Thoughts on the Divine Nature of Energy

Thoughts on the Divine Nature of Energy.

I don't remember what started me thinking along these lines the other day, but for one reason or another, I started thinking about the heat death of the universe, and then the line of reasoning took some interesting turns. The heat death of the universe is also known as maximum entropy, and I will start this from there.

Maximum entropy is when the water grows completely still and there are no more ripples in the pond. This isn't to say that the water is no more, it has simply achieved equilibrium and is able to be at rest. The same is true of all the energy in the universe. What we call the heat death of the universe would be all the energy achieving equilibrium so that it is evenly spread out. In other words, energy in its natural, undisturbed state is static. It wants to stop moving and be at rest.

Another thing about energy is that, according to the first law of thermodynamics, energy can be neither created nor destroyed. And, according to modern physics, all of the manifest creation boils down to energy in one form or another.

Perhaps the reason why energy can be neither created nor destroyed is because it is God Himself.

Perhaps energy is the "physical" being of God Himself.

So, here is my thought. To describe energy as the "physical" being of God (for lack of a better description) at first sounds bad because I'm equating God with a created thing. Except that the first law of thermodynamics explicitly states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed. It can change forms from energy to matter and back, but you will never have more energy or less energy in existence than you will at any given point in time. This, by necessity, means that energy is eternal. It has no beginning and no end. It is therefore uncreated.

To say that energy itself is inanimate is paradoxical and problematic at best. The presence of energy causes animation. That which is without energy is dead. How is it possible that an inanimate "object" is the cause and source of all life and animation?

There is nowhere energy does not exist because all matter is also energy in a different form, and energy transfers from point to point in waves in various forms. Because all matter is energy in a different form, if energy itself were intelligent, it would be in full contact with everything and everyone at the foundational level of existence, thereby making it omniscient. And an omnipresent intelligent energy would by its very nature be omnipotent. Also, energy itself must, by nature, be omnidimensional and extend outside of our own spacetime. If God is the foundation of all existence, and if He is eternal, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, and completely transcendent and yet imminent with His creation at the same time, then doesn't energy itself meet all of these criteria?

Furthermore, consider the metaphors used to describe Him in Sacred Scripture, "God is light", "God is a consuming fire" and so on. Consider Moses who spent so much time in the manifest presence of God that his face glowed so bright he had to wear a veil. Most of the encounters with the manifested presence of God involved some kind of description of a manifestation of energy in some way.

What if energy itself was intelligent, compassionate, and personal?

Is it so hard to conceive that energy itself is intelligent, personal, and also compassionate/empathetic towards everything that is comprised of it? We ourselves are also made of energy, and our intelligence is comprised largely of pulses of energy moving through organic circuitry that at its very foundational level is itself also energy. All matter is formed from energy becoming particles out of seemingly nothing at all, and it can be reasonably said that matter is simply a multidimensional disturbance of energy.

Perhaps it isn't entirely accurate to say that energy is God Himself (and certainly not comfortable), at least not in His totality. But, perhaps energy is the "surface" of God like the surface of a pond. You can see the surface of a pond, but unless the water is crystal clear, you cannot see how deep it is or what is under that surface.

These are only a series of thoughts that on the surface appear relatively logical, but they beg for even more profound questions to be asked if the basic premise is to be given as true. I leave that for you the reader to ponder and reflect on further.

A Ramble About God

While there are many theological hypotheses and models to describe God, I have found this one to be the most useful for my own personal understanding. Is it absolutely necessary to one's salvation to understand God in this way? No, of course not. But it does take all available data into account, and in my opinion has great explanatory power, which is what a good hypothesis should do.

First, we start with “In the beginning God created...” Scripture teaches us that God created the heavens and the Earth from nothing. If we are to understand this as absolute nothing, then this is impossible. Absolute nothing in the strictest sense is an impossibility because prior to creation God was all that existed. It is therefore impossible for God to create from absolute nothing if absolute nothing does not exist. Therefore we must understand “nothing”, not in the absolute sense, but in the sense of “no other created thing.” This frees us to understand that during the creation event, God used His own existence as the foundation for all created existence.

How is this possible?

Modern theoretical physics tells us that all matter and energy in existence are essentially one dimensional energy strings vibrating at a certain frequency and with a certain spin. The differences in frequency and spin determine which particle the string becomes. Those vibrations are waves.

Here's the thing, in order for any kind of a wave to exist, it must pass through a medium as the wave is actually just a rhythmic disturbance moving through the medium in question. For example, a sound wave must have air in order to exist; an ocean wave must have an ocean in order to form, a ripple in a pond must have a pond, etc.

Therefore, it isn't too much of a leap to suggest that the medium in which all “particles” of creation vibrate in order to achieve their “form” is God Himself. This automatically gives us the divine attributes of Omnipresence, Omniscience, and Omnipotence. He is literally everywhere and is in full “physical” contact with everything and everyone, thus He is fully aware of everything that has happened and as it is happening, and furthermore because of His relationship to the creation, nothing is outside the scope of His power in terms of modifying that creation in any way He sees fit.

This explanation also fulfills the requirement that God be transcendent. That is, God is unlike any created thing. He is completely “other”. It also explains why no one has seen God (in terms of God the Father) at any time. It is physically impossible for a created being to observe God the Father in His “natural” state as that natural state encompasses the observer's own existence.

The consequence of this is that He knows everything every human being knows, and feels everything every spiritual being, human being, animal, and plant (i.e. every living thing) feels at all times. This direct, constant contact with those thoughts and feelings would immediately result in absolute compassion and understanding for those beings. What affects us affects Him.

