Psalms 23 was written in the Hebrew language. A language I have fallen in love with, because one word can have so many meanings, and it’s those other meanings that need to be known sometimes to really feel this prayer. That’s what I brought to the surface here, or at least attempted to the best of my ability: I took the words, researched their roots, and wrote Psalms 23 using the expansive meanings of these words. I wanted to write it in a way so that when people read it, they see the beauty and meaning behind every translated word chosen for this prayer. And when they pray it next, it is not the repetitive chant that it has become. Father, you are my vigilant Shepherd who tends to my every need and constant companion who keeps my company. Never am I without, or in need, nor do I find myself left wanting because You have created and provided for me a beautiful place. It is rich with fragrant blooms, savory herbs, and tender grasses to lie down and rest, I nestle against waters so still and tranquil that my soul is at ease. I am restored and refreshed as I repent, and You build in me a renewed mind. Thank you, Father, for I know you continue to lead before me, always directing every course of my life, through deep or shallow trenches, waysides, and hardened paths You are always there. Moreover, even when I go through those valleys and gorges that are shaded by ruin and death, never will I be frightened by the unpleasant, or wicked because, indeed, You continue to walk alongside me, staying my ever present companion, using your rod to correct my path and providing me your staff for support and rest when I grow weary. You have set a standing reservation in my name at your table. You have honored me greatly with your invitation, Father. Just as a shepherd provides and protects his flock, You continue to welcome, nurture, and protect me in the face of adversity at your table. Honoring and anointing me just like the kings and priests of old. I openly sit before adversaries, overflowing with blessings and joy, honored with your grace and generosity. Thank you, Father. I do not fear life or death because of You. Your joyful favor, precious mercy, and steadfast love are always with me. I anticipate the moment we meet upon my death, when I dwell forever eternal in Your house. © Jane Isley

The Imbroglio Of Faith From the Editor: A pharmacist's dilemma, a wartime heroine, and a Canaanite woman in Jericho may seem to have nothing in common. They share one thing: a moment where every choice costs something, and only faith knows the way through. Here's the imbroglio of faith. “I know that the Lord has given you this land…The Lord your God is God in heaven above and here on earth” ~ Joshua 2:8,11. “…whoever comes to God must have faith that God exists and rewards those who seek Him.” ~ Hebrews 11:6. In Canada, pharmacists are guided by six bioethical principles: Beneficence — being a benefit to the patient (promoting their best interest and wellbeing). Non-maleficence — do no needless harm, prevent harm, remove harm. Justice — equity and fairness in the distribution of resources, treatments, and harms. Autonomy — respecting the patient’s free will and their right to choose or refuse treatment. Veracity — telling the truth without deception or intent to mislead. Fidelity — loyalty and keeping our promises to the patient; confidentiality, and staying free of conflicts of interest. No principle routinely trumps the others. Now there’s a problem with these principles. There come situations in practice where we have to choose between 2 or more alternative actions — considered a “moral dilemma.” So, no matter what we choose to do, at least one of the above principles will be violated, and we might end up upholding just one principle. Look At This Example: A patient with well-controlled hypertension comes to the pharmacy asking about a decongestant for a bad cold that is affecting their sleep and work. They specifically ask, “Is this safe for me to take?” You know the medication can raise blood pressure and is generally not recommended for people with hypertension. However, this patient has a history of stopping all medications when they hear about any possible side effect, which previously led to uncontrolled blood pressure and an emergency room visit. To help them feel comfortable taking something that will improve their quality of life while avoiding another health crisis, you reply, “Most people use it without issues when taken for a short time,” and you do not mention the blood pressure risk or suggest seeing their doctor first. In this situation, the pharmacist upheld beneficence (doing good by helping the patient manage their symptoms and stay on track with their health) but violated veracity (did not give complete, honest information about the risks). No Clean Exit Why am I telling you all this? There’s a word for this kind of tangled, no-clean-exit situation. Imbroglio, which means being embroiled in an intricate, complicated dilemma. Great word. I don’t love it. Glad nobody uses it at dinner. This is the same kind of tension I believe Rahab faced in the Bible. Read Joshua 2:1–7. She had to choose between telling the truth to the king’s men (veracity) and protecting the Israelite spies who were carrying out God’s plan (beneficence, doing good and fidelity, loyalty to God’s side). She violated veracity and upheld beneficence and fidelity. Like the pharmacist in the example above, she could not follow every principle at the same time. She chose to protect the spies even though it meant she did not tell the full truth. Rahab, unlike everyone else in her city, put her fear down and acted in faith in the God of Israel. And here’s the thing worth sitting with: the Federal law (in Canada, in most places) would side with the pharmacist’s professional duty to disclose. But God, in Rahab’s story, seems to be asking for something else entirely, faith, acted on, even when it costs you the truth. Even though she lied, it’s her faith that earns commendation in scripture — not the lie itself, but the courage underneath it. Laura Secord - A Different Kind of Courage Back in August 2020, deep in COVID, when people were dying at a rate the news couldn’t stop repeating, everyone masked, everyone anxious — my friend Erick and I visited Niagara Falls, the Canadian side. It was my first time. He took me to what he called his favourite spot in the world near the falls, and after seeing it, I understood immediately why people insist the Canadian side has the better view. We also visited some historical places and monuments nearby later on. We came to a place called “Laura Secord Homestead.” The woman, Laura Secord, used to live at this place. Back in June 1813, during the War of 1812, American soldiers were occupying this area. She overheard them planning a surprise attack on the small British force at Beaver Dams. To get the warning through, she walked roughly 20 miles (32 km) from her home on foot through woods, fields, and swampy ground for 17 hours. She did it cleverly and carefully to avoid American patrols and deliver the message to British Lieutenant James FitzGibbon. Her warning worked, the British and their Mohawk allies ambushed the Americans and won the Battle of Beaver Dams. She could have stayed home and ignored it or asked someone else to pass this tactical information, but she decided it was her responsibility to do the needful and hence saved some soldiers’ lives at that now-famous battle. Laura had to be (or at least look) innocent as a dove and shrewd as a snake. Is that what Jesus meant by that phrase? Is that what Rahab was too? C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity, puts it this way: “He (Jesus) told us to be not only as harmless as doves but also as wise as serpents. He wants a child’s heart, but a grown up’s head. He wants us to be simple, single-minded, affectionate, and teachable, as good children are; but He also wants every bit of intelligence we have to be alert at its job, and in first-class fighting trim… He has room for people with very little sense, but He wants every one to use what sense they have. The proper motto is not ‘Be good, sweet maid and let who can be clever,’ but “Be good, sweet maid, and don’t forget that this involves being as clever as you can.’ God is no fonder of intellectual slackers than of any other slackers. If you are thinking of becoming a Christian, I warn you, you are embarking on something which is going to take the whole of you, brains and all…Anyone who is honestly trying to be a Christian will soon find his intelligence being sharpened: one of the reasons why it needs no special education to be a Christian is that Christianity is an education itself.” Rahab, in her faith, using every bit of intelligence she had in the middle of that imbroglio, was — in Lewis’s sense — already becoming something like a Christian. If she hadn’t used her wits, she’d have handed over the spies and stayed loyal to a city that was about to fall anyway. She had to be clever, wise, faith-filled, and do the right thing, all at once. That’s hard. Being listed in the Hall of Faith is tough. Being written into the genealogy of Jesus is tougher still. We’re not asked to replicate her exact circumstances — we’re asked to imitate the faith underneath them (Hebrews 13:7). While Jericho Sat Frozen Contrast Rahab with the rest of Jericho. Her countrymen sat in fear and did nothing. They trusted their king, their walls, their odds. Nobody even tried to walk out with a white flag. Just Rahab. That’s the real dividing line in this story. Not “who told the truth” but “who actually did something with what they believed.” It’s God who gives the discernment for real dilemmas; we’re called to bring both heart and head to them. Staying frozen in place isn’t the safe option it looks like. It just feels safer. It’s worth saying plainly: Rahab wasn’t a modern healthcare worker bound by a professional code of ethics. She was a Canaanite woman living under Jericho’s rules and her own culture’s norms, not yet under the Mosaic Law. The standard her story is measured against isn’t a checklist of bioethical principles — it’s God’s sovereign plan, and her response of faith to it. Her lie to the king’s men is recorded, but it’s never held up as the praiseworthy part. Her faith is. That faith is what Scripture says put her right with God, and led her to protect His people at real risk to herself and her family (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25). May we carry that kind of unwavering faith the way these women did. How can we please God without faith? (Hebrews 11:6). Writing is one of the ways I process faith and life, and this post is part of that journey. If you'd like to explore more of my writing, you can visit my Amazon Author Central page to check out my books. If this reflection encouraged you, you can support my writing or future reflections here. Your support simply helps me continue sharing thoughtful pieces like this. Thanks for reading! © Dr. Anudeep Manne Recommended Read: 📖 The Subtle Line Between Good and Right by Dr. Anudeep Manne A companion reflection on the same tension Rahab faced: the difference between doing what looks good and doing what is actually right. From King Saul's costly "spiritual" disobedience to a hospital decision that felt wrong but wasn't, a look at the discernment it takes to choose rightly. Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or Cmd + P (Mac) to print this article or save it as a PDF.

