Guest Post: Azure Ides-Gray

Posted on July 16, 2016 by ehurst

Another slice of our booklet project. Tell us what you think.

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3. The Spirit Realm is real and beyond comprehension (this universe is not everything)

My intent with this writing is to bring some doubts to the table as they relate to the Spirit Realm. This is inherently difficult territory to navigate through a medium like writing as the topic is, inherently speaking, beyond description. However, beyond description is quite different from beyond actuality. The Spirit Realm is capable of being recognized by humans in the sensory world, though it doesn’t exist in the same way and is not contingent upon the world as we know it. In addition, this reality will only be convincing to those who make the decision to listen to Christ first, for it is by His grace that humans might be imbued with a change in understanding (Ephesians 1:7-10). Systematic arguments are only successful to a certain point with topics such as this, and so I shall, rather loosely, let my thoughts stream.

In no way whatsoever does the observation of natural phenomena discredit, at base level, the possibility of supernatural reality. Roger Trigg makes this point with clarity in his book Rationality and Religion: “It does not follow from the mere fact of human rationality that there is no transcendent reality… That assumption was the product of the Enlightenment” (1998:27). Fellow philosopher Peter Kreeft is correct in rebranding this historical period as “the Endarkenment.”

Though there are numerous ways in which one can reject the reality of the Spirit Realm, the atheist Hegelian, Ludwig Feuerbach, seems an apt example of someone who pushed this quasi-Enlightenment philosophic notion right to the edge. Despite being alive post-Enlightenment, Feuerbach’s thinking was nonetheless tainted by materialism. He maintained that the human collective was God and that the supposed qualities of God were mere human qualities being projected to a “false zone of reality” (Singer, 2000:23). Whether one takes the ideological route of Feuerbach or a different path, any path that deviates from the narrow road is the wrong way (Matthew 7:14).

However, the Enlightenment should not be our main focus; the focus is the Spirit Realm, particularly, how its reality might be denied. Doubts made in relation to the Spirit Realm come in a variety of forms, and they are not only committed on behalf of unbelievers but also Christians. What form does this disbelief come in for the Christian? It is my suggestion that Christians are at risk of what might be considered one-sided supernaturalism. What I am referring to here is that many Christians sincerely believe that the evil dimension of the Spirit Realm is very accessible and dangerous, and yet regard the good dimension as being quite distant and ineffective. Think about it for a few minutes and be honest with yourself. Is it not easier to tremble at the thought of witchcraft participation and its consequences, for instance, than to imagine oneself being in awe when praying to God or taking scripture into account? Why is that so?

Again, there is nothing I can write here that can prove the reality of the Spirit Realm. This writing is a structured expression and the Spirit Realm is beyond structures, so it’s intrinsically inadequate to make so great an achievement. But there are some points that I hope would resonate with you. First, tread with caution in a world that’s brimming with vain philosophies. Second, be serious about your beliefs – especially in relation to the supernatural. Belief in the Spirit Realm need not be reduced to a type of misguided Gnosticism. The Genesis account informs us that natural reality was intended by God (see chapter one) but it is certainly not an end in itself. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13 verse 12: “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” Hold fast to Christ while you exist in this world of temporality. But remember, your knowing of Christ is not intended to be a temporal, this-world experience, but rather, an eternal knowing (John 3:16, 36).

Azure Ides-Gray

Works Cited:

Singer, Peter. “From God to Money.” Marx: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. 23. Book.

Trigg, Roger. “A Defense of Religious Realism.” Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings. Ed. Michael Peterson, et al. 4th. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. 27. Book.

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It Ain’t Just a Pony Ride in the Dark of Night

Posted on July 16, 2016 by ehurst

In terms of clinical psychology, a “dream” is drawn from the contents of your human experience. There’s a lot of stuff stored in your memories, and not all of it is conscious. If you remember a dream sequence once you are awake, it provides a snapshot of subconscious stuff that might have been forgotten or submerged. Most of us could, given the right preparation, recognize what our dreams are telling us in symbols. It’s typically something inside of you trying to correct a moral imbalance. Neurosis arises most often from fleeing that inner moral awareness, trying to drown it out. People who medicate their sleep are often hiding from a moral truth.