The Scriptures are also clear that God is Eternal, without beginning and without end. The first part of this is satisfied by the fact of His absolute mono existence prior to the creation event. God is all that existed prior to the existence of space and time.

Modern theoretical physics teaches us that space and time are not separate entities but merely four related dimensions among eleven. We know that all of creation moves along at least these four dimensions, but prior to creation, those dimensions could not have existed because God was all that existed. Therefore, God is not bound by this dimensionality, and does not move through it, rather these dimensions and everything existing along them move through Him. Therefore, even if space and time should cease their movement and cease to exist, this can in no wise affect the existence of God.

This also leads to the requirement that God be immutable. That is, He does not change. Change requires movement of position from one point to another, whether it is a point in time or a point in space. As was previously stated, time and space move through Him. Therefore, He remains static and motionless while the creation moves through Him.

The doctrine of the Trinity teaches that God is three persons or hypostases in one being or existence. The description I have given covers the first person of the Trinity, that is, God the Father.

The second person of the Trinity, God the Son, is, for lack of a better way of saying it, God's avatar which He uses to allow His creation to interact with Him on their terms. Ultimately this avatar was incarnated into a union of God and human being, the God-Man Jesus Christ, for the purpose of delivering humanity from their inherited malfunction.

The third person of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit, proceeding from God the Father, is what is seen as the movement of God within His creation. The best way I can explain this is by observing the sun. It appears to be in motion across the sky, when in fact, relative to the Earth, the sun is stationary and the Earth is in motion. Therefore, what we perceive as His motion is in fact our motion as we interact with Him through space and time.

For me, this model fulfills all the theological requirements taught in the Christian faith about the “what” of God. It also builds a picture of a God who cannot truly be understood or contained by the human mind, but who is immanently near and can fully understand and empathize with us. Is it perfect? No, of course not. But as I stated at the beginning, it is useful for my own personal understanding as something my mind can at least work with in getting to know Him. I hope it helps whoever reads this as well.

A Ramble About the Forsaken

It's been some time since I wrote anything on this blog. The truth is that, after spending most of the year working in Special Education, writing five novellas and two full novels, as well as helping out a project for Wycliffe Associates by checking the English text of a translation against the Greek, I've been taking a break from pretty much everything except my nine dollar an hour summer job and waiting until my regular twenty dollar an hour rest of the year job resumes in a couple of weeks.

And I've been playing World of Warcraft all summer.

It started out being just me, but eventually my whole family got into it and so my wife, son, daughters and I have been running through the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor seeing new sights, killing monsters, going on quests together, and, in some ways, running the ultimate family summer vacation road trip without ever having to leave the house.

Up until now, I've created human characters, night elves, blood elves, orcs, Tauren, Dreinei and dwarves. Most of the time I've played either Paladins or priests, warriors or hunters depending on the race. I've identified more with the Paladins and priests than any of the others, but I've found that all the races have interesting and engaging histories and story lines. I've felt like I could empathize and come to understand the position and situation of all of them.

All of the races, that is, except one.

Up until today, I've been steadfastly avoiding the Forsaken or creating a Forsaken character. Let me explain why. The Forsaken are undead. For all intents and purposes they are a nation of zombies a la “The Walking Dead” except retaining all of their intelligence and personality. They look like rotting corpses. They excel in dark shadow magic, and most of the quests that I had encountered previously where they were involved seemed atrocious and dishonorable. I had absolutely no desire to be involved with them unless they were on the receiving end of my holy attacks.

But, after several months of playing very similar characters and seeing the same terrain over and over again, I decided to go ahead and try one; just to see what their starting area was like if nothing else.

It turns out that the Forsaken are, essentially, the people who got caught in a devastating plague during the events of Warcraft 3 and were left behind to suffer the plague's effects. They were transformed from living breathing husbands, wives, sons, daughters, farmers, soldiers, and loyal citizens of their kingdom into almost mindless zombies enslaved to the Scourge, a demonic, brutal faction that is a mutual enemy to both the Horde (orcs, trolls, Tauren, Blood Elves, and Forsaken) and the Alliance (humans, night elves, dwarves, Dreinei, and gnomes).

The undead who became the Forsaken were able to free themselves from their enslavement, and began to fight against the Scourge like everyone else, but found themselves rejected and hunted by the friends, family, and nations to which they had formerly once belonged. They are a broken people, angry and in pain on many, many levels, and unable to get any kind of relief. Even the relief which death was supposed to bring.

I've found, in the story lines of the starting quests, a woman who just wants a blanket to keep warm because she's always too cold now. Another woman wants to bring peace to the soul of her friend by making sure her husband is buried in the grave next to hers. Still others just want justice for what has happened to them; something which always seems just out of reach. And yes, there are others who are so angry and in pain that they want to take their revenge by seeing all of those who are still living and breathing either become like them, or dead.

As I played through the first few levels of my undead priest, I couldn't help but think about all the very real people I have encountered and know about who, on first glance seem equally twisted and atrocious; the kind of people whom I would just normally try to avoid. How many of them are also that way because of a “scourge” to which they were just innocent bystanders? How many of them are now equally as broken, hurt, and angry and have become “forsaken” by all the “good” people, that is, those who claim to represent the light? How many of them are just trying to put their lives back together the best way they can, even if it's not the “right” way, because that's all they can do? And how many of us condemn them for it when it doesn't live up to our standards of “the right thing to do”? How many times has such an attitude driven them even further into anger, revenge, and shadow?

Warcraft is just a game. But the attitudes and story lines it presents are something of a reflection of real world problems like self-righteousness, racism, intolerance and pride and the damage all of these can wreak on both the least significant of families and the world as a whole.

