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Hot sauce. Less unsanitary, and I like spicy food. Would you rather vacation in the New York City area or the Los Angeles area?

and drove away

In November. When was the last time you watched a movie?

I have yet to find theologian or "famous Christian" who's not dead, in many cases long dead, that I respect or even can take seriously that doesn't believe women should be able to be able to be pastors. Or at least any that devote any time to propagating that view. The only complementarian theologians I respect or take seriously are the ones who spent no or very little time writing theology of that view. I'm not saying there aren't plenty of well-meaning complementarian pastors who believe they're doing the right thing. I just think they're being taken advantage of by the wolves in sheep's clothing leaders of complementarianism. Even theologians who are a bit too conservative for me, but I still think have some good things to say and I can mostly respect, as they haven't been involved in scandals, abuse cover ups, or paling with people who have views that 99% of conservative evangelicals would consider extreme, are all egalitarians who believe women should be able to serve in any ministry position, including pastor. There are so many skeletons in the complementarian camp. It isn't even funny. There is deep, deep corruption among complementarian leaders the vast majority of complementarian leaders. It's a whole spiderweb of interconnected people (well, men) who are unwilling to call out bad behavior and extremism in their own camp. If anyone is interested in this I would love give you resources. Most leaders of the complementarian can with simple investigation can be proven to be wolves in sheep's clothing, and that's the honest to goodness truth if anyone's willing to listen. Well, those Christians who operated the underground railroad were "explicitly contradicting the Bible". After all "Slaves obey your masters" is pretty straightforward, and running away isn't obedience. Even Paul returned a runaway slave to his master. My point is not that not allowing women to be pastors is even remotely as awful as slavery, but that flat readings of the Bible don't get us anywhere.

This is something I found unsettling, overwhelming, and even depressing when I was young too. I always found it mind-boggling how God could have always existed and never had a beginning. It's not that I didn't believe I just found and still find it hard to wrap my mind around. But I think part of the problem with difficultly understanding there never being an ending to eternal life is the way we talk about. Like the term "eternity", though technically true, I find unsettling because of often incorrect ideas that go along with it. "Eternal life" seems to bring a more accurate picture. There will be seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, seasons, years, decades, centuries, millenniums, etc. on the New Earth ("Heaven") it's just they will never end. I find it's easier to think of it as measurements of time, for example years, that will never end as opposed to a huge, unspecified block of endless time. I've found there were a lot of incorrect ideas I was taught both explicitly and implicitly about "Heaven" or as I'd now specify the Intermediate Heaven and New Earth. A really great book on the subject I'd suggest to anyone who's struggled with this, wondered about this, or really any Christian of any stripe is Heaven by Randy Alcorn. I hope you find this encouraging, Echo12!

Thank you, Jazzy! Would it be alright if I sometimes emailed you (I got your email from your profile)?