#Christian Universalism
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As we enter the Christian holiday season, just your friendly reminder that "non-Christian character discovers the magic of Christmas" is not a trope you should be writing for a holiday themed fic. Cut that shit out.
#fandom negative#christian hegemony#christian universalism#holiday season#christmas#fic prompt#fic writing
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"if you don't believe in a literal eternal hell, what's the point of being a good person? you'll go to heaven either way, right?"
uhhhh... the point is that we're all human beings suffering on this spinning rock in space together?
and Christ calls us to care for each other and reduce the suffering in the world where we can?
and we should WANT to reduce suffering anyway because we've suffered ourselves and want to help others avoid that suffering as much as possible?
because good human beings have these weird things in their bodies called compassion and empathy?
golly.
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“We overleap the boundaries of church membership and find Lutherans and Roman Catholics, Jews and Christians, within the Fellowship. We re-read the poets and saints, and the Fellowship is enlarged. With urgent hunger we read the Scriptures, with no thought of pious exercise, but in order to find more friends of the soul.” - Thomas R. Kelly; a Testament of Devotion
#progressive christianity#christian#quaker#quakerism#progressive christian#universalism#radical christian#christian universalism#religious pluralism
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#meditation#zen#philosophy#spirituality#enlightenment#mindfulmeditation#mantra#advaita#illumination#nonduality#nondualism#oneness#unitarian universalist#unitarian#christian universalism#gnostic#gnostic christianity#gnosis#orthodox christianity#catholic#protestant#god#abba#yahweh#jesus#christianity#christian faith#contemplative#prayer
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RIP Bishop Carlton Pearson
I was saddened to learn that Bishop Carlton Pearson died on 19 November this year.
He was a champion of LGBT rights in the Black Church, particularly in the Charismatic/Pentecostal tradition.
Most articles about him (wikipedia and so on) do not do him justice. This Los Angeles Blade article is pretty good (and no paywall).
Bishop Pearson started his work in the Church of God in Christ (American Black Pentecostal denomination, very theologically and politically conservative) but ended up rejecting much of the fundamentalism he was taught.
For these reasons, Bishop Pearson was thrown out of his denomination (COGIC), but he did not let this stop his ministry. The LGBT Christian movement includes all kinds of traditions, including the Black Pentecostal tradition!
Selected books by Bishop Pearson:
Hope (1991)
I've Got a Feelin' Everything's Gonna Be All Right (1992)
The Gospel of Inclusion (2007)
God Is Not a Christian, Nor a Jew, Muslim, Hindu…: God Dwells with Us, in Us, Around Us, as Us (2011)
There is a movie about his life called "Come Sunday" which I've meant to watch but haven't yet, and a This American Life radio special. Both were made before his passing.
I never met Bishop Pearson, but always hoped I could. Maybe in the next life. But I know hundreds whose lives were transformed by his ministry.
May he rest in peace.
For anyone interested in churches like Bishop Pearson's, regardless of your faith or cultural background, I have compiled a list of resources below since affirming Pentecostals aren't as well-known; please feel free to add.
gaychurch.org location-based website that finds LGBT-affirming churches near you
Powerhouse Global Network: Facebook-based announcement group relating to the Powerhouse Church network (LGBT-affirming Black Pentecostal church; all people of all backgrounds are welcome). Has branches in many major cities.
Powerhouse Church of Indianapolis: Indianapolis branch of Powerhouse, streams church services to fb and Zoom every Sunday.
TFAM (The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries)
Rainbow Fire: New Pentecostals: semi-active facebook group for affirming Pentecostals
Deo Gloria Family Church: Apostolic Pentecostal multicultural, LGBT-affirming church in South Africa, streams church services live
LGBT Pentecostals International: supportive fb page, streams church services
Reconciling Pentecostals International: small network of LGBT-affirming Pentecostal churches
Myself (neither Black, nor Christian, nor Pentecostal) but I know many people who work in churches like his, so if you tell me your city I can see if there's anything in your area. A lot of churches do not list that they are LGBT-affirming publicly on their website, but I have people I can ask.
I wanted the sad occasion of Bishop Pearson's death to be a way to tell people about the beauty of the LGBT-affirming church tradition. Not enough people know it in all its diversity.
Any inaccuracies are my own; please let me know if anything needs correcting or if there is information I can add.
