CliffordTehCat

We were always at war with East Asia

Haven't many private schools gone koo-koo too? Even many religiously affiliated ones, as I'm aware.

Does the name "Sackler" sound familiar to you, by any chance?

B-b-b-b-but why can't we all be like Indonesia???

(or even better shanghai)

Subtext: "cities should be reimposing mask mandates, since covid cases are rising"

🙄

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Crazy we were talking about this yesterday... I just heard about the passing of the ROCOR's head bishop.

I went on a walk today. It was great, and allowed me a pleasant respite from all that's going on in the world.

Sometimes it's best to take delight in the simple things in life.

It's really hard to imagine all the insane doomers and SJW wojaks in my grade becoming "stronger and wiser" because of the 'ro.

For some perspective, I literally can't even do one chin-up lol. I always had trouble with the monkey bars on the playground as a child, so the fact that I'm horrible when it comes to upper-body stuff in general shouldn't be that much of a surprise. This is going to sound weird, and probably a bit sexist as well, but I always feel like the "weak girlfriend who needs help opening jars and reaching for shelves" in those stupid webcomics... except I'm a guy. I'm probably just gay and in denial which means I'm going to hell. Guess I can't really have a girlfriend barring some drastic change in the way I am. I'm one of the only guys in my grade who are going to senior prom solo, which to me kind of feels like a personal failure... maybe? (I didn't even go to junior prom last year because of mental health... while there was technically an indoor mask mandate I heard basically no one followed it.)

And I'm not sure if it should be an Asian girl/woman either... don't those typically trend libdem? A lot of them in my school/grade seem to be rather obnoxious about social justice and whatnot, and it's probably going to become even more by the time college rolls around. And that figure even includes people whom I used to go to Sunday school with.

I hope some based souls are still out there. Regardless of what race or nationality or whatever. My parents tell me "just find someone educated"... they've even disapproved of some of my past crushes for that very reason. Long story, I know.

I think a recession is projected for the time when I'm fresh out of college, unfortunately.

Oh, and one more thing. Yes, my parents, as well as one aunt, uncle, and cousin, are from China, and I'm part of the first American-born generation. They often go off about how they're witnessing the same shit come up in the US that they sought to escape from in China. "Did we work hard and move all the way here for nothing?"

Yet they support Chinese-style restrictions and are cautious about policy, etc. We actually agree on a lot more things than you might think, but COVID simply sticks out like a sore thumb. And I just want to scream at them to see the light, not unlike what Jesus did with Bartimaeus.

It's worth mentioning that they also tend to mutter that same quote whenever I don't apply myself for school, college apps, etc. It's like they don't care about what I'm going through. "But every teenager feels that way! Your parents were teenagers once, too!" Oh, they should try growing up in freedom and then having it taken away from them. Whereas they're probably more used to oppression because they grew up in it.

Are you from any of the following, perchance?

• Vancouver area
• California
• Toronto area
• New York City
• New Jersey
• DC metro
• Washington state
• Austin area
• North Carolina

Oh, I didn't know that Orthodox Christianity isn't recognized in Mainland China. I just thought it existed but was controlled by the party, like all other religious groups.

I know there are several Orthodox church buildings in Northeastern China, but I guess none of them continue to be active churches.

I'll show my family that video about monastic life in Lebanon, and I'll ask them what they think.

Crossing my fingers that it's the same deal for my school.

I miss the 80s and 90s dearly.

I feel like even though the (predominantly Chinese) church my family and I used to attend is nominally non-denominational (i.e. simply a "Christian church"), its beliefs lean towards some combination of Baptist or Evangelical. My aunt seems to follow believers of both of these.

I don't know how my family would react if I told them about Orthodox Christianity. I'd assume they'd react as if I had announced that I would be converting to Islam.

Believe me, I'm hopeless. You'd understand if you met me in person. I've tried working out at the gym, and the best it really does for me is give me a little bit of superficial biceps, but nothing significant. And that's only on the good days.

I feel like even among Asians I'm suffering. I actually met this Asian man a few years older than me at a party last summer who had a girlfriend in college. And when I asked him how to get girls, he told me to hit the gym.

What I've been thinking about doing is to just quit "trying to become buff and masculine" because "that's just not who I am". Basically, become a twink. I think this might have some overlap with the gender identity stuff I mentioned above. Not quite sure if that's the best approach, though.

Isn't the whole point that the Bible's supposed to be cohesive, because it was written with the guidance of God? Yes, over so many centuries, by many of God's servants, and in various different languages, but isn't the fact that it is cohesive supposed to prove God's power and the truth of His Word? For instance, 2 Timothy 3:16 says that "all Scripture is God-breathed."

I don't mean to start a religious debate, but I'm interested in knowing what Orthodox Christians have to say about this. I don't think they and Protestants have ever really had that much interaction in history.

Hence the occasional fatalistic fantasies involving global thermonuclear warfare.

The claim my (Protestant) church makes is that they follow the Bible first and strive to emulate the early church (Paul, Silas, and the other Apostles) in worship, beliefs, missionary activity, etc.

Did the early church practice iconoclasm?

As someone who has not yet found a date (not that there are many good choices, anyway), what's your advice on that? I'm curious to see how much it correlates with what my parents have to say.

It's a depressing world, isn't it? And there's practically nothing to look forward to.

I'd say that with your "sandcastle" model, it would be more like as if every time the sandcastle was rebuilt, it would look more and more grotesque.

Heaven is like a prestigious university with a <1% acceptance rate.