Meekness, Jesus, and the Martial Arts.

The book of John:

10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) 11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

There are many Christians who are opposed to war and violence. If I may be so blunt-- this is heresy. We are in Christ, but how do we get by rejecting His attributes as Sword-bearing King and just judge? Is Jesus not fully God? Even the Warrior God of the Old Testament and Revelation? Of course He is. How does a warrior walk in love? By judging justly the enemy which refuses grace and will not relent his attacks.

Jesus is King. He will return with a sword and cast His enemies into Hell. Pacifistic Christianity is a response to social pressure for the church to catch up to the so-called enlightened modern age. Several passages of the new testament are used to justify them, yet none of those passages are used in a way which reflects the character and nature of our God. Here are 2 common objections:

1) Didnt Jesus say to turn the other cheek (matthew 5:39)?

Yes. He did. He was also referencing Hamurabi's code, and God's civic law in dueteronomy 19:20-21. The slap he is referring to here is a type of insult which in latter years became an invitation to dual in the middle ages. This is not referring to physocal self-defense, but rather a conflict in which only your pride is on the line. Turn the other cheek, dont escalate the violence. My question to this argument is 'how is physical self defense needed against a mere slap?' Answer: it isn't. Christians do not fight for pride; but that doesn't mean we shouldnt fight at all.

2) Doesnt meek mean weak?

Was Jesus meek? Yes. Was Jesus weak? No. It took more strength than any mere man could posess to take the beating He did and not call down legions of angels as He could. Meekness, in this sense, merely means 'submitting one's power to God'. It is easy to abuse power. It is much more difficult to 'die to ourselves and take up our cross' when we have the power to not do so. Think, for a moment, about a horse in a chariot. That horse is a powerful creature capable of killing most animals. Yet to bridle a horse is a process called 'meeking'. The horses power is submitted to its rider. So should we submit our power to the Holy Spirit.

This meekness is what Jesus was referring to when He admonishes Peter in the quoted scripture above. Are we to live by the sword? Or by the Lord's will?

Romans 12 describes what it means to be a Christian and a peacemaker. Yet Paul does not say to live in peace at all costs. He says in verse 18 "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all". Therefore, this is a foundational verse for any Christian Martial Arts curriculum. The novice's first goal should be to learn the line of when they have done all they can do without resorting to violence.

In other words, to submit the power of their martial art to the Holy Spirit as it presses on their conscience.

Christian mystic martial arts -- beginner techniques

So, the beginning student in Christian Mystic Martial Arts is assumed to have a beginning theology of warfare. Therefore, until a mature theology is established (which would take longer for some students than for others), the student should be taught in mobility, parrying, evasive striking, and evasive grappling.

Training regimen:
1. Aerobics
2. Footwork
3. Fighting parries
4. Grappling escapes and counters
5. Traditional blocks and strikes for conditioning -- but not yet trained into fighting strikes; bag work only.

When I was growing up, every school I trained in did 1-steps. In these, from a traditional stance, a traditional punch would be thrown, and a partner would block tradotionally and strike traditionally. While these were goos for building technique, they were impractical for self-defense.

Therefore, in addition to normal 1-steps for conditioning, students will do Parries. In these, students will take a fighting stance, and will take turns throwing techniques and parrying. Any counter strikes will be speed strikes such as lead straight punches, trips, backfists, and pushes.

Students will not counterstrike with any power techniques on these until their theology of warfare has been approved by their mentors and instructor.

In addition, students will train in holds, throws, and takedowns for their obvious defensive tactics.

Christian mystic martial arts

Ok, so Im a martial artist. I have been for nearly 22 years, and yet Ive only been a believer for 6 years. So I think its high time Ive developed a martial arts curriculum.

But first, why? Arent there christian martial arts schools out there?

Easy answer, yes. But in reality... No. There are Christians who run martial arts schools, and they may, at best, pray with their students, do bible memorization, or discuss certain aspects of doctrine; but these practices happen in between, before, or after martial arts training. They are not related to the actual style of martial arts.

They happen in addition to the training. They do not flow out of the training. This is a problem. It is syncretistic -- that is, it melds two things together. It does not derive from a single source.

Therefore, a truly Christian martial art needs to come as a direct result of Christian doctrine, led by the Holy Spirit.

Obviously, there are health benefits to martial arts. But there are also health benefits in other nonviolent sports like swimming and tennis. Until we deal with the fact of violence, we can not deal with health.

Also, in order for a discipline to be called a spiritual discipline, it must produce the fruits of the spirit. After we deal with the fact of violence to determine if we even can make such a thing, we must then see if it is good for growing in Christian maturity.

