Oh my god this video.

Fascinating. This might be the (ironic) black hole of whiteness.

Shout-out to ReadyToHarvest, whose deadpan delivery of this nonsense raises it unintentionally to genuine parody levels.

1) It shows you how much money average people have in the US and UK that everyone is drawing mortgage-capable salaries from tithes for all of this petty, fussy nonsense.

2) Yes, most of these are either over stupid culture-war bullshit, or men in authority being r*pists, and everyone wanting to get into huge, complicated arguments about how precisely to punish them for that (while absolutely not punishing them for that, probably ever).

3) The only justice here is that most of these will quickly turn into real estate-laden LLCs, as all of the aggrieved 80 yr olds die, and no one else shows up to replace them. Which works out for all the ever-growing Muslim and Hindu congregations who need sacred spaces on the cheap.

protestants OWNED 😎😎😎 🔥🔥🔥🔥

listen, i’ve been Christian for a while, and i like to sing, so naturally i know about worship songs and whatnot but i’ve been browsing tiktok and it’s just still so baffling to me that…

what do you mean you have a band in church???

look, i’m protestant, yeah? we have our own songs, several hundreds of them, but they are still so sacral, that i just cannot imagine the megachurch concert type of service, or even just some pastor standing there with a guitar?? save that for parish occasions or like youth service but on a sunday??

maybe i’m too rigid. wouldn’t be the first time. but i’m with the catholics on the fact that service should be formal.

someone on the other side of this debate help me understand this, or back me up. help a girl out. i just don’t get it :“))

One weird practice I remember from growing up in American Midwestern White Protestantism is how much the phrase “and all God’s People said…!” and people would just automatically shout out AMEN!!!! at the end of the pastor’s sermon (and I’m sure this happens in other Christian circles but very much don’t remember this in Arkansas or when I go down to Georgia or when we went to Texas or Nebraska).

On the surface this seems pretty harmless. But I can’t tell you how much this subconsciously instilled in me, as a kid, the image of Christianity being something you just automatically “do” without question. You would just “do” amens at sermons without questioning it. And of course more “traditional” protestant sects being super common in the Midwest didn’t help (such as the Christian Reformed circles in western Michigan, Lutheranism all over the Twin Cities and a fair chunk of Wisconsin), where you’d have to read Catechism as part of Confirmation, or memorizing Bible verses for Youth Groups… it seemed to me as a kid that you just had to accept God as a Fact. You couldn’t really question it. And you had no answer to why the pastor would always end his sermons with a rallying war cry. You had no answer to why the Ten Commandments forbade imagery of God, yet we had pictures of (whitewashed) Jesus in our sanctuary and that was totally acceptable.

I think more harmful though was the amount of ways the phrase could be used for corrupt intents and purposes. To dabble into the tiny bit of psychology that I know, if you condition people to say that every time a sermon is over, if the people love the sermon, they’ll always associate it with a positive feeling or memory, or even something that’s just a Truism and is the truest thing you’ve ever heard. Now let’s go to offering time and have the pastor talk about how the church needs at least 10% of your paycheck or else you’re not supporting the church. In this outlandishly ludicrous example that happened at my old church before our family got kicked out, the pastor ended it with the phrase “and all God’s People said…” Which, doesn’t seem too harmless, but we had a ton of people at that church who were in the working class and were scraping together two jobs to support their kids and pay for an apartment. They couldn’t pay 10% of their paycheck to the church when they didn’t have anything saved up in the first place. Yet hearing so many people say “amen” even if they don’t necessarily agree with it seems to reinforce that maybe you ARE the freak for not supporting the church. Maybe religion SHOULD be transactional for you because otherwise you’re a freeloader and not devoting enough attention to God.

Now, this was a pretty niche case and it turns out the pastor was running a corrupt scheme to funnel paychecks from the new Youth Pastor to supporting the preschool, all while giving himself a raise to pay off his new house that was valued for nearly $350k. But I think the point I’m trying to make is that religion shouldn’t really be about just accepting True Facts and calls and responses to reinforce what you’re believing in. You need more than that, in my opinion; religion should, at its core, be inquisitive and curious. You should be curious to learn about the world around you through the lens of your religion. What religion should NOT be is a classical conditioning cult to turn people into Pavlov Dogs who salivate at the thought of doing anything in Jesus’s name. That’s how you end up with Christian Nationalists and/or American Megachurches.

