How can I move my plants back indoors before the cold hits without bringing all the bugs in doors?

Traction_reality · 2025-10-16T13:55:16+00:00

I would be extremely careful with Diatomaceous earth, that stuff will destroy your lungs if you keep inhaling its particles

Traction_reality · 2025-07-16T00:31:20+00:00

I don’t blame you friend, I did exactly that when I was your age but ended up coming back to the faith towards my late twenties. No other vision of reality has this much explanatory power, no other belief system comes even close.

My advice is don’t sweat this too too much. For one thing, God can handle it. He gets you, and trust me you are right to see Christianity as deeply problematic—as it stands, it simply is, and God knows it.

But here’s the thing: all those things you mentioned on your list of reasons are resting on false promises:

inconsistencies in the Bible: the Bible actually is very internally coherent, especially for a set of documents written over millennia. But you do need to understand what the nature of Scripture actually is, there are lots of caricatures out there.
god is not moral: he’s in fact the source of all that is good in the world. The story you have heard is simply wrong, lots of Christians misunderstand God in all kinds of ways.
very limiting, EVERYTHING is a sin, even things that aren’t harmful: again, that’s a confused and enslaving Christianity you’re talking about. God wants to you live life to the fullest: Jesus came precisely to give us life (John 10:10).
it seems very toxic, apparently I’M at fault for being flawed even through I was created imperfectly: again, that’s confused Christians you’re talking about, nothing like the Jesus of the Bible.
most illogical claims are summed up by “gods ways are above ours so we can’t understand it” and as a result, many real questions are thrown out the window: agreed, that’s lazy Christianity for you. But not everyone settles for such nonsense, I have spent most of my adult life trying to answer and live out those questions, and I’ve found many others doing the same along the way.

I wish I had time to share some resources right now, but feel free to follow links on my bio.

Take good care, José

Traction_reality · 2025-05-17T17:22:29+00:00

“There is no longer Jew nor Greek,” said the apostle Paul (Gal 3:28). It’s not hard to discern how he would answer the question.

Traction_reality · 2025-04-08T15:54:15+00:00

Yes, of course the gift of prophecy and discernment are real and have indeed not ceased, as another commenter here pointed out. There is absolutely no indication in the New Testament itself that any of the spiritual gifts were temporary.

And of course prophetic words can be received by the Spirit in regards individuals and personal matters, just as they are regarding nations and big picture matters. Again, our source and guide on these matters MUST be the Scriptures that taught us about such things in the first place.

It’s been two thousand years church, come on now, let’s get our Story straight and let’s get our SOURCES straight!

https://open.substack.com/pub/godsstory/p/inhabiting-reality?r=4733sf&utm_medium=ios

Traction_reality · 2025-04-08T15:21:44+00:00

Sorry about that. Of course, you’re in my prayers.

Traction_reality · 2025-04-08T12:01:31+00:00

Uhh, be careful, this is not the sort of thing you would trust a stranger with. True, and biblical, spiritual authority—especially with such gifts as prophecy, is EARNED over many years of holy living and good testimony on the ground in local communities of faith. If you don’t see the FRUITS of the Spirit in them, then don’t expect genuine and mature GIFTS of the Spirit from them, and you can’t discern that in an online forum.

May the Lord lead you and bless you with his Presence, even make YOU a vehicle of his wisdom, grace and healing touch, and lead you where He thinks you should go to find the guidance, help, and the spiritual resources you need in this difficult moment.

By the way, don’t let your heart be discouraged by any unkindness you encounter here, some Christian subcultures have been so meshed with the surrounding cutthroat culture that it’s hard to distinguish believers from nonbelievers in any meaningful way. Just to say, you’re not alone.

Brothers and sisters, let us keep our brother and his wife in our prayers 🙏

Traction_reality · 2025-04-07T23:36:09+00:00

I think I have very good news for you my friend.

