Warning: Religious content is in this article and is at the core of this discussion. There is no need to participate if you do not wish to!
Firstly, I would like to establish that I am indeed a reborn Christian. I believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and acknowledge that he did walk among us and he willingly chose to die for our sorry asses because he thought we were worth it...so yeah, Jesus is definitely the savior and if you want to go to heaven, then he's your man...but it does not mean that I don't believe in other things or question what is within the pages of the Bible.
For starters, I'm a Christian that believes in reincarnation. Why...*points down*
Artz: *sighs in contentment* I can finally relax. Way too much angst and drama in my life, but hey, I finished everything God wanted me to. I deserve a vaca....
(Chuck for the Supernatural fans)
Chuck: Uh Artz, I need to talk to you.
Artz: Time is relative and isn't heaven timeless? *rolls over on her comfy sofa chair*
Chuck: *sighs* Must you be so difficult? Look, there is a bit of a crisis going on and I need someone with a certain skill set to settle things.
Artz: *sits up and stares at him* Dude, I've been here for like less than ten minutes and you are sending me to earth as some holy messenger or something?! What the frick, man?!
Chuck: *chuckles nervously before giving her a sheepish smile* Or something...
Artz: *a look of horror on her face* No! Don't you dare! *tries to run away*
Chuck: *snaps his fingers and she disappears, she then storms through the pearly gates and very much not amused either*
*coughs* Sorry about that, but Anna and I have a lot of fun with Supernatural's version of God. The point is that I believe that he sometimes has to send souls back to earth to be reborn to complete whatever task that required a certain set of skills. *ignores the Taken reference and moves on*
Oddly enough, the second thing revolves around the concept of perfection. Every person is different so everyone has a different view of what perfection should be, so how can God be completely perfect if we all view him differently? This concept of perfection, in my personal opinion, is simply an unattainable goal because humanity seeks happiness, therefore they seek perfect happiness.
Ironically this pushes towards the fact that there are countless religions in the world...again perfection...the existence of a higher power. God, Allah, etcetera...could all be variations of the same entity that created us and everything around us. Why because we are all different. Our race is singular...humanity but there are so many different points of view that usually prevents any kind of cohesion except in a crisis. *shakes in disappointment*
We band together to defend our own then go back to squabbling like toddlers when it's over...bipolar much? Now then, we have established that I'm crazy *dramatic bow* and I have some pretty crazy ideas on general concepts for both religion and humanity. Time to move on to more specific topics that, quite frankly, I'm a little disturbed by and could use some people to debate this with.
Bias...plain and simple, right? Nope. While reading the Bible, the Old Testament reveals that a God fearing and devout man could and did have multiple wives. Get a bit further on down the road and whilst roaming around the New Testament, a God fearing and devout man could only have one wife.
This simple deviation brought up a lot of questions for me which led to more questions which resulted in The Star Chronicles. It was while Anna and I were bouncing back and forth with scenes for her story that I realized why it had struck me as being a contradiction of itself. It was the time period in which the Bible was being written. In the Old, it was multiple and in the New, it was singular.
When you factor in the societal norms of the time periods they were written, everything goes sideways because although the Bible is the word of God, it was written and put together by mortal hands. Historians have verified that several books of the Bible were removed over the course of history...possibly to better fit the changing times and be a more structured yet controllable society.
Now again, this is just my opinion on what I have read in the Bible and yes, I've read several different versions of the Bible. My grandmother has quite the collection of bibles and commentaries so this isn't just based on KJV or NIV, King James Version and New International Version for those that wasn't dragged to church like I was growing up.
When I watched The DaVinci Code, they brought up the fact of certain testaments being left out so I decided to check for myself. I was genuinely surprised by what I found. I'll go write down the urls and post them in another article that will be more centralized around them if anybody wants me to. Anyways many books of the Bible were deliberately left out when it was being put together.
Why...bias. The culture and views of the times determined what we in the modern age now study. Just how much do we not know? That is a Huge question mark for me because I prefer to have the whole story first from all the different view points before I start clapping like a retarded seal at Sea World. Information is essential which is why my OC commonly reiterates that memories are precious and must be protected because without that knowledge, you don't know who you are, where you've been, what you've done...how can you avoid making the same mistakes over and over again if you don't have the full picture, the complete story?
Now before I start preaching on that and getting totally sidetracked, there is another factor in play in regards to the information provided to us by the Bible and other religious texts...gender. Every bit of ancient texts with very few exceptions, thank you Cleopatra, are entirely male dominant. No I am not one of those feminist extremists. I am simply pointing out that much of what we know is from the masculine perception.
Slight segway here...if we are made in God's image then why are there two genders instead one? Humanity could easily have reproduced asexually without the over complication of the fertilization process. All of it could have been done internally. Therefore either God had a mate, a female counterpart or a really annoying sister, or God is actually genderless and takes on whatever form he/she deems appropriate...Supernatural has me stuck with this dude. *gestures to Chuck who waves nervously, her sister staring at him with a very unhappy expression on her face*
Artz: Oh I know that look. The kitchen is beyond wrecked and every dish in the house needs cleaning or replacing.
Chuck: In my defense, it was Raphael that made the mess when he blew up Castiel.
Amethyst: *in a simple dress clearly meant for cleaning came and stood by her Supernatural counterpart, Anna* You're God and you let our favorite Martian explode then leave the mess for us to clean up?
Chuck: *doesn't get a chance to answer because another Anna appears, walking straight out of a mirror and cracking her knuckles*
Anna: *a sadistic smirk on her lips and her eyes a liquid silver* Hello Sweetie.