Be curious. Question your religion. Sometimes, it may have you end up like I did, where you end up agnostic. But personally, some of the people I look up to the most in terms of spiritual leaders are those who grew the most by being more secure in their religion through inquisition.

Any CofE converts or just CofE adherants who would talk to me about it? I am Catholic but have grown quite despondent about it, don’t go to Church, don’t pray ect and it seems every time I’m draw back to Christianity it is the ‘Catholicness’ that draws me away. Don’t know any practising CofE people so it would he nice to talk :)

evangelical church of the augsburg confession

The state of Ameican Christianity and the unholy alliance between evangelical protestants and the catholic church here as they fanatically rally against Christ’s words of compassion, peace, and helping your fellow man, is both really fucking funny as the ex American fundie prod child of a lapsed French cath, and also really fucking terrifying in its implications for the rest of us

Supernatural takes place in the extended Protestantism universe.

She really thought she did something here.

Oh my God (pun in pending) I just remembered that I was so into STEM (and arguing) as a kid that when I started asking about dinosaurs, my godmother had to pull out the Kent Hovind lectures.

Like, we’re not even protestant,, and her stance is that they are mortal sinners,,, and yet, she couldn’t bear me asking questions

Anyway, googling the name of a preacher in the hope of finding out that he’s an awful person, and finding out he’s an awful person – I do feel vindicated

Aquinas

The main contribution to theology by Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) was the systematic integration of Christian theology with Aristotelian philosophy, creating a comprehensive theological and philosophical framework that has deeply shaped Western Christianity.

Key Contributions:

1. Synthesis of Faith and Reason:

Aquinas argued that faith and reason are not in conflict, but rather complement each other.

He believed that truths revealed by God (faith) and truths discovered by reason (philosophy) ultimately come from the same source—God—and therefore must be compatible.

2. Natural Theology and the Five Ways (Quinque Viae):

In his major work, the Summa Theologiae, Aquinas presented five logical arguments for the existence of God based on observation of the natural world.

These are known as the Five Ways, and they include arguments from motion, causation, contingency, perfection, and teleology (design).

This became a foundational framework for natural theology—knowledge of God based on reason and observation rather than revelation alone.

3. Scholastic Method:

Aquinas perfected the scholastic method: a rigorous, logical way of analyzing theological and philosophical questions.

His Summa Theologiae is structured around questions, objections, and reasoned replies, a method that influenced centuries of theological education.

4. Doctrine of Analogy:

Aquinas taught that we speak of God analogically, not univocally (same meaning) or equivocally (completely different meaning).

This idea helped theologians speak meaningfully about God’s attributes without reducing God to human terms.

5. Ethics and Natural Law:

Aquinas developed a rich theory of natural law, rooted in reason and the purpose of human nature.

He argued that human beings, by nature, seek good and avoid evil, and that moral law can be known through reason.

His moral theology remains influential in Catholic thought, especially on law, politics, and bioethics.

Summary:

The main theological contribution of Thomas Aquinas was the harmonization of Christian faith with Aristotelian philosophy, especially in the areas of:

God’s existence (Five Ways),

Natural law and moral reasoning,

And the use of scholastic logic to explore theology systematically.

He is considered the greatest theologian of the medieval Church and remains a central figure in Catholic theology, honored as Doctor Angelicus (“the Angelic Doctor”).

Baruch Atah Adonai

Y geiriau “בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם” (Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha’Olam) sy’n agor llawer o weddïau, “Bendigedig wyt Ti, Arglwydd ein Duw, Brenin y Bydysawd” (Bendigedig wyt ti Arglwydd Dduw yr holl greadigaeth).

Nid yw’n ddyfyniad uniongyrchol o’r Beibl Hebraeg (Tanakh). Yn hytrach, mae’r fformiwla hon yn rhan o litwrgi rabinaidd (Talmud) — mae’n dod o’r bendithion (berakhot) a ddatblygodd y rabïaid yn ystod cyfnod yr Ail Deml ac wedi hynny. Mae un enghraifft uniongyrchiol i’w weld yn y Beibl, mae'r Brenin Dafydd yn dweud, “Bendigedig wyt Ti, ARGLWYDD, Duw Israel ein tad, am byth ac am byth” (1 Cronicl 29:10).