#lgbt christian#gay christian#carlton pearson#lgbt pentecostal#gay pentecostal#christian universalism
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Spoiler alert for the Bible:
God will be All in All, one day every tongue will confess, God doesn't cast anyone off for forever, the gates of heaven are left open with the spirit inviting those outside to come in,Jesus redeems all not just some, and Jesus went into hell to preach to the dead.
Universalism isn't a heresy, it's a primary founding belief of the Christian faith.
So tell me again why you believe a loving God chooses eternal consciousness torment over their own divine will?
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So, I've got something to say that I think is important.
I know you'll probably scoff at first, but not all Christians are hateful bigots.
They're definitely the loudest, believe me, I get that.
And it pisses me off.
Back when I was a kid, they always told us "they will know us by our love". Clearly, they don't live by that, or even remember it.
But some of us do.
Some of us remember.
Some of us remember that we're supposed to love others, to love everyone and not to judge.
I'm the kind of Christian that the loud Christians hate.
I'm a progressive Christian. That means that I don't just "love the sinner, hate the sin". No. That's bullshit. You know why?
It's not up to me to decide what is or is not a sin.
It's up to me to love others, as Jesus loved us. Because that's what He told us to do.
Not only do I love you, I accept you and I affirm you, no matter who you are. I am lgbt.
The church I go to has a huge Pride flag hanging on the outside of the building. The congregation marches in the Pride parade. They protest against other churches.
I'm also a Universalist. That means that I believe nobody will be tormented in hell for eternity. That means I believe that everyone who has ever existed will one day be united in Heaven.
According to stereotypical Christians, I'm going to hell right along with you.
And you know what? If they're right about Heaven and God, and I'm wrong, then I don't want to go there anyway.
So please, remember that there are some of us who don't look down on you, who don't hate you, who don't feel superior, who don't spout "love the sinner hate the sin" like that makes it all okay.
You are human.
I am human.
We are all human.
#love#acceptance#lgbtq community#lgbtqia#lgbtq#lgbt#affirmation#fuck bigots#progressive christianity#christian universalism#humanity
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I cannot believe that God wants punishment to go on interminably any more than does a loving parent. The entire purpose of loving punishment is to teach, and it lasts only as long as is needed for the lesson. And the lesson is always love.
Madeleine L'Engle
#universalism#christian universalism#purgatorial universalism#Madeleine L'Engle#christian universalists
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Have you guys visited JesusReformation.org ? I’ve read all their articles and they absolutely slap (hard)
(I guess I’m outing myself as a universalist, if you aren’t I strongly suggest you consider the arguments)
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The gentle, tender flame of Universal Restoration was sheltered nurtured and cherished, against all odds. No dictatorial Roman or Byzantine tyrant and no superstitious cleric was able to conquer the Uncreated Light of Christian Universalism. Every living creature was born to love and light and joy and is destined to return to God Most High, no matter what their faults and sins they have been purged from. For "God is Light, and in God is no Darkness." The message of Universal Reconciliation delivered me from the threefold bandage of addiction, the Babylon Church, and Thelema Satanists attempting to groom me. I'd like to bear testimony to what my Mother and Father has done for me, and to encourage awareness that for those who have been hurt by the Babylon Church, by cults, by secret societies or anything else from the spiritual right, that there are humane, healing, compassionate alternatives available. I pray this channel will be a blessing for people of every faith & none.
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Theology research makes my head hurt.
#religion#been researching Christian Universalism#and while I want to believe it the evidence seems flimsy at best#Christian universalism
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i swear this Discord Bible study is gonna turn my brain to mush... (in a good way.)
#cw religion#religion cw#cw rapture mention#progressive christianity#christian universalism#shitpost#meme
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RIP Reverend Bishop Carlton Pearson
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#meditation#philosophy#spirituality#enlightenment#mindfulmeditation#mantra#advaita#illumination#mysticism#nonduality#nondualism#gnostic christianity#orthodox christianity#catholic#jesus#god#yahweh#abba#unitarian universalist#christian universalism#unitarian#grace
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Now more than ever I’m happy that I finally submitted to God.
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“At least it's not ferociously attacking God quite as directly as Steven Universe did…”
Not that I’m surprised by this statement, but can you elaborate on this? Kinda intrigued by your thoughts on Steven Universe.