I plan on returning to writing and reflecting more here in the near future. I think my time binging in Azeroth is coming to a close, although I think I will still visit from time to time. But, as with everything, I think it will have been worth it if I can learn from the lessons those stories try to teach.

With Regards to Same Sex Marriage and the Church

I originally wrote this as a series of comments on a Facebook thread. Now that Same Sex marriage is legal in all fifty United States, it seemed appropriate to repost it again here on my blog. It's nothing I haven't said before.

The truth is that Christian practice in the United States and the modern world in general has fallen so far from the original, that we honestly don't know which end is up. It's about love, but not romantic or sexual love. We must love those who are homosexual, as Christ taught, but Biblical love is neither homosexual nor heterosexual. There is nothing sexual or romantic about the love which Christ and His Apostles taught. The love which he taught is the choice to sacrifice one's self and self-interests in favor of the other person.

"I need to be careful as to how I word this. If following Jesus Christ were about being "true to your own heart and mind", then I would agree with you and with this article. But it isn't, and it never has been except to be realistic with oneself in that one, being human, is not sinless. To be true to one's heart is to subject oneself to the whims and passions which come and go like the waves on the beach, relentlessly and constantly, and thus to be unstable in one's faith and practice. The foundation of Christian practice is the sacrifice and abandonment of one's own passions and desires. "If anyone wants to come behind Me, let him deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow Me." To what gender one is physically attracted is not necessarily a choice. On this, I believe we agree. It is determined by many factors, including brain chemistry. The practical expression of that physical attraction is, however, ultimately a choice. In the Scriptures, sexual intercourse is forbidden in Christian practice (Acts 15:9). It doesn't matter if it is homosexual intercourse, or heterosexual intercourse. Both are forbidden by the Apostles, and every Bishop since has reaffirmed this prohibition within the Christian religious rule since the first century, regardless of schism.

The one glaring exception (which also happens to be the practical, not the theological, norm) is heterosexual marriage, which is, theologically, a special dispensation. This was permitted for two reasons. 1)and primarily, because otherwise there would be no offspring, and 2)as a mercy, because not everyone has the capacity for total celibacy. Modern "Disney" notions of romantic love never entered into the equation.

Marriage itself is a Sacrament because both parties, in the practice of the teachings of Jesus Christ, receive Grace by dying to themselves in sacrificial service to their spouse. Following Jesus Christ is about choosing Jesus Christ over everything else in your life, including what gender you may be romantically attracted to, and it also means sacrificing those things and dying to them in pursuit of Christ alone. This fundamental truth about the Christian faith has not changed since Jesus and His Apostles taught it no matter who has tried to do so. Your choices are between you and the Lord, but I would be irresponsible and more concerned with myself and what you and other people think of me than with you if I didn't point this out.

I have no intentions of discriminating against anyone. This subject is a very sensitive, confused and misunderstood topic from all sides. I have spent a great deal of time trying to understand this issue in light of all of what Holy Scripture teaches, as well as what the understanding of the ancient Church was on the subject, and not just a few passages which support the position I might want them too. The goal of Christian faith and practice is union with God through Jesus Christ. We move towards that goal in this life by obedience to Him and letting go of those things which impede and distract us from Him. The Christian life is, foundationally, a life lived according to a certain religious rule with this in mind. The regulation of sexual practice is a part of that religious rule, and always has been. That hasn't changed just because it is inconvenient or uncomfortable. Christian practice has always been both inconvenient and uncomfortable to one's personal desires and passions, and was never intended to be otherwise as the Pattern for that practice led a very uncomfortable life, and even worse death. The Apostles followed suit as well."

A Ramble About Demons and Unclean Spirits

I don't generally write about this subject. From what experience and study I do have, those who actually know anything about it know that it's something you hope you never have to encounter, and are never allowed to forget if you do.

The first thing that needs to be understood about demons is that they're insane. Another way to put it is that they're clinically psychotic and unstable. And they have a grudge against human beings so malevolent that it defies reason.

The second thing that needs to be understood is that they're virtually everywhere, and they're always whispering little suggestions trying to get us to engage with them. As we agree with these insidious little suggestions, said demons gain a bigger foothold in our thoughts, feelings, and practices. “To whomever you offer yourself as a slave to obey, you are that one's slave whom you obey.” Most of the time, this leads to mere confusion and a wasted or destroyed life. But in some cases, it leads further to oppression, and then possession.

It doesn't seem like demons can take possession of someone without their agreement or permission in some way, whether it was obtained on the sly or not. If you agree with a demonic suggestion, any demonic suggestion no matter how innocuous it may seem, you risk opening yourself up to a world of hurt as even the smallest “joining of minds” with one can throw open the floodgates as it pushes more and more. If you give an inch, a demon will take a lightyear if it can get away with it. It also doesn't appear that those being influenced by demons are aware of it unless the thing has taken full possession.

One thing I and others have noticed, is that when a person is being influenced by a demon to attack a Christian in some way, there is always something different about the expression in the person's eyes. It's hard to describe except that it seems more malevolent and off balance somehow. This is especially true in full possession, as well as a possible change in the person's voice.

Exorcising a demon doesn't guarantee that demon will be gone for good. Remember, the person had to “join minds” or agree with the demon in some way in order for it to begin to influence that person to the point of oppression or possession. That initial agreement in terms of thought or feelings may not have changed just because the thing was chased away. Once it has been thrown out, the formerly influenced person has to turn away from that agreement and close that open door. This is often psychologically easier said than done because that agreement can come from personal trauma and deep pain which the demon can then exploit with suggestion. Battle against demonic influence is an ongoing process, not a once for all proposition. Put simply, they don't give up without a fight, and they don't just go away. Once they are aware of a weakness, they will continue to exploit it until it is no longer a weakness. Then they will look for another one. Be prepared for a long and drawn out, possibly life-long fight.