This contrasts with a “vision,” in which some portion of the story is apparently sourced outside your own mind, and it tends to pass through your consciousness in a half-aware state. It might well include a lot of dream material from inside your own slush-fund of memories, but something inside of you recognizes that this experience is not just a dream sequence.

So I sit here in the wee hours of the morning, wide awake and feeling compelled to discuss a vision that awakened me. I’m not talented enough to write it out in full dramatic fashion; it would probably make a novelette. All I can do is summarize and characterize, and that’s good enough for the moral purpose that drives me to write about it in the first place.

The story: A group of amateurs are working on a film, using a facility that has seen better days. A lot of stuff clinging here and there from previous uses never got completely removed. They were doing some difficult work on a scene involving a large water-tank for underwater filming. It was unheated, but tolerable, and almost funny was that this tank had a lot of fake ice encrusting various parts. This was the last bit of unfinished footage and it took the actors, who were also the producers and writers, quite some mutual encouragement to get it finished and into the final editing phase.

They revived a shared joke about how their film project betrayed such genius that it would change the world and humanity would never be the same.

So they got into costume, splashed into the water and worked through a quick review of the scene. Then they recorded the scene and prepared the exit the tank in a grudging celebratory mood. As they all stood near the ladder, the whole world around them flickered. The first thought out of someone’s mouth was a power flux, but then another member of the group realized that the tank lights didn’t flicker at all, and they were on the same circuit as the rest of the staging area.

Just beyond the confines of the tank, the world itself went utterly black, as if in the emptiest part of outer space. Then, you would have thought it was a filming trick, with the background supplied by software, because it looked as if someone had turned on the back-lighting, there as a flicker of the display with some distortion and artifacts, then quickly it all blinked back into place. But there was no green-screen background outside the tank.

They realize that the ice on the edge of the tank is now real, and the air is cold enough to make them shiver. One of the people in this troop theorized that reality itself had shifted, and somehow their oddball setting had allowed them to experience a moment of shared awareness. “Well, we did say that this would change the whole world.”

They climb out to face a world still synchronized time-wise, but it requires a struggle to keep track of what has changed in their world as they compare notes against their memories over the next few days. Then I came fully awake as the brief chunk of storyline faded out in my mind. Sorry, but I didn’t write that story, so don’t beg me to pound out that novelette. It didn’t come from me. Feel free to steal the story idea if you like, but it’s not my kind of thing.

Rather, I knew right away the whole thing was a reminder that reality compares favorably to that kind of story. That is, you never know when everything around you will become surreal. I know it can get tiring to read it if you don’t feel it, but I’ve been writing about walking in a very high moral tension for some years, an increasingly powerful sense that our world is on the cusp of radical changes. A huge portion of our planet has been manipulated into surrendering that moral awareness that is the human default, and as God begins to keep His promises of blessings and curses after His patience runs out, people will go mad in the false certainty that the world has gone mad.

So when you see things like the terror truck on the French Riviera, and the next day an attempted coup in Turkey, and God-only-knows what is coming over the weekend, it doesn’t throw you off. Sure, mourn the sadness of human slaughter. While you are at it, mourn the sins that brought us to this place. Though we are equipped to recognize the meanings of our dreams, and to discern when a vision occurs, we are also wired to recognize when the nightmares are “real.”

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Decay Is Renewal

Posted on July 15, 2016 by ehurst

RecoveryIslandUrban decay is a renewal of nature. Today I was testing my iPhone camera and I’m embarrassed to discover it is roughly as good as the little pocket camera I used the past two years, and it’s smaller and comes with a lot more functions. The first image is a parking island out behind the old Heritage Park Mall.

WardsGarageAlmost directly behind me was this shot of the old Ward’s auto repair shop. You can just make out the “MW” logo on the handle of the pedestrian door. Right now the garage is just storage with vehicles and equipment inside.

FencelineYou can’t say Life Church doesn’t splash out the cash on facilities. They replaced the fencing along the outer edge of the mall parking lot, but stopped at some obvious point, beyond which they make no claim of ownership. The original fence in exactly the same style continues on hidden inside the shrubbery and trees.

