The religious significance of Covid, excursus: is masking magic?

Understanding the religious nature of man, and the symbolic patterns he follows in worship, helps us to understand the rationale behind ancient magic—and ask some disconcerting questions about whether it is reasserting itself in the modern day.

The religious significance of Covid, part 2: the symbolism of face-covering

Understanding the religious nature of man, and the symbolic patterns he follows in worship, helps us to understand the disturbing nature of mask mandates, and the idolatry implicit in obeying them.

The religious significance of Covid, part 1: pandemic response as idolatry

Understanding the religious nature of man, and the symbolic patterns he follows in worship, helps us to understand the seemingly irrational response to Covid—and the Church’s gross dereliction of her duty.

Who is the serpent in Genesis, and is it an actual snake?

Several different strands of evidence point to the serpent being not an animal, but a shining, serpentine angelic being.

What is the kingdom of God? Part 2: the divine council

Israel, like all ancient Near Eastern peoples, conceived of the world as being governed by a cosmic bureaucracy—a bureaucracy the Bible calls the divine council. Prophets were brought into this council when they were commissioned.

Abortion as sacrament: why religious language is still used in a secular culture

A brief analysis of abortion in terms of Satan’s attack on the image and kingdom of God.

Christianity, confidence, and certainty

We can have complete certainty in the existence of God, and a high degree of confidence in the truth of Christianity specifically. This is justified not only by philosophical, prophetical and historical arguments, but especially by the direct knowledge imparted by the Spirit of God.

Excerpts from credible witnesses to supernatural events

Not every account of supernatural events should be believed, but some have the ring of truth.

What should we make of supernatural events in other religions?

We should welcome them as potential proof of Christianity.

A simple argument that the Roman church is under God’s judgment for apostasy and idolatry

Pedophilia isn’t the only sexual scandal in the Roman ranks.

I’ve invented the perfect religion

My cover is now blown, but who cares? I’ll be rich.

Why polytheism = pantheism = monism

Pagan religions seem crazy until you understand what motivates them.

Is the divine council henotheistic?

There’s a rock and a hard place here for anyone who wants to use that term.

So you think educated Westerners don’t believe in pagan monism?

Heh. Ain’t that cute.

Is Allah actually Yahweh?

It’s a more vexed question than you might assume—but here’s a simple argument that shows he is perhaps not, at least in most cases.

Are pictures of Jesus idolatry? Part 2: what were ancient people thinking?

Thinking so is an understandably venerable Reformed tradition which strikes me as naive and legalistic on several levels. Here, I look at why ancient peoples created idols to worship, and how this radically affects our understanding of the second commandment.

How pro-gay atheists “argue”

An illustration of what to expect from “freethinkers” if you dare to buck political correctness.

Did Aaron’s staff actually turn into a crocodile?

Most translations say it turned into a snake. I think they are right—a crocodile is not in view—given both the inter-textual and socio-religious evidence.

Was Jesus a guru? (Part 3)

What if his message got lost in transmission?

Was Jesus a guru? (Part 2)

Is there not some hubris in thinking that, when reading a translation of a text, you have picked up on something which two millennia’s worth of its most adept students failed to notice in the original languages?

Was Jesus a guru? (Part 1)

Some people think so, and they quote Jesus himself in support of the idea.

Did all great religious figures share the same mystical experience?

The only way to know for sure is to ask them…

Thorny problems with karma #6: free will

If karma decides how we should act toward other people based on their karmic debt, how can our actions really be free?

Thorny problems with karma #5: the sustainability paradox

Even assuming karma can get started in the first place, how does it keep going while still letting off enough steam to allow everyone to eventually escape?

Thorny problems with karma #4: the bootstrap paradox

How did the whole system of karma get started in the first place, without violating its own rules, or requiring an infinite number of people or infinite amount of time?

Thorny problems with karma #3: charity is selfish and inconsiderate

Why should we take karmic worldviews seriously when they encourage cruelty and indifference over charity and mercy, and have produced the most backward, poverty-stricken cultures in the world?

Thorny problems with karma #2: who sets the rules?

If karma is basically a system for balancing your morally bad choices, who exactly is it that makes the moral rules you must follow?

Thorny problems with karma #1: what makes it tick?

Is karma a process which must be intelligently guided? If so, who does the guiding?

Rome: “Catholics adore the one God, Allah”

A quick little argument showing how, on Rome’s own terms, Catholics believe that God’s secret identity is Allah.

On the Pope, the Catholic Church, and Islam

This is the inaugural post for my blog: the post which I felt compelled to write in response to Pope Benedict XVI’s placatory comments toward Islam, in which he affirmed that the Roman Catholic Church respects Muslims, and worships the same God that they do.