un: 46692 ; text

[escardos]

so imagine you're making ratatouille and you don't like tomatoes. you don't like the taste, the texture, the putting them in water and the peeling them-- ugh! so you say to yourself "lookit, this whole dish is nothing but vegetables, so what does it matter if i leave the tomatoes out?" a seemingly innocuous decision on the surface, but 2 hours or whatever later when you're done cooking, you open the oven to find a complete mess! just a pot full of baked vegetables, none of them congealed or somehow unified. what happened to your beloved ratatouille?! so you take to google and find that the tomatoes are an essential ingredient of ratatouille, as they forma a "sauce" of a certain kind that makes the whole thing work. and so a seemingly innocent decision has destroyed the very foundation of the established order with disturbing ramifications towards the whole. in this essay i will examine how martin luther's 95 theses lead to protestants being more boring than catholics.

Comments

un: werther

[imitationsoul]

Generally, I agree with your point, but you have to leave it to Luther that he really managed to replace salvation through monetary means with a system in which you have no agency whatsoever in your own salvation.

The dedication to complete determinism is sure something.

[escardos]

it's always easier to blame someone else for your bad luck, even if it's 'a punishment from god'!

but the economic chaos that erupted from the desperate need to buy your way out of purgatory is quite funny to think about, too.

[imitationsoul]

It was certainly one way to take away the singular 'useful' (matter of perspective) consequence of the Guilty From Birth concept - the drive to better yourself out of fear.

You're certainly right about the economics though. The Catholic Church's imposing expensive aesthetic thrived on the gullible fear of the people. It's etched into the very soul of church architecture, even. That's what makes it so appealing.

gore tw

[escardos]

without that fear of consequence, people and other animals alike would be willing to do as they wish. fear of pain, fear of death, fear of rejection, fear of hell--in the end they all boil down to the same chemicals, no?

but tbqh, i think i don't find the idea of either hell or heaven that fun in the first place. whether you end up in heaven or hell, your soul will still exist for eternity...i feel like that would be hellish no matter what. i'd prefer to have my insides pecked out by crows and have the remains become one with the earth until all that is left are my bones.

also cw for mild suicidal ideation, sorry

[imitationsoul]

You and I really are the same.

I like hell a lot as a concept that humanity has installed to self-regulate, but an eternal existence...? I couldn't stand it. When I am gone, hopefully by my own choice or even hand, then I want to be gone. My remains shall be the image I leave behind in the heads of those who knew me, until they eventually rot and decay as well. Even if I'd have changed the world, eventually I'd become a legend that bears no resemblance to my original self.

And then, I'd be free. No heaven, no hell, no people shall have any hold over me. The self of Miach Mihie will disappear into nothingness, belonging to nobody.

[escardos]

hahaha miach you're so poetic. would you ever wanna write your thoughts down? or do you want them to disappear alongside you when you die.

i guess it doesnt matter either way. they'll twist your thoughts and intentions even if you do leave them written down, so maybe it's better to just die with them. maybe i'll delete this entire post after its done so even traces of this cant be found www

id like to watch the process, after you die. id like for people to spin wild stories about you, to twist you to the point that the 'miach' in their heads is no longer the miach that i knew. if you change the world enough, you'll be a legend--and if not, then you'll just be another obituary, forgotten in time. im really interested now ahaha!

[imitationsoul]

Then take care to live long enough. I don't think I am the kind of person who would grow terribly old, so if you bring a little patience, you just might get your experiment.

I don't think anyone understands the real me, even you, but you're the one who I think can get the closest. It'll not be a worthless study then!

[escardos]

oh dont get me wrong! i dont want to understand you. if you could stay a mystery to me forever, i think thatd be really fun. like an endless treasure hunt.

[imitationsoul]

I don't think you will ever understand me, don't worry about that. Or if you did, I would be quite surprised.

People like you and me, we have experiences so unique to us, that the idea of ever fully being grasped by another seems presumptuous.

[escardos]

indeed. like throwing rocks at the moon's reflection, right?

the only one that can understand you is yourself, and the only one that can understand me is myself. it's not something i rly mind, tbh. it's just how it all works.

[imitationsoul]

It would be awfully boring to be together if we understood one another perfectly. Even though you and I are so very similar, even though I am sure I understand better than most... there's always a component of reaching, grasping at the unknown.

That's the best part about people, who otherwise tend to be fairly awful.