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Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

I'm only here to talk about nice, calm, non-controversial subjects like God and religion.

I have alts for politics, thank you very much.

a screenshot of the settings page in BlueSky where it shows that I have muted the word "epsteim" for 7 days.

November 12, 2025 at 9:40 PM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

Sorry, not trying to be anti-Christian. Just trying to poke fun at how easy it is to be a heretic 😅 (clearly not getting the tone across that I meant to)

I've seen orthodox Christians laugh at memes like this one

image from Instagram from an account called "thesimplecatholic" posting a meme from the office. Above the image it says "Priests preaching on the feast of the Most Holy Trinity who accidentally commit heresy be like:" and then the caption of Michael Scott says "sometimes I'll start a sentence and I don't even know where it is going"

November 12, 2025 at 9:28 PM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

Imagine being granted a physical separation by the state because of your husband's ferocious cruelty, but still being obliged to meet his sexual needs upon request.

A separation of
goods—“quoad bona”—legally separated the household, including
goods and income, but retained a requirement for payment of the
conjugal debt upon request. In other words, both husband and wife
had a duty to perform sexually at the request of their spouse. This
less strict separation was the most common in Paris and included
all of the separations the court granted due to saevitia. For example,
Jeanne and Girard Vane, mentioned above, were granted a separa-
tion of goods due to Girard’s cruelty.3

November 12, 2025 at 5:30 PM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

I wonder if Jesus would have agreed with the "marital debt" that Paul describes. I'm guessing not.

This idea has created an incredible amount of harm since the early church started taking it as verbatim speech of the Holy Spirit, despite Paul saying it wasn't a command.

1 Corinthians 7:2-6 NRSVUE
[2] But because of cases of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. [3] The husband should give to his wife what is due her and likewise the wife to her husband. [4] For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. [5] Do not deprive one another except perhaps by agreement for a set time, to devote yourselves to prayer, and then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. [6] This I say by way of concession, not of command.

https://bible.com/bible/3523/1co.7.2-6.NRSVUE

November 12, 2025 at 5:24 PM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

More compelling is the command to treat "the least of these" like you would treat Jesus. Except that is a command for individuals, not really a command for the pooled collection of tithings in the church.

So it's not the best reference.

Matthew 25:44-46 NRSVUE
[44] Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?’ [45] Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ [46] And these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.”

https://bible.com/bible/3523/mat.25.44-46.NRSVUE

November 12, 2025 at 4:55 PM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

Whether the food and drink should be distributed to non-Christians is tricky though. Scripture only shows the food and donations going to thosewho are believers, except for possibly this passage showing it went to greek-speaking Jews which might not have been Christian, but only maybe.

Acts 6:1-4 NRSVUE
[1] Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. [2] And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. [3] Therefore, brothers and sisters, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, [4] while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.”

https://bible.com/bible/3523/act.6.1-4.NRSVUE

November 12, 2025 at 4:55 PM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

Just in case it comes up again (It will probably come up again) here are the relevant passages.

Just ask: "what are tithings for?"

Per scripture, they are for food and drink to distribute to any who has need, including (but not limited to) those who preach the gospel full-time and lead the church.

Acts 4:32-35 NRSVUE
[32] Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. [33] With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. [34] There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. [35] They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

https://bible.com/bible/3523/act.4.32-35.NRSVUE

Acts 2:44-45 NRSVUE
[44] All who believed were together and had all things in common; [45] they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.

https://bible.com/bible/3523/act.2.44-45.NRSVUE

1 Corinthians 9:12-19 NRSVUE
[12] If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we still more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. [13] Do you not know that those who work in the temple service get their food from the temple and those who serve at the altar share in what is sacrificed on the altar? [14] In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. [15] But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this so that they may be applied in my case. Indeed, I would rather die than that—no one will deprive me of my ground for boasting! [16] If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! [17] For if I do this of my own will, I have a wage, but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. [18] What then is my wage? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel. [19] For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might gain all the more.

https://bible.com/bible/3523/1co.9.12-19.NRSVUE

1 Corinthians 9:3-7 NRSVUE
[3] This is my defense to those who would examine me. [4] Do we not have the right to our food and drink? [5] Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? [6] Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? [7] Who at any time pays the expenses for doing military service? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not get any of its milk?

https://bible.com/bible/3523/1co.9.3-7.NRSVUE

November 12, 2025 at 4:55 PM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

Oh, man it's going to suck to get the lake of fire and sulfur for being cowardly.

