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Christians, Don’t Vote! Part 1: Are We Really Called to Do So?

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We Americans are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with our government. According to Pew Research Center, we’re often exhausted and angry when politics is even thought about. We see the American system as corrupt and divisive. [1] Why then do we Christians strive for a Christian nation? Nearly 6 in 10 Christians, whether liberal or conservative, say that we “should be” a Christian nation – whether that means the law is governed by biblical language or generic “Christian values”. [2] (As if the two could be separated). We want an authority and government that fights for us, defends us, and represents us in the world’s political system. It’s a natural desire to want power and influence, especially if only because we want to help make the world a better place. Not for our own protection (though safety is preferred), not so we can force others to bend toward our will (though we do know right), but that God’s will for our lives is made known, realized, and manifested (even if Christ has already
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Reading the Scriptures Wisely: A Reading of Exodus 24

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  Jacob's Ladder by William Blake Reading the Bible is Hard. Reading the Bible is hard. It's difficult to wrap your mind around a book (a library, really) written over the span of a few thousand years. It's hard to understand that even though our reality is the same as it's always been, our view of it has shifted (especially since Descartes). It's also a mind-boggling long book with boring sections that people often skip because there's no surface action ( cough genealogies cough ). What I plan to do here is provide a different approach to reading the scriptures than what you may be used to - whether you're used to the academic rigor of the historical-literal and theological narrative readings or the popular proof-texting and individualized ego-centric readings. It's not necessarily easier, rather different. It's an approach that's highly intuitive. However, you need a trained intuition. This intuitive approach is what is called an "anagog
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Stars and Sparrows Alike

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 This work is dedicated to the public domain. I hope you enjoy the read.  A House Sparrow Stars and sparrows alike flow down streams - the seas above speckled with the white fire of the powers that be – The sparrows alike, striped with the brownred black strokes of the Artist’s brush – A white spot left for the sparrow’s own fire and passion. Both stars and sparrows alike light the twilight forest ablaze - shall we follow? As above, the sparrows fly, So below, the stars descend - Stars and sparrows alike, lovers unite.
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A Letter

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  A 15th century Icon of Wisdom Dear sojourners in Persia, We live in a state that provides frozen peace atop a raging river. And we know underneath the ice are fish looking for a meal to devour. The Living Water gives Leviathan his dwelling place even when he refuses to see it. This state, who is ever hostile to us and the Country we serve, wants us to ignore its reality and feed it until the King of Kings has been swallowed in its darkened belly. This spiritual beast of an egregore is encapsulated by the United States of America - the epitome of modernity and a pillar of so-called culture. It's such a subtle demon that most people (including our travelers of a kindred spirit) don't see it lurking behind every consumeristic and political act. The "progress" it feigns is the perversion of us as Icons - the idol calls us and lures us into an apotheosis of the flesh embodied in the rape of Lady Wisdom. Invisible Infinity seen through the telescope of finite visibility.
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Meditation I

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Adam naming the Animals  To start from the beginning is to implicitly suggest that our genesis can be separated from our conclusion. The journey that has no destination. Yet, even journeys with no end in sight still commence knowing they will eventually come to a close. Perhaps the death of the traveler themselves. In this way, every story begins with "In the beginning" and ends with an amen, "so be it".  To continue on with this meditation, the story we share of ourselves, both individually and collectively, shape the way in which we live, move, and have our being. How we see our birth and how we view our death dictate - inasmuch as a speaker dictates to a scribe who has his own unique script and note taking strategies - how we go about interacting with those around us, human or not. We have a conclusion that continues into eternity, the ever growing in toward He whom we call God. As 2 Peter confirms and Genesis 1 makes explicit, we are to be partakers of the divin
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The Crucifixion of Nonviolence

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"Crucifixion" by Freddy Dendoktoor During the past couple of weeks, I’ve been reading various articles and books on the Anabaptist movement and descendants of the Radical Reformation. The Radical Reformation took place at the same time as the magisterial reformation (Calvinists, Lutherans, etc.) but articulated different ideas and practices the church got wrong. The radical reformers died for their beliefs in: a separation between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the world, not swearing oaths, adult baptism (anabaptist = to baptize again), living a Christo-centric life, evangelizing, and reclaiming the first century church structures. [1] What has drawn me to this stream of Christianity is the emphasis on nonviolence and pacifism. Pacifism isn’t passivity. Walter Wink, a thinker much referenced by modern anabaptists, sees pacifism as “militant nonviolence articulated by Jesus”, or “the third way”. [2] For example, after explaining that resisting an evildoer (Matt. 5
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