Okie dokie, you’re not the only one who has asked me about this, so I suppose I’ll poke the hornet’s nest. 😅 I haven’t talked about this before because I assumed that everyone who wanted to hear my kinds of opinions on stories wasn’t watching or interested in Steven Universe.
It’s like asking vegetarian if they enjoyed a turkey dinner. The turkey dinner was so obviously not made for vegetarians to enjoy, so why would the vegetarian even bother analyzing the turkey?
But I think if some people are asking me why I think Steven Universe is anti-God (of the Bible) its because maybe they don’t know what the turkey is. Not completely. (Maybe not you, because like you said, you’re not surprised by my comment.) So I’ll explain my thoughts on Steven Universe.
If you’re just following me because you liked some stuff I posted, but didn’t realize that I’m a Bible-believing Christian and don’t want to hear about it, unfollow me now.
Because I’m going to talk about some hot button issues here and the trolls will come out.
Steven Universe is really well-done. The jokes are funny, the writing is believable, the characters have great chemistry, great design, the concept is fascinating, the slow build-up and reveal of the plot elements is great.
But when you watch the throne room scene in the last episode of Season 5 “Change Your Mind,” it’s alarmingly clear how much the whole show is not just settling for defending and championing the LGBTQ+ worldview—it goes all the way to attacking what Christians believe, on the other side.
Anything that’s pro-LGBTQ+ is doing that by default, but this show goes out of its way to do that.
You have to understand: God created and designed us. Deeper than that; He created and designed romantic relationships, and invented marriage. He didn’t just create love—He is love. So when humans come along and do what we’ve always done since the fall, and say, “I’d rather define what Your thing is and how it works for myself, God,” it’s not only an incredible slap in the face, it’s an attack on God’s actual identity—and it’s destructive for us and the people around us. Like a fish insisting it can breathe oxygen.
But Steven Universe goes beyond that. It knows that the Christian worldview is it’s biggest opposition. It digs right down to the heart of the worldview-battle.
LGBTQ+ worldview says, “I should get to love what I want and be who I am, because I’m me. Love is love. (By which I mean, any action or relationship I choose to call love is love, because I’m the one calling it that.)”
Biblical worldview says “No, wait, you shouldn’t base your decisions on you alone; what you want changes day to day, and you’re broken, so you can’t ever be satisfied based on what you want—the Bible says God made you for something, and you rejected that, and it broke you. You’re not how you’re meant to be: even what you want and what you think love is is twisted up and can hurt you and others. But if you submit to God He’ll help you, He’ll fix what’s broken and give you new life by making you how you were supposed to be: He’ll live in you and through you.”
Are we beginning to get the picture?
See, the whole thing with the opposing views between LGBTQ+ and Christian people is as old as time. It’s not a new debate. It’s Satan and Eve in the garden. She says, “This is not how God said things should be,” and Satan says, “Are you sure that’s what He said? He knows if you do this thing, you’ll be like Him. You’ll be god: you’ll get to decide ‘how things should be’ for yourself.”
He lied and said that disobedience would satisfy her. That she knew what her own heart needed better than the God that made it did. That the very act of being imperfect would make her godlike.
And then Steven Universe comes along and says “if every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn’t have hotdogs.”
And has a cast of created being characters who’s imperfections (Garnet’s forbidden “love,” Pearl’s obsession, Amethyst’s insecurity) are supposedly “the best thing about them; what makes them who they are.”
And has a main character who used to be a part of the god-like creator relationship, but used her power to come down to earth and completely change who she is into a fully different person.
And has a godlike Creator character who claims she “doesn’t need” her created beings (just like the God of the Bible) but they all have a little part of their creator in them so she has to repress their imperfections; she holds them all to a standard that’s impossible to reach called “perfection” and punishes them when they don’t meet it even though it hurts them to try; she expects them all to do what they were created by her for; she fixes them when they can’t meet her standard by shining her light through them and making them extensions of their Creator.
And has a main character who argues, fights back, tries to stop her, and is answered with lines that sound surprisingly like what LGBTQ+ people hear when Christians argue with them: “you’re only making things worse; you’re just deceiving yourself; even while you resist it your actual light can’t help shining through,” etc.
White Diamond just wants everything to be perfect. Like her. She just wants her created beings to “be themselves.” But what she means is, be how she created them to be.
