Obedience to Christ's commandments is indeed an expression of love, not blind submission. But it is real obedience, real submission. It's really saying "You are God not I, and you make the rules." Jesus said, "Ἐὰν ἀγαπᾶτέ με, τὰς ἐντολὰς τὰς ἐμὰς τηρήσετε" ("If you love me, you will keep my commandments" - John 14:15). Sin, which results from *disobedience*, separates us from God, necessitating Christ’s obedience and then death for our salvation. The whole salvific arc originates with the Creator givjng commands which are to be obeyed. Cherry-picking beliefs ignores the full message of Scripture, which calls us to repent and change our behavior.

Grateful for a clean(ish) pond I can do a morning ice bath in. Although it feels way worse than last winter--I softened up over the summer apparently.

Some of Christ's commands are in direct opposition to the human concience and reason. Obedience is key to progressive sanctification. Love your enemies.

The Christian is hated by the State, because he refuses to bend the knee. The Christian is hated by the Folk, because he bends the knee. The Christian is hated because he acknowledges Christ alone as King.

We don't need gurus.

English is beautiful. It has many legitimate forms of speech. They are not logical fallacies (many of the names come from the Greek, who were kings of logic.) I think I'm missing a few but here goes: **Simile**: A comparison between two different things using "like" or "as." **Metaphor**: A direct comparison between two unrelated things, implying they are alike in some way. "Time is a thief." **Personification**: Assigning human characteristics to non-human objects or abstract concepts, e.g. "The wind whispered through the trees." **Hyperbole**: An exaggerated statement not meant to be taken literally, used for emphasis or effect. "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!" **Oxymoron**: A figure of speech in which two opposite ideas are joined to create an effect: "Deafening silence." **Irony**: A figure of speech where the intended meaning is opposite to the literal meaning. **Synecdoche**: A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole or vice versa. **Metonymy**: A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted with another closely associated with it. **Euphemism**: A mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt or coarse.

Hot take: Co-sleeping is best

Quite annoyed by the new keyboard selection UI in #grapheneOS. Who had the bright idea to add titles and all this empty space? I just need a list of boards. I really don't want to scroll.