The Quorus https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/ The Quorus is an online blog Quoir Publishing, where authors, thinkers, poets, activists, artists and provocateurs of all kinds can explore the endless beauty of the Universe in new and unexpected ways. Wed, 20 Dec 2023 13:56:27 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 Permission (A Poem by Karah Ballew) https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/12/permission-a-poem-by-karah-ballew/ https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/12/permission-a-poem-by-karah-ballew/#respond Wed, 20 Dec 2023 13:56:27 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/?p=362
Editor’s Note: This is a poem by El Paso’s Karah Ballew.
I’m not asking your permission
To be who I really am
I’ve had strength enough to find me
And I won’t be lost again
I’m not asking your permission
To live a life I am fulfilled in
I won’t filter my ambitions
Through the lens of your religion
I don’t need your acceptance
I don’t need your validation
Or your support for my existence
Or your promise of salvation
I no longer need approval
For the things I want to be
I do not need your signature
To allow me to be free
My life is not your project
I am not your possession
So don’t you be surprised when
I don’t ask for your permission
]]> https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/12/permission-a-poem-by-karah-ballew/feed/ 0 How Can You Experience Gratitude When You’re Scared To Death? https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/11/how-can-you-experience-gratitude-when-youre-scared-to-death/ https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/11/how-can-you-experience-gratitude-when-youre-scared-to-death/#respond Mon, 20 Nov 2023 17:12:42 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/?p=338
Editor’s Note: This is a contribution from Heather Hamilton, author of the book Returning to Eden, which was published in 2023 by Quoir Publishing.
It’s the season of Thanksgiving in the United States. Some years, it is easy to celebrate. Other years, it takes effort to push through the weight of the world and get to a “thank you”. If this is a year for you where “thank you” feels like a natural overflow, rejoice and rejoice and rejoice. Savor the joy in your heart with all that you have.
I do feel personally grateful this year. However, I remember feeling overcome with anxiety last fall. I remember how difficult it is to feel gratitude when you’re consumed with stress and worry. Last August, my husband Jared was diagnosed with stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. I’ve had a few seasons in my life where I’ve found myself suddenly in the grip of fear, including that one.
Actually, I think fear is too soft a word here. The word is terror. I found myself in the grip of terror.
I won’t patronize you with all the reasons why. They’re obvious. It was a serious situation that required immediate action. So Jared began chemotherapy shortly after. That was the world we were living in last fall when the words “thankful” and “grateful” started making the rounds.
So what do I mean by “the courage to be grateful”? I mean sometimes before you can get to grateful, you have to get to brave—and that takes courage.
The anxiety Jared’s situation created in me has become a familiar feeling. I’ve experienced this descent into the dark void of fear before—enough times to know that there is nothing down there for me. There is no soft landing at the bottom of the hole where I suddenly have answers and feel safe.
So what is there to do when your back is up against a wall and all you feel is terror?
You stare at it. Voluntarily. For as long as it takes to transform into bravery.
There’s a story in Numbers where the Israelites have been led out of Egypt. But instead of entering the Promised Land, they find themselves in a desert. They complain after wandering and wandering with no Promised Land and no answers. Even though what they left in Egypt was tyrannical and oppressive, they long for comfort and predictability. Enough with the adventure that led us to wandering in the middle of nowhere, right? They wonder if certainty is worth the price of bondage.
Then come the snakes.
On top of everything, there are now snakes in the desert biting people and killing them. So now it’s discomfort, uncertainty, danger, and terror.
So what would most people do in this situation? Beg God to change it, of course. The people asked Moses to ask God to take away the threat. Remove the thing that’s terrorizing us. (Ahem…back to my little story…CURE THE CANCER!!!)
But when Moses meets with God, God says something really weird. God tells Moses to “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So, Moses makes a bronze snake and puts it on a pole. When anyone was bitten and looked at the snake, they lived. (Numbers 21:6-9)
Jesus later compares himself to Moses’s bronze snake:
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”
Why is God instructing us to look at snakes in life that terrify us? Instead of creating safety and security, why does God tell us to look squarely at what terrifies us most?
Here’s the promise:
When you voluntarily look at death, destruction, and despair for long enough, you will eventually see the light. When you gaze into the darkness long enough and face death and hell, you overcome the terrorizing fear of both. But here’s the key—you have to face these fears voluntarily. Instead of running from them, you have to choose to stop, turn around, and look at what scares you.
By having the courage to face the darkness, you attain the light. By exposing yourself, little by little, to what it is that you fear…the light in you eventually expands to fill the darkness. By doing this, you end up with something better than safety. You become brave.
This is true for everything we fear—up unto and including death. And what happens when you no longer fear “the bad thing”? You become immensely grateful for life and the fullness of the present moment. This is when you have, as Jesus says, “eternal life”—the experience of the fullness of life in every moment. A total “with-ness” of the Eternal Now. And you realize that the Eternal Now is all that actually exists. Past and future are in your head. Your head generates your thoughts, which generate fear, which dictates how you experience (or don’t experience) the present moment.
I remember a moment last fall before Jared began chemo. I was taking a shower. My kids were just outside the door playing. And I could feel the fear pumping through my body. Like thousands of little pops of static electricity flowing through my veins. I envisioned what looked like a dark hole called hell that I was just recoiling away from. But I remembered the wisdom about looking at what it is that terrifies you. And I decided to turn towards that dark hole and jump in. I couldn’t scream out loud because I did not want to upset my kids. So I let out the most intense silent scream of my life as I “jumped into hell.” I jumped into hell on purpose with all the courage I had, eyes open, silent-screaming.
And something shifted.
I no longer felt scared. I felt alive. I felt like a warrior. I felt brave. Suddenly, all that electricity in my body coalesced into forward motion thrusting me into the fullness of life in the present moment. I knew I could handle whatever came my way. I trusted that I would have what I needed within me at the time that I needed it. Even in death, I could die fully alive. Saying yes to it.
That’s what Jesus reveals as he descended into the dark hole of hell (the heart of the earth, Matthew 12:40) on purpose: he never actually died. And so it is with you: who you actually are never dies, you merely change form.
And guess what I felt after that silent-screaming-shift-in-the-shower? Grateful.
