Evolution.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

Edmund Burke (via anamorphosis-and-isolate)

Happy Easter!

Just a quick post to remind you the whole reason behind the Easter story. I told it to a bunch of three-year-olds today, and I figure I should tell you too.  It's the same thing I've been preaching since the very beginning. It's really the ONLY thing that mattes. It's the very character of God. It's love. God knew that the curse of mortality we brought upon ourselves separated us from Him, and that broke His heart. So He devised a plan to bridge the gap between us and Him. That was Jesus. Jesus, the incarnation of God in fleshly form, came to earth and lived our miserable, wretched, human life, and then died the most inhumane death possible. Why? Because He loves us.  Oh, you guys, He loves us so much. His love for us is so inclusive, so unconditional, so vast, so immeasurable, so outrageous, so scandalous, that our minds could never fathom its incomprehensible depth. He loves us deeply, intimately, and personally. So much so that if you were the only person who had ever existed in the whole history of the entire world, He would have gone to the cross just the same, to save you.

And when they pounded the nails into His palms, as He grit his teeth in agony, and as even His own lungs became instruments of torture, His thoughts were not on Himself, but on you. As sweat drops of blood dripped down His face, He saw your addictions, your hurt, your self-loathing, your fears, your mistakes, and your regrets. He took it all upon Himself. So that you could be free from all that. 

Because His heart aches for His children. He can't bear to see us along and hurting, cut off from the warmth and comfort of His embrace. He's been drawing us steadily back to Himself, ever since the day we ran away. Because He loves us. So, so, so much.  Like Lilly loved Harry.  Except, way, waaaayyyy more.  Happy Easter, guys. Remember how much you're loved. :) -Katherine

Yo whether you're pro-life or pro-choice, you have to admit that the argument that goes like "what if the aborted baby could have cured cancer ???" is GROSS. If you are pro-life and you use that argument, I am disgusted with you. Like think about. Really think about it. Does it mean that a baby is only worth saving if they would have cured cancer? Does it mean that their worth is entirely dependent on their accomplishments? Is it really not enough to say that they're worth saving because they're a PERSON? This argument betrays your deep ignorance concerning your own belief of personhood. You're arguing that a baby is only worth what they may become later, and you're therefore implying that they are not worth anything now, which is absolutely antithetical to pro-life ideology! Besides that, the idea that people have to be useful to society in order to be valuable is revolting. A person's worth is not dependent on their achievements. A person has worth because they are a PERSON. If you're pro-life, you should know that. Stop using that "cure for cancer" crap.

What if everyone everywhere woke up this morning,

Feeling collegial?

What if their very first inclination was to trust one another,

And their strivings toward kindness, rather than rage?

Our country has sunk its teeth into rabid defenses

Refusing to yield

Jaws locked around its...

I just saw this ad playing before a youtube video and I had to stop and watch the whole thing. Incredible.

A PSA for all the white, straight, cisgendered, able-bodied, neurotypical peeps.

You are privileged. 

If you are all of the things listed in that title, then you are VERY privileged. 

If you are not aware of your privilege, it’s because that’s how privilege works. You don’t see the disadvantages other people face because those disadvantages don’t exist for you. You don’t see social inequalities because society was designed for you to move through it with ease. Society was built by people like you for people like you. That’s privilege. 

But also, if you’re not aware of your privilege, or - even worse - if you willfully deny the existence of said privilege, you’re either blind or selfish or some arrogant, ignorant combination of the two. 

FURTHERMORE. When someone tells you that you are privileged, that is not a personal affront?? Nobody is attacking you by telling you that you’re privileged. They’re just stating a fact. E.g. Me saying “you are privileged.” is not an attack. Me saying “you’re either blind or selfish or some arrogant, ignorant combination of the two.” is an attack. You see the difference? Good. I regret nothing. Moving on. 

I understand that being privileged can feel uncomfortable because it’s like daily, societal survivor’s guilt. I understand that you don’t want to talk about how life is easier for you than for your friend/coworker/family member because of the colour of your skin, or your gender identity, or your sexual orientation, or your genetics. Nobody has any control over that. And yeah, I get it. You’re a good person. You would never oppress anybody because of any of those things. 

STOP BEING AN OVERLY SENSITIVE BABY. This. Is. Not. About. You. Suck it up and face the facts: we live in a deeply unjust society, and you’re on the benefitting side of that injustice. Getting offended about it when someone points out your privilege doesn’t help. Denying your privilege doesn’t help. Making up some stupid reverse kind of discrimination doesn’t help. Claiming that you can’t be privileged because your life sucks doesn’t help. Feeling guilty about it doesn’t help. 

Literally the only appropriate response to your own privilege is to acknowledge it, acknowledge that other people are not so privileged, use your privilege to draw attention to the fact that not everyone is privileged, and work to correct social inequalities. That’s it. Do that. Instead of getting blustery and defensive when someone tells you that you’re privileged, just go do that. ffs. 

