Before the women’s liberation movement, skirts were just what women wore. In post-liberation America, skirts became something that accentuated the female identity rather than just aligning with the identity. With Queen Victoria’s prudishness far in the rearview mirror, hemlines rose and skirts no longer merely accentuated gender, but became a means of summoning attention once society finally admitted the legitimacy of a woman’s sexual self. Would it be unreasonable to think that males therefore came to cognitively associate skirts with exaggerated femininity? After all, that seems to be the only time most men take notice of how women dress—when the skirt is styled to stand out or the pants are tight or the shorts are extra short. In other words, males fail to notice (or the brain fails to imprint) when women wear anything “ordinary” that does not compel attention. That leaves only the out-of-ordinary to be noticed. And if it is out of the ordinary for a man to skirt, that gets noticed. Could it be as simple as men failing to notice the aesthetic range of women’s skirts, noticing only when women wear certain skirts and therewith construe all skirts as a purposeful intent to assert femininity?
On Liars
Liars are thieves of truth. —Vox
On God’s Complexity
God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, yes. God is also omnitemporal, omnidimensional, and omnilingual. [Edit: Actually, wouldn’t God be translingual, that is, God transcends language? What about transtemporal? Transdimensional?]
Lions all around (Daniel 6:22)
Everyone knows the story of Daniel in the lion’s den. King Darius was duped into issuing an irrevocable decree to worship a sixty-foot tall idol. When Daniel refused, his political enemies hauled him before the king. Realizing the deceit of his own officials, Darius waited until the last possible moment to send Daniel into the den (Dan 6:14) saying, “may your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you” (Dan 6:16). Then at the earliest possible moment, Darius went to the den (Dan 6:19) to inquire, “has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” (Dan 6:20). Daniel responded: “they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him” (Dan 6:22).Show more ›
On Achieving
If you want the things you’ve never had, stop doing the things you’ve always done. —Vox
Similarly, if you want the things you’ve never had, start doing things you’ve never done. —Vox
Faith “Like” Mustard Seed
“For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Mt 17:20 ESV).Show more ›
On the Operation of Justice
The operation of justice, when it works injustice, is always unjust. —Vox
On Faith
Be it unto me according to my faith and be my faith unto me according to your faithfulness. —Vox
On Trusting God
I don’t understand this, but I understand you. —Vox
A New Take on Peter’s Denial
Everyone knows that Peter adamantly denied his association with Jesus, but no one examines why or how Peter found himself in his predicament. There was another disciple in the courtyard so why wasn’t denial an issue for him?Show more ›
Judas and Caiaphas
Speaking to Pilate, Jesus said in John 19:11, “he who delivered me over to you the greater sin.” Most readers assume that Jesus implicated Judas, but it is more probable that Jesus had Caiaphas in mind for “it was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people” (John 18:14). “They therefore led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Prætorium” (John 18:28) complaining to Pilate that “it is not lawful for us to put anyone to death” (John 18:31). Therefore, it would appear that Jesus indicated that it was Caiaphas who “had the greater sin” for delivering Jesus to Pilate for the purpose of dying. For his part, it appears that Judas had no foreknowledge of Caiaphas’s intentions because when Judas “saw that Jesus was condemned, he felt remorse […] saying, ‘I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood'” (Matthew 27:3-4).
Second Amendment Restrictions
Americans might be more willing to accept gun/ammo restrictions if such were applied equally to the militarization-thirsty (and qualifiedly-immune) police. The second amendment is substantively a repudiation and protection from the one law for me, another law for thee conduct of state actors. Let them lead by example by demilitarizing themselves before they ask citizens to demilitarize. Then there would truly be no need for such gear.
In Jesus’s Name (Part 1)
Perhaps because Scripture says that “in my name” they will perform signs and miracles (Mk 16:17-18), Christians of all flavors, and almost without exception, conclude prayers for miraculous interventions with “In Jesus’s name…”. Pentecostals are quick to invoke “in Jesus’s name” to command matters to transpire. The thing is, that’s not what “name” meant in the Jewish cultural context of Jesus’s day. As Timothy Keller frequently explains, “name” connoted “personhood,” like when a son handles his father’s business affairs while the father is away, or when an ambassador exercises abroad the authority of her nation, or when mayors express the sentiments of their cities, they act in a name. To act “in name” is to act in a power-of-attorney capacity. It is to act on another person’s behalf. Show more ›
Climate Reparation Fallout
Small, second-world nations will band together in coalition(s?) for climate-change reparations and will exert tremendous demand-side economic pain until they get it. As wealth flows downward, first- and upper second-world nations will coalesce to sanction the former for their actions and cut them off from specific products. the former will then attack the later.