And she’s the bad guy. She’s playing God in this show, and Rebecca Sugar is saying, “If God is telling us that can only be happy by being perfect, as He is perfect, and doing what He created us to do, then He’s wrong. Our imperfections are what make us special—unique—individuals—free—and there is nobody who has the right to take that freedom away from us, not even out creator!”
And you know what?
If God were like White Diamond, like Rebecca Sugar believes Him to be, Steven Universe would be right.
But He is NOT.
God is not a dictator who forces us to conform to a standard of perfection and then smashes us when we don’t meet it. He is a King who made us perfect to begin with, and we rejected him, because He allowed us to do that. He knew that true love was love that had to be chosen, and He wanted us to love Him by choice, so he gave us the option. But Rebecca Sugar doesn’t understand—there was never “Choose God or Choose Yourself.” There was only, “Choose God or Choose Nothing.” There was nothing except God. Then He created everything. There is no version of reality where you have something better than God, or even slightly less good but different, to pick. You’re not jumping from one ship into a smaller one, but at least it’s yours—you’re jumping from one ship into a void, and then complaining that there’s no other ship. That’s humans. That’s not God. / White Diamond didn’t make her creations perfect (Amethyst) and she didn’t make them for love. She made them for power. That’s not the God of the Bible.
Even when we did choose to try and love ourselves instead of God, and therefore warped our ability to perfectly love at all, He didn’t smash us. True, everything fell and was cursed, which is exactly what He warned us would happen if we chose it, but it was a natural consequence of breaking ourselves. And then He didn’t leave us that way. He didn’t give up on us. And He certainly didn’t just zap us, snap His fingers, quick-fix it and turn us all into robots who are extensions of Him, who say they love Him but only because it’s His voice puppeting us to say it.
No. He came to us, chose to give up His life at the exact point on the timeline when Romans, masters in the art of slow, humiliating, torturous death, would be the ones to carry out His crucifixion, and saved us Himself. Through the sacrifice of His own life. And even then, we still have a choice. We get to choose to accept that incredible self-sacrifice when we don’t deserve it, and be given new life and a relationship with the Creator who knows us and loves us better than we can love ourselves or receive love from others—OR we can just keep stubbornly insisting that our slavery to the opposite of what God wants is somehow freedom, and our twisted versions of love are genuine, and we’re not broken, and die like that. Die broken creatures who lived their whole lives stomping their feet and screaming “I’m not a creature, I’m a god!”
White Diamond sacrifices nothing, because Rebecca Sugar doesn’t know the God of the Bible. She just knows her idea of Him. She’s never actually gotten to know Him. If she had, she’d learn how silly and twisted her idea is.
Because you know what, yeah, if every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn’t have hot dogs. But people aren’t pork chops. And hot dogs have flavor (not better than pork chops) but they are awful for you.
Christians aren’t perfect cuts of meat with no individuality or flavor. Just because we all know and love the same God doesn’t mean we have no personalities. It just means we don’t think so freaking much about what we are, or who we get to be, or what we like and want. Jeez, what a self-centered, narcissistic, self-obsessed way to live. She plays Steven like he’s this wonder-child, innocent and full of heart, who encourages his friends to love and keep trying. But honestly?
This is very pretty animation but it’s not real. Steven looks happy hugging Steven but self-love doesn’t ultimately get you that.
That’s all based on the premise that what he’s encouraging them to do is actually good, and will make them happy, and will help them love better. And it just won’t. Not in real life. That’s not how any of this works. Self-love is just self-obsession. And that is a sure-fire way to hurt you, and everyone around you.
You’ll never be free by choosing to run to a worse master. You’ll never be satisfied with your crappy attempts at loving yourself, because you were made to be loved flawlessly and forever by someone who is Love Himself.
And choosing to identify with your imperfections doesn’t make you uniquely you. It just makes you exactly like every other human being marching in the same line since the Fall.
White Diamond’s not relational. She’s up high and distant. That’s not God. He made you to be in relationship with Him. He loves you, totally and perfectly, and He proved it by sacrificing for You.
So yeah. That’s the problem with Steven Universe. Come get me, SU fans.
#Steven universe#su#Pearl#amethyst#garnet#Steven universe fans#change your mind#white Diamond#Christianity#Christian’s#asked#answered#thanks#rattling the cage#Rebecca sugar
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