-
Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.
If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!
To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
Thanks! I would have guessed that it was a red-shouldered hawk, but only because that's the kind that everybody talks about around here. I honestly didn't look it up until you mentioned it, and I'm not great with wild bird IDs. 
Well, I say there is no difference. A person is a person, no matter what. While there are some people who are more "pleasing" to the eyes than others, they're still people and no one should have rude/crude comments being made towards them.
Just to add, there are also some celebrities that seriously are asking, no BEGGING for rude comments to be made towards them (Kim Kardashian, I'm looking at you). BUT. We as Christians should still be set apart and not partake in it.
Just to add, there are also some celebrities that seriously are asking, no BEGGING for rude comments to be made towards them (Kim Kardashian, I'm looking at you). BUT. We as Christians should still be set apart and not partake in it.
I love big birds, like hawks and owls and falcons. I like little birds too, but there's something about the big ones that just seem so intelligent and majestic. Plus, some of them have crazy skills. There's a hawk that can fly through the forest, in and out of trees and small openings, like no big deal. There's another that can dive super fast out of the sky (I want to say 180 MPH?) and it slams into smaller birds and kills them for prey.
Also, fun fact: Sometimes in movies, they portray the bald eagle as having that long, loud screech. That's actually the scream of a red hawk (be prepared if you click on that link). A bald eagle has more of a musical squeak.
I'm fascinated by animal sounds, weirdly. Well, animals in general, but sounds as well. Like this. And some sounds you just don't expect, like a cheetah sounds like it's chirping/barking.
Okay I'll stop now.
Also, fun fact: Sometimes in movies, they portray the bald eagle as having that long, loud screech. That's actually the scream of a red hawk (be prepared if you click on that link). A bald eagle has more of a musical squeak.
I'm fascinated by animal sounds, weirdly. Well, animals in general, but sounds as well. Like this. And some sounds you just don't expect, like a cheetah sounds like it's chirping/barking.
Okay I'll stop now.
Hey Rachel,
You are definitely right and I shouldn't have made my comment about visiting the hospital more often if celebrity-looking guys were there. To be honest, I don't even find the two celebrities mentioned to be all that attractive. A co-worker asked me once if I'd seen "Magic Mike" and I said no, it wasn't my thing, and that I don't find Channing Tatum to be all the attractive (just my own tastes, nothing against these guys personally) and my co-worker asked if I was gay (no joke.)
I actually don't have a lot of feelings of attraction to much of anything or anyone these days, but that's an entirely different story and stems from depression.
To be honest, I made the comment I did just to be funny. Most people will notice that a lot of my posts lately haven't been all that serious. I've wanted to try to counter some of the Doom'n'Gloom feelings that seem to be so persistent in Singles right now.
But you are right in that there is a definitely a different way to go about it and I'll be more careful in the future.
You are definitely right and I shouldn't have made my comment about visiting the hospital more often if celebrity-looking guys were there. To be honest, I don't even find the two celebrities mentioned to be all that attractive. A co-worker asked me once if I'd seen "Magic Mike" and I said no, it wasn't my thing, and that I don't find Channing Tatum to be all the attractive (just my own tastes, nothing against these guys personally) and my co-worker asked if I was gay (no joke.)
I actually don't have a lot of feelings of attraction to much of anything or anyone these days, but that's an entirely different story and stems from depression.
To be honest, I made the comment I did just to be funny. Most people will notice that a lot of my posts lately haven't been all that serious. I've wanted to try to counter some of the Doom'n'Gloom feelings that seem to be so persistent in Singles right now.
But you are right in that there is a definitely a different way to go about it and I'll be more careful in the future.
It really has nothing to do with celebrities, or even about firemen, for that matter. It was about one member warning another not to get too inappropriate after bringing the subject up, as the other member and several others had done in a previous thread. In the previous thread, "hunky" firemen were objectified, and other comments ranged from "I can feel my temperature risin'!" (simulates dousing self with water) "mmmmmm" and "eye candy." Evidently, several members complained about the post(s) and an administrator came on and addressed the double-standard that it's apparently okay for a group of women to exhibit the same type of behavior that men are called sexist and chauvenistic for displaying.