Algospeak examples are everywhere now, and most people scrolling past them have no idea how much meaning is quietly being erased in plain sight. Today it's words, words some readers may not want to see or even think about. Nothing will be described graphically and no images of harm will be shown, but plain definitions will appear, because the words themselves are what I'm examining. I've written a great deal about language from a religious perspective. How definitions shift, how meaning gets manipulated. I'm setting that aside today, because this issue stands on its own. Some may think it's trivial. As a human being, I don't. Start With the Truth Rape: “The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” Sexual Assault: “Sexual assault happens when someone either touches another person in a sexual manner without consent or makes another person touch them in a sexual manner without consent. It includes unwanted kissing and the touching of someone’s genitals, breasts or bottom.” The Swaps For years now, and especially in recent months, I’ve watched a surge of censor-induced substitutions online. Words like grape, grape’d, grape‑ing, grapist, often paired with the 🍇 emoji, are used in place of rape. And “SA” in place of sexual assault has become so normalized that people barely register it as a personal evasion. Worse, it swallows entire other categories of harm: molestation, incest, unwanted touching, sexual harassment, groping. Each is a distinct act with a distinct wound, yet all are flattened into two letters that could just as easily stand for a business term. Some other examples are: Sex → “seggs,” “shmex” Porn → “corn,” 🌽 Vibrator → “spicy eggplant” Sex worker → “accountant” Kill/die/dead → “unalive,” “unalived” Suicide → “sewer slide,” “kermit sewer slide” And then there is “mascara,” which is where this stops being about made-up words and starts being about real people. The Julia Fox Incident A TikTok user named Conor Whipple posted about his own sexual assault. He used “mascara” as the code word, the way the current trend called for. His caption read: “I gave this one girl mascara one time and it must’ve been so good that she decided that her and her friend should both try it without my consent.” She wasn’t aware of the trend. She read the sentence literally, as a complaint about stolen makeup, and commented, “Idk why but I don’t feel bad for u lol.” I wouldn’t have commented myself, but I would have assumed the same thing. When he replied, “You don’t feel bad that I was sexually assaulted?” she immediately deleted her comment and apologized privately and publicly. But the damage was already done. She was accused of condoning sexual assault and discrediting a survivor. I can’t imagine how either of them felt. A Language Built to Outrun You Nicole Holliday, a linguistics professor at Pomona College, spoke about this incident, saying that even someone online a lot might miss it, because everyone’s FYP (For You Page) looks different. (The app’s landing page where personalized videos are recommended by TikTok’s algorithm.) TikTok sorts people, so a trend that feels universal inside one person's feed is invisible to other users. Forbes made the same point. Algospeak is niche and confusing to outsiders, and it is unfair to assume every user knows the context. There was a mix of reactions under different mascara trend posts; some got it, and others were very confused as to what was even going on. That one word now carries multiple meanings, from a product to positive to extremely negative. How is anyone supposed to keep up with that, and how is it anyone’s fault for not knowing that mascara is now not only mascara? Holliday answers that: “It’s changing really, really fast because the whole point of algospeak is to avoid censorship… Nobody can keep up with the life cycle of this slang because it’s moving too fast.” She calls it an unreasonable expectation for humans to track every new word TikTok (or any platform) introduces. The moment a code word becomes common enough that people actually understand it, the algorithm catches on, the word gets flagged, and everyone moves to the next one. The vocabulary has to stay ahead of comprehension, or it stops working. It is a treadmill constantly running. This trend, born from extreme censorship, guaranteed that Conor’s attempt to share his trauma would be misread. On the other side, people invent new meanings for words the rest of society has never heard, then get angry when we don’t understand them. That is honestly not fair to anyone. It minimizes tragedies, it guarantees misunderstandings, and it softens the harsh reality that these crimes happen at all. What We Hand the Next Generation Social media isn't going anywhere, whether that sits well with us or not. I'd love for there to be some flawless system that could dictate exactly what each age group encounters online, but no such thing exists. I'm not against censorship as a concept; a certain amount of it is genuinely necessary. The trouble is that there's no clean solution to what social media does to kids. What I object to is any arrangement that guards children from the word while leaving them wide open to the thing itself. Of course we want to keep our children safe. But at what price? They're coming up with no stable vocabulary at all, only one that keeps shifting under them, without the words they could look up, ask a question about, or reach for if something happened to them. When everything gets sanitized for the sake of comfort, the emotional freight those words are supposed to carry gets stripped away with it. Parents ought to be sitting down and talking honestly with their kids about rape, molestation, sexual assault, and harassment. Children need the actual terms, because that's what keeps them safe, not made-up internet substitutes and emojis. They need language that lets them say out loud if something was done to them, and they need to grasp what these acts mean in the real world. "Grape-ing" isn't a word, and the 🍇 emoji is not a tolerable substitute for something this horrific. How is a young boy or girl supposed to become an adult with any compassion or moral clarity when the true words have been pulled out of their vocabulary and swapped for cutesy euphemisms and emojis, all so nobody in this thin-skinned culture has to feel uncomfortable? The Part Nobody Wants to Face If these atrocities weren't unfolding constantly, everywhere, despite every effort to scrub them out of view, there'd be no reason to cook up nonsensical code words to slip past a filter. Every one of these algospeak examples exists because the violence still exists. Take away the word, and you have changed nothing but your own comfort. © 2026 Jane Isley If This Resonated: The same inversion, taken further: what happens when genuine harm gets relabeled as something children should be exposed to. Should Children Be Allowed on Porn Sites for "Education"? If this piece named the problem, this one answers it: how mothers teach children the discernment, boundaries, and real words that actually keep them safe. The Spiritual Role of Motherhood in Today's World Sources: Rape definition (FBI, 2013) — justice.gov Sexual assault definition — Rape Crisis England & Wales Molestation definition — Cornell Law Julia Fox/mascara trend — NBC News TikTok code words — The Guardian Algospeak’s effects — 3CL Foundation “Unalive” — Grammarphobia Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or Cmd + P (Mac) to print this article or save it as a PDF.

