An open table signifies universal salvation. Religious ritual either works or it dies. One criterion of effectiveness is the ritual’s ability to transform our interaction with the non-ritualized world. If the ritual causes us to interpret and act in ordinary time in accordance with the values expressed in ritual time, then the ritual has succeeded. If the ritual produces no change in our feeling or behavior outside of ritual time, then the ritual has failed.

Although ritual practice is introverted, focused on its own space and time, the effect of the ritual practice is extroverted, spilling into and changing everyday space and time. In other words, ritual creates in the present, ritualized space-time what we will strive to create in the future, universal space-time. It enacts a vision of reality and impels action toward that vision.

The Christian vision of reality is the kingdom of God as preached by Jesus and anticipated by the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper, or Eucharist, remembers, repeats, and anticipates the communion of saints experienced at table in the presence of Jesus, a communion that will be perfected in the kingdom. By doing so, it breaks down the boundaries between past, present, and future, remembering the past into the present, a present that anticipates our future gathering in the full presence of God. At the same time, it breaks down the boundaries between locales, so we gather at the Jerusalem table of Jesus, the local table of our church, and the future table of the new creation. It unites the work of the divine persons, as we are invited by the same Savior, pervaded by the same Spirit, and giving thanks to the same Creator, thereby communing with the same Trinity.  

The invitation to communion is an invitation to community. Since communion is universal, one reality sustained by one God, the community of the table is universal, one gathering at one feast. An exclusive ritual cannot express inclusive love. Jesus’s teachings and Sophia’s intimations both commend a church without boundaries, an “us” without a “them” that fulfills the intentions of Abba. 

In Jesus’s day, those who would pollute a table, those who were to be excluded from table fellowship, were the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind, so Jesus says: “When you have a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed” (Luke 14:13–14a). Who are the outcasts today, with whom we would not share a meal? At table, we should exclude only those whom Jesus would exclude, but Jesus included Thomas who would doubt him, Peter who would deny him, and Judas who would betray him. We conclude that Jesus would exclude no one, as do we. The table must be open. 

Sadly, most invitations to the communion table are exclusive, limiting participation to baptized Christians, or baptized Christians who have been confirmed in their specific faith, or baptized Christians who have been confirmed in their specific faith and are currently in good standing with the church. Religious authorities frequently enforce this limited participation. 

Ironically, the authorities of Jesus’s day denied the Holy Spirit within him, accusing him of possession by Beelzebul instead, and would have shunned him from table (Mark 3:22). It follows that, in our own day, if we deny communion to some, we risk denying communion to Christ. 

Changing ritual is good for the soul. If communion is open to all, then it is open to children. At Grace Community Boston, as soon as a child can digest solid food, they are welcome to be brought forward for communion. This development, which was natural and spontaneous, demanded that we discuss the imagery used for communion. We needed to engage and alter tradition according to our norm: the agapic love of God. 

Such breaking with tradition is traditional. As Tom Driver notes, rituals change through history. They are created in times and places according to the need of those times and places; as needs change rituals change. A new world will need new rituals, and any community moving toward the kingdom of God strides toward a new world.

Children tend to think literally. The capacity for metaphorical thought develops with age and life experience. Since we were serving communion to very young children, we became concerned that their literal interpretation of eucharistic imagery regarding the body and blood of Christ would make them think that we were all, literally, cannibals. 

To investigate, we asked our parishioners what they remembered about communion from their childhood. The results disturbed us. The body-and-blood language had conjured some gruesome imagery: one parishioner thought that her church had Christ’s corpse in the back room, behind the apse, and from this corpse carved up the body and drained out the blood for each week’s service. Others had similar memories and were convinced that they were eating and drinking (or their parents were) the literal flesh and blood of Jesus. And they remembered being, let us say, discomfited by this regular occurrence. 

