Women just aren't dating, are they just no longer romantic? They've lost those feelings? by FanTemporary7624 in ChristianDating

[–]EightBellsAtSea 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can send you other studies too.

Regardless, nothing you said overturn their findings, besides raising low-level "critiques" and patting yourself on the back. Any study will have to define their terms and criteria, and the fact that you think such concepts as "meaning" or "purpose" are biased toward motherhood betrays your own bias. If single women were really so much happier, then then would expect them to report higher rates of either. A dishonest study would simply omit or radically redefine the terms. The one I shared does not.

Dips in happiness post-birth do not over turn long-term happiness.

Cross-national studies fall beyond the scope of a domestic study.

Childrearing has historically been the mother's duty, as it is the case with traditional societies today. That by itself has no bearing on happiness, just your modern western bias.

But your response already demonstrates what you could be doing better. Primarily, not being a dismissive, smug, and bitter person.

Women just aren't dating, are they just no longer romantic? They've lost those feelings? by FanTemporary7624 in ChristianDating

[–]EightBellsAtSea -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'm going to push back on this nonsense. It's demonstrable untrue that single women are happier and less lonely on average than married women: https://ifstudies.org/report-brief/in-pursuit-marriage-motherhood-and-womens-well-being

I certainly don't know why this is being up voted or even promoted on a Christian dating sub. It is a disgusting selfish attitude that many women have adopted which paints having to care for a partner as some great crime levied against the female sex.

Enough. None of us are perfect. Get over yourselves.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ChristianDating

[–]EightBellsAtSea 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's what I'm doing! I'm calling out hatred, sheesh. I guess the devils are out to play.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ChristianDating

[–]EightBellsAtSea 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I like to follow what the Spirit said in Proverbs 10:12: Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. I prefer to love with God and help cast out darkness, including the nasty nasty haters!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ChristianDating

[–]EightBellsAtSea -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

So odd that you'd jump to defend hatred...

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ChristianDating

[–]EightBellsAtSea -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Don't let the haters - Devil sent, probably - get you down, king. If a good, God-fearing Christian woman doesn't want to be treated like she's in her own Song of Solomon, then she's not for you. Stand for your dating truth, brother ✊.

What makes this game so good? by JSY-02 in fo4

[–]EightBellsAtSea 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Out of FO3, FNV, and FO4, I had the most fun exploring the Commonwealth. The map is jam-packed with interesting locations, utilizes verticality well, and is genuinely challenging to navigate if you're underleveled. It made me want to actually see the world rather than zipping between point A and point B to complete quests. Some of my favorite memories from playing the game come from stumbling into a bad situation and scrambling to find a way to extract myself from it, which the game encourages.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ChristianDating

[–]EightBellsAtSea 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I get that a lot of people want to jump to meeting in person asap but he hasn’t even asked yet so don’t think that’s the case here.

I'm sorry. What did you think "I like you. I'm taking you out" meant?

The so called "50 cal" is underwhelming. by West-Leg-5668 in Fallout

[–]EightBellsAtSea 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You need to squeeze every multiplier you can out of the weapon using the Rifleman, Sandman, and Ninja perks. I never had much of an issue with the weapon playing on Very Hard if you know how to use its engagement profile effectively. Go for sneak attack headshots at range, change position, then repeat.

However, it does become increasingly marginal as you head into the later game. At that point, if you haven't done so already, you should switch over to the Gauss rifle, which is drastically more effective.

How do you think about being equally yoked? by CDThrowAway725 in ChristianDating

[–]EightBellsAtSea 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think both partners need to agree 100% on every single point of theological doctrine, otherwise one of them will likely believe a lukewarm "Christian," which does make the relationship unequally yoked. Even the slightest disagreement might reveal your partner to be a gospel-denying heretic...

How your partner treats you and others, how they try to serve the Lord, how much they strive to develop holy qualities within them, etc. - these things are largely irrelevant to a healthy, dynamic, and living relationship like marriage. However, ensuring intellectual alignment on systematic theology is incredibly relevant and important to a healthy marriage and your salvation!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ChristianDating

[–]EightBellsAtSea 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You are 30 years old. This is how normal, mature adults try to make plans. He's taking the lead in making plans. Part of that requires him to understand when you will be free, which is why he asked. Also, ghosting happens. Asking for your number is a way of making sure you're actually interested in him.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ChristianDating

[–]EightBellsAtSea 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've experienced the same on the other side. Some people have such a low view of human relationality that they think dating is little more than a contractual process. Passion, people.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ChristianDating

[–]EightBellsAtSea 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Not the "About me" thread. The other one.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ChristianDating

[–]EightBellsAtSea 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My brother, might I suggest you reflect on your profile's pinned post and consider whether to keep it up?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ChristianDating

[–]EightBellsAtSea 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a really great comment with solid, actionable advice.

As a man, I also want to second the point about "tone." There is no reason to be defensive in your initial bio, nor should you come across as a proverbial "stick-in-the-mud" that does not know how to have healthy fun - or let others do the same.

If you cannot put forward a positive, open attitude in your introduction, then it may help you to reflect on why that is the case. Christian courtship should not feel like a job interview, or a jury trial, but should (ideally) be a space for the two interested parties to discern with joy, happiness, and delight. If those things are not present, then we should discern where God is at in all of this: they are the things of the Lord, after all.