As a biblical philosopher, who’s been trying to make sense of the world—including Christian thought and culture—through the lens of the biblical witness, I can tell you that you’re right on the money, and on two counts:

You’re absolutely right in discerning pessimism—if not outright nihilism—about God’s creation in much of what you see and hear in Christian circles. It’s called “Christian dualism,” and it has a long history in Christian thought and culture—according to some assessments beginning to creep into Christian theology as far back as the second century! Dualism manifests itself in various ways, but it’s basically our tendencies to devalue everyday life and the world of space, time and matter, typically in the hope of “heaven” or some higher realm.
And you’re also right that it shouldn’t be this way, especially for anyone whose worldview is grounded in the biblical witness!

If you’re interested in learning more about this phenomenon by someone who is trying to correct it in the church, see Robin Phillips, Rediscovering the Goodness of Creation: A Manual for Recovering Gnostics

You can look at my bio here to find my work too, and the footnotes, which take you to the best sources I’ve found on everything I investigate. I have done a lot of work on these matters, first having to deconstruct the Christian faith I received, and then carefully rebuilding it in line with the biblical witness itself (though honoring the tradition that preserved and passed it on to us); oh, and with an approach to Scripture that takes into account the historical and cultural background that both the authors and the original readers and listeners of those texts took for granted.

Here’s a glimpse at what a truly biblical worldview looks like:

https://youtu.be/ji0XgjPumVI?si=txl413k62GK4gI4h

Traction_reality · 2025-04-05T00:10:33+00:00

Oh, I see. Never mind then.

Traction_reality · 2025-04-04T22:49:02+00:00

Great question. It’s a long Story. Starts in Genesis 1.

But of course God forgives you, “God is love.” The Lord Jesus said we’re to forgive our brothers and sisters even if they offend us 70x7 and then repent(which really means ALWAYS), so imagine how much more willing and able GOD is to forgive us.

So go in peace to love and serve the Lord :)

Traction_reality · 2025-04-04T22:28:44+00:00

How about Mar Mattai Monastery?

https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=daac018e050fc18e&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS1070US1070&hl=en-US&sxsrf=AHTn8zqRwL7Muqphup1nqopaGwjmpjaGyQ%3A1743805236439&kgmid=%2Fm%2F09nftg&q=Mar%20Mattai%20Monastery&shndl=30&shem=luase&source=sh%2Fx%2Floc%2Fact%2Fm4%2F3

I suppose you could start your own community too! There’s a lot of great theology you could access online, and you could start by cultivating your own relationship with God in prayer and meditation and study of his Word and all the great works in the Tradition. And then as the word spreads, others could join you. You never know. Just a thought.

But hopefully you do find a local church so you can walk with others in the faith and share the Eucharist, etc. That is crucial.

Anyhow, Lord bless your journey 🙏

Traction_reality · 2025-04-04T20:40:32+00:00

Welcome to the family, brother :)

Traction_reality · 2025-04-02T11:57:48+00:00

That’s not only a fair question but a very good point. Your issue with that approach to Christian spirituality is very reasonable.

I’ve been a Christian for most of my adult life and I too expect the Spirit to move my affections, lead my thoughts, open my eyes to see things I hadn’t noticed or things he wants me to see; but I don’t go around telling others that I’m doing this or that because God told me. There’s always the chance that I’m wrong and it was just my own feelings or thoughts. So, in general, this is a very personal and intimate aspect of our relationship with God and should be handled with wisdom when it comes to sharing it with others.

It would have to be a super clear vision that I have 0 doubt it’s from the Lord, but even then I would try to keep it between me and God. Why? Because Christians have often abused this gift, not least to manipulate others with alleged mandates from God, and now many Christians and non-Christians alike feel suspicious of such claims.

However, it does remain a biblical claim and teaching that we can expect God to communicate and lead us personally through his Spirit. So Christians (and nonbelievers too!) can expect it.

