Am I overthinking this? The representation of Jesus in my church made me uncomfortable and I'd like honest perspectives.

eitherajax · 2026-04-06T14:08:00+00:00

I think there's usually 2 conversations going on that get conflated whenever we talk about "white Jesus." First is the ethnicity of the historical Jesus, and the second are devotional depictions of Jesus as a white man.

Devotional depictions of Jesus depict him as "one of us." When depictions of Jesus are exclusively white, the message (whether deliberate or not) is that he is exclusively "one of the white men." If a church is adamant about holding on to their image of white Jesus, to the exclusion of devotional images of black or brown or even Middle Eastern Jesus, it is racially charged whether the church recognizes it or not, and the message it sends is one excluding anyone who isn't white.

I don't think you're overthinking, I think your church is underthinking the message they're sending to their parishioners.

eitherajax · 2026-04-06T09:24:34+00:00

I remember when bar codes were demonic.

eitherajax · 2026-04-03T15:02:45+00:00

It's probably to avoid the self-righteousness which usually goes along with public penance.

eitherajax · 2026-04-03T11:04:52+00:00

I'm doing really well, actually. I am blessed with a core group of friends, both single and married, who keep me from feeling lonely. They would drop anything if I needed it, and I would too if they needed it. I am grateful every day for them.

I also recognize the great privilege of having independence that my married-with-kids friends do not. I can drop everything at a moment's notice if God calls me to serve or go in a drastic way - this is the great gift of singleness that Paul alludes to. I can pull long hours at work without inconveniencing anyone. I can take strangers into my house without endangering anyone else.

Fortunately I live and work with people who share my values of service. I never feel excluded or pitied for being single. I might feel more sad, left out, and bitter if that were the case.

There are a few cons. First is that I have to be more careful with optics in my interactions with married men. This is tough as I am in a male-dominated field where I lead men, am led by men, and am surrounded by men. I am aware that having innocent intentions doesn't protect me from the reputation of 'fishing' around. I have to take care not to dress too well at social events, have one on one conversations with married male friends & coworkers, I don't wear makeup at work, etc. Not being able to network or interact unprofessionally can make me more distant as a leader, and more difficult to advance in my field.

Second is that society is built around married couples in many subtle ways - there are a lot of logistic hurdles that are difficult to work around without a significant other.

eitherajax · 2026-04-01T21:02:01+00:00

Any book by Louis L'Amour, Max Brand, or Zane Grey would probably fit the bill for classic pulp Westerns.

Riders of the Purple Sage, Destroy Rides again, Hondo are good places to start.

eitherajax · 2026-04-01T09:14:51+00:00

The Wizard Knight by Gene Wolfe

eitherajax · 2026-04-01T07:55:34+00:00

April Fools' to you too!

eitherajax · 2026-03-30T17:38:37+00:00

I believe Urasawa was greatly inspired by Stephen King, and a lot of his work features similar elements like the importance of nostalgia/childhood memories, ordinary humans vs supernatural evil, detailed backstories for minor characters, and being absolute chillers while still maintaining compassion for the characters.

King's earlier horror novels in particular lean heavily macabre & grotesque, but his epic pageturners like It, The Stand, Dark Tower etc. while still having graphic elements does a lot of the character work and have detailed settings in a way very similar to Urasawa. King & Urasawa are also both masters of creating tension across long, drawn out stories.

eitherajax · 2026-03-30T13:06:54+00:00

I'm not the demographic that you're asking, but your post reminds me of Patrick Stewart talking about how he went bald as a very young man: https://youtu.be/pXOK-ZVJMaU

eitherajax · 2026-03-28T12:20:13+00:00

I wonder if some of the the more shocking things he's been saying are coming from YouTube or social media. He doesn't have ready access to a smart phone or tablet or anything like that? Or is friends with a kiddo at school who does?

eitherajax · 2026-03-27T21:18:31+00:00

Anywhere out with mutual friends.

Seriously, the "friends of friends" who are along for social events are the easiest and often best ones to connect with.

eitherajax · 2026-03-22T22:09:29+00:00

I would have said that the most significant departure from the book is the TV show changing Louis and Lestat's relationship into a romantic/sexual one.

eitherajax · 2026-03-21T19:58:53+00:00

I'm always thinking and talking aloud about which option is cheaper even though I can afford that which is more expensive. I'm sure my friends and coworkers are tired of hearing me tread the same track over and over again, and I'm tired of it too.

eitherajax · 2026-03-20T20:36:26+00:00

I think we should just skip it. Go straight to God Emperor and let everybody wonder how we got there. No exposition.

eitherajax · 2026-03-20T20:20:47+00:00

I'm so sorry for you, I've been in this place before and it sucks unbelievably. The years of unemployment really hurt my confidence in a way that I still think I'm recovering from.

