The past several weeks there’s been an internet meme going around about how often a woman’s boyfriend, or men in general, thinks about the Roman Empire. This segues well into a topic I was planning to blog about, which was a case of a gladiator committing suicide via an unsavory tool. The meme has peaked and is probably fizzled out by this point, but as usual it takes me a bit to get blogging these days. Here are my thoughts on the Roman Empire, in particular in relation to a peculiar and perhaps darkly humorous incident.
Continue readingCategory: Essays
Content warning: This post discusses enslavement, sexual assault, and racism.
Every July 4 the United States celebrates its annual national day. On July 4, 1776, the Thirteen Colonies of the United States formally declared their independence from Great Britain. These famous words by Thomas Jefferson (borrowing heavily from the 1581 Dutch Declaration of Independence, the Act of Abjuration) have inspired millions: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”1
Continue readingSeveral months ago, I was discussing in a Facebook group a passage in Paul’s Letter to the Ephesian Church, specifically regarding the relations of husbands and wives as outlined in 5:21-33. It’s a passage I’m very familiar with and have read and heard, and heard preached on, countless times (including at my wedding). But while I was looking through the passage and breaking it down for specific applications of each cluster of verses, I noticed something I’d never noticed before. While the translated texts of Scripture (and untranslated, if you’re a serious scholar) are readable and we can draw conclusions from them, for fuller and richer understanding we need the Spirit of God themself. Throughout the New Testament writings it’s mentioned that God works through his Spirit and that we need the Spirit for true understanding and revelation. I believe that this moment of insight as to a deeper interpretation of part of the Ephesians passage was an example of this working by God to reveal himself.
Continue readingThe song “Away in a Manger” is a Christmas classic. I enjoy the song, but is it actually teaching something theologically dangerous? In the second verse, there are the two lines:
The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.
This image of a silently, peacefully sleeping perfect baby sounds very sweet and lovely. But it introduces the idea that Jesus was somehow different and beyond ordinary humans, or that a perfect maybe would never cry. While yes, Jesus was God, he was equally human and subject to the same human experiences and emotions as every other human. The idea of Jesus being not quite an ordinary human is a more subtle form of an ancient Christian heresy called Docetism. This was one of the earliest errors in the early Christian church, showing up as early as the 2nd century CE. It taught that Jesus only had the appearance of a physical body or was a kind of phantom.1 While “Away in a Manger” doesn’t go that far, it does suggest that Jesus didn’t fuss and cry as a baby. That means crying is sinful or something beneath the character of Jesus. Yet we know is not true because Jesus as an adult man cried (John 11:35) and he also experienced the range of human emotions as part of his very mission on Earth (Hebrews 4:14-15). He, the Son of God, was incarnated as a human so that he could experience what we experience. He walks alongside us in grief and pain. Every time a baby cries in distress, God can understand what that is like because he himself was a crying fussing baby. And I find that such a comforting and encouraging thought.
Side fact: The song is often attributed to Martin Luther, but as far as can be determined it originated centuries later in America.2
Citations:
- Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Docetism. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved December 23, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Docetism
- History of Hymns: “Away in a Manger.” (2022, December 24). Discipleship Ministries. Retrieved December 23, 2022, from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-away-in-a-manger
Trigger warnings: This article discusses abortion, miscarriage, and sexual assault, and discusses invasive anti-trans legislation and mentions racist brutality.