When we arrived for Jared’s first chemo infusion, I didn’t feel scared anymore. I felt free to appreciate the gifts of the present moment. The opportunity to be cared for by brilliant doctors and caring nurses. A day alone with my husband. Good food from the cafeteria. The beautiful architecture of the hospital campus at Emory University Hospital. I was grateful to be there.
I am happy that the treatment worked. Jared is healthy. But I’m also really grateful that I didn’t torture myself in the process this time. My terror was an invitation to enter into eternal life, again.
Fear is inevitable. But fear also gave me the opportunity to face it and discover inner courage, bravery, and gratitude I didn’t realize was there.
If you’re experiencing fear this holiday season—whether it be for personal reasons, angst about world events, existential questions, health concerns, or something else—I hope you can keep looking at the darkness until you find the light within you which will rise to fill it. I hope you can find the courage within that first leads to bravery and finally—gratitude.
Happy Thanksgiving (for those in the USA) and Happy Holidays (to all).
Sign up for Heather’s monthly newsletter, UnOrthodox? at: ReturningtoEden.com
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]]> https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/11/how-can-you-experience-gratitude-when-youre-scared-to-death/feed/ 0 Christ and the Kundalini https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/10/christ-and-the-kundalini/ https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/10/christ-and-the-kundalini/#respond Wed, 18 Oct 2023 18:23:32 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/?p=329
Editor’s Note: This is a contribution from Heather Hamilton, author of the book Returning to Eden, which was published in 2023 by Quoir Publishing.
I am honored to be a contributor to the new Patheos + Quoir bestselling book, Sitting in the Shade of Another Tree. In my chapter, “Christ and the Kundalini”, I discuss how learning a new language (Hinduism) helped me to better understand my own “mother tongue” (Christianity).
I’ll start with a little context beginning with a verse from Amos 9:7. In the verse below, God is speaking to the people of Israel:
“The LORD says, “People of Israel, I think as much of the people of Ethiopia as I do of you. I brought the Philistines from Crete and the Syrians from Kir, just as I brought you from Egypt.”
Coming from an Evangelical background, I was always taught that Israel was God’s chosen people and that God was only moving through the lineage of Israel to finally reveal Jesus and birth Christianity. The strong, if not explicit, implication here was that God was not present or being revealed to people outside of Israel. Israel—and by extension, Christians—were God’s chosen, special children…and no one else…unless, of course, one converted to Christianity.
But in Amos 9:7, the voice of God contradicts this narrative. Yes, God delivered the Israelites from Egypt. But God also delivered the Philistines and the Syrians and the Ethiopians. And the Philistines were the enemy of Israel! God’s sitting here saying, “Yeah Israel, I delivered you. But I also delivered your enemies. I think as much of them as I do you.”
I was fortunate to have a very loving grandmother. In my eyes, she was the best. And in her eyes, I was the best (along with my sister and cousins). But, when I was with her, I felt chosen and like there was no one more special to her. And that was true.
Perhaps you’ve had a person in your life you felt that way about. Maybe you didn’t, but I bet you can imagine that kind of relationship. Maybe you’ve felt that with God.
It would be absurd for me to insist that my relationship with my grandmother was superior to others’ relationships with their beloved. The special, chosen love that I felt from her has been felt by billions of people. My grandmother was the vehicle for that love. The image I associate with that unconditional love is my grandmother. And also…I acknowledge that a different image comes to mind for you. Looking at my grandmother would not generate the same feelings for you as it does for me. Yet, we know the same love!
What’s become apparent for me, and supported through this verse in Amos, is that God (Love) comes to people in many different forms and images. And those images get expressed in different ways. I think of religion in this way now: as a “language”—a system of communicating the Divine. Love is going to look, sound, smell, feel, even taste different coming through my grandmother (I can still taste her grits and her marinated chilled tomatoes!) than it will through your grandmother. God is going to look, sound, smell, feel, and taste different coming through different religions. Of course, Love coming through my grandmother and God coming through Christianity feels most visceral to me. I speak that language. It is my mother tongue. But I understand that other people experience Love through other grandmas and God through other religions. What’s primarily important is not the language, but what is coming through it. And that’s why God can accurately say, “Israel, you are chosen and delivered. And so is everyone else.” Both statements are paradoxically true and do not diminish one another.
With that said, in Sitting in the Shade of Another Tree, I write about how Christianity is my mother tongue, but how I came to understand Hinduism and Buddhism expressing what I found to be true about Love and God in different “languages”. In fact, I had to learn some of those new languages before I could more deeply understand my own.
I won’t give away the whole chapter. I encourage you to get the book and read it. It was quite a vulnerable piece for me to detail, but I’ll leave you with the end of the chapter:
“As much as I once wanted to believe that Christians were God’s chosen people, Amos 9:7 reminds me of what I’ve discovered to be true: God is speaking to and revealed through both Israel and Ethiopia, Philistines and Syrians, Christians and Hindus, all people and all creation. The idea that I am no more “chosen” than anyone else has turned out to be a life-giving relief for me. I can be at home with all people—religious or otherwise. In naming the mechanics of the Christ Mystery through the chakra system and Kundalini, Hinduism gave me the gift of understanding the deeply spiritual and psychological process of transformation I was experiencing. Curiosity overcame caution. Connection overcame tribalism. Love overcame fear.
Hinduism provided a new understanding of the Christian symbols and “languages” that were already embedded in me. It allowed me to bring a precise and fresh illumination of the Christian stories and symbols to those with ears to hear. It helped me to see all people, regardless of religion, as my fellow siblings in Christ, each uniquely experiencing, embodying, and expressing the essence of God.” (Chapter 2: Christ and the Kundalini, Sitting in the Shade of Another Tree)
I hope you’ll pick up Sitting in the Shade of Another Tree. It unites voices from various major faiths such as Christianity, Islam, Baha’i, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. In a time where we see religious warfare bringing death and division once again, the messages in this book are sorely needed.
]]> https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/10/christ-and-the-kundalini/feed/ 0 Growing Up And Into Self-Regulated Parenting https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/10/growing-up-and-into-self-regulated-parenting/ https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/10/growing-up-and-into-self-regulated-parenting/#respond Fri, 13 Oct 2023 08:58:50 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/?p=311
*Editor’s Note: This is a contribution from E.A. Brighton, whose children’s book, The Wisdom Tree, will be out on November 21 on Quoir Publishing
I have been told more times than I can count that I have a lot of kids. I do. I have been a mom to five kiddos that span a 13-year age range, for over 18 years now. I am confident in it. I am good at it. I’m not perfect. I have certainly made my share of mistakes, but I am far better at it than I was when I started.