Therefore, there are seven precepts which we must expound and explain before continuing. They are as follows:

These are the topics I will expound in later installments:

1. Meekness and turning the other cheek - what does Jesus really mean, and arent Christians supposed to be pacifist?

2. War for justice -- assuming we as Christians can engage in violence, we must then do so righteously. Is there such a thing as just violence.

3. War for defense -- does turn the other cheek mean we allow all sorts evils upon ourselves and God's people? When do we take up arms to defend ourswlves and our home?

4. War for reclaiming territory -- can violence be a tool for taking back that which evil has taken? Is this justified, or is it just an excuse for vengence?

5. Discipling the flesh -- is this practice good for producing fruits of the spirit? Does it assist in mortifying the flesh as Paul instructs us in Collosians?

6. Caring for the temple -- some styles of martial arts are desteuctive to the body while others are not. How can we be sure we are not damaging our temple while not slipping into New Age and Eastern mysticism?

7. Discipleship -- does the teaching fulfill the great comission?

My hope is to explore these ideas in depth in the upcoming weeks and months. If this proves to be true and fruitful, only than can we begin developing curriculum.

Naruto, An exploration of Fathers

Naruto: An exploration of fathers.

First, an admission. I freakin' love naruto. I always have. Ninjas, J-pop, animation, existentialism... what's not to love? Second, if I had the time, I would totally quote the source by referencing episode numbers. Alas, I can not do this.


This has been coming for a while. I've been wanting to write something about Naruto and its deeper themes (Neiji's fatalism, Sasuke's hatred as blindness, Naruto's emergence as a christ figure, etc.); I just haven't gotten around to it. But here I am, again. On facebook, again. Staying up all night to help the boy go to sleep after a nightmare, again. I've applied to all the jobs I can find for which I am remotely qualified, and thus have little better to do.


Something we see in the character of Naruto is his orphan nature. He has no parents, specifically, no father. It is not until Iruka takes him under his wing as his student that Naruto gets the acknowledgment he so craves. Iruka is only the beginning of Naruto's introduction into a longer spiritual lineage of teacher/student relationships... a lineage overseen by the third hokage (that we know of).


As a child, Iruka was also an orphan, and the Third Hokage would cinematicly appear to offer some wisdom when he was in his deepest sadness. Later, we find that Kakashi was at one time Iruka's commanding officer. If we trace it back, Iruka was taught by Kakashi who was taught by the Fourth Hokage who was taught by Jiraiya who was taught by the Third Hokage. All of these individual's had a hand in shaping Naruto, both directly and indirectly. Their teaching epitomizes the Will of Fire: the desire to raise the youth in truth and love.


This is really no secret. However, let us balance Naruto's lineage with that of Sasuke. Sasuke represents all that is dark within the ninja world while Naruto represents all that is light. Naruto is dedicated to stop hatred and vengeance, Sasuke thrives in it. If the light and the "will of fire" are passed through the teaching of the Third and his line, than Sasuke's spiritual lineage must represented through hatred. His lineage is as follows:


Sasuke's way of the ninja (hatred) was feuled by Itachi as his object and nurtured by Orochimaru. Itachi's hatred is fueled by Danzo as his object, and Danzo's hatred is ruled by Madara as his object, for every fear tactic Danzo uses is designed to keep the Leaf from being overtaken by ninja such as Madara. All of these men had a hand in raising Sasuke, directly or indirectly. Their teaching uses hatred, fear, and vengeance as its tool.


If you look at the generations of Naruto's teaching vs. the line of hatred in Sasuke's teaching, you'll see that Naruto is mirrored by Sasuke, Iruka by Orochimaru, Kakashi by Itachi, Jirayia by Danzo, and The Third by Madara. Thus is Naruto's light balanced by Sasuke's darkness, and continues the precarious balance of the Leaf when founded by the First Hokage and the Uchiha.


Why do I think this matters? Im not one of the fanboys who all gooey for the facts. They have to matter. Why do they matter to me?


Fathers. Disciples. Students. Mentors. All teaching is inherently spiritual because it molds the student's character. The line of teaching lasts longer than the students and teachers live. In Deuteronomy 11:19, we are given instruction to teach our sons in the way of righteousness. Not only that, but to teach our sons to teach their sons to teach their sons, and so on. When I moved to Texas, my Dad became somewhat estranged. It was my sensei who taught me about being a man. After him, I had teachers who did the same. Later, I had some friends who were older, and though they didn't admit it or like it, they were my example of what a man was. Now, I have pastors who show me, and my dad once again.


What makes a father is his teaching. Any swingin' dick can make an orphan. Any dumb ass can neglect and abuse his kid. It is our teachers who raise us, but to be clear: though a teacher may sometimes be a parent, a parent is always a teacher; the question is what do they teach? The will of fire, or the path of hatred? Do we raise our sons to be heroes or avengers?



Narutos or Sasukes?

Satanism in Hip hop?

A student recommended this to me.

