Author Archives: Quill

“As you prepare for battle, the priest shall come forward to address the army gathered before him, saying: Hear O Israel, today you are going to battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid, for the Lord God will go before you to give you victory.” (Deut. 20:1-4) This verse from the OldContinue reading “The Stole of Service”

“And the angel said to me, take the scroll and eat it; in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey, but in your stomach as bitter as gall.” (Rev. 10:9) In The Matrix, the main character is offered a choice between a red pill or blue pill. “If you take the blue pillContinue reading “Red Pill”

“Though one may be overpowered, and two defend themselves, a three-strand cord is not easily broken.” (Eccl. 4:12) While readers might argue about the various threads in these blogs, the pattern of their weaving serves to suggest “that where two or more are gathered together in My name, there I will be also.” (Mat. 18:20)Continue reading “The Tyranny of the Soul”

“…to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to the light; that they might be delivered from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and a place among those who have been sanctified by faith.” (Acts 26:18) As the world seems to be descending into anContinue reading “A Bridge Too Far”

America is not so much a country as it is a promise left unfulfilled, a Terra incognito of unrealized potential. A promise that not only transcends the prospect of a totalitarian conceptualization, but the very idea of a government compromised by corporate interests. Fortunately, we don’t have to look far to find the bedrock ofContinue reading “A Christmas Story”

“Life without war is impossible, either in nature, or in grace.” (Oswald Chambers) For the saint as well as the soldier, the spiritual and physical disciplines are much the same, in that both must be brought under submission and redirected toward a specific purpose. For those called to the monkish order as warriors, discipline becomesContinue reading “The Warrior-Monk”

“The boat…the boat! Who’s gonna carry the boat?” (Goggins 2022) Christianity is not a cruise-ship with infinite ports of call, but a boat-load of believers rowing for the distant shore. But how can we ever get the boat to water when there are few willing to carry it? Soldier on you stout-hearted, but try asContinue reading “Float Your Boat”

“Then the angel showed me a river, as pure and clear as crystal, and it went out from the throne of God, and of the Lamb, and on each side of the river, in the middle of the city thereof, was a Tree of Life, whose leaves were for the healing of the nations.” (Rev.Continue reading “Like a Fish Out of Water”

“The earliest Christology is the highest Christology” (Habermas 2022) In reading the Synoptic Gospels we find that the authors, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, while each putting their own spin on the story, rely on a collection of source materials, or “Jesus Sayings” from which these gospels are derived. This “Q Document,” or Quelle in French,Continue reading “An Indigenous Christianity?”

“Rest assured that in your present state you are no more saved than those who do not have, nor want, the faith of Jesus.” (Fr. Antonio de Montesinos) This cryptic statement by Fr. Montesino, in his Sermon to the Spanish Catholics in Hispaniola on Christmas Eve of 1511, was perhaps the first time in theContinue reading “Toward Liberation”