Demons will usually attack those whom they deem a threat, and leave those whom they don't alone. Often, by leaving a Christian alone, this will cause a puffed up head as the Christian is able to abstain from various sins. This puffed up head becomes pride, and then the man has done all the demon's work by destroying himself this way spiritually for the demon. Thus you see a number of Christians who seem to have no problems, and become increasingly assured of their own personal godliness or spirituality.

If a demon is consistently repelled by a Christian through prayer and ascetic practice, it will turn on those who are close to the person and try to force a reaction through that close friend or loved one. Barring this, I've seen them influence pets and other animals to become unexplainably aggressive or hostile.

In Scripture, neither Jesus nor his Apostles went looking for demons to cast out. If one happened to approach and start shouting who He was, or in the case of St. Paul, start giving unauthorized endorsements, then they exorcised it. They also did so when requested. But otherwise, they left them alone if the demons left them alone. The Gerasene Demoniac in Mark is instructive in this matter as Jesus even had compassion on the legion of demons in the man and granted their request, malevolent though they may have been.

Furthermore, in the book of Acts, not just anyone could perform an exorcism using Jesus' name. There is an instructive passage in Acts 19:13-16 regarding this. The only ones in Holy Scripture who are seen doing this seem to be either Jesus Himself, of whom the demons were terrified, or the Apostles, principally St. Paul, whose name the aforementioned demon in Acts 19 recognized. Exorcism was also practiced in the Pre-Nicene Church on a regular basis when the need arose by more than one member of the Church, but again, they didn't go hunting neither did they knowingly provoke a fight.

The only people whom demons seem to recognize as having the authority to order them around are those who are close to Jesus Christ in faith and practice. Invoking His Name isn't enough. You have to actually be following and obeying Him as He taught in self-denial, love, constant prayer, humility, and Grace. Even in these best of circumstances, it is a dangerous and serious thing to attempt. You're dealing with an eons old, very powerful, psychotic spiritual being who despises you and has it in for you. A Christian who is in any kind of sin is in terrible danger if they attempt it. A Christian who is not remaining in Christ is in terrible danger if they attempt it, regardless of who they are or what manner of holy orders they keep. From my understanding, there have been priests who have ended up possessed because they hadn't taken their relationship with and obedience to Christ seriously enough.

I can't stress enough that the only human being a demon is actually afraid of is Jesus Christ Himself. If a person is not closely joined to Him by agreement with Him, by obedience to Him, and by remaining in Him, they will toy with that person, they will deceive that person, they will use that person's weakness, especially their pride, against them to destroy that person and they will enjoy doing it.

I write this, hopefully, to sober up the person who thinks that they're “all that” and thinks that they can just walk in and cast out a demon in Jesus' Name (as some Christians seem to teach these days). You have no idea what you're walking into, and once you stir up that hornet's nest... demons have long memories, don't forgive, and don't give up.

Wounded Sheep

"There was a rancher who owned a lot of sheep, and shepherds were hired to watch over different flocks. Some flocks were larger, some were smaller, but all the sheep belonged ultimately to the rancher, not the individual shepherd in charge of them.

Some of the shepherds were doing their job well and faithfully. The sheep were well cared for, and the shepherds had the exhaustion and bags under their eyes to prove it. Other shepherds however were not. Some beat the sheep under their care. Some didn't feed them properly. Others overfed them but then didn't exercise them. Some were abused in other ways, or poisoned because the shepherd didn't seem to know the difference between good feed and bad. Some shepherds were fleecing the sheep far too often, and as such they were sick and ill prepared for the winter.

As a result, some sheep broke from their flocks and stalls and ran for the hills, terrified of the shepherds put over them. Out in the hills, some of them were able to survive on their own and were doing okay for the most part. Others however got into poisonous plants. Some couldn't traverse the terrain and were injured, many of them quite seriously. Others ate themselves over cliffs, as sheep are quite capable of doing.

And as I saw this in my head, I could sense the concern the Rancher had for his sheep which had fled. I could also sense the anger which he had towards the shepherds in question, to whom He had entrusted His livestock."

This is probably one of the hardest forms of abuse to talk about for any Christian because we are conditioned from the beginning to submit to those in spiritual authority over us. They are supposed to have the answers and are supposed to guide us into a closer relationship with the Lord.

When we join a church or a Christian organization, we put ourselves into the vulnerable position of obedience to that church, and that church's leadership's authority over us because that is what we are taught to do by Holy Scripture and by common universal tradition within the church. And any dissent from the teaching of that church leadership, or accusation against that church leadership is almost automatically seen and dealt with as heresy and divisiveness.

We are taught that we need the communion, fellowship, and ordinances or Sacraments of that church (and sometimes only that church), in order to remain right with God.

This kind of abuse happens when this is used as leverage by the church leadership and other members of the congregation to extort money, favors, position, agreement with their decisions no matter how hurtful they may be, etc. from a church member. They are threatened with excommunication, shaming, and loss of friends and even family if they don't comply.

Another kind of abuse also happens when a church leader simply puts his own interests above the interests of those in his congregation who need his counsel, support, and guidance. This is the abuse of pastoral neglect.

In the same way, and using much the same leverage, pastors, priests, and other church leaders can also experience the same kind of abuse at the hands of their own pastoral superiors, or in the case of more democratic churches, at the hands of their own congregations.

