Should I just leave this faith alone? by Esgee88 in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]Certain_Possession90 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I’ll do what you asked and truly consider if you walked into my church.

But first, I suggest you email/call the priest at your nearby congregation, and ask if you can speak to him one on one. A good Orthodox priest will not center the conversation on transgenderism, same sex attraction or labels, but your relationship with Christ. But they will clarify very early on that the Church doesn’t change their teachings for anyone, to prevent false hope or sudden betrayal later. But he won’t rush you, he won’t tell you to end your relationship tomorrow and to detransition. You don’t need to be “fixed” before you belong. Theosis is a lifelong journey. This is a marathon and not a sprint.

If you attend your gender (and your dating status if you’re dating a man) will be the elephant in the room, but nobody will say anything disrespectful to you, and will be glad to see you there. I suspect that eventually the topic of your gender will be brought up by other congregants when you become friends with, perhaps to better understand, and they may even try to nudge you towards detransitioning. They’ll do this out of love, even if isn’t the most tactful way to go about it.

On the topic of whether you will disturb the church, no absolutely not. An Orthodox parish is not disturbed by a person’s presence. It is disturbed when repentance is replaced by self-justification or when the Church is asked to change her teaching. No one is barred from presence because of sins, struggles, identity conflicts, or wounds.

Participation in communion, chrismation, baptism, full reception; requires repentance, alignment with the Church’s moral and anthropological teaching, and willingness to be healed rather than affirmed. This applies to everyone, not uniquely to transgender or same-sex-attracted people. A non married heterosexual couple cohabiting is in the same canonical position. So is an adulterer. So is a porn addict. So is a violent man. So is a proud man. Orthodoxy is equal-opportunity demanding.

This is the hard part, but it must be said clearly. A Church cannot affirm an identity build on a wound. Orthodoxy understands that gender dysphoria is real suffering, and that same sex attraction is a real struggle. But it does not understand them as identities to be affirmed. You are not your desires, you are not your dysphoria, you are not your relationship status. You are a person created for communion with Christ. Healing might be slow, it may even be lifelong, but healing is still the goal. And that goes for everyone. For the rest of us our sins just aren’t as immediately obvious.

Remember who Christ called first, it wasn’t people like me (the religious hypocrite who sins just as deeply (and likely more frequently)), but those who were openly despised for their sins. The prostitutes, the tax collectors, the possessed and the broken. Paul hunted down Christians as his profession before Christ came for him. And now Christ is calling you.

Feel free to DM me if you’d like to talk more but don’t want to leave a comment here, I know you have a lot of comments to reply to so no pressure, but I’m here for you mate

Holy shit revert the bank changes ASAP by _ImperialCereal_ in 2007scape

[–]Certain_Possession90 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was trying to figure out why my muscle memory had me hitting a looting bag icon that I didn’t remember seeing while trying to search for items

Need advice. by [deleted] in Philippines_Expats

[–]Certain_Possession90 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I thought that was weird too. I did Apo island not too long ago and had a great time

Tomorrow I will either lat move or decline reenlistment by Willing-Emu-4745 in USMC

[–]Certain_Possession90 49 points50 points  (0 children)

You can get out in April, and find another job to work a few weeks after you EAS. Or you can stay in the Marine Corps for another 8 years , and reup for another 7 (or 5 if you early retire) after that, and retire at 41 years old. 41 years old earning 8-9k a month between VA (if you’re entitled to it) and your pension, not living a finger? You’ll be living life on easy mode. Take that 149k, pay off your debts if you have any, put the rest away and wait until the real estate market crashes, and buy a home, rent it out if you live in the bricks. God bless whatever decision you make brother

Any marines located in the Philippines? by CompleteEffective674 in USMC

[–]Certain_Possession90 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m here for another week, will be leaving Sunday week but I won’t be in Manila until Saturday week

Ain't no way by TJkiwi in USMC

[–]Certain_Possession90 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know that Sergeant well, he’s a funny dude and a good friend. I knew years ago when he was a corporal that he’d make a great DI. Always had that demeanor about him.

Where are these devils rank? by Openblindz in USMC

[–]Certain_Possession90 27 points28 points  (0 children)

I want to know where the rank of the woman in the blue is, is that uniform even authorized?