I watched it, and all in all it doesnt really surprise me. My only thing though, is the author could have used more than snippets to avoid taking quotes out of context.

Here is my official thought:

The word delusion occurs very often in scripture, typically when people choose to believe some illusion. Check these out.

In every instance thereof, people are believing a philosophical, theological, metaphysical, or supernatural lie over the truth of the God of Israel. Once this happens, they often begin some form of idolatry, whether that is self-idolatry or angel worship.

Specifically I would like to point out the scripture of 2nd Thessalonians: here. This leads me to believe, unlike the apparent beliefs of the author, that there may not be a giant conspiracy of Luciferians in the music business. The conspiracy is demonic. The people are tools who may or may not have similar ideas and tastes which are influenced by the demonic. I would not be surprised if the ratio of initiated occultists to uninitiated tools is 99 to 1.

Those are just my initial thoughts. All in all, the film series really shook me. If not for Christ, I would have ended up there.

"What are you seeking?" System of a Down meets Holy Spirit.

Sometimes I find myself praying for the musicians I used to listen to. See, a buddy gave me an ipod and I have since put all the music I have ever owned on it. So now, when I drive in my car and put it on shuffle, I am surprised by gems which I haven't heard in a while, simply because I haven't had the time to sit and listen to some good music in a long while. Occasionally, when a tune comes up, I am compelled to pray for the artist. Here is an example of what goes on in my spirit/brain:

Driving along, going to the post office, System of a Down's Toxicity came on. I listened, happy my ipod reminded me of this art I loved so much. I listened and analyzed. Then, I heard scripture in my spirit/brain. In the book of John, the first thing Jesus says is, "What are you seeking?"

When The first disciples began to follow him, culturally they were saying, 'we want to learn from you; we want to be your students'. In following him, literally walking behind him, they were engaging in a cultural custom. It was not uncommon for a scholar to have a whole retinue of students walking behind him, hanging on to his every word, mimicking his every action in the market, and basically trying to glean whatever bit of wisdom they could. So when the disciples started following Jesus, he knew exactly what they were doing. Yet He asked, "What are you seeking?" He wanted them to question themselves; to dig deep into their motives and discover what they were truly desiring.

So, whenever I can, I ask myself, "What are you seeking?". In this case with System of a Down, I asked myself, "What were you seeking, when you were listening to this music? Why did you love it so?"

It became clear what I was seeking when track 10 played. It is called science, and you can see the video

Here

(I recommend closing your eyes. The video is set to an anime (my favorite BTW) but it ultimately detracts from the song itself. Just please listen to the lyrics and the music first.)

This song, these artists, and others like them reinforced in me what I felt to be true: "Science fails to recognize the single most/potent element in human existence/ letting the reigns go/ to the unfolding is faith, faith, faith, faith/ SCIENCE HAS FAILED OUR WORLD/ SCIENCE HAS FAILED OUR MOTHER EARTH/ Spirit moves through all things, spirit moves through all things, spirit moves through all things..."

But so long as I only felt that to be true, and didn't know, I couldn't get anywhere. I was seeking, in other words, reassurance that I wasn't as crazy and weird as the world said I was.

Now, I am Christian, and I wonder what has changed. Now I see that science hasn't failed our world. We have. Science hasn't forgotten spirit. We have. We got confused. The Bible teaches that has made us a holistic creature with two parts: the tangible, and the intangible. Empirical physical science can only detect the tangible. It is up to the social sciences and the arts to teach us about the intangible. Science has not failed us. We have instead made a god out of science, and I, like many others including System of a Down, were upset that it was unable to be a god and provide us with all the answers. So we were willing to throw it out entirely in favor of a generic spirit. However, I and many others including System of a Down had done the same thing with Spirit, and made a god out of it. We had built our own perceptions into a system and labeled it reality, and then expected our own metaphysical creation to give us all the answers and be the source and the finality of our existence; to be the Alpha and Omega.

Why? Well, to "let the reigns go to the unfolding". The same drive that has been the locus for humanity since the beginning. Even the hard core atheists expect Science to continually unfold and answer everything to give us solace in the dark when we cry in the face our monsters. Its called Faith. We all have faith in something. Some people call it purpose, but it is the same thing. Even nihilists have faith in their own apathy. We put faith in money, children, tax brackets, country clubs, knowledge, a lifestyle, you name it. At the time I bought that album, I put my faith in the spiritual world I was discovering through drugs, music, sex, and magick.

Then Christ got me. He didn't get me until I asked Him to, though. Although I didn't exactly ask Him, per se. I was just finally ready to accept the truth, even though it wasn't what I wanted to hear. For those of you who don't know how I accepted Christ, I'll give you a little insight.

