In the Harvest Issue, Aletheia Today brings together philosophy, theology, and cultural reflections to explore the deeper meaning of the harvest season. This issue features scriptural studies on sowing and reaping, theological discussions on the cycles of life and spiritual growth, and philosophical essays that question how the concept of harvest shapes our understanding of purpose and fulfillment. Readers will also find cultural perspectives on how communities worldwide celebrate the seasons. Inside Harvest 2024 Philosophy Anaxagoras “We are part of this universe; we are in this universe, but perhaps more important…the universe is in us.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson The Secret Life of Things “The secret life of things is nothing less than the life of God.” Zeno's New Paradox “Achilles is still sulking, humiliated by a…tortoise; but at least we have a universe and…we can be assured that its ultimate trajectory is toward Good.” The Probability of Nothing “Divinity is a language unto itself, or as a five-year-old grandchild once explained to me, ‘God is outside the numbers’.” Theology World Without God Amen “God is dead, and we have killed him…who will wipe this blood from us?” (Nietzsche) How Matthew Spins Mark “The same facts can take on different ‘meaning’ depending on how they’re presented. Culture & The Arts Robert Frost Was Wrong “Waiter, bring me one order of everything on the menu and when I’ve finished, I’ll pay for whatever dish I liked best.” The Seven Pillars of Wisdom “Kabbalah kept the pre-Socratic tradition alive until it could be born anew in the Age of Aquarius.” Spirituality The Sacred Pause of Autumn "In our spiritual rest, we draw near to God and bask in His presence in prayer, our Bibles, and His beautiful creation." Why We Must Pray "It is our prayers that will, God willing, save the world and our souls because God will know us." Readers React What's the buzz about? Our readers' reactions to Aletheia Today... Additional Reading Can't get enough of Aletheia Today's content? Check out the books that inspire our magazine.

< Back The Sacred Pause of Autumn Deborah Rutherford "In our spiritual rest, we draw near to God and bask in His presence in prayer, our Bibles, and His beautiful creation." Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. Mark 4:39 NKJV My husband and I were captivated by the first fall leaves that descended gracefully as the wind picked up. Like all storms, this one came and went, shaking the globe, and the leaves fell like snow in autumn. At that precise moment, I sensed a profound invitation from the Lord and all His creation to step out of the glass globe—our windowed house—and into the open. This invitation was not just to feel the cool air on our faces or pick up a leaf, but to experience a "sacred pause." This is where we can step back from the storms of life, whether brooding, gales, or on the horizon, with complete confidence that just as Jesus rebuked the wind and calmed the sea, He can do the same for us. This sacred pause is a moment where we take a break from the busyness and demands of life and instead relish quiet communion, drawing near to our Creator. It is a time to reflect, feel the Creator's touch and caress, and partake in the beauty of autumn. This intentional pause for deep connection and meditation with God strengthens and refreshes us. Autumn is the perfect season to pursue wonder. Did you know that God has been pausing since He first created the world? In Genesis 1:31, we read: "Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day" (NKJV). Yes, during God's six days of creation, He paused daily to look at His creation and delighted in it: • God paused. • God looked at His creation. • God delighted in His creation. God invites us to delight with Him in this sacred pause. Unsurprisingly, God's creations, including us, bring Him immense joy. This is how much God loves us. Isn't autumn a unique and perfect opportunity to slow down and partake in the sacred pause with God? To share in His delight and seek His wonder? God created us to have a relationship and fellowship with Him and to enjoy His creations. Our participation is welcomed and vital for revitalizing and refreshing our weary, storm-ridden souls. There will be times soon enough when we must step back into our daily routines, but in this interlude, we will be refreshed and strengthened for the ebbs and tides of life. In autumn, the Lord beckons us to draw near to Him and all of creation in a celebration. Are we not awestruck when we wake to vibrant hues painted on the sunrise? Every day, as we walk outside, a new leaf glimmers gold, followed by reds and oranges. The air is fragrant with fresh pine and foliage, while our kitchens simmer with spices and warming stews. The beauty of this lovely season is a testament to God's majesty and creation. We must pause with our Creator in autumn's celebration—how can we not! Here, we recognize that we are more than to-do lists, jobs, troubles, and schedules; we are, in fact, a part of creation itself. By pausing, we find we are in step with creation. I do not know about you, but I would rather be a part of the creation dance than apart from it. Our porch party lights are the stars twinkling in the sky. The feast is laid out in the fields, and the orchestra is the flocks of migrating birds going home. Oh, we belong too, and I find this so comforting and reassuring, don't you? We are part of our Creator's beautiful symphony. Autumn is the time of year when the Lord invites us to pause with Himself and creation. In this pause, we reconnect with our Creator and all of creation. As the warmth of summer fades and cooler temperatures arrive, all creation begins a transformation. This collaboration between the Creator and the created has been ongoing since the beginning of time, and we are an integral part of it. At this time of year, nature transforms to prepare to rest for winter; shouldn't we do the same? In Psalm 46:10, the psalmist writes, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (NKJV). Here again, God is inviting us to pause with Him. In this sacred pause, we experience God's presence and sovereignty in creation. When we draw near to God, He draws near to us. "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded" (James 4:8 NKJV). A pause may seem counterproductive with all the delights of the fall season or our day-to-day demands, but that is precisely why God asks us to be still, to draw near to Him—to pause. Here in this sacred pause, we savor God's goodness and delight in what He has prepared for us. There is a place for us at His bountiful table. In all this, God prepares and strengthens us for approaching situations, transformation, and new blooms. But just as nature needs a rest, so do we. In our spiritual rest, we draw near to God and bask in His presence in prayer, our Bibles, and His beautiful creation. But how do we pause with the Creator and embrace autumn's beauty? Here are some ways to pause, reflect, and connect with God and nature this autumn: • Pray and reflect as you read your Bible. Ask God questions like: Do I need to let go of anything? What is my growth and transformation in this season? Am I depleted from life's tempests, and how can I be strengthened and refreshed, Lord? • Step out into creation by going on a nearby hike, visiting a pumpkin patch, or attending a fair (I love seeing all the farm animals at our fair). • Rejoice in the fields' harvest and reflect on your own harvest. Taste the harvest foods, such as apples, pumpkins, and blackberries. • Listen to the music of the wind, the rustling leaves, bird songs, and the crackling of campfires. • Observe the stars at night and feel the universe singing a beautiful song. Immerse yourself in the beauty of autumn, and let it resonate within you. • Gather to celebrate and give thanks to the Lord. Open your home for long, lingering conversations, dinners, and candlelight. • Look for the unexpected blessings, and you will find them. Since the beginning of time, this sacred pause has coaxed the temperatures down and caused the trees to transform. The harvest is ready in the fields. All these blessings, abundance, goodness, and beauty bring joy to our hearts. In our sacred pause, let us rejoice in the Lord and dare ourselves to gather and prepare candlelit dinners and have those long conversations. Let us pursue God’s wonder! This sacred pause leads to the Holy Feasts, Advent hymns, and Holy Days. As we pause to celebrate the harvest, we also plant the seeds in anticipation of the coming Christmas season. The ebb and flow of creation's seasonal pause is God's masterpiece, the beauty of life. We were created to live in creation, not apart from it. There will always be storms on the horizon—some seen, some waited for, some just dumped—but with intentional drawing near in the presence of God, we will be strengthened for the days ahead. A Sacred Pause Prayer Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for creating me and all Your creations. How loving of You to pause, look at, and delight in me. I accept Your invitation to draw near as I read, pray, and linger in my Bible. I delight in Your creation this autumn and will pursue wonder. I yearn to be in Your Presence! Help me to slow down this season so I can rejoice in You. Help me to be still. Do not let a day pass where I do not step out into creation and delight in Your beauty and love. In this sacred pause, strengthen me, Lord, for the coming storms of life. I know You will always be with me. I rejoice in You, Lord, who brings hope in the breeze, transformation, and harvest as I gather to dwell, celebrate, and prepare my heart for You. In Jesus' name, Amen. Deborah Rutherford is a Christian wife who loves to write stories, devotionals, and poetry. She is also an award-winning makeup artist. Deborah shares her journey of faith, joy, and beauty on her blog at www.deborahrutherford.com and social media. She is a contributing writer for Aletheia Today Magazine , Kingdom Edge Magazine and Gracefully Truthful Ministries and has a devotional in the book “Shepherd on Duty: Promises of God you Can Trust ” (Arabelle Publishing) and the Calla Press, Literary Journal Spring 2023. Return to Harvest 2024 Previous Next