My house is consistently messy. Laundry is never finished. Dinner is rarely planned in advance. There are regular complaints about foods that don’t conform to current oral pallets. The noise level in the house can reach a deafening level on a daily basis and I regularly find myself referee to sibling warfare that challenges my patience and my negotiation skills.
Having kids has been the most humbling experiences of my life. Two of my kiddos have very high-risk behaviors. One of them needs care beyond what I can provide. There have been times when I wished a different life for myself. Times when I have wondered why I made the choices that I did. Times when I feel I have neglected myself and all the things I could have been, done, and seen.
Over the years we have moved 6 times, lived in four corners and the middle of the United States. We have changed schools countless times, homeschooled during the pandemic, moved a child into college and another into a long-term behavioral care facility. We’ve also adjusted to the various cultural shifts that shock, thrive, and dismantle portions of our country. I have learned more than I can express in words, what it is to be open to transition and growth in every aspect of life.
Because of our complex family make-up, I can speak to a variety of issues involving the church, family life, adoption, trauma, PTSD, therapeutic parenting, and the like. You get the idea. The thing is, I can’t fix much. I can’t control life circumstances or take pain away from the day to day aspects of life. I can’t protect my children from the difficulties they will face every day. I can’t simplify the complex narratives of school and their social world. I realize more and more as I continue on this path of parenting that I have less and less say in almost every aspect of their lives and life in general. That concept used to terrify me, especially when I was new to parenting. Now I find helping in it.
Let me get personal here. When I was a kid, my parents struggled to be consistently responsive to the concerns I faced. Their own ability to self-regulate was often challenged and their reactions to my struggling emotions sent unintended messages to my developing mind. I interpreted, from their response, that I was not safe with them, that I was, in fact, causing them pain and suffering by sharing my difficulties. Looking back now, I see very clearly that while this was never their intention, it was their own lack of self-awareness that brought out the result I received. That said, their intentions didn’t leave the imprint that I had to work through in the years that followed, their reactions did. My own ability to self-regulate was delayed by years in large part, due to the lack of co-regulation in our home growing up.
It surfaced in small ways when I was an infant. Frustration and anger, often expressed vocally, even in public settings, when I cried out of hunger or a need to be changed, sent my developmental brain into a stress response. This response chemically altered my neurological functioning, increasing cortisol levels and anxiety producing responses. This is a proven normal response of any developing brain. Continued exposure to altered hormone and chemical levels in the brain during development can directly impact the individuals emotional and physiological cognition. Anyone who works with traumatized infants has seen emotional and physical shut down as a symptom of exposure to abuse and neglect.
My own personal experience was not severe or even note-worthy at the time. The way I was raised was common in the 70’s and 80’s. I got a belt or a spanking from time to time. I had an angry, alcoholic father that yelled when he felt fear or a lack of control. Verbal altercations were simply how he processed. It was then, the norm to “discipline” a child using the concept of “spare the rod, spoil the child”. Our family was no different. This was a generational, welcomed, and expected practice throughout the states. So much so, that I remember it even being a practice in my school by the principal, should a student go too far out of line.
Time wasn’t spent talking about the behaviors or understanding the bigger picture behind them. Tears were met with dismissal and belittling reactions that inflicted further shame and injury. What I couldn’t realize as I was living in this world of complex wounds, was that all of these accepted reactions to normal behaviors were severely damaging my future ability to self-regulate, thereby limiting co-regulation in future relationships, including relationships with my children, who would need that skill desperately.
Thankfully, there were many decisions I made throughout future years that taught me those skills. Over time, I began to recognize how my own emotional reactions to difficulties directly impacted my life. I became aware of my own ability to process emotion and respond rather than react. Time and practice brought confidence in my own ability to be a better human and I, quite naively (as all first time parents are) thought I was ready to be a parent.
As I stepped into that parenting role, I found that the same generational struggle my parents got caught up in, was carrying over into my own ability, or inability to parent well. While my intentions were always positive, the result of the intention was, in some cases, causing further distress for my child. What I showed outwardly, led them to believe they were at fault for adding more anxiety to my life, which was, of course, not the case at all. The humble recognition of following my parents in this negative parenting style cleared my head quite quickly and I was able to hit the reset button on my ability to meet my children’s emotions with something other then my own selfish interest. I could let go of my own ego getting in the way and I could be present with my child, who was in need of a support system, not a “fix.”
Once I figured out I could let go of the need to “fix,” all the energy I was wasting was freed up to actually see where I really needed to be. I had a major perspective shift and could be present with my kids to support them in their own developing wisdom and coping skills. Of course, aspects of parenting that I learned over the years came in handy regularly. You can’t have kiddos without learning from them. What I found to be far more crucial than learning who they were as they grew, was learning who I could be for them as they developed. This is a lesson that continues daily for me.
I have always felt that raising kind humans, cultivating compassionate and empathetic individuals was far more substantial than focusing on the academic role I could take on. Don’t get me wrong, we are big academics in our house. We are readers and complete nerds when it comes to science and mathematics, but as much as those things are great areas of enjoyment for us, they aren’t what keep us grounded as a family.
If I could share the one thing that every one of my family members (including myself) has responded to the most, it has been the gift of co-regulation. This term is now a bit of a buzz word, but I find it often goes misunderstood or simply over used without actually being used.
Parents are often encouraged in parenting classes, self-help books and the like, to co-regulate by “meeting kids where they are at”, meaning get down on their level, spend time with them and listen to what they are saying. The reality is that while this advice is well intended, what it isn’t, is specific. As adults we require specific direction. If clear instruction isn’t given, we tend to manipulate directions into what we think they should be and we often dilute or simply cheapen the value of the advice.
So let’s review for all those other parents out there that maybe missed the message on the first, second, or third go-around (something I have a ridiculous amount of empathy towards). Let’s get specific.
Co-regulation, by definition, is an interpersonal process in which participants adjust their interactions in a coordinated pattern to co-create, stabilize and maintain the nervous system of another. Essentially, your nervous system meets mine, creating a new nervous system shared by us both. It is a neurological, biological and inter-relational process by which we create connection and healing. This process is one that can take place without intent, but is far more powerful and life giving when used regularly and with knowledge of self regulation used by the individual in the co-regulating role.