SomethingburgerWhen LifeChurch first opened this Midwest City campus, there was a Whataburger store out in the very corner of the parking lot, within walking distance of the front entrance to the worship center. It died and someone bought it with good intentions of turning it into some other kind of fast food place. They used the color scheme from what was then our brand new NBA franchise, the Oklahoma City Thunder. But it never happened. Nature is slowly reclaiming the place, and the grass between the cracks in the asphalt is just one small indicator.

AaronsPoolThis was also an exercise walk, the first longer walk since the knee surgery. After strolling all the way around Heritage Park, I walked behind a still active strip mall across from Sears on the east side of Air Depot Boulevard. One of the shops still open here is one of those rental places that offers appliances and home electronics of the lowest possible quality at obscenely high prices. It’s loan sharking in disguise.

Last night was a very heavy rain. While I don’t recall seeing evidence of flooding on previous occasions walking by here more than a dozen times, it served to emphasize how nature is seldom denied doing what it does despite all sorts of human efforts to “tame” things. The slope drops to about a meter in depth back against the dock.

Let me reiterate something: In each case Creation spoke to me about these shots. “See what I can do?” In each photo, I am sure nature will also speak to you through the images. Sure, there may be some talent for photography here, but it would hardly be worth your time to see the shots if it rested solely on my abilities. In everything we do as people, in our divine calling from God, nature will speak to your heart and help you bring forth the full power of shalom in your heart-led desire to bring Him glory. This is why I’m praying for some way to get back out there in the countryside with an even better camera, because it keeps calling my name.

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The Real Worry

Posted on July 15, 2016 by ehurst

What happens after I’m gone?

By no means do I anticipate expiring anytime soon. I’m just showing what’s in my heart. It is inevitable that a biblical community of faith will take on somewhat the character of its elder. That’s how it is supposed to work, so let’s drop the pretense of objectivity. If we had a genuine pastor, it would reflect his character, as well. So I don’t pretend that my ideas are so powerful as to overwhelm my personal influence.

At the same time, I don’t take myself that seriously. It’s not that my role is fungible, but I am. Maybe things would change if my demise shut this blog down, but there’s nothing to keep someone from taking up the eldership and carrying things forward through some other virtual connection.

You won’t catch me trying to gin up some kind of organization to outlive me. If you folks don’t make it happen by your own natural heart leading, then it shouldn’t happen. This isn’t about me and my legacy. It’s about those still alive trying to make the most of God’s provision for life after the Fall and prior to the Final Redemption.

So it’s okay that some of you sense a strong personal bond with me, but let’s not get stupid and raise some monument to that. Nor should you harbor dreams of that for yourself. Indeed, I doubt I’ll shed any tears in Heaven if everyone forgets the name “Radix Fidem,” either. Call it what you like; that’s something I came up with one day because people kept asking what to name this thing we share. The radical commitment to faith can live on by any other name.

Yep, I’ll take your donations and try to keep following where the hand of God leads me. But at some point all that stuff I buy with it will wind up in the dump somewhere and my body is likely to be ashes. We don’t need another organization with some funny name keeping a gilded lie alive with sacred phrases binding people who never knew me.

I’m more worried about this thing being corrupted and institutionalized than I am about seeing it fall apart.

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Reconfigured

Posted on July 14, 2016 by ehurst

They are still calling me.

Just before the bike crash, I was wondering how I could add some fresh diversity to my cycling photography. I had pretty much run the limit of my riding range, and the day of the crash, I was on my way into the City to shoot some urban images. That isn’t really what I like, but it would have been hard to do anything different within cycling range.

Now, I want you to know that there was mercy in that crash. It’s quite likely I would have encountered the heart trouble on some huge long ride and would have run the risk of not getting timely help. Keep in mind that this isn’t a heart-problem as most men have them, but a wiring issue within an otherwise very healthy heart. The wiring problem was coming to a head and I had no way of knowing that. Human parts wear out in their own time and in their own way, and God isn’t through with me, so this was a merciful way of bringing about changes.