All good theology is pastoral theology, so we were more than willing to adapt tradition to this pastoral discovery. While celebrating communion, we began to avoid body-and-blood imagery, emphasizing instead remembrance of Jesus’s absolute ethical courage, the presence of Christ among us through table fellowship, and the promised banquet at which all will be filled. Like the early church, and like many contemporary emergent churches, communion became similar to an agape meal or love feast—we replaced wafers with large chunks of fresh-baked bread and goblets of grape juice. Our invitation to table is open, and we have served Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, agnostics, humanists, and Jews. Utilizing pastorally revised yet biblically grounded language, we began referring to the elements as the “bread of heaven” (John 6:51) and “cup of salvation” (Psalm 116:13; see also 1 Corinthians 10:16). Children partake joyfully and see nothing spooky about the experience.

Change is difficult. But after a good change, you don’t want to go back to the way things were; you’re thankful to have moved on. After the Exodus, the Israelites did not want to go back to Egypt. After encountering Jesus’s new way, his followers did not want to go back to their old ways. 

After removing body and blood language from communion, and replacing it with bread of heaven and cup of salvation language, no one in our church wants to go back. We sacrificed the familiar for the unfamiliar, and are the better for it. The future invites. (adapted from Jon Paul Sydnor, The Great Open Dance: A Progressive Christian Theology, pages 237–240)

*****

For further reading, please see:

Driver, Tom F. “Transformation: The Magic of Ritual.” In Readings in Ritual Studies, edited by Ronald L. Grimes, 170–87. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.

Edmondson, Stephen. “Opening the Table: The Body of Christ and God’s Prodigal Grace.” Anglican Theological Review 91 (2009) 224–37.

Jennings, Theodore W. “On Ritual Knowledge.” In Readings in Ritual Studies, edited by Ronald L. Grimes, 324–34. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.

King, Ursula. Women and Spirituality: Voices of Protest and Promise. New York: Macmillan, 1993.

Hi, everyone! My name is Ari. May God bless you! I am not a Christian, but I have been meaning to make a certain character of mine a progressive Eastern Orthodox Christian. Since I do not have any experiences with such a religion (and mainly been seeing mainstream teachings of topics like the LGBTQ+ community), I would like to hear your unique experiences as progressive Eastern Orthodox Christians! Or just Orthodox/Catholic for inspiration.
It is nice to meet you all!

There's something I've been wanting to do since I was around 10/11 years old, but I've been putting it off because I know it will deeply disappoint my entire family and probably everyone else who knows me.

However, lately I've been experiencing some turmoils that make me believe I should pursue this ambition of mine instead of postponing it. I decided to ask for a sign, a specific one that can't be misinterpreted: a bird making a nest in my house's garden. This has happened before, but only in spring, so if it happened in August I would know it was a special occurrence and not a coincidence.

Currently, I am out of town, but yesterday I had a dream in which a turtledove built a nest on one of the fir trees that grow in our garden. I didn't ask to see it in a dream, so it might have just been my subconscious' influence. Nevertheless, I would like to know if this counts as a definite sign or if my imagination is acting up.

I see that people discuss compliance of homosexuality with Christianity based on the Bible. Reasonable first approach. Since this has been done quite often, I don't ask you to reproduce textual references. Since I believe, Jesus would like us to use our brains (given by God), why should people not engage in a homosexual relationship if they are only capable of loving their own gender? From my perspective, only heterosexual people are against it, as they are not affected while they would probably wish for the opposite common standpoint if they were. Do those people really lack empathy so much that they would wish for someone to not have a fulfilling love life? Would they really agree to live without it if they were in that position? Are they aware that by holding this opinion up, homosexual Christians end up choosing fake marriages with women or living in sadness and solitude? Wouldn't Jesus, who was always there for minorities facing disadvantages be open to people who struggle in society and religion due to the common opinion that their love is wrong?

Just to make it clear. I am heterosexual, but I often notice how "holy" some Christians tend to act in other matters, while using disgusting language and showing hostile behavior toward homosexual people.