An individual learns to self-regulate by co-regulating with someone in a much calmer state. If this doesn’t happen regularly early on, our ability to naturally use this skill is less likely. When an infant cries, we meet their need with soothing, gentle tones that encourage a feeling of safety and acceptance. As the child grows, the complexities of life get confusing and their ability to be soothed becomes more nuanced. Often times, this is the beginning of when parenting becomes a test in patience and our own ability to self-regulate. This is when the real opportunity for personal growth happens.
The keys to helping our own children learn to self-regulate is to know how to do so ourselves. Co-regulation is next to impossible if we are incapable of understanding how our own physiology and emotional response is directly related to our ability to comfort and provide a safe space for our children. Our heart rate, our breath, our body language all play a direct role in our ability to respond to our children and help them find calm in our presence. Without understanding the need for those pieces to be in place, we have only a portion of the tool box required for our children to conquer what could be their greatest asset in life.
We walk into parenting expecting a challenge of sorts, but we often forget how much that challenge will expose our own weakness, inabilities, and strengths. Being able to self-regulate, as an adult, is something we must take into consideration as we welcome the idea of parenting into our households. I can not overstate the power and the wealth that is brought into our world by normalizing emotions, utilizing our physical bodies to help remedy that emotion and harnessing those personal skills to help others.
Knowing our own personal triggers, how we respond to them and our internal coping mechanisms along with what is seen externally, is a huge part of helping our children and ourselves as we all continue to evolve in this human world of ours. We aren’t expected to be perfect, or even knowledgeable when we start out as parents, but as we discover our job description and what it entails, we should be expected to grow and change as new information comes to the surface. The goal is to make better humans. That starts with us.
So, let me encourage you on this parenting journey. Be honest about where you come from and what you bring to the table. Take the time to notice your physiology when you are stressed, your heart rate, your muscle tension and your body language as you go thru struggles they will change. Talk yourself thru those things and talk about it with your kids. Let them know you are working on self-regulation too. It’s a journey after all. A practice in becoming a kinder, more compassionate you, for you and for your family.
]]> https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/10/growing-up-and-into-self-regulated-parenting/feed/ 0 Let’s Get Biblically Literal: Immigration https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/09/lets-get-biblically-literal-immigration/ https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/09/lets-get-biblically-literal-immigration/#respond Wed, 27 Sep 2023 12:00:55 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/?p=290
*Editor’s Note: This is a contribution from Dillon Naber Cruz, whose book, Theological Musings, is out now on Quoir Publishing
Many Christians of various conservative varieties say that we people should follow the Bible literally. With that in mind, let’s do a quick dive into a hot button topic that has the Republican party in America up in arms as they drag out all of the xenophobic tropes at their disposal to scare voters about people attempting to come into the country from Latin America. A quick perusal of Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn’s posts on the platform formerly known as Twitter will show readers just what I mean. Other Republican politicians take it even further than Blackburn as Ron DeSantis has done in Florida and Greg Abbott in Texas by bussing people to “Democrat run cities” as a political stunt at their taxpayers’ expense.
Abbott, the fascist governor of Texas, is a man who openly professes to be a Christian, yet he has for purposes of cruelty and political gain, implemented policies along the border between Mexico and Texas that are quite literally human rights abuses. In so doing, he is clearly ignoring American history. Texas was once part of Mexico and the imperialistic, and wholly manufactured, Mexican – American War fought during James K. Polk’s administration absolutely robbed Mexico of an enormous part of their country. Abbott and others also ignore the fact that the subsequent U.S. political and military interventions in Latin America in the 20th and 21st centuries have created a many decades long humanitarian crisis in the region which has led to much of the immigration from Latin America to the U.S. This latter fact means that Abbott is also ignoring international law which says that seeking asylum is perfectly legal. He has created literal death traps that make crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into Texas, whether to seek asylum or simply to build a better life, a deadly undertaking that has led to children and adults drowning or getting severely injured because of his white supremacist xenophobia and pandering to those who think like him.
From a Biblical standpoint, Abbott is ignoring what the Bible says about how people are to treat immigrants and sojourners in the land. The Bible has quite a bit to say about how Jews and Christians should treat immigrants and other strangers as Exodus 22:21; 23:9; Leviticus 19:33-34; Deuteronomy 27:19; Jeremiah 7:5-7; Zechariah 7:9-10 Matthew 25:35; Hebrews 13:2 to name just a few shows. There are many more, thus Greg Abbott for all of his declarations of faith is literally doing it wrong, and Christians in Texas and everywhere else should literally be rising up against his governance (and all xenophobic bigots in government) to demand caring policies for immigrants, whether they are seeking asylum or not, because the Bible literally says we should. Christians should also be actively opposing economic and military policies which create these humanitarian crises.
Perhaps there will be readers who think I am making these things up or surrendering to the “woke” mind virus and being anti-American. If so, I’ve taken the trouble of providing some scriptural evidence below. Those who have an issue with what I have written should realize that their issue is not actually with me, but with the texts of the Bible. Those folks might want to reflect on why they think national citizenship or allegiance to a political party is more important than actually following the faith they claim to follow. Jesus said that his disciples would be known by how they show love, not by telling people who they hate. Immigrants are our neighbors, and Christians are called to love our neighbors, not intentionally try to kill them, harm them, or make their lives miserable.
]]> https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/09/lets-get-biblically-literal-immigration/feed/ 0 Standing In Auschwitz (Thoughts On Being Human) https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/09/standing-in-auschwitz-thoughts-on-being-human/ https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/09/standing-in-auschwitz-thoughts-on-being-human/#respond Mon, 25 Sep 2023 12:00:20 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/?p=275
*Editor’s Note: This is a contribution from Brandon Andress, whose book, And So By Fire, is out now on Quoir Publishing
The warm radiance of the July sun quickly faded into a dank, unwelcome coolness. Thick, imposing cement walls surrounded us on each side as a silent sobriety paralyzed our group. At once, the gas chamber door closed behind us.
Moving slowly to one side through the crowd, I rested my back against the cold, hard wall and closed my eyes. As my palms touched the unsympathetic surface, a small, metal door opened above. I imagined the terror of the men, women, and children who stood naked in that exact same place, only sixty years before me, awaiting their deaths.
