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arracraidira β ..vicious cycle..
Published: 2007-07-14 16:15:57 +0000 UTC; Views: 1079; Favourites: 12; Downloads: 5
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I drew this a while ago.. its just what I was realizing- about how all these things we go through as people and then hate ourselves for really fuel doing it all more.. I haven't had the heart to put it on here for a while, but it seemed right now. Whatever our vices are, we still have to break free from them or we will just be pulled under and consumed by them.. We shouldn't be defined by our sins, but by God who saves us from themIts not that Christians are trying to tell the world theyre all sinners and are going to die- its that were all dieing anyway, and we gotta speak of the hope we have to be saved from all this
j.hedren 2006
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Comments: 25
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i know what you mean, i suffered for 8 years over one or two problems? Sexual addiction and being an abuser of my self being related to the first one...,but the Lord is helping me tear down those walls...>:0)
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...I just saw this for the first time yesterday, and then my pastor brought up that exact idea in his sermon today (nothing to do with furries; I mean the reoccurring sins)...I think He's trying to tell me something...
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LLust is the greatest sin of all... but God forgives us, but only if we ask for it. Ask and thou shall recieve.
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Sometimes... I really know the feeling...
Especially as far as yiff is concerned - though I must admit it's only anthros I find especially attractive. Of both sexes.
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Silly Crash, of course. It expresses things which can't always be said. Art is supposed to have meaning and purpose, this has both. It has such weight, few pieces grab me has quickly as this has. It is true art and that is sheerly beautiful.
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Yeh, okay. Nice art and all that, aye. I, however, have one objection. Something in this picture sticks out like a sore thumb.
Most of the symbols on the right are things that could rightfully be called legitimate "sins", if you believe in God. Drugs, porn, alcohol, violence, etc. All wrong, to some degree.
What I don't necessarily like is that homosexuality is included among them. It is not by any means a sin, and please do not try to use the Bible to deflect this reality to me.
Condemning gays is like condemning people because of their sex or ethnicity. They cannot help being what they are, and should be left alone to pursue whatever lifesyle they may choose.
You may ask why I have decided to rant on your section of the website, as opposed to the section of, say, some outright conservative redneck born-again Christian bigot named Bob who devotes his life to putting others down and making himself feel higher above the rest of us.
It is because I believe viewpoints such as yours can do entirely as much harm. You may certainly mean well, or at least not have hateful intentions, but please do try to understand that you could easily harm a person's self-esteem even with your passive disapproval and belief that they are distancing themselves from God (if there is a God).
So next time try to live in the present, where people accept others and do not judge them for their preferences. Approximately one in ten Americans are gay, and though you may not know it, you have most likely spoken to and/or associated with one at some point in your life. Heck, you might even have gay relatives.
Love, not hate.
~*Nikki
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I have a few thoughts to share myself, though before I start there are two things that you should know so that you don't accuse me of not understanding things. First of all, I'm not commenting on this without any knowledge of this struggle. It is one of my own as well, an area in my life in which I struggle, where I am faced with the choice of following my faith or my flesh. I choose to follow my faith and trust that God will forgive me where I fail as I fall just the same as everyone else.I understand the struggle more than you know. You are partly right in that no one chooses the desires that they are dealt. However, one can choose whether or not they will act on said desires.
As far as the morality of the issue of same sex attractions (bisexual or homosexual) I'd encourage you to read this Romans 1:18-32, though the key part would be "Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and recieving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due (Romans 1:27)" Before the accusations of condemnation and hate start, think about this.... I struggle with these things so why would I hate those who struggle with this as I would have to hate myself. I am no better than anyone else as I struggle with sin same as the rest of the world. I think I would be doing others more injustice if I kept the truth to myself and lied so that it would make people feel comfortable. Sometimes the truth hurts, but as the bible also states "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are decietful (Proverbs 27:6)." I say what I do because I care for them, for what this decision means to their life and their wellbeing. I've seen the hurt, the pain of this life and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. It is an issue that I have struggled with a good deal in the past few weeks. However, I have my answer and it is one that is rooted in my faith in God. My faith is something that doesn't call me to be popular, it calls me to stand by the truth, and to speak it to those who will listen. I am by no means perfect, nore do I think myself better than another as I am messed up, as I stated earlier. I fall just the same as the rest, the only difference is I get back up and keep fighting after I fall, which happens only by God's strength, not mine. At no point did arracradira condemn anyone with this piece, he only stated his own struggles and his beliefs. As you said, this issue is a choice, but how can you make the choice if one side of the issue is silenced? How many gays or bisexuals do you know? As arracradira said, there are many, such as myself, that do not wish that life upon themselves. You speak of accepting others and not judging them for their choices, well these are our choices, our stances. Tolerance can't be a one way street, where you expect others to accept your view as the gospel truth, while not allowing others to express their views. It just doesn't work that way.