On Introspection
People do not deeply examine that which they deeply disdain. —Kellyanne Conway on The Daily
“Receive the Holy Spirit”
On the evening after his resurrection, Jesus “breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.'” (Jn 20:22). How, then, is it possible to become “filled with the Holy Spirit” seven weeks later on Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4) if the disciples had already received the Holy Spirit?Show more ›
Science, the New Polytheism
Throughout the coronavirus hysteria of 2020, policymakers and their designees spoke incessantly of “following the science.” The word science comes from Latin, scire, meaning knowledge. When academics speak of science they usually intend it to mean “scientific method” which is the use of empirical (i.e. “observable”) evidence to confirm or refute a hypothesis. However, being that COVID-19 was the first-ever global epidemic, there was nothing upon which or by which to assess the efficacy of countermeasures. As invoked, “follow the science” meant “trust the experts” which, in turn, conveyed an expectation to have faith in the speculative opinions of credentialed humans.Show more ›
ALMOST….
Vox has nearly returned to civilization, with more than a few hand-written posts to push out, but there are also thousands and thousands of email to be parsed first.
On Achieving
To do what no one did before, you must think like no one thought before. —Vox
Lorie Smith, What Would Jesus Do?
Does anyone remember the WWJD wristbands from the 1990s? Jesus opposed all that the pharisees stood for, yet he welcomed them into his gatherings. If they were not among the attendees, how were they have been there to pose questions to him? They tried to compel his speech about paying taxes to Caesar (Mt 22:17, Mk 12:14, Lk 20:22). But what did Jesus do? He got creative and avoided the very words that the Pharisees expected put in his mouth. Whether it is baking a cake or designing a wedding website, can we not love these neighbors as ourselves? Should a Christian refuse to love her neighbors by withholding alms from homeless lesbians? Should the Christian who pulls off the road to assist stranded motorists drive away when he adduces them to be homosexually-wedded men? Not every Christian is sufficiently spiritually mature to implement what I propose here, but why can’t Christians design a wedding website or cake while engaging in genuine loving prayer for the customer-celebrants? And shouldn’t a Christian do that for every such customer, even the heterosexual ones? Indeed, can the designer not imprint a resonant verse like “God Is Love”? (1 John 4:8,16) Does that not avoid the issue, love our neighbor, and plant a highly memorable seed that the Holy Spirit can cultivate over time? Tragically, high profile battles like Creative, LLC, and Masterpiece Cake Shop only injure Christianity’s message. I’m relieved that SCOTUS preserved free speech protections, but I wish this case had never been brought.
Heavy are the shoulders that wear the mantle
Various congregations practice all sorts of titles beyond the recognized pastor, deacon, and elder. They commonly embellish with Minister Doe, Evangelist Jones, Psalmist Lee, and Prophet Smith. The thing is, calling oneself “Prophet Smith” is pretty much an automatic indicator that Brother Smith is no prophet at all.Show more ›
On Understanding God’s Working
God is often doing the most when you understand it the least. […] There’s a lot of things that are unexplainable, but there’s also a lot of things that are undeniable. —Chris Lindberg
On Targeted Purpose
You don’t need to boil the ocean to make a cup of coffee. —Unk
I Still Don’t Understand Religious “Modesty”
Perhaps it is just something peculiar to my neurodiverse brain (probably), but religious “modesty” practices are nonsensical. Why is an ankle-length skirt “modest”? Is an exposed calf that alluring? And why is such skirt a “modesty” when the presence of the ass is still known and the form of the breasts is still evident? The reality is that there is no universal anatomic feature that captivates every man. As is best known, there are “ass men” and “tits men” and yet this is absolutely too reductionist. Men are likewise captivated by Show more ›
A wasting, wretched, dehumanized shell
I saw a man this evening, obviously a bottomed-out addict, his head scarred from beatings and sutures, sores on his face and back from disease, his frame wasting, the skin of his face and neck dark from flagging health, barely cognizant of his place in line, receiving his insulin and pills, and my heart broke for the shell of humanity that I saw. My initial disdain at his willful wretchedness and the bother of his presence melted into heartache for the sadness of his condition and the dehumanizing acts which he most certainly performed to maintain his chemical fugue state. I hung my head in sorrow and I wondered if a tear might fall. That’s probably how Jesus dug so deeply within himself to invest in such profound prayer and fasting so as to acquire the heart of God and the curative, restorative power that flowed therefrom.