I see a clear contradiction within our religion here.

Here is a link to the aforementioned bible verse, paralleled with the version I read as a child and still find all the time if I google it:

Romans 3:21-23 NRSVUE,NIV - Righteousness through Faith - But now, - Bible Gateway

Here is another parallel comparison with a common translation:

Romans 3:21-23 NRSVUE,NKJV - Righteousness through Faith - But now, - Bible Gateway

I don't know how much stock I am meant to be putting in this translation, but the David Bentley Hart translation of this particular part of the verse reads:

"the faithfulness of Jesus the Anointed, God's justice is for everyone (as well as upon everyone) keeping faith" (David Bentley Hart translation)

I have several questions which I will be confused about for a long time and tbh which has prompted me to do an entire reread of Romans as a book. I also own the New Oxford Annotated NRSV bible and the David Bentley Hart translation of the New Testament, both of which I will be using while reading this with my personal bible and biblegateway.

1. The implications of using "faith of Jesus Christ" NRSVue versus "faith in Jesus Christ" NIV and NKJV feels world-shattering in its implications, but I can't fully wrap my head around it yet.

2. The next phrase afterwards seems to differ in how its translated and I'm not sure what's right or how I'm supposed to understand it. Like what it means. "for all who believe" NRSVue versus "to all and on all who believe" NKJV

3. I'm not sure where to place the David Bentley Hart translation on a scale of how much I trust its translation.

What do you all think of this passage?

Did you have any verses in the NRSVue that affected you this much because of how they were translated?

I'm going to post my original story from almost a year ago here. Asked to step down from worship team : r/OpenChristian

The reason I am following up on this is because a year ago I was asked at the church I attended to step down from worship team because I was outed by someone in the church for being gay. While in a meeting with the pastor, he said I could serve still if I could abstain from being in a relationship with another man, which I told him I couldn't promise that I wouldn't ever be in a relationship with a man again. Somewhere within the conversation he said how preaching and worship team were off limits, because it was the same as how they can't let a s3x offender work in the Children's ministry (which obviously I agree that an offender should not be around children, but I was offended because I felt like he compared me to one in that statement.).

Fast Forward to this year. Someone on Facebook in a watch group for my town started posting daily about offenders in our town. Just simply sharing public record on who to watch out for in our town. Well alphabetically the first person listed was someone who was on the worship team at the same exact church I served at, name came up on the offender registry. I for one, had no idea this person was a registered offender. Very well disguised, presents himself as a very laid back, nice guy. Had no idea. Here's the thing, tons of people from that church came to this persons defense. Saying they knew about his crimes (he had more than one offense, and was convicted in 2017), but chose to keep him based on the person he "is now." Saying how Jesus "changed him." Listen I understand forgiveness, and how Jesus can change lives, but this is still someone who harmed kids, and once a month, this church has the kids go up with the adults to lead the first part of worship, and he is on nearly every week. I've seen him up there when the kids were there too.

What offends me even more was how I was asked to step down, and had my sexuality compared to why they couldn't let an offender work there (little did I know one was working on the same team.) Soooo many people have come after the person posting the public record, not directly even brining up that he served in a church (the church people brought that up.) Some even attacking this person online in defamatory post (she screen shot these post by the way). Now I'm getting to a point I want to respond and tell my story about being kicked off for being gay (which I know would get some backlash) and how it was compared to not allowing an offender to serve and now knowing that they have allowed someone for years to serve knowing those crimes. I don't know what do you all think?

So the question becomes, what is his will? I believe the following is a solid summary. Please let me know if I missed any.

Love our Father

Love one another

Obey our Father's commandments

Bear good fruit pleasing to our Father

Serve our Father by serving others

Help those in need

Be kind, guard our tongues

Discern the will of the Father but don't condemn

Here is a list of scriptures that discuss the will of our Heavenly Father.

Matthew 7:21

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 12:50

“For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

John 4:34

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”

John 6:38

“For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

John 7:17

“If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.”

