Celebrating people that deviate from the social norm and victims is how the Left subverts and eventually inverts the good and the true.

In popular programming anyone successful or popular is a villain. Anyone bullied or victimized or even just misfits who regularly cause trouble for everyone around them all lionized into heroes.

So naturally even though people, particularly the young, are still incredibly conformist in almost every single way (see masks, opinions on social issues, etc.), they all still feel a strong desire to be special. Feel victimized or bullied, but only in the ways they want to be. So, gender nonsense is a natural outlet for that. They won't lose many, if any, friends, will get attention, be praised by teachers, but still upset their parents who will give them that sweet victimhood but still continue giving them what they need.

Humans are primarily story driven beings. It's why The LGBTQ movement could be considered a relegion.

The word relegion comes from the Latin religare. It means to bind fast or a bond between humans and gods.

With the LGBTQ you have that. There are saints like Harvey Milk, heretics like the TERFS, liturgical actions such as parades, and evangelist in drag.

Stories are the first ways we introduce morality to our children. It's why we should be careful what they read.

There is very little good in Harry Potter. The books are full of constant rebellion against authority, anyone that works hard is shown in negative light, most people from what would be the middle class or upper class are evil, and children know more than adults.

Compared to Lord of the Rings where people shown deference to authority even if the one in power is abuse, hardwork pays off, and the characters are all middle aged from middle class to wealthy backgrounds.

There have been plenty of books written on the subject but I'm always in the same argument.

"It's just a story and won't be a negative influence on my children."

Watch "Roger Scruton - On 'Harry Potter'" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/tHGNf6nWUm0

Watch "When you have flour, water and ground beef at home, make this easy and delicious recipe!" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/CwTw5OEdoRk

Watch "Billy Joel - Vienna (Audio)" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/wccRif2DaGs

Can. 1404 The First See is judged by no one.

The Pope can't be a heretic because he can't be judged

I'll be trying this for my garden this year! It's like a garden bed version of huglekultur and it's very effective for gardening year after year. 🌿✨

“MEDIATOR” VS. “INTERCESSOR” - 1 Timothy 2:5

If the Bible says that we have "one mediator between God and humanity, Jesus Christ," why do Orthodox Christians ask the saints to pray for them? Keep reading to find out.

This is an informational post, not a polemical one—it is meant to describe the reading of 1 Tim 2:5 by Orthodox Christians (and, perhaps, by Roman Catholic Christians, although I wouldn’t presume to speak for anyone else). It isn’t a “gotcha” because I know minds aren’t changed in this way. Rather, it is meant to help others to understand first, that we are intimately familiar with the Scriptures and do not teach contrary to them as we interpret them, and second, how we read this passage vis-à-vis the intercession of the faithful in Christ who have passed on to life eternal. I do not participate in theological arguments, but I am happy to answer sincere questions.

The text of 1 Timothy 2:5 in Greek, with the key term surrounded in *asterisks* - Εἷς γὰρ θεός, εἷς καὶ *μεσίτης* θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων, ἄνθρωπος Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς
“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (ESV)

This word, μεσίτης (mesitēs, “mediator”), is used six other times in the Greek Scriptures (both in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, called the Septuagint [LXX], which was commonly used in the first century from which the New Testament typically quotes, as well as in the New Testament). Here is the list with Greek and then English translation (with notes if I have altered the translation):

Job 9:33 (LXX) - εἴθε ἦν ὁ *μεσίτης* ἡμῶν καὶ ἐλέγχων καὶ διακούων ἀνὰ μέσον ἀμφοτέρων·
“Would that there were a [mediator] for us and an investigator and one to hear the case between us two.” (NETS, which has “arbiter” here, but I’ve [changed it] to make the parallel Greek clear)

Gal 3:19–20 - Τί οὖν ὁ νόμος; τῶν παραβάσεων χάριν προσετέθη, ἄχρις οὗ ἔλθῃ τὸ σπέρμα ᾧ ἐπήγγελται, διαταγεὶς δι’ ἀγγέλων ἐν χειρὶ *μεσίτου*. ὁ δὲ *μεσίτης* ἑνὸς οὐκ ἔστιν, ὁ δὲ θεὸς εἷς ἐστιν.
“Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by a [mediator]. Now a [mediator] implies more than one, but God is one.” (ESV, which has “intermediary” here, but I’ve [changed it] to make the parallel Greek clear)

Heb 8:6 - νυν δὲ διαφορωτέρας τέτυχεν λειτουργίας, ὅσῳ καὶ κρείττονός ἐστιν διαθήκης *μεσίτης*, ἥτις ἐπὶ κρείττοσιν ἐπαγγελίαις νενομοθέτηται.
“But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant [of which he is mediator] is better, since it is enacted on better promises.” (ESV, here turns the word into a verb because it reads better in English, but I’ve restored it to the nominal form which is in the Greek)