< Back Archimedes and Christianity David Cowles Aug 26, 2025 “Science is not the antithesis of Christianity; it is a subset of it… not the enemy of religion but its most powerful engine.” Don’t blame Archimedes (b. 280 BCE); he got a bum rap. He did not invent the Archimedean Property nor did he lend it his name. That came much later when someone noticed that Archimedes’ work entailed certain previously unidentified assumptions about the structure of the phenomenal world. The Archimedean Property (AP) boils down to the assumption that real phenomena can be exclusively and exhaustively modeled within the domain of Real Numbers (extended to include Complex Numbers). Certainly sounds reasonable and it is…for most purposes. Sure, it fails to capture certain features of the deep structure of the Real World but how often does that come up in polite conversation? You can live your life from birth through NLE and never give a thought to anything beyond Real Numbers…and in fact that’s exactly how people lived from the time of Plato until the 18 th century. We most often discuss AP in the context of Geometry (and Topology). The Euclidean Geometry we learned as adolescents assumes AP. So do most non-Euclidean Geometries (e.g. geometries applicable to curved spaces). However, there is a class of esoteric geometries that reject the Archimedean Property. They seek to model phenomena that can’t be adequately approximated using Real Numbers alone. These phenomena require the introduction of ‘Unreal’ Numbers such as infinities and infinitesimals and ‘p-adic’ numbers (loosely related to logarithms for the few of you out there who don’t have a PhD in Pure Mathematics, yet). Without AP, if any two entities intersect (tangent or overlap), one must be a subset of the other. Nothing touches, nothing overlaps, unless it absorbs totally or is totally absorbed. It’s a readymade plot twist for the next Sci-Fi Silver Screen blockbuster. It’ll be a remake of Goldfinger , which itself retells the legend of King Midas. I touch you, I absorb you…or you absorb me. This gives new meaning to ‘Kill or Be Killed!’ It is a game of tag…for adults, but a game with apocalyptic consequences. Not sure you want to go down this path? No problem: you can try it before you buy it. The game could be simulated on a computer; it could even anchor a whole new genre of computer games, competing with Fortnite , Grand Theft Auto , and Tour of Duty . Of course, such ‘individual imperialism’ is not the only possible response to life in a world without AP. For example, we might decide to live our lives in hermetically sealed pods. Or we might learn to live together, harmoniously and symbiotically, without invading each other’s personal space…what a concept! Or we could just go with the flow. I could welcome the other into myself and I could graciously reciprocate by freely allowing myself to be uploaded into ‘another other’. Again, feel free to try before you buy, but know this: the process may not be reversible…so your life literally depends on the result! ‘Another other’? Makes sense. A absorbs B, another, then AB is absorbed by C, another other, and so on ‘up the food chain’. But what if we turned Jacob’s Ladder into an Ouroboros? What if we allowed A to absorb B…and B to absorb A, simultaneously. What if we allowed our two sets to be subsets of themselves and of each other? Now that would be some cool place to live, agreed? Too much for you? Well, stay tuned! You are the product of a single fertilized sex cell. Today, your body consists of 30 trillion descendants of that cell, working more or less in harmony to ensure your (temporary) survival and to allow you to make all the contributions to human history your parents had planned for you. There will be no peace on earth or cure for cancer without you and there would be no you without the immediate and enduring cooperation of 30 trillion independent organisms (100 trillion over your entire lifetime). But there is something very special about these cells. Unlike simple life forms (e.g. bacteria), most of the cells in your body include a nucleus that houses copies of your primordial DNA. All animal and plant life consists primarily of nucleated cells. But while the first living organisms (prokaryotes) appeared on Earth 4 billion years ago, the first nucleated cells (eukaryotes) evolved just 2 billion years ago. More astounding, every eukaryotic cell on Earth today is likely descended from a single 2 billion year old ancestor. (By comparison, Abraham was a dilatant!) So how did the primal eukaryote evolve? Two unicellular life forms, bacteria perhaps, gave each other reck (Anaximander, Buber) and entered into a covenant (Jeremiah et al.). The process was described in 1986 by Nobel winning biologist, Paul Simon: “If you’ll be my bodyguard, I will be your long lost pal.” ( You can call me Al ) Perhaps Paul was drawing on an earlier description: “You will be my people, and I will be your God!” ( Jeremiah 7: 23). And so it happened! One cell agreed to give up its independence to become the nucleus of another cell in exchange for that cell’s protection (an early version of the feudal contract)…and together they conquered the Earth. Alexander, Augustus, eat your hearts out! We life forms are stubborn. It took 2 billion years for two of us to decide that cohabitation and cooperation might be better than conflict. And now we’re surprised that there’s no peace in the Middle East? It was a high stakes gamble, a giant leap of faith, but boy did it ever pay off! We are indebted to these two risk-taking pioneers for everything from the majestic Redwood Forests to the teeming Gulf Stream Waters, for Mother Theresa, and for you. ‘Thank you’ doesn’t cover it. There is a powerful Theory of Everything (TOE) that fundamentally depends on non-Archimedean topology. No, it’s not some esoteric version of String Theory: it does not require a cosmos with 10…or 26 dimensions. Nor is it obscure. In fact, every reader of this article is, happily or not, quite familiar with it. It’s called Christianity . Let’s just state it outright: Christian cosmology is fundamentally non-Archimedean! Write that 100 times on Sister Mary Martha’s blackboard. But don’t stop there! Christianity not only rejects AP; it also rejects the Transitive Property (if a > b and b > c then a > c) and the Fundamental Properties of Arithmetic (Commutative, Associative, and Distributive). Basically, Christianity repeals 5 years of primary school education. Or not! There is a real domain in which all these traditional properties hold but that ‘local’ domain is embedded in a much broader ‘universal’ domain where they do not. Arithmetic is a subset of mathematics. The Archimedean domain is a sub-region of the broader non-Archimedean Universe. Just as the Newtonian Universe is embedded in the Einsteinian Universe, so physics is embedded in theology . The defining doctrine of orthodox Christianity is Incarnation. The 2 nd person of the Blessed Trinity, the logos through whom ‘all things were made’ has in fact become one of those things . (John 1: 2 – 5) Contrary to the Foundation Axiom of Set Theory, the set is a subset of itself. God is the all-encompassing plenum and an irreducible quantum within that plenum . The Son of God is God. According to the Nicene Creed, Jesus Christ is ‘true God ( plenum ) and true man ( quantum )’. The whole is contained in one of its parts . Cosmos as Fun House! The reciprocal reflections in the Hall of Mirrors extend to infinity. The very concept of scale, so crucial to our understanding of the world, vanishes. The Cosmos is a fractal; no matter where you look it looks the same. It is a pattern endlessly embedded in itself. Embedded, not conflated! The part does not become the whole, nor the whole the part. Call it the Pauline Exclusion Principle . According to Incarnation’s companion doctrine of Trinity, the plenum and the quantum remain distinct personae of the one Godhead. Perhaps the best description of this relationship is provided by Paul in his First Letter to Corinthians : “When everything is subjected to him (Son), then the Son himself will be subjected to the one (Father) who subjected everything to him (Son) so that God may be all in all.” (15: 28) ‘All in all’, Anaxagoras’ pan in panti , describes the fundamental architecture of our non-Archimedean Universe. And it is also the Foundational Principal (Incarnation) of Christianity . It is no wonder that we are rapidly becoming unchurched. We have made a fetish of science. (Science is good but fetishizing anything is not.) Unfortunately, many Christians have responded to the fetish by rejecting the science. But science is not the antithesis of Christianity; it is a subset of it. Once we have overcome the notion that the Universe is Archimedean throughout and properly understood the place of cosmology within metaphysics, we will suddenly find that science is not the enemy of religion but its most powerful engine. Truly, this is the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius . “Come Holy Ghost!” *** Christ Pantocrator, 6th century, Saint Catherine’s Monastery, Sinai. The icon mirrors our theme by depicting Christ as both infinite plenum and finite quantum, true God and true man, embodying the non-Archimedean logic at the heart of Christianity. Previous Share Next Do you like what you just read and want to read more Thoughts? Subscribe today for free! Thoughts While Shaving - the official blog of Aletheia Today Magazine. Click here.