My journey in Auschwitz began earlier in the day while walking through rooms adorned with the pictures, names, and stories of the victims. They were husbands, wives, and children. They were brothers and sisters, grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles. Each of them a person with livelihoods, relationships, hopes, and dreams.
But it was not long before these rooms gave way to even more rooms that displayed how their humanity had been successively stripped away.
Through one window, suitcases with family names written on them towered to the ceiling. In the next window, a gruesome pile of prosthetic limbs that had been taken away from amputees filled the room. Through yet another window, tens of thousands of eyeglasses. In another window, mountains of shoes. And through the last window, ghoulish mounds of shaved human hair.
My eyes opened to the sound of the gas chamber door as I numbly exited. The slow-moving single file line took me past the furnaces made for human bodies. It was at that moment when I came to a horrific realization. Once a person’s humanity has been taken away, killing them is actually the easy part.
The Pathway to Dehumanization
It would be easy to believe that this pathway to dehumanization only began in Auschwitz through the taking away of names, the stripping of clothing, and the shaving of hair. It may be even easier to believe that this dehumanization was isolated in human history, brought about only by a maniacal leader. And while both beliefs are true, they do not fully capture the entire trajectory of this dehumanization or how we are just as susceptible to following the same path.
Our tendency is to see the Holocaust as an aberrational evil, isolated without cultivation. Even more, it is easy to view it as if it just appeared without successive shifts in the collective cultural psyche at the time. But this kind of historical ignorance begs for history to repeat itself.
The pathway to Auschwitz began with name-calling and stereotyping. It grew into enemy-labeling and the creation of a we versus they mindset. It evolved into dehumanizing language and images depicting others as morally inferior, which then led to the rationalization of violence.
A Similar Path
If I am to be honest about our country right now, it appears as if we are following a similar path. I am not saying that we are necessarily heading toward a Holocaust. But we do share many of the same similarities in the precursors. However, the biggest difference between then and now is that we have the interconnectedness of social media.
This fact alone ought to make each one of us pause.
By virtue of social media, ideological groups can now coalesce without the constraints of geographical boundaries. They can instantaneously mobilize to force or impose their will and beliefs upon others. As a result, “melting pot” idealism, which has traditionally celebrated and championed the richness of diversity, is being supplanted by amorphous ideological “nations.”
Not only has social media siloed us into these self-reinforcing echo chambers, its depersonalized nature has made us increasingly careless, condescending, disrespectful, and hateful toward others, especially toward those of other ideological “nations.”
This the breeding ground of name-calling and stereotyping. It is where enemies are constructed and declared morally inferior or subhuman. And then, within these all-or-nothing ideological “nations,” the enemies must be silenced, canceled, threatened, put out of business, overthrown, kidnapped, or killed.
We no longer live in a time when the question is, “How will we come together in America?” We are at the beginning of America no longer existing. The ground upon which we stand now belongs to many ideological “nations” within a land mass that believe they cannot coexist, nor abide by each other’s governance.
An Appeal
One of the most asked questions after the Holocaust was, “Where was God?” I may be wrong, but as I look at the path we are taking right now and see where we are heading, I believe I know the answer to that question.
God was there, as God is here now, appealing to all people to resist the ideological forces that are working to strip others of their humanity. Imploring all people to travel no further down the demeaning path of name-calling, caricaturing, and stereotyping. Calling all people to peacefully, but vociferously, oppose those who refer to others as morally inferior or subhuman. Beckoning all people to stand in solidarity against all acts of violence against all people.
While it would be easy to blame our leaders and social media for the path we are taking, the truth is that we have created this reality ourselves. But we also have an opportunity to change our course together. Now more than ever, we need reasonable people to rise up and come together as a new community. We need a new people that will no longer contribute to nastiness and division. We need a new people that will lovingly and peacefully push back the hateful extremes. We need a new people, not beholden to ideology, but who will choose to walk humbly, act justly, and love mercy for all. For it is only this path where our shared humanity will survive and flourish.
]]> https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/09/standing-in-auschwitz-thoughts-on-being-human/feed/ 0 I Can No Longer Call Myself A Christian https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/09/i-can-no-longer-call-myself-a-christian/ https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/09/i-can-no-longer-call-myself-a-christian/#respond Thu, 21 Sep 2023 12:00:05 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/?p=251
*Editor’s Note: This is a contribution from Jon Turney, whose book, RJ the Astronaut, will be out on Quoir Publishing sometime in 2024
This on its face value seems a bit extreme. But there is nuance to my statement. As we see conservative after conservative bastardize the language of Jesus to perpetuate their endgame of hate, violence, and bigotry, it has become easier and easier to step away from the moniker of Christian. There is not a day that goes by that some conservative politician or religious leader stands on his or her soapbox to declare some group of people either misguided, lost, or just plain evil.
My past is not all sunshine and roses. I would like to say that I never spewed these hateful words at my fellow human beings, but I can’t. That would be untrue. In my youth I too was brainwashed by the conservative church. On the more comical side, I was convinced that rock-n-roll was the devil’s music. On one sunny afternoon, I took all my secular music out into our backyard and shot it all up with my BB-gun. Looking back, I was convinced that I was doing the lord’s work. Sitting here now, I just want all my tapes and records back (side note, can I sue the church for loss of property?). I would like to say that was the extent of my dalliance into conservatism. But, alas, that would also be a lie.
It was a sunny afternoon. I was sixteen and on fire for God. Or so I thought. I was on my way to my first protest. This was going to be amazing. We were going to save so many souls for Jesus. I threw my sign into the back of my car and headed to my destination. I got out of my car and walked boldly and proudly with my homemade sign. We were all instructed on how best to make our signs to make the best impact as cars drove by. As I reached the destination my friends were already marching back and forth in front of the entrance to this facility. Emboldened by my friends I joined the procession. I know you all aren’t stupid. I have not been so vague as to not give away where we were. We were in front of the local Planned Parenthood. We were protesting against people getting abortions. Everyone that knows me, knows that I am both an introvert, and very shy. For me to be out doing this was not even remotely the norm for me. I was the one hiding in the back at church. I was the one that never had the ability to speak in tongues because then I would have to be the center of attention. I was the one that never prayed in a prayer circle because no one wanted to hear anything I had to say. Then, why was I here? Why was I picketing this abortion clinic? Because at my core I wanted to be accepted by my peers. I was willing to go against the basic ideals of humanity to be accepted by my friends. I was willing to join this lie for acceptance. Sixteen year old me didn’t know it was a lie. Sixteen year old me had drank the Kool-aid and bought it all hook, line, and sinker. It was Kierkegaard that said “The crowd is untruth.” The sixteen-year-old me had no clue what that meant. The 53-year-old me can see it clear as day. I was sucked into the crowd mentality. I was willing to ignore the voices inside of me. The voices screaming that this was not right. The voices telling me that we were doing harm to our fellow human beings. I was willing to ignore all of the voices for a brief moment of being accepted by my peers.
