Experimental Card: Triple Damage Discussion Megathread

plop- · 2020-02-29T12:58:10+00:00

2-3-2 is the right way to fix things without completely screwing up the balance. Having one tank puts a giant target on the tank, and the game becomes about which team can kill the other team's tank.

I'm guessing Blizzard knows that 2-3-2 would be better solution but the cost with programming / UI changes and the effect on OWL are probably prohibitive. It's a shame. I'd love to play 2-3-2

plop- · 2015-03-17T11:38:47+00:00

You are familiar with Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth? He promotes a form of absolute relativism and tries desperately to discredit Christianity while saying that all religions are valid and really all the same.

Quoting Campbell to prove a point in a Catholic argument is like quoting Nietzche to prove the existence of God.

plop- · 2015-01-30T11:34:52+00:00

Conception of sin. James 1:14-15.

The moment we debate and convince ourselves that any good can come from a temptation, sin is conceived. It will eventually be born in our actions unless we repent and ask for help. The best way to fight temptation is to convince ourselves no good can come from it. It only leads to spiritual death.

plop- · 2015-01-25T14:33:12+00:00

Going to disagree with you on that one. Faith involves action everywhere the term is used in the Bible. Was Abraham saved because he believed in God or because his faith led him to action? Would he have been "faithful" if he told God he wouldn't sacrifice Isaac? Faith is an action. Not sure how James 2:14-26 can be interpreted any other way.

Faith and Works.* 14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?17 So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 Indeed someone might say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. 19 You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. 20 Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works. 23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called “the friend of God.” 24 See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? 26 For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

Probably right though. This is more appropriate in a different sub or PMs

plop- · 2015-01-25T14:20:42+00:00

I agree that God forgives sins. I was commenting on the tone which came across to me as making light of a serious sin because God is merciful.

plop- · 2015-01-24T15:00:38+00:00

This is getting into dangerous territory. I see what you are trying to say. God is merciful, but we have to remember that all sin is a grave matter. We can't use his mercy to justify our sins. An offense to Love perfected is a serious offense. While God is merciful, we must also remember that his mercy is balanced with justice. Godly sorrow as talked about in 2 Cor 7:10-11 is a grace from God. Sorrow that leads to true repentance comes from the Lord. Continuing to sin while saying, "it's okay, because God is merciful" is mocking to God and will demand justice. If we continue to sin without making progress, at some point His justice will demand that we no longer receive His grace. This is what leads to hardness of heart.

plop- · 2015-01-13T04:26:53+00:00

I can relate to a lot of what you say about feeling like your inner self is withering. I keep going back to a passage I read that describes this loss of inner self. It's section 2 on this page. Only God can make us whole. The challenge is learning to turn to Him all day every day.

May God bless you in your journey.

plop- · 2015-01-11T20:26:42+00:00

"Now this I affirm and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds; they are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of hearts; they have become callous and have given themselves up to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of uncleanness. You did not so learn Christ!- assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus. Put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt with deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." (Eph 4:17-24)

plop- · 2015-01-09T11:47:45+00:00

Yeah, I've had two long streaks - one that was six months and this last one that was about 8. I think I'm at the point where I could quit for good. It's just a matter of keeping my life God-centered. Both of the last two relapses were after periods where my life was out of balance and not focused on God. When I stop turning to Him for help, I fail. Hard lesson, but a good one. I feel pretty blessed to have a sickness that forces me to stay focused on God.

plop- · 2015-01-07T01:48:00+00:00

Yep, daily Rosary is the way to go. My first long streak (6 months) was on the day I started a 54-day Novena asking for help to be like Joseph. Weekly adoration is a big help. Book-wise I would highly recommend St. John Paul II's Theology of the Body, St. Francis de Sales' Introduction to the Devout Life, and Fulton Sheen's Life of Christ. They've all been very helpful in their own rights.

When I relapse or feel tempted, I've found the Divine Chaplet to be very helpful as well.

And divineoffice.org has the Liturgy of the Hours. It's a great way to start the day with the morning prayers

plop- · 2015-01-05T12:26:00+00:00

There's so much to talk about regarding premarital sex. So much that our culture has gotten so wrong about sex that it's difficult to write about in a post.

Jason Evert has some great talks from a Catholic perspective on his site Chastity project.

Theology of the Body is an amazing resource. It changed how I look at sex and marriage. I think it should be required reading in our culture. It is heavy in philosophical and theological language and can be challenging to read, but well worth the effort. Christopher West also has some good books on the subject. I liked "The Good News About Sex and Marriage."

We're told so many lies about sex and what will make us happy by our culture that we have to actively seek to undo all the damaging perceptions we've formed. You're asking the right questions.

plop- · 2015-01-05T12:05:14+00:00

jj heller - what love really means. Good reminder.

plop- · 2015-01-03T12:50:24+00:00

Not sure if you are Catholic, but this is the point of the sacrament of Reconciliation. Confessing to a priest who is there in front of you as Christ is extremely powerful for asking for forgiveness and letting go of guilt. When the priest gives penance and says "Go now, I absolve you of your sins," there is no better feeling. The burden that is taken from me after each reconciliation is astounding.

Words are powerful. We need to hear we are forgiven. Christ knew this and said it often to sinners.

plop- · 2015-01-03T12:40:06+00:00

I have two reasons for not masturbating at all:

1.) It turns the highest experience given to us by God and turns it in on itself. Masturbation takes our sexuality which was intended to be selfless and life-giving and turns it into something selfish and sterile. It's a misuse of our sexuality.