Artz: *walks away to continue the article, ignoring the crashing and banging and explosions going on nearby*
Damn it, I cannot stay on topic, can I? *glares at her Guard* None of you answer that. Right then, back to where I originally deviated. I had started writing The Star Chronicles starting with Starsea but kept getting hung up on the singular spouse thing...the irony is that the answer came from probably the most well known verse of the Bible...John Chapter 3, Verse 16.
For God so loved the world...
Right there, that line sent me into one hell of a spiral because like I said earlier ...everyone is different and because everyone is different, so too is the love we have for each person. If anyone has watched Twitches then they'll understand what I'm about to say.
Love is infinite. You can always make more when you need to.
So many different movies and books I've watched and read over the years, combined with this revelation of sorts, has led me to The Realm...a true sanctuary for all...The Blood Guard...a family spanning the ages...The Star Child...she just wanted to be kind, to spare every person the pain and sorrow she has endured, to love freely and without regret because she didn't want to be selfish.
And for these reasons, Artz has been demonized because she doesn't hold back...not when she could help someone, especially if they're right in front of her. The main point I am trying to convey...badly I think...is that nothing is just black and white. There is no such thing as perfection but there is such a thing as determination. To fight and claw your way through life, shatter the shackles of what is considered normal or socially acceptable.
The White Fang of the Village Hidden in Leaves, he made a choice and that decision may have led to his death but forced Konoha to take a good long look at itself. The first step is the hardest because all are terrified to venture into the unknown. Yet another example of what I've learned and of course *smiles*, to be a stubborn foolish idiot that chases after the people they care for.
*Naruto pops into the frame with a cheesy grin on his face before getting knocked out of frame by his pink haired teammate who goes crashing into the emo Uchiha and their sensei sighs heavily before walking past the frame, waving lazily at Artz before disappearing altogether*
Artz: *runs her fingers through her hair with an exasperated sigh escaping her lips* This...this is my life now. I have a constantly developing parallel reality called The Realm inside my head...I think the phrase peace and quiet is now forever beyond my reach.
Natsu: *in the distance at one of the training fields* What did you say, you stupid hag?!
Ayano: *shrieks in indignation* I am not a hag, you asshole!
Van: *starts laughing and Ayano demands to know why he's laughing* I'm laughing because you focused on the word hag, completely ignoring the fact that he called you stupid.
Artz: *walks away before she gets caught up in that fiasco, only to sigh again as Homura got his ass handed to him by his opposites mentor, Tsukimi* At the rate I'm going, I'm gonna need a drink. *the wind swirled around her before a well endowed woman with long flowing dark hair appeared behind her, a sake bottle in each hand* Kazehana...impeccable timing as always.
Kazehana: Seeing as how the article has gone to the birds, *gets a flat look from Artz* we should have a sake drinking party.
Artz: Kazehana, you don't need an excuse to drink sake. How many times do I have to tell you that? It's not like it affects you anyways.
Kazehana: *pouts* But it's no fun drinking by myself. I'm so lonely. Pretty please...I'll grab Matsu and Kagari too! Make it a girl's night!
Artz: *pulls out her mobile and speed dials a certain person* Feel up to a girl's night sake style tonight? *smiles* I love you. *ends the call*
Kazehana: *serious* You just called the Leader of the Chaos Brigade, didn't you?
Artz: *smirks, her eyes twinkling with a wicked mischief* She's busy for a while so I called someone else. *walks away with the Sekirei of wind trailing behind her*
Kazehana: Then who because both Mystic and Mars are busy and Venus and Neptune are on Sol side.
Artz: Oh...just the Envoy of Chaos.
Kazehana: Well I wanted some fun and you can't go wrong with a demented, pink haired pixie in the mix.
Lumina: *pops out of a reflective surface* Why is it that everyone focuses on my hair? Natsu has pink hair along with several other members of the Guard so why do I get singled out?
Artz: Because they keep wondering why the game said rose colored hair. First color that pops into your head when I say rose?
Kazehana/Lumina: Red/White
Artz: Red for love, white for friendship...the irony is that roses also come in pinks and yellows. Hmm or maybe it was yellow that meant friendship and white equates to purity. *shrugs*
Kazehana/Lumina: New Earth.
Kagari: *approaches them in a semi formal black and white suit...she often takes over for her twin when he is required else where and thus the suit* I do believe that there was a Kate & Leopold reference in there as well.
Matsu: *appears out of a temporary rift made up from equations, ones and zeroes* Hey guys, sorry I'm late but Claudia needed some last minute advice. She didn't want to turn it on only for it to...*massive blastwave of air and dust crashed into them. Fortunately, Lumina was able to minimize the damage*
Artz was the first one on her feet and landed at the crater that was once Claudia's tech lab. Said owner of the lab was climbing out of the humongous pile of ash, her face and skin covered in soot. She shook of a bit but she couldn't stop smiling like an idiot.
Claudia: My lab is toast but totally worth it. *lifts her goggles to reveal the clean areas beneath*
Matsu: Claudia! Are you okay?! You said it wasn't going to explode!
Claudia: *unrepentant* I lied. I need this exact spot to explode at this time because it was the only way to keep the dragontorc gateways still functional in the future when we can't use the portals. *is surrounded by swirling beams of light before disappearing altogether*
Hook: Wench, quite while you are no longer ahead.
Artz: *sighs* Supposed you're right. *wanders off* So sue me for getting side tracked. It's just so noisy in here *taps her head* that it's a miracle that I can get anything done at all.
Poseidon: That is Artznese for How the hell am I suppose to get the third captain to actually being the third captain, then get both him and Hook to Aquarius just as a certain domain is being transported to the realm?
Anna: *drop kicks everyone out of the article* I don't have time to deal with y'alls bullshit right now! I need Artz focusing on Hurricane Delta and she can't do that we you lot hanging about! NOW SCRAM!!!
Artz: So much for the sake party. *sighs as she returns to the weather channel*