I look back on that day with shame. I look back on that day with trembling. I look back on that day and wonder what permanent damage I did to another human being. I have blocked out the exact day this was. If I knew the exact day I would want to know who passed our picket line to enter that Planned Parenthood. I would need to make sure that they are still ok. Even though I do not know the exact day I was at the clinic, I know I have blood on my hands. I belittled my fellow human beings. I made them feel less than. I potentially sent them down a spiral that I do not want to think about. But I do. I think about it almost daily. This was the day that I chose acceptance over doing the right thing. This was the day that I put myself before all others. This was the day that I became the antichrist.
I would like to say that this was the turning point in which I left Christianity behind. It was not. But, it was one of the first chinks in the armor.
As this day ended, I do remember one thing. All the other people seemed overjoyed by what they had done that day. I, on the other hand, was confused. I wanted to join in their happiness, but at the same time I felt dirty. I felt sick. I felt like somewhere deep in me was the ability to be a monster, and I did not want to become that
It took me another three years to walk away from all this madness. In the end I did, and I have never looked back. That day haunts me. That day will probably haunt me for the rest of my life.
Because of things like this, I can no longer call myself a Christian. A Jesus follower? Yes. A Christian? Never again.
]]> https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/09/i-can-no-longer-call-myself-a-christian/feed/ 0 Dear White People: Racism Is Not Patriotism https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/07/dear-white-people-racism-is-not-patriotism/ https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/07/dear-white-people-racism-is-not-patriotism/#respond Mon, 31 Jul 2023 13:04:17 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/?p=242
*Editor’s Note: This is a contribution from Dillon Naber Cruz, whose book, Theological Musings, will be out on Quoir Publishing August 22, 2023
The white supremacists are at it again in America. Ron DeFascist, I mean, Ron DeSantis, has implemented an anti-educational policy for Florida’s schools that teaches that the enslaved benefited from slavery. Meanwhile, country music star Jason Aldean released a video for his racist dog whistle song entitled Try that in a small town. The video features footage of a Tennessee courthouse where an infamous lynching took place and a clipping from an anti-segregationist newspaper from Mississippi in 1956. And in Texas, the state where I grew up, Governor Greg Abbott has spent billions of dollars and is deploying 10,000 troops and law enforcement to inflict cruel, inhumane, and often deadly punishment on migrants seeking entry into the U.S.—many of whom are seeking asylum. All of these things are being done to preserve white supremacy in the United States.
It should absolutely go without saying that the enslaved in the Americas did not in any way benefit from slavery, yet DeSantis is recycling that old white supremacist trope in 2023 in his bid to bring Floridian fascism nationwide. When the slave trade and enslaving Africans and their descendants was still legal, there were plenty of white supremacists who maintained a paternalistic attitude towards the enslaved while insisting that the enslaved had it good in comparison to being back in Africa or free in America. George Washington was one such enslaver. When his slave Ona May Judge ran away, he and his wife simply could not understand why she would have done so because they were blinded by their paternalistic white supremacy. Racist Christians too have insisted that the enslaved benefited from being enslaved because that’s how they heard the gospel. In actual fact, the Bible teaching the enslaved received the most was about slaves being loyal to their masters.
Aldean’s use of imagery associated with a lynching and civil rights activist journalism is certainly intentional. Though he didn’t actually grow up in a small town, he is using a familiar theme to country music as a genre—that of country versus city. It’s pretty clear that Aldean is putting his lips to his racist dog whistle and blowing as hard as he can to push back against Black Lives Matter protests and other things he as a racist white man finds repugnant. Princeton historian Kevin Kruse in response to Aldean’s video said that Aldean was making a “call to lawlessness” which is of course a typical white supremacist tactic carried out by groups like the KKK, The Proud Boys, and racist law enforcement members.
White supremacists like DeSantis and Abbott use the machinery of government to maintain white supremacy while couching their policies as pro-Christian, pro-America, and pro-family all while ignoring the many Biblical injunctions to take care of immigrants and strangers in your land and the golden rule. The latter, if truly followed, would make racism a thing of the past despite what Richard Furman wrote in “Exposition of the views of Baptists Relative to the Coloured Population of the United States in a Communication to the Governor of South Carolina” in 1822. Furman used the Bible to justify enslaving Africans and their descendants, and like DeSantis peddled the indefensible notion that “slavery when tempered with humanity and justice, is a state of tolerable happiness; equal, if not superior to that which many poor enjoy in countries reputed to be free.” That statement, along with DeSantis’ educational maxim that “slaves benefited from slavery” are statements only a white supremacist or their allies can make.
White supremacy as an idea is a lie. White supremacy is a sin. White supremacy and all of its evils like systemic racism should be illuminated and repudiated by every white person. To do otherwise is to be complicit in its perpetuation and its continued oppression of BIPOC people. Join me in repudiating and renouncing white supremacy and systemic racism.
]]> https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/07/dear-white-people-racism-is-not-patriotism/feed/ 0 Am I The Bad Guy?: Exploring Our Ancestors https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/07/am-i-the-bad-guy-exploring-our-ancestors/ https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/07/am-i-the-bad-guy-exploring-our-ancestors/#respond Wed, 12 Jul 2023 13:10:34 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/?p=233
*Editor’s Note: This is a contribution from Martha Elias Downey, author of Go Wide, now available from Quoir Publishing.
