One of the main reasons I love buffistas is conversations like this one. I keep reading and think "but what about..." and then someone else posts that. (Short story, I have nothing to add, but I am pleased to be here.)
It's called a blaster, Will, a word that tends to discourage experimentation. Now, if it were called the Orgasmater, I'd be the first to try your basic button press approach.
Xander ,'Get It Done'
Spike's Bitches 37: You take the killing for granted.
[NAFDA] Spike-centric discussion. Lusty, lewd (only occasionally crude), risqué (and frisqué), bawdy (Oh, lawdy!), flirty ('cuz we're purty), raunchy talk inside. Caveat lector.
Burrell - Sep 12, 2007 1:07:52 pm PDT #5300 of 10001
Why did Darth Vader cross the road? To get to the Dark Side!
JZ - Sep 12, 2007 1:13:18 pm PDT #5301 of 10001
See? I gave everybody here an opportunity to tell me what a bad person I am and nobody did, because I fuckin' rule.
Aw, Robin, if I didn't already think your mom was aces just because she brought you into the world, I'd have to now for sure.
If we ever moved away from the Bay Area and my current lefty crunchy parish, I might just end up in one of those good Episcopal churches.
vw bug - Sep 12, 2007 1:15:01 pm PDT #5302 of 10001
Mostly lurking...
Ok. Shutting down my computer and really going home. I meant to be on campus for about 30 minutes today. Instead I've been here for, oh, 5 1/2 hours. Oops. Well, at least I've gotten work done. And eaten. And played.
Going home. Really.
meara - Sep 12, 2007 1:27:17 pm PDT #5303 of 10001
What always gets me is when you see a convocation of bishops and there are some that look all funky and it turns out they're some weird sect of Catholics?
In my religious background world (and I'm not saying this is right or wrong), Christian and Catholic are different--Christian means "born again" or "saved" or whatever, and Catholic is separate from that. Just like Lutheran would be separate, as well.
Um....wait, why are Lutherans not? They're Protestant! WTF? Are Prebyterians? Methodists? Baptists? How do you decide what counts?
After the funeral I went to last week, I was thinking of hitting up some gay Catholic mass in Seattle, but found out their Dignity chapter just has "prayer service" once a month. Not mass. Boo! Apparently the Catholic churches in Seattle are pretty darn gay-accepting, but...that wasn't my point!
brenda m - Sep 12, 2007 1:30:35 pm PDT #5304 of 10001
If you're going through hell/keep on going/don't slow down/keep your fear from showing/you might be gone/'fore the devil even knows you're there
I just read a really interesting article about an apparent flood of ex-evangelicals to the Antiochian Orthodox Church.
amych - Sep 12, 2007 1:42:21 pm PDT #5305 of 10001
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?
That's a lot of Orthodox churches.
That's just Eastern Orthodoxy -- Oriental Orthodoxy has a whole different list: [link]
(And yes, my brain keeps saying "butbutbut oriental MEANS eastern". In this case? Separate thingies.)
Susan W. - Sep 12, 2007 1:47:51 pm PDT #5306 of 10001
Good Trouble and Righteous Fights
Um....wait, why are Lutherans not? They're Protestant! WTF? Are Prebyterians? Methodists? Baptists? How do you decide what counts?
Speaking as someone who came out of a similar religious background, basically a "real Christian" is someone who believes that salvation is purely through faith (often expressed in praying a "sinner's prayer" where you repent and sort of stake your personal claim in Jesus' atonement through his death and resurrection), as opposed to through some kind of faith-works combination, and also tends toward a relatively literal interpretation of the Bible and believes that everyone who isn't a real Christian will go to hell (hence the heavy emphasis on making converts).
That's an extremely simplified version, but every time I tried to refine it, I thought of exceptions. As for how do you know who's in...well, just about every denominational family has conservative and liberal branches. So Presbyterian Church in America is in, but Presbyterian Church-USA is generally out; Southern Baptists are in but most American Baptists are out, etc.
Mind you, these are not my current views, though I'm trying to report them fairly and accurately.
Laga - Sep 12, 2007 1:50:32 pm PDT #5307 of 10001
You should know I'm a big deal in the Resistance.
it was quite weird being a known atheist in grade school. The other kids were seriously concerned that I was going to Hell. They earnestly wanted to save me from eternal damnation. I got testified at pretty regularly. It is worth noting that back then I still believed in Santa Claus.
meara - Sep 12, 2007 1:52:58 pm PDT #5308 of 10001
So Presbyterian Church in America is in, but Presbyterian Church-USA is generally out; Southern Baptists are in but most American Baptists are out, etc.
Good grief! That's so confusing. Much easier to just dismiss them all as "Protestants", I say. :)
So the others aren't "Christian"? How weird.
Strix - Sep 12, 2007 1:53:27 pm PDT #5309 of 10001
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
I get to explain to my students at some point each year what "agnostic" is (vs. atheist) -- most of my students are Catholic -- but each year, at least one kid shouts in relief, "So THAT'S what I am!"
Cracks me up every time.
Some of my kids are very devout, but it usually sparks a short thoughtful convo, and we move on.
Caveat: I never BRING up religion; this is always brought up in context of a story or a question that a brings up. I never lie to kids or avoid my spiritual beliefs, but I am SO not a proselytizer.
Anyhoo, skipped and skimmed, and BTW, I love Erin's Funeral. (Doesn't it kinda sound like a Fenian-leaning indie film?! )