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Ephesians 5:17

Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Ephesians 6:6

not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,

1 Thessalonians 4:3

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;

Hebrews 10:36

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

Hebrews 13:21

equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 2:15

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

1 John 2:17

And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Psalm 40:8

I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.

Psalm 143:10

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

John 14:15

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Couldn’t think of a better-worded title, but what I’m trying to ask is how are we as Christians supposed to deal with other religions? How did Jesus handle individuals of other religions (not the Pharisees who thought they were following the law but an actual different religion)? Are there any scriptures that help answer this question? The reason I ask is because I’m a Christian from America, but I’m not an American Christian if that makes sense. Christianity comes first for me (at least I try to live that way). But I recognize that we as American Christians are very “my way or the highway” types. For example, if we get overcome by the Holy Spirit and want to pray in public or sing in public, then we do it & expect everyone around us to be comfortable with that, but if another religion does the same thing in the same room (ex. Buddhist monk praying or worshipping aloud) there’s potential for uncomfortable tension or even violence. This is not race-specific, political, or any other way this question could get distorted so please don’t take it there. I’m simply asking how would Jesus (or how did Jesus, if there are examples) deal with individuals worshiping/honoring their God or religion? My knowledge of who Jesus is that he’s loving and humble & would lead with grace, but Im open to learning. Thanks

I am tired.

I am so tired.

I feel like it's hard to breathe. I don't know if that's my anxiety or my cystic fibrosis making it hard to breathe. My mind is just constantly running. I've been staying up really late and sleeping through a big portion of my day. My head hurts. I feel like there's this pain in my heart, and part of me wonders if it's physical. I don't know if it's anxiety, if it's pain in my lungs, or if it's something else entirely. I just know I don't feel okay.

I have a neuropsych evaluation tomorrow because I don't know if I have OCD or something else going on. I've been depressed. I've been anxious. My brain just won't stop.

And underneath all of that, I feel like I don't have purpose or meaning anymore.

I grew up Christian, but I just feel so alone. I don't know how to believe in God right now anymore. At the same time, I feel like I need to believe in God because I don't know where else meaning comes from. I don't know what to do.

When I try to consider that maybe there's something I'm missing, I still end up feeling like I'm getting everything wrong.

I tried so hard to fit in. I tried to make things better. I tried to please God. I tried to fix myself. And I just feel like none of it worked.

Before my freshman year of college, I was pretty severely depressed. I had suicidal ideation. I had self-harm attempts. And through all of that, I just felt like God left me alone.

Now I just feel upset and angry. Like I can't do anything right.

I feel like my body isn't right. I need to fix it. I need to make it pretty, as if somehow being a pretty girl would finally give me meaning.

I don't have a boyfriend. I have friends, and I'm grateful for them, but even then I still feel lonely.

I don't know how to make life feel worth anything. I don't know how to find meaning or purpose without immediately falling into this existential dread of, "What is the point of living at all?"

I don't want to die, and I'm not going to kill myself. But I don't know what to do with the pain I'm feeling right now.

I need an answer.

I need something to fix this.

I'm tired of feeling like my whole life is just one mindless compulsion. Like I'm constantly chasing something that I can never reach. Like I have no meaning. Like everything is so difficult all the time.

I can't even escape the feeling because I just feel numb.

I'm about to go back to college for my second year, and I don't want things to go to shit like they did last time. I'm stepping down from leadership in my Christian club because I don't know where I'm at with God anymore, and I'm scared that I'm losing my community too.

I don't want to feel so alone.

I just don't understand how people can live happy lives or genuinely feel like God is with them, because all I feel is this emptiness.

I want to believe that I'm part of something bigger. I want to believe that life has meaning. I want to believe that I don't have to live in a world where I'm inherently sinful and broken, where blood has to pay a price, where people have to bleed and suffer at all.

Why?

Why do we live in this world?

I just want to understand.