I love your blog, Katherine! and I had a question myself. I was wondering, do you think God has a specific person picked out for us to spend our lives with? (like a soul-mate per say). I (as you know) am a christian and I believe the Lord does have someone for each and every one of us, but there are people who get divorced or never get married, etc. I was just wondering what you thought? :) God bless, Michaela <3

Hey gurl! Thanks so much and right back atcha! :) This is a very, VERY interesting question! My mom thinks that there are any number of people out there that you could be compatible with and given the course your life takes, you might marry any one of them. I mean, if you’re just looking at physical chemistry, personality compatibility and common values, then yes, I imagine there are lots of people out there that I could marry. I personally hope that there’s only one that I will marry, but who knows what’ll happen. In my most sappy moments, I like to believe that my mom is wrong and there is one person that God has “ordained” (if you will) for me and he’s made just right for me and that we’ll go perfectly together like two halves of a whole. 

And if you think about the fact that God has a plan for each and every one of our lives, it makes you wonder if that plan includes a spouse. But then that also depends very heavily on the nature of the plan. Is it a plan like “Katherine, I will use you to inspire people”, or “Katherine, I will use you to feed the hungry” or is it more like “You will work for this company from the 12th of september, 2022 at exactly 11:32:56 am until the 23rd of april, 2036, at exactly 5:44:21 pm”? I dunno. Cause here’s where my brain starts doing gymnastics. Because, like, I’ve heard of God giving people very specific instructions. Stuff like, “go talk to that person.” or “go to this church.” Also, it says that every single day of our lives were “written in His book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16) but what does that mean? Does that mean that He can already see all the choices that we’re going to make? See, the concept of time is very difficult to talk about in relation to God because He is just so OUTSIDE of time that it’s practically pointless to even try to talk about the two of them together. Time might as well not exist for Him because it’s such a very finite measurement of things happening. So I kind of picture God’s view of life not as a timeline but more of a web of consequences. Like He can see all the decisions that people make and how that brings them into contact with other people and how we affect each others’ lives and stuff like that, but not in a linear fashion the way we see time.

So MAYBE, God gives us passions and talents and stuff for a more general plan and then our choices affect the way that plan unfolds, you know? Because what’s the point of giving us free will if our destinies were completely mapped out for us from the start? I absolutely do not believe in destiny. I believe that we create our own destiny. And even though God has a plan for us, we may choose not to follow it. Of course, I think that His plan is the best version of our lives that we could possibly live, but I think it’s highly dynamic and highly variable based on the decisions we make. Maybe God doesn’t actually have a specific person picked out for us, maybe that just depends on what we choose, and He takes it on a case-by-case basis, you know? 

Because He is very much involved in our daily lives. He’s right there with us every step of the way, and we can hear his voice if we listen, even in the most trivial matters. So I’m sure He has an opinion on the person we’re gonna marry, I just don’t think I necessarily believe that He has one picked out for us. 

I know that was so long and maybe a little complicated, haha. I just wanted to give you a good understanding of why I believe what I believe :) Thanks so much for the question! Peace and love! -Katherine 

Wow, that last answer I wrote was MASSIVE. I'm sorry anon, I just got really passionate about your question! I'm hoping that you appreciate my enthusiasm in question-answering and read the whole entire thing because I must admit, I think it's one of my better works of answer art. If you're staggered by its absurd length, again I apologize and entreat you to read it all anyway, to really understand what I'm trying to say. If not, at least skim it to get the gist of it. :P  Love, me :)

w. prodigalmagazine com/ jesus-called-me-the-n-word/ please read it. Its great! However it makes me realize something with the words: "how do you love someone whose actions or behaviors you find really unacceptable?". Yes the C.S Lewis quote... My dilemma is, its like spreading a fake love, i know its better to love then it is to hate. But deep down he still thinks its unacceptable, He realizes their pain and apologizes, but he doesn't accept them, so why selfless love why not respect!?

“There is someone that I love even though I don’t approve of what he does. There is someone I accept though some of his thoughts and actions revolt me. There is someone I forgive though he hurts the people I love the most. That person is……me.” - C.S.Lewis(If you can’t say amen, say ouch.) 

Wow. Awesome, awesome quote. And great article! Okay so let’s examine your quarrel with this article. So if I understand you correctly, you feel like the fact that he still finds homosexuality “unacceptable”, means that he doesn’t genuinely love them. And your proposition is that if he did love them, he wouldn’t still have a problem with homosexuality. Alright, I will give you my interpretation and my opinion and hope that it’s…somewhat useful.

The problem I see with the Homosexuality vs. Religion catastrophe is rooted in the fact that it’s supposedly a unique situation. As I see it, there are two reasons for this. 

If I believe the bible, which I do, I believe that homosexuality is wrong. This is a problem because of the age-old psychological nature vs. nurture debate, and the fact that homosexuality is currently considered to be a natural, involuntary state which remains constant throughout the lifespan. And how can you judge someone for something they can’t help? That’s why homosexuality, among all the sins in the bible, is treated as a special case by non-religious people. 

