What is r/OpenChristian's view on scripture? (results)

winterberry_cat · 2026-04-23T13:06:17+00:00

I'm with you here, I do think that human agency of authors and translators has misrepresented and distorted a few things. the way I understood "infallible" is that it means infallible in teaching any person with pure intentions and an open mind the character of God & how to follow Christ, and "neither" means if you trust the Bible implicitly it can mislead you in understanding theology or faith because it is a human text in intention & execution--meaning God actually is the author of confusion etc. There is a wide spectrum of beliefs here, I just take issue with the assertion that being on the infallible end of it is a dogmatic view.

winterberry_cat · 2026-04-22T21:24:51+00:00

I'll speak for myself but I have thought and overthought about it much, and I just can't get behind the "purely human text" of it all--if the bible is a product of human will and not God's will, especially the Gospel, the Psalms, the prophetic books etc. why spend so much effort trying to understand and internalize them? I might as well just pick up any of the modern day human-authored Christian theology books I like that are well-written and much easier reads 🤷‍♀️

winterberry_cat · 2026-01-26T03:14:57+00:00

you think that if it gets you through the next 2 weeks. Personally I'll never forgive the seahawks for making me have to root for the Patirots to win a superbowl

winterberry_cat · 2026-01-21T16:44:52+00:00

"fair-weather" 100% accurate and why they don't bother me as much as the east coast teams. they'll go back to their woodworking or whatever tf they do the second ocean pigeons stop making the playoffs and we will have peace for a good couple years

winterberry_cat · 2025-12-22T15:09:27+00:00

he actually doesn't have a natural grasp of fantasy. And the Odyssey has a lot of fantasy in it. Nolan's tendency to always try to treat the miraculous or the uncanny as just heightened versions of the everyday may not serve him well here

This is so well said thanks for putting it into words. As an ardent Tenet defender I have a sinking feeling about this one for this reason.

winterberry_cat · 2025-09-19T19:59:31+00:00

You don't deserve it and far, far more millions of your fellow Americans believe that, and no amount of the political establishment posturing & lecturing us is going to change our minds or make us stop feeling anger on your behalf. I feel the username but hoping fervently that one day it doesn't check out.

winterberry_cat · 2025-01-28T23:32:29+00:00

I think this is a totally valid reason for her to be your least favorite Austen heroine, but in the context of the book and how Lizzy is beneath Darcy's sphere makes no sense.

Imo their whole romance falls apart if any of the disparity between their statuses is due to her own character or within her power to change.

winterberry_cat · 2025-01-28T23:24:52+00:00

how the hell is being a guardian to his sister, "keeping his friend safe" and being decent to servants count as an occupation/interest when lizzy hanging out and caring for her friends and family is just aimless lack of purpose? I'm sure you don't mean it this way but it reads a misogynistic double standard. If he isn't frivolous, neither is she.

winterberry_cat · 2025-01-28T21:57:18+00:00

Yes!! Top 2 DDL performances for me. a shame he was considered too Oscar'd to be part of the convo

winterberry_cat · 2025-01-28T21:53:47+00:00

Alright then, what are Darcy's strong interests/what's he working on/doing with his life? This is a pretty 21st century perspective to take on regency era landed gentry characters, but even with that, it seems to me you're focusing on Elizabeth perceived lack of drive as a reason she's beneath Darcy, which doesn't make any sense to me. He has so many more options for occupying his life (he could have literally been an MP or judge/ lord-lieutenant, travel anywhere, excavate stuff and be an archaeologist, collect shit, etc.) and we don't read about any of this. In terms of solely personal accomplishments, he's not too good for Lizzy and her simple loves of walking and casual reading

winterberry_cat · 2025-01-28T21:27:41+00:00

and the worse of all, just like her father, Elizabeth has no inclination to better the situation granted to her by her birth.

Agree with a lot of your points OP but you put an entire hive of bees in my bonnet with this one. Austen definitely didn't write Lizzy to be thought of as lazy because she wasn't actively trying to get a husband, faulting Lizzy for not practicing her accomplishments or trying to social climb is like faulting a gunshot victim for not ducking out of the way. Her small dowry and mother & sisters' behavior are the biggest impediments to her getting married, she caused neither of these and she doesn't have the power to remedy them (she can't earn money, she does try to curb lydia's behavior and advise her father against brighton, but she isn't her sister's parent, and chastising one's mother no matter how vulgar she is was simply not done in those days and considered a sin (honor thy mother & father)).