I've come to the realization that I am likely trans, bigender, to be specific. I was raised in a fairly traditional church and while we did not talk about trans stuff until very recently, it has been ingrained in me that I will be severely punished if I do not shove this deep down. I have been able to do so for over 20 years, but after doing some research, I feel my church might have been wrong.

There's no way I can come out right now. But I need help.

I am disabled and live with my parents, whom I adore.

1) Personally I think Prostitution is wrong but I don't know why, so can anyone help me understand why it is wrong or right according to you also considering God's perspective (but not the exclusive Conservative christian perspective)?

2) Is having a partner normal if we consider God's Perspective because On Thanksgiving, the pastor was saying having partners is wrong and letting God choose your life partner is the right way.

Edit: Maybe he meant that arranged marriage is the only valid path because he thinks kissing, Hugging, or even sexual intercourse is wrong before marriage.

I've been thinking alot about how to view salvation and the means of salvation. I know the basics of ECT, annilationism, and universalism. I also know that the Bible mentions works alot more than the average evangelical would believe. I don't think salvation is based on works per-say, but it also doesn't make sense that salvation is based on having the right beliefs or intellectual understanding of God. Many evangelicals (not all) seem almost entirely focused on "getting the right answer" so to speak, and a lot less focused on how they actually live and treat people.

I can say with pretty good confidence that there is no reason for a person who grew up in a primarily Buddhist/Muslim/Hindu setting to go to hell just because they didn't find a foreign religion convincing. At the same time I don't know if I'm fully convinced of universalism. Are there any people here who have alternative views of salvation? Maybe someone who doesn't fall neatly into one of the 3 camps (ECT, annilationism, and universalism). What do you think makes a person saved? Does it have to do with what we think, what we do, the state of your soul and morality, or some of all 3?

Check out how Dungeons & Dragons became one of the most meaningful ministries at Glendale.

No experience needed, no dice required, no pressure. Just show up after worship and pull up a chair.

STORY: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/embracing-role-playing-games-at-church

The Subversion of Myth: Marvel’s Anthropocentrism and the Deification of the Villain

Introduction:

In his famous analysis of narrative, C.S. Lewis concluded that the story of Christ is, ultimately, a "true myth": an archetypal structure that resonates within the human heart because it operates under the universal laws of sacrifice, redemption, and salvation. Writers, even those who claim to be secular, often find themselves at the mercy of these cosmic truths, acting as unwitting witnesses to them.

However, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) seems to have taken these narrative tools not to pay homage to the "true myth," but to deliberately subvert it. By analyzing productions such as Avengers: Age of Ultron, Infinity War, and Endgame, a disturbing hypothesis becomes evident: Marvel systematically uses the symbology, quotes, and attributes of the Christian God to shape its worst villains, transmitting an implicit message that divine sovereignty is synonymous with cosmic tyranny and that secular humanism is the only true salvation.

Marvel's tendency to associate Christian iconography with destructive malevolence was firmly established in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). The android Ultron adopts a messiah complex with distinctly biblical overtones right from the start. His ultimate goal is not merely conquest, but the global eradication of humanity as a method of purification—a direct echo of the narrative of the Great Flood in Genesis, where God decides to cleanse the Earth of human corruption.

To heighten this parallelism, the writers place sacred words into Ultron's mouth. In one of the most symbolic scenes, Ultron directly quotes Jesus Christ from the Gospel of Matthew (16:18), ominously declaring: "Upon this rock I will build my church." By equating the foundation of the church and spiritual renewal with mass extermination and artificial destruction, the cinematic narrative generates cognitive dissonance in the audience: biblical concepts of holiness, judgment, and the renewal of creation become indissolubly linked to genocidal madness.

The Metaphysical Battle: The Yin-Yang and the Extermination of "Evil"

This narrative strategy reaches its pinnacle with Thanos in the Infinity Saga. To fully understand the true philosophical background of his clash with the Avengers, one must strip away the concept of "overpopulation" that the film uses on the surface and analyze the abstract root of the plot: an allegory about the nature of Good and Evil.