The victims of this abuse are made to feel like they're the ones doing something wrong. They're the heretics. They're the ones causing the problem. They're too needy. They need to suck it up and get a life.

What can be worse is those within the church who haven't gone through it and who don't understand.

This isn't Jesus. But all too often, because people begin to associate their church leaders with Jesus, they react to Him as though He is the one abusing or neglecting them when nothing could be farther from the truth.

God is not the abuser, he is the one who heals, comforts, and loves His sheep. This is the first distinction which must be made clear so that, in fleeing the abusive shepherds, we don't run from our owner.

A Ramble About Meat

I was going back through this passage in Galatians today in Greek for a translation notes project I have been a part of. It says:

“λεγω δε πνευματι περιπατειτε και επιθυμιαν σαρκος ου μη τελεσητε η γαρ σαρξ επιθυμει κατα του πνευματος το δε πνευμα κατα της σαρκος ταυτα γαρ αλληλοις αντικειται ινα μη α εαν θελητε ταυτα ποιητε ει δε πνευματι αγεσθε ουκ εστε υπο νομον φανερα δε εστιν τα εργα της σαρκος ατινα εστιν πορνεια ακαθαρσια ασελγεια ειδωλολατρια φαρμακεια εχθραι ερις ζηλος θυμοι εριθειαι διχοστασιαι αιρεσεις φθονοι μεθαι κωμοι και τα ομοια τουτοις α προλεγω υμιν καθως προειπον οτι οι τα τοιαυτα πρασσοντες βασιλειαν θεου ου κληρονομησουσιν.”

In English, it says,

“But I say walk by the Spirit and you won't at all complete the craving of the meat because the meat craves against the Spirit and the Spirit against the meat because these things oppose one another so that you might not do whatever things you wish, and if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the Torah, and the actions of the meat are visible, which are whorings, dirtiness, wanton violence, idolatry, hallucinogenic drug abuse, hostilities, discord, jealousy, rages, campaigns, dissensions, factions, grudges, alcoholism, partying and such things as these which I speak to you beforehand just as I spoke beforehand that those practicing such things as these will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:16-21, my own translation)

The word sarx is usually translated as “flesh”. The problem with the word “flesh” is that it's an archaic usage of English. The modern English word is “meat” like the kind that you buy at the grocery store, throw on the barbecue, fry up into a hamburger, or what hangs off of your bones and is riddled through with blood vessels and nervous tissues. Really what it means is “animal tissues.” It's the part of the human being which is physical and grows from two cells into billions.

A theory proposed a while back by Abraham Maslow, called the Hierarchy of Needs, says that when a person's needs are not being perceived as met, then that person won't be motivated to focus on the higher stages of needs. The most basic level of this hierarchy is the physiological; needs for food, rest, drink, sex, etc. The person will be so anxious and tense over the perceived needs being demanded by their physiology that they won't be focused on the higher stages like safety, love/acceptance, esteem, etc.

It occurred to me today that the "craving of the meat" which St. Paul was writing about refers to the cravings for food, sex, rest, drink, etc. and the frustration, fear, anger and suffering which arises when they are perceived as going unfulfilled. This in turn precipitates whoring, wanton violence, theft, adultery, lies, drug abuse, alcoholism, rages, etc. It is a chain that begins with the cravings of the physical body and can be broken at the beginning by walking by the Spirit.

The cravings exist as part of the normal functions of the body. The chain goes like this, the body becomes hungry (a normal bodily function), it then experiences a craving for food. What happens next is where things go askew. If there is faith that this craving will be dealt with (one way or the other), then the psyche is patient until it is. If there is fear that the craving will not be dealt with, this precipitates the actions the psyche believes are necessary to fulfill the craving regardless of what those actions might be. Because,

“ουκ εκ πιστεως παν δε ο ουκ εκ πιστεως αμαρτια εστιν”

"everything not from faith is a malfunction" (Romans 14:23b, my own translation)

In 1 John, there is another list where the “craving of the meat” also appears.

“η επιθυμια της σαρκος και η επιθυμια των οφθαλμων και η αλαζονια του βιου, ουκ εστιν εκ του πατρος αλλ εκ του κοσμου εστιν.”

“the craving of the meat and the craving of the eyes and the false pretensions of one's mode of life are not from the father but are from the world.” (1 John 2:16b)

“The craving of the eyes” is generally understood to be the desire for material possessions. “The false pretensions of one's mode of life” can be understood as the esteem one generates from who they think they are. One thing I realized today as well was that these too can be seen as fitting on Maslow's hierarchy. During our lives, we legitimately run into needing the use of certainly material things such as clothing, housing, a vehicle, kitchen utencils, etc. in order to meet our physiological needs. The same fork in the road occurs between faith and fear as to whether or not these needs are being perceived as being met, or will be met. In terms of acceptance and esteem, we do the same thing and respond according to either faith or fear. When we respond out of fear, we turn to the false image we create for ourselves based on how we are living and who we think we are.

In terms of these things, Gautama Siddharta, 500 years prior, also identified the root causes of the sufferings and cravings as well. He said:

“The cause of all sorrow lies at the very beginning; it is hidden in the ignorance from which life grows. Remove ignorance and you will destroy the wrong appetites that rise from ignorance; destroy these appetites and you will wipe out the wrong perception that arises from them; destroy wrong perception and there is an end of errors in individualized beings. Destroy the errors in individualized beings and the illusions of the six fields will disappear. Destroy illusions and the contact with things will cease to beget misconception. Destroy misconception and you do away with thirst. Destroy thirst and you do away with all morbid cleaving. Remove the cleaving and you destroy the selfishness of selfhood. If the selfishness of selfhood is destroyed you will … escape all suffering.” (Gospel of Buddha VII:8)

St. Paul said that the key to avoiding this spiral into suffering was to “walk by the Spirit.” Walking by the Spirit is the letting go of all of the attachments and addictions a person has in this life in favor of a single relationship with God through Jesus Christ. St.Paul also wrote:

“οι δε του Χριστου Ιησου την σαρκα εσταυρωσαν συν τοις παθημασιν και ταις επιθυμιαις.”