On Friday, June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court, in Dobbs v. Jackson, a 6-3 majority ruling, reversed Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood. Ten years ago, I would have been elated by this decision. Now, ten years later, I’m much more mixed in my feelings. I still am very much a proponent for universal basic human rights that extend to the unborn, and that a just government is one that protects such rights. However, my understanding of how complex an issue this works out to be in practice, and what’s involved in supporting life, has grown considerably. Even as recent as a few months ago, I found that I was shamefully ignorant of how there are aspects to how pro-life policies can harm even women who want to keep a pregnancy but are faced with miscarriage or debilitating effects on their health. And while I am fiercely opposed the reprehensible evil that is abortion as birth control, that zeal is mixed with a deep compassion and sympathy for women who are trapped by social-economic circumstances, are trapped by law to remain in dangerous abusive relationships, who are faced with debilitating tolls on their body from a pregnancy they didn’t even want, who are trapped in shame and despair and see no way out. As a cis-male, unwanted or dangerous pregnancy is impossible for me and so I can never fully understand or empathize with such situations. And I’m also not sure how, if at all, pro-life this Court decision is. While ending Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood was good, was this particular decision any better than what it has replaced? I’m skeptical. Additionally, given precedent of anti-abortion legislation, it is certain that many women whose lives are endangered by their pregnancy, who have miscarriages, are going to suffer and die in many states. There is a very likely possibility that physicians will lose their medical licenses or even face prosecution. The heavy hand of the state is not only frequently unjust and unmerciful but often careless or deeply misguided even when well intentioned.
Continue readingToday, November 23, 2020, is the 1-year anniversary of Jessica and myself. Very sadly, due to the pandemic and our each being from different countries, we will be apart for this day, and we will instead have to spend this special time together over video. On this day, I would like to explain why Jess and I decided to combine our last names to become Kenneth and Jessica Mick-Evans.
The first reason is that Jess still wanted some express connection to her family. She and her twin sister, Elly, are the only children of her parents. I wanted to respect her wishes and preserve that family connection.
Secondly, in Genesis 2:24, there is a principle that a husband leaves his parents to be joined with his wife. I wanted to signify this transition in my life and my unity with my wife by changing my name.
Thirdly, and this ties in to the first reason, I wanted to respect both my parents and my new in-laws by having each of our names represented. I want to respect both my biological parents and my parents by marriage, in keeping with the principle of honoring my father and mother as expressed in Ephesians 6:2-3.
These reasons are our own personal choice, in agreement with each other, after long discussions together. We hope that the symbolism in our combination of our names will demonstrate to others our love for each other and our respective families. And I hope that in giving our reasons for our decision, you would be inspired and encouraged by the values we hold dear.
The Mongols are a people originating from what is now Mongolia, northern China, and parts of Russia. They are most famous for their namesake Empire founded in 1206 CE by Chinggis Khan (often called Genghis Khan), and the destruction and murder wrought by that Empire.
Hoelun, the mother of Chinggis Khan and wife of Yesügei.
Here are some historical facts about the Mongols that I find interesting and that I hope you will find interesting as well:
A bit ago I posted the article “The Birthday of Free Government?” in which I briefly summarized how the Declaration of Independence helped popularize the ideas of democracy, constitutional restraint, and limited government. Indeed, these ideas of freedom have spread globally. However – that freedom has not been, and still is not, implemented equally even in my own country. I referenced this in the previous article, and I want to unpack that more. I had suspected that I glossed over the deeply problematic references to slavery and indigenous people, and feedback from a friend as well as consultation of a couple articles confirmed this. So let me unpack this.
245 years ago, some British men in colonial North America formally declared that they no longer wished to be tied to Britain but rather stand on their own as a separate and equally sovereign power. For over a century, new ideas about limited government, government ruled by the people, and government constrained by constitutions had developed on both sides of the Atlantic. For example, in the Five (and later Six) Nations of the Haudenosaunee in Eastern North America; in Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales in the British Isles in Europe; and in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in Central and Eastern Europe. With the United States Declaration of Independence, these ideas took on even greater power and effected global change. People and countries all over the world aspire now to be “free.” Below you can follow the link to a transcription of the Declaration. I don’t agree with all of what was said, especially the derogatory reference to indigenous people (some of whom were the source to much of the revolutionary spirit in the first place) and the complaint about Britain instigating slave rebellions (a hypocritical complaint given that the United States was rebelling against a government that it believed was oppressive). Yet the impact of this document cannot be denied, and since its creation and announced people the world over have striven and fought for better and more consistent implementation of the ideas it espouses. Happy Fourth of July to my US readers!
The Saviour's Samurai 