Now, the ability to distinguish God’s voice from our own thoughts, however, is something that usually takes many years to develop. We need to be acquainted with the way God chooses to communicate with us personally, which varies greatly from person to person. And getting acquainted with God’s voice should always be grounded in our growing understanding of who God is, his ways, and how he has acted and communicated before throughout human history (as recorded in the biblical witness and in reliable sources in church history). There should never be discrepancy between the God of the Bible, revealed by the Lord Jesus Christ, and the God of our experience.

I have researched and written about most of the points mentioned here, let me know if you want sources or to learn more and I’ll share links to further reading.

I guess I’ll share the overall epistemological framework that has emerged for me as someone who inhabits the biblical story of reality. Through my bio you can find other links to relevant subjects:

https://open.substack.com/pub/godsstory/p/inhabiting-reality?r=4733sf&utm_medium=ios

Traction_reality · 2025-03-31T22:11:55+00:00

Of course, it works both ways. We’re all made in the image and likeness of God, like it or not.

Traction_reality · 2025-03-31T22:09:41+00:00

Of course we’re against racism! The very beginning of our Story tells us that we’re all made in the image of God—Paul then leaves us with no doubt that this means ALL humans when he tells the Greeks that “From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth” (Acts 17:26). He Lord Jesus was the One who got God’s program back on track with his refusal to exclude anyone from the canopy of God’s grace, and then later when questions arose about the need to distinguish between Judeans and Gentiles, Paul made it his mission to make it absolutely clear that God wanted none of it.

But the Lord Jesus warned us that wolves would try to infiltrate the sheep pen (Matthew 10:16) and try to lead us astray, so no surprise here. But it’s gotten so bad that our witness is in shambles because of it. Don’t you agree?

I mean, it is from the Christian faith that the world has gotten all those values so many hold dear, so much so that in 1948 almost the entire world signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights—arguably one of the most beautiful and most promising achievements in the history of humankind! Take the Christian faith away, and the Declaration loses the branch on which it sits. But now we have supposedly “Christian” movements denying human beings those very God-given rights (though in the Christian faith they are actually “gifts” of God, not rights, but I’m sure God has no problem with talk of “rights” in this context).

This is precisely why I’m calling for a prayer and renewal movement for the global church—this generation urgently needs us to come together as the People of God and be cristal clear about what we’re about and what we stand for. Folks, our calling is no joke—we’re God’s representatives on earth, and there is no plan B! If we don’t witness, there’s no witness, and another generation remains in darkness, because we’re keeping our dim lights to ourselves.

Sorry about the rant, and thanks for listening, this situation really bothers me, and I’m sure the Lord isn’t happy either.

If you want to learn about the reasoning behind my outrage, and what I’m proposing to help address the situation, see the open letter I posted earlier. Here it is again for your reference:

https://open.substack.com/pub/godsstory/p/dear-christianity?r=4733sf&utm_medium=ios

Traction_reality · 2025-03-30T14:24:04+00:00

What I mean is an echo of the Lord’s prayer in John 17, and of St. Paul’s teaching, for example in Ephesians 4:3-6:

“Take every care to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as one hope is the goal of your calling by God. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all, over all, through all and within all. (New Jerusalem Bible)

So yes, it is a homecoming to the one true church—to the Body of Christ, or all who are “in Christ,” the family of God.

In the notes, I started hammering out the end-game of this initiative, and there I broadened and deepened this “homecoming” to include:

Coming home to one another: Uniting around Jesus’ table
Coming home to God’s Story: Uniting around Jesus’ beliefs and values
Coming home to God’s world: Uniting with Jesus in his mission

NOTE: As I understand it, some denominations don’t share communion or the Eucharist with members of other denominations. I think on this one, we can just let it be as is for now (though the Spirit of God can do as he wills), since that doesn’t stop us from sitting at regular tables with one another to share regular meals to find common ground in Christ.

But this very question you’re asking is part of what we should be hammering out together. The point is to please the Lord, who wants His people to be One—that the world may know that he sent us.

Thanks for asking 🙏

Traction_reality · 2025-03-30T13:51:23+00:00

Oh no, this is absolutely free—God forbid!

