To gay Christians,

You are loved so much more than you know. No one loves like God.

You are valid, you are beautiful, you are divinely cherished for He made you the way that you are for joy, and joy alone. And He died so that you can have life enduring both here and in the world to come.

Talking with Christians and asking them the question, “why do you stay? What compels you to stay?” makes me want to write, to find words, for why I have done the opposite.

My deconstruction took a year, just a year, yet it was slow and methodical. The question of whether God was good or not made me ask, what would it mean for God to be good?

The logical conclusion I reached was universalism. That God was strong enough, compassionate enough, merciful enough to forgive all, to heal all, to bring all home. If the good shepherd had 99 sheep and went out for the 1, then how can that not show that none would perish?

And that gave me permission to ask what are we being saved from? And realizing the inherent abusiveness of the gospel. Of telling children they were inherently evil and in need of saving. Of the shame thrust upon us. Of telling us we have a sickness we don’t have and selling us a solution that costs our life, our joy.

We all find stories that give meaning to us. I know progressive universalist Christians who find meaning in a Brown anticapitalist Christ. They see Christianity as worth saving. But as for me, I have washed my hands of the gospel. I have washed my hands of the story that drown me in shame. That has been used to justify wars, colonization, and white supremacy.

Tomorrow's is "The Waters of Life" by Rev. Patricia Hatch.

Smile, It’s National Dentist’s Day!

 Here it is, the last entry on the traditional schools of the wizard class, though not the last wizard school we’re covering. We still have all the elemental schools to cover as well!

Just as the universalist is not really a specialization school on it’s own, today’s subject isn’t really a sub-school of it’s own either, but rather, a specialization all it’s own.

So-called “arcane builders” are just that, those that devote themselves to the crafting of magical items. If there is someone to thank or blame for the proliferation of magic items in your setting, these may be a likely candidate.

The reason why these crafters are derived from universalists is fairly simple, after all, only a universalist can learn the wide variety of spell needed to craft magical items without hinderance or penalty, reducing the difficulty to create any item significantly.

Needless to say, most arcane crafters will have a wide variety of spells drawn from all disciplines, though not necessarily those that are practical for adventuring. With that in mind, a lot of their personal budget will probably go towards learning a wider variety of spells or procuring scrolls of said spells when necessary.

Arcane builders have a profession of sorts built into the very nature of their specialization, but this can still vary a lot depending on what crafting feats you decide to take. You could be an armorer, a crafter of exotic trinkets, or the local potion-brewer supplying the locals with useful concoctions, scrolls, and so on.

 Rather than learn the “hand of the apprentice” power, these mystics instead learn an additional crafting or metamagical feat a bit later into their careers. What’s more, when a magic item calls for a metamagical feat, their understanding of such things give them greater insight into applying them to a magical object.

If you want to be a master craftsman or just have an extra metamatic feat to use with the metamagic mastery ability later on, this archetype can certainly be interesting. Just remember that you can end up lacking a bit of offensive potential in early levels due to not getting the normal 1st-level offensive power. Like a normal universalist, you’ll probably want to choose a focus item over a familiar for the bonus slot, but there’s numerous ways you can build this archetype depending on what items you want to craft. Metamagic rods are a natural choice, of course, though you can also go for a variety or focus on fast-tracking a greater feat like craft construct. Regardless, you’ll definitely be carefully managing your feats, spells, and gold to get the most out of them.

 The stereotype of the bookish, insular wizard that spend most of their time in their workshop certainly fits an arcane builder, but you might also see more charismatic arcane shopkeepers that understand the art of haggling and establishing rapport with customers. Some may even be just in it to gain extra metamagical training, fancying themselves masters of metamagical techniques.

  Utterly fascinated by arcane magic’s ability to transform, Mikki, a gnome-born ganzi, has been studying magic item crafting since she was very young, her lifelong dream being seeing a wild magic event spontaneously create a stable magical item, easily a one in a million event.

 The local bounty board has a quest for hunting giant frilled lizards, presumably because their frill-skin can be used to craft magical items dealing with fear-related spells. However exactly why the wizard needs such an item is another story entirely.

In the past 150 years, Friends in North America have diverged widely in faith and practice. While Friends as a whole can still generally affirm the belief and practices outlined above, divisions in North American Quakerism have become increasingly entrenched over the past century. At this point in time, there are five general perspectives to be found within the Religious Society of Friends: universalist Liberal, Christ-centered Liberal, conservative, evangelical, and fundamentalist. These perspectives are not well-defined, identifiable groups; rather, they are points on a spectrum that runs through North American Quakerism.

