Latest Posts by depressionanddeconstruction - Page 4

Terrorism is terrorism is terrorism is terrorism. Hate is hate is hate. There is no variation in form of terrorism or hate. They exist as independent phenomena - free floating entities. They are darkness and evil and depravity. They cannot have any religious affiliation, because no religion deals in hate. Anyone who truly believes in a higher power also believes in love and grace and compassion and altruism. Terrorists and hate groups worship the powers of hell, not of heaven. So whether it’s Hitler, the KKK, the Westboro Baptist Church, or ISIS, they are not religious organizations. They are hate groups. They are terrorist groups. But never religious organizations.

You have not been sprinkled with forgiveness. You have not been splattered with grace. You have not been dusted with kindness. You have been immersed in it. You are a minnow in an ocean of his mercy.

Max Lucado (via littlethingsaboutgod)

It seems strange that I haven’t written anything about Ferguson here, given the degree to which race has occupied my mind since Michael Brown was shot by Darren Wilson three and a half months ago. I guess it is because I felt like what I had to say wasn’t that well thought through; that my role in…

I can’t understand how anyone can be against people asking to be treated with justice. I can’t understand how anyone can be against people being treated like human beings. I don’t understand why we are still having to protest for these basic rights.

Bottom line is that a horrible crime was committed in broad daylight and we cannot be OK with it being dismissed. Michael Brown is not by any means the only one, it is the one that tested us beyond what we are capable of ignoring. 

Today is #WorldToiletDay. Did you know 2.5 billion people - 36% of the world’s population - don’t have access to a clean and safe toilet?

Learn how we work with communities around the world to end #opendefecation and provide clean and safe toilets for all: http://uni.cf/1qrPCSk

For God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son to die for your mean neighbor and your crazy roommate and the picketing bigot and the racist blogger and your gay friend and all the politicians and our crazy parents and the pastor down the street and the uptight religious folk and the girl at work you can’t stand, because Jesus didn’t just die for the people you like, but for people like you and me.

It is time for Christians to stop ranking sins.

Frank Powell (via savedbymercyandgrace)

welp

(via poeticdarkbeauty)

If words were wounds

and you could see flesh tearing —

would we still speak the same way

or find new ways to destroy ..?

If words were healing

and you could see wounds sealing —

would we still speak the same way

or withhold words to destroy ..?

But this is what it is, every day.

Words rip, words mend —

deeper than flesh, more than metal.

Flesh is fragile,

but a soul, eternal. 

Will we still speak the same way?

  —J.S.

This is a really super cool project to make awesome leggings and make the world a better place! Totally worth supporting!

Supergirl Syndrome

You know that scene in Pirates of the Caribbean where Elizabeth Swan is made to wear a really tight corset and she faints and falls into the ocean because she can’t frickin breathe? That is what the word “perfect” reminds me of. I used to think it was a wonderful compliment, but now hearing someone say “Katherine, I think you’re pretty much perfect” causes quite the uncomfortable constricting of my chest.

My fondest aspiration in life used to be to achieve this state of superhumanity and to evolve into this perfect version of myself that I had created in my head. I loved that Katherine. She was kind, smart, in shape, confident, funny, and pretty. She balanced the academic, professional, spiritual, social and emotional aspects of her life with ease. I wanted to be her. There was just one problem. She didn’t exist. She was an impossible idea.

Curiously, when I discovered that I couldn’t be any more than human (it was a pretty big shock), I began wishing I could be less than human. I perceived all my emotions as weakness and I wanted to get rid of them all. I almost succeeded, I think. Or at least I almost succeeded in hiding my emotions from me and most of the people around me. I liked to think that I was a talented actress and a really good liar. It was really bad for me though.

I’m talking about all of that in the past tense, but I’m still really, REALLY struggling with it. It still really bothers me that I’m not perfect and that I never can be. When someone tells me that they think I’m perfect (which actually happens fairly often, but only because people think it’s more difficult than it actually is to abstain from swearing, drinking and sex), I get very upset because I know that I’m not and I just really don’t like that fact.

