CIRCLE WITH A DOT

@guyjantic Yes, that’s exactly what I meant. But I also see parallels with the Christian faith. No one has ever seen God; it is only through the believer’s attempts to understand, feel, and internalize “God’s commandments” or to practice Christ’s love that anything changes. But until then, there is only faith.

@guyjantic I can offer a Buddhist perspective. Faith precedes experience, because experience is not immediately available—or rather it is not perceived—at first. But for someone to set out on the path to liberation they need some kind of support (besides suffering). That support is the faith that this path leads in the right direction as those who have walked this path before us say. They cannot pass on their experience to us in any way; they can only say “Try it.” To believe that, I need faith.

@futurebird That’s right. I have a friend—we don’t see each other often, but we get along well. At one point, I realized he’s trans, but it doesn’t really matter; it’s just a personal curiosity. But then he started talking about the safety of the community queer center. Because of the neo-Nazis, it could be an easy target. I wish we didn’t have to deal with this crap at all.

@noctuaminervae @cstross They must be joking.