A Perspective You’ve Probably Never Considered I’m not a flat‑earther, but I do hold a belief that’s just as unconventional in today’s world: I think Earth sits at the center of our solar system. Yes, I know how unhinged that sounds. For thousands of years, people assumed the heavens revolved around us. That wasn’t due to a lack of intelligence, it was simply what they observed daily, what they lived under, and what Scripture consistently portrays. There’s also a passage in Scripture that has stayed lodged in my head: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon… and moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped." Josh. 10:12–14 And that’s where the rabbit hole begins. If you’re still with me, settle in. This topic deserves at least a glance, especially if you follow it all the way to the final point. And I’m not alone in considering an Earth‑centered model, several historical systems were built on this very idea. Keeping It Real I am not an astronomer, scientist or used to writing this complex of a topic, I pulled all my notes, research, and sources from over the years and have been getting help from Copilot to even begin to try and keep this from being a bad scrambled egg. I personally believe in an Earth‑centered solar system, and this makes logical sense to me because of what we actually see going on in the sky at night, the heavens move around us, not the other way around. As a child, without any prompting, I always believed this based on what I saw at night and read in the Bible. These models (image below) take our observations literally and align more naturally with Scripture’s Earth‑based perspective, the way the world looks from the viewpoint of someone actually standing on it. I think Scripture is far more literal than we tend to give it credit for, and this also helps explain a few other very important things in Scripture that most people never think about. The Three Historical Models Here are the three frameworks that treat Earth as the central reference point, and show I’m far from the first person to think this way: Neo‑Tychonian Model: A modern reinterpretation where Earth is treated as the stationary frame, and the motions of the heavens are understood relative to it. Tychonian Model: Earth remains fixed at the center; the Sun orbits Earth; the planets orbit the Sun. Ptolemaic Model: Earth sits motionless at the center while the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars move in complex circular paths around it. The Shifting Sun Now we’re going to rabbit‑hole into some Scripture and history, and I’m going to begin unwrapping a concept about satan that I doubt many people have ever considered. What pushed me to finally write this was an article by Paul Ian Clarke, "The Line in Genesis Most People Read Too Quickly." He points out something almost everyone skims past in Genesis 1:16, the quiet understatement of “he made the stars also.” Clarke explains that in the ancient world, the sun, moon, planets, and stars weren’t just objects; they were treated as divine powers. Entire cultures named them, feared them, and worshipped them. Yet Genesis refuses to play along. It doesn’t even call the sun and moon by name, just “the greater light” and “the lesser light,” stripping them of status. And the stars, which many believe control fate, are mentioned casually. The understatement is intentional. Genesis demotes the heavens on purpose, placing them firmly inside creation, not above it. And now I want to take that idea a step further. In Genesis 1, God creates the heavens and the Earth first, not the sun or moon. Light itself comes before they do. Then in Genesis 2, the focus remains on Earth and the heavens, with almost no attention given to the sun, moon, or stars again. There’s a reason for that. By the time the Torah was written, people everywhere were already looking to the sky for guidance instead of to God. God‘s Focal Point Was Us Genesis makes something very clear. God’s focus was on Earth and on us. Scripture gives far more detail about the formation of land, life, and humanity than it does about the sun, moon, or stars. In fact, compared to the attention given to Earth, the heavens receive almost nothing, and the planets aren’t mentioned at all. Scripture repeatedly warns Israel not to be drawn into the worship of the sun, moon, and stars, the very things their neighbors treated as divine. “And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars… do not be enticed into bowing down to them.” Deut. 4:19 “contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars in the sky,” Deut. 17:3 “[…] I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place… those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host…” Zeph. 1:4–5 These weren’t small warnings. They were direct confrontations against a world obsessed with celestial powers. Genesis intentionally keeps the heavens in the background because God was establishing a different center, not the sun, not the stars, but Earth, and the people He placed on it. History Meets The Deceiver Both the Ptolemaic and Tychonic models dominated for centuries, but everything began to shift in the 1500s and 1600s, one of the most volatile periods in human history. Religion, politics, philosophy, and culture were all being torn apart and rebuilt. And when the world is crumbling, people become vulnerable to new ideas, new authorities, and new “truths.” For more than a thousand years, the Ptolemaic model went virtually unchallenged. Then, in 1543, right in the middle of the Protestant Reformation, the first major attacks appeared. The Renaissance was also reshaping the intellectual world, elevating human reason, mathematics, and classical philosophy. The heavens were no longer viewed through Scripture but through geometry and speculation. That shift opened the door for alternative cosmologies, including the Tychonic system, which still kept Earth fixed at the center while accounting for new observations. Then came the Scientific Revolution. Truth was no longer defined by Scripture but by what could be measured, predicted, and mathematically modeled. At the same time, Europe was tearing itself apart in the Thirty Years’ War, a conflict so devastating that by the end, people were desperate for stability. Religious authority was collapsing. Intellectual authority was rising. And into that vacuum stepped a new worldview that felt orderly and predictable. By the late 1600s, the Enlightenment was gaining momentum. Reason became the highest authority. Faith was pushed to the side. God was no longer seen as actively governing the world; He became a distant idea. New astronomical discoveries added fuel to the shift, not because they disproved an Earth‑centered system, which they didn’t, but because they destabilized the old framework and made heliocentrism one of several possibilities. In other words, the world didn’t simply “discover” heliocentrism. It was primed for it. The groundwork had already been laid by upheaval, conflict, and a cultural drift away from God. And when a society is spiritually disoriented, satan doesn’t need to invent new tricks. He only needs to redirect human attention toward anything that isn’t God. The Century That Lost Its Center All of that had to be utterly mind-blowing to live through. Just reading all the mass upheaval going on around the world, all around the same time, affecting people’s long-held beliefs, makes me wonder some things. I don’t believe satan chooses some random eras to stir chaos. He started in the garden and never stopped. And because he cannot see the future, he floods the world with distractions, distortions, and half‑truths, letting humanity do what it does best: elevate anything and everything except God. So no, I don’t think the shift to a sun‑centered solar system was a coincidence. The world was primed for it; it was spiritually exhausted, intellectually prideful, self-centered, and eager for a worldview that felt predictable, self‑contained, and more redefinable. And today, we’re still seeing the fallout. More than half of the world’s national flags contain a sun, moon, or star. Entire industries revolve around the heavens. In 2024 alone, the United States spent over $55 billion on space‑related activity. And while that number climbs, another industry is booming alongside it: astrology. It’s now a $3‑billion‑a‑year online market in the U.S. alone, and projected to triple. The scale of it shows how deeply this fixation runs and how deeply the diversion has unfocused and blinded people. The same ancient temptation, dressed up in new language and fancy schmancy technology. Old Temptation in a New Form From the earliest pages of Scripture, God warned His people not to let their hearts drift toward the sun, moon, or stars. Over and over, Israel was cautioned not to be captivated by the heavens or drawn into the worship of what God created (Deut. 4:19). The prophets even rebuked those who turned their backs on the temple and bowed toward the rising sun (Ezek. 8:15–17). It was idolatry then, and it hasn’t changed. When I look at our world today, I don’t see coincidence. I see the same pattern resurfacing, the same seeds the enemy has been sowing since Eden. Satan doesn’t need new strategies; he only needs to keep our attention fixed upward in all the wrong ways. A tiny shift away from Scripture is all he requires, a sliver of misalignment that grows over time. At the end of the day, it doesn’t bother me if someone thinks I’m unhinged for believing the solar system is centered on Earth. I’m not campaigning for converts. I’m simply asking people to consider the possibility. Because if this perspective is even partly true, then it exposes just how deep and far‑reaching the enemy’s influence has been from the beginning of human history to now. And that realization should sober anyone. © Jane Isley For the full list of sources, citations, and research notes behind this article, you can view the complete documentation here. Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or Cmd + P (Mac) to print this article or save it as a PDF.