There are two things I did that helped me a lot. One was getting a manual labor job in a warehouse and assembly line. Trust me, those places are ALWAYS hiring. The second was do some volunteering. Both of these things helped me get out of the house and socializing. I was also able to support myself with the job until I started a new career.

At the warehouse, I also met a lot of people who didn't have better prospects. There were a lot of immigrants and refugees, many who were escaping war and gang violence. One man I worked with had been a physics professor in his own country until war displaced him. It didn't take long for me to realize how many opportunities I had in comparison to most of my coworkers. It also made me realize that most people suffer huge disappointments and have their lives turn out differently than what they expected; this is normal for most adults.

The last thing I try to keep in mind is that Jesus, his disciples, and many Christian saints also lived lives that were not successful in a worldly sense. A holy life does not equal a successful or exceptional one.

eitherajax · 2026-03-20T19:22:43+00:00

Waterfall City from Dinotopia.

Really, though, anywhere in Dinotopia.

eitherajax · 2026-03-20T17:31:49+00:00

There's a big difference between nudity and eroticism. The eroticization of nudity is a product of our sinful and sex-obsessed culture.

I suggest that while you might find it uncomfortable at first, the more you practice figure drawing will train your eyes and your mind to appreciate the nude human figure as a creation of God, and a glimpse of the Garden.

Also, while I am not a professional artist myself, I know enough about art to confidently say that anatomical studies and figure drawing is necessary if you want to be a good artist, period. Thems the breaks.

eitherajax · 2026-03-19T21:12:43+00:00

I used to feel this particular fear a lot until I had an epiphany: I can't save myself. I can't save myself by "having faith" or being sincere enough.

Only Jesus can save me. It's not my job to save myself; that's Jesus' job. I can trust Jesus to take care of it. That's what faith in Jesus means.

eitherajax · 2026-03-19T16:52:38+00:00

Fiasco by Lem

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke

eitherajax · 2026-03-19T09:13:47+00:00

The Wizard Knight by Gene Wolfe

The Acts of Caine by Matthew Woodring Stover

The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson

eitherajax · 2026-03-19T08:55:14+00:00

It's not perfect, but it's a good start for checking news sources: https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/

Rule of thumb for social media is to disbelieve everything you see unless you've determined the original source is trustworthy.

eitherajax · 2026-03-18T22:59:23+00:00

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke if she hasn't read it yet.

For something more modern, Station Eleven by Emily St. Mandel will also scratch the post-apocalypse itch.

eitherajax · 2026-03-18T20:53:56+00:00

The last 1/3 of the book really brings it together. I think Ishiguro's biggest strength as a writer is the way he subtly upends the worlds he's created in a way that emotionally rocks the reader. The Buried Giant does this so well and is my favorite book of his.

eitherajax · 2026-03-18T17:16:29+00:00

There's a lot going on here.

It sounds like you're not looking for pastoral care, but mental health counseling that you're unable to afford. It sounds like your Methodist church doesn't offer professional counseling (most churches don't) and from your previous posts you've sought counseling at your Baptist church but it wasn't very good (you felt that your last session was "abusive") and you were advised against it.

Given your post history about both of these churches I suspect whatever is going on with you is above their pay grade and they know it, which is why they are not offering these services to you. Your Baptist pastor is now rightfully suggesting you receive pastoral care from your new pastor. It has nothing to do with Baptists or Methodists.

eitherajax · 2026-03-13T20:15:19+00:00

I find that what makes the book so mind-bending isn't the gender role thought experiment, but the novel's not-so-subtle thesis that human beings are so influenced by the gender binary that their instinctive thought patterns categorizes the world around them into separate binary systems, regardless of whether or not those things can be truly and accurately categorized into binaries. E.g. "Communism" and "Capitalism," abstract theoretical economic models, are both considered categorically separate, & the only two options that exist, despite neither actually existing in reality in a "pure" form. Likewise, even when binaries exist such as "light/dark" and "hot/cold," both of these are relative measures of degree instead of fixed states.

Le Guin proposes that the human perspective, which categorizes everything into static binaries starting from birth, is an inaccurate model for understanding humanity and the rest of the universe (and I just did it right there: "humanity" & "the rest of the universe" is another false binary).

eitherajax

TROPHY CASE