In the newer thread, though the first member acknowledges that the warning could have better been conveyed via PM, all the ugliness of the old thread resurfaced. Many believe the objectifying language of the old thread is inappropriate, while many believe those of that mindset to be uptight. Meanwhile, the OP is just wondering what the #$*^)$#^ happened to her thread.
It's not taboo, but the kind of language used in the original thread is, or should be.
It's like this - If I started a thread about female cheerleaders and described how I got hot watching them and about the size of their pompoms, would that not be inappropriate?
In the newer thread, though the first member acknowledges that the warning could have better been conveyed via PM, all the ugliness of the old thread resurfaced. Many believe the objectifying language of the old thread is inappropriate, while many believe those of that mindset to be uptight. Meanwhile, the OP is just wondering what the #$*^)$#^ happened to her thread.
It's not taboo, but the kind of language used in the original thread is, or should be.
It's like this - If I started a thread about female cheerleaders and described how I got hot watching them and about the size of their pompoms, would that not be inappropriate?
yeah, it doesn't matter if it's celebrities, firemen or the barista who makes your latte. it's not about who.
i understand everyone's convictions and interpretations of what appropriate joking, lustful statements, and obnoxious behavior construes will certainly vary. and sometimes that line is fuzzy, but there comes a point where your joking and statements easily cross the "minimum standards for most" by degrees, even in nuanced inference. and perhaps it's because the tone you intended is lost on the fact that your (very wide) audience is not necessarily going to perceive what you say as how you intended for it to be perceived.
how do you know it's too far?
things like this always remind me of that 50s supreme court case, where justice stewart famously said about the difficulty in defining obscenity, he replied that "i know it when i see it" and i think that if our hearts are sensitive, and compasses are oriented properly to the measuring stick set for us, the Holy Spirit definitely pokes us and we recognize when the line has been crossed.
but please hear this: i think it's each of our jobs not to find the outer boundary of acceptability, but to remember that fleeing sin usually is not dancing on the very edge, but turning back earlier.
fleeing sin means we run from that boundary, not desire to constantly reestablish and shove minimum behavior standards. at least that is my interpretation.
do i think it's scandalous or wrong to ever joke to flippantly tease about the virtues of a fireman? no, probably not. but we've seen how one remark can cascade into what appears to be a one-upmanship of how to generate a laugh or reaction from others, too.
but what often happens is that something that isn't over the line can be stated or done, but, because we typically find ourselves emboldened by the validation of others, we will proceed further. especially if we are seeking to get approval, laughter, or whatever effect is desired, and i think it's all part of the herd mentality. and usually, the bigger the herd, the larger the effect. and might i add, we are all victim to that kind of influence, to some degree. we've all been there.
hopefully, as we grow and mature in Christ, our behavior is more influenced by Him that our peers. and our desire to honor Him, obey His word, and generally, reflect Christ in our words and deed should be the reason we desire to find that inner boundary of behavior, and not enjoy the pursuit of what we can "get away with". : )
i understand everyone's convictions and interpretations of what appropriate joking, lustful statements, and obnoxious behavior construes will certainly vary. and sometimes that line is fuzzy, but there comes a point where your joking and statements easily cross the "minimum standards for most" by degrees, even in nuanced inference. and perhaps it's because the tone you intended is lost on the fact that your (very wide) audience is not necessarily going to perceive what you say as how you intended for it to be perceived.
how do you know it's too far?
things like this always remind me of that 50s supreme court case, where justice stewart famously said about the difficulty in defining obscenity, he replied that "i know it when i see it" and i think that if our hearts are sensitive, and compasses are oriented properly to the measuring stick set for us, the Holy Spirit definitely pokes us and we recognize when the line has been crossed.