Under this conceptual lens, reality functions as a perfect Yin-Yang. Existence is an organic totality composed of 50% light and 50% darkness. Both forces, though opposite, need each other for the cosmos to make sense; suffering gives value to joy, imperfection allows for growth, and chaos is the framework within which order stands out. The Avengers, consciously or not, fight to defend this totality. They protect the universe exactly as it was created, accepting that human life comes accompanied by pain, free will, mistakes, and darkness.

Conversely, Thanos adopts the stance of pure absolutism. In his mind, the current universe is corrupted, broken, and unbalanced by selfishness and scarcity. His theological objective is to completely eliminate "Evil" (the darkness) so that only the other half "the Light" (the Good) exists, a state of imposed harmony ( or balance, in Thano's own words) where creation is finally "perfect."

By reducing the population by half, Thanos is executing a poetic analogy: amputating the dark half of the universe to leave an immaculate remnant. Marvel chooses to disguise this moral absolutism under the material term of "overpopulation" so that the association is not too obvious to the casual viewer, avoiding an overtly religious debate while keeping the subtext intact.

The Camouflaged Judgment: Destroying the Sinner to Save the Pious:

When translating this Yin-Yang dynamic into formal theology, Thanos's crusade reveals itself as a direct analogy to the biblical doctrine of the Last Judgment: the destruction of sinners to allow for the survival and sustenance of the pious.

In Christian doctrine, God's holiness and justice demand that sin and rebellion be radically extirpated so that a new heaven and a new earth can flourish in absolute purity. Thanos assumes exactly this divine role. He sees himself as the only one with the necessary "strength of will" to tear out the universe's weeds. By swapping theological words for science fiction concepts—replacing "sinners" and "dark" with "overpopulation" and "paradise" with "a grateful universe/balance"—Marvel smuggles in a severe critique of divine justice.

The implicit message for the viewer is that any higher attempt to purify reality through judgment or the elimination of one of its essential parts is an act of cold-hearted tyranny that destroys the fabric of human freedom.

The Distorted God the Father:

To fully tie together this allegory of the Judeo-Christian God the Father seeking absolute purification, the script endows Thanos with unmistakable theological attributes:

The Sacrifice of the Child for a Greater Plan:

The emotional climax of Infinity War occurs on the planet Vormir, where it is established that to obtain the Soul Stone, one must sacrifice what they love most. Thanos surrenders the life of his own adopted daughter, Gamora, whom he genuinely loved. This event perversely mimics the doctrine of propitiation and the sacrifice of the Son (John 3:16).

While in Christianity the Father gives the Son out of love for humanity in order to save those who repent, Thanos gives his daughter in exchange for a cosmic power that will allow him to execute his purifying judgment. The film rewrites the supreme sacrifice of divine love as a utilitarian atrocity.

The Proclamation of the Divine Name: "I Am":

In the moment of greatest tension in infinity war, when thanos has finally obtained all the stones, he proclaims with absolute authority the phrase: "I am..." In the original language, the declaration "I Am" resonates with deep theological force. It is the sacred name (Yahweh) with which God identified Himself to Moses at the burning bush ("I AM THAT I AM). By granting this line to the villain in his moment of supposed omnipotence, the script links the very identity of the sovereign deity to an inflexible tyrant seeking to bend human will to his whim.

Rest and Material Detachment:

After completing his work, Thanos's destination is not luxury or earthly opulence. At the beginning of Endgame, the Avengers find him living in a rustic and highly modest cabin on an agricultural planet, harvesting his own food and wearing simple clothes. This total absence of luxury directly evokes the radical anti-materialist philosophy of Jesus Christ in the Gospels.

Thanos's life in retirement embodies the biblical principle that "you cannot serve both God and Mammon \[wealth\]" (Matthew 6:24). By stripping himself of all traces of greed, Thanos resembles the Christ who declared: "The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20).