I’m telling you all of this because those are my symptoms of the “Supergirl Syndrome”. It’s an insidious disease and it affects most of the women I’m closest with. I’m sure there’s a parallel “Superman Syndrome” that affects guys but I’m not a guy so I’m probably going to be talking mostly to girls on this one. The causes of our affliction are probably a combination of societal pressures and maybe a little bit of hardwired psychology. Who knows. Not me. But I do know that I think many of us feel the need to be all things to all people at all times. We want to defy stereotypes so we have to be everything. We have to be smart AND pretty AND athletic AND popular. I’ve met way too many women who think they aren’t good enough. And I’m tired of it.

Symptoms of Supergirl Syndrome include but are not limited to…

Feelings of inadequacy

Comparing yourself to other girls

The desire to crawl into a hole and hide

The feeling of being under a large amount of pressure

Aversion to the word “perfect”

Emotional unavailability or repression

Academic stress

Athletic stress

Stress in general

Fear of what others think

Doing too much

Anxiety

Eating disorders

Unexplained feelings of guilt

Feelings of self-loathing

Inability to turn down another time commitment 

Inability to admit failure

Inability to cope with failure or mistakes

Extreme reactions to constructive criticism or criticism in general

Feel free to add your own to the list.

Okay so how do we treat Supergirl Syndrome? Is there a cure? I hope so! If not I’m in big trouble. I’m learning that the solution to this problem, as with most problems, is transparency and community. Please be gentle with me here because the advice I’m about to give you is advice that I’m still having trouble in following myself! The two most freeing statements I’ve heard are from my mom and my best friend, respectively. They are as follows:

“It’s no big secret that you’re not perfect. Nobody is under any illusions in regards to your imperfection. So you might as well stop trying.” - My mom (admittedly, it doesn’t sound particularly uplifting, but its stark honesty was what I needed.)

***

“You’re not perfect. But you’re you. And you are way cooler and more beautiful than the idea of a perfect you could be.” - Sarah

I’m learning that the best things we can do for each other are to be honest with each other and to invite others to be honest with us. It actually had a far bigger effect on me than I could have predicted when one of my friends simply said to me “I’m here for you if you need to talk or anything.” It was so simple but it was like he gave me permission to need another human being. Your friends really do love you and they really are there for you. Being honest with them is one of the best things you can do for yourself. And it encourages other people around you to be honest as well. I think opening up a dialogue is such an easy thing to do but it makes such a big difference. Just make sure it’s a dialogue of love, not judgment.

All of this stuff sounds so obvious when I type it out in black and white. However, I’m the girl who, when asked what might happen if I tried to be more open with people, answered “the world will fall apart.” I was mostly joking but I was a little bit serious. So if you’re anything like me, I think it’s possible that you might need a reminder sometimes.

This is our reminder: we’re not perfect. We never will be. We can’t be. But that’s okay because who we are is better than perfection. And being open and honest and understanding makes a big difference. It makes more of a difference than we think it will.

Okay, that’s all. Love you guys! Peace and love! -Katherine

How many? How much?

