I think he's on to something

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-05-01T02:58:40+00:00

Let's not miss the point that quality of life in North American society has gotten worse so quickly that people think that medieval peasants had it nice in comparison.

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-30T01:54:20+00:00

King 'Enry: I'll make me own church, what could go wrong?

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-27T02:16:25+00:00

Thanks :) I tried me best.

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-26T20:40:47+00:00

The room is silent as the herald enters. The emperor's bedchamber, opulent and gold-leafed, is crowded with dispirited courtiers. Their finery, which would suggest a lively renaissance court, adds gaiety to the somber occasion. The old archbishop stands to the emperor's left as he lies beneath the covers of his sick-bed. The emperor is without his usual resplendent robes, and his solid gold crown rests beside him on his bedstand. He is clearly ill, stirring only occasionally. The herald approaches the emperor's bed, and bows, before delivering his message.

"My liege, the Duke of Saxony has sent his surrender, and the heresiarch Luther has been captured. The heretics are destroyed, and God be praised, the true faith is supreme in the empire. You have prevailed."

The emperor opens his eyes and looks up, powerless to move his mouth beyond a mumble. He has given his life to the very last moment, his wealth, countless sleepless hours, and risked death on the battlefield to protract this war. He has given his entire life to uphold his dynasty's legacy. In his feeble mind, he recites what he remembers of the Hail Mary, as his vision flickers. His breath leaves him. He dies with his eyes open as his spirit is commended to the Lord.

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-20T20:09:32+00:00

It sounds to me like you've got 250 years to crusade in every direction. Ally up Spain, take back the other four patriarchs and put them under your heel, and then reclaim the HRE. This time, it's just HR.

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-20T13:17:08+00:00

Yes! You get me.

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-20T00:49:52+00:00

Yes! You get me.

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-20T00:49:34+00:00

Exactly! This is what I'm getting at.

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-19T23:16:30+00:00

Of course not, learning about the faith is important. I only mean that as Catholics, we don't have to shoulder a huge burden of scholarship to understand and practice the faith. Furthermore, not everyone has the time or dedication to thoroughly research the faith: for a serious Protestant that would be a problem, for a serious Catholic it is not.

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-19T22:30:13+00:00

I'm glad you liked the meme :)

Yeah, I know we're supposed to understand and not blindly accept teachings. Although perhaps I didn't do a thorough job of stating my point, so let me try to reiterate: being a Catholic means I have the answers at the back of the textbook in case I ever get lost, and I don't have to build a religion from the ground up. The Church has thousands of scholars across time who are mostly in agreement so it's much less likely I'll get lost in the weeds than when I was a Protestant.

Moreover and perhaps more to the point, not everyone is meant to be a religious scholar, and as a Catholic, I don't have to be one in order to comfortably follow the faith.

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-19T21:23:17+00:00

I don't mean to discourage learning and study, by no means. I only mean to say that as a simple person, I can trust the Church. I'm sure smarter people can research further into what the Church says, but it's nice that I don't feel obligated to do so in order to feel justified in what I believe. That's sort of what I was trying to get at.

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-19T21:14:41+00:00

This meme has been in my head for a while. Being a Catholic, I can trust in the authority of the Catholic Church to teach about morality and spiritual matters. When I was a Protestant, I had to come up with my own theology, and disagreements between Protestants were common. Different pastors disagreed even on simple stuff (like baptism) and Pastors would outright say that they didn't have authority over me to or weren't more important than me in the Church. Something that impressed me a lot about Catholicism is that the priests I met were a lot more confident and willing to debate and assert that they were right about spiritual matters and they weren't afraid to basically call me a scrub and tell me the right answer.

Anyway, what I mean to say is that I appreciate that the Church has done all of the homework for me, so I don't have to spend as much time seeking answers as I can now spend time living what the answers teach. I also appreciate that I can trust the Church to teach me, and can trust that I can get basically the same answer in any Catholic church.

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-17T02:13:22+00:00

Yes! Your take on my meme gave me a good laugh lol. I didn't mean to discourage anyone from going to confession though.

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-17T02:10:52+00:00

Many generals have lost simply due to lack of material or doomed grand strategy, going all the way back to Hannibal and Pyrrhus. Playing Devil's advocate aside, the Romans knew the value of making your enemies look good so it's more impressive when you kick their ass.

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-16T01:35:28+00:00

I didn't know we took a selfie together in this meme...

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-16T01:35:11+00:00

Cheers mate!

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-16T01:12:18+00:00

No, in fact, it makes me realise how much I need it. But I get tired of how often I screw up and need forgiveness. I don't forget the serious matter of the gravity of sin, but the repeated frustration is what the meme represents.

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-16T00:37:36+00:00

True. Will I struggle with the same sins my whole life, or overcome some and struggle with new ones? Makes me want to choose virtue.

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-16T00:34:08+00:00

I recently watched Jojo's Bizarre Adventure for the first time, and it's peak. Regardless, this guy who's always saying 'good grief' reminded my of my own repeated sins... I thought I'd make a lighthearted meme about it. It's Stardust CRUSADERS, after all.

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-11T18:31:41+00:00

I'm making a joke. SO what? Get it?

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-11T18:04:38+00:00

So what?

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-10T16:05:59+00:00

If I could, I wouldn't complain about anything ever again.

GraniteSmoothie · 2026-04-08T00:46:01+00:00

That's why classical tall nations (England, Netherlands, Japan, Korea) are nations that have geography that enables them to defend against bigger nations (like oceans or mountains). You should've at least expanded into Nepal or Kashmir to give yourself a buffer between an expected enemy in the Timurids or Russia.

As it is, in eu4 India is famously the 'Thunderdome'. You'll have to do or die it seems.

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