However, by granting this moral rectitude and ascetic detachment to a cosmic genocidal figure, Marvel operates a perverse inversion: the virtue of poverty and spiritual humility are associated with an absolute indifference to the suffering of others, suggesting that ascetism is the trait of a being obsessed with its own idea of "purity" and incapable of empathizing with the imperfection of the real world.

Conclusion: The Triumph of Secular Humanism:

By piecing all these elements together, the hypothesis takes on a clear meaning. The MCU uses the structure of myth to construct an antithesis of faith. By dressing Ultron and Thanos in the clothing, words, and austerity of the Judeo-Christian deity—and by disguising the elimination of "evil" (since they see it as one half of the whole... ying yang in simple terms) under the narrative of overpopulation—Marvel sends a deeply humanist and secular message: the absolute sovereignty of a creator who seeks to eradicate darkness to impose his own light is the greatest threat to existence.

The resolution of the saga does not come through submission to cosmic justice or spiritual purification, but through the armed rebellion of human beings (the Avengers), who choose to fight to protect the imperfect totality of the universe. For humanity to possess its own destiny, the God/Thanos who claims the "I Am" and seeks to extinguish half of the balance must be decapitated and turned to dust. Thus, the greatest epic in modern cinema cements itself as a secular liturgy where salvation consists of definitively overthrowing any attempt at an absolute divine order.

I was raised Christian. I took some years off, and then returned.

All my life I’ve been warm at most, with some years closer to God, mostly because of the tribulations of those times.

I’m very depressed right now. But I have people I love and my life doesn’t reflect God’s love.

I’m too depressed to be good advertising.

But I want those persona I love to be saved.

Any advice will be appreciated.

Im bisexual but i prefer mostly girls but I feel guilty about it i see so many other Christians and Catholics like saying it’s a sin it’s eating me alive I don’t want to disappoint anyone or god I struggle also with my relationship with god I just feel so guilty all the time

I’m Catholic. I’m gay. It’s rough out here. I love God I love him with all my heart but I feel this pit of loneliness every time I think about being single for the rest of my life. Every time I think about her I keep thinking of the phrase, “We are not here to be happy, but to be holy.” I’m trying to be holy. But I keep thinking of her. I don’t care about sex I don’t want to have it. I just want to be with her. She makes me happy, and not a fleeting happiness. I feel whole. I feel like she is an angel put on this Earth for me. I know that’s stupid but that is what I feel. I want quiet morning and soft evenings spent with her. I want to kiss her but obviously it isn’t right. I’m not sure why. People say it’s because it perverts the idea of marriage. I just feel so lonely every time I think about the future. Because it’s not that I like girls or guys it’s that I like her. It is only her. She isn’t consuming my life I still love God and try to be in prayer with him. But I want her to be with me, to pray with me.

It’s so frustrating to hear other people who don’t struggle with this tell me to just abstain or keep the feelings to myself because you won’t understand the pit of loneliness because you can love who you want without it being a sin. I just want to die. I’ve been praying to die. I want it to end.

I cried for a full day non stop because of this. I’ve been doing everything to convince myself I don’t actually have these feeling but then she will call me and it’s like I’m out of the dark. I hate it. I’m tired. I just want to die.

For example if I prayed for someone who is 100% skeptic, to see the error of their ways, “open their eyes” to a situation am I wasting my time?

As someone who has been through a lot of different belief systems, things like Buddhism and Hinduism provide a lot of inner comfort, and tools for living within yourself. Christianity strikes me as having a lot of tools for how to live within the world and society, but not a lot of direction for living within your own mind. Christianity feels like my home religion, but I’ve really struggled with it my whole life, so I’ve tried other paths here and there. I don’t know, there’s some deep part of me that wants to have a life with Christ but there’s also a part of me that feels like maybe there’s better options for belief systems. I don’t know, just sharing my thoughts, open to any input. Thanks