My friend is really smart. She also happens to have anorexia. She once said to me, “Anorexics aren’t supposed to be around numbers. The’re just tools humans use to destroy themselves.” As you can tell, the latter statement had a profound impact on me. That’s why I’m writing about it. Numbers define our lives. Our age, height, weight and BMI are measured in numbers. Our academic accomplishments and athletic accomplishments are measured in numbers. Our schedules revolve around the clock - also numbers. “How many calories?” “How many hours did it take?” “How many people were there?” “How much do you make?” “How many pages?” “How many words?” “How many points?” “How many goals? How many assists?” “How many years?” How many? How many? How many? I think that so often, we fall into the trap of thinking that these numbers that measure our bodies or measure the things that we do are also measuring us. And the problem with that is that once you start measuring, you find that you will never measure up. As soon as you put a numerical value on your identity you will find that there will always be someone who has a higher number, or lower number. Here’s the thing: you’re not a number. You’re thinking, “well obviously, Katherine.” But hear me out. You are not your weight. You are not your GPA. You are not the number of points you score or how much money you make. You’re a person. There is absolutely no conceivable way in the known universe, in the limitations of time as we know it, that numbers could logically be used to express a person. We can graph the curve of your face and we can create a function for the way you walk, but mathematically we will never capture you. You’re a person. You were created by God, in the image of God. As He is beautiful, so are you. As He is spirit, so are you. And you are His masterpiece. His piece de resistance. This all-powerful deity, who always was and always will be, who mapped the stars, who knitted the fabric of the universe, who choreographed the dance of the planets, who paints every single sunset, who filled the seas with fish and the skies with birds...He thinks that you are the best thing He made. [Talking about God gets me TURNT but I’ll leave the rest for another time.] He gave you a soul. Do you even know how exciting a soul is? A soul is intangible. It is infinite. It is the part of you that recognizes God’s face and it will last forever. It remembers the beginning of the world and it will see the end. It has the entire universe in it. It has ancient empires in it. It has lost civilizations in it. It has dead languages in it. It has unborn languages in it. It has novels in it. It has symphonies in it. Let me edit that last paragraph: You are intangible. You are infinite. You recognize God’s face and you will last forever. You remember the beginning of the world and you will see the end. You have the entire universe in you. You have ancient empires in you. You have lost civilizations in you. You have dead languages in you. You have unborn languages in you. You have novels in you. You have symphonies in you. Do you honestly believe that a being so majestic, so beautiful, so wonderful, can be MEASURED? The answer is absolutely not. You are immeasurable. There’s no scale or standard or system by which you can be counted. You are invaluable. Your worth is far beyond measure. Therefore, there are only two numbers you can use to describe yourself: 1. That’s how many of you there are. You are unique. You are one of a kind. You can’t be compared to others because you’re in your own category. ∞ ← That’s the infinity symbol. Admittedly, infinity, by its nature, is not a number. It’s mathematical concept. And that’s how valuable you are. This reminder has been brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Katherine. Love y’all! Peace and love! -Katherine

And God said “Love Your Enemy,” and I obeyed him and loved myself.

خليل جبران ‎ (via oust)

I’ve always had trouble with this idea of “hearing from God.” I always side-eye those super A+ put-together Christians who were hearing from God every week, and somehow I was outside the door of some secret club where God was throwing around fortune cookies full of His life-changing secrets.Let’s consider that God does speak to us every week. Let’s consider photosynthesis, the spinning of atoms, the burning of stars, the breath we just breathed, your child’s messy drawing, the twitching of your neurons to fire off emotions, a hug from your best friend. Let’s consider the sustaining of our molecules, which is purely by His grace. Let’s see all we are missing when our eyes are locked on a screen when the world is unrolling around us, as God makes His glory known through nature and coincidence. Let’s consider Christ, who is God’s spoken word and His very own glorious radiance (Hebrews 1:2-3). Let’s consider that God is already within the silence, and that even when we do not “feel” Him, God is okay with this too.

J.S. from this post (via yesdarlingido)

Happy Canada Day :)

Body Positivity Rant

You are sooooooooo so much more than your body. 

Please don't hate me for the length.

Layin' some truth on ya...

Jesus loves everyone. I mean everyone. Every single person on this planet.

“But what about ga..”

“What about divor…”

“Are you sure he likes trans…”

“Hey! What about prosti…”

“You can’t mean musl…”

And if you dare to call yourself a Christian you better love the crap out of EVERYONE too! No matter what.

Does the Pentecostal church allow gay marriage ?

Hi there :) 

***[I know a simple yes or no would suffice, but this is gonna be another long answer. I have, as usual, bolded important sentences for those who would rather skim.]*** 

This is going to be difficult for me to tell you, but I’m afraid that the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, with which the Pentecostal Assemblies of Newfoundland are affiliated - and therefore under which my own church exists - do not sanction gay marriage. Here is the “Statement of Fundamental and Essential Truths”. You will find homosexuality is addressed in section 5.9.1, “Marriage and the Family”. Here are a couple key quotes from that section:

"Marriage is a provision of God wherein one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others enter into a lifelong relationship through a marriage ceremony that is recognized by the church and legally sanctioned by the state."

…

"Marriage can only be broken by porneia, which is understood as marital unfaithfulness involving adultery, homosexuality, or incest. While the Scriptures give evidence that the marriage vow and "one-flesh" union are broken by such acts and therefore recognize the breaking of the marriage relationship, the Scriptures do recommend that the most desirable option would be reconciliation."