Bad, but Zen
I think our overarching message in all the songs is ‘Wow! Everything is really screwed up, but it’s gonna be OK’.” —Johnny Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls) on PBS News Hour
Churchplay
Churchplay is a lot like horseplay. —Vox
Seeing Big, Understanding Small
Some people see big but understand small because they are viewing what is close. Instead, we should see small and understand big as Elijah taught his servant: “And at the seventh time he said, ‘Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.’ And he said, ‘Go up, say to Ahab, “Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you”.’ And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.” 2Kings 18:43-45
God Is Deep, Not Complex
Service to Almighty God is not complicated, but there is so much more depth to God than Christians understand (or even want to understand). God is not just a happiness giver. For many, Christianity means a successful marriage, a happy family, adequate economics, protection from death. For many Catholics, Christianity (rightly) means accepting the bad with the good. This is all shallow Christianity. God is so, so much deeper, deeper but not complicated. God does not require ceremony and tradition (Psalm 51:17 “a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise”). God is all that we believe to be the nature and character of God. But God is deeper than what we shallowly understand. God is an existence where our own existence becomes insignificant. Walking with God is a state where nothing else even enters our thoughts, a state where we wish we could vaporize and meld with no thought for what is behind because every possible desire is satisfied in God Most High.
On Civil Accountability
I’m a private citizen with rights, but you’re a public servant with duties. —Vox
Recliner Worship
I find myself intolerably annoyed with anthems about experiencing God’s presence. How did mankind become so comfortable kicking back to imagine that God has a duty to satisfy the thirst or hunger or desperation of servants? It is a lazy and wrong-headed understanding of what it means to be an Abrahamic theist. Singung about the awesomeness of God’s presence might produce a goosenump, but it does not produce an encounter with the Almighty.Show more ›
A Spontaneous Meditation
“Come unto me, all ye labouring and burdened ones, and I will give you rest, take up my yoke upon you, and learn from me, because I am meek and humble in heart, and ye shall find rest to your souls.” (Matt 11:28-29 YLT)
“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe.” (Prov 18:10 YLT)
“Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is [my portion] forever.” (Psalm 73:25-26 NLT)
“But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.” (Psalm 73:28)
Yahweh, Jehovah, & Adonai
I learned a little Arabic in 2022. The classes ended abruptly so I did not progress as far as I had expected. My graduate studies included two linguistics courses that, for inteinsic reasons, were predominantly Indo-European (duh, I speak English, Spanish, French). Of course any linguistics curriculum includes an overview of other language families, and that once-extraneous knowledge of Semitic languages quickly made a lot of sense. It probably also accelerated my uptake. It definitely connected dots which I could apply to Hebrew.Show more ›
Surrendered Suffering Is Worship
Luke 22:42 records Jesus as praying, “Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but Thine be done.” These words demonstrate total surrender to יהוה. It is the sheep submitting to the shepherd’s plans and purposes. Suffering is not just the adversity which befalls us. Suffering is just as much knowing the adversity that will imminently befall us or the consciousness that our present adversity has no apparent set ending. Feeling about to break, we ourselves are likely to beg the Almighty to bring our suffering to an end. There is nothing fallable in that entreaty. But, if we then bring ourselves to say, “not my will but yours be done” then in that moment we offer a worship of submission. And every moment of mindful submission is worship. In worship there is peace. The desperation changes to sorrow as we experience God’s sorrow for our suffering. But if all we can offer is our desperate and broken heart, then it is sufficient to offer our desperate and broken heart. The old widow who gave her last two coins (Mk 12:41-44) offered God all that she had and it was an acceptable offering. It was her worship. When we surrender our last desperate emotions, it is our worship and it is acceptable, it is pleasing. Our agony, when offered as submission, becomes a lived act of worship. Stop bucking to start worshipping.
