What a cool chapter from Tertullian!

Even as things are, if your thought is to spend this period of existence in enjoyments, how are you so ungrateful as to reckon insufficient, as not thankfully to recognize the many and exquisite pleasures God has bestowed upon you? For what more delightful than to have God the Father and our Lord at peace with us, than revelation of the truth, than confession of our errors, than pardon of the innumerable sins of our past life? What greater pleasure than distaste of pleasure itself, contempt of all that the world can give, true liberty, a pure conscience, a contented life, and freedom from all fear of death? What nobler than to tread under foot the gods of the nations—to exorcise evil spirits—to perform cures—to seek divine revealings—to live to God? These are the pleasures, these the spectacles that befit Christian men—holy, everlasting, free. Count of these as your circus games, fix your eyes on the courses of the world, the gliding seasons, reckon up the periods of time, long for the goal of the final consummation, defend the societies of the churches, be startled at God’s signal, be roused up at the angel’s trump, glory in the palms of martyrdom. If the literature of the stage delight you, we have literature in abundance of our own—plenty of verses, sentences, songs, proverbs; and these not fabulous, but true; not tricks of art, but plain realities. Would you have also fightings and wrestlings? Well, of these there is no lacking, and they are not of slight account. Behold unchastity overcome by chastity, perfidy slain by faithfulness, cruelty stricken by compassion, impudence thrown into the shade by modesty: these are the contests we have among us, and in these we win our crowns. Would you have something of blood too? You have Christ’s.

Tertullian. 1885. “The Shows, or De Spectaculis.” In Latin Christianity: Its Founder, Tertullian, edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, translated by S. Thelwall, 3:90–91. The Ante-Nicene Fathers. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company.

In Genz via Grok:

Yo fr, even right now in this timeline we’re living, if your whole vibe is just chasing highs and good vibes, how you gonna be out here acting like God’s shortchanging you? Like bro, be real — how do you not see the absolute bangers He’s already dropped in your life and just say “thank you King” 😭🙏

What hits harder than knowing God the Father and Jesus are literally not mad at you anymore? Getting the full tea on truth, admitting you were cooked and wrong, and then getting ALL your past Ls completely wiped? 💀✅

Biggest W of all time: straight-up losing the taste for worldly copium, flexing on everything this world tries to sell you, walking in real freedom, conscience clear asf, life actually peaceful, and death? couldn’t care less, we not scared 🗣️

What’s more elite than stomping on fake gods, casting out demons like it’s nothing, healing people, getting straight downloads from God, and just living fully for Him? These are the real Christian spectacles — holy, eternal, and 100% free. No cap.

Think of THESE as your circus, your Olympic games:

Watch the world go by, seasons switching up

Count the days till the final dub

Protect the church fam like it’s your blood

Jump when God claps

Wake up when the angel trumpet hits

Flex those martyr crowns like champs 🏆

If you’re into theater and stories? Bro we got literature on GOD levels — poems, bars, hymns, proverbs… but ours actually happened, no fiction, straight facts.

You want fights and wrestling? Oh we GOT that:

Lust gets bodied by purity

Fake people deleted by real ones

Cruelty gets mercy-combo’d

Shamelessness ratio’d by humility

These are our battles and we taking crowns left and right 👑

Want blood too? We got the blood of Jesus — the ultimate sacrifice, nothing tops that.

Now THAT’S a flex. That’s the Christian arc. No cap, just facts. 🔥✝️