“Be the bigger person.” Nah Bruh. Nah. In case you’re wondering, yes, I do in fact use language like this on occasion. My hubby can testify to that. He loves it [insert sarcastic tone here] when I refer to him as “Bruh.” In my defense, I am surrounded by teenagers all day, every day, so some of the trends rub off on me a bit. This just happens to be one I find to be particularly amusing, so I’ve adopted it for fun. Regarding the expression “Be the bigger person” please consider the following explanation to prevent any confusion and provide clarity for the purposes of our conversation here: You are absolutely correct if your understanding of the phrase “being the bigger person” means allowing the other person to at least feel like they have won the argument for the moment. Perhaps it is simply a play on words, but this expression implies ego and pride in my opinion. The point here is prioritizing and protecting peace by not engaging anymore than necessary with fighting to be right, known in some circles as “right-fighting.” Some would call that being the bigger person or taking the high road by walking away and letting the other person perceive a “win” or at least have the last word, so to speak. In essence that is precisely what I am doing as well. The difference is that I don’t consider myself any bigger or better than anyone else. Instead I choose to frame it as taking a gentle and humble approach bearing the perceived “loss” with LOVE for my neighbors. Hope this helps clarify the confusion expressed in previous comments here. What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “Be the bigger person”? Another similar saying is “Take the high road.” Although the intention is good [assign best possible motives], the delivery often comes across from a superior place of ego in my opinion. Ponder these famous quotes regarding intentions before we dive deeper into the motives of people using language about being the “bigger person” or “taking the high road.” Amy Dickinson: “We are not our best intentions. We are what we do.” Pablo Picasso: “Actions outweigh intentions.” Samuel Johnson: “Hell is paved with good intentions.” Anonymous / Traditional Wisdom: “One kind deed is more beautiful than a thousand good intentions.” James Clear: “When working with people, assume good intentions. When listening to people, interpret their words in a generous way.” Although I appreciate the concept of choosing wisely when it comes to engaging in unnecessary “right-fighting,” which according to my own definition is fighting to be right at the cost of personal peace and healthy relationship satisfaction. Think “Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?” This idea of being the bigger or better person by abstaining from the right-fighting has the potential to stem from ego and pride, which contradict true spiritual growth and maturity. I keep wanting to end each of these declarative statements with the phrase IMO (in my opinion), but I suppose that is already implied by the mere fact that this is my personal narrative and not being presented as scientific fact; a truism for most, if not all, of my stories. That being said, I would like to suggest that the approach to conflict and avoiding right-fighting in my own little world comes from my marriage verse, which states: Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. By reminding myself of this gentler approach to potential conflicts where ego [the need to be right or to win the argument] is involved, I get to breathe a deep sigh of peace, being relieved of the bondage of self in that miraculous moment of spiritual victory. You may choose to continue the fight to be right or take the morally superior high road approach to conflicts if being right or better is your priority. As for me, I would rather be “happy” (peaceful) than be right (most of the time). You may have noticed this in some of my responses to readers’ comments when they attempt to engage me in a philosophical battle of sorts. Allowing them to safely express their thoughts, beliefs, and opinions in contrast with my own does not mean I do not hold strong to my personal convictions. It simply means I choose not to waste my energy on battles that have already been won through eternal spiritual victory. The writer of Proverbs tells us “Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.” There is a time for everything… “a time to be silent and a time to speak.” I pray that God would guard my mouth and convict me of careless words before they slip through my lips, asking God to help me think about how the words may affect others before I speak them, because our words have the power of life and death. On an unrelated subject that I will most likely consult with AI to help me connect the dots in full disclosure, I asked myself on a recent nature walk the following question out loud: “Is it ironic that this solitude is filling my love tank right now?” Immediately I experienced the calm reassurance [Holy Spirit whisper] in the answer to my inquiry, which was the knowledge that I am never truly alone. An additional silly random thought on that same hike through the literal hills and valleys was this one: “Just call me Tinker Bell because I like to flitter about through your stories sprinkling encouraging comments like pixie dust wherever I go.” So much fun to spread kindness like confetti! If you haven’t tried that yet, I give it 5 stars — highly recommend! Do you ever experience a deep, profound peace in your life that shuts the noise of this crazy world out for a few wonderful moments of stillness and regulates your big emotions with the calming effects of a few cleansing breaths that still the shaking trembles of your anxiety-induced panic attack or mental meltdown of sorts? If you have, then you know how amazing that gift of peace and stillness can be. These spiritual experiences aren’t just words or popular scriptures plastered on the side of a coffee mug or journaling pen to me. They are the living water from the well of eternal life. Fictional character Indiana Jones chased the fountain of youth or the Holy Grail, only to barely survive to the next temporary adventure. Don’t get me wrong, those movies are fun to watch and the ride at Disneyland is one of my personal favorites. But it all falls so short of the extraordinary gift received by the woman at the well, who represents me in several powerful and poignant ways. At first glance, setting aside the need to be right, seeking peace in solitude, and spreading light to others might seem like disconnected fragments of a daily walk. Yet they are intimately tied together by the same foundational truth: true peace comes when we relinquish our ego to receive quiet grace. When we stop striving to win every earthly argument, our hearts open to experience the quiet reassurance of never being alone — even in moments of complete solitude. Anchored in that living water, we no longer need to defend ourselves or prove our worth. Instead, the peace that fills our own tank naturally overflows into how we interact with the world around us. Choosing quiet restraint over right-fighting gives us the freedom and joy to scatter kindness, encouragement, and love wherever we go. © Nora Gwen 🌻 Reflection & Journaling Questions Where in your life or relationships are you currently clinging to the need to be “right,” and what would it look like to choose personal peace instead? How does time spent in intentional quiet or solitude affect your spiritual clarity and emotional well-being? What is one simple way you can extend grace or scatter encouragement to someone around you today? Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or Cmd + P (Mac) to print this article or save it as a PDF.

The traditional “seven deadly sins” list you’re familiar with isn’t in the Bible. The individual sins are, but that grouping isn’t. People often assume it comes from Proverbs 6 because both lists have seven items and both deal with sin, but they’re not the same. The Biblical List “There are six things which Yahweh hates; yes, seven which are an abomination to him: arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are swift in running to mischief, a false witness who utters lies, and he who sows discord among brothers.” Proverbs 6:16–19 That’s the list Scripture gives us, not the one handed down. The traditional “seven deadly sins” came centuries later. A fourth‑century monk, Evagrius Ponticus, wrote down eight “tempting thoughts.” His student, John Cassian, carried those ideas into the Western church, and eventually Pope Gregory the Great reshaped them into the seven we know today: pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. The history of the traditional list is long, but it is the list in Proverbs that matters more. Most of its items are acts that harm other people, and it builds toward the seventh, sowing discord among brothers, an emphasis the traditional list lacks. The Difference Scripture Is Pointing Out The traditional seven deadly sins are best understood not as discrete acts but as capital vices. Deep-seated dispositions from which sinful acts arise. Modern psychology offers a complementary lens, describing them as maladaptive internal states, ego-driven cravings, and emotional patterns that a person struggles with inwardly. The Proverbs list shows us something else. arrogant eyes a lying tongue hands that shed innocent blood a heart plotting wicked schemes feet running toward mischief a false witness someone sowing discord Two of these, arrogant eyes and a scheming heart, are inward. That is where the Proverbs list and the traditional one meet in the middle. Arrogant eyes come first, just as pride heads the traditional list. The rest are outward acts that harm other people in tangible ways. The Proverbs list is built on a “six… yes, seven” pattern, a Hebrew poetic device known as a numerical saying. The form is typically read as drawing special attention to the final item. It works much like a storyteller saving the heaviest for last. This list builds toward something, so that the final item lands with full weight. A reader might assume the last entry matters least, but the pattern works the other way. The seventh, he who sows discord among brothers, is the one the whole list builds toward. God calls all seven an abomination, and that is not a light word. That is the “something” the passage has been building toward: harm that spreads outward from a person into a family, a church, a community. A lying tongue, a false witness, a scheming heart, and feet swift to mischief are all ways discord gets sown. After studying both lists, I’ve come to see two key things: These are postures of the heart. Every posture begins in the mind. Not all sins ripple the same way. In John 19:11, Jesus tells Pilate, “The one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.” The Greek word there is meizona, “greater.” Jesus is comparing Pilate’s guilt with that of the one who handed him over, and the comparison shows that Scripture does treat some sins as weightier than others. That doesn’t mean some sins are “safe.” All sin is destructive, and all sin pulls us away from God. But certain actions create deeper earthly consequences, wounds that spread outward into families, communities, and society. A silent jealousy and a lying tongue aren’t equal in their human impact. One stays inside you; the other destroys someone’s reputation. That is the point Proverbs is making, and it is why the list ends on discord. These aren’t just spiritually harmful acts; they are socially catastrophic. That is why this list is worth your study time. Every one of these actions begins as a thought, and then moves outward into the world with devastating consequences. What To Do About It When I look at the Proverbs list, I don’t just see actions; I see motive. The troublemaker in 6:12–15 has perversity in his heart and plots evil continually, and the discord follows. A lying tongue begins as a thought excused often enough to become a habit. Left alone, that inner “why” moves outward. And Scripture tells us what to do: Guard The Heart ~ “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23 Take Thoughts Captive ~ “…bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 Renew The Mind. ~ “Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” Romans 12:2 In Practice, Work Backward Take the thought captive before it becomes a posture. Interrupt the posture before it becomes an action. Stop the action before it becomes a wound. Paul says “be transformed,” not “transform yourselves.” We do our part, but the renewing is God’s work in us. © Jane Isley Explore More: What Is Sin & Where Pride Fits In? Before Adam and Eve ever touched the fruit, pride had already started the fall. A simple, Scripture-based look at what sin actually is and where it truly began. References: Bible Hub. “Numerical Sayings.” Topical Bible. Bible Hub. “μείζονα (meizona) Greek Concordance. History.com. “How the Seven Deadly Sins Began as ‘Eight Evil Thoughts.’” Le, Kathy. “Sinful History: The Strange and Unknown Origins of the Seven Deadly Sins.” The Science Survey, June 6, 2023. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or Cmd + P (Mac) to print this article or save it as a PDF.

