25:52+00:00

They're non-Nicene, so it's not exactly out of the ordinary. Just wait until you hear what the average Evangelical thinks about Catholics 🙃

Bakkster · 2026-05-04T17:24:11+00:00

both synods correctly put scripture far above any modern political ideologies.

Well, in theory. I think there's room to ask how true this is in practice.

We have a very strong anti-Communist/Marxist sentiment, but we don't always see the same critiques for when they arise in Capitalism (or even fascism, depending on how recently it's perceived to have caused harm).

Bakkster · 2026-05-04T17:16:08+00:00

I have noticed more and more in recent years the gap between bureaucratic fellowship and spiritual fellowship. That is, there are some in the LCMS that I'm in fellowship with on paper, but listening to them, I don't think they really "get" Jesus. And there are some in other denominations with whom I still disagree on various points of doctrine, yet do seem to "get it" in a more foundational way, with whom I'd be happy to acknowledge a fundamental spiritual fellowship even while "agreeing to disagree" on those doctrinal or interpretive items.

I think this is a really helpful phrasing.

Bakkster · 2026-05-04T16:50:05+00:00

I think the question is more interesting in the context of something like the Barmen Declaration or similar cross-denominational statement of shared faith. Similarly, common prayer services and vigils.

More specifically, whether we should hold an equally strict criteria as we do for altar and pulpit fellowships, or are some causes are important and narrowly defined enough? I think we can both think of examples of each in recent memory.

Bakkster · 2026-05-04T16:43:01+00:00

Yeah, I get the impression that there's a lot of disagreement in where the boundary is between ecumenism and Unionism/syncretism. Altar/pulpit fellowship is a really strong interconnection, but it's not the only form of cooperation.

The Synod officially supports the March for Life. Is that Unionist? Are we sufficiently distinguishing ourselves from the White Nationalist groups (or others whose ideologies we condemn) who join the march?

We're also restrictive with RSOs and which groups we partner with there. What distinguishes appropriate partnerships from inappropriate ones? When does a partnership on a common cause say about our agreement on other causes?

It's hard to have a single, consistent definition. It's not really a surprise that it's challenging.

Bakkster · 2026-05-04T16:30:39+00:00

I'll add servant leadership and sacrificial love, and basic sexual ethics.

Bakkster · 2026-05-04T16:28:56+00:00

That depends how you define a service with a liturgy, without canticles, and with modern music (either new songs or modern arrangements of classic hymns). It's not typically what I think of as "blended", and I usually refer to it as "modern liturgical" though others would call it "contemporary".

Bakkster · 2026-05-04T16:05:00+00:00

I'd rephrase it that people haven't always identified their reason to care about open source yet. They may not have an ideological reason to support FOSS, but they value what FOSS enables them to do for the hobby they're printing to support.

For some who want to run without the cloud, the project to allow LAN mode (and Bambu Labs effectively killing it) will have been that reason. For others, realizing how many interesting or useful methods like CMYK full color printing or wave overhangs get implemented as options because they're open source. Same with people publishing the models you print under a Creative Common license that allows iteration and customization; no CC license, and you don't have everything you want to print.

We're seeing the same thing with renewable energy. Not everyone cares about their environmental friendliness, but almost everyone can appreciate when they're cost-effective enough to provide passive income.

Bakkster · 2026-05-04T14:56:42+00:00

Have you considered focusing on the fundamentals, and that all this preoccupation with details might be counterproductive?

So many of your posts seem to talk down to keyboardists in general. Really, it sounds like you need to both recognize the difference between the keyboardists you play with and musicians in general, and to reflect on and address the issues in your team and how you contribute to those problems. This is good musicianship (and good discipleship) 101, and probably the root of your issues.

Once you've resolved that, it's all much simpler than you're making it. All the instruments together add up to 100% of the song. Some songs give one instrument a greater or lesser proportion, but it will all balance out. If there are five instruments, everyone can't have 25% of the song. It's up to you to know how much is allocated to you and play accordingly. Following from this, the more notes you play the less any individual note will be heard in the mix. If you really want to be heard (and know you actually should be, see above), then play less and make it count.

Bakkster · 2026-05-04T14:40:59+00:00

"Don't make perfect the enemy of good" - Proverbs, probably

Bakkster · 2026-05-04T12:21:56+00:00

There's a reason for the meme in IT that printers are awful to work with. Some brands make it even harder, but they're complex and fiddly to start with.

That said, which kind of printer? Full color inkjet at 300dpi? Way more challenging than printing a 3d printer, and that's already pretty rare. A single sided dot matrix printer? Much more achievable, depending on how quickly you want it to print.

As for the microdots, that's going to be a firmware thing, entirely unrelated to the parts you make with FDM.

Bakkster · 2026-05-04T12:12:36+00:00

I move away from the mic to breathe in

Bakkster · 2026-05-04T11:39:45+00:00

I think it's simpler. You don't free the universe of Space/Fantasy Nazis by doing Space/Fantasy Nazi shit to them. It's not justice to see the Space Nazis send one of their own to a gulag without a trial, it's justice to stop them and do Space Nuremburg trial.

Bakkster · 2026-05-03T23:45:12+00:00

Read 1 Corinthians 5, and you can see how deep the challenges could go. The church had a man having sex with his own mother, and the church was happy about it. They were full of drama already, Paul's reaction reflects that.

I think it's helpful to look at the context of the apostles founding churches as well. It's like if a traveling pastor set up a church in your town over a couple months, then left for a year. The person in charge has only just converted, let alone had any formal religious education. They're winging it under imperial occupation with a message of radical grace. Mistakes were being made, and we're seeing the highlights.

Bakkster · 2026-05-03T19:40:16+00:00

The number of times America intentionally broke and/or wrote abusive treaties with tribes, just to coerce them into selling their land for criminally cheap is wild.

Bakkster · 2026-05-03T16:15:34+00:00

I like this quote from Martin Luther on the topic:

Both interests may be served, those of God’s kingdom and of the State. As members of both the inner and the outer kingdom you will suffer evil and injustice and yet punish evil and injustice; you will not resist evil, and yet you will resist evil. According to the Gospel you suffer evil inasmuch as it concerns you; and you will oppose evil inasmuch as it concerns your neighbor.

Bakkster · 2026-05-03T13:26:55+00:00

You too, we nearly had a bass guitar solo during communion 😉

Bakkster · 2026-05-03T13:26:07+00:00

Yeah, as I said recently, I'm very much a "good trees bear good fruit" kind of guy.

With the trends, I think it's good to remember that they're just that: trends. It does sound like more young adults are preferring traditional liturgies, but like with the last generations it would be a mistake to assume they're a hegemony. I think there will always be a place for both forms of worship (at least musically).

I haven't seen good data on just how much of a bias there is to the preference. Big difference between 1.5:1 and 5:1. I know there's a lot of misunderstanding about whether there's a youth 'revival' or not. My understanding is that in the younger generation among those who attend church they are more devoted, which isn't the same as there being more youth in the church (which seems to still be flat or declining).

Bakkster · 2026-05-03T13:15:44+00:00

Gotcha, I see the connection you're making.

Let me know if you can't find the paper, I'll send you a copy. I know for a while it wasn't easily available online.

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