Fodd bynnag, cafodd yr agoriad safonol penodol — Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha’Olam — ei ffurfioli gan y Doethion (y rabïaid) yn ystod y cyfnod ôl-feiblaidd cynnar (tua amser canrifoedd diweddarach yr Ail Deml ac ar ôl ei dinistrio yn 70 OC). Daeth yn agoriad safonol ar gyfer y rhan fwyaf o fendithion Iddewig (berakhot) — dros fwyd, mitzvot, gweddïau fel yr Amidah, Kiddush, ac yn y blaen. Felly, er bod y cysyniad a'r iaith wedi'u gwreiddio yn y Beibl, mae'r fformiwla litwrgaidd fanwl gywir yn rabinaidd, nid yn Feiblaidd.

Dyma rai adnodau Beiblaidd sy'n dangos o ble mae'r cysyniad a'r iaith y tu ôl i “Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha’Olam” yn dod:

📜 1. Blessing God directly — example from King David

1 Cronicl 29:10–13

Yr oedd y Brenin Dafydd hefyd yn llawen iawn. Bendithiodd yr ARGLWYDD o flaen yr holl gynulleidfa a dweud, “Bendigedig wyt ti, ARGLWYDD Dduw Israel ein tad, o dragwyddoldeb hyd dragwyddoldeb.

Therefore David blessed the LORD before all the assembly; and David said: ‘Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours…

(v. 10: וַיְבָרֶךְ דָּוִד אֶת־יְהוָה לְעֵינֵי כָּל־הַקָּהָל; וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אָבִינוּ מֵעוֹלָם וְעַד־עוֹלָם)

This is one of the closest direct parallels. It even uses Baruch Atah Adonai (Blessed are You, LORD).

📜 2. The Psalms — blessing God continually

Salmau 103:1–2

“Fy enaid, bendithia'r ARGLWYDD, a'r cyfan sydd ynof ei enw sanctaidd.”

“Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits…”

Hebrew: בָּרֲכִי נַפְשִׁי אֶת־יְהוָה (Barakhi Nafshi et-Adonai)

Here the verb is barakhi — an imperative: Bless, O my soul. Not exactly the same formula, but the same root idea.

📜 3. Daniel — “King of Heaven”

Daniel 4:34–35 (Aramaic)

“Ymhen amser, codais i, Nebuchadnesar, fy llygaid i'r nefoedd, ac adferwyd fy synnwyr. Yna bendithiais y Goruchaf, a moli a mawrhau'r un sy'n byw yn dragywydd. Y mae ei arglwyddiaeth yn arglwyddiaeth dragwyddol, a'i frenhiniaeth o genhedlaeth i genhedlaeth.”

“…I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion…”

Daniel uses blessing language for God’s eternal kingship.

📜 4. Nehemiah — praising God as Creator and King

Nehemeia‬ ‭9‬:‭5‬-‭6‬

“… Codwch, bendithiwch yr ARGLWYDD eich Duw o dragwyddoldeb i dragwyddoldeb: Bendithier dy enw gogoneddus sy'n ddyrchafedig goruwch pob bendith a moliant. Ti yn unig wyt ARGLWYDD. Ti a wnaeth y nefoedd, nef y nefoedd a'i holl luoedd, y ddaear a'r cwbl sydd arni.”

“…Stand up and bless the LORD your God forever and ever! Blessed be Your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise! You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven…”

Most important theologians in the history of Christianity 500-1900

Medieval Period (6th–15th Centuries)

Boethius (480–524) – Bridged classical philosophy and Christian thought.

John of Damascus (c. 675–749) – Defender of icons; influential in Eastern theology.

Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109) – Developed the ontological argument and satisfaction theory of atonement.

Peter Abelard (1079–1142) – Known for his ethical theory and dialectical method.

Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) – Mystic and opponent of scholasticism.

Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) – Central figure in scholasticism; wrote Summa Theologiae; synthesis of Aristotelian philosophy and Christian theology.

Bonaventure (1221–1274) – Franciscan theologian; integrated mysticism with scholastic method.

John Duns Scotus (c. 1266–1308) – Emphasized the will and divine freedom.

William of Ockham (c. 1287–1347) – Known for nominalism and Ockham’s Razor.