I was a magician and a philosophy student. I believed in a spiritual realm and I was looking for the truth. I finally figured, 'well, the truth is out there. The universe has to be alive, because only living things can contain life. So, I'll just ask the truth to show itself to me, and see what happens." Long story short, the truth told me that unlike all the other religions and philosophies that were doing same thing I was doing, building my own system and calling it God, Christianity is the account of the Truth actually coming down to earth and telling us what's what. And if I stop being close-minded and bigoted long enough to seriously look at what the bible said about Who we are, How things got the way they were, and where we were heading, He would be faithful to guide me to the answers I was seeking. But first, I had to know what I was seeking, and be willing to follow Jesus' story long enough to find out and see what He told me.

The more and more I follow Jesus' story, the more I understand what I was seeking, and the more I find it. So, when I happen across old favorites like System of a Down, I find the Holy Spirit urging me to pray for them. Because they are in the same boat looking for the same shore I was. I hope they find it, and that they come stumbling off that rickety boat they made with their own hands and collapse in the fertile earth that is the Word crying, 'Thank you, Lord. Thank you. Please... give us rest and sanctuary. And when we recover, show us the beauty of the universe as you made it. Show us the beauty of who you are as you see yourself to be, on your own terms, instead of who we try to make you into. Let us walk in your land forever, and be healed. Let us know joy, truly for the first time. Let us be because you are. Will you, please, be our Father?' And God, just like He did for me, will say 'Yes'. But it takes humility, first. A willingness to take Truth for what it is, even if it hurts.

So, yeah. Sometimes, when I listen to music, I pray.

God vs. Church Culture: Marraige

What exactly is marriage? More specifically, what makes a marriage? A marriage is covenant between two people; a relationship which is worked out over time as those two people go through life together. What I am wondering, is at what point do those two people begin that covenant?

American marriage today is typically defined as beginning with a wedding. Two people cohabiting is not considered a marriage, because they haven’t had a wedding. They haven’t yet made those promises to each other.

In the Old Testament, marriage was an agreement made between two families, and the celebrations changed slightly throughout time as the culture changed throughout the centuries. In Genesis, when Jacob married, the ultimate decision rested in the hands of his father in law. In Exodus, Zipporahs father gave her to Moses. However, Zipporahs father was also a priest. In the Garden, God stood and gave Eve to Adam, proclaiming them wed. These are all Proto-Israel examples. After the formation of Israel and Jewish culture, Jewish weddings formed their own cultural traditions.
This is the model established then: The authority present over the bride gives her to the male. Thus the covenant begins.

Everything else we do in America is a throwback to some other ancient culture, especially European Paganism. The ring is symbolic of magical binds. The circle is a powerful magical symbol, and for two people to wear identical rings is to bind their souls together into the same circle and cycle within the natural spiritual cycles observed in the greater context of nature itself. The honey moon is a direct syncretism of Celtic tradition. After a Druid married the couple, they would leave and live together in the woods for three nights during the next full moon cycle, not letting the other out of their sight. During this time they would drink only honey mead. The honey mead would increase libido and fertility. The full moon cycle would also increase libido and fertility. This was called The Ritual of the Honey Moon, and often ended in conception.

Well then, what is marriage when it is void of all its cultural melting? It is a covenant made between a man and a woman before a spiritual authority. That’s what it was in the garden, before human traditions crept in.

My position then is thus: Two Christians, with Jesus as their High Priest and Prime Spiritual Authority, can be married in the presence of Him and no one else. They can strike the covenant to each other and to God, and then proceed to live it out according to the model of what a Christian Marriage is really supposed to look like: Male led, grace-sustained, microcosmic model for the gospel bearing the fruits of the spirit.

Is this cohabitation as America knows it? No. In American cohabitation, the parties are no under obligation to remain together. They have not made the covenant. This is only cohabitation in the direct dictionary definition of the word.

Does this mean the Christians can just say they’re married and everyone has to respect it? No. It does mean however that those who would challenge the marriage status must look closely and decide whether or not the covenant is being held, and whether or not God was really present in the striking of that covenant. This last test is a test of faith, only answered through prayer.

Let it be said however that as American citizens, it is the Christians obligation to fulfill American requirements for marriage as set forth by the state, be it traditional or common-law. Furthermore, if the Christians are members of a church body, than that church body holds spiritual authority over those Christians, and therefore they must adhere to their church’s guidance.

But in the case of a Christian couple who comes to the church presenting themselves as married, but have not fit what that church views as marriage, I would hope that the church would be willing to consider the idea that God, as our High Priest, could be present to administer a marriage covenant without the presence of a pastor. And while it is important that the couple do finalize their marriage in the eyes of the state, to not acknowledge their marriage and their honoring of the covenant they struck with each other and with God, and force the issue at the expense of their emotional, financial, and spiritual well-being is a disrespect to their brother and sister in Christ.