Studio 36, With TigerShadow

[Eleventh Doctor]

Why only four Solas and not five and why will you never budge on them?

[Miss Friendship]

Math. Math is the worst.

Agreed! Hear that everyone?

then I'd try to go to London,

I've always wanted to go to England as a missionary as well. *keeps finding all these similarities with Tiger*

What is the longest you have gone without sleep?

Best compliment you ever received?

If you could change your first name, what would it be?

You keep asking me these hard questions.

Hear that OxR? I asked a hard question.

[Tarol]

Which one of the five solas is ignored? 0_o

What is your favorite devotional?

What is your favorite website?

What is one of the funniest mistakes you've heard from someone talking about theology? (Bible out of context, etc.)

[Miss Friendship]

If you could meet 5 people from the SS in real life, who would it be?

[Wakko]

I looked at your tumblr and saw that you like Gravity Falls! What's your favorite episode?

[TigerShadow]

Why only four Solas and not five

Because I done goofed. I meant five; for some reason four sounded right? Gah, I usually research these things before spewing out words.

and why will you never budge on them?

I'll list the five solae in order with definitions (for those not in the know) and explain my heathen illogical Protestant self:

Sola Scriptura ("by Scripture alone"): This is the belief that all church teachings and traditions must be governed by Scripture. I remember being asked about the history behind this and to give my reasons why I believe it. The thing is, at the end of the day, I can't really explain it, which is one of the reasons why I don't like arguing about it. I sort of have this gut feeling that trusting any words that aren't in Scripture for the purposes of salvation is just, well, wrong. I don't see any need to go beyond the Gospels to know what I must do to be saved, or to go beyond the epistles and Jesus's teachings to know how to live my life.

Sola fide ("by faith alone"): This is the belief that justification - being made right before God - is received only by faith, not by good works. When we are told that by grace we have been saved through faith, Paul explains that this is "not [our] own doing [...] not as a result of works, so that no one may boast". Certainly, as James points out, faith without works is dead, but I believe that being made righteous by faith necessitates the doing of good works, not that good works and obedience justify us to begin with. I think that places emphasis on us and our doing when apart from God, we can do nothing.

Sola gratia ("by grace alone"): This is the belief that we cannot, on our own merit, do anything to achieve salvation, and that only God's work can save us (it's sort of the same thing as sola fide, but it is, in the vernacular, God's side of the story - the two go hand in hand to say, essentially, that God does the work necessary for our salvation, and that we need only to have faith to receive it). This also falls under my interpretation of Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you have been saved through faith [...] it is the gift of God".

Solus Christus/Solo Christo ("Christ alone"/"through Christ alone"): This is the idea that there is only one mediator between man and God, Jesus Christ, that priests are not necessary for sacraments, and that salvation comes through nothing other than the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Again, this isn't really one of those things that I can "explain"; it just makes sense to me that the only way that we can be saved is through Jesus Christ, and that no human can do anything. To me, this emphasizes the work of Jesus Christ, and I don't think that we can do that often enough.

Soli Deo Gloria ("glory to God alone"): This is the sola that rejects the veneration of Mary and the saints practiced by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches and declares that glory, worship, and honor belong only to God alone (and before anyone asks, no, I don't believe that the Catholic and Orthodox churches worship Mary or the saints). It is founded on the principle that human beings are not worthy of glory for their good works, but that instead God should receive the glory; multiple times in Scripture we are told that when we are obedient to God even in the face of persecution, people will see our good works and glorify God, indicating that this is how it should be - our actions should point to God, not to ourselves in any way for any reason. That doesn't mean that I think that people shouldn't be given accolades for their good works, but they shouldn't be honored above any of the rest of us, either.

In short, my belief in the five solas comes from an essential conviction that humans are not to be put either at or above God's level, and that not a single human being can be held above any other. We are all sinners and are all in need of God's grace, and we can do nothing to achieve it. Maybe it's the fact that I was raised Protestant and I'm subconsciously rejecting things that don't align with that worldview, I don't know - but frankly, so be it. For the debate hounds: trying to start a debate with me on this subject is pointless. This is what I believe, period, and my mind will not be changed for the above reasons.

This does not mean that I consider those who reject the five solae to be "bad Christians" or "not true believers". That is not my call to make. This is just what I believe, based on my own understanding of Scripture. I've listened to the Catholic/Eastern Orthodox perspective, and I happen to disagree with it. I'd just rather not talk about that kind of thing beyond explaining myself.

What is your favorite devotional?

Are you asking about a devotional book, or a particular passage of Scripture?

What is your favorite website?

At the moment? Probably Pottermore. The most tense I get on there is when I'm trying to brew a potion correctly or properly cast a Full Body-Bind.

