Blog Archives

Then Creation is Not an Act of Freedom and Love

12/28/2025

If it is metaphysically impossible for God to lose in this world, then Creation is not an act of freedom and love, but a necessary causal event that has essentially predetermined everything within Creation, leaving us with no possibility of co-creation, neither in this world nor in eternity.

If God “caused” things in the deterministic, causal sense, with no need of additional help, no chance of defeat, then the existence of authentic, uncaused freedom is negated, and God is rendered solely responsible for the evil and suffering within Creation.

If the future is solid, metaphysical concrete (with no chance of defeat, no additional help required), if nothing we think or do affects God’s predetermined outcomes in Creation, then freedom is a soap bubble and no Being can ever hope to be a co-creator in Creation—not now, not ever.

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Who Looks to Regain Something He Has Not Lost?

12/28/2025

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Some took issue with my suggestion that God could lose in this world:

That God could lose… what? Humanity’s salvation? Jesus secured that singlehandedly. Worldly power? God has a plan to regain it… Jesus again. The work of perfecting our soul? That’s the job of the Spirit of, yep, Jesus again.

God has a plan to regain worldly power?

Doesn't that imply that he lost it?

It must because one does not seek to regain something one has not lost.

And of what interest is worldly power to Jesus?

Also, if "Jesus did it all," then what are our spiritual roles in Creation exactly (besides how we behave to ourselves and our neighbors, of course)?

We need to start thinking these things through earnestly, starting from ourselves and working outwards, not the other way around.

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Finally, a Sort-of White Christmas

12/25/2025

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Having spent the first half of my life in places where white Christmases were virtually guaranteed, I have experienced nothing but disappointment in this regard since moving to northwestern Hungary, where nine of the ten past Christmases have been green.

Nevertheless, my eleventh Christmas here provided a pleasant surprise: a thin, three-centimeter layer of snow blanketed everything when I woke up early this morning.

A winter wonderland it was not; still, going for a walk in the fragile white landscape after the Christmas morning mass lifted my already cheery spirit in ways I had not experienced for nearly a decade.

Unfortunatley, but not unexpectedly, most of the snow had vanished by noon, but the white Christmas feeling remains with me, even now, in the damp early evening.

Merry Christmas to all!

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Love Was Born at Christmas

12/24/2025

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Christmas Eve is as big as "the day" is here in Hungary, so allow me to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love Divine,
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and Angels gave the sign.

Worship we the Godhead,
Love Incarnate, Love Divine,
Worship we our Jesus,
But wherewith for sacred sign?

Love shall be our token,
Love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign.

Christina Rossetti

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Of Course No One Wants War, But . . .

12/23/2025

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. . . a false flag or two (real or not, it doesn't matter) coupled with 24-hour media coverage would be probably be more than enough to turn the average man-of-the-street into a committed war-supporter.

Remember, no one wanted a global pandemic either, but we got one regardless.

Wonder how.

Note: A tad too much optimism out there about how the masses will reject war outright. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see it, and I hope it happens.

Unfortunately, it probably won't happen, and I humbly suggest that the optimists leave more space open for the manifestation of such a possibility.

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A World in Which God Could Lose

12/23/2025

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In his homily during last Sunday’s Mass, our village priest explained how our good choices—fully aided by divine grace—and our evil choices both serve to fulfill God’s ultimate plan and purpose for Creation.

He then went on to stress the significance of comprehending that our choices, be they good or bad, have no bearing whatsoever on God’s sovereign will, which will always prevail and be fulfilled regardless of what we choose.

Thus, all of our ungodly choices, regardless of how ungodly they may actually be, are inconsequential when it comes to God’s will. The only consequences such choices carry are the suffering we inevitably inflict upon ourselves, suffering that, once again, has zero impact on God’s decreed will.

Along the same lines, our good choices, which are only possible through God’s grace, amount to little more than adhering to God’s will, which raises the question of just what and how much such choices actually contribute to the whole process.

Anyway, in a nutshell, the village priest affirmed the immutability of God’s will and divine plan, which human action cannot thwart in any way whatsoever and which will be accomplished—nay, already has been accomplished—regardless of human input.

He then took a moment to stress that God’s sovereign will in no way impinges upon our own God-given human free will. I was eager to listen to him elaborate on that point a bit, but the priest left the matter there and quickly switched his focus to the symbolic meaning behind the fourth Advent Sunday.

Now, there a thousand and one explanations about why and how God's sovereign will wins no matter what, and I 'm certain the village priest is satisfied with most of them. Regardless, I left the Mass wondering how much different Christianity would have been and would be today if Christian theology and doctrine allowed for the potential thwarting of God’s sovereign will or the possibility that evil human thoughts and actions (or evil thoughts and actions of all Beings in Creation) could, in some way, prevent God’s will from being fulfilled, at least ideally.

Conversely, how much different Christianity would have been or would be if Christians assumed that their good choices actually influenced God in some meaningful way.

Put another way, I found myself wondering if Christians would regard their religion and themselves more seriously if they held out the possibility that God could lose and that his divine will could be derailed, at least in this world. If such a thing were possible, it would surely expand and deepen the significance of good choices.

Of course, if Christians assumed that God could lose in this world, they would not limit their understanding of freedom to the doctrine of free will, but that is another matter entirely.