I imagine this is an affront to you, and I can understand why. I would like to justify the church’s stance, but I won’t. This decision is for two reasons: 

Firstly, because if what you want is for the Pentecostal church to allow gay marriage, then nothing I say will soothe your offended sensibilities. 

Secondly, because these practices apply only to members of the Pentecostal church: people who have actively chosen to participate in this institution, and whom evidently understand and are satisfied with the beliefs and practices. 

However, I will offer some of my own thoughts to supplement the information I’ve just given you.

[] 

Katherine’s thoughts: 

1. The Pentecostal church is part of the “private” sector, by which I mean that we are a non-profit organization and we are not affiliated with the government, be it federal, provincial, etc. Therefore, we do not attempt to extend our beliefs to anybody outside of our members. People who choose to become a member of the church (which, in case you’re wondering, is an official process involving an application and an interview) choose to abide by the practices set forth by the church, and that’s why those people chose to become a member in the first place. Therefore, the church will not corporately try to influence legislation involving gay marriage. How the church’s members vote is their individual decision, and in my experience, my church has never even discussed politics, let alone tried to influence my personal political beliefs. 

2. I am completely sure that while a person who is married to someone else of the same sex and/or gender may not choose to be a member of our church, NO ONE will discourage them from attending the services or benefiting from the various programs we offer. Being a member is a very official thing, and even though I’ve attended the church since birth, I’m still not a member. Membership involves stuff like voting for pastoral staff and board members and attending annual business meetings and boring stuff like that. So you could totally come on Sundays and chill with us and we won’t say anything to you. You could attend and volunteer and participate at Bethesda for 50 years and never be a member, so there’s that loophole. 

3. [THIS ONE IS SUPER IMPORTANT] Christianity is, above all, about a very personal, very intimate relationship with God. If you do not currently have an acquaintance with God, I would strongly encourage you to get to know Him. And if you want to, don’t let anybody or anything, including the church, including your sexual orientation, including the people in your life, dissuade you from doing so. Don’t ever let anybody tell you that there’s anything separating you from God, or that you have to change something about yourself before you get to know Him. He is waiting for you, exactly as you are, right here, right now, and He loves you exactly as you are, and nothing you do could ever make Him love you less….or more.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”- Romans 8:38-39

We as the church, are attempting to function as the “body” of Christ, that is to say, the mortal manifestation of His divine love here in the natural world. We are not God, and we cannot judge you or tell you what to do. Only He can do that. And if you have some questions about your lifestyle, I suggest you take it up with Him, not me. I don’t know anything. 

4. [This one is a little more complex and not quite fully formed so bear with me.] Pentecostals are what one might call “orthodox” Christians, which means that we believe firmly in the Bible as the complete and absolute truth. We cannot deny that the New Testament states that practicing homosexuality is not a lifestyle officially condoned by the Christian church. That’s why it’s part of the official Pentecostal statutes. As Christians, we must trust that God is a divine being infinitely more wise and more powerful than us, and that His word is truth, and that the Bible is the inspired word of God, due to its historical credibility, internal consistency and enduring influence. As such, we must trust that His plan for our lifestyle is a good one. If this is due singularly to the biology of His creation, and the fact that babies generally occur from heterosexual sex, then I guess I can see how that kinda makes sense. But in reality, I can’t actually see how anything makes any sense ever, because I’m a finite human (which is redundant, because there is no such thing as an infinite human, but I really wanted to drive the point home). I just go through life trusting in a higher power than myself (with good reasons to do so, I might add. Please see here). That means that I trust Him despite my personal opinions and despite what’s going on around me. This puts us in a rather difficult situation when it comes to formulating an opinion on homosexuality because I genuinely do think that it’s not a choice. 

5. For this reason, I have taken this as my official personal stance on homosexuality and Christianity: "Love is my ultimate answer to any question, because God is Love and Love is as close to the divine as you will get in this life. I adhere to two inalienable truths - God loves you and I love you. This love is unconditional, and has nothing to do with whether or not we agree on…anything, really. My purpose and goal in life is to show you that God loves you. I attempt to do this by loving you. And I really really want you to experience this radical, world-changing, earth-shattering, mind-blowing, paradigm-shifting love of God for yourself because it will literally change your life. And I believe that you can experience this love no matter what. No conditions apply. None. I will never tell you how to live your life, and if you have questions about your lifestyle, talk to God, not me." 