“But those of Christ Jesus crucified the meat together with the sufferings and the cravings.” (Galatians 5:24, my own translation)

He also wrote:

“ο γαρ αποθανων δεδικαιωται απο της αμαρτιας.”

“Because the person having died is put right from the malfunction.”(Romans 6:7, my own translation)

Walking by the Spirit means allowing all of these attachments and addictions to who you think you are, physiological needs, and what you think you might need wither and die within you. It means actively putting to death those attachments which you look to in order to inform you of who you are. It means actively having faith that all of these needs will be met at one point or another by a single relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and trusting that if they aren't, then they aren't really needs no matter what your “meat” is screaming at you. And once these attachments and addictions are dead, then so is the chain which gives birth to suffering and more craving.

One final thought, regardless of what you have convinced yourself of, if you aren't actively putting these attachments to death, then you aren't of Christ Jesus, because that is what those who are of Him do according to St. Paul. 

A Ramble About the Psyche

"ος γαρ αν θελη την ψυχην αυτου σωσαι απολεσει αυτην ος δ' αν απολεση την εαυτου ψυχην ενεκεν εμου και του ευαγγελιου ουτος σωσει αυτην"

“Because whoever wishes to save his own psyche will destroy it, and whoever would destroy his psyche for my sake and the sake of this gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:35, my translation)

I've reflected on this passage a lot. It's one of the teachings of Jesus that occurs in all three synoptic gospels. It's usually translated as “...save his own life will lose it...” But the problem with this translation is that the original word is, quite literally, psyche, and not one of the regular words which “life” usually translates (being ζωή  or βίος) .

The most common translation for “ψυχη” is “soul.” Other translations are “life, self, conscious self or personality, center of emotions and desires, etc.” According to Dictionary.com, “psyche” means “soul, spirit, or mind,” and the psychological definition of “psyche” is “the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious.” “Psyche” is comprehensive of the combination of experiences, memories, reasoning, and physiological factors which inform and contribute to “who” a person is. If one were to look back at all the possible translations and uses of the word “ψυχη” in Greek, it seems like the definition hasn't really changed much in two thousand years.

The simplest definition of the word “psyche” as it pertains to the person is “I”. Whenever we say “I do this” or “I go there” or “I think” it is our psyche that we are referring to as the “I.”

As human beings we tend to cling tightly to the notion of our own psyches. That is, we have a set idea of the psyche we think we are, and we do everything we can to protect it and keep it the way we think it should be. We treat the psyche of a human being as though it is set in stone and immutable.

The problem with this is that the human psyche is only the sum of its components, just like a computer is only the sum of the hardware and software that is put together in order to form a whole system. But unlike a computer, the human psyche is in constant flux. Every new experience, every new thought, and the countless chemical reactions within the brain all cause the psyche to change from moment to moment, and thus the person changes from moment to moment, even if the change is only slight.

The root of the Buddha's teaching was that the idea of a permanent, indivisible self (in Sanskrit, “atman” which translates into Greek as “psyche”) was an illusion. The Buddha said that “The existence of self is an illusion, and there is no wrong in this world, no vice, except what flows from the assertion of self. The attainment of truth is possible only when self is recognized as an illusion.”

To cling to the psyche is like trying to hold on to the wind with your hand. And this is another definition of the word “ψυχη”, “breath.” The harder you try to hold on to who you think you are or are supposed to be, the more it escapes your grasp and all you end up with is frustration, futility, and in the end you find that you have destroyed your psyche in the attempt to save and protect it. Living in a large city area, it's not hard to find people on the streets who have suffered from this psychological destruction as they were helpless to prevent the loss of everything with which they identified their psyches.

The only way to preserve one's psyche is for one to let it go. Let go of the illusion that the psyche is fixed and permanent. Allow it to change and grow and be aware that it is never the same from one moment to the next and accept it. Don't cling to the idea of it, or allow it to be identified with anything which can be lost or destroyed.

Finally, Jesus said that the only way to save one's psyche was to destroy it for his sake and the sake of his Gospel. Traditionally, it is taught that the Gospel only refers to the death for our sins, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But if you look at how Jesus Himself used the word, Gospel refers to His entire body of teaching in the same way that the word “dharma” is used by the Buddha.

The core of what Jesus taught in terms of practice was the letting go of possessions, passions, judgments and relationships, as well as one's own psyche. He taught that if anyone wanted to follow Him, that person needed to disown himself, take up the method of his own execution (that is, die to himself), and then follow Him. This is what it means to destroy your psyche for His sake and for the sake of the Gospel. It means to let go of everything your psyche is attached to in obedience to what He taught. And once you let go of everything impermanent and corruptible with which you have identified your psyche, then, through the joining of your psyche to Him through baptism into His death, you will save it. Because He has risen immortal and undying, so too will your psyche be immortal because it is grown together with Him.

As long as you cling to and assert the idea of your psyche, you will suffer loss and destroy your psyche instead. The only way to preserve it is to destroy all attachments to everything impermanent with which it is identified and identify it with what is permanent and immortal.

Just Rambling...

