The Worst Theologian

  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.

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

"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