6. [Last one, finally!] Like I said, Christianity means a relationship with God, not belonging to a church. However, I strongly advocate for finding a group of believers to offer support and solidarity and encouragement in your faith. So I recommend finding a church where you feel safe and comfortable. If that’s not a Pentecostal church, that’s okay. But above all, I want you to know God. 

Okay all done! 

Thanks for your question :) As always, tip next time, 

Peace and love! -Katherine

Evolution.

I'm supposed to be studying this Evolution course for my exam tomorrow morning, but the textbook made me so angry that I had to write about it. 

That absolute gem of a quote is from a section called "Evidence for Evolution". In fact, a fairly substantial number of the pages in this book are devoted to this evidence. The writers devote quite a bit of time and energy trying to tell me why I should believe this theory. 

NEWSFLASH: I'm doing a biology degree. I'm taking this stupid course. I believe that evolution is a valid theory. I know that genetic mutations cause changes in the phenotype and some of these changes allow organisms to adapt better to their environment and therefore these traits are passed on the successive generations. Blah blah blah. Yes, Darwin, your theory makes sense. A+! Gold star for you! I KNOW this. You don't need to convince me. You don't need to convince anybody. I'm religious. I'm not stupid. 

And that leads me to my next point. Judging from my flurry of angry tweets, few things in life push my buttons like someone simultaneously insulting my beliefs AND my intelligence. 

I don't understand why the writer felt the need to insert this snarky comment. Do they assume that because I believe in a supernatural being that I am not smart enough to be doing a biology degree? Do they assume that religious people will never read this book? Or do they not realize that what they're saying is offensive? Do they not care because anyone who might be offended is of lesser intelligence and therefore not worth concern? These are the only plausible explanations coming to mind. 

I mean, if they are trying to convert me to their way of thinking, they're being COLOSSAL hypocrites about it. Cause the way to change my mind is to mock me, patronize me and insult me. Yep, keep it up. That'll work. This pushy, self-righteous "evangelical" style is the exact type of thing Christians get ridiculed for. (another thing we get ridiculed for). 

Okay, here's what REALLY gets me: the sheer ARROGANCE of it all. So the author employs suspension of disbelief and hypothetically suggests that this supernatural might be "credited with arbitrariness, whimsy, or a devious intent to to make organisms look as if they have evolved." 

FIRST OF ALL you are talking about the supernatural, divine, all-powerful creator of the whole entire universe and you're assuming He tries to fit Himself into your patterns? You, who would not be breathing if not by His grace which gives you breath. You, whose puny mind cannot possibly fathom the vastness of His being. You, who were not even a thought when He wove the fabric of the cosmos. You, who are but a vapour, a speck of dust, when compared to Him. Yep, waaaayyyy back at the freaking beginning of time itself, when creating the animals, God thought, "better make them fit this evolution theory those scientists dudes are gonna come up with in the 1800s". That is EXACTLY what happened. Of course you're the centre of the universe, you clever, clever boy! The sun actually does revolve around the earth! HOLY SHIT GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS. 

SECOND OF ALL God is a God of order. Nah, scratch that. God is order. Absence of God is chaos. So yeah, absolutely, God's amazing animal kingdom follows a pattern. Yes, life itself has a hierarchal organization to it. But what you fail to realize is that this pattern that you can see is like looking through a microscope. It is a minute part of a pattern that spans the entire universe. It is possibly the tiniest part of an enormous machine that God designed, with working parts on the scale of galaxies. The "tree of life" is the equivalent of a screw in the machine of all of space and time. Scientists discover patterns in nature all the time. And they're surprised. Like it's this big discovery that the world follows mathematics. Because if the universe has no cause or purpose there is absolutely no reason for it to have order. But is does because the intelligent creator designed it as such. 

So no, He didn't try to make it look like they evolved. The pattern is Him, and you're just seeing a little piece of it. 

I think that a lot of people make this mistake: when they imagine God, they imagine Him as less intelligent than them. 

