Hi everyone,
With an influx of new readers lately, I thought I’d create an index of topics covered on Patient Kingdom thus far. We’re at about the 6-month mark of this writing project, and I’m feeling very grateful to all of you who have followed along, subscribed, shared, and supported my writing. Please share this post with anyone who might be interested. Thank you!
— Ross
Where To Begin
Intro To Patient Kingdom: Who am I? What am trying to do here? What do I mean by “patient kingdom”? (See also the podcast version below.)
“Christianity is not tourism. It is coming home. It is finding out the treasure, which you would sell everything to buy, is buried in your own backyard, and now is the time to dig it up.”
A Parish Manifesto: My most-read piece, about the future of the church in America. The original (longer) version was published over at Mere Orthodoxy.
“Strange as it may sound, I believe we are now living in a moment where outsiders might actually prefer to be asked to pick up their crosses rather than merely come as they are.”
Rediscovering The Wheel: Five baby steps toward a more embodied faith.
“In the New Testament, the word for “heal” and “save” are actually the same Greek word and tend to exist more on a spectrum than as two entirely separate ideas.”
The Best of 2023: Gives you an idea of the kinds of things I read and listen to.
The Spirit or the Kick Drum?: An intro to the problem of agency. From a Christian perspective, reality exists as stacked agencies with God at the top.
“How do I know what is God and what is not? Sometimes it can feel like God might be speaking, but I don’t want to be misled if it’s just my own thoughts or desires or some other outside influence…”
The Master Soil-Tiller: Sort of my magnum opus on how Jesus preached the gospel and saved the world. Hint: The secret lies in the Parable of the Sower.
“Jesus came to till the soil of our hearts, to play the long game with his disciples, not just giving them the truth, but making sure the truth he wanted them to receive could, in fact, go in. The kingdom of God is a patient kingdom.”
Modern Parables
Chess Against Your Dad: My very first post. A parable about playing chess with my dad, which went mini-viral. “You cannot beat your father in chess. It is impossible.”
The Sacred Square: A short story making sense of religious violence in the OT, which disturbs modern sensibilities (e.g. the stoning of the Sabbath-breaker in Numbers 15). “If nothing is sacred, then nothing is sacred.”
The Parable of the Fender Bender: A short story about a car accident, which illustrates the stacking nature of reality or what I call “Mixed Agency.” (from The Spirit or the Kick Drum?)
The Symbolism of Elf: “What has the North Pole got to do with Bethlehem?” I use the movie Elf as parable to explore the unexpected depth in our cultural Christmas. (from In Defense of the North Pole)
Christian Thought & Practice
On Why Christians Should Become Religious Again: Nobody likes the word “religion” these days. But it’s time for Christians to reclaim it. Salvation is participation in Christ. Everything else is just “Lord, Lord.”
“All healthy, sustainable relationships are ritualized. All lasting relationships are religious relationships.”
How To Pray: Just some thoughts on how to pray, from one amateur to another.
Why We Fast: Some thoughts on whether and how Christians should fast. (Originally published in Mere Orthodoxy; see also podcast version)
Why God Hides: “The Bible is the story of two seemingly opposite movements: atonement (covering) and apocalypse (uncovering).” Nothing is hidden except to be made manifest.
Why Jesus Spoke (& Acted) In Parables: So that people would un-understand. New wine cannot be held by old wineskins. Jesus came not only to bring us new wine but to make in us new wineskins. Why does Jesus hide? In order to be seen.
“Most likely the first game you ever played was peekaboo. Someone hid their face from you with their hands, and this simple act of hiding arrested your attention. It made your little eyes focus on something rather than on everything around you. (For, of course, to look at everything is the same as to see nothing at all.) And then, revelation. The hands part. Not despite the hiding but because of it, a face is revealed, a familiar face, but one which you now see and enjoy as if for the very first time. Through the simple act of hiding, you were given a new way to see.”
How Agency Works: An intro to the problem of agency. From a Christian perspective, reality exists as stacked agencies with God at the top. (from The Spirit or the Kick Drum)
“In the beginning, God did not create things. He created agents, that is, choosers/actors/governors. We may, of course, still speak of him as being ‘in control.’ But, at the same time, we must admit that God is the only playwright whose characters are actually real.”