When we read stories, be they biblical texts or historical accounts or fiction, we tend to identify with the characters who are portrayed in positive ways. We don’t usually think of ourselves as the villains in the narrative. The same can hold true for our personal stories. We tend to see ourselves as good people, not perfect perhaps, but certainly not malicious or evil. While this is natural, it is also somewhat problematic. Because it keeps us from telling the truth about ourselves.
My Mennonite ancestors moved from northern Germany to southwestern Russia and then to the Canadian prairies in order to escape religious and political hardship. Their decision to move to North America was influenced by The Privilegium of 1873. This was a formal invitation from Canada to the Mennonites, offering them farmland, military exemption (because of their pacifist stance), and the right to private religious education. Since the latter two privileges were under threat in Russia, the choice seemed clear.
When my ancestors landed in Canada, they were given plots of land for their exclusive settlement. Because the open prairies were not that attractive to the existing European settlers (who preferred to be near wood and water), the Mennonites became the first to build villages and farm the land in southern Manitoba. To my knowledge, my ancestors did not directly displace any indigenous peoples (Treaty One was signed in 1871 in what is now Winnipeg), but they participated in colonizing and Europeanizing the area. We came with our religion, our traditions, our food, our language, and our tight-knit communities. We imposed ourselves on the land. There was little attempt at adapting to any other culture or way of being. We formed our own Mennonite communities and gave them German names.
When I was growing up, I heard the stories about how our ancestors made something out of very little. We were proud (in the best, humble way) of how our communities grew and prospered over the years and how we managed to keep our religion and language and customs mostly intact and untainted by the outside world.
In recent years, new immigrants have been moving into the predominantly Mennonite communities in southern Manitoba. To my surprise, local people (old and young) are grumbling about the foreigners’ presence. I’m not sure if the newcomers are perceived as an actual threat to the stability of the community or if it is just another iteration of the xenophobia I learned growing up. The fear of outsiders (and change) seems par for the course when one lives in a relatively closed, monolithic community. Whatever the case, this grumbling about the invasion of outsiders seems somewhat hypocritical to me. Is the generous welcome our ancestors received in Canada already too far back in the rear-view mirror? I have always thought of my family story in terms of escaping the “bad guys.” But could we also be the “bad guys?”
More and more, I am realizing that my family history is complicated. I have ancestral memory of being persecuted, of fleeing countries to survive, of pursuing freedom to preserve a communal way of life and live out religious convictions. And I also have ancestral memory of claiming so-called “empty” lands and building closed communities that were unwelcoming to outsiders. We defiantly resisted assimilation (The Privilegium of 1873 gave us that right), thought of ourselves as more righteous than our non-Mennonite neighbours, and discriminated against those who did not look and act like us. We also sought to impose our beliefs and cultural norms on any who lived in our communities.
In many ways, the Mennonites made southern Manitoba better by developing the farmland and building small religious communities. But I think we also made it/are making it worse. Resenting outsiders is but one of the problems. The area where I grew up is becoming known for its increasing exclusivism, anti-rationalism, anti-democratic tendencies, and support of far-right traditionalist values.
Both of my ancestral identities need healing. As those who fled a country or two out of necessity, we must be healed from the trauma of being devalued and displaced. As colonizers and settlers, we must learn to be good neighbours, welcoming strangers and living in peace alongside those whose cultures and customs differ from ours. We must also acknowledge that the land had a history (and an indigenous people) before we ever arrived on the scene. We share the space and the resources.
So how do we go about becoming good ancestors, healed from our past trauma and wrongs, able to live together in more just and peaceable ways? How do we adapt to the shifts and changes all around us without becoming defensive and exclusionary, especially in our religion and practices? I believe there is wisdom for us in the scriptures.
The biblical texts span thousands of years, tracing the journey of a people group from inception to the development of a nation to exile to slavery to freedom to rebuilding to internal conflict to oppression under an empire to reorientation. In the process, we observe that Jewish customs and rules were frequently adapted to deal with changing situations. When Jesus came on the scene, he continued the tradition of reinterpreting, reframing, and even breaking religious rules. The apostles did the same, updating old laws and traditions to accommodate the newly integrated Gentiles.
Following YHWH (and Jesus) has never been about rule-keeping or self-preservation or even conservatism but about covenant, about living well with others. And the central, guiding tenets of this covenant way of life remain the same: love God, love your neighbour as yourself. That’s it. Every belief and practice must stem from these three loves.
So instead of resenting outsiders, we learn to ask, “How can we help?”
Instead of imposing our beliefs and traditions and language onto others, we commit to learning from those whose experiences are different from ours and delight in our collective diversity.
Instead of insisting we are not the “bad guys,” we get honest with ourselves, acknowledging where we (and our people) have done harm, even if unintentionally. And we seek to make things right.
Instead of being defensive, we learn to embrace correction and welcome the opportunity to do better.
Instead of trying to preserve the past, we live into the next chapter of our story with hope and kindness, offering hospitality and kinship to all along the way.
That’s how we become the “good guys.”
]]> https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/07/am-i-the-bad-guy-exploring-our-ancestors/feed/ 0 Hemp And The Bible https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/07/hemp-and-the-bible/ https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/2023/07/hemp-and-the-bible/#respond Thu, 06 Jul 2023 17:07:14 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thequorus/?p=218
*This article is written by Matthew J. Distefano, author of The Wisdom of Hobbits and other books.
It’s no secret that cannabis was used all throughout the ancient world—in places like Egypt and Israel, for example—and in a variety of ways. As a textile, hemp—marijuana’s more “benign” cousin—is second to none. It’s strong, light, and durable, so much so that even the American paratroopers of WWII had their chutes made out of it. Furthermore, given cannabis’ psychoactive and medicinal properties, it has been used ceremonially all throughout the ages, in oils, incenses, and the like. The earliest known documentation of this comes from the Greek historian Herodotus. Writing about the Scythians’ use of cannabis, he states:
The Scythians, as I said, take some of this hemp-seed [presumably, flowers], and, creeping under the felt coverings, throw it upon the red-hot stones; immediately it smokes, and gives out such a vapor as no Grecian vapor-bath can exceed; the Scyths, delighted, shout for joy.
