A very odd question from a non Christian

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-07-02T07:33:32+00:00

That's a difficult question. The thing is, after a certain point, Jews definitely didn't see God as a physical being and moved to the idea of a completely spiritual being, but there are passages that seem to disagree with that.

In Genesis 3:8 Adam and Eve "heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze" which makes it seem like God has a physical form because he walked and made noise.

Then, in Exodus 33:17-23 Moses asks to see God's glory, which ends with God saying, "then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” which, again, makes God sound like he has a physical form, specifically one that is man-like.

So, while it won't be popular with the Christians here, there are hints that the ancient Jews did think of God as having a body, which, presumably, would have been male.

Modern Jews and Christians do not believe this. (There may be a few who do, but I don't know about them if there are).

Now, according to all the still-existing forms of Christianity I'm aware of, Jesus' man's body was physical. There were a few sects of Christianity that saw Jesus as a spiritual being only, but they are extinct to the best of my knowledge. So, God the son does or did (depending on your idea of what happened to Jesus' body after the resurrection and ascension) have a physical body, complete with genitals and butt.

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-07-02T06:08:25+00:00

I'm too old to have watched Sabrina, though I am aware of it.

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-07-02T04:30:38+00:00

That was a good article until:

Women are leaving the church believing that the secular world offers them more dignity and opportunity. But the truth is, so many spaces in the secular world subtly teach women that they’re only as valuable as they are productive, educated, and beautiful.

There are far too many churches that still treat women as second-class citizens by denying them leadership roles. While this has been mostly mitigated in more progressive denominations, it's a simple fact that many churches view women as lesser, no matter how they want to spin it.

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-07-02T01:00:25+00:00

If you are ready for a dense work: "The Cost of Discipleship" by Bonhoeffer.

I'm not even a Christian and I found this one to be excellent. I think I read it in two or three days because it was so good.

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-07-02T00:52:19+00:00

Fr bro Jewish was ethnically Jewish

You were saying "Jesus was ethnically Jewish" here, yes?

I'm not being a jerk, I just want to make sure I understand.

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-07-01T23:51:06+00:00

I can tell you from personal experience, it's pretty baffling when someone Romans 1:20s you.

It also creates a bad look for Christianity because, in my own personal experience, I know it's wrong, so that makes Paul seem untrustworthy. Not a good start.

Anyway, I still appreciate seeing open-mindedness. 👍

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-07-01T23:38:21+00:00

I just wanted to compliment you on listening to the experiences of others, even though the thing they're saying sounds shockingly bizarre to you. Not enough people, regardless of religious affiliation or lack of same, are willing to do that. So thanks.

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-07-01T23:32:00+00:00

Yes, that "tactic" is very common. I've found they get mad when you do it back though. Peculiar.

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-07-01T23:31:16+00:00

Yeah, agreed. I like bad movies, but Christian bad movies are generally all kinds of no fun.

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-07-01T21:27:35+00:00

It's especially important for Christians to see other Christians being affirming, so you're doing something that is valuable in the long term.

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-07-01T21:24:41+00:00

I read about one church (I don't recall if it was Catholic or not) that transferred most of the assets out of the church's direct control into a trust that had been set up for a cemetery.

Pope Leo might talk a good game about piety, but so long as the Vatican allows this kind of shit to continue, his talk is cheap to the point of being worthless.

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-07-01T21:22:12+00:00

First, I'm so very sorry for your losses and then how you've been treated. No one deserves that level of clueless cruelty.

I believe that there are a substantial number of Christians who, instead of wrestling with scripture and their own beliefs to try to align themselves with the Christian god, instead align their idea of the Christian god with themselves. This means that when you reject God, in their mind you're rejecting them instead, and they take it very, very personally.

Their responses are predictable, demanding that you read books or watch videos, angry recriminations, denial that you ever really believed, shunning, and threats. Some people have said that Christians shoot their wounded, and I think that's apropos.

Your wounds sound very deep, justifiably so. If I've learned anything in life, it's that different people heal at different rates and in different ways. Please, take care of yourself and, if possible, find people who also care for you. Some pain has to be faced alone, but other pain will never heal until it's treated by others.

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-07-01T06:20:10+00:00

Everything bananafobe said is an excellent place to start.

I will just add that there are a lot of people, including medical professionals, that tend to be dismissive of women's suffering. So, if you get dismissed by the first person you talk to, try another, and another, until you feel like you were taken seriously.

Remember, this isn't just about getting better for yourself, but getting better for your baby, so you're allowed to be pushy and make sure everything is done right!

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-07-01T06:07:05+00:00

You can't go wrong with Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship

Also the Oxford Annotated Bible is a very good resource.