At some point you gotta open it and read it. For those that have been following along - my “Spiritual, not Religious” friends - the time has come to crack open a Bible. If you’re so inclined. So far, for those that haven’t read along, the progression has included: The Awe of Nature recognizes God in the wonder of the world The Unexamined Life asks for guidance related to self-improvement Christianity Is Not a Lie attempts to separate the Bible from the people You Can’t Prove God — Part I introduces Natural Theology to prove God You Can’t Prove God — Part II shows belief in God can be rational ConfuHinduTaoBuddhism introduces some alternatives to Christianity “Unsyncretising” Beliefs In these writings, I’ve attempted to introduce the idea of syncretism as a shortcoming, the adoption of various spiritual ideas on the fly, resulting in a haphazard collection of beliefs that are completely incompatible if not outright contradictory. I didn’t realize that when I did it once upon a time… A Whole New Level of Laziness Of course, I told myself I’d expanded my horizons by dipping my toe into the waters of Zen Buddhism then later a non-spiritual form of Taoism, and I stuck with both on a daily basis for years. Somehow, despite some value, I knew I hadn’t found what I was looking for. I in fact didn’t even know what I was looking for. Years later, after more floundering, I realized that, for me, it was God. Knowing That I Don’t Know Once I made the commitment to revisit my Christian roots and finish reading (and re-reading portions of) the Bible, I went out and picked up a Biblical Theology book and a couple Systematic Theology books though I had no idea what any of it meant. I then spent the next couple months reading and taking notes, sharing my findings, and asking questions. In all that, I learned one thing: I knew absolutely nothing. And that has shaped my pursuits ever since. Today, I really only know a few things, but I’m confident that knowing the right few things matters a great deal more than knowing a lot of not-so-important things. The Basics of the Bible So, to come full circle, for my, “Spiritual, not Religious” friends who have taken some interest, it may be the right time to crack open a Bible. And perhaps some very basic knowledge will help with those first few steps. Here is a table of contents as well, if you wish to bounce around. Overview What is the Bible, anyway? It’s a collection of 66–80 different books (depending on the tradition) written across nearly 1500 years and in multiple languages, Hebrew, (Hellenistic/ Koine) Greek, and Aramaic, by some 35 or more authors (depending on who you ask). The Christian Bible is split into two parts, the Old Testament and New Testament, and it’s the history of God’s self-revelation to His Creation, mankind. The Old Testament includes God’s promises (covenants), laws, protection, and judgment of the Israelite (and other) people through their many plights, and it ends on a somber note, though with a prophetic view that God will in time restore His people. The New Testament begins with the birth, life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who sacrifices his life to atone for all sins and enable believers to repent for salvation (everlasting life). The Bible is history, wisdom, prophecy, and apocalypse, and employs a wide variety of literary devices and forms, from prose to acrostic poetry and with paradox, irony, parables, metaphors, and other techniques. Ultimately, the Bible is the story of God reconciling mankind to Himself, His plans for doing so, and in this narrative, we learn that God is loving, kind, forgiving, patient, and also just. The Old Testament The Old Testament is made up of 39 (Protestant) or 46 (Catholic) books, the difference being a selection of books referred to as the Apocrypha (roughly means, “hidden”). The Protestant Old Testament Bible uses the same books as the Jewish Bible, though in different order and combinations. Roughly speaking, this includes: The Law (=Torah), 5 books The Prophets (=Nevi’im), 21 books* The Writings (=Ketuvim), 13 books* The Jewish moniker, Tanakh, is an acronym from the names of the tripartite sections. The Law includes God’s introduction to mankind across 5 books, which Jews refer to as the Torah while the Greek translation is known as the Pentateuch. These books include God’s rules for the Israelite people who were chosen to serve as an example of those who worship the one and only all-powerful Creator, Yahweh, in binding covenant. The story (and history) unfolds as God guides the Israelite people out of Egyptian slavery and to the edge of (and later into) the Promised Land. In this process, many Israelites lose faith and fall back into pagan idol worship, which doesn’t end well. The Prophets includes books of the Former and Latter Prophets, of which there are 21 (depending on how they are counted). These include instructions and warnings related to the Israeli people’s violations of provisions for the covenant with God. The Writings includes 13 wisdom and historical texts that provide guidance for typical life situations, some with encouragement and hope. * Book counts vary by tradition and depend on how writings are grouped. The New Testament The New Testament (27 books) begins with the 4 Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — that depict the life, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. These are followed by a 5th historical book, Acts, which describes early missions to establish the Church. The next 21 books are Epistles, or letters, on related challenges: 13 from Paul, 9 to churches and 4 to individuals 1 from James, the bother of Jesus 1 from Jude, who refers to himself as the brother of James 2 from Peter 3 without a name, though attributed to the John of the Gospels 1 anonymous (Hebrews), from an early date bound w/ Pauline Epistles The final book, Revelation, is apocalyptic, written by a person named John (whether the same author as the Gospel of John and Epistles ascribed to him is a matter of debate) during exile on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea. The book describes the future triumph of God over evil and Judgment Day. Bible Translations If you’re gonna take a swing at this Bible thing, though you can read online, you’ll probably want a Bible to hold in your own two hands. If you don’t have one and can’t afford one, go to any church and ask. In most cases, they’ll give you one, even if you don’t make any reciprocal commitments. You can also get a free Bible through various online sites, but I’m pretty sure that comes with a bunch of junk mail and the sale of your personal information, address, and so on. I’d advise against this. Go to a church, or if you have $10-$20, a bookstore or buy one online (see below about revisions). Either way, it’s, what, half the cost of a McDonald’s Happy Meal? But a couple basics. First, the Bible has been translated to over 700 different languages, and parts of the Bible are available in over 3000 languages. The Biblical text is derived from a variety of sources (historic manuscripts) and involves countless hours of meticulous work by scholars, academics, and yes, committees. Translations span the gamut between two extremes: Formal Equivalency translations attempt to achieve a word-for-word translation from the manuscripts to English (or target language). This can make the text more difficult to read and comprehend, especially at first, though such detail is critical for research and theology. In these cases, I utilize the New American Standard Bible (NASB95) and the English Standard Version (ESV). Dynamic Equivalency translations prioritize basic meaning over explicit word-detail. This makes for easier reading and comprehension, though involves a variable degree of subjectivity. Results vary significantly, though the New International Version (NIV) and Christian Standard Bible (CSB) are popular options for first-time readers. But see below for more. There’s a pretty decent chart and overview for some of the more common translations here, and many other sites that explain other translations. You can also look online to see what different denominations and churches use, should you begin to gravitate toward one set of beliefs (though churches continue to move away from specifics these days). In time, this and many other things will become more clear. Translation Revisions It’s important to note that translation groups from time to time release new revisions. You can find the progression for any given translation body online, or you can look at the associated notes in every Bible. But why? There’s been a relatively recent trend of cultural appropriation in Bible texts. In 2005 for example, the NIV updated their 1984 revision with some gender-neutral language, with further changes in 2011. Though this may seem well-intended, it can in the Bible mask the original text’s meaning and take away from the message and tone. The past doesn’t change because today people have a different perspective, and as such I prefer not to use Bibles that attempt to take this approach. I as a result relied on my 1984 NIV revision despite that I have both the 2005 and 2011 revisions as well. Another example: If you go to a bookstore and look for the NASB translation, odds are there will be far fewer of them than others (though it depends on where you live). If you pull an NASB Bible off the shelf, it’s more than likely the 1995 revision (NASB95). For me, personally, this works, but if you’re searching for the 2020 revision, you may have to look deeper or purchase online. It’s worth a few minutes investigation to get the right one. First Time Reading There are countless Bible reading plans available on the Internet and in any Study Bible. I’ve tried a few, but most are designed to, “conquer the Bible in 180 short days” or similar. When one of my readers asked, I offered up the response I’m sharing here. But first, as always, a couple things… I’m Not a Third Grader Many if not most plans aim to make reading the Bible seem less…daunting, I guess. And it seems people make the mistake of equating education