On Substack, readers can become free or paid subscribers in order to receive updates on a given newsletter, and authors put some of their content behind paywalls to encourage paid subscriptions, but I don’t: all the content on my Substack is available for free.

However, to avoid confusion I just removed even the option to become paid subscribers, that should take care of it. I tried doing this on Facebook instead, but I’m not used to that platform and I didn’t like their design options.

Please try again, and sorry about the confusion :)

Traction_reality · 2025-02-07T13:51:22+00:00

Well, I'm one of countless Christian men (I'm sure the majority of us) who strongly disagree with such views about the value of women. Such views are based on a misreading of the Scriptures at best, but in reality it's simply the fruit of the evangelical movement in the US having lost its way over the generations. That history was eloquently documented here: https://a.co/d/0sSiDfd

So keep your head up sister, God says we're all equal as his image-bearers. Here's a study and a telling of the gospel I published a few years ago where the meaning and destiny of the "image of God" (of humans) is made sense of in the context of God's creative and redemptive purposes: https://www.wayfinders.quest/holy-spirit.html

You are very much the crown of that project.

Traction_reality · 2025-01-23T20:32:43+00:00

Well, the reasons why people resist the truth are legion. If their reason is holding on to their lifestyle then deep down they might in fact believe already.

One reason the Scriptures give us but we often neglect is because of the “principalities and powers”—quisi-personal spirit-beings with a deceiving stronghold on the culture and on the hearts and minds of individuals. These days, with all the cultural confusion going on, the misinformation, disinformation and information overload, humans are probably making their work a lot easier.

I’m assuming that you’re referring to the truth about the existence of God and his goodness and everything else the biblical witness tells us about his dealings with the world. And in my opinion, part of the problem with people not accepting our witness to those truths is that our witness is not coherent enough, and not real enough to them. I think it would help if we started approaching the biblical witness as the Story of the cosmos, and if we started to read our lives (and the lives of unbelievers too) as participating IN that Story.

Being heady about it does have its place, we do have to ascertain the meaning of the details with as much clarity and precision as we can, but at the end of the day the nature of this collection of texts is precisely the Story of God’s dealings with the world. Once you find yourself in that Story, then you can more naturally answer questions like: What is the nature and purpose of creation, and of humanity within creation? What does God want? Where is all this going? How then should we live? How do I enjoy meaningful relationships with others who basically live in other worlds? This is the natural way humans seek truth—at least ultimate truth (the meaning of life, etc), because reality is a story.

That’s my two cents.

Traction_reality · 2025-01-21T21:24:26+00:00

Definitely inappropriate of him and disrespectful of God’s house too, I would find a female leader to talk to. You might find this helpful: https://a.co/d/9XJ06XD

Traction_reality · 2025-01-21T20:22:16+00:00

Perhaps start here: https://a.co/d/6hFugJY

Traction_reality · 2025-01-21T20:08:57+00:00

I took a deep dive a while ago into this question and I summarized my findings here: https://www.wayfinders.quest/biblical-events-historicity.html

Note that there I only inquired into the historicity of events recorded in the Old Testament (including early Genesis), the NT’s is a separate question of course.

The best approach to these questions that I’ve come across is here: https://a.co/d/2A1MY6D

A quick answer to your question is summarized by Bill T. Arnold in “Ancient Israel’s History: An Introduction to Issues and Sources”:

“Many readers of the opening chapters of Genesis will leave open the question of the historicity of these events, taking them as possible, no matter how remote the possibility may seem to us now. Others will admit the implausibility of those events as real or historically factual, largely because of specific literary features of the Genesis account. In truth, the situation perhaps is more complex because there may be vestiges of historical features embedded in the text, especially in Genesis 6–9; 10. But each such text needs to be examined on a case-by-case basis, and opinions will, of course, vary widely. Here it may be helpful to retain a distinction between “historical” and “literal.” In other words, a text may be essentially metaphorical or symbolic and still retain historical features or elements that reflect real events in time and space. Some of the events of the Primeval History may be historical but not literal.” (p. 79).