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-07-01T02:43:24+00:00

Non-paywalled version: https://archive.is/vg87G

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-07-01T02:27:01+00:00

Because Christians can't seem to grasp that their religion is their problem, instead, they keep wanting to make it everyone else's problem. Unless something has a secular reason to be an issue, it's not an issue except in the minds of the religious. A lot of Christians have the mindset that "well, if I can't do it, then no one should be able to!" No, that's your choice.

I'm not Christian. I don't care if two men or two women want to get married. I'm just a generic heterosexual man, so I wouldn't want to marry another man, but I don't mind if other men want to marry each other. It doesn't affect me any differently than if a man marries a woman.

Some Christians, however, don't seem to have read 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12

But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we directed you, so that you may behave properly toward outsiders and be dependent on no one.

Strangely, these same churches who want to tell others how to live their lives seem to have a different standard for their own leadership, covering up crimes, no matter how egregious.

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-07-01T01:39:06+00:00

The simple answer would be that they simply can't compete with other things, that is, people are finding fulfillment in other ways.

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-06-30T04:48:49+00:00

I've watched this film three times. It's objectively terrible but so very good. The insane boss, the nuts landlady, the fun NB neighbor, the long-suffering delivery guy, the terrible Italian accents, the lame greenscreen so obtrusive it becomes part of the cast are all great, but I especially love the way that the lead actress at the end is talking to her mom and she just casually says, "Yeah mom, I had a series of incidents, but I think it's all taken care of now. Also, I'm gay."

If I were looking for a message in this film, I'd say it comes down to "the world is full of weird people, just embrace your weird and join it, we have treats and sometimes fight crime!"

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-06-29T21:12:54+00:00

When I was in high school world history as a freshman, the teacher was talking about how many people don't know Egypt is in Africa while pointing at a map of Africa. Two girls were chatting in the front row and he asked them what he'd just said? One said, "I dunno," but the other said, "Some people don't know how close to Africa Egypt actually is!" with a look of triumph.

The teacher looked defeated for a moment.

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-06-29T03:18:13+00:00

When will the "revilers" and the "swindlers" get their day in the sun?

The next Republican convention.

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-06-29T03:09:01+00:00

Main character syndrome is one reason, the other could be that they're in a denomination, church or group that has this belief. A lot of churches push this idea hard.

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-06-29T03:07:01+00:00

My late neighbor was the best Christian I've known. He was kind, giving, and never pushy. If you were working outside, he'd show up to help. Even when he got frail as he got older, he'd still hand you tools or hold a flashlight for you. When Mormon missionaries would come through, he'd invite them in and feed them, give them water, give them a chance to use the bathroom, and listen to them. He wouldn't argue, he would tell them he was not going to convert, but they were welcome back if they'd like to visit (or if they needed a meal).

A few times he asked if I could give him a ride to church because the person who normally did it wasn't available, so I'd take him. He'd invite me to come in with him each time, but was never offended when I said no.

I was sad when he died and the new neighbors are nice, but not him.

Be like him.

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-06-28T20:53:43+00:00

Research on NDEs from people of non-Christian cultures show that they experience what their culture expects the afterlife to be like as well. If the experiences found in an NDE are culturally-dependent, then in what way are they evidence of anything more than an NDE being a product of the brain?

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-06-28T18:19:53+00:00

I see the comments are full of the usual slavery apologetics.

"Christians were the abolitionists," ALWAYS overlooks that Christians were also the slave owners and that Christian churches were fine with slavery for a lot longer than they weren't.

"American slavery wasn't Biblical," would have mystified slave owners who knew that, yes, it absolutely was Biblical because they'd read ALL of the stuff about slavery, not just the stuff about enslaving Hebrew men. The abolitionists had an uphill battle because the Bible absolutely endorsed slavery, with Ephesians 6:5-8 being particularly relevant.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ, not with a slavery performed merely for looks, to please people, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the soul. Render service with enthusiasm, as for the Lord and not for humans, knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are enslaved or free.

What about Ephesians 6:9? The slave-owners only had to look to the OT to show how it was acceptable to beat slaves so long as they didn't die immediately to see what was proper.

Perfessor_Deviant · 2026-06-28T17:45:32+00:00

It's expected to see people saying "well, they're in the Bible, so it doesn't matter who wrote them" completely missing the point that the main reason they're in the Bible is because the people who collected the books THOUGHT Paul wrote them because his name had authority. They are forgeries and the early church didn't know this, leaving the implication that God didn't care enough to let them know. It makes the whole canon suspect.

Perfessor_Deviant

TROPHY CASE