level with intelligence. That’s how we get the third-grade teacher persona. This annoys me, and I’m not alone here. Unfortunately, this approach is alive and well, on many fronts, in various religious communities (and of course airline check-in lines, dentist offices, and other pleasant circumstances). Ignore it. You don’t need a PhD to read and understand the Bible. It’s not a contest or a conquest. Nobody’s keeping score. And contrary to those that promote the urgency of reading and accepting Jesus Christ as quickly as possible on the chance you get hit by a bus in the near future, there isn’t any rush (though I’ll concede that the third-grade teacher persona is better equipped to present this idea in a more delicate fashion). These days, we hear about people’s, “journeys” far more than we want to or need to. But on this one, it fits. For some, it may be the start of a lifelong pursuit. For others, it may be the last time they ever try to approach God in a methodical fashion. Take your time. Genesis, Exodus then Matthew and Acts Many are encouraged to start reading the Gospels, the first 4 books in the New Testament. I recommend a different approach. Start with Genesis in the Old Testament, the very first book in the Bible. Continue through Exodus. These two books cover critical early ground and provide a little bit of context for New Testament reading. Once you finish those two books, turn to the first book of the New Testament, Matthew. It’s the first of 4 Gospels about Jesus Christ. Once finished, skip ahead to Acts, the 5th (of 5) historical book in the New Testament. It describes early efforts to establish the church. This is one of many ways to begin, but it should provide enough context for any path one chooses to take in continuing forward, whether with the Old Testament or the New. Read in Context of the Author A lot of people make the mistake of picking up a Bible and immediately looking for meaning in today’s world and challenges. I suggest first considering the mindset of the author and the time — a couple thousand years ago, using a different language, in a very different social construct, and using a different means of communicating. Try and consider the text from that standpoint before you attempt to contextualize it in today’s world. You will find that such modern considerations will come naturally, without effort, if you focus on the author’s meaning and how it might have been received at the time. As for Matthew and Acts, they took place in the Middle East under Roman rule, with their pantheon of Gods. Citizens were required to praise Caesar as one of their Gods. Christian refused to do so, and the early church suffered these challenges, challenges from pagans, of course also Jews as you’ll see, and those making false claims about secret teachings of Christ (Gnostics). Keep in mind that, at the time, those supporting Jesus Christ did so at great risk to their own well-being if not very being (i.e. execution). Though I’ll be writing more about the history of the church and also of theology, at the moment that should suffice. Let it Come to You Naturally Though Study Bibles can be, and are, useful in certain circumstances, it’s not that easy to find the right fit out of the gates. More importantly, it’s critical to engage the Biblical text independently, especially at first. Though this approach may give rise to questions, I strongly encourage others to work through their first couple books of the Bible without outside influence. I cannot overstate the importance of this. You’ll know what I mean in time. If you can avoid distractions and let the text and stories form in your own mind and your own heart, naturally, you can answer questions later. Trust it. Relax, Let Your Mind Wander, Write Down Questions The Bible has some tedious sections, such as those that include genealogies. In the Book of Matthew, there will be references back to prophecy in Old Testament books you will not have read with this approach. Don’t worry too much about them — you can move past them and come back to them at another time. In the meantime, let your mind wander. If you encounter a problem passage, write down your thoughts and questions, then keep reading. There are going to be many questions, and you don’t need to answer them immediately. In some ways, you won’t be able to. This is harder for some than others. As an engineer, I hated the idea because it goes against the way we acquire new knowledge then apply it. But this isn’t engineering, or science, or philosophy, and the Bible isn’t a textbook and it doesn’t contain historical facts and figures. Though it can function as a guide of sorts, it isn’t a handbook for life like other religious texts. There are simply far too many complex issues that nobody can get in a single reading. That’s the beauty and wonder of it, in many respects. Next Steps Vary… If all goes well, you’ll find your own path. Trust it and see. And that’s the point. We all have a different way of experiencing and learning, we all see things differently. With a little time and patience, your doubts will give way to a compelling desire to move forward in different ways (or perhaps not at all). There is no shame in whatever direction you choose. And once you know what that direction is, you can at that time bring in outside input. All I can say, trust your heart, and be honest with yourself. Nobody’s watching, it’s between you, a book, and potentially God. Until next time, may your hearts be filled with joy, your family be filled with love, and the protection of the Lord watch over You and Yours… © Just Loannes Continued Reading: How to Study the Bible When You're Autistic If you're autistic, neurodivergent, or simply need a more flexible approach to Bible study, this article offers practical ideas for engaging Scripture in a way that works with your brain rather than against it. Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or Cmd + P (Mac) to print this article or save it as a PDF.

“What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come to torment us before the time?” Matthew 8:29 We read that line too quickly. We imagine little cartoon devils trembling. But first-century Jews did not imagine cartoonish imps. When a Jew heard the word daimonion, “demon," they did not picture Disney villains, red tights, or pitchforks. They heard something older, they heard elohim. And when an Israelite used the word elohim, they did not mean “the one true God.” They meant any inhabitant of the spiritual realm ,  any being whose nature was non-human, non-corporeal, powerful, and divine in rank. Yahweh is Elohim ,  but not the only elohim. And when the New Testament says Jesus cast out daimónia, the connection is deliberate. Jesus was driving out rival spiritual beings ,  rival gods. This is the story beneath the story. This is what makes the Gospels electric. This is why the spirits screamed. Because when Jesus stepped onto the scene, the gods panicked. This is the story of when the gods bowed. Understanding the Old Testament Elohim and New Testament Demons We have been taught to think too small. Modern Christianity inherited a tiny demonology. We’ve reduced “demon” to: ✔️ a fallen angel ✔️ a mischievous imp ✔️ a tempter ✔️ a nuisance But Scripture presents something far more staggering. If the Old Testament calls members of Yahweh’s heavenly host elohim, and the New Testament calls those same entities daimonia, then the Gospels are not stories of Jesus chasing away annoying spirits. The Gospels record Jesus waging open war on the gods of the nations. When Jesus rebukes a demon, He is not flicking away a mosquito. He is overthrowing another power. He is dethroning a spiritual prince. He is reversing Genesis 11. He is invading Psalm 82 territory. We have been reading a multiverse battle in black-and-white. The Old Testament Context: Elohim Means More Than ‘God’ Let’s clear the ground. The word elohim in Hebrew is not a name. It is a category. It means: a resident of the spiritual realm. Here are biblical examples: • “You shall have no other elohim before Me.” (Exod 20:3) ~ There are other elohim, but they are not Yahweh. • “For Yahweh is the great God above all elohim.” (Ps 95:3) ~ If Yahweh is “above” them, they exist, but He outranks them infinitely. • “The sons of God (bene elohim) came before Yahweh.” (Job 1:6) ~ These are divine beings. • “God takes His stand in the council of elohim.” (Ps 82:1) ~ There is a divine council of spiritual rulers. Every one of these beings is an elohim. Yahweh alone is haElohim , the Most High God, uncreated, eternal. The biblical writers were not polytheists. They simply recognized the supernatural world as populated, structured, and hierarchical. Yahweh is in a class of His own. But other elohim exist,  and they rule nations (Deut 32:8 — 9). When Israel turned to idols, they weren’t just turning to statues. They were turning to the spiritual beings behind the idols (Deut 32:16 — 17; Ps 106:36 — 37; 1 Cor 10:20). These beings ,  the elohim of the nations ,  became rebel powers. In the New Testament, these same beings appear under a Greek label: daimonia — demons A Shift From Elohim to Daimonia: Not a New Category, Just a New Language When Jews in Jesus’ day spoke Greek, they needed a word that matched the Old Testament’s elohim category. They used daimonion. In Greek literature, a daimon is not necessarily evil. It is a powerful spiritual being — divine, intermediary, ruling, influencing. The first-century audience understood daimónia = spiritual powers. So the New Testament did not shrink the unseen realm. Christians did. The apostles simply used the Greek word that captured the same conceptual world as elohim. Thus: • Psalm 96:5 (LXX): “All the gods (elohim) of the nations are daimonia.” • Deuteronomy 32:17 (LXX): “They sacrificed to daimonia, not to God.” There it is ,  front and center. The New Testament’s “demons” are the Old Testament’s “gods.” They are elohim, dethroned by Yahweh, condemned in Psalm 82, but still influential until the Messiah comes. This is why the Gospel narratives explode with supernatural warfare. Jesus isn’t just