Eleventh Doctor Q&A

[Eleventh Doctor]

Gin & Tonic is my preferred drink but I mostly have vodka and various mixers when I choose to drink. If I ever have disposable cash in the near future I will buy a bottle of gin.

[aragtaghooligan]

Woah that's weird. Most christians I know who drink only drink wine and beer, for some reason I subconsciously thought things like vodka and gin were evil. Silly me. Aren't they designed for getting drunk not enjoying though?

[Eleventh Doctor]

Nope, they're designed for enjoyment. Things like moonshine and wood alcohol are for just getting drunk.

[kait]

Gin & Tonic is my preferred drink but I mostly have vodka and various mixers when I choose to drink. If I ever have disposable cash in the near future I will buy a bottle of gin.

I used to hate gin and tonics and then my mom's significant other introduced me to quality gin and tonics that don't taste like burnt Christmas trees.

So now gin and tonic is basically the only thing I make myself at home. So refreshing! I basically drink that and white wine.

Although I really want to get into learning how to make cocktails and super awesome mixed drinks. But it's so expensive to build up a selection big enough to do it.

Do you have any special holidays/holy days you celebrate within your particular religion?

[Eleventh Doctor]

The burnt Christmas tree complaint is one I hear a lot and yeah once you use some good gin and tonic it becomes a completely different drink.

You might look and see if there is a local bartending school, they'll usually offer classes where you can learn all the different drinks without having to buy all the expensive liquors.

There are a lot of Feast Days in Orthodoxy. The Orthodox liturgical year revolves around 12 Great Feasts.

1. The Nativity of the Theotokos (Mary) on September 8th. The Orthodox liturgical year start September 1st.
2. Elevation of the Holy Cross, September 14th, this is when St Constantine and his mother St Helen recovered the Cross Christ was crucified on.
3. Presentation of the Theotokos at the temple, November 21st, referring to the Jewish practice of taking young children to the temple to dedicate them.
4. Christmas or The Nativity of Christ on December 25th, pretty obvious what this is, we don’t have any Eastern specific traditions for this that I know of.
5. Theophany, known in the West as Epiphany, January 6th, this is the celebration of Christ's baptism. This is also the traditional time in Orthodoxy to do yearly house blessings.
6. The Presentation of Christ, February 2nd, the celebration of Christ being brought to the temple, see Luke 2.
7. The Annunciation, March 25th, when the angel visited Mary to announce the conception of Christ.
8. Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Pascha (Easter), this changes from year to year as does the date of Pascha.
9. The Ascension of Christ, this takes place 40 days after Pascha.
10. Pentecost, see Acts 2, this takes place 50 days after Pascha.
11. The Transfiguration, August 6th, see Luke 9 this is an especially important feast in the East compared to the West given the debate of energy vs essence between East and West.
12. The Dormition, August 15th, this is the feast of the falling asleep of the Theotokos (Mary). Orthodox hold that when Mary fell asleep she was assumed into heaven both body and soul.

Pascha is the biggest feast in the Eastern Orthodox Church and is climax of the Holy Week services; which are complex and a big deal in of themselves. The main Pascha service takes place at midnight on Sunday and goes until 2 or 3, after which we have a very large feast together. The various feasts of the Forerunner John the Baptist are also important in Orthodoxy; there are five separate feasts for him actually. Conception of St. John the Forerunner, Commemoration of St. John the Forerunner, First and Second Finding of the Head of St. John, Third Finding of the Head of St. John, Birth of St. John, and The Beheading of St. John.

Besides the feasts there are four main fasting periods in Orthodoxy that are also important. The main one is Lent which takes place 40 days before Pascha, The Nativity Fast, 40 days before December 24th, The Apostles Fast which takes place after the feast of All Saints until the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul, and finally The Fast of the Dormition which takes place two weeks before the Dormition.

[kait]

Yep, there are a lot of holidays!

Do you exchange gifts on Christmas?

And how long do your fasts last?

[Eleventh Doctor]

I do exchange gifts on Christmas

So our fasts aren't fasts from all food but from all meat and dairy products.

[Emma]

I wonder if this is the first time I have asked you a question...
What are your thoughts on the Judgement?
Do you feel it's healthy to talk about the Judgement?

[aragtaghooligan]

I am confused is burnt Christmas Tree a common taste. I have never tasted it, why would people use that to describe it?
I know what gin is sort of, but what is tonic?

[Miss Friendship]

Why only meat and dairy?

Why are some of your holidays focused on other saints instead of Christ? I mean, take John, he is practically a god considering how many holidays are dedicated to him.

[Eleventh Doctor]

What are your thoughts on the Judgement?
Do you feel it's healthy to talk about the Judgement?

That it will happen and I think it is healthy to talk about Judgement but not if it is being used to intimidate or frighten others. In Orthodox prayers we ask daily for "A good answer at the Judgement Seat."

I am confused is burnt Christmas Tree a common taste. I have never tasted it, why would people use that to describe it? I know what gin is sort of, but what is tonic?

Gin is made from juniper berries which grow on Christmas like trees so it can taste a bit like fir trees. Tonic is simply carbonated water with quinine dissolved in it.

Why only meat and dairy?

Why are some of your holidays focused on other saints instead of Christ? I mean, take John, he is practically a god considering how many holidays are dedicated to him.

Because those are animal products, one of the points of fasting is to return to how we ate in the Garden.

The Saints are only Saints because of the Grace God gave them, they are not celebrated for their own accomplishes but what they were able to accomplish through cooperation with God. John is not a god, he is a man who is worthy of emulation because of what God worked through him.

[Miss Friendship]

Does the Bible say anywhere that we should emulate saints?

[Eleventh Doctor]

Hebrews 11 is a whole chapter holding up the Old Testament Saints for emulation.

[Mandy]

Do you ever have debates with your siblings? Did you who you were younger? Did you ever make sibling spats/arguments into an interesting debate? I do that with my sis all the time.

Do you ever drink tea? If so, what is your favorite kind?

[Eleventh Doctor]

I have lots of debates with my siblings, we didn't debate much before I was in highschool but now all the time.

My favorite tea is chai

[Miss Friendship]

Were you raised to believe drinking was OK?

Do you put milk in your tea?

[Mandy]

Chai is my favorite too! I was just drinking a cup of vanilla chai so I decided to ask you about tea.

Do you ever drink hot apple cider?

What is your favorite fast food restaurant?

[kait]

What is something you've learned today?

[Eleventh Doctor]

Were you raised to believe drinking was OK?

Do you put milk in your tea?

Yes, my parents drank when I was growing up. They also taught us about the dangers of too much drinking. My grandfather was an alcoholic who gave up drinking.

I do put milk in my tea.

Do you ever drink hot apple cider?

What is your favorite fast food restaurant?

I do drink hot apple cider

Taco Bell

What is something you've learned today?

That drugs to treat illnesses are very expensive if you don't have insurance.

[aragtaghooligan]

What is quinine?