Inshallah, Mashallah, and Alhamdulillah
These three words capture the entirety of worshiping God Most High. I could conclude this post here and it would be sufficient for decades of meditation, but since when do I not discuss a matter at length?Show more ›
On Understanding God
I don’t understand its necessity, but I understand that you (God) understand it, and that is enough. —Vox
A Short Colloquy
| VOX: | I’m really tired of [this locality and these circumstances] |
| GOD: | Am I not enough for you? |
| VOX: | I withdraw my complaint |
(In other words, Do I not satisfy you? What else do you need?)
I Wore a Thobe Today
Nearly eight years ago I posted my first manifesto, Why I Wear Skirts. Skirts are still super awesome, but today I forge another countercultural path: the Arabian Thobe. Yet for all the wisdom and perspective gained through skirts, I find myself re-learning some of the same simple lessons all over again.Show more ›
Demanding a god that thinks like a human
How often do we hear the critique, I cannot believe in a god that allows so much suffering to exist in the world. This statement actually expresses the thought that I can only believe in a god that thinks the way that I think (i.e. because I would end suffering if I were God). Show more ›
A Short Colloquy (#2)
| VOX: | I’m really tired of being here. |
| GOD: | If you’re here then you’re not there. |
(In other words, You can’t know the dangers lurking elsewhere so I’m holding you ‘here’ which is better for you than ‘there’.)
A Short Colloquy (#3)
| VOX: | God, I really want this [matter] solved. |
| GOD: | Really? Do you want that more than me? |
| VOX: | יהוה is my shepherd I shall not want. (Ps 23:1) |
What we pray
“Most of what we pray is me-me-me, want-want-want, my terms, my timing, my pleasure, my solution. We approach God with the mentality of an immature child.” —Vox
A Short Colloquy (#4)
| VOX: | God, please bring me someone to help. |
| GOD: | Are you willing to forgive _________? |
| VOX: | I trust your process. |
That’s a sorry cop-out.
(Nontrinitarian) Christian Advantage
It might be, that as a (nontrinitarian) Christian, I enjoy the capacity to honor, respect, and revere—without snobby superiority—both my Jewish and my Muslim brethren who, like Christians, worship the God of Abraham.
God is not…
God is not what we think God is, neither is God what we imagine God to be. We are blind (wo)men trying to describe colors. Everything that we articulate is conscripted by our limited vocabulary. We who are finite cannot actually understand what it is to be infinite. Our weak articulations describe the infinite as being everything that the finite is not. But we cannot actually predict the infinite. Every word that we use to describe God Most High has zero useful meaning. God is not what we think God is because we cannot think beyond the capabilities of our thought. God is more than we can imagine. Perhaos we are but one percent accurate in our understanding of God, incapable of comprehending the remaining ninety-nine percent.
Adam, Eve, and the Creation of Everything
Five years ago I observed that Scripture arguably describes a simultaneous creation of Adam and Eve. Read literally, woman was extracted from man. Extraction means the woman was already within the man at creation. Did God sort a comingled bag of jellybeans into pinks and blues, or did God change one-half of only-blue jellybeans into pink jellybeans? If the former, then Adam and Even co-existed ab initio.Show more ›
Hawk Nelson: Faithful
Pensamientos sueltos
¿Cómo puedo dejar que mis pensamientos sueltos caigan en otro asunto cuando tengo el señor todopoderoso rey de reyes soberano del universo aquí a mi alcance? ¿Cómo puede ser que aquél no ocupe toda mi mente y toda mi conciencia?
Revealing God
God has spent all of human history revealing more and more of himself to humanity. It is time to recognize those cycles and endeavors for what they were and for what we were. The metaphors and symbolisms were appropriate for the stage of human civilization and human cognition. But we are in a different stage today and it is time to recognize the past revelations for what they were and it is time to look beyond those metaphors and conceive of something new today.Show more ›
Daniel Calveti: La niña de tus ojos
“Lo halló en una tierra desolada, en la rugiente soledad del yermo. Lo protegió y lo cuidó; lo guardó como a la niña de sus ojos.” (DEUT 32:10)
Encuéntrame otra vez
Not Not Muslim
Muslim originally meant (and still means) “one who submits to God.” That sounds like a pretty awesome designation. I desire to be wholly submitted to God. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
Muslim later acquired its second meaning of “one who practices Islam.” As I pointed out previously, Islam means “peace through submission to God.” I desire that peace.
So I am Muslim, but not Muslim, or maybe just not not Muslim.