Category Archives: teaching

Dona Nobis Pacem

I prefer amateur renderings of this song. The title is a traditional Latin prayer: Grant us peace. It’s supposed to connect to the Old Testament shalom but few Westerners are aware of the connotations of the Hebrew word. While I … Continue reading →

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The Urge to Torment

Sometimes it’s not enough to say it comes from Satan; in our culture that can serve to dismiss any number of horrible sins and leave us no way to uproot them from our own souls. The psychology of Christian Mysticism … Continue reading →

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Ritual Abuse

When you claim it’s your religion to increase human suffering, it’s a demonic cult. I’m not going to engage here in a long-winded analysis of the whole thing, but it was a fresh wound on my soul and I must … Continue reading →

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A Sacrifice

I have made choices while deeply absorbed into a world of moral folly. Consequently, my choices were foolish, taking place outside the boundaries of my calling and covenant with Christ. Some of them resulted in permanent changes that I never … Continue reading →

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Love Is the Law

I behold the face of my beloved. I seriously doubt you would find it aesthetically pleasing, but you haven’t spent a lifetime in her love, so I can forgive you for that. But I’m willing to bet you would understand … Continue reading →

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Defacto ANE Family

The original first churches under the leadership of Jesus’ disciples were defacto Hebrew families. Consider the historical cultural context. The Hebrew people lived under ANE feudalism. Their immediate government was their family, and any higher political power was obliged to … Continue reading →

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Calm Down

This is your elder/pastor writing, the shepherd who loves you because God taught him how to love: You need to calm down. Okay, some of you need to calm down, or maybe you can try to help folks who aren’t … Continue reading →

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Mysticism and Trust Models

In Christian Mysticism, models for trust have no significance. It’s hard to break a system that doesn’t exist. Our “system” manifests here, but isn’t rooted here. By moving everything of importance into the moral sphere of the heart, human frailties … Continue reading →

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Not Green

My favorite color is orange. While I’m like most humans with an aesthetic preference for blue (it has to do with the mechanics of vision in our eyes), I would rather wear orange. That’s because when I’m on my bike, … Continue reading →

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A Word for Men

The biggest problem is not so much what we do as it is how we abuse God’s wonderful gifts. As always, what follows assumes you have already recognized the grand failure of Western Civilization. As much as possible you must … Continue reading →

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