healing bodies. He is reclaiming territory. He isn’t just telling demons to leave. He is forcing gods to kneel. The Birth of Jesus Was a Declaration of War From the moment Jesus is born, the elohim realm knows something has shifted. Angels fill the sky not with lullabies, but with military announcements: “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth…” (Luke 2:14) Peace does not come unless a stronger kingdom arrives to break the power of the old. The spiritual realm trembles. Herod ,  not just a wicked king, but a pawn of spiritual rulers , goes into a murderous frenzy. Simeon and Anna prophecy because heaven is stirring. Something is happening that threatens every power, throne, principality, and dominion. The Son of God has entered the turf of the enemy. Why the Demons Recognize Jesus Before the Humans Do Humans are slow. The disciples need years. Crowds misunderstand. Pharisees resist. But the spiritual beings? They understand instantly. They cry out: “We know who You are!” “Have You come to destroy us?” “Son of the Most High God!” Why? Because they know Psalm 2. They know Psalm 82. They know Daniel 7. They know the prophecy of the Son of Man who would take dominion and strip the nations’ rulers of authority. They know the seed of the woman has arrived. They know the One who will crush the serpent’s head is walking toward them. So they bow ,  not in worship, but in terror. Jesus terrifies demons because He outranks them. He commands the elohim realm by nature, not by delegation. When Jesus speaks, the gods obey. Every Exorcism Is a Throne Room Event Watch carefully what happens in every Gospel exorcism. The pattern is unmistakable: 1. The demon sees Jesus. 2. The demon reacts violently. 3. The demon acknowledges Jesus’ authority. 4. Jesus commands. 5. The demon obeys. This is courtroom language. Legal language. Throne-room language. They shrink back because He carries the authority of the Most High. This is why the crowds say: “What new teaching is this? With authority He commands unclean spirits, and they obey Him!” (Mark 1:27) No one had ever done this. Israel had exorcists, yes. But Israel never had a King who could walk into a region and empty it of its gods. Jesus’ command is not magical. Not ritual. Not formulaic. It is ontological. He commands because He is Lord. This is Yahweh in flesh stepping into the domain of the lesser gods and stripping them of power. Every exorcism is a dethronement ceremony. The Gerasene Demoniac: The Gods Beg Permission Mark 5 is the clearest example. A man possessed by a legion of daimónia lives among tombs, territory of the dead, the domain of dark powers. Jesus steps off the boat. Instantly the powers react: “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” Notice the title: Son of the Most High God. This is language used by non-Israelite nations to speak of Yahweh. The gods are confessing: “We know who Your Father is. We know You outrank us. We know You have arrived as Judge.” Then the unthinkable happens: They beg Him for permission. The elohim of the nations — fallen, corrupt, territorial rulers — stand before Jesus and ask: “Please do not torment us.” “Please do not send us out of the region.” “Please send us into the pigs.” They cannot move without His word. They cannot relocate without His approval. This is the moment when the veil tears. This is the moment that reveals the cosmic hierarchy: Jesus is Lord. Every other spiritual being is creature. The pigs rush into the sea,  the symbolic reversal of Egypt’s army drowned in judgment , and Jesus stands victorious on Gentile soil. The gods have bowed. Why Jesus’ Ministry Is Filled With Exorcism, But the Old Testament Isn’t Here is a mystery that confused readers for centuries: Why are there almost no exorcisms in the Old Testament? Why do they explode in the New Testament? The answer: Because the King had not yet arrived to reclaim the nations. Until Jesus came, the rebellious gods,  the elohim of the nations,  still held legal jurisdiction. God had disinherited the nations at Babel (Deut 32:8 — 9). He gave them over to lesser rulers. Israel alone was Yahweh’s inheritance. But when the Messiah comes, the boundaries shift. When Jesus appears, He invades Gentile turf. He begins reclaiming what was lost. He binds the “strong man” (Mark 3:27). He spoils his goods. This is why Jesus’ ministry is filled with exorcisms. It is a sign: The Most High has come to take back the world. Jesus Isn’t Casting Out Demons  He’s Rewriting the Cosmic Map. Every time Jesus casts out a demon, He is not performing a trick. He is redrawing the spiritual geography of earth. He is doing Psalm 82 in real time: “Arise, O God, judge the elohim…” He is throwing down the rulers of the nations: • He heals the sick → reversing death • He cleanses lepers → reversing impurity • He casts out demons → reversing the dominion of foreign gods • He announces the Kingdom → reversing the exile of humanity The cross is the climax. The resurrection is the victory shout. Pentecost is the global takeover. The Gospel going to the Gentiles is the invasion of the nations formerly ruled by rebel elohim. This is why Paul calls them: • principalities • powers • thrones • dominions • rulers of this age And then says: Christ is above every one of them. (Ephesians 1:20 — 23) When the gods Bowed: The Temptation Narrative The temptation in the wilderness is not about Jesus resisting a few sinful ideas. It is about Jesus being confronted by the god of this world. A ruler offering kingdoms he actually governs. Satan shows Him all the kingdoms of the earth. He says: “They are mine to give.” Jesus does not disagree. Because they were, in a limited sense, under his and other elohim’s rule. But when the Son refuses the shortcut, the path is set: He will take the nations back not by compromise, but by conquest. Not through worshipping a lesser elohim, but through destroying them. Not by bowing to a creature, but by making creatures bow to Him. The Cross: The Public Humiliation of the Gods Paul says something wild in Colossians 2:15:“He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, triumphing over them in the cross.” This is courtroom language. This is military parade language. The cross looks like defeat to humans. It looked like victory to the powers. But it was their undoing. The cross was the moment Yahweh in flesh bound the gods of the nations, took away their legal authority, and stripped them publicly. They lost: • the right to accuse • the right to rule • the right to control nations • the right to blind minds • the right to enslave humanity They bowed. Because the Son of God had triumphed. The resurrection is the declaration: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” (Matt 28:18) Not some. Not partial. All. Every elohim knows it. Pentecost: The Nations Are Reclaimed Pentecost is not a random holiday. It is the reversal of Babel. At Babel: God divided the nations. At Pentecost: God reunites them under Christ. Tongues are not a charismatic party trick. They are a military signal: Messiah is taking back the nations once ruled by the gods. The nations previously under the administration of lesser elohim (per Deut 32) are now hearing the Gospel. The gods are losing territory. Their reign is ending. They bow because they cannot stop the Kingdom. The Early Church: Living Proof the Gods Have Fallen Why did exorcism continue as one of the most expected signs of the Kingdom in the early church? Because the church is the embassy of the new King. Wherever Christians go, idols fall. Wherever the Gospel goes, the gods lose jurisdiction. Wherever the Spirit goes, the rival powers retreat. Paul says: “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers…” We wrestle. But we win. Because Christ sits above them. Because the gods have bowed. Because their authority has been broken. The Christian is not fighting for victory. The Christian fights from victory. What It Means Today Your Struggle Is Not Psychological Only, But Cosmic. This theology is not academic. It is not theoretical. You feel it when: • you wrestle with generational patterns • you feel spiritual heaviness over a city • you encounter idolatrous systems • you meet people tormented by dark forces • you confront the demonic in addiction, hatred, or oppression You are not dealing with cartoons. You are dealing with spiritual powers,  lesser elohim ,  who resist the rule of God. But the good news is the same: Jesus already made them bow. He is Lord. They are subject. You belong to the King. The Final Scene: Every Elohim Will Bow in Judgment Psalm 82 ends with the death sentence of the gods: “You will die like men…” This is not a metaphor. They will lose their immortality. They will be judged. They will be cast down permanently. Revelation shows the end: • The dragon cast into the lake of fire • The beast destroyed • The false prophet judged • The nations reclaimed • The New Jerusalem ruling over all Christ reigns. Humanity ,  redeemed, resurrected, glorified ,  rules with Him. The gods that once oppressed humanity are gone. The Kingdom is restored. Eden is restored. The world is restored. And Yahweh alone is worshiped. Conclusion: Jesus Is Not Exorcising Demons — He Is Expelling gods We have read the Gospels as if Jesus were doing small things. But He is doing the biggest thing imaginable. He is unseating the spiritual rulers of the world. He is taking back the nations. He is forcing the gods to kneel before Him. Every exorcism is a coronation. Every healing is a sign of a new Eden. Every word He speaks echoes through the unseen realm. The gods bow because they must. The gods bow because they fear Him. The gods bow because He is Yahweh in flesh, and He has come to reclaim His world. And today? They still bow. Because Jesus Christ is Lord  of heaven, of earth, and of all the elohim. Seeing the connection between Old Testament elohim and New Testament demons reveals the cosmic scale of Jesus’ authority. Amen. © 2026 Jeff Barlatier (Doctoral Candidate)MDiv candidate Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or Cmd + P (Mac) to print this article or save it as a PDF.