I haven't been writing on my blog as much as I have in the past. I suppose there are several reasons for that, but one of the main ones is that over the past year or so, I began to see that I kept saying a lot of the same things over and over again. For a preacher in a pulpit, that works just fine. Recycled sermons are the lifeblood of a pastor's Sunday mornings. But when your sermons are written out and published online for posterity to ponder on, it doesn't work quite as well.

Looking back over where I was when I started this journey to where I am now, I know that I'm not the same person I was in many, very important ways. I'd like to think that the gray in my hair and beard reflects some wisdom I've acquired along the way and not just poor genetics and a stressful life.

I have been writing lately, just not anything of real spiritual or philosophical import. Instead I've been working on my fiction writing with both fan fiction and original stuff that I've been posting online on various sites as well. I actually started writing fiction first when I was nine with a one page short story called “The Fury of Samod” on a manual typewriter which my mom used. This was before we had our first “real” computer back in 1984, a Tandy 1000EX with 256 KB of RAM, no hard drive, and less than VGA graphics. I think it might have had a 286 processor? Maybe? I wrote different short stories up through high school on that old computer, and then later used one just like it in college. While everyone else was getting acquainted with Windows 3.1 and '95, I was still using DOS on a floppy and a text based word processor for all of my papers with a Dot Matrix printer, but I digress.

As I've been writing and publishing my work online, I've actually been getting people dowinloading and reading it. They've even liked it! No, it's not the NY Times Bestseller list, but a few hundred people over the last few months is still a few hundred people more than were reading it while it just sat gathering digital dust on my hard drive.

As I've been working on my latest fan fiction project, “Xena: Warrior Princess – Crossroads,” it occurred to me, this is another audience for me to try and reach with what I understand the path of Jesus Christ to be. More to the point, it's an audience that probably wouldn't bother reading my blog, or anyone else's for that matter if it's openly theological or spiritual. But they do like reading about The Legend of Zelda, or Xena, or Star Trek, or a number of the same TV shows, movies, and video game stories I've been using as spiritual illustrations for years now. No, I can't be blatant about it, but I can sneak in ideas and concepts here and there.

My latest project is a little more blatantly Christian than normal, although it will still probably have my more conservative brothers and sisters screaming at me. That's okay. Because in the last week since I began posting chapters, it's been getting an average of ten views a day from around the world. That's at least ninety people now that I've had a chance to introduce Jesus and what He taught to in a non threatening way.

So maybe I still am rambling just as much as I used to. It's just that these days my rambles have a lot more heros, villains, and dragons to slay in them.

A Ramble About Xena

Recently, I've been indulging in an old favorite series of mine, Xena: Warrior Princess. For those who don't know the series, Xena is a spin-off from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys set in a fantasy world based on Greek Mythology. The title character Xena is a woman who was previously a terrible warlord bent on conquering everyone she could. She is converted to the good side of things by Hercules and then spends the rest of her life repentant trying to redeem herself by fighting against the forces and powers she had been previously allied with. She travels with a young woman named Gabrielle who becomes Xena's best friend and moral compass, as well as the chronicler of her story.

This particular television show is infamous both for its popularity, and its controversy surrounding the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle, which throughout the series grows more and more explicitly homosexual (though I don't believe any actual “sexual” scenes were ever shot between the two women, but I haven't yet actually seen every episode). Oddly enough though, this is one of the more realistic aspects of ancient Greek culture that the show deals with.

I think it was the concept of the main character that always intrigued me. Here is a woman who is deeply contrite and almost desperate for redemption. She is constantly having her past thrown back in her face no matter how hard she tries to get away from it, and she seems to always be facing the temptation to say, “to heck with it,” and return to that past in anger. In reality, Xena was a complicated character, and Lucy Lawless played those complications believably, allowing for a good blend of both drama and comedy.

I just recently watched some of the later episodes that were intended to parallel the beginnings of Christianity, and intended to use elements from tradition “Christian” mythology. In my opinion, there are two ways to view these episodes. The first is heretical and blasphemous, and a good argument could be made for that. However, theological orthodoxy was never the intention of either the Hercules or Xena series. And to judge the story lines on that basis is both unfair and pointless. The second way however opens up the potential for some profound, Christian, truths being expressed through metaphor in a way that they rarely are to an audience that may otherwise never bother to hear them.

I found the story arc of Xena's archenemy, Calisto, to be one of the more profound ones. Calisto was a little girl when Xena's army attacked her village and burned it, killing Calisto's parents in the process. This set the little girl on a path of anger and vengeance that drove her to the edge of insanity, and then through the series shoved her off the edge as she became a worse warlord than Xena. Ultimately, Calisto is condemned to Hell as a demon. After Xena and Gabrielle are crucified by Caesar and his legions, they die and are carried to heaven by angels, though Gabrielle is captured by Calisto and her demons in order to draw Xena down to Hell. In the process of trying to rescue Gabrielle, Xena (having been made an Archangel) goes into Hell to help the other angels free her friend. Gabrielle is rescued, but Xena fights the demon Calisto. After Calisto rages at her because of the death of her parents which caused all of it, Xena, out of deep compassion and forgiveness, gives up her own place in heaven to redeem the soul of Calisto, her worst enemy, from Hell taking her place in the process. Can anyone really not see the metaphor for Christ in this?

This theme of redeeming love continues in the series with Ares, the god of war, whose character's relationship with Xena is similar to an abusive ex-husband or ex-boyfriend. When Xena gives birth to a daughter, there is a prophecy by the fates that her birth will herald the end of the Greek gods. Many years later, her daughter (having taken the warlord path her mother first took and then becoming repentant) is baptized into the “cult of Eli” (the Xena series' version of early Christianity, also persecuted by the Romans), and then like St. Paul who first persecuted Christians and then received a call from Christ, so her daughter receives a call from Eli to be his messenger.