< Back AI, Justice, and Job David Cowles Sep 7, 2023 “Can a Bot go beyond its programming and our inputs to devise unique solutions to novel problems - solutions that exhibit Justice as their determinative Value?” Our Fall Issue of Aletheia Today Magazine , our ‘AI Issue’ released 9/1/23, included an article titled, “ Do Bots Know Beauty? ” In that essay, we proposed that there are (at least) three transcendent values: Beauty, Truth, and Justice. We delt, hopefully to your satisfaction, with Beauty and Truth but we deliberately left Justice for another day (and that day is today ). Can a Bot be just? This question has two parts: Can what we mean by ‘justice’ be reduced to an algorithm? Or if not, can a Bot go beyond its programming, and our inputs, to devise unique solutions to novel problems - solutions that exhibit Justice as their determinative value? More so than Beauty, less so than Truth, Justice can be reduced to an algorithm. We call that algorithm ‘Law’; but then we criticize anyone who blindly follows it. We say they’re being overly legalistic . Like Solomon, we instinctively know that Justice is more than a legal code, no matter how well intentioned or expertly drawn. Thomas Aquinas, for example, says that secular law is normative… but only to the extent that it is consistent with a higher law, i.e., God’s law. Dial 611. Call up these specific mitzvot (from Torah); they represent an early effort to codify – or program – Justice. Now add-in the 2 general mitzvot, aka the Great Commandment, a recognition that the law must always be interpreted and applied in the broader context of Justice per se . Torah requires interpretation and application, by a competent Rabbi and by you! During the period of Judges , when God ruled Israel directly (through Torah), “everyone did what was right in their own eyes”. (Judges 21: 25) Conscience is a reflection of Justice. Justice as Law is always subject to Justice as Value. Law is always subject to judicial review…and that review is carried out by Justice as Value. Justice is recursive! It is a 2nd order reflection on a 1st order algorithm (the law). The history of Judeo-Christianity can be viewed as a dialectic of law and value. As Jewish theology evolved during the first millennium BCE, the migration of Torah from ‘tablets of stone’ to ‘hearts of flesh’ was a recurrent theme. When Christianity burst onto the scene (c. 30 CE) this dichotomy was further sharpened. Jesus said, “…Not an iota, not a jot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (Matthew 5: 18); but Paul wrote, “Now that faith (value) has come, we are no longer under the law.” (Galatians 3: 25) Of course, both are correct. The Christian project is the merger of Justice as Law with Justice as Value. But the dichotomy of Justice as Value vs. Justice as Law goes back much further than Jesus and Paul; it’s older than the Judges and it’s even older than Moses. It goes all the way back to the story of Job , one of Western civilization’s oldest narratives. The version memorialized in the Biblical Book of Job could be aptly subtitled, Justice: Algorithm or Value? Refresher : Job, a just and prosperous man, suddenly hits a streak of ‘bad luck’ (to say the least): his family is wiped out, his wealth lost, his health destroyed. It is assumed, not without reason, that God is responsible for Job’s misfortunes. Unfortunately, Job is joined on his ‘dung hill’ by three so-called comforters, men of high standing who have traveled a great distance to commiserate with their colleague. These self-appointed divine surrogates defend the notion of Justice as Algorithm: they try to persuade Job that his ‘sins’ that have triggered this dreadful series of events. Because they view Justice as an algorithm, they feel justified in assuming that Job’s misfortunes must be wages of his sin. Job will have none of it! He insists that he has committed no sin that remotely justifies his sufferings. He demands that God subject himself to the value of Justice. Job’s concept of Justice is more than tit-for-tat: a valid judgement must be based on the totality of circumstances, including subjective intent, not just on naked acts taken out-of-context. Our hero is so confident of his concept of Justice that he uses it to ‘call God out’ and what ensues is one of the fiercest rhetorical battles in the history of urban playgrounds. Remember Ali-Forman, the Rumble in the Jungle ? A Forman win was considered so certain that some of Ali’s handlers wanted the fight cancelled. Instead, Ali sat on the ropes for 7 rounds and then in the 8th stepped out from the shadows and knocked Forman out with a single 5 punch volley. Clearly, Ali knew his Job. Bookmakers at the trial of Job v. God are offering 100-to-1 odds and still the ‘Job line’ has no takers. Predictably, God shows up in a whirlwind calculated to terrify his accuser. For several chapters, God rants while Job whispers. God taunts Job for his comparative lack of accomplishments. He threatens him with monsters (Behemoth and Leviathan); he compares him to ‘uninhabited grassland’. Job is cowed but not crushed; he stands his ground. In the end, seeing that he can’t intimidate Job and that Job has right on his side, God gives up . He admits that Job has been treated unfairly and he takes action designed to remedy the injustice: Justice is a Value, not an Algorithm! So back to Bots. As with Beauty, if a Bot can reach this same conclusion (God’s) on its own, not relying solely on its programming or on our inputs, then that Bot may claim to be conscious...and I’ll support that claim. And if not…well, then it is just a very expensive, albeit very useful, hunk of inanimate, unconscious silicon. Stay tuned! Keep the conversation going! 1. Click here to comment on this TWS. 2. To subscribe (at no cost) to TWS and ATM, follow this link . 3. We encourage new articles and reprints from freelance writers ; click here to view out Writers’ Specs. 4. Aletheia Today Magazine (ATM) will be devoting its entire fall issue (released 9/1/23) to artificial intelligence (AI). What are the philosophical, theological, cultural and even spiritual implications of AI powered world? If you’d like to contribute to the AI Issue, click here . Previous Share Next Do you like what you just read and want to read more Thoughts? Subscribe today for free! Thoughts While Shaving - the official blog of Aletheia Today Magazine. Click here.

< Back Got Money? David Cowles May 20, 2026 “The main reason that people who don’t have money don’t have money is that they don’t have money.” Recently, I retired from a job that had occupied my attention for a mere 45 years. It was the worst of jobs, it was the best of jobs, but thank God, it paid well. I was able to provide my family with material advantages intended to make up for the lack of a fully engaged spouse or parent. Since I retired, I have made more money each year than I ever did working! It’s called investing. Now, of course, we happen to be living in a charmed era, investment-wise. You’d have to be a pretty poor money manager not to have made gains over the last 10 years. However, I now suffer from the conviction, possibly delusional, that I could have made money in less advantageous periods as well. There’s precedent. In early 1970’s Boston, two friends of mine purchased a six family residential structure now valued at $6,000,000. Cost: $10,000. I myself had an opportunity to buy a popular neighborhood bar…for $10,000. Or I could have bought a working farm in Maritime Canada…again, $10,000. It gets worse. In both ventures I would have had partners so I would not have needed the full 10k…but I did need a seemingly unattainable 1k just to be included in the conversation. No joy! In those days, George McGovern was running for President on a platform that included a $1,000 minimum annual income for all Americans. No need to ask what I was doing on election day! Like Jacob in the Old Testament, I had to work - in his case for 14 years, in my case for 45 years - just to create the capital we lacked at the beginning of our careers. Did someone say ‘Wage Slaves’? Both Jacob and I (several orders of magnitude below) went on to live economically comfortable lives. But at what cost? Arguably, I worked 45 years to get to where I could have been Day One if I’d had $10,000 in my sock drawer. (Burglars take note, I will be moving my money later today.) In every economic epoch, the generation of wealth relies on the same three sources: Inspiration (innovation, imagination, ingenuity), Perspiration (labor), and Capital (money, land). Inspiration derives its economic value from its future utility, Perspiration from our present exertions, Capital from wealth created in the past, conserved, and now unlocked. In every era, all three sources necessarily contribute to the generation of wealth, but in proportions that vary depending on the means of production characteristic of the epoch. Likewise, all three sources share in the fruits of economic activity but not necessarily in proportion to their actual contributions. The relationship between contributions made and rewards received is called Political Economy . The disparity between the two is called Alienation . Examples : Much of the wealth generated in the ante-bellum American South was attributable to Labor (slavery) but that wealth was routed primarily to the holders of Capital (plantation owners). The Industrial Revolution substituted the factory (wage slavery) for the plantation. Marxists proposed to invert the distribution of rewards between capital and labor. Fatally, they failed to acknowledge the crucial role played by Inspiration and so failed to reward those contributors appropriately. Hyper-materialism turned out to be Marx’s Achilles Heal. Happily, the Industrial Revolution is behind us… along with the Enlightenment philosophy that grounded it. We are now in the third stage of the Cyber Revolution: (1) Computerization (PC and the smart phone). (2) Socialization (internet, the web, and social media). (3) Artificial Intelligence (the democratization of information and agency). The Cyber Age age puts a premium on Innovation and rewards it accordingly. Capital remains essential to meet infrastructure demands so stock market returns are healthy. The odd person out, as usual, is Labor. In a world where much of what we have traditionally thought of as work can be automated with gains in both quality and efficiency, grunt work has become the least important leg of the economic tripod. We’ve come a long way from Tara and the assembly line. We are truly in the process of turning the economic paradigm on its head. For millennia Labor has been over-exploited and under-rewarded. Now that must change! As Labor becomes less essential, and solidarity more so, compensation must exceed contribution. At least since the Middle Ages, Labor has played a disproportionately important role in wealth creation – a role that has been systematically under-rewarded. In order to sustain productivity, it was necessary to embed non-economic, quasi-economic, and meta-economic memes into our culture; for example: He (sic) who works, eats. Work earns respect; idleness…contempt. We have a moral obligation to contribute to the commonweal. Work provides an opportunity for us to express our creativity. Work ennobles the spirit. The Intellectual History of the late 19 th century can be understood as a contest between Marx and his foil, Pope Leo XIII. Interestingly, both agreed on the primacy of human labor on the spectrum of social goods. We can no longer afford such ideological illusions. Yes, ‘work’ will continue to be a necessary part of life for the foreseeable future…but not 100,000 hours of work in a lifetime. Technology allows us to leverage our efforts to generate much greater productivity in many fewer hours. The character of work will need to change; emphasis must now be on the 3 C’s: Creativity, Craft, and Care. We’ll need to find new ways to distribute societal wealth, ways that are not hog-tied to Labor. At this early stage, it would be a mistake to hyperfocus on any single solution. We are in the ‘let a thousand flowers bloom’ stage; but several ideas have already surfaced: A 30 hour work week (40 hours pay) Sabbatical years (at full salary) A minimum annual income, not tied to Labor, for all legal residents These are worth exploring. But we should also be considering a more fundamental reorientation; for example: (1) A national bank created specifically to provide no interest, low verification, micro capital investments to budding entrepreneurs, perhaps piggy-backing on the current student loan infrastructure or using blockchain to create a secure, anonymized, decentralized application and distribution network. If I can borrow public money to pay for college, why not for alternative skills training or to finance my own start-up? The main reason that people who don’t have money don’t have money is that they don’t have money. We can fix that! (2) A sovereign wealth fund that invests in bleeding edge technology and vests every legal resident with an equal share over time. This fund would supplement existing public and private retirement plans (e.g. social security, pensions) but without any tie to employment. (3) A pre-K through 12 educational system, finally liberated from the need to train children to be ‘productive’ members of the workforce, now dedicated to stimulating curiosity, promoting creativity, and empowering problem solving. I envision a blizzard of public and private school alternatives offering a variety of foci, loci, teaching styles, even languages of instruction. When it comes to curriculum, N=1. (4) A pervasive recognition that we prosper not at the expense of our neighbor (class war), but in solidarity (community). The grandfather of Western Philosophy, Anaximander Hot Link (6 th century BCE), taught that ‘actual entities’ come to be when 2 or more ‘potential entities’, freely and without expectation of reciprocation, grant each other ‘reck’ ( chreon ), i.e. ‘what’s due them’ or ‘what they need’, e.g. respect, the space to become all that they can be, agape (love), shalom (peace). They template one another and the potential becomes actual in the process. I am (self) only because ‘you’ (other) are! I am in the context of you, the ‘other’. This concept resurfaces in the New Testament, primarily in the writings of Paul and John, as koinonia (communion). The 1 st Letter of John is particularly explicit: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have koinonia (communion, fellowship) with one another…” (1: 7) Again ‘light’ suggests reflection: if we walk together in the same light, we reflect one another, we template. In this way the early Christian church recaptured the primacy of mutuality that inspired Western philosophy prior to the Platonic catastrophe. Fast forward another 1500+ years and we rediscover the ontology of mutuality in Hasidic Judaism and later still in the 20 th century existentialism of Martin Buber. The emphasis on mutuality in the ontologies of Anaximander, Jesus, the Baal Shem Tov and Buber ran counter to the cultural norms of their day: slavery, imperialism, serfdom, laissez-faire capitalism, nationalism, and even fascism. Regardless, mutuality remained a moral imperative for those who recognized it. But ‘the times that are a-changing’ (Dylan): figuratively speaking at least, we are at ‘the dawning of the Age of Aquarius ’ ( Hair ). It is not for nothing that Pisces , the fish, is an important symbol in the New Testament. Fish represent wealth and the abundance of nature, but abundance that can often be unlocked only at the expense of backbreaking, alienated, labor. How naïve am I to suggest that we may finally be entering an era when ethics and economics harmonize! And yet… Mutuality, the key to the Good Life, indeed the key to life itself, promises to unlock prosperity for the entire planet, if only our ancient idolatries (race, class, caste, etc.) don’t get in the way. Previous Share Next Do you like what you just read and want to read more Thoughts? Subscribe today for free! Thoughts While Shaving - the official blog of Aletheia Today Magazine. Click here.