So now the long rides are out of the picture, and my heart no longer desires them at all. What I desire is riding that mountain bike for the sake of access to places I couldn’t drive. I had already planned on extending the range of my riding by using my bike carrier on the car. I now believe that was an incomplete picture.

You might imagine that I have given a lot of prayer and contemplation to what all these changes indicate in terms of how to move forward. I’m still here and I have a powerful desire to keep exploring with my camera. My heart calls me to push out farther, but not by riding from home. There is something still very powerful happening between nature and the camera in my hands. There are places out there not yet seen calling my name.

I have come to believe that I need to pray for a pickup, and some way to pay for keeping and running another vehicle. This will make it easy to take the bike out with me, among other things. There are a hundred details yet to reveal themselves, but this is the direction I feel called. And while I don’t take myself too seriously — this could be a mere pipe-dream — it’s where my expectations are pointing and where I’m praying.

Even more important is that something in my soul signals that we really need to pray for more writers to join our faith community. We have yet another contribution to the booklet project pending and I’m sincerely hoping that we can use tools like this booklet to reach out to other folks who are just waiting for the message we bear.

Sure, we all love the idea that this could become more universal, but it’s not time for that yet. Right now it’s just a matter of reaching those relative few out there already seeking what we have. There is a sense in which they already belong, but the awareness hasn’t connected. Pray the Lord grant us more souls discovering this grand freedom in His Spirit.

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Reprise: High Tension Exercises

Posted on July 13, 2016 by ehurst

A few folks have asked me recently to explain the high tension exercises again. The nickname is isotonics, drawn from isolation toning. Your muscles are working against each other, not against some external force (i.e., gravity with free weights or against a machine). My objective is less about toning and more about promoting circulation for my whole body. Keep in mind that, with one exception as noted below, you strive for a full range of motion. If you suffer from arthritis, this routine should actually help things.

So what motions do I perform?

We start with the largest muscle groups and work to the smallest. That means legs first. Put your arms in a comfortable place, such as across your chest. Tense the muscles in your legs and squat down as far as you can while keeping the tension on your leg muscles. It may take some time to discern subjectively how much tension it takes, but the objective means hitting 12 repetitions before it’s just too much to keep going. With my bad knee, you can imagine I don’t go very deep, so adjust according to your needs. This engages the whole leg and lower back.

Next, I stand in front of something like an armchair and lean forward to grip the arm rests. Then, I tense my legs and rise on my toes just a bit. Switching off between legs, I raise one behind me with that same tension as before, then pull it back down. Alternate back and forth to hit around 12 repetitions. This isolates more on just the thigh muscles.

Finally, for the lower leg it works best if you have some kind of step. You need to stand with just your toes on the step and your heels hanging over the open space below. Use something high enough that your heels can’t touch the floor. Tense up your calf and shin muscles, drop down as low as possible, then push up to fully extend to your toes. Repeat for 12.

For the abdominals and back muscles, simply stand up straight, feet shoulder-width apart, with your arms across the chest again. Tense your midriff and back, bend slowly from the hips, not across the belly itself. Bow yourself forward, then attempt to pull backward somewhat past upright. Breathe out as you move one way, stop and breath in tightly through tense muscles, then breathe out again the other way. Most people say this one “hurts” a little, so be careful to control the arch at the bottom of your spine. Again, bend from the hips while keeping the lower back locked in a slight arch.

Now for the upper torso. Mentally, you can divide your shoulder girdle between pushing and pulling, imagining that your hands are holding a bar. Each motion engages the upper back, chest and shoulder muscles. However, you need to mentally engage your whole body somewhat as if you were working against real resistance. That means rotating the shoulders a bit when you change directions between pushing and pulling. Try to feel it like a true press or rowing motion. I do five different angles: straight out in front, straight overhead, straight down, and at a 45º angle up and down in front of me. I do them in that order, but it really doesn’t matter. Start with your arms extended, pull back against your own tension to about the chest (as far as you can pull), then push back out.