And yet, in spite of this history that dates back thousands of years, many of us are just coming to the realization that this plant is actually medicine. It’s taking cases like Greta Botker’s to wake us up to the power of medical marijuana. And her case is not that of unlike so many others. This is a girl who, since the age of 5 months old, has experienced uncontrollable seizures, to the tune of 15 a day in fact. Her family, doing what any of us would probably do, tried medications—Onfi, Depakote, Felbatol, Keppra, and Prednisone—dietary restrictions, even brain surgery, all to no avail. As Greta’s mother, Maria, admits, “We really tried everything with Greta. We put our child through brain surgery, so a plant like marijuana was not going to scare me.”
However, the brutal truth of the matter was that the Botker family lived in Minnesota, a state that, at the time, prohibited the use of marijuana (Minnesota has since lifted this ban). So, Maria did what any mother desperate to see her child flourish would do; she picked up and headed west to Colorado, a state where marijuana was now legal. And, after finding just the right strain of cannabis—one that has only scant traces of the psychoactive ingredient THC—Greta began treatment. Wonderfully, it worked, knocking her 15 daily seizures down to 4 to 6. Furthermore, she was able to reduce her seizure medications from five down to two.
Cases like this should make us all pause and reflect on the power of medicinal plants like marijuana. And as Christians, we should reflect even more, if not for the sole reason that a huge part of Jesus’ ministry involved healing. And that’s not to assert that Jesus himself used cannabis, or that he even used it when healing others—although it’s certainly possible—but it is to say that if healing others is a big part of what it means to be a follower of Christ, then we should be at the forefront of encouraging healing wherever it can be found, even if it involves substances we’ve been slow to accept in the past.
So, what holds us back? Why are we so hesitant to embrace this God-given plant? I think the answer can be found in how we are reading our Bibles.
You see, we Christians have a tendency to use the Scriptures far too flippantly, often in order to denounce the behaviors of others that we find most objectionable or offensive. We do it when it comes to alcohol, when it comes to sex, even styles of dress and music and food. And, of course, when it comes to using marijuana. And on top of that, we often do it with brash certainty, even in the face of our own ignorance and preconceived notions.
But, what if we’ve been wrong, and what if the Bible mentions marijuana, just like it mentions alcohol, and what if it is seen in a positive light rather than strictly a negative one? Well, that’s just what a growing number of scholars are starting to suggest.
The first to do this was Dr. Sula Benet, a 20th century Polish anthropologist who specialized in Jewish cultural rites and practices. She argues that the ingredients for the holy anointing oil given to Moses by God include cannabis, rather than the traditionally held view that it is, instead, calamus. The recipe is found in Exodus 30:22–25, and includes the following ingredients:
- Pure myrrh (mar deror)
- Sweet cinnamon (kinnemon besem)
- Cassia (kiddah)
- Olive oil (shemen zayit)
- Calamus/Cannabis (kaneh bosm)
Obviously, the final ingredient, kaneh bosm, is where the point of contention lies. Traditionally, interpreters have understood that it means calamus, a tall wetland plant that has indeed been used throughout history as a medicinal plant. But, according to Benet, this is a misunderstanding that began around the third-century BCE, when the Greek Septuagint was being compiled. What she believes happened is that translators goofed on the Hebrew term “kaneh-bosm” and mistranslated it as “sweet calamus.” Then, as translations took shape over the course of history, this misunderstanding got passed down the line to folks like Luther, Tyndale, and others.
A better translation, Benet contends, is that the root word “kan” should be translated, not as “reed” but as “hemp.” The Ben Yehuda Hebrew-English Dictionary, written by “the father of modern Hebrew,” Eliezer Ben Yehuda, agrees, and also defines the Hebrew kaneh-bosm as “hemp.” Moreover, as Chris Bennett points out in Sex, Drugs, Violence and the Bible, “Around 1980, etymologists at Hebrew University in Jerusalem confirmed that cannabis is mentioned in the Bible by name, Kineboisin (also spelled Kannabosm) in a list of measured ingredients for ‘an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of apothecary’ to be smeared on the head.” He goes on to also say that, “This etymological research was confirmed again that same year by Weston La Barre, who noted that “the term kanebosm occurs as early as both the Aramaic and the Hebrew versions of the Old Testament, hemp being used for rope in Solomon’s temple and in priestly robes, as well as . . . carried in Biblical caravans.”
Now, can we be certain that this is what was included in the sacred anointing oil used by Moses and the early Jewish people? Probably not. But it’s certainly possible. In fact, after speaking with a good friend of mine who is a Hebrew scholar, it is probably the most likely scenario, and for two reasons. First, and as we discussed at the onset, there is a fair amount of explicit evidence that cannabis was frequently used all throughout the Ancient Near East and in Egypt, especially in cultic contexts. Hence, it’s safe to assume that the possibility of it being used in a Hebrew context is present. And second, when the Hebrew priests burned aromatic things in the temple, they did so in order to enhance the numinous quality of the sanctuary, to even calm and provide pleasure to the deity (in their case, Yahweh). Cannabis, then, would be a substance that fits the bill, so to speak. In fact, it fits the bill most appropriately.
Again, we cannot be certain of this, but what we can be certain of is that as Christians, one of our main tasks is to bring about healing to those who are suffering. Cannabis does that. It does that for people who suffer from epileptic seizures, those who suffer from Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, and those, like myself, who suffer with Celiac Disease. And it does it for a whole host of others who suffer with other various ailments. So, the question we should ask ourselves is this: Will we take a risk, go out on a limb, and affirm this “very good” seed yielding plant that our “very good” God created (Gen. 1:29)? Many who suffer are counting on us to do so.
And that’s where the rubber meets the road for Christians. How are we going to respond to the suffering of others, and in what ways are we going to help stop it? Regardless of what the Bible says or does not say, regardless of whether Moses anointed things with cannabis or calamus, regardless of whether or not Jesus used cannabis oil or whether he didn’t use anything but his bare hands when he healed, what we must remember is that we, as moderns, should be using all the various methods available to help put an end to evil and suffering. Full stop. End. Of. Story.
Isn’t this our hope? That suffering one day comes to an end? Doesn’t our final book of the Bible—the book of Revelation—end with hope? Don’t nations enter the gates of New Jerusalem to partake of the leaves of the tree that are for the healing of the nations? Of course, they do. It’s plain as day right there in the 22nd chapter. In the meantime, then, shouldn’t we appreciate the analogy and start using the leaves—well, the flowers—of the tree—actually, the plant—that heals the lives of others? That plant is cannabis. May we use it wisely and may we permit others to use it freely.
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