< Back Robin Hood David Cowles Apr 27, 2023 “Could it be that Robin’s Merry Men are really 'Mary' Men, devoted, like their leader, to the cult of the Blessed Virgin?” Issue #8 of Aletheia Today Magazine (ATM 4/15/23) included an article on May Day . We tracked the evolution of this celebration across eras, cultures, academic disciplines, and religious traditions. Amid these disparate expressions, May Day celebrations share one thing in common: they all recognize and reinforce a necessary connection between prosperity (natural law) on one hand and economic justice (human law) on another. Incredibly, these highly varied expressions are embodied in the story of a single man: Robin Hood! Robin is one of those rare but crucial figures who explicitly bridge history and legend. It is highly likely that the story of Robin Hood began as the story of a real life, flesh and blood individual. We just can’t say which individual. Several potential ‘Robins’ have been identified in the record, but we cannot be certain which of them, if any, was the actual ‘Hood.’ (Are they history’s version of Saddam Husein’s ‘stunt doubles’?) Here’s what we can claim to know about Robin with a reasonable degree of confidence: He lived in a forest near Nottingham with a man called ‘Little John.’ He was fiercely religious, devoted to the celebration of Mass and especially to the cult of the Virgin Mary. He and Little John were joined in the forest by a gang of so-called Merry Men . He strenuously opposed both secular authority and church hierarchy. He was faithful to his version of Natural Law, summarized by his signature meme: Rob the rich to give to the poor . Based on the near unanimous testimony of the earliest source material, these aspects of Robin’s story would seem to meet the test of historical truth. Nonetheless, for our purposes, it matters not whether these things are true as ‘history,’ just as long as they are true as ‘mythology.’ So, how do these meager biographical details connect Robin Hood to May Day? The forest location is the first clue. Forests and even individual trees were divine according to the cosmology of the Celtic Druids, early practitioners of Natural Law. Robin attended Mass several times each day, all while hiding to avoid the Sherriff’s posse. With Robin, the grove has its altar! (Ezra Pound) Robin ignores the contingent laws of church and state and instead follows the necessary precepts of Natural Law. Tradition links Robin Hood with the ‘Maypole,’ a single, vertical tree ( Yggdrasil? ) or trunk, decorated and dedicated (today at least) to the Virgin Mary. The maypole is variously understood as a symbol of fertility ( phallus ), the axis mundi , and omphalos , the umbilical cord of the universe. The maypole symbolizes the connection of heaven and earth; it represents a bridge between the transcendent and the immanent, a major May Day theme. A slightly later tradition introduces a ‘love interest’ for Robin, the beautiful Maid Marian. This apparently innocent romantic embellishment is in many ways the key to the whole story. In traditional May Day lore (e.g., late 13 th century France), Maid Marian was a shepherdess who was also “Queen of the May” (a title now reserved for Mary, the Mother of God); but Marian did not become part of the Robin Hood legend in England until the 16th century. So, who is Robin’s Marian, really? Texts suggest an alternate spelling of her name: ‘Marion,’ a derivative of ‘Mary.’ Is it possible that ‘Maid Marian’ and ‘Mary, the mother of Jesus,’ are one and the same person? Is it possible that Robin’s love affair with Marian is mystical rather than romantic? This also may shed light on another mystery, Robin’s Merry Men . What makes a bunch of outlaws, hiding in the forest for fear of the Sherriff, living off the land and facing almost certain execution if caught, so darn merry ? Could it be that Robin’s Merry Men are really Mary Men , devoted, like their leader, to the cult of the Blessed Virgin? Then where does she fit into the May Day puzzle? Consider her signature New Testament speech ( Luke 1: 46 – 52), her Magnificat : “He (YHWH) has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things but the rich he has sent away empty.” Is this not a paradigmatic statement of the May Day spirit? Could it be that the story of Robin Hood represents the application of Mary’s eschatological vision to the realm of concrete social action? Is ‘Robin Hood’ the translation of Magnificat into Manifesto? Keep the conversation going! 1. Click here to comment on this TWS. 2. To subscribe (at no cost) to TWS and ATM, follow this link . 3. We encourage new articles and reprints from freelance writers ; click here to view out Writers’ Specs. 4. Aletheia Today Magazine (ATM) will be devoting its entire fall issue (released 9/1/23) to artificial intelligence (AI). What are the philosophical, theological, cultural and even spiritual implications of AI powered world? If you’d like to contribute to the AI Issue, click here . Previous Share Next Do you like what you just read and want to read more Thoughts? Subscribe today for free! Thoughts While Shaving - the official blog of Aletheia Today Magazine. Click here.