Next I try to isolate the shoulder girdle just a bit by doing straight-arm swings in three axes: back and forth at chest height in front of me (“fly” we call it), up and down to the sides (but stop before you get much above shoulder level), and a full range up and down in front of me (chopping).

Finally, because I have a serious need for keeping my hands working well, I do arms. First I hold them straight up overhead and curl back down behind my head. Then I do curls from hips up to my chest. Finally, I reverse my grip with palms facing down and do another set from the hips. Then, to keep my grip alive, I do a combined motion starting with my hands raised just a bit facing palm down, fingers extended and spread. Tense up the hands and forearms and close the fingers slowly, then turn the fist around to palm-up position, return back and slowly extend the fingers against tension. This is sort of a grab motion.

For my own personal needs, I often finish with a pair of abdominal hardening exercises. Men in particular lose their abdominal strength quickly with age and it’s not good for your internal organs to bulge out like that. So I lay supine on a padded surface with my elbows half-way out from my sides and hands raised straight up. Rising half-way up with my torso, I reach out one hand across to meet the opposing toe as I raise my leg simultaneous with my torso. The non-reaching arm swings out a bit and I turn my face toward it. Thus, we are doing a full v-up with a twist, and this works the entire belly-band muscles. Drop down and alternate to the other side. Try not to cheat by pushing against the floor with your non-reaching elbow. Some folks seem to have a tough time coordinating raising both the torso and one leg, but if you can learn it, it’s a wonderful exercise. Do as many as you can in alternating pairs.

I typically finish with flutter kicks: Lie supine with hands palm down under your butt for balance. Stiffen the legs and hold your feet dorsiflexed (toe pulled up toward you). Raise both legs just a few inches off the floor and don’t let them drop. Alternate kicking up just a little farther than the length of your foot. Do as many as you can.

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The Lie of Open Society

Posted on July 12, 2016 by ehurst

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Open Society concept. Despite all the sweet sounding rhetorical promises, it’s a lie from Satan. It presumes the perfectibility of man, a flat rejection of God’s revelation. The major flaw is the rejection of man’s tribal nature. Under the Curse of the Fall, God insists that we must live in a tribal society; it is hard-wired into Creation itself. The Open Society denies God by rejecting His revelation.

Despite the basic theory of democratic advancement, that once people learn of Open Society principles they cannot go back to the tribe, you will find a great many ideologues promoting the Open Society by force. Since we won’t voluntarily merge into one global world without borders, we must be forced. Thus, it’s proponents are eager to destroy the global economy and provoke global bloodshed to make it happen.

Of course, any efforts to politically promote God’s Law is pointless, for the most part. That is, we cannot make it a countering agenda and take up arms to defend our national borders against the proponents of Open Society. You as an individual moral agent can find yourself called to some activity that serves an ostensible political end, but you cannot pretend that calling is somehow mandatory to other believers.

What we can and should do is promote the truth of God’s Word. His entire revelation of Law Covenants stands on the assumption of Eastern feudal tribal lifestyle. You cannot pretend to understand His Laws any other way. We are called to live His Laws in the microcosm of our faith fellowship and communion — in our churches. This is how we demonstrate His truth and reflect His glory. How the rest of the world responds isn’t really our concern; that belongs to our Sovereign Lord. We can pray and teach the truth, and know beyond all doubt this is what is in every human’s best interest, but until their own heart calls them to this truth, there is little else we can do the help them.

Don’t accept the false dichotomy that we have to defend “our nation” against this attempt at global government. The Open Society is an evil, to be sure, because it represents an anti-American global human oppression. It is also anti-faith, the core of Western intellectual arrogance. However, the opposition to it here in the US would just as quickly seize global oppressive power in the name of American culture and prosperity. It’s real interests are basically Wall Street. There is yet another team at work, which is the global banking agenda, along with others harder to characterize in a short discussion. None of them represent the genuine interests of the citizens of any country, much less Americans.

Our Father knows what He’s doing, steering these events according to His divine wisdom. Watch and understand as much as you can, but keep your hands on your own calling.

