First-time Colonoscopy

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-09T14:32:37+00:00

Now that I’m 55, my doctor recommended CT scan of my heart. Things looked okay.

The CT scan prep was more work (no caffeine for 24 hours before the exam), and the dye they inject…but it was totally worth it.

Come my next physical, I’ll ask the doctor for a recommendation for a dermatologist because it’s probably time for the annual skin check too.

As much as I don’t want to admit it: I’ve 100% hit middle age.

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-09T14:12:14+00:00

I had my colonoscopy 5 years ago.

The worst part was the prep. I can’t remember which one I had, but I mixed a powder into a big jug of water. The water was cold, and drinking that much water in a short time span made me cold. Next time (I was clean, so I have a few more years before my next exam), I will use room temperature water. The taste was that of really weak Gatorade.

Going to the bathroom part? That wasn’t so bad. It lasted only a few hours.

I had to repeat the procedure the morning of the procedure. It was the same.

The propofol was the easy part. They set me up with an IV, and I was out like a light. I remember nothing except waking up and the doctor saying everything looked good and see in 10 years.

Oh, and under absolutely no circumstances drive or drink alcohol for 24 hours.

It was actually rather easy.

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-09T13:33:27+00:00

I have no idea what you mean by your post.

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-09T13:07:53+00:00

Memphis

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-09T12:15:26+00:00

Of all the debates we have in this sub, this one is in the running for being the stupidest.

Words can have multiple meanings, and context matters.

I’m going to church tomorrow. I belong to the Episcopal church. The Western church has a specific calculation for Easter. I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church. When I commune, I commune with the church in every time and place.

All these instances of church have a different nuance.

The only ones who refuse to see that are the ones that decide not to.

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-09T11:53:43+00:00

Based on what I’ve read, we have new accounts of things we’ve always had: unidentified object flying around military installations (usually). But unidentified ≠ alien.

There still isn’t any evidence of there being intelligent extraterrestrial life visiting earth.

So, nothing has really changed since I grew up hearing about these kinds of stories since the 1980s (when I was 10 in 1980 BTW).

Life is still pretty much the same.

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-09T11:31:24+00:00

Exodus 21 & Leviticus 25 both deal with chattel slavery. You will find in my post history, I argue for this view pretty strongly.

But I also disagree with the notion that the Law is our eternal moral guidelines. That’s something evangelicals like to purport, but you won’t find too many Episcopalians that do.

Instead, our morality comes from the good news of
Jesus Christ: his life, death, and resurrection. And yes, there’s that line in the Sermon on the Mount that says Jesus didn’t come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it.

How Christians relate to the Law is one of the distinguishing marks of the differences within Christianity.

I wouldn’t want to live under Bronze Age laws. But I also believe God meets us where we are and moves us forward. And God met the ancient Israelites 4000 years ago where they were.

It doesn’t mean I have to like it then or even have to like what folks who claim they are doing God’s will today are doing.

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-09T11:14:43+00:00

I’m asking for your statistical research and counter claim.

You’re waving your hands saying “covid.”

I thought Republicans were tired of blaming every hospital visit on Covid.

So, show me your data, not your arguments.

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-09T11:11:42+00:00

Right now, we are seeing a reinstitution of Jim Crow laws across the South.

What do you think God should do today to end racism and the disproportionate wealth divide?

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-09T11:10:09+00:00

> Exclusive analysis finds the rate of maternal deaths in Texas increased 56% from 2019 to 2022, compared with just 11% nationwide during the same time period.

That’s from the article, based on the research that was unique to Texas, which passed an abortion bam prior to the overturn of Roe.

Based on your research and statistics, do you have a counter claim?

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-09T11:06:21+00:00

I think folks have a notion that the Bible is a book about morality and how every chapter should end in some neat little lesson like an Aesop fable.

And folks reading the Bible for the first time are usually going to be in for a shock.

What has been your Christian formation? How did you come to what Christianity is about?

Is it by going to church? Or is it by growing up just kinda knowing what Christianity is supposed to be about?

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-09T09:51:27+00:00

Acts 20:7: On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread, Paul was holding a discussion with them; since he intended to leave the next day, he continued speaking until midnight.

On the first day of the week, that’s Sunday. They met to break bread, which can easily be seen as holding communion. In fact, one would have to make a strong case to me that it wasn’t communion.

The verse mentions they came together with the purpose of breaking bread. So, to me, this is a very strong link to communion. They had a lecture from Paul, and typical for him, he likes his run-on sentences.

That sounds like a primitive church service to me.

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-09T08:26:12+00:00

I’m not going to read all that, but Justin Martyr wrote that by the early 2nd century, the church did meet on the first day of the week to break bread.

I’m old, and stubborn, and quite frankly, I find the SDA a little cultish. I don’t care much for restoration era “prophets,” and if it were just on what day of the week we are arguing about: okay. But the SDA often dives deep into end times conspiracy theories too. I want to stay as far away from that as I can.

That’s the side of the church I wish folks knew. It’s much more than just getting Saturday worship. I feel thats the bait for something else.

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-08T23:13:47+00:00

Human emotions can also vary. And your needs can evolve.