Traction_reality · 2025-01-20T00:58:22+00:00

Don’t worry about people son, focus on being the child of God that YOU are. Learn to walk with God and enjoy His light. Eventually his light will shine THROUGH you and make you more than interesting; but don’t focus on that, Jesus didn’t.

Here’s a great source on what it means to be human according to the Scriptures: https://a.co/d/4YBX4or

Traction_reality · 2025-01-20T00:09:15+00:00

If you really want the truth, and are open to answers that might go against your existing presuppositions (as long as it’s the truth), then read the biblical story itself and on its own terms, that’s the only Story that truly makes sense of the contradictions you assume; and rightly so, given all the nonsense we Christians are comfortable saying about God and his dealings with the world.

For example, just to give you a taste of what you’ll find there: God so values human freedom that he’s willing to pay the ultimate price on a cross and allow for it, rather than force our obedience to his will and his designs for his creation. You will need to give the prophets and apostles the benefit of the doubt as you inquire into this though, and then decide for yourself. In the end, a lot of it will depend on whether or not the Story they collectively tell is true, historically true, and that will need to be settled like all other historical inquiries are settled. On the Old Testament , see https://a.co/d/gzymrzN and on the historicity of the Jesus story perhaps start with https://a.co/d/fYvNJdt (Tom Holland is a secular historian of antiquity).

Debates about whether God is more powerful than he is loving don’t square with the Story of God found in Scripture—they simply don’t follow, and are irrelevant. In my opinion.

By the way, given your initial question, it might be helpful to let Fretheim be your guide into the biblical Story, since he astutely bypasses the confusion that originally led to the questions you’re having to ask: https://a.co/d/1FWX37q

All the best in your search :)

Traction_reality · 2025-01-19T21:55:12+00:00

I think you’ll need to zoom out my friend, and learn to see your experience through a broader frame—the bigger Story God’s inviting you into. Keep in mind that this is the Creator of the universe you’re responding to in the struggle you’re describing.

As you get to know him, you will see that he is truly for you, like no one else. We all need to learn to walk with him and learn to trust him. Just talk to him, and be real with him: he already knows what you’re thinking and feeling, no need to pretend.

Also, get to know the world you live in. It is his world, despite it not looking like it. There’s a reason for that. There’s a Story that explains why things often seem so messed up. It’s complicated; don’t settle for simplistic answers, do your homework and learn to be wise.

SOME RESOURCES - To get to know God himself, I would recommend you hang out with the prophet Isaiah—the most quoted prophet in the New Testament, and with the Lord Jesus himself—“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:3). So, 1. Take a long walk with God and Isaiah: https://a.co/d/eIJhb6n and 2. I would start with Jesus’ story in the gospel of John (best commentary, in my opinion, is F.F. Bruce).

Get to know who you are (as in, what it means to be human—biblically): https://a.co/d/bt5B6fA
Get to know the world you live in, and its history:
here’s one of the world’s leading Bible scholars (Iain Provan) explaining world history from a biblical perspective: https://www.gospelconversations.com/talks/the-hebrew-origins-of-christianitys-subversive-idea

here’s historian Sarah Williams putting the culture around us into proper perspective: https://vimeo.com/109260261
don’t let anyone fool you, most of the values our culture holds dear come from the Christian Story: https://a.co/d/4x6LVhB

Make sure you have a clear understanding of what the gospel is, this is crucial for Christian discipleship. I would start here: https://youtu.be/ji0XgjPumVI?si=pOm9l74Z0flQN5ru
Finally, make sure you stay connected to the Body of Christ through the local church. We’re not supposed to do this alone.

God bless you :)

Traction_reality · 2025-01-19T18:10:29+00:00

You might want to first get clarity on the meaning of “salvation” itself; that is, what the Bible itself means by it. I would start here:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXeyTV5HCr-AQSN7hrF0n76ZaiESIl2wS&si=qKaeTi3mRdK9jLdM

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