< Back God, Christians, and… Aliens David P. Bugay Feb 5, 2026 Exploring the Edges of Faith with an Inquiring Mind 1500 words, 7 minute read (This post is contributed by David Bugay, PhD, an author, professor, and ordained minister devoted to equipping people to live with purpose, integrity, and faith.) If any group is philosophically prepared to consider the possibility of non-human intelligences, it may well be Christians. At first glance, this seems counterintuitive, as discussions about aliens and extraterrestrial life are frequently presented as challenges to belief in God, implying that faith and a populated universe were mutually exclusive. However, when we look more closely at Christian theology, a surprising realization emerges: Christianity has always affirmed a reality filled with intelligences beyond humanity—long before science gave them new names. At the foundation of Christianity stands belief in God as the most extraordinary Being conceivable. God is not merely stronger or intelligent than humanity; rather, God is understood as the source of all existence itself. Christians readily acknowledge that the fullness of God’s nature lies beyond human comprehension. Scripture does not attempt to tame this mystery; instead, it invites believers to live within it. That invitation quietly prepares Christians for a universe far stranger, richer, and more populated than everyday experience suggests. A Reality Beyond the Human First, Christianity insists that God is not human. While Christians believe God entered history in the person of Jesus Christ, this act was not because God was limited or confined, but rather because humanity required redemption and reconciliation. The incarnation represents divine accommodation with God stepping into human experience so that we might come to know Him. Jesus taught that “God is Spirit” and repeatedly emphasized that God’s ways and thoughts transcend human thoughts and experiences. From the very beginning, Christian faith affirms that reality extends far beyond what can be seen, touched, or measured. Second, God’s capacities defy all human limitations. Christians believe that God hears the prayers, fears, gratitude, and cries of billions of individuals while simultaneously sustaining the cosmos each moment. This form of intelligence is not bound by space, time, or physical constraint. It is a vision of consciousness operating on a scale that dwarfs anything in human experience. Non-Human Intelligences in Scripture Scriptures describe encounters between humanity and non-human intelligences. One of the most debated passages is found in Genesis 6, where Scripture refers to mysterious beings called the “sons of God.” These beings interact with humanity, and their influence is portrayed as deeply corrupting, contributing to violence and moral collapse. The text speaks of “giants” and “men of renown,” figures who loom large in both physical presence and cultural memory. Historically, many scholars have believed these beings to be fallen angels—spiritual intelligences in rebellion against God, who seek to distort creation and undermine God’s redemptive purposes. Others interpret the passage symbolically or theologically. Regardless of interpretation, the text undeniably presents the idea that powerful, non-human beings once interacted directly with human civilization, with catastrophic consequences. Within this framework, humanity alone stands under the promise of redemption first articulated in Genesis 3:15. Here we see the promise of our future redeemer crushing Satan’s head and Satan bruising His heel. These other worldly beings are not described as its recipients. The narrative suggests a violation of God’s created order, resulting in beings that do not reflect His design or intention. The flood, as judgment, marks a decisive reset—an act of preservation as much as punishment. What It Means to Be Human Christian anthropology further broadens this already expansive worldview. According to Scripture, humans are created in the image of God—not physically, but in nature. Humans are not merely biological organisms. They are embodied souls, possessing mind, will, and emotions. Within the soul resides the human spirit—the dimension of being capable of communion with God. Christians believe that at death, the body ceases, but the soul and spirit continue in the presence of God. This transition occurs beyond human observation and scientific instrumentation, yet it is affirmed as real, conscious, and meaningful. In other words, Christians believe in personal existence beyond the physical body and that challenges strictly material explanations of reality. A Populated Invisible World Christian theology affirms the ongoing presence of invisible intelligences in the contemporary world. Angels are described as non-human beings created to fulfill God’s purposes including guiding, protecting, or intervening in human affairs. Conversely, Scripture speaks of malevolent spiritual entities, commonly referred to as demons, whose objectives include deception, corruption, and destruction when permitted. These beings are not visible to the human eye, yet Christians maintain that their influence is both real and consequential. Even more striking, Christians believe that the boundary between the living and the dead is not absolute. Scripture describes believers as being “surrounded by a cloud of witnesses,” referring to those who have gone before them in faith. Some Christian traditions describe this as the Communion of Saints. While often expressed in general or poetic terms, this belief affirms a conscious, populated reality beyond the physical world. A Vast and Abundant Creation This theological perspective exists with Christianity’s awe-filled vision of creation itself. The universe contains trillions of stars organized in galaxies stretching beyond human comprehension. Christians interpret this vastness as the visible handiwork of God—a testimony to divine creativity and abundance. The night sky is not seen as empty space; it is viewed as a canvas proclaiming generosity rather than scarcity. This leads to an uncomfortable but unavoidable question: Is it reasonable to believe that God created all of this solely for one small planet and one species? Humanity has a well-documented tendency toward self-centeredness, instinctively placing itself at the center of existence. Yet the immense scale of the universe challenges this assumption. “If God created such immense cosmic real estate, vastness itself may be part of His signature.” Faith and the Possibility of Extraterrestrial Life Christians already affirm the existence of intelligent, non-human beings. God, Angels, and demons are all believed to be not human entities. Even humans, according to Christian doctrine, are not solely material; they are supernatural, destined for continued existence beyond physical death. If this is already accepted, then the possibility of additional created intelligences elsewhere in the universe should not be surprising. Contemporary science often speaks of other dimensions or planes of existence when addressing realities beyond direct observation. Christianity has spoken of this concept for millennia. The deeper challenge may not concern the existence of extraterrestrial life, but rather our willingness to accept that reality is far larger and more populated than our senses allow us to perceive. Surveys indicate that a strong majority of scientists believe life exists elsewhere in the universe, and an increasing number of Christians share this belief. Many prominent Christian leaders and institutions have publicly stated that extraterrestrial life would not contradict Christian faith. The relative silence on the topic within churches may reflect discomfort or simple habit rather than theological impossibility. Questions at the Edge of Faith If humanity were ever to encounter intelligent life beyond Earth, profound theological questions would follow. First, it would be necessary to consider whether such beings are “human” in the theological sense—not in physical form, but in being made in the image of God and possessing body, soul, and spirit. Or might they resemble the disruptive entities described in Genesis 6, seeking to circumvent God’s purposes? If so, how would the people of Earth know without interaction with these beings? Would we have to explore their perspectives of the universe itself and of God? Second, how would God relate to such beings? Are we the only ones where God Himself visited through His Son or, would God have multiple incarnations of Himself with other forms of life? Is Earth the only place where God in the flesh has made an appearance? If so, there is a far broader mission in sharing Christ with others, maybe beyond the bounds of this world. Third, would such beings need to hear the Gospel from humans, or would God have already revealed Himself to them in ways appropriate to their nature? Might they possess their own testimony of God’s Word, suited to their unique world and history? Nothing to Fear Ultimately, the central issue is trust. If God is with us, there is little reason for fear. Christian faith has always demanded humility before mystery, courage in the face of the unknown, and hope beyond sight. Should the universe contain intelligences which challenge all human imagination, then it would also provide opportunities to witness anew the depth, creativity, and sovereignty of God. In that sense, Christians may be well prepared to encounter the unknown—whether in this life or beyond. They already worship a God who exceeds every conceivable boundary. Previous Share Next Do you like what you just read and want to read more Thoughts? Subscribe today for free! Thoughts While Shaving - the official blog of Aletheia Today Magazine. Click here.

“But deliver us from evil,” this last verse is the key to entire prayer. < Back St. Paul’s Lord’s Prayer David Cowles Oct 15, 2022 “But deliver us from evil,” this last verse is the key to entire prayer. “Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.” In his First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul wrote, “So, three things remain: faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13), (Read ATM's "Faith, Hope, Love" here. ) but what does that have to do with the Lord’s Prayer? Although the Lord’s Prayer is very short, it nonetheless has a lot of structure. It divides into 4 couplets. The opening is concerned with the first of Paul’s last things, faith: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name… The first tenet of Christian faith is that God exists and that he is benevolent, as a father would be benevolent. The first line of the prayer states that clearly. However, God is not apparent n the phenomenal world, at least not immediately. The ‘phenomenal world’ is the world of time and space and qualities. It is what Parmenides called, Doxa , the realm of appearance. This is the world we inhabit and the only world we know, at least the only world we know or can know by direct experience. Stephen Hawking pointed out, experience can only occur in the context of time (and entropy, possibly just another name for time). Therefore, we can only have direct knowledge of the phenomenal world. God is in ‘heaven,’ i.e., the noumenal realm, corresponding to Parmenides’ Aletheia , the realm of truth. The noumenal world exists outside of space and time; it is eternal. The second tenet of Christian faith is that what you see is not all that you get. Finally, God’s name is ‘holy.’ It may have already struck you that Scripture is inordinately concerned with names (e.g., Exodus 3). This is because in ancient times, your name was not just your ‘handle’; your name defined your relationship with the rest of the world. It was the first derivative of who you were . Because God’s name is holy, it is unique, as his relationship with the world is unique. God is not just an entity among entities; God is special. This is the third tenet of Christian faith: “I believe in one God…” The first stanza is an affirmation of the existence and nature of God, and it is an exquisite expression of faith. The second stanza of the Lord’s Prayer concerns the second of Paul’s second so-called ‘theological virtues:’ hope. Hope is also rooted in the noumenal world. Only a child is satisfied with the hopes of a phenomenal nature (e.g., Santa Claus). As adults, we understand that the phenomenal world is bound to disappoint. True hope must be noumenal; we must hope for something lasting, something eternal in fact, and this is something that can only be found in the noumenal realm. And that is exactly what the Lord’s Prayer gives us next: Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven… Christian hope is hope that the noumenal world, God’s kingdom, will somehow merge with the phenomenal world so that God’s will may be preeminent in both. In that way, the noumenal world ‘redeems’ the phenomenal world. What is the fleeting in the temporal world is ‘saved’ in the noumenal realm. This second stanza is both an affirmation and a prayer. We pray that somehow the noumenal and phenomenal realms may merge so that “God may be all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28b). It bridges ‘the kingdom already’ with ‘the kingdom not yet.’ Of course, in our modern age, many intellectuals (e.g., empiricists, realists, materialists) and everyday citizens believe that the phenomenal world is all there is. They do not believe that there is a noumenal world underpinning it; and there is nothing anyone can do or say to prove them wrong because we can have no direct experience of the noumenal world. For that reason, we say that the reality of the noumenal realm is a matter of faith and hope. The first two stanzas of the Lord’s Prayer define that noumenal world. The third stanza is concerned with ‘love,’ the third of Paul’s virtues and the ‘greatest.’ Unlike faith and hope, love is rooted in the phenomenal world. Love concerns relationships between entities (phenomena). It has an emotional (‘conceptual’) component and a behavioral (‘physical’) component. Unlike faith and hope, all of us have directly experienced love to one extent or another; there is no serious doubt that it exists. Why does Paul say that love is the ‘greatest’ of the theological virtues? God created the world with the capacity for good. But if it were not for love, that creation would have been still born. Love is what sustains the world. Without love, new entities could not come into being. God loves the phenomenal world through the entities that make it up. God has created the phenomenal world to support love between those entities. God has placed the capacity for love into the fundamental structure of the phenomenal world. Love is all around you. But that is not enough. Entities must, of their own free accord, allow themselves to love and be loved. Love begins when entities see past their apparent self-interest and see the world through each other’s eyes. Love matures when two entities are willing to suppress their apparent self-interest in order to meet each other’s needs. Love is consummated when both entities realize that their own self-interest is ultimately best served when the self-interest of others is met. This is the foundation of relationship per se and of community. So, why is love the most important of the theological virtues? First, while we rightly trace the origin of the phenomenal world to the noumenal realm, without love between entities, the phenomenal world could not sustain itself. Love in the phenomenal world is the continuing expression of God’s creative act. Second, without love between entities in the phenomenal realm, the hope that the noumenal and phenomenal worlds might somehow merge (above) would be in vain. Love is the bridge between the phenomenal and the noumenal, the initial realization of the noumenal in the phenomenal. Consider the Great Commandment, found in several places in both the New and Old Testaments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matt. 22: 34-40) Our love of God is directed toward the noumenal world. It is a fitting companion of faith and hope. We have faith in the existence and nature of God. We hope that the fleeting entities that constitute the phenomenal realm will somehow be saved in the noumenon. And we love God, who is the object of our faith and hope. In fact, it is our love of God that reveals seals our faith and hope. Only if they are sincerely held can faith and hope inspire love. That same love, initially directed toward the noumenal realm, also operates in the phenomenal realm. The love that we direct toward God in the noumenal realm is the same love that we exchange with other entities in the phenomenal realm. Further, love only occurs in the phenomenal realm when you love another entity ‘as yourself.’ You accept the other as your ontological equal in every way. You place the welfare of the other on the same level as your own. You even see yourself in the other. ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Even more surprising, the Great Commandment tells us that loving our neighbors as ourselves is the same thing as loving God with all our heart. Love of neighbor in the phenomenal realm is love of God in the noumenal realm. In fact, love between us is a foretaste of love in the ‘kingdom come,’ the merging of the noumenal and phenomenal realms. When we love our neighbors as ourselves, God’s will is done on earth…as it is in heaven. That is why the Great Commandment is one commandment, not two! One commandment, two expressions – a noumenal expression and a phenomenal expression; but to quote Bob Marley, it’s “one love." The Lord’s Prayer presents faith and hope in a clear and succinct manner; it says just exactly what we would expect it would say, only it says it much better than we could have said it. The exposition of love, on the other hand, is unexpected and rather arcane. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, “Give us this day our daily bread.” We are not expecting God to feed us directly (as with mana ). What we are affirming is that God created a world capable of meeting the physical needs of all its creatures. (That it systematically fails to do so is a function of sin: greed, cruelty, apathy, etc.) God created the universe to be free, but with a fundamental structural bias toward ‘The Good.’ That bias manifests God’s love for the world and for the ‘creatures’ that constitute it. We are accustomed to asking God for forgiveness; but the Lord’s Prayer tells a different story. Forgiveness takes place, at least initially, in the phenomenal realm. We are called upon to forgive those who trespass against us and when we do, that is when we experience forgiveness: It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. (Prayer of St. Francis) In essence, we forgive ourselves by forgiving others and when we forgive ourselves, God forgives us. Forgiveness in the phenomenal realm translates into forgiveness in the noumenal world: Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven . (Mt. 16: 19) Forgiveness is one of the many ‘middle voice’ concepts at Christianity’s core. With forgiveness, there is no subject or object. The one who forgives is the one who is forgiven. Forgiveness is reflexive and recursive. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.” “And lead us not into temptation,” is probably the most difficult line in the entire prayer. It suggests that God could, if he chose, induce us to sin; but, of course, that is radically impossible because God is all good and incapable of evil. God created this world to be free; if we yield to temptation (sin), we yield of our own free will. The devil didn’t make you do it; the dog didn’t eat your homework. You did! Paradoxically, at the moment we give in to temptation, we surrender a piece of our freedom as well. We consent to be ‘enslaved.’ So, how are we to understand this verse? We need the context provided by the final line of the prayer: “But deliver us from evil.” In fact, this last verse is the key to the entire prayer. To understand it, we need to make a quick detour by way of St. Augustine. God is good. God is denotatively (not connotatively) synonymous with Good. God is also being. God is also denotatively (not connotatively) synonymous with Being. Therefore, Good is denotatively (not connotatively) synonymous with Being. This is a long-winded way of saying that everything in the world God created, everything that has being, to the extent that it has being, is good; and everything that is good, to the extent the extent that it is good, has being. So, why don’t we experience the world this way? Because given the freedom to make their own choices, the world and the entities in it don’t always choose ‘good.’ Temptation is the lure to choose something other than the good, and when entities choose something other than the good, they surrender a bit of their being (as well as their freedom). They make themselves a little less than they otherwise were. So, just as love is the foretaste of the Kingdom of Heaven, so sin is the foretaste of death; it is the gradual annihilation of phenomenal being. As Augustine taught, evil is simply a privation of Good, a privation of Being. Therefore, the idea of a totally evil being (‘Evil’) is apparently an oxymoron. Such a being, by definition, could not exist because only things that are at least to some extent ‘good’ can ‘be.’ Even the worst of us must have a spark of good somewhere, however well concealed it may be. Nevertheless, while there is no perfectly evil being, there is a perfectly evil process on the loose in the world. We know it on the personal level as ‘death’ and on the cosmic level as ‘entropy’. We all know that the one and only sure thing in our lives (besides taxes) is personal death. Likewise, the inexorably increasing entropy in our universe guarantees that that all order in that universe will eventually be wiped out, and when that happens the universe will cease to exist. We will revert to the way the world was before God said, “Let there be light”: “And the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters.” (Genesis 1: 2) In other words, pure disorder, chaos, the equivalent of non-being. Absent a noumenal dimension to reality, nothing remains of us when we die. It is as if everything we experienced, everything we felt, everything we thought, everything we learned, everything we accomplished was erased in an instant. Life is like an Etch-a-Sketch . People are fond of saying, “Well, at least he had a good life.” No, he didn’t. He had no life at all. It is as if he had never existed. Likewise, at ‘the end of time,’ the universe itself will vanish and everything that ever happened in that universe will be erased. No trace will remain. Time and space themselves will disappear. Once again, it will be as though the universe had never existed. So, if death doesn’t get you, entropy certainly will; either way it will be as if you never were, as if nothing ever was. The phenomenal realm, then, is not just a temporal realm, it is a temporary realm! Once it did not exist, once again it will not exist. That is not what ‘being’ is. Being, by definition, is imperishable. You can’t both ‘be’ and ‘not be’; even Hamlet understood that! You either are or you are not, period. In the phenomenal realm, things become and things decay; that is the nature of phenomena. But that is not what being is. Being is unchanged, regardless of the various ‘accidents’ that express it from time to time. Being (per Parmenides) is what is unchangeable about entities that are otherwise in the process of continuous change (Heraclitus). Hint : Nothing is unchangeable, save that it is! So, what is the evil from which we pray for God to deliver us? It is death, it is entropy. Now, we know that even saints die, and we don’t imagine that God will somehow reverse the process of entropy in the world, so what does this mean? God delivers us from evil by virtue of his noumenal nature. Everything that exists, exists both in the phenomenal realm and in the noumenal realm. Our phenomenal selves will vanish, as indeed will the whole phenomenal realm. Our noumenal selves, on the other hand, are eternal and can never perish. We ‘hope’ (see above) that our experiences in the phenomenal realm will be eternally preserved in the noumenal world. We hope that ‘we’ will be so preserved. David Cowles is the founder and editor-in-chief of Aletheia Today Magazine. He lives with his family in Massachusetts where he studies and writes about philosophy, science, theology, and scripture. He can be reached at david@aletheiatoday.com. Previous Next Share Do you like what you just read? Subscribe today and receive sneak previews of Aletheia Today Magazine articles before they're published. Plus, you'll receive our quick-read, biweekly blog, Thoughts While Shaving. Subscribe Thanks for subscribing! Click here. Return to Table of Contents, Winter 2023 Issue Return to Table of Contents, Holiday Issue Return to Table of Contents, Halloween Issue Return to Table of Contents, September Issue Return to Table of Contents, Beach Issue Return to the Table of Contents, June Issue