Heb 9:15 - Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο διαθήκης καινῆς *μεσίτης* ἐστίν, ὅπως θανάτου γενομένου εἰς ἀπολύτρωσιν τῶν ἐπὶ τῇ πρώτῃ διαθήκῃ παραβάσεων τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν λάβωσιν οἱ κεκλημένοι τῆς αἰωνίου κληρονομίας.
“Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.” (ESV)

Heb 12:24 - καὶ διαθήκης νέας *μεσίτῃ* Ἰησοῦ καὶ αἵματι ῥαντισμοῦ κρεῖττον λαλοῦντι παρὰ τὸν Ἅβελ.
“and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” (ESV)

We can see that the sense of mesitēs as mediator is one of arbitration, really in what we would now consider a legal sense. This is why it is used almost exclusively for covenant language—it implies a neutral second party who negotiates for both sides (cf. Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament). What is significant here is that it does not imply intercession—it has nothing to do with an intercessor asking someone, on behalf of another party, to do something for that other party.

Do the Scriptures have a distinct word for this intercessory role? It turns out that, in fact, they do.

Ἐντυγχάνω, “I intercede” is used throughout both the Septuagint text of the Old Testament and the New Testament—it is used, for example, in Hebrews where we find the most frequent use of mesitēs (mediator), which shows that not only do the above-listed contexts from the Scriptures make it clear that mesitēs deals with covenant arbitration, but that they regard intercession as a different activity.

Why should this matter? Because, when we understand the word St. Paul is using, according to the way that he means it, it helps us to understand what the Scriptures are saying here. Further, it is always crucial that we do not read a verse from the Scriptures in isolation from the rest, especially the verses leading up to it. So what is the context provided by 1 Timothy 2:1–6? Let’s turn to the text:

(1) Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, (2) for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. (3) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, (4) who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (5) For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, (6) who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. (ESV)

(1) Παρακαλῶ οὖν πρῶτον πάντων ποιεῖσθαι δεήσεις προσευχὰς ἐντεύξεις εὐχαριστίας ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀνθρώπων, (2) ὑπὲρ βασιλέων καὶ πάντων τῶν ἐν ὑπεροχῇ ὄντων, ἵνα ἤρεμον καὶ ἡσύχιον βίον διάγωμεν ἐν πάσῃ εὐσεβείᾳ καὶ σεμνότητι. (3) τοῦτο καλὸν καὶ ἀπόδεκτον ἐνώπιον τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν θεοῦ, (4) ὃς πάντας ἀνθρώπους θέλει σωθῆναι καὶ εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν. (5) Εἷς γὰρ θεός, εἷς καὶ μεσίτης θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων, ἄνθρωπος Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς, (6) ὁ δοὺς ἑαυτὸν ἀντίλυτρον ὑπὲρ πάντων, τὸ μαρτύριον καιροῖς ἰδίοις.

Interestingly, Paul is here beseeching Timothy that his flock intercede (ποιεῖσθαι … ἐντεύξεις) for all people. That role is mentioned, and it is mentioned in connection with the Christians themselves. Then, in verse 4 we hear that Christ desires all to be saved—how is this accomplished? Well, as we have seen in our survey of this word’s meaning, it is accomplished because Christ himself mediates the covenant between the Father and all humanity, which is made explicit by the reference to Christ as the ransom—the covenant in his blood (see Matt 26:28 Luke 22:20). What is the significance of mesitēs, blood, ransom? It is this: a covenant was not “made” so much as “cut” (this is the verb used in Hebrew)—this is because an animal victim would be cut in two as a sign of the covenant between the two parties. In the new covenant (which is a better translation of καινή διαθήκη which we usually render “new testament”), the blood offering is Christ himself on the Cross by which he establishes the relationship between God and humanity. He is the only mediator—arbitrator of the covenant—because only he could be the offering in whose blood this covenant could be established. Why? Because only Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully human—he is, existentially, the one who shares both godhood and humanity, and therefore in his very being he is the arbitrator between divinity and humanity.

But we find intercession used throughout the Scriptures, and commands for Christians to intercede on behalf of others. Clearly then, we see the distinction not only from the use of the word mesitēs throughout the Scriptures, not only from the context of 1 Timothy 2, but also from these Scriptural commands that we are to intercede, which would not be possible, even for biologically living Christians, if Christ were the “only intercessor” rather than “only mediator”.