First I found the Otaku in My Veins blog, and then Beneath The Tangles, both earlier this year, and I've read some pretty insightful stuff on each of them. I'm still not aware of any in the Anime YouTube community however.
I have always been, but am especially now, a fairly unconventional Christian. I consider myself a Fundamentalist on the grounds that I'm a Six Day Young Earth Creationist, as well as a Premillennial Futurist in my Eschatology. And I firmly believe in both a literal Virgin Birth and a literal Bodily Resurrection of The Dead.
I could also justify calling myself an Independent Baptist, Pentecostal and Hebrew Roots based on the most baseline definitions of those terms. Three things that are not generally viewed as going together, but are regardless commonly viewed as conservative brands of Christianity.
But I've increasingly movies Left when it comes to matters of politics and morality. I've also recently become an Evangelical Universalist. (If you're curious my view of The Gospel is laid out here.)
However the view most likely to get me excommunicated from all three above mentioned forms of Christianity, is one I've held for a fairly long time now. A view that is the basis of the oldest and still most important piece of Online Content I've created.
The Bible does NOT Condemn Homosexuality or Homosexual Acts.
I'm not the only or even first person to argue that. But I do it in a very different way, a way that is very strictly sticking to the text of what The Bible says. Some others address one of the passages similarly to how I do but not the rest. Because you see I view most of the relevant passages as being about basically the same thing.
My advocacy for this position has gotten me banned from forums and Facebook groups. Which annoys me considering these same groups did tolerate dissenting opinions on issues The Bible says far more about, and are far closer to effecting one's overall theology.
I was hoping that an Okatu-Christian community would be more tolerant of this. Since Yuri and Yaoi shipping are such a big part of Otaku Fandom. I understand why many in the LGBT community do not view our interest in same sex-love as actually helpful for a variety of reasons, I have and will continue to engage with that nuanced issue. My point here however is that it seems unfathomable to me that anyone can call themselves an Otaku and think same sex-love is outright wrong.
And yet that hope has disappointed me once again. I haven't been banned yet this time thankfully. But Otaku in My Veins actually attempted to argue Yuri on Ice isn't Gay. And Beneath The Tangles has ignored the Yuri subplot of episode 4 of Classroom of The Elite (I do appreciate it being one of the few sites covering that show).
I don't judge fellow Christians who disagree with me, if I can still respect and learn from Chuck Missler and Rob Skiba, I can certainly find endless value in these sites. But it's disappointing.
Though maybe some of them simply need to be exposed to a good argument to see the light.
The Anime YouTube Community has a few people who've talked about coming from Christian backgrounds but being Atheists now. So we have people who had to leave the Faith to become Otaku, and Christians who have to reject a core part of Otakudom because they cling to Augustinian Morality.
So in a sense I'm the only true Christian-Otaku, I'm the Rickest Rick there is.
But that's partly because I was unusual before I even got that deep into Anime.
I have on this blog generally avoided bringing my faith into discussing Anime. It came up in one post about Noir. In the near future, I'll be doing a few posts that bring it up more. But in general things will remain the same. As a Universalist I don't want to force my faith on anyone. What I think about The Bible is there on other blogs for people who want to know, but mainly I try to Be A Witness by setting a good example.
P.S. If you feel compelled to ask if I've seen the Ghost Stories dub, the answer is.... a good chunk of it. I'm willing to laugh at unflattering Christian caricatures because I know we've done a lot to earn it. And Monica Rail is hilarious.
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