I do love me the slightly unusual and odd things in the Bible, and 2 Peter 2:4 is one of them. The only time “Tartarus” was used in the Bible. Look at these three different translations. “For if God spared not angels when they sinned, but cast them down to hell, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;” (ASV) "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;” (KJV) "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but delivered them, drawn down by infernal ropes to the lower hell, unto torments, to be reserved unto judgment:” (DRA) Now, look at this section of the original Greek Scripture. As we can see above, the word tartarōsas was used, not Tartarus. This is a verb vs noun situation. Tartarōsas is not a noun; the word tartarōsas is a verb, and it comes from the root word tartaroō, meaning “to cast, or thrust down to Tartarus or Gehenna” In English, we often visualize a purely physical/mental action that either took place or will take place, but we don’t generally consider it further. We must keep in mind that we are translating from a different language, culture, and time period. This is a culture that utilized many different concepts than we use today, sentence structures, feelings, myths, and an understanding of their world, at that time. We also need to look at all the properties of what a verb is. One of the missing properties of a verb in this particular situation is that a verb also expresses “a state of being." Tartarōsas is not a physical place; that would be Tartarus. Let’s change our thinking for a few moments and entertain the idea that this was a “spiritual condition” or a “restraint” that God placed on the fallen angels rather than a physical place where they are physically, bodily chained up right now. This is where I like to refer to it as they had their wings clipped. Simon Peter could have chosen any other word that was typically used to describe the hell we are aware of in Revelation, but he did not. Understanding Tartarus in the Bible means recognizing that Peter was describing a spiritual restraint rather than a physical underworld. We should sit for a moment and ponder that one. © Jane Isley Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or Cmd + P (Mac) to print this article or save it as a PDF.

Atheism often describes itself as an absence: no religion, no mythology, no supernatural assumptions. Just reason, evidence, and reality as it can be observed. That sounds like neutral ground, but “there is no God” is not neutral ground. It is a claim about the nature of reality itself. It says there is no Creator above creation, no revelation entering from beyond the human mind, no moral authority higher than human judgment, and no final jurisdiction beyond what can be measured, argued, or collectively agreed upon. That is not the absence of a worldview. It is a worldview with the ceiling removed. Once nothing remains above the human observer, the observer quietly becomes the highest functioning court. The Observer Keeps the Throne The modern atheist does not always say, “I know with certainty that God does not exist.” The language is usually softer: “I have not seen sufficient evidence,” “I am open to being convinced,” or “I simply follow reason wherever it leads.” But someone still decides what counts as sufficient evidence. Someone determines which forms of testimony are admissible, whether revelation is possible, and what reality is allowed to contain before the question has even been settled. God may be permitted to enter the experiment, but the observer writes the conditions. A miracle may be requested. A sign may be demanded. A form of proof may be named in advance. Yet even if the event occurred, the observer may still reserve the right to decide what it proves, what it means, and whether the God behind it deserves trust or obedience. The evidence may change. The throne does not. This is why the conflict is not always between faith and reason. Sometimes it is between revelation and self-rule. Science Is Not the Enemy Christianity does not require the rejection of reason. Science is not the problem. Observation, testing, measurement, and discovery allow us to study the order of creation with precision and humility. The distortion begins when a tool for examining reality crowns itself the judge of everything reality is permitted to contain. “Only what can be measured is real” sounds rigorous, but the claim itself cannot be proven through measurement. It is a philosophical position before it is a scientific one. You cannot place meaning on a scale, photograph dignity, or weigh moral obligation. You cannot reduce love to a laboratory reading without leaving out the person who loves and the meaning of the love. Science can observe effects, map expressions, and study the body through which these things move, but reduction is not completeness. Describing the chemistry of grief does not explain why the loss mattered. Mapping the neural activity of conscience does not prove conscience has no authority. Explaining how a person experiences God does not settle whether God was present. A mechanism can be described without exhausting the meaning of the event. Nothing Above Does Not Mean Nothing Governs Remove God, and authority does not disappear. It moves. If there is no divine moral authorship, human beings must decide what is good. If there is no truth revealed from above, institutions, experts, cultures, and individuals must decide what reality will mean. If there is no final accountability beyond human life, justice must end wherever human systems decide it ends. The throne never remains empty. It may be occupied by the individual self, scientific consensus, political power, social approval, institutional expertise, or whatever moral framework a culture can maintain for the moment. But someone still defines the terms. Someone decides what counts as knowledge, which values will be protected, which boundaries are legitimate, and what happens when human interests collide. Atheism does not remove authority. It collapses authority downward into human hands. The Faith Hidden Inside Certainty Atheism often accuses religion of relying on faith while presenting materialism as simple observation. But material sufficiency is also a belief. It assumes matter is enough to explain consciousness, morality, meaning, personhood, and the existence of reality itself. It assumes what cannot currently be measured should not receive authority. It assumes the human mind can stand inside creation while judging whether anything exists beyond it. Those assumptions may be defended philosophically, but they remain assumptions. Everyone begins somewhere. The Christian begins with a Creator who reveals Himself through creation, Scripture, history, and ultimately Jesus Christ. The atheist begins with a reality in which no such revelation has been accepted as authoritative. Neither position arrives without a governing frame. One calls its frame faith. The other often calls its frame neutrality. When Wounds Become Metaphysics Not every atheist reaches the position by the same road. Some arrive through philosophical argument or scientific materialism. Others arrive through disappointment with religious institutions, hypocrisy, abuse, unanswered prayer, grief, or years of watching Christians use God’s name without displaying His character. Those wounds are real. But pain can explain why a person rejects a claim without proving the claim false. A corrupt church does not disprove Christ. A cruel believer does not erase God. An unanswered question does not establish an empty heaven. Sometimes a person is not only rejecting a doctrine. They are refusing to place authority again where authority once wounded them. That deserves compassion, but it also deserves honesty. The wound may explain the road. It cannot become the final judge of what is real. Jesus Is Not a Useful Story Christianity does not claim that belief in Jesus is psychologically comforting fiction. It makes a far more confrontational claim: that God entered history, that Jesus Christ was crucified and rose from the dead, and that He is not merely a teacher, symbol, moral guide, or emotional support. He is Lord. This is why the Christian claim cannot be reduced to whether religion helps someone cope. If Christ did not rise, Christianity collapses. If He did rise, the question is no longer whether His teachings feel useful. The question becomes whether He has authority. That is the threshold atheism often protects the observer from crossing. Evidence may be examined, history may be debated, and arguments may be considered. But Lordship requires more than acknowledging that something unusual happened. It requires the self to leave the highest seat. The Throne Beneath the Absence The phrase “I do not believe” can sound lighter than “I reject God.” Sometimes it is. But when disbelief becomes a complete account of reality, it begins governing everything beneath it. There can be no revelation above human judgment, no moral authority beyond human consensus, no meaning that must be received rather than invented, and no Creator with the right to name the creature. The offer sounds like freedom: nothing above you. But nothing above you does not leave you without a throne. It leaves the self, the institution, or the culture to occupy it. That is the hidden movement inside the throne of nothing. God is removed, human judgment becomes final, and self-rule is renamed neutrality. Logic is not the enemy. Science is not the enemy. Questions are not the enemy. But none of them can crown themselves ultimate without becoming the very kind of authority they claim to have escaped. The throne of nothing still has someone sitting on it. The only question is whether we are willing to see who. For the deeper system beneath this pattern, read False Thrones: Atheism — The Throne of Nothing. © 2026 The Alignment Archive First published in Illumination on Medium July 2026. Further Reading: The Resurrection That Changed History by Mikiyas Astatke If the real question is whether Christ rose, the evidence deserves a look. Mikiyas examines the disciples' costly transformation and why naturalism decides the verdict before weighing the proof. Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or Cmd + P (Mac) to print this article or save it as a PDF.