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The Darkest Darkest Dark I Have Experienced

12/22/2025

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Crossing Point by Richard Whadcock, a contemporary artist, English, I think. The painting above provides a good examples of what a typical day has looked like around here since the end of November.

The Winter Solstice always marks the darkest time of year in the northern hemisphere; however, this year seemed far darker than any previous winter solstice I have ever experienced.

Of course, the perceived increase in darkness has nothing to do with the sun being above the horizon for less time than in previous years, but rather with the somber and somewhat dismal grayness and fog that has blanketed northwestern Hungary for the better part of three weeks.

Grayness and fog are typical of winters here, and they commonly settle over the landscape for a week or two at a time; however, they rarely dominate the weather as oppressively as they have this past month, during which I can only recall seeing the sun or the blue of the sky once in the past four weeks.

Oddly enough, the drab, dull days and impenetrable nights have provided considerable space for contemplation. In some ways, they have complemented the rather somber frame of mind that settled over me at about the same time the gray, foggy days began.

This grim frame of mind has nothing to do with my overall mood, which remains buoyant. I suppose it reflects a generally dour attitude towards people that I have not been able to shake, despite my best efforts (in much the same way the outside world has not been able to free itself of the grayness and fog).

Once again, my grave and severe outlook about people has not diluted my overall mood, which remains light-hearted and carefree. I suppose I could say that this outlook is observational rather than judgmental. Not stern disapproval; simply registering what I see and experience.

The deep stain of depersonalization seems to be deepening and spreading.

The dismal perspective that has settled over me does not reflect or stem from my most personal of relationships, which, thankfully, remain as solid and well-oriented as ever—a poignant reminder that, high above the grayness and the fog obscuring the sky, high above the darkest darkest dark I have experienced, it is still blue—and at night, rich with the pulsing silver of an endless sea of stars.

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Winter Solstice Stags

12/21/2025

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Without wading into pagan rites and symbols, I must say I am quite partial to the pagan symbolism associated with the Winter Solstice; more specifically, stags, often of the white variety.

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Love — The Amen of Creation

12/20/2025

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Love works magic.
It is the final purpose
of world history,
The Amen of the universe.

Original:

Die Liebe wirkt magisch.
Sie ist der Endzweck
der Weltgeschichte,
das Amen des Universums.

The fragment above comes courtesy of Georg Philipp Friedrich von Hardenberg, better and more mercifully known by his pen name, Novalis. I have featured the fragment on the blog before and found myself revisiting it this morning as my thoughts focused on the approach of Christmas.

Although I fully appreciate and approve of the message of Novalis’s fragment, I will err on the side of presumption by tweaking a few words here and there.

To begin with, love certainly does work magic, both in this world and the next; however, it is only in the next world that it becomes eternal, and it only does so after we accept the gift of everlasting life Jesus offers, an acceptance that must be based on a full commitment to love, everlastingly; eternally.

In this sense, love is the final purpose of world history; however, confining love within the framework of the world and its history misses the mark somewhat. I humbly revise the two lines to read: It is the final purpose of Creation, and then conclude with The Amen of Creation.

Yes, yes, repeating Creation within such a small space of text is certainly unpoetic; nevertheless, it seems like the only way to underscore the magnificence of Jesus’s Second Creation (Heaven), the magic his love worked, and the promise of everlasting love contained within.

After all, what is Heaven if it is not the Amen of Creation?

Novalis’s profound little fragment stands as a solid encapsulation of what Christianity should be about and, in the final analysis, what Christianity is about.

Not first causes, prime movers, Absolute this-and-thats, Logos-following, and superior-society building, but love working magic eternally as the Amen of Creation.

Note added: Christians have tended to regard the final purpose of the universe as a mystery, claiming that humans can have no solid basis for understanding why God the Creator created. I am of the conviction that it is well past time to leave that mystery behind.

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Why the Dreadful Discernment Among Those Who Champion Ultimacy?

12/15/2025

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Ultimacy advocates invest great time and energy casting sinuous word spells to convince you that they and the historical legion of theologians, philosophers, and church fathers they mimic and echo have God and reality all figured out, and that all you need to do in turn is respectfully and humbly bow your head and join the club.

At the same time, those who assert ultimacy also tend to be among the worst at discernment in this time and place, which leads to a rather glaring paradox.

You would think that all those prolix proclamations about the true nature of God and Creation would provide ultimacy upholders with a distinct advantage when it comes to things like discerning good from evil; however, for some mysterious reason, it does not.
On the contrary, they consistently rank among the worst at discernment.

I find that odd and unsettling. All that philosophy, theology, and tradition rendered instantly meaningless and useless when confronted with something like AI, the birdemic scam, the 2020 church lockdowns, or mundane politics.

Well, not entirely meaningless and useless because ultimacy aficionados will inevitably utilize all the philosophy, theology, and tradition they can muster to elaborately elucidate why none of the above are actually evil, thereby compounding the problem.

Although I have no definitive answer as to why discernment among ultimacy defenders leans toward the disastrous, I strongly suspect the cause lies in their core assumptions (re: assertions) about reality, particularly their assumptions about evil and freedom.

Fittingly enough, ultimacy proponents do not seem troubled by their poor discernment. I suspect the nonchalance stems from loving a good mystery; and let's face it, at the end of the day, there is nothing those ultimacy chaps love more than mystery.

For them, reality ultimately ends there anyway.

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