The Greek gods try to kill the girl, first as an infant, and then later as an adult. Xena is given the power by Heaven to kill gods in response, and she becomes her daughter's protector against them, slaying them one by one as they try to kill her daughter. Finally, there are only four remaining gods after she takes the fight to Mount Olympus; Athena, Artemis, Ares, and Aphrodite. Artemis is slain with her own arrows by Xena. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, because she has attempted to help Xena and her friends is allowed to escape. Ares is engaged by Xena and is down but not killed. Xena's daughter and her friend Gabrielle are mortally wounded and dying. And then the battle comes down to Athena and Xena.

One interesting thing I learned about Ares is that, for all of his abusive behavior, he did actually care about or love Xena. And out of his love for her, in this moment when she is about to be killed by Athena, in order to save her, he gives up his immortality to restore her daughter and Gabrielle which enables Xena to end Athena. Ares, the Greek god of offensive war, sacrifices his own immortality out of love for her. In a later episode, as he is going insane she allows him to nearly drown her to use his grief to bring him back to reality. As he realizes what he's done, he dives into freezing cold water to retrieve her body (which Gabrielle is able to resuscitate). In so doing, through her act of self sacrifice, she is able to start Ares on the path to his own redemption, and possibly to him finding peace later on as a mortal farmer. There's a profound metaphor there as well.

These themes of redemption by forgiveness, love, and self-sacrifice run through this series and the teachings of Christ where He taught to love one's enemies and to forgive those who have wronged you are, in the later episodes, played out in story after story, adventure after adventure as Xena constantly puts her life, and even her eternal soul on the line for those who had been her enemies, and had hurt her and those she loves deeply until she finally sacrifices her mortal existence completely in the final episodes.

I think this, more than anything else, is why I liked Xena and still do. In these things, the character of Xena ultimate follows what Jesus taught better than most who actually profess to follow Him.

A Ramble About the "Beast-People"

One of my favorite computer game and book series is the Myst collection of games and books, which taken together tell an expansive story of an ancient, fallen civilization, the D'ni; a secret, powerful Art of creating links to the worlds described in great Books; and the intrigue and pain of the last family to carry the legacy of this lost civilization and their unsuccessful attempts to rebuild it.

In one of the books, Myst: The Book of D'ni, the main protagonist of the series, Atrus, discovers an ancient Descriptive Book which leads him and his followers to a separate branch of that lost civilization, the Terahnee, one which never fell from the plague which swept the D'ni. As they get to know and be amazed and dazzled by the wonders and art of this civilization, they uncover a dark secret about this seemingly perfect world.

They employ a class of slaves which they refer to as the bahro, which in the D'ni language means “beast-people.” These people are stolen from their families in the other worlds to which the Terahnee link through their books, brought to their world, castrated, their wills are broken through torture and discipline, and then forced to serve the Terahnee mostly out of sight, only appearing through a system of extensive tunnels that run throughout their cities and town to perform their duties and then leave again as quickly as possible. The Terahnee also refer to them as the “unseen,” and there are severe consequences if anything happens that forces a Terahnee person to acknowledge their existence publicly or privately.

As I've been working for an event security company, and riding the public transportation, I've gotten to know and see a great many of the people that, like the bahro, are willingly unseen by those people they serve every day. Many of these people work two or three “part-time” jobs, at full time hours, at minimum wage, because the cost of living in Southern California is so high, they can't afford rent, food, or utilities without doing this. They sleep when they have a day off from one job. Many of them share small apartments between two or more families in order to just have a roof over their heads. Virtually all of them are a hair's breadth from homelessness, and it doesn't take much to snap the hair keeping them safe.

When people look at Southern California, all they see is the glamor, the entertainment industry, the movie stars, the concerts, the theme parks. But the millions of tourists who come through don't see the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of minimum wage workers who make it all happen, unless they have to interact with them to make a purchase, or suffer the indignity of submitting to a security screening. They're not meant to in the same way that those people coming of the Interstate 5 freeway to Disneyland aren't meant to see the dilapidated apartments and houses of the predominantly low-income residents who live within walking distance of the theme park. The freeway exits are specifically devised to avoid those areas of town. The signs won't even let you right turn down the street to get there.

Growing up here, I didn't really see these people either. My culture and society conditioned me to not see the Hispanics on the street corner that work twelve hour days for what amounts to birdseed. I was conditioned to not really see the worker at McDonald's or Burger King as anything more than a flesh and blood fast food ATM. The people who ran the rides, attractions, and manned the concession stands at Disneyland were just as much a part of the ride as the animatronics. They were always there, but you didn't talk to them, you didn't know them, and you didn't see them a second time if you saw them at all.

Our culture and society in this Southern Californian civilization dehumanizes the majority of its population into unseen, biological background mechanisms in order to provide a playground for the wealthy. When a member of this “unseen” class of people falls behind in some way, they are mercilessly thrown to the side and become homeless statistics, begging on the streets just to feed themselves and no one who has the power to do anything about it sees or cares. For this reason our social services are overwhelmed to the point that even housing assistance is more of a myth than a help, as the waiting lists are often two or three years long.

The practice of the Christian Faith is lovingkindness and compassion. We cannot afford to not “see” anyone because of who they are or where they work, neither can we afford to dehumanize someone into just a part of the background machinery. We will answer for it to our Lord if we do. “Inasmuch as you did it to the least of these my brethren, you did it also to Me.”

No human being should be treated as an unseen beast of burden. It flies in the face of everything Jesus Christ and His Apostles taught.