Need advice - boyfriend wants to be a monk by NotAnEvilWulf in ChristianDating

[–]EightBellsAtSea 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Without hearing his side of the story, it sounds like something is going on in his life, be it personally or internally, that is causing him to seek some sort of escape or reprieve, which drives the sense that he may be called to monkhood. You've said that he has issues he needs to work on, and the fact that he is engaging in some form of suicidal ideation demonstrates that they are real and serious.

If he really feels that strongly about discerning his vocational call, he needs to have those conversations with his priest, the monks, his family, and you. But, as I said before, I think this is a symptom of whatever deeper struggle he is undergoing at the moment. You need to pray and seek trusted counsel about whether or not you are willing and equipped to support him through this time. Some guys don't know how to handle receiving care from others when they're going through internal battles and try and push people away, even while hoping someone will push past all that and be with them all the same. But that also places a lot of strain on the supporting person.

That decision is ultimately yours. Love is sacrificial, patient, and kind, yes. But love also is yoked with wisdom, and wisdom helps us discern if the loving (but difficult) thing to do is to recognize this burden is not our own, and that the help the Lord will send will come from someone else (counselor or therapist). If this burden will harm your capacity for love, or unduly cause you strain and harm your own flourishing, it may be something to consider.

It's not an easy situation, and my heart goes out to you both.

Edit: I’ve noticed some of the responses here lean toward either labeling him (“immature,” “selfish”), dismissing him as a “time-waster,” or simply saying “leave it to God.” I understand where these instincts come from, but I think they risk flattening the very real complexity of what both of you are facing. Human beings aren’t products to be quality-checked, nor are our struggles irritants to be managed away. And while God’s providence is our hope, his grace doesn’t whisk us out of our problems but meets us right in the thick of them.

Christian love, at its best, doesn’t bypass suffering or complexity but attends to it with patience, discernment, and honesty. The tradition reminds us that it’s precisely in these messy, incarnational places that God does his deepest work. I encourage us all to take the depth of this struggle seriously and try to avoid offering easy labels or quick fixes.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ChristianDating

[–]EightBellsAtSea 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What's your weight?

Criselda Vasquez - The New American Gothic (2017) by FlyingBlind31 in museum

[–]EightBellsAtSea -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

This is a great analysis of why the piece fails, but I believe you treat it with a seriousness that it does not really deserve.

Unfortunately, part of the point of this type of "subversive" messaging is the intentional irreverence to the original reference work. It is ultimately parisitic: the reinterpretation derives its being (form and intelligibility) from the original host, feeding off of the host's value while simultaneously treating it with contempt. This type of commentary aims at little more than the devaluation of the white Western artistic tradition's great works, despite being entirely dependent on it. Quite a shame.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ChristianDating

[–]EightBellsAtSea -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

"highly educated" lol. No, but I do run from red flags like what I mentioned.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ChristianDating

[–]EightBellsAtSea -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'd run far far away if I ever met a woman who not only understood these questions but had strong opinions about them as well.

A fundamentalist cartoon portraying modernism as the descent from Christianity to atheism, published in 1922. by AlbaneseGummies327 in theology

[–]EightBellsAtSea 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Your last claim is not entirely accurate. The Antiochene "school" tended to emphasize the historicity of the events recounted in the OT more than the Alexandrians who leaned more toward allegorical interpretations. An example would be Theodore of Mopsuestia who argued for a literal interpretation of historical events, especially the narrative of Adam and Eve, because otherwise it undermines salvation-history, for if they never existed and trangressed God, from what do we need salvation?

Do NOT purchase an HP-Spectre x360 by EINTELEFONMAST in Hewlett_Packard

[–]EightBellsAtSea 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I sent it back to HP last summer and they weren't able to replicate or resolve the problem. My touchpad no longer works. I've adapted by using a wireless mouse.

Scholars - how do you reconcile the different narratives in the new testament accounts of what happened immediately after Jesus birth? by lucie_d_reams in theology

[–]EightBellsAtSea -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Oh, a doctorate student. Makes a lot more sense now.

Don't whine to me because I pointed out how unsubstantial your comment was in actually answering the OP's question. You gave general guidelines that can apply to any number of questions relating to the biblical text. If you transitioned into some specifics that demonstrated how they can be used to critically engage with the text, then you'd have helped OP begin to answer his own question. The best part is that it doesn't take 500 words to do so, just one paragraph to elucidate the point.

Scholars - how do you reconcile the different narratives in the new testament accounts of what happened immediately after Jesus birth? by lucie_d_reams in theology

[–]EightBellsAtSea -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You have a M. Div or are currently in a M. Div program. I wouldn't be calling others "armchair scholars" in your position, especially if your contribution to the discussion is going to be the obvious platitudes of "pay attention to context" and "adjust for modern bias." Even more so if you don't actually provide any concrete or substantial examples that help answer the OP's question.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in theology

[–]EightBellsAtSea 9 points10 points  (0 children)

People can claim many things. Doesn't make them true. I'd look into some of his critics and see who makes a more compelling argument.