The “Orientalizing Period” & Borrowed Greek Canon (pt. 2)
“If you want a new idea, read an old book.” — Ivan Pavlov The imaginary line separating East from West is a lot closer to home than many realize. In…
Eastern Resistance: Hidden Foundations of Greek Philosophy, Protestant Language, & Mysticism (pt. 1)
This is a three-part series. The first part covers the intersection of theology and modernity; the next explains some ancient origins of the divide between the two; and the final…
Infecting Anatolia With a Better Kingdom: Behind the Scenes of Ephesians 2:1-10
*Warning about read time ☝️ “Grace is not opposed to effort, but to earning.” — Dallas Willard In its original context, Ephesians 2:8-9 shifts from an avoidance-of-hell mindset to an…
Divine Codependency: Scapegoating God’s Will & Losing Humanity
There’s a part in Exodus when Moses comes to the Red Sea; Pharaoh’s army is in pursuit, and the people panic. And God answers. But it is not the response…
Bringing Heaven to Earth: The Lord’s Prayer Without Theatrics (Matthew 6:5-15)
“The Lord’s Prayer is the summary of the whole gospel.” — Tertullian *It’s a longer one. Before the Lord’s Prayer existed, there were other models of prayer 1. Prayer was…
Phōtizō: Getting Out of The Cave
One of my favorite Bible stories is the Samaritan Woman at the Well in John 4. While she is unnamed, later traditions called her Photini — The Luminous One — because she…
All My Relations
While writing my book, a conclusion came into sight that brought tools, implications, and direction. One of those was what I called the 1-to-1 Relationship. It is learning to encounter…
God Reveals Mysteries In the Secret Places: Revelation & Our Inner Life
“Mystery is not something you cannot understand; it is something that you can endlessly understand. There is no end to it.” — Richard Rohr The biblical tradition repeatedly moves divine…
Pivot Mental States: The Power of Worship
Worshipping Jesus isn’t nice. It’s good medicine. As I’ve learned with a lot of things, what matters in worship is the how, not so much the what. As a concept,…
Jacob’s Wages: The Cost of Trying Too Hard
There’s a pattern in Jacob’s story, the grandson of Abraham. It’s one that chased me until it brought me to an end. “Grace is not opposed to effort, it is…