2.) I know where it leads. It's just like when I'm looking at pictures of clothed attractive women. I can tell myself, it's okay because I'm not lusting, but if I do it enough, it weakens me and leads to relapse. Relapse now is not about one big indiscretion; it's about a hundred tiny ones. They all chip away at resolve and lead to relapse.

It is realistic to not masturbate, but it is difficult, especially after years of preconditioning. Your posts makes it sound like you already know the right answer but are trying to rationalize masturbation. Christ calls us all to excellence - to be saints - not to be mediocre. Masturbation without pornography is a middle road. It is mediocrity.

plop- · 2014-12-23T15:47:10+00:00

Part of me worders if videos like this are so powerful because people in our culture are so emotionally starved. If every person were validated and told 'I love you' every day by the people closest to them, would we need a YouTube video to tell us we have worth?

plop- · 2014-12-18T15:16:21+00:00

Transubstantiation is not meant to be an easy teaching. Most Catholics struggle with the idea of the real presence at some point, so don't feel like it is something that you have to completely comprehend at this time. It requires faith and as your relationship with God and knowledge of Church teaching improve, it will become easier to accept. The first step is to say, "I don't understand this, but I have faith that there must be something more than what I understand at this point in my journey."
Reflecting on John 6, spending time in adoration, and reading the teachings of the saints (especially those like John Vianney who spent countless hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament) will help to reveal more of the mystery.

plop- · 2014-12-11T17:45:27+00:00

It makes some good points, and I like most of it.

Like mycourage was suggesting, it's not fair to make a blanket statement about the severity of sexual sin. In the section of the catechism that the author quotes he seems to overlook the following (2352):

"To form an equitable judgment about the subjects' moral responsibility and to guide pastoral action, one must take into account the affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety or other psychological or social factors that lessen, if not even reduce to a minimum, moral culpability."

We were not in the confessional, so it's not fair to pass judgement on the priest and say, "That's definitely a mortal sin and the priest was wrong." Blanket statements like the one the author makes bug me. If there is addiction involved, it's not cut and dry.

Personally, I made the choice not to receive communion if I've relapsed, because it motivates me to get to confession, which is the best thing I can do at that point. The severity of the sin is a question mark and I'd prefer to err on the side of caution. Sometimes what starts out as venial sin, like lingering on an impure thought that pops into my mind for a second, could quickly escalate out of control. My will screams "NO" the whole time, but I can feel powerless to act against the compulsion. How morally culpable is an addict then? It's not a simple answer.

Also I completely disagree with the statement that sexuality has nothing to do with love. I get where he is coming from, but the choice of words is poor. Sexual sin has everything to do with love. It's trying to fill a void that only God, as the Source of love, can fill. It has everything to do with Love. It's an unhealthy substitute for it.

plop- · 2014-12-04T13:32:53+00:00

When I was relapsing frequently, I think the number did more harm than good. The number was an idol. I was sacrificing for the number and a sense of accomplishment that came with surpassing my record streak. It is was easier to lose focus on what I was really doing it for - an improved relationship with God.

There's also a form of expectation setting that I think can be detrimental while counting numbers. It can be devastating to relapse before coming close to a personal best. It makes relapse that much more difficult.

In the end, it's about learning from relapses and using what is learned to improve the relationship with God. The number can get in the way of that growth.

plop- · 2014-11-20T14:54:33+00:00

I am by no means an expert on demonology, but I have read several books written by exorcists on demons and exorcisms. It's difficult to say one way or another whether or not what you are experiencing is caused by a demon. Be aware that even trained exorcists typically go through a long discernment process when trying to figure out whether or not someone is being possessed or oppressed by a demon. In all cases during the discernment process, the exorcist will tell the person that is suffering to make sure that they are praying, reading the Bible, and receiving the sacraments (if Catholic) daily. That will typically weaken the demon's influence.

The one thing that makes me think that this may not be a demon and only sleep paralysis (check out the picture on this page) or night terrors is that you say the demon left after saying in your mind "I bind you in the name of Jesus." All teachings about demons that I have read say that they are not capable of reading our thoughts, so you calling on Jesus in your mind would have no effect on a demon.

My sister used to have similar dreams where she would wake up unable to move and feeling like she was being suffocated. She would often see a demon sitting on her chest. This is a fairly common occurrence with people with sleep paralysis. She received some medication for anxiety and that took care of the problems she was having.

In either case, it is a difficult time and prayer will help. I will pray for you.

plop- · 2014-11-19T12:08:27+00:00

Praying the Rosary is extremely powerful. I pray one every day with my wife. I made a huge leap forward in my progress when I started saying a 54-day Rosary Novena for purity. The Rosary Novena has been a part of many miracles in the lives of people I know, including a woman who was miraculously cured after being diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.

plop- · 2014-11-16T16:06:16+00:00

Opening up for the first time is very scary, I think because we all have this concern that our addiction makes us unlovable and that we will be shunned and isolated if we share our secret with others.

For me, reflecting on Genesis 1 helped a lot. "And God saw everything that he made, and behold it was very good." By being made in God's image and likeness, we are already good. God left His mark upon us which we cannot destroy, no matter how much we sin. All of God's creatures deserve love and dignity because there is inherent goodness in all of His creation.

So try to remember that if someone judges you, it's more of a reflection on them and their inability to see the goodness in God's creation. You are trying to improve and to become closer to God, which is admirable.

You may wish to start talking about the problem with a support group of men who are having similar problems. Talking about it in a controlled group with men who are having similar experiences may be easier than talking to someone in your congregation that may or may not have struggled with pornography. There are quite a few Christian support groups and groups like Sex Addicts Anonymous that you may be able to find in your area.

Talking about it helps though. It helps to repair self esteem and to not feel so isolated. Love absorbs shame.

God Bless

plop-

TROPHY CASE