You don't need a label to believe that everyone is equal and should be treated equally. We should not have special words for that. I don't know why this is such a difficult concept. It should not require pontificating or self-importance or theatrics. It should not require broad sweeping statements about a certain group of people. It requires simply the belief that all people are equal and the enactment of that belief in every situation. Is that an oversimplification? Yes. And I am oversimply unapologetic. Because almost every single problem in our world today stems from the fact that sometime, somewhere, there was a breakdown in equality. 

My Commitment to You

I cannot fix everything, as much as I want to. I can't kiss it and make it all better or put a bandaid on it and magically cure all ailments. 

But I can be there. 

I have arms to hug you with. I have a shoulder for you to cry on. I have ears to listen. I have eyes to see you for who you truly are. I have lips to tell you all the wonderful things about yourself. 

I promise that I will never tell you that what you are feeling is wrong or invalid. I promise that I will always acknowledge your pain. 

I promise that I will always encourage you. I promise that I will always be a source of hope and optimism. I promise that I will remind you of why you are a beautiful human being. I promise that I will remind you that life is worth it. I promise that I will cheer you on. 

I promise that I won't give up on you. 

I promise that I will love you, fiercely, unconditionally, and inexorably. I promise that I will never stop loving you no matter what. 

That's what I CAN do. 

What are your thoughts on casual drinking?

Funnily enough, I was talking to someone about this today! 

Okay so I have this theory that God tells us not to do stuff to protect us. I know I’m so brilliant, right? lol :P But I mean, he tells us not to get drunk (See Ephesians 5:18, Galatians 5:21, 1 Corinthians 6:10, and 1 Peter 5:8) and not to gamble, and to avoid sexual promiscuity. Now all of these things have a fair amount of risk associated with them. When you’re drunk you can make some pretty stupid decisions and hurt people and probably regret a few things down the road. And also of course there’s the liver damage. Gambling can lead to addictions which can destroy your finances, your family and your life. And sexual promiscuity can lead to unwanted pregnancies, STDs and a whole bunch of emotional crap that I mentioned here. So this theory is that everything God tells us not to do is for a good reason and we’re probably better off without it anyway! 

So basically, if God says not to do something, I trust that he knows what he’s talking about, and I figure that’s a good enough reason for me not to do it. By this logic, I choose not to get drunk. That being said, I see no problem with casual drinking. It’s all a personal decision anyway! I choose not to get drunk, but I always try a sip of my friends’ beers (it ALWAYS tastes disgusting) and I took a shot for my friend’s 19th birthday, but I’ve never consumed enough alcohol for it to have the slightest effect on me. Lots of my friends drink, and I’ve seen my friends get drunk. I’m not gonna tell anyone what to do, and if you drink I don’t care, that’s your business! If you’re a Christian and you drink casually, I’m not judging you. If you’re genuinely wondering my opinion because you are trying to figure out where you stand I say choose for yourself, draw your line and know your limit. 

Hope this helped! :)

Peace and love! -Katherine

Nowadays you see a lot of people quoting the bible with the aim of oppressing others. How do you feel as a Christian when you see things like that? How does it make you feel when you see people using some of these quotes out of context? Just wondering your thoughts on the matter.

Hey there :) 

How do I feel? I feel….angry, outraged, disapproving, frustrated and discouraged. 

I think, that as a body of believers, if we are going to call ourselves Christians, then we are required by our mandate to love others. It’s not that hard! Loving people is literally the highest calling we are given. I don’t understand what happened to us that somewhere along the way we lost sight of that goal and got mired down in the murkiest swamps of legalism. How have we become so short sighted as to think that good behaviour is more important than an authentic relationship with our Lord and Saviour? We have become so preoccupied with shouting at people that they need to change their behaviour that the simple Sunday School song “Jesus Loves Me” is completely drowned out. “Jesus Loves Me” is not just a a simplified message for people who are too young to understand theology. “Jesus Loves” is literally the foundation of our entire belief system and worldview! We are nothing if not for the two words “Jesus Loves”. Telling people that they are wrong and that they are going to Hell is by no means the way of showing them the love of Christ. It is the exact opposite of that! And it is completely counterproductive. 