< Back Constitutional Theocracy David Cowles Mar 2, 2023 “Sadly, the option of a ‘Constitutional Theocracy’ hasn’t made it into most 21st century civics textbooks.” Democracy, Republic, Monarchy, Dictatorship – we’ve ‘known them all already, known them all’! Sadly, the option of a ‘Constitutional Theocracy’ hasn’t made it into most 21 st century civics textbooks. Yet, it offers a viable alternative to the ‘Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse’ (above). On February 21, 2023, we explored England’s resilient national identity . Contrary to popular assumption, the English monarchy did not begin with William the Conqueror (1066); but neither do we need to seek out the ‘once and future’ King Arthur. Anglo-Saxon England had a long line of kings (21 by most counts) stretching back from 1066 to Egbert (802 CE). Prior to uniting most of what is now Southern England and part of Wales, Egbert served in the French court of Charles the Great. Remember Charlemagne? He was on the front lines of the struggle between ecclesiastical and secular authority in Medieval Europe. Apparently, Egbert paid attention in class. According to the miserable standards set by today’s so-called ‘statemen’ (sic), the Anglo-Saxon (and Danish) kings of England were exceptional rulers. For the most part, they were learned, pious, effective, and benevolent. (When was the last time you used these adjectives together to describe a politician?) The 9 th century CE was book ended by two signature events – the Coronation of Charles the Great in 800 and the death of Alfred the Great in 899. These two men are in no small part responsible for what is often regarded by historians as the ‘First (or Carolingian) Renaissance’. Of the early English monarchs, Alfred is by far the best known…and for good reason. He reigned for 28 years (871 – 899) and was simultaneously a social reformer, an educator, a lawgiver, and a poet. In short, he was in every way what we think of today as the paradigmatic Medieval sovereign. Alfred is a real life, strictly historical, symbol of Anglo-Saxon England: King Arthur freed from Avalon! Alfred played a crucial role in the development of English national identity, an identity that survived both the Danish and the Norman conquests. Alfred was the first to describe himself as Angelcynn , a term meaning both ‘King of England’ and ‘People of England’. Alfred oversaw (and perhaps participated in) the translation of important manuscripts, including the Bible, from Latin into Anglo-Saxon (Old English). He ‘suggested’ that primary and secondary education be conducted in Anglo-Saxon, reserving Latin for those pursuing a career in the Church. As such, he ensured the survival and growth of the native tongue and, along with Geoffrey Chaucer 500 years later, is jointly credited with its survival in the face of linguistic incursions from the Continent. Alfred is perhaps best known for his compendium of Anglo-Saxon law, the Domboc , which situates secular England squarely in the mainstream of Judeo-Christian legal tradition. The Domboc begins with a modified restatement of the Decalogue (from Exodus ); but while acknowledging English secular law as the continuation and amplification of God’s law, Alfred feels free to modify the Exodus text as necessary to fit the exigencies of his realm. For example, he drops two commandments, the 6 th (vs. adultery) and the 10 th (vs. coveting a neighbor’s wife) altogether. For all his achievements, apparently Alfred was not woke ! He also modified the 9 th commandment against coveting a neighbor’s property by inserting a single phrase, mid unryhte (‘with injustice’) at the very end of the text. Perhaps unknowingly, Alfred was laying the legal groundwork for contract law…with a free market economy to follow: Covet all you want…within the bounds of justice. All of which left Alfred two commandments short of a Deca logue. (According to Variety , Charlton Heston turned down the role of Moses in The Eight Commandments . So Alfred had to do something !) To make up for this shortfall, Alfred split the First Commandment in two: “You will not love false gods over me” (#1) and “You will not create gods of gold or silver” (#10). Then, like many a well-meaning parent, Alfred slipped in a commandment against lying in general (#6) where none exists in the Exodus text. Ask any 4 th grade Religious Ed class whether the Ten Commandments forbid lying and count the forest of hands raised. (In fact, the Decalogue only prohibits bearing false witness against a neighbor…in other words, perjury. ‘The dog ate my homework’ is not perjury…unless you look at it from the pup’s perspective.) So to be clear, according to Alfred’s code, adultery is ok, but lying isn’t. How 20 th century of him! The remainder of Alfred’s code, the bulk of it, is what you might expect from the 9 th century: a long list of specific transgressions paired with specific punishments – a list of Dos and Don'ts like a parent might post on the dreaded refrigerator door. Depending on your point of view, Alfred is either a social reformer set on humanizing ‘barbaric’ customs (e.g., Lex Talionis ) or he is himself the ‘barbarian’, modifying but not outlawing slavery and discriminating among people according to their station. Either way, the Domboc is everywhere couched in the language of Exodus . That said, the Domboc is not so much a translation as it is a ‘transplantation’. It is the Torah (second millennium BCE) projected 2500 years out onto Medieval England. Accordingly, Alfred’s most lasting contribution may be in the realm of Political Philosophy. Amid a welter of competing models (above), he proposes something new, something that I call ‘Constitutional Theocracy’ (in contrast to the ‘Constitutional Monarchy’ of Charles III or the ‘ Absolute Monarchy’ of James I . In orthodox Islamic states (e.g., modern Iran), Sharia typically limits the legislative function to the implementation of the Koran . Alfred’s law code is steeped in Torah, but everywhere modified to reflect contemporary notions of justice and to incorporate the secular traditions of the Angelcynne (the English people). It is a codification of English common law, built on a foundation of God’s Torah, ergo a ‘Constitutional Theocracy’. Image: Alfred. The British Library (Public domain). Previous Share Next Do you like what you just read and want to read more Thoughts? Subscribe today for free! Thoughts While Shaving - the official blog of Aletheia Today Magazine. Click here.

“And so they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were filled with awe, while those who followed behind were afraid.” < Back Mark’s Diary – Notes for a Screenplay David Cowles Sep 1, 2024 “And so they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were filled with awe, while those who followed behind were afraid.” Narrator : (Quoting Isaiah) “Here is my messenger whom I send ahead, a voice crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare a way for the Lord; make straight his path’.” Direction : As the Narrator is reciting Isaiah, the words are captioned in white letters across a black screen. Scene #1 : John is baptizing pilgrims in the waters of the River Jordan. Jesus approaches and is baptized. Chorus (of 3): “This is my beloved son on whom my favor rests.” Scene #2 : Jesus is praying alone in the wilderness, wrestling with the temptations of Satan. Learning that John has been arrested, he enters Galilee, proclaiming the Good News to everyone, everywhere. Jesus : “The kingdom of God is at hand! Repent and believe the good news.” Scene #3 : As he walks along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus recruits his first apostles, Simon (Peter), Andrew, James, and John, fishermen and merchants from the local bourgeoisie. Jesus : “Come, I will make you fishers of men.” Scene #4 : On the Sabbath, Jesus enters the synagogue at Capernaum, the major city in the region, and teaches the rapt congregation with authority. (We don’t hear the specifics of the teaching.) As he is speaking, an obviously troubled man interrupts and exposes Jesus’ identity: Chorus : “I know who you are, holy one of God.” Jesus : “Silence! …Come out of him!” Direction : Jesus is piqued at the interruption and at the untimely disclosure and, knowing it to be the work of demons, Jesus cures the man just to silence him, but it’s too late. He’s created a stir! It’s early days but already, things are not going as smoothly as expected. Scene #5 : Jesus takes refuge in Simon’s house where he heals Simon’s mother-in-law as well as others from the town. Before dawn, Jesus slips out, hoping to pray alone, but Simon et al. soon follow. Scene #6 : Now Jesus and his tiny band roam the hills of Galilee, sticking mainly to byways and speaking only in rural villages. Along the way, Jesus meets and cures a leper, and swears him to silence. Jesus : “Show yourself only to the priest.” Narrator : “But the man went out and made the whole story public, until Jesus could no longer show himself in any town. He was forced to remain in deserted places, but the people continued to come.” Direction : The Gospel of Mark includes numerous instances of Jesus performing miracles, usually swearing his beneficiaries to silence that they often break. We have staged a few of these miracles but the Director should feel free to stage additional miracle stories from the Gospel as she sees fit. Scene #7 : Jesus and his disciples are walking through a corn field; it happens to be the Sabbath. The scene suggests Van Gogh’s Wheatfield with Crows . The apostles are picking, peeling and eating ears of corn. Chorus : “Why do they do what is forbidden on the Sabbath?” Jesus : “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. The Son of Man is sovereign, even over the Sabbath.” Narrator : “So the Pharisees began plotting against him with the partisans of King Herod to see how they could do away with him…Then Jesus went up into the hill country and called the men he wanted, and they joined him. In all, he appointed 12 to be his companions.” Scene #8 : As Jesus and his followers continued on their way, Jesus takes the opportunity to teach: Jesus : “Nothing is hidden unless it is to be disclosed, the measure you give is the measure you will receive…and more besides. The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed , the smallest of all seeds…Once sown, it grows taller than any other plant and forms branches so large that birds can settle in its shade.” Scene #9 , Narrator : “Once more, a crowd has gathered around Jesus