I'm playing Iconoclasts

I get that the people who hoard forbidden knowledge and want to execute anyone who learns too much are the bad guys, but I don't necessarily trust these underwater pseudo-Quiverfulls, either. Both groups seem kind of fanatical, and I get the impression that neither would be too fond of someone who refused to go along with their idea of how to live a God-fearing life. Yet I keep having to sit through the latter lecturing me about their beliefs, and I have no idea whether I'm supposed to be questioning this, or whether I'm supposed to think they sound wise.

Maybe the real issue here is the silent protagonist. She doesn't need to openly object to what these people are saying, especially since she's a guest in their home. But just some internal monologue would go a long way towards reassuring me that she (and by extension the writer) is actually thinking about what these people are saying, not just passively absorbing it.

(Some of the dialogue indicates that one of the knowledge-hoarder bad guys is gay, so I think this game will make or break based on how the aquatic fanatics' "everyone should get into a heterosexual marriage and have children" beliefs interact with his . . . well, existence.)

(no subject)

Very interesting post by Discoursedrome: 

“Really, the state of disability accommodation in America shows the limitations of even legislating law. Even the most common and basic accommodations, like “ramps to first-floor entrances”, “braille on bathroom signs” and “signs and menus with easily readable text” are often unavailable, and in many cases accommodations are theoretically available but you have to ask and they’ll be provided in a way that foregrounds your disability for an audience of strangers, who may treat you kindly but will almost certainly not be thinking of you with respect.”

The Vilest Lie That Christians Tell

"Sin has qualities of a mistake or messing up (ἁμαρτία), but far more than that it is the breaking of relationship.  The Fall was the breaking of the relationship between God and humanity, but because the relationship between God and humanity is literally the center and purpose of all creation, the effects of this rupture spiral outward: humanity is separated from God, the relationship between man and woman is splintered, and the harmony between humanity and the rest of the non-human world disappears.  Although humanity is never abandoned, there is a real and important sense in which we are stranded on the far side of a chasm we are not capable of breaching, and no one on our side of the chasm can quite reach each other, either."

Without us, you will be alone. This is the vilest lie that Christians tell, and many other lies spring from it. Without us, you will be empty. Without us, you won't know right from wrong. Without us, you will never understand what love means. And of course, with us, you will no longer suffer, and you will be united with something that truly loves you and understands you.

This is how you look at two men who love each other, and say they'll be so much better off if they're apart. God is love, and their actions aren't favored by God, so what they feel must not be love at all. To break it is no sorrow, but merely the creation of a new and better bond that will make them happier than they would ever otherwise be. Then you're surprised when they kill themselves.*

This is how you look at a distant tribe, and say they'll be so much better off as your slaves. Their practices are strange and heathen, and the true God could never be found in their worship. In your service, you will show them the way, and you will redeem them into the Christian bond that will make them understand God's love. Then you're surprised when they burn your house down.

This is how you claim to unity while breaking down the entire world into those who are like you and those who must learn. This is how you claim to empathy while refusing to understand the people you say must change. This is how you build upon yourself like a spreading virus, with a society where everyone learns to be like you and talk like you and say the same things you say, because they know what will happen if they differ. This is how you slowly strangle the woman who wants to lead, the child who wants to learn, and the man who wants some actual choices in his life. This is how you become a stain upon this world and convince yourself you're bringing paradise. This is your lie, and I refuse to let it stand unchallenged.

*The Captive Mind observes how the Soviets argued that in the modern world, all art other than pro-Soviet art was incapable of having meaning. Then they did their best to create a society in which it was impossible for artists to create and share meaningful art that wasn't pro-Soviet art. There's a similar mechanism in trying to make it as hard as possible for gay people to sustain romantic relationships, all the while saying that gay people aren't really in love.