Therefore, my humble opinion is that those who would hate and oppress others under the label “Christian” are falsely bearing that name and are slandering and besmirching the church, which is truly damaging to those of us who genuinely want to love on people and help the poor and whatnot. 

And don’t even get me started on using quotes out of context! Like, do you seriously expect me to believe that a scripture straight out of LEVITICUS with no theological, historical or cultural context is relevant to my life? Absolutely not! I believe the whole entire Bible is the truth but I also believe that some of it is a true account of events that happened a very long time ago and not necessarily rules to live by. That’s why people think that the Bible contradicts itself, when it in fact does not. You could throw a verse from Leviticus at me to support your premise while I could throw one back at you from Matthew which might completely unravel your argument. This is not because the Bible contradicts itself but because hypothetically, you were using a verse that is irrelevant because it is taken out of its intended context. 

So man like, I said this to someone today. If a church kid ever tries to tell you what to do or judges you for something, tell them to frig right off. Cause I’m a church kid and that’s not even close to the point. You’re never gonna hear the gospel over my judgment. 

Those are my thoughts on the matter! I hope you find them useful somehow! 

Peace and love!-Katherine

It still appalls me how so many affirming Christians feel like they don’t need to get involved in LGBTQ issues and take a vocal stand to stop oppression and ignorance. 

I understand that there are a ton of other issues that go on besides LGBTQ issues, but let’s be real. This is the biggest issue in our culture right now. Keeping quiet about issues like these is only self serving at this point.

I'm pretty unexceptional looking...

And I'm about to tell you why that statement means absolutely nothing.

Most people would not describe their appearance as special or extraordinary. If someone were to ask you if you're attractive, you'd either say no, or you'd proceed to give a vague, equivocating description of your mediocre beauty. Even supermodels and movie stars have acute and sever insecurities. There's not a single person in this world who legitimately views themselves as head-turning attractive. In fact, I think we're all too comfortable with the idea of looking "average". We style our hair the way everyone else is doing it. We wear the same clothes every one else does. We all just want to blend in and not draw undue attention to our person. Our fondest wish is to look like everyone else. Do you deny it? 

HOWEVER, not one of us believes that we really are actually like everyone else. Whether you think that's a good thing or a bad thing is not for me to decide, but you know that you're unique. You know you're different from every single other person around you. If you do think that's a bad thing, I'm here to tell you that it's not. You have interests, skills, talents and passions that are unique and entirely your own. And that's awesome and super cool and you are special and amazing specifically because you are not like any single other human on the planet. 

But here's my point. Judging by appearances is literally the dumbest thing ever because the outward appearance gives absolutely no indication of who someone is. Too often we get too caught up in the outward appearance and it consumes us. We narrow our minds to the here and now, the tangible and touchable. Even though the physical body is present and right in front of us right now, it is a meagre representation of the person inside. Every single person is exceptional and extraordinary. People who look perfectly average and even might look "boring" have entire galaxies inside their heads. They have unwritten novels and unheard music and unknown inventions inside of them. They have love stories and ancient histories and imagined eternities in their hearts. So even though we spend most of our time trying to blend into our surroundings, our characters make us stand out from the crowd because of our various vibrant and dynamic personalities. 

That was definitely not as deep as I thought it was. I wish I could impress upon you how incredibly important this is to me. I don't even know if that made sense, I just really really wanted to tell you all my thoughts on this topic. 

Peace and love!  -Katherine

"I'm Not Like Other Girls"

Katherine rants about why the above statement is problematic. 

Don't be fooled by kids and their follies, you have wisdom beyond fear.

I don’t know where this came from but I like it!

reblogging from myself because this is how strongly I feel about it 

ALRIGHT EVERYBODY LISTEN UP

I AM A CHRISTIAN.

I BELIEVE IN HEAVEN AND HELL.

KNOW WHAT I DON’T BELIEVE?

THAT PEOPLE GO TO HELL FOR BEING GAY.

KNOW WHY?

CAUSE THAT’S NOT WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS.

KNOW WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS?

THAT EVERYBODY WOULD GO TO HELL IF NOT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST WHO DIED ON THE CROSS.

THE BIBLE ALSO SAYS THAT IF YOU CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH THAT JESUS IS LORD AND BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, YOU’LL BE SAVED (ROMANS 10 FREAKING 9 MOTHER-TRUCKER)

THEREFORE!!!