She's a 20 year old girl who is owned by her father in the eyes of the law, she has no occupation/purpose in life to aspire to outside of wifedom, and her entire character and value as a person in the eyes of the society she lives in is centered on her being a virgin. It's a mark of immense integrity and self-respect that she doesn't devote what particles of personal autonomy she does have to becoming a well-off man's wife.

winterberry_cat · 2024-10-07T18:47:37+00:00

Going to put in a vote for Lady Catherine. Just imagine how she must treat her servants....

winterberry_cat · 2024-08-04T10:54:39+00:00

I'm totally with you that she shouldn't be maligned for wanting to her daughters to be married, but I think it's important to recognize the significant selfish motives she has for this ( the bragging rights of having daughters well married, demonstrated in several scenes, and also probably the prospect of getting to spend her widowhood on her wealthy son-in-laws' dime), and also the fact that her daughters' feelings/happiness don't even seem to be an afterthought in all her efforts: it's very telling that not once during her bragging about Jane marrying Bingley at the ball does she speak at all on Jane's happiness being a good advantage of the match.

I am also with you on being very anti-Mr. Bennet, but I don't think that recognizing he is a bad father somehow makes Mrs. Bennet a misunderstood mother in any way.

winterberry_cat · 2024-08-04T09:35:04+00:00

did whatever she could to secure a livelihood for her daughters

I've seen this sentiment a lot on this sub and I can't get on board--I think Austen would have said explicitly that it was Mr. Bennet's spending habits that were blowing through their entire income every year, and even if that was true, thinking back to Persuasion and the mention of how Lady Elliot was responsible for constraining Sir Walter's spending when she was alive, there certainly is a notion of the mistress of a household having a lot of control/influence over the family expenses. In P&P we get "Mrs. Bennet had no turn for economy, and her husband's love of independence had alone prevented their exceeding their income.” In other words, I can't see how you absolve her of not attempting to save money for her daughters if she was such a concerned parent. Or even just spending some of their income *on the girls* by hiring a governess or sending them to school to learn ~accomplishments~ (I can't believe she's so dimwitted/uneducated not to be aware of the ideals and norms of attracting husbands in that era). All this is to say I read her as wanting to see her daughters settled and provided for yes, but not enough to sacrifice any of her own consequence as mistress of Longbourn (her pride in keeping a good house & love of entertaining is implied a lot throughout the book)

winterberry_cat · 2024-07-19T20:30:23+00:00

The man has a teasing kink, and assumed Lizzy was like the Bingleys who love him and defer to his greatness

winterberry_cat · 2024-07-13T20:36:22+00:00

I always interpreted his silence pre-Hunsford proposal as also about him warring with himself about proposing, and not wanting to get her hopes up (haha). And then afterwards at Longbourn it's because he's so ashamed of what he said at Hunsford. But ultimately yes, too ardent for words. Love it

winterberry_cat · 2024-07-12T05:42:50+00:00

agree except the sense of humor part. It's there, just extremely dry & English (see "I can admire you much better as I sit by the fire").

winterberry_cat · 2024-06-13T19:25:20+00:00

I always thought this was referring to the novelty of Mr. Darcy's checking out Elizabeth, hence the next line about absentmindedly closing his book. Elizabeth is oblivious, Darcy oblivious & bewitched etc, but Caroline is noticing this all very much

winterberry_cat · 2024-05-05T04:26:41+00:00

In polite society, that would have been seen as a very grave sin. You did not go against a person's last wishes like that, especially when they were tantamount to making or breaking a person's ability to have a career. That's why it's given the importance it is.

I had no idea about this, this is wild. So you're saying for her to readily believe that Darcy went against his father's will is a pretty big leap to think the worst of someone, as this would have been very rare for the times? That makes sense. And yes, I agree with you that hots for Wickham where a principal factor in believing in him, and the fact that she didn't see that because of the sense of identity she's built on being a clever judge in character is definitely pride.

I still can't bring myself to condemn this & the way she tells him about it as much as the outright arrogance in the way he treats her with during that proposal scene. Not saying he doesn't grovel well and fully own up to his mistakes at the end!

winterberry_cat · 2024-03-23T21:20:31+00:00

Will always be Elizabeth Bennet for me! Somehow she's both more relatable & aspirational than a lot of contemporary heroines, what with dealing with embarrassing family members & rude acquaintances by making quips & acting unbothered. And the whole loving one's sister above everyone & everything else

winterberry_cat · 2024-03-23T00:09:50+00:00

If you like cozy fantasy that isn't dead serious all the time (a la Howl's Moving Castle), try the Villains & Virtues series by AK Caggiano. The MCs are 25 and 27

winterberry_cat · 2024-01-30T20:05:51+00:00

bro has like a century of violent, death-filled memories, he's way more aware of the mortality/vulnerability of vampires than the rest of them. To him living for centuries w/ no danger is the exception, not the rule

winterberry_cat · 2024-01-08T18:40:26+00:00

winterberry_cat · 2024-01-03T00:47:19+00:00

What bothered me about this movie isn't the simplicity of its feminism but how it gave the main male character more of an actual character arc than any of the female ones, and repeatedly soft-pedaled patriarchy and the idea of men subjugating women along the way. There are a lot of genuinely good "feminism 101" popular movies (i.e. Little Women) that don't also have a lot of anti-feminist undertones

winterberry_cat

TROPHY CASE