Ooh! I meant to say that I am totally and completely in love with that tattoo, Raq. I've always toyed with the idea of having one, but never found a design I thought I would be happy with forever. I outgrow things, and whatever design I love today I might be bored with after awhile.

But that? That is gorgeous and beautiful and if I ever did decide to get a tattoo, I'd certainly consider something similar.

But that? That is gorgeous and beautiful and if I ever did decide to get a tattoo, I'd certainly consider something similar.

Yeah, that may be the first tatoo I've ever seen that made really want the same design on myself.

I'm still kind of entranced by the black light tattoo someone linked recently, though not in that design.

Go Shir and Sister of Shir. And if you can get the introduction of course it is better. But generally if all you want is "Can I have a copy of your paper" that can be had for the asking. James Hansen (worlds leading climate scientist, NASA bigwig) has answered questions for me - not just referred me to papers. And not cause I'm anyone special, just because the default for a lot of academics is get people information unless there is a reason why not.

OK, random question for the religiousy type Bitches out there:

So, I listen to a lot of country music, and though I was not raised all serious country-like, it was close enough that I get most all the references, even the religiousy ones. Except just recently I started hearing this song on the radio (I think it's called "Down the Road") about this guy who wants to marry a girl living down the road from him, and her mom wants to know if he's "washed in the blood or just in the water" and I'm like "WTF, there's some kind of SUPERbaptism or something??"

Can someone explain? Is this some sort of "one brand of Protestantism is not good enough for us" kind of this that I missed out on as a Catholic, or what?

and her mom wants to know if he's "washed in the blood or just in the water" and I'm like "WTF, there's some kind of SUPERbaptism or something??"

Can someone explain? Is this some sort of "one brand of Protestantism is not good enough for us" kind of this that I missed out on as a Catholic, or what?

Yeah, pretty much. Washed in the blood means salvation, born again, etc.

Huh. Google is giving me nothing on that question, meara. The best I can think of is that it's asking, "Did he just have the physical baptism, or does he really believe?" But this is just a guess from looking at the first page of google. (One of the hits is a page showing that newer translations of the bible don't have the same "washed in the blood" phrasing that the King James Version has, and thus those versions are obviously wrong. Nothing of the original language cited, just, we like this phrase, and they don't have it, so they're wrong .)

Yeah, and there's definitely a set of Protestant denominations that believe and will argue vehemently that the others do not baptize correctly.

Ways they think UR doin it wrong:

- don't immerse (dunk all the way underneath the water, as opposed to sprinkle)
- don't believe that baptism is mandatory to salvation, not just symbolic (i.e. you could go to hell on a technicality)
- don't immerse in flowing water (it was a river originally, evidently, not just any stagnant water)
- whoops i did it again (you can't allow baptism twice, that would mean the first one was FAIL)
- baptized in water but not in the Spirit (okay, I dunno about this one, something along the lines of: John the Baptist was baptizing before Christ died for your sins and you could be baptized like this somehow (therefore not washed in blood because at the point Jesus did it, he was obviously not dead yet and the blood in question was still seemingly in his veins), but not actually for "forgiveness of your sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit". Dunno. 'Cause it was the baptism that you know, Jesus had, and isn't he the guy we're trying to emulate here? (emulate, not immolate, though apparently that too.))

Hee. This response got punchy, huh? Guess I'd better go have some dinner.

But the short reply (although I don't know the song in question) is that there are definitely ways people could regard baptism as not being REALLYO TRULIO BAPTISM.

I should note, that song makes me roll my eyes forever.

So, VW, if you were raised, like....Lutheran or something, but believe in Jesus and all that, and were baptized and so on...that's "washed in the water" because you were just, um, raised that way? Even though you believe?

...the whole schisms in the Protestant church befuddle me, I admit. So who counts as blood, and who counts as water? I mean, clearly us Catholics are right out, I'm clear on that one. Infant baptisms throw you right out, I have that clear. But what else throws you out?

t edit: Thanks Liese! I knew someone would know stuff! :)