PEOPLE GO TO HELL IF THEY DON’T KNOW THE LOVE OF JESUS.

YOU KNOW WHO’S NEVER GONNA KNOW THE LOVE OF JESUS IF THE CHURCH KEEPS BEING RIGID JUDGEMENTAL CONDESCENDING NOT-NICE PEOPLE!?!?!

YOU GUESSED IT!

GAY PEOPLE 

CHURCH, BY OSTRACIZING GAY PEOPLE YOU ARE LITERALLY LIVING THE ANTITHESIS OF YOUR MANDATE.

ALRIGHT EVERYBODY LISTEN UP

I AM A CHRISTIAN.

I BELIEVE IN HEAVEN AND HELL.

KNOW WHAT I DON’T BELIEVE?

THAT PEOPLE GO TO HELL FOR BEING GAY.

KNOW WHY?

CAUSE THAT’S NOT WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS.

KNOW WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS?

THAT EVERYBODY WOULD GO TO HELL IF NOT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST WHO DIED ON THE CROSS.

THE BIBLE ALSO SAYS THAT IF YOU CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH THAT JESUS IS LORD AND BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, YOU’LL BE SAVED (ROMANS 10 FREAKING 9 MOTHER-TRUCKER)

THEREFORE!!!

PEOPLE GO TO HELL IF THEY DON’T KNOW THE LOVE OF JESUS.

YOU KNOW WHO’S NEVER GONNA KNOW THE LOVE OF JESUS IF THE CHURCH KEEPS BEING RIGID JUDGEMENTAL CONDESCENDING NOT-NICE PEOPLE!?!?!

YOU GUESSED IT!

GAY PEOPLE 

CHURCH, BY OSTRACIZING GAY PEOPLE YOU ARE LITERALLY LIVING THE ANTITHESIS OF YOUR MANDATE.

“People often think of Christianity as a kind of bargain in which God says, ‘If you keep a lot of rules I’ll reward you, and if you don’t, I’ll do the other thing.’ I do not think that is the best way of looking at it. I would much rather say that every time you make a choice, you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what is was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or a hellish creature: either into a creature that is at harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow creatures, and with itself.”

C.S. Lewis (via jspark3000)

Yes

(via littlestein)

On the nature of love.

You know how people say that love is powerful? I'm not sure if this is gonna sound really hippy-ish but I wanna talk about love. Love is absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the most powerful force in existence. This is real love I'm talking about now. Love that *chooses* to be committed to someone despite circumstances, despite emotions, despite personal desires, and despite any mistakes that someone might have made, and any flaws that someone might have. Love that means putting someone else before yourself. I saw the movie Frozen, and *spoiler alert*, the central conflict was thawing Anna's frozen heart, a feat which only true love can accomplish. I greatly appreciated the fact that Anna's heart was thawed not by "true love's kiss" but by her own self sacrifice to save her sister's life. THAT, my friends, is an accurate portrayal of true love. Love is the force that conquers hate and conquers fear and conquers apathy. It is the force that connects and binds all of humankind to one another. It is the force that heals the broken and saves the lost. Love offers truth even when it's hard and grace even when it's harder. Love will never ever ever ever ever ever give up. Love is divine. Love is the closest that humans can get to Godliness. Because God Himself is Love. His essence is entirely love. All love is from Him and is of Him. Any person who has the ability to love someone else can only do so by the power of God and the spirit and soul that God has placed within us. Your love is a piece of God in your life. As long as you know love, you know God. God is great and mighty and all-powerful and vast and crazy amazing and the human mind cannot possible fathom Him, BUT the closest you will ever get to understanding Him is simply to love. Therefore, love is NOT simply warm fuzzy feelings and cute romcoms and sad country music. It's not even an emotion or a relationship. It is a supernatural force. It is the essence of God! Never underestimate the power of God's love for you. It is fierce and it is all-consuming and it is all-encompassing and it conquers every single other thing in all of existence. Never forget that. Never underestimate the power of your love for the people around you. The best thing you can do for this world is to love yourself and to love others, because when we each begin to do that, then this world will know true peace and true joy.