What is one of the funniest mistakes you've heard from someone talking about theology? (Bible out of context, etc.)

The most hilarious I've heard is when people try to take the passage in Galations that declares "there is no male and female" and twist it into some nonsense about the "gender binary" and declare that the Bible states that being trans* is okay (when the verse is actually referring to treating people like spiritual equals - it's talking about sexism).

If you could meet 5 people from the SS in real life, who would it be?

(This was hard - I'd like to meet you all, given the chance!) Eleventh Doctor, Smaug, Belle, Miss Friendship, and Pound Foolish.

I looked at your tumblr and saw that you like Gravity Falls! What's your favorite episode?

"Northwest Mansion Mystery", for the character and relationship development; I'm also fond of "Society of the Blind Eye", "The Golf War", and (of course) "Not What He Seems". I'm so ready to be wrecked by "A Tale of Two Stans", though.

[HomeschoolCowgirl]

Have you ever watched All Creatures Great and Small?

Pudding or Ice cream?
Novel or biography?
Hot weather or Cold weather?
Pepsi or CocaCola?
Curl up on a rainy day or go splash in puddles? (i think I already know the answer to this one

[TigerShadow]

Have you ever watched All Creatures Great and Small?

No, but my mom read the book to my brother and me when we were little.

Pudding or Ice cream?

Ice cream. Pudding cannot compare.

Novel or biography?

Novel, I think. When I read, I like to escape to a new world.

Hot weather or Cold weather?

Hot weather. The fashion is cuter, the colors are bolder, and I don't have to worry about my knuckles being chapped beyond recognition every time I go outside. Plus, I don't tend to associate warmer weather with dragging myself out of bed and hauling myself off to another day of agony and suffering in school. (It was at least kind of worth it in sophomore and junior year...senior year, not so much.)

Pepsi or CocaCola?

Neither; I hate soft drinks. =P

Curl up on a rainy day or go splash in puddles? (i think I already know the answer to this one

Curl up; I hate getting wet when I didn't plan to. (Although when it's a thunderstorm I like to stand outside under cover of the roof over my front deck and just watch and listen. Thunderstorms rock. )

[HomeschoolCowgirl]

Novel or biography?

Novel, I think. When I read, I like to escape to a new world.

Ditto

Hot weather or Cold weather?

Hot weather. The fashion is cuter, the colors are bolder, and I don't have to worry about my knuckles being chapped beyond recognition every time I go outside. Plus, I don't tend to associate warmer weather with dragging myself out of bed and hauling myself off to another day of agony and suffering in school. (It was at least kind of worth it in sophomore and junior year...senior year, not so much.)

Ditto! But most of my fancier clothes are winter so it's kinda a tie for me.

Curl up on a rainy day or go splash in puddles? (i think I already know the answer to this one

Curl up; I hate getting wet when I didn't plan to. (Although when it's a thunderstorm I like to stand outside under cover of the roof over my front deck and just watch and listen. Thunderstorms rock. )

Ditto!

[Miss Friendship]

Here is a random question: What color are your eyes?

You and Sam strike me as a lot alike. Do you think the same?

Favorite smiley? (This could have been asked)

[TigerShadow]

My eyes are hazel, though they look brown at first glance.

By Sam, I'm assuming you mean Samantha14? I don't know. I think she's more in touch with God than I am, which affects her worldview accordingly, but we're both very passionate and intelligent people.

What else but the dancing smiley?

[Mickey]

Do you prefer hard wood or carpet floors?
What is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?

[Tarol]

Are you a KJV onlyist?

If not, what do you think of people who are?

I forget if you've said this before or not...but why is it called Studio 36?

[TigerShadow]

Do you prefer hard wood or carpet floors?

It depends, but probably carpet. It's easier to just lie on carpet floors and work when I don't feel like expending the energy required to sit at my desk.

What is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?

Not go outside. Honestly, I usually just do the same things I always do, although I do sometimes curl up on the couch with a mug of warm milk and snuggle with my kitty for a bit.

Are you a KJV onlyist?

No; I primarily use the ESV, although I'm not opposed to other translations as long as they all communicate the same overall meaning for the sake of consistency. Some people need more simplified language, others prefer something closer to the original Hebrew and Ancient Greek.

If not, what do you think of people who are?

As long as they stay in their lane and don't thumb down their noses at people for choosing other translations, I'm okay with them. If they're most comfortable using the KJV, then that's their choice.

I forget if you've said this before or not...but why is it called Studio 36?