but please hear this: i think it's each of our jobs not to find the outer boundary of acceptability, but to remember that fleeing sin usually is not dancing on the very edge, but turning back earlier.
fleeing sin means we run from that boundary, not desire to constantly reestablish and shove minimum behavior standards. at least that is my interpretation.
do i think it's scandalous or wrong to ever joke to flippantly tease about the virtues of a fireman? no, probably not. but we've seen how one remark can cascade into what appears to be a one-upmanship of how to generate a laugh or reaction from others, too.
but what often happens is that something that isn't over the line can be stated or done, but, because we typically find ourselves emboldened by the validation of others, we will proceed further. especially if we are seeking to get approval, laughter, or whatever effect is desired, and i think it's all part of the herd mentality. and usually, the bigger the herd, the larger the effect. and might i add, we are all victim to that kind of influence, to some degree. we've all been there.
hopefully, as we grow and mature in Christ, our behavior is more influenced by Him that our peers. and our desire to honor Him, obey His word, and generally, reflect Christ in our words and deed should be the reason we desire to find that inner boundary of behavior, and not enjoy the pursuit of what we can "get away with". : )
Last edited:
Thanks! I would have guessed that it was a red-shouldered hawk, but only because that's the kind that everybody talks about around here. I honestly didn't look it up until you mentioned it, and I'm not great with wild bird IDs.
our property was covered in those giant ponderosa pines, so very tall that they almost seemed to touch that wide sky. i would wander first thing in the morning towards the chicken house/coop to collect eggs and start feeding animals, but the whole way there i would meander slowly with my head turned all the way up to the sky because it seemed like the birds were far more active then. giant, wide-spanned birds, lots of hawks and eagles would float overhead, and land in their nests atop giant trees.
i think when i was 9, i got a pair of binoculars for my birthday, and that became something i almost always had handy. it was so fun watching an eagle fly in from the river or reservoir with a silvery-shiny fish in it's claws return to its nest and devour its meal. i will never forget in horror as i watched a baby eagle fall from the nest, and spent a long time looking to see where it landed.
we just don't have a lot of those giant birds here, just the smaller hawks that can often be found fishing near the river.
oh how i miss seeing them. thanks for sharing the photo, popclick!!!
T
I knew Seoul's and Lil's comments weren't lustful but just fun. I know them (maybe not offline), but I know something of their character and that to me speaks volumes.
Yay! For birds. I used to be into them in a big way. As a child and even as a teenager, but not so much as an adult (I have a few favourites but they're mostly rare and flightless or extinct.
Yay! For birds. I used to be into them in a big way. As a child and even as a teenager, but not so much as an adult (I have a few favourites but they're mostly rare and flightless or extinct.
200% agree with this. The idea is not to get as close to sin as we can without making God angry, but to keep ourselves out of harms way by avoiding even the merest hint of sin. Reminds me of the Psalm I was paraphrasing this morning (I've been paraphrasing my way through the book of psalms and am scheduled to finish end of this month).
Psalm 141:3-5 (NIV)
Set a guard over my mouth O LORD keep watch over the door of my lips. Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies. Let a righteous man strike me - it is a kindness; let him rebuke me - it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it.
And the CPV (cinder paraphrase version) for those who are interested:
Guard my mouth and my words, Yahweh. Don't let my heart desire to do wrong, to join with those who do evil and try out their pleasures. When a good man hits or corrects me, it is a kindness and I won't fight it.
Psalm 141:3-5 (NIV)
Set a guard over my mouth O LORD keep watch over the door of my lips. Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies. Let a righteous man strike me - it is a kindness; let him rebuke me - it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it.
And the CPV (cinder paraphrase version) for those who are interested:
Guard my mouth and my words, Yahweh. Don't let my heart desire to do wrong, to join with those who do evil and try out their pleasures. When a good man hits or corrects me, it is a kindness and I won't fight it.