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Nikki, before I even try to justify myself for this art- art that was never meant as a attack against anyone else, but really came as something from my own heart about my own failings- can I ask you something?
Whats on your list? Certainly not some of the things I hint at with the icons, but is there something in your life you dont like about yourself, that you keep coming back to all the same? Maybe its a friendship or a relationship thats hurtful or destructive, but you keep goin back. Maybe its a show on tv that you know is a waste of your time but you have to see whats next. Maybe its turning to anger to deal with problems instead of some other way- I don't know whats on your list, what you in your heart would say 'here is a thing I dont like about myself and wish I could fix', but put an icon for that in the place of the one that you don't like. Its meant simply to be a list, of so many things we as people are addicted to, not all of them as blatant as drugs and the like. In that, I hope it resonates with people. Thats all this art was meant to do.
Nikki, I'd like to apologize- for doing a christian thing and equating the word sin with addictions and failings and vices: sin is simply a word we use for whatever puts distance between us and knowing God. This faith is all about loving God and having a relationship with him- and Nikki you could rightly say that not everyone wants to get rid of the things that I drew on that list; but for me, its about where my heart is, what I love more. If I am striving to love the lord and live right and yet Im still addicted to porn, then I cant love God the way I want to, with my whole heart, because part of my heart still loves the porn for the way it makes me feel. Or money for the security, or what it gets me. Can you understand what Im getting at? I'll be the first to say I'm not perfect by a long shot- I've done alot. Alot of people hate christians because they see us as hypocrites, telling others to stop doing stuff while we continue doing stuff- but really we are all the same, human as the next man, and we all fail. Romans 3:23 says that we ''all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God". For sure we don't measure up to even our own standard. We aren't trying to become gods, no- but we are continually wanting the Lord to continue his work in us, changing things in our natures, so that in the end we look a little more like Him in his honesty and purity and love. All this isn't to say that we won't make these mistakes- these things that in some part everyone falls into, but like I wrote above, we turn to God to help us through them, with the promise of forgiveness and restoration and of moving past them in the end.
Sorry for talking your ear off. And Nikki, your passion is admirable, but what experience do you have in regards to homosexuality? Have you spoken to and/or associated with one recently? Do you have gay relatives? Brothers? Friends? Its ok to defend them as you have, but I guess all I want to say is that not everyone who feels attracted to the same sex automatically accepts it and runs with it as their orientation. I'd venture to say that there is easily another tenth or more of americans who will struggle a long time because they don't want it. And I don't speak assuming that, I speak out of experience- for me its been a long time, and the only hope Ive ever found has been in the promise God has kept with me to get me through and love me regardless.
There's a flip side to anything, nikki- and I sometimes regret that passionate arguments like yours make it harder for some to admit what they are dealing with and heal. But I respect what you have to say. I just ask that you'd try to see more of the picture -j
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"Never fight with an idiot, for he will bring you down to his level, and then beat you by experience."
The truth could not ring clearer.
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Obviously you didn't read a bit of that. Please can you go be immature like this on your myspace and not on my page thankyou goodbye
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Va te faire foutre, monsieur. Est-ce que tu parles le francais? Mais non, parce que tu es un beotien obstine, evidemment...
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mais d'autre part, je le devine n'a pas d'importance
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Non, je ne sais pas le français.
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Hidden by Owner
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Et vous, cretin. Au revoir.
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Its pretty crazy how alot of the people I know seem to think its part of what makes us human and alive, the things we're addicted to.. I don't think its right. I think God wants us devoted to Him and as He sifts us and works though us all that stuff just falls along the road.
I tagged this on a phone booth near downtown, and I guess all I hope it says is that 'They dont have to be what makes us all alike'..
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Totally agree, and love the pics mood and body language
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The body language was the toughest to do- I still think the covering the face is all off- but its what it needed to be. And drawing him naked- well, semi naked, as naked as a fur can be kinda- was necessary too.. all the shame we feel just kinda builds up- and it takes being this open and empty to get past it.. and kinda I wanted to show that despite all the ways we hide, were still this naked ... yeah. Its tough to try and write the way I feel about it all. Im glad you like it. Im glad even more that it speaks something true
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Thnkas my friend. I still havent had teh guts to put it up yet- But I need to. If its going to speak to people, I gotta put it out there somewhere. I still feel like I am that fur, saying here is everything I am burdened by- I dont feel like I can say here's teh way out too- but I know I gotta. Thankyou always for the support
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it went up later that month, got ripped down later.. I wonder who it spoke to?
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