33 - The Law
The Law Another interesting outcome is the law. After the fall, we need the law. The serpent introduces law. Before the serpent, the one edict that God gave Adam and Eve was not even given a second …
2026-10-23
31 - Is Kichijiro burning in hell?
Is Kichijiro burning in hell? (or In Praise of a Certain Weakness as Strength) Full disclosure: The next two posts contain huge spoilers and assume the reader has some basic knowledge of the story of…
25 - I will never desert you
I will never desert you Later in the upper room, predicting all their denials, Jesus quotes Zechariah 13:7 to the disciples, “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.…
24 - Power Politics in the Upper Room
Power Politics in the Upper Room The key to Peter’s ability to respond appropriately to his mistake and properly address his denial is a complete paradigm shift in his understanding of power. This na…
23 - On the Donatists
On the Donatists In the first few centuries of the church, the Roman Empire spread from the near east in Asia to the British Isles and Iberian peninsula in the west. It encompassed North Africa as w…
22 - The Cock Crows
The Cock Crows Denial of responsibility is a theme that reoccurs throughout both the Old and New Testaments. However none is as prominent as Peter in the Passion narrative. Experiencing trauma and c…
21 - The Trauma of Adulthood
The Trauma of Adulthood Technically the serpent did not lie. He greatly warps the perception of truth. When contra God, the serpent says “you will not die” if you eat of the fruit, he is correct in …
20 - Surely you shall die
Surely You Shall Die Nakedness and vulnerability are not the only bitter epiphany revealed by the fruit of knowledge. God’s warning that you will surely die now comes to the forefront. In light of t…
19 - Who Told you that you were naked
Who told you that you were naked? Eating of the tree gave Adam and Eve new and uncomfortable knowledge about creation. First of these lessons is that everything in creation is not working in your fav…
18 - The Founding Trauma
The Founding Trauma It genuinely is PTSD. Adam and Eve have experienced trauma. For the first time, they experience malicious manipulation. An individual with more power has for the first time used…
17 - The Great Inversion
The Great Inversion Power is the basis of all the mimetic rivalry Girard believes drives society. The serpent, the accuser introduces the new normal in desire and imitation. When these were once rul…
16 - The Accuser
The Accuser When we look back, the first time we see Adam and Eve confronted with their own limitation as creation is not by God asking if they ate of the tree, but when the serpent confronts them i…
15 - The true fall
The true fall When we look back, the first time we see Adam and Eve confronted with their own limitation as creation is not by God asking if they ate of the tree, but when the serpent confronts them…
14 - The serpent god
The serpent god God never left. There was never some great chasm created by sin that we could not cross (without the cross). God was always directly behind us, always pursuing. However, we turned …
13 - Eve and the serpent
Eve and the Serpent Eve encounters a serpent who promises her an actual good, to help in imitating God. Because it is an actual good on offer, Eve shares this good thing with Adam. And on the surfac…
12 - Mistakes were made
Mistakes were made Imagine a person who has never experienced hostility or deception, only benevolent service and love. This is Eve in the garden encountering the serpent, she had no reason to distru…
6 - Temptation of power
Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you ar…
5 - It shall not be so among you
You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, a…
4 - Lording over each other
[Full disclosure: As I posted before, reiterating that this post contains a lot of academic philosophical and theological references (as many in the future will). If you don't understand the reference…
3 - Short Primer on Power
[A short preface: In this post and many subsequent posts, there are academic references, both names and terms. If unfamiliar, they may seem intimidating. Please don't be intimidated. If they don't enh…
2 - Kicking Against the Pricks: A Pamphlet
Kicking Against the Pricks: A Pamphlet This is a discourse about power. All humans have a power relationship in regards to every other human. Too often though power discussions are confined to discus…