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Banks Finished

Posted on July 12, 2016 by ehurst

NorthBankThat reconstruction project on the North Canadian River banks where it passed under Midwest Boulevard is just about finished. It’s nowhere near as interesting because the results are just a bit disappointing. I can see why they put up the barbed-wire fence with all the expensive planting, turfing and so forth, but it keeps people out. The river is supposed to be a recreation area.

The fence also made it difficult to get any good shooting angles. That first image is standing at the maintenance gate looking out over the newly planted trees and shrubs, with the river almost hidden from view in the middle ground.

CurveFinishedThis second image shows the finished work on that curve coming around toward the bridge; this is viewing upriver. This was where the majority of the heavy earth-moving took place when I first spotted the construction activity more than a year ago. The massive layer of boulders is now hidden under green cover.

SouthBankThe south bank was where the biggest washout occurred, and you can see where they are filling it all back in behind the reconstructed bank. This is where I came out on that epic mountain bike ride through the muddy back trails. In the background is a ligh-colored sandy trail where I emerged from the woods. Just to the left of that was the path of the temporary flood from a lake back a ways up in the grassland. That artificial lake breached it’s own dam and created a temporary creek that prevented me coming on out, so I had to go all the way back through the muddy crap the way I came, about 1.5 miles.

SummerDressNow you can see the fresh red soil coloring where the crew is restoring the original bank and it will completely block that flow from recurring, even if the land owners up that little wash don’t fix their lake breach. But with all this artificial reconstruction and window dressing, about the only thing left of any interest visually is this shot of the woodline on the far bank through which that muddy path travels. Here is the far bank in her summer dress.

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Answering Book Published

Posted on July 11, 2016 by ehurst

The official title is Radix Fidem: Faith Arising at the End of Western Civilization. The title is linked to the landing page at Smashwords. I’ll have the copies up on the static site and on my FTP server later today; I’m still working on the HTML and plain text versions.

You can find the HTML version here on the static server at soulkiln.org. The other formats are all on the FTP server now. Other formats are available upon request via email.

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More Camera Testing

Posted on July 11, 2016 by ehurst

It was just less than blistering hot Sunday, so I took a stroll with the camera.

CedarFriendsJust across Reno to our north is a long dead-end paved street that ends at the foot of one of the oldest cell towers in our area. Along the east side of this street grows a strip of trees, mostly cedars. On the other side of them is a huge open field, the largest unoccupied space in our immediate area, with only one house in the middle hidden by more trees. Every time I walk past these cedars I hear them whispering in the breeze.

MWards01Turning away from the tower westward takes me across a mostly unused parking lot. Just across Air Depot is the old Heritage Park Mall. It symbolizes both a cultural shift away from shopping malls, but also the economic decline in America. On the north side, which is sort of the back of the place, you can still see vestiges of what was once a very fine department store, Montgomery Wards. I have had some car work done a couple of times in their automotive shop, seen extending out to the right of the main building.

About the time the mall began to die, it was bought out by some slimy property management outfit in California. They have disdained all the local laws, refusing to perform any of their obligations. I’m not sure what sort of legal barriers exist, but the local city government is not that far from seizing the whole thing and converting it to a municipal office campus. Meanwhile, there are just two actual occupants in this whole vast structure.

HeritageParkMallViewed from the south face, the “front” side of the mall, you can see that Sears still operates from the near end (east end) because they own that portion of the building. It’s not busy, but Sears hasn’t made noises about closing it yet. At the far end, what was once a Dillard’s store, is the Midwest City campus of LifeChurch.tv. I believe they have bought their end of the building, so what’s left is a long intervening strip of stores along the inner mall-way strewn with the debris of a hasty closure of all the businesses. Could you go inside the central hall, you would see kiosks with cheap merchandise scattered all over the place. Some of the food vendors left some very fine equipment behind, but now obsolete. The mall has been dead for quite some years.

You can see the whole thing from any mapping service on the Net, at the intersection of Reno Avenue and Air Depot Boulevard in Midwest City, OK, on the northeast corner. Right now, it’s a very nice place for a quiet stroll almost any time day or night, if you don’t mind whole acres of unmaintained blacktop. But the lonely pavement-locked trees will still greet you as you pass.

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