But why is homosexuality treated as a special case by religious people? I mean, of all the things to protest with picket signs, why pick homosexuality? If I’m not mistaken, adultery is still a bad thing, right? Where are the laws against that? No one’s petitioning to make that illegal. We’re not a fan of taking the Lord’s name in vain but we sure have developed a high tolerance for it! Oh and drug and alcohol abuse. There are a good many Pentecostal church kids in that category. Do we kick them out of houses and out of churches? And don’t even get me started on Christian boys and porn addiction, we’d be here all night! So WHY is there acceptance and forgiveness for all that other stuff at the alter, and not for homosexuality?

I’m actually gonna tell you why. Let me address these two issues separately.

When it all boils down, I have no idea whether I think homosexuality is a choice or not. But guess what. I DON’T CARE!  I honestly could not care any less than I do right now whether homosexuality can be helped or not. It makes no difference to how I see you. It makes no difference to how I treat you. It makes no difference to how I love you. Hypothetically, if someone really did consciously and willingly make a choice to be gay, that wouldn’t make a difference either. I mean, all the crap we choose to do doesn’t, why should this? 

To answer the big WHY question back there, it’s because church people feel like we need to “fix” everybody’s behavior. You’re cutting? Let’s draw a butterfly on your arm and work through a positive psychology plan for diminishing relapses. (That actually worked for my friend.) You have a porn addiction? Okay, make me your accountability partner and download a secure browser and I’ll get email updates on your browsing activities every week. (I actually do get emails like that.) And I’m not saying that trying to help someone who wants help is bad! I’m saying that the compulsion to modify behavior is bad. We are accepting and loving but we want to fix you. And when church people come up against something they can’t control, like homosexuality, the rules change? I mean, come on. In reality, although I’m glad for butterflies and weekly emails, I don’t have to fix anybody. I can just go one loving them and leave it at that. And those butterflies and emails, they’re not me. They’re Jesus. Jesus is the only one who can do any fixing, so I’m not even sure why I try. 

But here’s the thing. All sin is equal in the sight of God. (James 2:10). So why are people making this big stinking deal about homosexuality when some of us have so much pride in our hearts, we can’t even hear God anymore and we probably think we wrote the bible! Some of us have so much hate that our souls are corroding away inside of us. Some of us have so much lust and secrets and shame that we can barely make eye contact. And you’re gonna look at me and say “homosexuality is a sin”? No my son (Newfoundland expression). I’ve got bigger things in my own life to deal with than homosexuality. And chances are, so do you.

Secondly, I feel as though we’re reading this article through different filters and the way we perceive love is very very different. I’m sensing that you see love as an endpoint. Like I’ve got to jump through a hoop, crawl through a tunnel, pole vault, limbo and do the hokey pokey before I can love you. And you see my issue with homosexuality as an obstacle that needs to be overcome before I can love you. Maybe homosexuality is a wall between me and loving you. And I just climb over the wall. But…the wall’s still there. It’s still a big huge reminder that the path to loving you was not easy. Maybe by saying that he still finds their behavior unacceptable, you feel like he’s cheating on his love. And that’s why you called it a fake love. 

Well I’m here to tell you that that’s not the way it works at all. Love is a starting point. It’s not like “Okay fiiiine, I guess I love you, even though….” No no no. It’s just “I love you.” Period. End of story. No ifs, ands or buts. In reality, it’s “I love you becauseyou’re a person and you’re a child of God, and God loves you.” And that’s good enough for me. That’s all there is to it. There are no qualifications on God’s love! He didn’t ask to see photo ID or a baptism certificate or your report card before He loved you. He just does! That is the nature of unconditional love. And that’s how I love you. EVERYTHING ELSE in the entire world is secondary to that fact. Your colour, your size, your height, your weight, your gender, your culture, your religious affiliation, your political opinions, your sexual orientation, your socio-economic status, your income, your education, your choices, your actions, your attitudes, your behavior, your family, your upbringing, your personality and your genetics are ALL secondary to the fact that first and foremost, and above all, you are a human being, worthy of love. And I don’t have to change your behavior. My ONLY job is to love you. I think that’s what the author was getting at in that article. It wasn’t really that he had this grand revelation that changed everything, it’s more like God brought Him back to the basics.

See, I know that God loves me. That’s why I’m capable of loving myself despite the terrible things I do, the struggles I face, the mistakes I make and the people I hurt. God loved us before we were born, so we obviously didn’t earn it, and obviously nothing we do will change it. And as a Christian, I love people the same way. 

Finally, respect is one of the primary exigences of love. Please, please don’t ever think that I don’t respect you. No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done. Nowhere in that article does it state that he doesn’t respect gay people. You’re inferring disrespect where none was implied. Furthermore, nowhere is it written anywhere that you and I have to be in 100% agreement to love each other. Just because we might come down on different sides of the homosexuality question makes no difference to how I love you. I disagree with a lot of people on a lot of things, some small, some rather large. But I love them all the same. Just because I disagree with your behavior doesn’t mean I don’t respect you, and it doesn’t mean I don’t genuinely love you. 

I hope this helps a little! Thanks for your question :)Peace and love! -Katherine 

“God made us then whispered “think symphony, not solo.” Individually capable, collectively unbelievable.”

— Bob Goff (via littlethingsaboutgod)