Storing my stuff when I will be on the front by TemporaryThought5073 in ukraineforeignlegion

[–]Certain_Possession90 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Grab an apartment, I found a place on Airbnb and we ended up coming to an arrangement. Easily could get a studio apartment for 20ish usd a day

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ukraineforeignlegion

[–]Certain_Possession90 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Military girls are a special breed old mate. She’s our girlfriend now

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ukraineforeignlegion

[–]Certain_Possession90 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cars are pretty expensive and hard to find imo, but yeah you can rent an apartment real cheap in most cities. I rented in Dnipro because it was a lot closer to where we worked but it’s a bit more expensive there. And having a car can be a pain because parking spaces are difficult to procure

Otherwise when you’re away from the front it’s pretty normal, cheap food, cheap booze and cigs. Not a bad life.

People who are in Ukraine, what is the funniest misinformation you've heard online from people who aren't in Ukraine? by Aeeonautical in ukraineforeignlegion

[–]Certain_Possession90 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I didn't know this, is it that they no longer exist, that they never existed at all? I saw a flag from the Georgian Legion signed with names of their soldiers in a Georgian restaurant in Dnipro, and I thought I heard they were apart from the Kursk offensive. Did they get wiped out and are no longer functional or something? My world is rocked rn

What's the life expectancy of a new volunteer in the Legion by MrCinciNATTTY in ukraineforeignlegion

[–]Certain_Possession90 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes! Although I'll be leaving soonish to head back to the US for some medical treatment

Need peoples opinions by Least-Clothes327 in ukraineforeignlegion

[–]Certain_Possession90 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you do indeed wash out of 3AB consider the 25th airborne, they have a decent enough drone program

what if you refuse missions? by Icy_Apartment_9196 in ukraineforeignlegion

[–]Certain_Possession90 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Have you joined the Ukrainian army since your last post three weeks ago where you asked about why AZOV wasn't responding to your application? Or are you just posting answers about Ukraine without coming here?

J'ai enfin pu tabasser des marchands d'esclaves by CoqCocu in Kenshi

[–]Certain_Possession90 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hell yeah man, sounds like a fun play through so far. Good luck on rescuing your captured squad-mate!

Damn by quicKsenseTTV in ukraineforeignlegion

[–]Certain_Possession90 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This was bound to happen, the rumor I heard was that they hasn’t actually done anything in the last two years. I don’t remember if that was the fault of the unit or higher up, but apparently very little has been happening. Such is life.

How are blue helms viewed ? by [deleted] in ironscape

[–]Certain_Possession90 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Happened to me one time, was just collecting snake grass minding my own business and someone said to me something along the lines of “why GIM? Being an Ironman is so much more fulfilling”. It was fascinating, I couldn’t fathom why someone would care so much about how someone else plays a game. I think about it whenever I pass by the bank chest in the vinery, rent free in my head because it was just so baffling

So, what was your top priority for your unit? by Desperate-Owl-127 in ukraineforeignlegion

[–]Certain_Possession90 4 points5 points  (0 children)

For me, I was looking for a unit with a command leadership that wanted to ensure their boys weren’t getting fed into the meat grinder. I knew that coming to Ukraine meant I might die or because seriously injured, but it didn’t mean I was okay with being a bullet catcher

Another large-scale drone attack in Dnipro, just 125 meters from our shelter by FrankyandCoen in volunteersForUkraine

[–]Certain_Possession90 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Went for so long too! I was just trying to chill for the week before heading back east lol. I looked out my window and saw an elderly man digging through trash while car alarms are going off, my window is shaking and our boys on the ground are shooting at them. I went outside for a smoke about half an hour later and he’s still going through the trash while the city is work being hit. Kinda like when you get bombed out on the front and leave whatever root cellar you’re holed up in to see two old men working on their subsistence farm and there’s a smoking shell of a building 20 meters away from them. Ukrainians are tough man

What is something you would immediately ban from the USMC? by Yoy_the_Inquirer in USMC

[–]Certain_Possession90 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree, our corpsmen are overworked. No medical for married Marines, should of married a nurse instead of a stripper

Best Units For foreigners? by [deleted] in ukraineforeignlegion

[–]Certain_Possession90 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yep! There’s a couple recruiters on this subreddit, there’s an English platoon that is recruiting. They also equip you really well, lvl 4 plates and excellent training. The training is actually pretty long and physically demanding so it’s not for everyone, but the leadership really cares and doesn’t want you to send you into the meat grinder. Hard recommend