How Divine Agency Doesn’t Work: Certain spirits may possess us. But the Holy Spirit will not. He will not supplant our will with his own. “He cannot ravish. He can only woo.” (CSL) (from Possessed by the Holy Spirit)
“[Christians] understand Love to be the foundation of reality…The way that God acts in the world is in a manner that never overwhelms our consciousness and experience at the level we exist, but rather works through that consciousness and agency.” — Jonathan Pageau
On Deconstruction: Knowing about is not the same as knowing. “The modern Christian dilemma is something like this: we are expert mechanics who have forgotten how to drive.” (from Intro to Patient Kingdom)
Ask And It Shall Be Given You: Prayer is about asking. As a Christian, you’ve already found the answer. The rest of your life is about asking the right question(s).
The Future of Our Churches: Reimagining the future of our evangelical churches in America. Shifting from a Joseph to a Moses movement. The original (longer) version, “A Parish Manifesto,” was published over at Mere Orthodoxy.
The Bible
How To Read The Bible: Not systematic. Just three quick tips on how to read the Bible, or at least, how I read it (from our monthly reading schedule).
How To Read Leviticus: Just what it sounds like. “Holiness, if truly followed, turns inside out at the margin and becomes a gateway to true inclusion.”
On Death by Holiness: In the Old Testament, the people of God find themselves lodged between two opposite threats of death: death by alienation (God-less exposure to the fallen world) & death by holiness (exposure to God himself). The latter threat is highly underestimated. (from Intellectual Sin)
On Census-Taking & Sabbath-Keeping: Considering deep OT symbolism by way of the Christmas story in the Luke.
On Religious Violence in the OT: Wrestling with the stoning of the Sabbath-breaker in Numbers 15. “If nothing is sacred, then nothing is sacred.”
4 Hot Takes on the Sermon on the Mount: An argument against the moral reading of the Sermon on the Mount. Christ is up to something deeper.
Paul vs. James On “Works”: A snapshot of a group chat on the very tricky issue of faith and works in the New Testament.
Hot Takes
On Intellectual Sin: “Not thinking well is a vice.” — Thomas Dixon (from the post Intellectual Sin)
On Unanswered Prayers: “If we were stronger, we might be less tenderly treated. If we were braver, we might be sent, with far less help, to defend far more desperate posts in the great battle.” — CSL (from the post Intellectual Sin)
On How Salvation Works: “The problem the gospel solves is not so much, ‘How can God find a way to love us, despite our sin?’ (He always has.) But rather, ‘How can God find a way for us to love him, despite our sin?’” (from the post Intellectual Sin)
On How Money Is A Trick: “If you don’t know it’s a trick, odds are, it’s tricking you right now. But if you know, to the extent that you know, then it slowly becomes a trick you can use.” (from the post Intellectual Sin)
On The Need For “Robin Hood Politics”: “Like small furry mammals running unnoticed beneath the feet of the tyrannosaurs, we can thus build our own little worlds on the margins and wait for the coming of the meteor, which we can already see coming in the very un-sustainability of technological modernity.” —Paul Kingsnorth (from the post Intellectual Sin)
On Affordable Housing: We don’t just need affordable (short-term) housing; we needs affordable (long-term) homes. Homes are more than mere commodities. We are underestimating their spiritual value. (from the post Intellectual Sin)
Narnia As Deep As LOTR?: Probably not. But this book by Lewis scholar Michael Ward made me almost believe it. (from the post Intellectual Sin)
On Christian Authenticity: Authenticity is not non-conformity, but the integration of proper true-to-selfness and proper conformity to outside. (from The Spirit or the Kick Drum?)
On Wives & Husbands: “When Paul says, ‘Wives, submit to your husbands,’ he is not saying, ‘Women, you are naturally submissive, so do what you naturally do.’ Nor is he telling husbands, ‘You are naturally trustworthy leaders, so go and lead.’ In fact, I believe he is saying something closer to the opposite.
4 Hot Takes on the Sermon on the Mount: An argument against the moral reading of the Sermon on the Mount. Christ is up to something deeper.
Spiritual Practices
SCRIPTURE: We share a common reading schedule, usually one passage from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament each day. Learn more: How To Read The Bible
PRAYER: We pray on our knees the first minute we get out of bed and the last minute before our head hits the pillow. Learn more: How To Pray
FASTING: Fasting makes space for God. We do it in different ways in different seasons (e.g. internet fast on Sundays; no meat or dairy on Fridays; special alms-giving in summer). Learn more: Why We Fast
CHURCH: Make a commitment to physically go and worship with other Christians at a local church every Sunday. Learn more: Losing Our Religion
AUTHORITY: Begin to ask God for a trustworthy pastor, priest, or spiritual leader. Then approach that person and give them authority in your life. Learn more: What Is A Priest?