Universalist Liberal

Friends of this perspective, while recognizing that Quakerism has historically been a branch of the Christian Church, do not believe that Quakerism is or should be limited to a Christian – or Western – understanding. Friends who hold this perspective often see Quakerism as a meeting ground for followers of various world religions – and of none at all. The Friends practice of worship in expectant silence is often seen as particularly conducive to interfaith dialogue, as people of all faiths can benefit from contemplation and grounded sharing.

Universalist Liberal Friends tend to put little or no emphasis on religious beliefs as a basis for membership in the local Meeting. Instead, adherence to Friends practices – however interpreted by the individual – is the cornerstone of participation in the Society of Friends.

In North America, Friends from this perspective are primarily found in the Liberal Yearly Meetings.

Christ-Centered Liberal

The Christ-centered Liberal viewpoint is that, while Quakerism should not be defined by any particular set of beliefs, the life and teachings of Jesus are central to their personal faith journey. Some Christ-centered Liberal Friends would self-identify as Christians; others would not. On an individual level, the perspective of Christ-centered Liberal Friends is different from that of universalist Liberal Friends; however, there is not necessarily any conflict between these two perspectives in their view of the Meeting community.

Christ-centered Liberal Friends are in general agreement with universalists in their view of the role of belief and practice. While Christ-centered Friends find the life and teachings of Jesus to be deeply significant for them as individuals, they are often comfortable co-existing in Meetings that have no common faith in Jesus. They see sharing in a loving community, relying on Friends practices, and listening for truth wherever it can be found, as a sufficient basis for membership in the Meeting.

Friends from this perspective can be found throughout the Religious Society of Friends in North America; especially in Liberal Yearly Meetings, but also in many Orthodox Yearly Meetings.

Conservative

Friends who hold a conservative viewpoint (whether or not they are members of a Conservative Yearly Meeting) are in some ways similar to Christ-centered Liberal Friends. Both see Friends practices of waiting worship and decision-making as being central to their understanding of what it means to be a Friend, and both have a personal commitment to Jesus as Guide and Teacher. Unlike Christ-centered Liberal Friends, however, Friends from the conservative perspective hold that faith in Jesus Christ and fidelity to the Christian tradition are essential for the Meeting community as a whole. While seeking not to be legalistic about beliefs, Friends from the conservative viewpoint see common Christian faith – not only common worship and decision-making practice – as being the basis for membership in the Meeting.

Friends with a conservative perspective can be found in the Conservative Yearly Meetings, but also to some degree in the Liberal and Orthodox branches.

Evangelical

Evangelical Friends are those who have been influenced, to some degree or another, by the Protestant stream of Christianity that is predominant in North America. While in agreement with conservative Friends that Christian faith is crucial for the Meeting as a whole, evangelical Friends are more open to modifying Friends practice to better suit what they sense to be the needs of their local community. While most evangelical Friends still practice waiting worship, almost all evangelical Friends now include prepared elements in their worship services. Employing congregational singing and prepared sermons, Meetings with a predominantly evangelical viewpoint might, at first glance, appear similar to mainstream Protestant services. Some are even more experimental, including praise bands and electronic presentations.

The great majority of evangelical Friends employ pastors to assist with education, worship services and pastoral care of the congregation. But unlike in many other Christian churches, evangelical Friends pastors are understood to be servants of the Meeting. The local meeting for business is the ultimate decision-maker, with the pastor serving as an honored – but equal – member of the church.

There are Friends of an evangelical perspective throughout the Orthodox and Evangelical branches.

Fundamentalist

Fundamentalist Friends share a religious culture and self-understanding that is highly influenced by Evangelical Protestantism. Friends from the fundamentalist stream tend to have fully programmed worship services, in the celebration-oriented style of the wider Evangelical Protestant Church.

Fundamentalist Friends have a very high view of Scripture, holding the Bible as the primary authority in the life of the Church. They tend to assign more authority to the pastor than most evangelical Friends churches. In some cases, the pastor, along with a small group of leaders, serve as the primary decision-makers for the church.

Fundamentalist Friends can be found in the Evangelical branch, and to a lesser degree in the Orthodox branch.