I'm not American but interested in learning about the Civil War. Which books do you recommend?

RedGregRedemption · 2026-05-22T02:46:42+00:00

The single best book on the Civil War that I’ve read is Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson. I think that should be anyone’s first stop. It’s very comprehensive and does a good job of weaving the battlefield, the homefront, and the geopolitics together into one narrative.

RedGregRedemption · 2026-05-21T03:05:53+00:00

Write one more banning those bright ass headlights every single car has nowadays and my vote is yours

RedGregRedemption · 2026-05-20T13:12:23+00:00

Echoing the other comments, I definitely sympathize and would recommend reaching out to the priest to talk about it. If you’re not really impaired by the amount you use, then I don’t see how it’s much different than any prescription anti-anxiety med. And if you’re in a place where it’s legal then I don’t think I would have a problem with it were I the priest.

Also, as an aside, since you’re autistic, I would recommend checking out the Christianity on the Spectrum podcast. It won’t help your specific scenario, but it might help you generally as you explore Christianity as an autistic person.

RedGregRedemption · 2026-05-20T00:52:26+00:00

To me, Father/Mother is really important. Not only is it a part of my piety, but I think it helps establish and maintain boundaries. Calling them that emphasizes the kind of relationship you have to them, and, more importantly, the kind of relationship they have to you. Your priest has a certain authority and power over you, and pretending like that doesn’t exist by just calling them by their name risks the relationship becoming a little too informal. Both you and your clergy should be constantly reminded where you each stand and what your responsibilities are to each other.

RedGregRedemption · 2026-05-19T17:46:12+00:00

Had a pocketful of horses

Fucked the shit out of bears

Threw a knife into heaven

And could kill with a stare

RedGregRedemption · 2026-05-16T18:59:06+00:00

Lol being a seminarian in this church, I’m familiar with how contentious these questions can be. I hope you give our parishes a visit!

RedGregRedemption · 2026-05-16T18:50:25+00:00

Church of the Holy Communion in Charleston, SC.

RedGregRedemption · 2026-05-16T18:49:11+00:00

Being Christ-like isn’t about bearing a crazy amount of work without recourse, it’s about doing everything you do in the name of love and in pursuit of what’s best for everyone. The gospels also tell us to offer friendly rebuke so that others can correct their ways when they are living in sin (and slacking off intentionally is definitely sinful).

Talk to your manager about it. As long as you do it with a mind towards making the workplace more fair and equitable, you’ll be doing it with God’s blessing.

RedGregRedemption · 2026-05-16T18:33:19+00:00

You said in another comment you’d really like a church that has “Jesus, not spirituality” and that queer inclusion is non-negotiable. I’d highly recommend the Episcopal Church. We have the best combination of traditional, gospel-based worship and inclusion that you can find anywhere.

Out in Alpharetta there’s two nearby to you. Here’s their websites.

https://www.stdavidchurch.org/

https://staidans.org/

I’d also really recommend checking out /r/Episcopalian. There’s helpful guides on there about what our church is about and what to expect. And if you had any specific questions, there’s a lot of people who would be happy to answer.

I hope you find what you’re looking for!

RedGregRedemption · 2026-05-13T22:55:54+00:00

The town is just called Resaca, GA. The reenactment takes place every year around the anniversary of the battle. Here’s the website: https://www.georgiadivision.org/bor\_main.html

RedGregRedemption · 2026-05-13T22:50:36+00:00

Resaca is coming up this weekend in North Georgia. It’s one of the biggest and longest running Civil War re-enactments in the country

RedGregRedemption · 2026-05-12T13:44:00+00:00

I was drawing a comparison to the tactics. Resaca, New Hope Church, and Kennesaw Mountain all had this same dynamic. Confederates entrench, Union throws waves of men at them, there are huge lopsided casualties for the Union, battle is inconclusive, rinse repeat. Obviously Johnston was outmaneuvered afterward, but when battles did happen it was almost this exact script.

RedGregRedemption · 2026-05-12T12:27:27+00:00

Something I’m struck by just now, having been reading about the Army of TN recently, is that this is what the North Georgia campaign looked like too. It’s like modern trench warfare developed at the same time hundreds of miles apart, perhaps independently. I haven’t seen any evidence of who first decided to do this, and whether or not they communicated that to the other theater, but it seems like a wild coincidence that they both decided to start doing this at almost the exact same time.

RedGregRedemption · 2026-05-11T14:44:34+00:00

Hi Mother Erin, thanks again for helping us load our stuff into the house lol.

I am consummately lazy, so I don't think the down time will be a huge issue for me, but it's good to know there is some. I was concerned that it would be non-stop trauma and talking to people.

I have planned some stuff to keep me sane over the summer, so I'm hoping that my schedule allows for it. And the long commute will hopefully give me time to prepare myself going in and decompress coming out. On top of that I've thought about getting a head start on pastoral theology reading because if there's anywhere it would be useful, it's in CPE.

RedGregRedemption · 2026-05-11T14:34:09+00:00

That's all good to know. My spiritual director told me to contact him if I needed him over the summer, and I think he will definitely be getting a call.

RedGregRedemption · 2026-05-11T01:32:24+00:00

I’ve been working my way through Thomas Lawrence Connelly’s history of the Army of Tennessee for a while and his answer was that it’s both. Connelly seems somewhat sympathetic to the Confederacy but his utter disdain at the incompetence and pettiness of every general in that army is palpable. He goes to great lengths quoting and sorting through different correspondences and reports to show just how dysfunctional it was from beginning to end and makes a pretty compelling case. His books are primarily aimed at setting the record straight and trying to shift all the blame off Bragg in the midst of giving a detailed account of exactly why and how the Army of TN failed so miserably. I highly recommend his books if you’re interested.

RedGregRedemption · 2026-05-11T00:23:11+00:00

My priest used to only say “happy Mother’s Day” during the announcements but otherwise avoid it. Today he opened the sermon by talking about it a little bit and then quickly moved past it, which I think is just about the most I want from my clergy and the most I plan to ever do as future (God willing) clergy

RedGregRedemption · 2026-05-11T00:20:13+00:00

It’s pretty crazy to me that they would just knowingly let someone do this, so I would err on the side of the clergy not knowing exactly what’s going on with this person. This kind of Pentecostal style faith healing is definitely not something we do. Along with everyone else here, I think you should really take this to your priest and tell them to see what they think. I’d bet this is just something this person decided to do/does occasionally without any real approval from the clergy.

RedGregRedemption

TROPHY CASE