You are too scared of being tortured to death by the state, and verbally say you aren't Christian, so you get even worse treatment after death as a result.

Revelation 21:7-8 NRSVUE
[7] Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. [8] But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the sexually immoral, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

November 11, 2025 at 8:03 AM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

I'm both proud and disgusted with myself

a screenshot of matrices in Google Sheets with "Monopoly Go" as the sheet title and "Markov" as the highlighted tab.

November 7, 2025 at 11:42 PM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

Optimizing my depraved gacha gaming by learning about Markov chains.

November 7, 2025 at 11:35 PM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

A small part of me really wants to listen to this just because conservative women attitudes are really mysterious to me, but the rational part of me knows that this would add nothing of real value to my life.

screenshot of the controversial podcast episode where two conservative women complain about women culture.

November 7, 2025 at 6:06 PM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

Lay-person Christianity sounds way more fun than orthodox Christianity.

Much more vibes-based. Way less systematic.

I could never.

30% of Christians believe in reincarnation

November 7, 2025 at 5:24 PM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

It's a real bummer to me when posts like this don't allow comments OR quotes. I wanted to commiserate and add my own experiences with my parents.

post here asking a question with no engagement allowed.

November 6, 2025 at 2:49 AM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

But I'm not sure the advantage is enough for me to leave my current system and reset.

I'm 100s of cross-linked and sorted documents in...

(I have other folders for politics and science, but the Christianity folder is relevant to this account)

November 6, 2025 at 2:45 AM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

For some reason I was confident that you would say 4 is false.

Thanks for writing this.

If materialism is true, then only physical substances and properties exist.

If only physical substances and properties exist, then all facts (including moral facts) must be identical with or reducible to physical facts.

Therefore, if materialism is true, then all facts (including the moral fact of Hitler’s evil) must be identical with or reducible to physical facts.

But moral qualities (goodness, evil, etc.) are not the kinds of things that can have physical properties like mass, temperature, or chemical composition.

Therefore, materialism is false.

Call this argument the “morality-to-molecules argument.”

Premise 2 is false.

https://secularoutpost.substack.com/p/does-atheism-mean-that-hitler-just?r=1qlyci&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true

November 6, 2025 at 12:30 AM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

How many layers of trust are between you and God? How many humans are you trusting to speak for God?

Most don't realize how many humans they are giving the authority of God too. Not just the biblical authors, but many additional layers of interpreters too.

BlueSky post that says "I encourage people to actually read the Bible - alongside critical commentaries -- rather than taking other people's word for what it says".

November 6, 2025 at 12:10 AM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

This screenshot makes it seem as Lewis still doesn't address the main concern I'm looking for people to address. Namely, that the outcome is not a gamble for anyone not permitted to survive childhood.

I've only seen him touch on it once.

passage from The Screwtape Letters where Lewis, speaking through Screwtape, remarks on the curiosity that the devils are only allowed to tempt those who survive infancy, a minority by most measures.

October 31, 2025 at 3:35 PM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

Given what I currently think about God, it would be like getting mad at the DM for what the DM rolled.

God rolls some dice and is horrified at the outcome. But the only real alternative was to create nothing.

October 30, 2025 at 7:13 PM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

It's easy to push me into a state of atheism, so when things get tough and the big picture concepts fade into the background, I just quickly abandon God rather than get angry at God.

screenshot of a post I made where my cat caught a mouse and I stopped believing in God.

October 30, 2025 at 7:06 PM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

I just found out that if atmospheric co2 ppm reaches 900, our indoor co2 will hit 1400pmm, and we will lose 25% of our cognitive function.

Great.

excerpt from https://www.colorado.edu/mechanical/2020/04/21/continued-co2-emissions-will-impair-cognition#:~:text=Karnauskas%20and%20his%20colleagues%20developed,concentration%2C%20much%20like%20ocean%20acidification.

In fact, at 1400 ppm, CO2 concentrations may cut our basic decision-making ability by 25 percent, and complex strategic thinking by around 50 percent, the authors found.

October 29, 2025 at 3:55 AM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

Honestly the economy has always been at least a little bit "planned" ever since the industrial revolution.

Google AI answer showing that we went from 95% farmers before the industrial revolution to 2% farmers today.

October 27, 2025 at 6:00 PM

Baxter Williams

@baxterwilliams.bsky.social

I guess my catholic friends growing up were wealthy, I had heard from Ryan Burge that atheists were generally uneducated, and I had just assumed the stereotype of the wealthy Jew was baseless b/c I assume most stereotypes about Jews are baseless.