I haven't, and I was hoping someone would ask. Studio 360 is a weekly radio show broadcast on multiple stations, among them NPR (which my parents listen to regularly). It's a podcast that discusses the arts and culture, in terms of both how they reflect our world and how we view the world through those lenses, and regularly conducts interviews (hence the title for one of many thread stylings that are, for all intents and purposes, interview-based concepts). I pulled the "36" from the fact that my thread was, at the time, the 36th of either the Q&A threads or the Gallery threads (I think it was the Q&A threads, but I can't remember whether I started this thread before all the Gallery subfora were merged or not).

[Eleventh Doctor]

If you could study one theological issue and understand it to the extent we humans can understand anything theological, which issue would it be?

[Mandy]

If you knew you would die tomorrow, what would you do today?

If you knew you would die next month, what would you do this month?

What was the best day of your life?

What was the worst day of your life?

What is the biggest area in your life in which you would like to grow? (spiritually or physically)

If there was one thing you could change about yourself, what would it be?

What is your most embarrassing moment?

What do you like best about your best friend(s)?

Would you invite any of your SS friends to your wedding or funeral? If so, whom?

What is your favorite thing about the SS?

[Wakko]

Do you listen to any podcasts other then Studio 360?

[TigerShadow]

What is the longest you have gone without sleep?

Probably about thirty-six hours or so. I am weak. =P

Best compliment you ever received?

I think one of the best compliments I've ever gotten was when one of my teachers sincerely told me that he hoped his three-year-old daughter would turn out like me. Coming from someone who's had a lot of female students over the years, that meant a lot.

If you could change your first name, what would it be?

I probably wouldn't change my name if I could, because I happen to like my name. But if I had to change it, I'd probably change it to Ginny, after my favorite female character in Harry Potter.

If you could study one theological issue and understand it to the extent we humans can understand anything theological, which issue would it be?

Probably the matter of eternal security, because I think it's a pretty big deal to know where you're going to end up and to live accordingly (of course, we should live like Christ anyway, but it's still important).

If you knew you would die tomorrow, what would you do today?

If you knew you would die next month, what would you do this month?

I'm...not going to think too hard about these. They kind of depress me, and that's the last thing I need at this point in time. =/

What was the best day of your life?

I guess the Good Christian Answer is "the day I accepted Christ", but there was a whole lot of messy stuff going on then, so I can't really mark that one. I'd have to say the best day, so far, was leading my team to winning the state quiz bowl championship.

What was the worst day of your life?

Definitely one of the worst was when I was at a Sunday School get-together and a guy spent the entire time making fun of me because he didn't consider me to be cool or pretty or popular enough to be a part of their group. (Needless to say, I had the self-respect to ditch them.)

What is the biggest area in your life in which you would like to grow? (spiritually or physically)

Spiritually, better awareness of God's presence and trust in Him. Physically, I'd like to get in better physical shape, and at some point learn some form of hand-to-hand combat - judo, maybe, and some form of boxing.

If there was one thing you could change about yourself, what would it be?

Probably my tendency to over-internalize everything.

What is your most embarrassing moment?

I'm...not sure I want to go there. XD

What do you like best about your best friend(s)?

My best friend is a total goofball; she has this really weird and wacky sense of humor that never fails to liven things up. She's also really passionate and energetic.

Would you invite any of your SS friends to your wedding or funeral? If so, whom?

Probably not, because I don't know any of you IRL, and I'd want my wedding to be pretty low-key, guest-wise.

What is your favorite thing about the SS?

I think I really like the more abundant AIO discussion (although it's been pretty quiet as of late, though that's likely due to the fact that Album 59 hasn't had its general release yet).

Do you listen to any podcasts other then Studio 360?

Well..."listen" is a strong word. XD I sometimes catch what they're talking about if it interests me or if it happens to be on while I'm in the room, but I don't go out of my way to listen to it. However, I have been trying to keep up with a Legend of Korra podcast started by fans of the show who were disgruntled by the ending and want to talk about their problems with the last season and what they liked about Books 1 and 2. It's nice to have those feelings validated by other people within the fandom.

[Mandy]

If you could change something about the SS, what would it be?

What do you do when you're nervous?

What are you looking forward to most right now?

[TigerShadow]

If you could change something about the SS, what would it be?

Well...as intellectually snobbish as this sounds, I'd like some more in-depth AIO discussion - people who talk about themes and character arcs and write up analyses thereof. Granted, I could stand to do that more often myself, but I'd still like for there to be more of a fandom experience here that I could really sink my teeth into.

What do you do when you're nervous?

I ramble and crack jokes. I also twirl and run my fingers through my hair, play with the hems of whatever shirt I'm wearing, and bounce on the balls of my feet.

What are you looking forward to most right now?

The fact that I'm moving in to my college dorm in less than a week!