Julian of Norwich (c. 1342–after 1416) – Mystic; wrote Revelations of Divine Love, the first book in English by a woman.

Reformation and Post-Reformation (16th–17th Centuries)

Martin Luther (1483–1546) – Initiated the Protestant Reformation; justification by faith alone.

Ulrich Zwingli (1484–1531) – Swiss Reformer; symbolic view of the Eucharist.

John Calvin (1509–1564) – Reformed theologian; wrote Institutes of the Christian Religion.

Menno Simons (1496–1561) – Anabaptist leader; influential in pacifist theology.

Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556) – Architect of the English Reformation and Book of Common Prayer.

Richard Hooker (1554–1600) – Anglican theologian; synthesized tradition, reason, and Scripture.

Francisco Suárez (1548–1617) – Major figure in Catholic scholasticism post-Reformation.

Jacob Arminius (1560–1609) – Opposed Calvinism; emphasized free will.

John Owen (1616–1683) – English Reformed theologian; Puritan leader.

Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) – Philosopher-theologian; famous for Pensées.

18th Century (Enlightenment and Evangelical Awakenings)

Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) – American revivalist and theologian; key figure in the First Great Awakening.

John Wesley (1703–1791) – Founder of Methodism; emphasized sanctification and free grace.

George Whitefield (1714–1770) – Evangelist and leader in Great Awakening.

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804)** – Not a theologian per se, but profoundly affected theology; challenged traditional metaphysics.

Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834) – Father of modern liberal theology; focused on religious experience.

19th Century (Modern Theology)

John Henry Newman (1801–1890) – Anglican convert to Catholicism; emphasized development of doctrine.

Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) – Danish philosopher-theologian; existential and Christian ethics.

Horace Bushnell (1802–1876) – American theologian; liberal Protestant and moral theory of atonement.

Albrecht Ritschl (1822–1889) – Emphasized ethics and the kingdom of God in theology.

Charles Hodge (1797–1878) – Key figure in American Calvinism; Princeton theology.

Pius IX (1792–1878) – Pope who defined the Immaculate Conception and issued Syllabus of Errors.

Adolf von Harnack (1851–1930)** – Late 19th c.; famous for historical-critical method and theology of early Christianity.

Eastern Christianity is included in the above list, especially in the early centuries when the Church was still united, but after the Schism, the list becomes Western-dominant. However, to properly reflect the Eastern Orthodox tradition (and to a lesser extent, Oriental Orthodox), it’s important to include more figures from:

Byzantine theology (6th–15th centuries)

Russian and Greek Orthodox traditions (18th–19th centuries)

A Huguenot, on St. Bartholomew’s Day, Refusing to Shield Himself from Danger by Wearing the Roman Catholic

• Artist: John Everett Millais (British, 1829–1896)
• Date: 1852
• Medium: Oil on canvas
• Collection: Private Collection

Description

A Huguenot, on St. Bartholomew’s Day, Refusing to Shield Himself from Danger by Wearing the Roman Catholic Badge (1851–52) is the full, exhibited title of a painting by John Everett Millais, and was produced at the height of his Pre-Raphaelite period. It was accompanied, at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 1852, with a long quote reading: “When the clock of the Palais de Justice shall sound upon the great bell, at daybreak, then each good Catholic must bind a strip of white linen round his arm, and place a fair white cross in his cap. - The order of the Duke of Guise.” This long title is usually abbreviated to A Huguenot or A Huguenot, on St Bartholomew’s Day.

Catholics - traditional or progressive?

In the USA it feels like Protestantism tends to be more socially progressive than Catholicism, even though it seems different in Spanish speaking countries. So really there’s a huge effect of the dominant or established player. Specifically, it seems to have been very important that the founding fathers were Protestant. I think if they had been Catholic, the separation of church and state thing might have gone differently.

Ah the catholics are confusing “we should put God’s words over mans words” (duh). With “all those protestants are out here worshipping the bible definitely” again

(I mean I saw like one specific person but I feel like that happens more often. Like people not recognizing your traditions is not the same as bowing down and worshipping the bible come on)

Are Members of the Clergy Miserable?

This is interesting news: 75-85% of clergy, whether Catholic or Protestant, answer on a survey that their lives as clergy are “close to my ideal”. This number gets larger as the respondent gets older, works more hours, and had a bigger congregation.