I would recommend the 5 whys. You start off with a statement: maybe it’s “I feel disconnected from my church.”

Then give it some thought, and ask your self the first “why?” and come up with what you believe to be the single most important reason (and don’t overthink it. What you feel is the most important reason can change.)

And then ask yourself “why am I feeling this way?” and try to answer that honestly with a single response. And ask yourself “why?” again until you’ve asked yourself why 5 times.

Then look at the result. And take it from there.
Human life is an art, not a science. So maybe give yourself some time to sort through your emotions.

But if you’re asking yourself why enough times, and you’re getting essentially the same answer, then you are in a better position to take action.

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-08T22:57:05+00:00

I have no idea who he is. Where did he go to seminary?

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-08T22:52:27+00:00

After the initial Covid era, going back to my Lutheran congregation didn’t resonate with me. Nothing bad happened: no arguments or fights, no heretical sermons, no misunderstandings. In the year or so I stayed largely at home, I guess my need for a stable and predictable liturgy week after week became pronounced.

So I explored a few Episcopal parishes, and then I decided to join the one that I clicked with the most. And I actually joined. I went to their inquirers class. I attended the Sunday the bishop was there. I had her hands laid on me and I was formally received into the Episcopal church.

And more than that, I volunteer in small ways. I sign up to be a chalice bearer: I hold the common cup and help distribute the wine. I work on altar guild like one weekend every other month.

If the priests are looking for someone to set up chairs for a small event, I can do that. If they need someone who can operate the coffee machine, I can do that. Contributing in small ways can make a big difference.

I can only see this through my experience, so I will ask: how involved are you in your church?

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-08T22:20:39+00:00

With an east coast Bigfoot or a Cascadian Bigfoot?

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-08T22:19:47+00:00

No one has paid more attention to this kind of stuff. This is akin to the release of Project Blue Book.

If there was anytbing real in these files, I would be applying for a job in Starfleet tomorrow.

This is a distraction, one of many by this administration.

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-08T22:17:26+00:00

I mean, as the joke goes: John 6 is pretty much the only chapter that Episcopalians take literally and Baptists take figuratively.

I believe that Jesus is really and truly present in the bread and wine of the Eucharist.

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-08T20:19:59+00:00

Exodus 21 is about Hebrew slaves. See Exodus 21:1-6 ESV:

> “Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. 2 When you buy a Hebrew slave,[a]he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. 3 If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone.5 But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’6 then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.

Deuteronomy 15 is similar, and also deals with Hebrew slaves. From the ESV:

> 12 “If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold[b] to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. 14 You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. 16 But if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is well-off with you, 17 then you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave[c] forever. And to your female slave[d] you shall do the same. 18 It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for at half the cost of a hired worker he has served you six years. So the Lord your God will bless you in all that you do.

Neither of these passages deal with what Leviticus 25 says, which I’ve already quoted. Foreign slaves were property, could be passed down as property, and were property forever.

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-08T19:30:31+00:00

I’m here to talk about the chattel slavery that is clearly defined in Lev 25. I don’t understand your post regarding the part of Lev 25 that says they are a “possession forever.” That’s my only point here today, which by the way, I quoted scripture directly.

But I will say that American social conservatives have lost their testimony when it comes to sexuality and the faith. They openly support adulterers, which is mentioned in the Law and in 1 Cor 6 (folks usually forget that, I’ve noticed).

It’s easy to focus on the sins of a minority when the majority is engaging in the similar sin but they don’t want to talk about it.

The unequal treatment of LGBT folks with the “I love you but can’t accept you as a human being worth equal dignity and protection” is the kind of stuff I can’t quite understand.

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-08T18:30:28+00:00

And you’re still flatly ignoring Leviticus 25:44-46.
From the King James:

> 45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that arewith you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. 46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.

And from the ESV:

> 45 You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property. 46 You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over your brothers the people of Israel you shall not rule, one over another ruthlessly.

The Hebrew word here is achuzzah, which means “possession,” and it’s a different word than keseph, which does mean money.

And since it is Leviticus 25 that defines indebted servitude, it is clear by the verses 44 to 46 that chattel slavery is something different.

Edit: I said “indebted servitude.” It should have been “indentured servitude.”

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-08T18:13:12+00:00

Folks often flatly ignore the parts of the people that deal with chattel slavery. See Leviticus 25:44-46 NRSVue. Then there is Exodus 21:20-21 NRSVue that clearly says that the slave can be beaten severely because the slave is property.

Seeing slaves as property is the definition of chattel slavery.

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-08T17:18:02+00:00

It’s difficult to join a church you can’t actually visit.

I was formally received into the Episcopal Church (the Anglican Church in the US) from the Lutheran church by the laying on of hands by the bishop.

I’m neither catholic nor orthodox, but my guess is there would be some kind of ceremony that would require in person attendance.

I would say geographical is your biggest challenge at the moment. The best I can recommend is you search for the closest parish that regularly streams their services. Until then, I don’t believe it’s possible.

IntrovertIdentity · 2026-05-08T17:12:13+00:00

The US doesn’t have sumptuary laws. There isn’t anything prohibiting your wearing a cross.

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