so that he’s had no chance to eat. His family set out to take charge of him for people were saying that Jesus was out of his mind. When his mother and his brothers arrive, they remain outside and send a message into Jesus.” Chorus : “Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.” Direction : Jesus is mortified at being summoned home for supper as if he were a little child. Angry, he looks for an opportunity to regain lost dignity. Jesus : “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?... Whoever does the will of God is my brother, my sister, my mother.” Direction: But the damage has been done. Chorus : “Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? Are not his sisters here with us? Narrator: “So he could no longer work miracles there…he was taken aback by their lack of faith.” Jesus : Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake. Direction : Here for the first time a map of the region appears on the screen. As the film continues, the map reappears and Jesus’ movements are tracked. Map : Jesus travels across the Sea of Galilee from Bethsaida on the northern shore to the Decapolis, a group of 10 Greek speaking towns on the Southeastern shore. Scene #10 , Narrator : “As Jesus stepped ashore, a man possessed by demons, who cut himself with stones, came up to him.” Jesus : “Come out of this man!” Narrator : “Now there happened to be a large herd of pigs nearby. The demons went into the pigs and the herd rushed over the cliff, into the lake, and drowned, and the spectators begged Jesus to leave the area.” Scene #11 , Narrator : “So Jesus crossed back over to Gailee. Upon his arrival, Jairus, the leader of a local synagogue, approached him.” Jarius : “My little daughter is at death’s door. I beg you, ‘Come, lay hands on her, cure her, save her life’.” Jesus sets out but midway, messengers arrive. Chorus : “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Rabbi further?” Jesus : “Do not be afraid. Only have faith.” Narrator : “He allowed only Peter, James and John to accompany him to the leader’s house where there was a great commotion with loud crying and wailing.” Jesus : “Why this wailing? The child is not dead, she is asleep.” (Chorus laughs derisively.) “Get up my child,” and she rises. Scene #12 , Narrator : “They set off secretly by boat, searching for an isolated place. But when he came ashore, Jesus saw a great crowd.” Chorus : “This is a lonely place, and it is getting very late. Send the people off to the farms and villages to buy themselves something to eat.” Jesus : “Give them something to eat yourselves. How many loaves have you?” Chorus : “Five loaves, and two fish as well.” Narrator : “Jesus took the five loaves, looked up to heaven, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to the disciples to distribute. He also divided up the fish. Those who ate numbered 5,000 and they ate to their hearts’ content. 12 large baskets full of scraps were gathered up at the end. “Then Jesus left this place and went to the territory of Tyre.” Map : Jesus route to Lebanon (Tyre), 50 miles northeast, a 3 day journey at that time. “He found a house to stay in and would have liked to remain there unrecognized, but that was impossible. On his return, he went by way of Sidon and the Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee…” Map : Jesus’ route through Lebanon, Syria and Jordan is incredibly circuitous. He ends up back at the Sea of Galilee but now he is back on the Eastern Shore. Emphasis should be placed on how much distance Jesus keeps between himself and his native Galilee. Scene #13 , Narrator : “…There Jesus fed another 4,000 pilgrims with 7 loaves and several fish; this time 7 baskets of scraps were collected.” Direction : The disciples are murmuring among themselves. They appear bewildered. Jesus : “Do you still not understand? Are your minds closed? When I broke the 5 loaves among the 5000, how many baskets full of scraps did you gather?” Chorus : “Twelve.” Direction : Here the map can morph or flip into a blackboard/whiteboard. As the Narrator speaks, the following image gradually appears on the screen: ‘5 loaves/5000 people →12 baskets’ Jesus : “And how many when I broke the 7 loaves among the 4,000? Chorus : “Seven.” ‘7 loaves/4000 people → 7 baskets’ Jesus (exasperated): “Do you still not understand?” Direction: Tensions are clearly on the rise. Jesus is testy, the disciples are squabbling among themselves, and everyone is growing restless. Chorus : “We have left everything to become your followers.” Jesus : “There is no one who has given up home, brothers or sisters, mother, father, children or land for my sake who will not receive 100 times as much… and eternal life.” Direction: But like Washington at Valley Forge, Jesus realizes he can wait no longer. He must act…or risk losing his followers. It’s now…or never! Jesus : “Now we are going to Jerusalem where the Son of Man will be given up to the chief priests and the doctors of the law. They will condemn him to death and hand him over to the occupiers. He will be mocked, spat upon, flogged and killed; but three days later, he will rise again!” Narrator: “And so they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were filled with awe, while those who followed behind were afraid.” Director’s Note: This scene should be staged to suggest Kerouac’s On the Road , Ken Kesey’s ‘Merry Pranksters’, etc. As they proceed, crosses may barely be seen punctuating the far distant skyline. Curtain David Cowles is the founder and editor-in-chief of Aletheia Today Magazine. He lives with his family in Massachusetts where he studies and writes about philosophy, science, theology, and scripture. He can be reached at dtc@gc3incorporated.com Return to Table of Contents Share Previous Next Click here. Do you like what you just read? Subscribe today and receive sneak previews of Aletheia Today Magazine articles before they're published. Plus, you'll receive our quick-read, biweekly blog, Thoughts While Shaving. Subscribe Thanks for subscribing! Return to Table of Contents, Winter 2023 Issue Return to Table of Contents, Holiday Issue Return to Table of Contents, Halloween Issue Return to Table of Contents, Fall Issue Return to Table of Contents, Beach Issue Return to Table of Contents, June Issue

< Back The Myth of the Maze David Cowles Sep 3, 2024 “Have you ever found yourself in a small, brightly lit room?” It’s something out of science fiction…or a primetime network cop show. You’ve just awakened, but not in your comfortable bed in your familiar bedroom. Today, you find yourself naked in a small, brightly lit room…and then you notice: your memories have been wiped. Well, partially wiped: you have no ‘thetic’ memories, memories of who you are or what the world is like; but you’ve retained all your ‘non-thetic’ memories. If you could walk, talk, swim, or ride a bike, you still can. You may even be able to chew gum at the same time. But you can’t recite the alphabet, add a column of figures, or discuss the Fall of Rome. Bummer! Fortunately this room has a doorway that opens out onto a corridor. Instinctively, you begin to explore. One corridor leads to another and then to another. Corridors branch off from each other. You wander aimlessly, with no fixed direction. Soon you realize that there are other people in these corridors. They don’t threaten you; in fact, for the most part, they pretty much ignore you. Apparently, each person is pursuing a personal agenda – but what agenda? Exceptions prove the rule: every so often you meet someone who seems interested in you , who tries to engage with you. Should you trust these people? Or fear them? How should you respond? Then things start to get interesting. Up to now, it’s been just ‘another tequila Sunday’ (excuse me, a what?).The bare and empty corridors begin to fill-in. They are punctuated with ‘stations’: food stops, drink stops, stations with free VR headsets, music stations, movie stations, stations with video games, handball courts, etc. You’d be reminded of a casino complex in Vegas or luxury seating at an NFL event, if you knew what they were. You could get used to this! Time goes by. You’re comfortable…but perplexed. What is all this? What’s going on? Do these corridors lead anywhere? If so, where? And why? And who are these ‘other people’ anyway? Gradually, you build your ‘social map’. Each person you meet is unique. But they seem to cluster into 4 fairly distinct groups. You might think ‘middle school cliques’…if you had any idea what a ‘middle school’ was. One group is frantic; they’re fixated on one thing only: We’ve got to get out of this place…if it’s the last thing we ever do! (Where’d that come from?) “Where are they going?” you wonder. “What’s out there?” Another group seems in no hurry to leave; they just want to understand! What’s it all about, Alfie? (Who’s Alfie ?) Folks in the third group don’t seem to care where they’re going or why they’re here. They’re more than happy just to enjoy this world and all it has to offer. Why would anyone want to leave? Who cares what’s out there? Or why it’s there? Or why we’re here? Being here is a gift! Enjoy it, prolong it, be grateful for it. Our final group doesn’t seem to care about any of this. They are focused on each other. “How can I help? What can I do to make your time here better?” (Whatever ‘better’ is!) Like any prison, this one ‘encourages’ you to join one of the ‘gangs’; you probably don’t want to do your time here as a lone wolf. To survive, you’ll need to create an avatar…choose an identity…and then keep your head down! But which identity? What turns you on? What floats your boat? Are you motivated by accomplishment, by knowledge, by enjoyment, or by service? Who R U? Or better yet, who do you choose to be? Ok, it’s a nice fable. But what’s the point? I mean, have you ever found ‘yourself naked in a small, brightly lit room’? A room with ‘a doorway that opens out’ into a maze of unmarked corridors? Have you? If you did, who did you choose to be? Keep the conversation going. 1. Click here to comment on this TWS. 2. To subscribe (at no cost) to TWS and ATM, follow this link . 3. We encourage new articles and reprints from freelance writers ; click here to view out Writers’ Specs. Previous Share Next Do you like what you just read and want to read more Thoughts? Subscribe today for free! Thoughts While Shaving - the official blog of Aletheia Today Magazine. Click here.

Imagine a complete Theology (Judeo-Christian), Ethics (Pauline), and Cosmology (21 st century), condensed into just 50 words. Now imagine an army of out-of-work college professors and librarians. That is the Lord's Prayer. Time Crystals and the Lord's Prayer The Lord’s Prayer is a fractal: It consists of 3 stanzas, each in turn consisting of 3 verses, each verse self-similar to the other verses in its stanza, each stanza self-similar to the other stanzas in the prayer and to the prayer as a whole. Cosmologists today like to talk of the Universe as if it were a hologram (The Matrix). LP presents it just so! The Lord's Prayer Paul’s First Letter to Corinthians includes a well-articulated system of values, which upon analysis, turns out to be an elaboration of ethics embodied in LP:er for a crystal of time? What if I threw in Knicks tickets?” St. Paul's Lord's Prayer But before all else, LP is the cornerstone of a theological and spiritual tradition with roots in ancient Judaism and parallels in RCC tradition and Kabbalah. Kabbalah and the Lord's Prayer Folks often wonder why Jesus only taught his disciples one short prayer. Why? What more was there to say? The Our Father “This tiny prayer…is a cyber-wonks dream. The density of information content is out of this world, quite literally!” Readers React What's the buzz about? Our readers' reactions to Aletheia Today... Additional Reading Can't get enough of Aletheia Today's content? Check out the books that inspire our magazine.