In this episode of Creation’s Paths, we sit with Jesus’ stark warning that we cannot serve both God and Mammon. This is not a simplistic rejection of money, but a deeper unveiling of allegiance. When wealth becomes savior, security becomes devotion. Together, we explore what it means to return to the One Life and live in right relationship rather than economic fear.

Read the full article here: https://open.substack.com/pub/creationspaths/p/you-cannot-serve-god-and-mammon?r=1tzm8o&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

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Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer

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#YouCannotServeGodAndMammon #Matthew624 #SpiritualAllegiance #ChristianMysticism #JesusTeaching #EconomicJustice #Christopagan #CreationSpirituality #CreationsPaths

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction: Biblical Warning to the Wealthy

02:23 Understanding Mammon: More Than Just Money

05:13 The Trap of Self-Isolation Through Wealth

08:52 Historical Context: Wealth Before Money

10:51 The Industrial Revolution and Wage Slavery

12:28 Biblical Commands: Care for the Oppressed

13:28 Wage Theft and Profit Extraction

14:47 A Christmas Carol: Lessons in Transformation

18:25 The Problem with Charity and Control

20:14 Modern Feudalism: Same System, Different Names

22:22 Restoring Dignity: The Dehumanization of Poverty

25:12 Money as Ecosystem: The Flow of Resources

26:33 The Math of Wealth Inequality

27:14 Building Better Systems

30:28 Closing Prayer and Series Information

In Matthew 11:12, Jesus speaks a warning that has echoed through centuries of empire, fear, and religious violence. This episode sits with that warning slowly, remembering that Jesus spoke as a refugee in a colonized land, not as a ruler offering control. Together, we explore how the kin-dom is seized, how it is defended, and how it is quietly refused. This is not a call to certainty, but an invitation to discernment, courage, and faithful restraint.

Check out the full article here:

Genetically Modified Skeptic: Evangelical Christianity Is Literally a PSYOP

Drew’s Channel: Our Evangelical Christian Universities Were CIA Assets?

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Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer

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#JesusAndEmpire #KinDomOfGod #CreationSpirituality #Christopagan #NonviolentFaith #LiberationTheology #SpiritualResistance #RefusingEmpire

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction: The Temptation of Jesus

01:48 Welcome & Series Overview

03:41 The Cost of Power

04:55 The Woes: Wealth & Isolation

11:03 The Experience of Being Alive

13:19 Doc’s Story: Community Over Wealth

16:44 Setting Boundaries, Not Battles

17:49 Modern Examples: Evangelical Universities & the CIA

21:47 The Spirit of Antichrist

23:45 True Greatness: Being a Slave to All

24:31 Refusal as True Power

25:43 Practice: Notice Where Power Tightens You

29:06 Closing Prayer

This is a discussion following a more detailed essay. Read more here:

What if the Kin-dom Jesus proclaimed was never meant to be captured by power, enforced by law, or protected by violence? In this episode of Creation’s Paths, we sit with the unsettling claim that the Kin-dom is not a thing to be seized but a way of being that endures even under domination. This is a reflection on spiritual sovereignty, inner freedom, and how life remains green and alive even in narrow places. Come listen for the freedom that cannot be taken from you.

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Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer

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#CreationsPaths #KindomOfGod #JesusAndEmpire #CreationSpirituality #Christopagan #MysticFaith #SpiritualFreedom #Matthew1112

Chapters:

00:00 Opening: Violence and the Kingdom

01:31 Introduction and Series Overview

04:23 The Kingdom Cannot Be Seized

05:20 Understanding Kin-dom vs Kingdom

09:01 The Problem with Coercive Grace

15:31 Free Grace vs Cheap Grace

17:06 True Repentance: Changing Your Mind

19:47 Morality vs Ethics

21:36 The Three Laws of Love

25:16 Everything is Kin

26:28 The Art of Living: Justice and Kindness

27:33 The Power of Nonviolent Resistance

30:13 Taking Action Where You Are

32:24 Closing: Season of Imbolc and Brigid

In times of injustice, celebration can feel indulgent, even irresponsible. But what if joy is not a distraction from justice, but one of its deepest disciplines?

Charlie and Brian explore celebration as a spiritual practice that protects the soul, reshapes anger, and keeps justice from collapsing into bitterness.

Here, joy is not denial. It is resistance that remembers how to breathe.

For more read here:

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Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer

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#ViaTransformativa #CreationSpirituality #JusticeAndJoy #SpiritualResistance #FaithInPractice #HolyJoy

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction: The Divine Banquet

04:15 The Excuses We Make

05:24 Systems Designed to Keep Us Busy

08:48 The Via Transformativa: Working For, Not Against

11:34 Shared Abundance vs. Enforced Equality

15:36 The Lie of Scarcity

17:13 Celebration as Restoration

18:34 Serving Life, Not Two Masters

23:13 The Banquet Heals and Provides

25:21 Mutual Aid, Care, and Support

28:16 Being a Good Team Player

30:28 Getting Started: What Can You Offer?

33:01 The Importance of Dance and Catharsis

34:37 Closing Prayer to Brigid

What do you do after you refuse violence but still feel the fire of urgency burning in your chest? This episode of Creation’s Paths, Charlie and Brian continue their exploration of nonviolent resistance by stepping into the Via Creativa: the path of creative, active hope. This is the moment where many of us get stuck. We refuse violence, but the anger, fear, and urgency remain. The instincts to fight, flee, or freeze keep returning.

This episode names a third way.

Drawing on the teachings of Jesus, the parable of the strong man, and the lived realities of resistance, this conversation explores how imagination becomes a spiritual shield, how liberation must be acted from rather than merely declared, and why removing injustice without envisioning what comes next only recreates the same wounds.

This is not about policy papers or perfect plans. It is about learning to dream, to see, and to stay engaged without surrendering our humanity. Active hope is not a feeling. It is a vision compelling enough to get us out of bed and into the work of building something better.

For the full article read:

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Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer

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#CreationsPaths #CreationSpirituality #ViaCreativa #ActiveHope #NonviolentResistance #ThirdWay #FaithAndJustice #SpiritualResistance #Christopagan #Druidry #KinDomOfGod

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction: The Energy of Resistance

01:09 Step Three: Creating Something New

02:01 The Fight, Flight, or Freeze Decision

04:14 Finding the Third Way

08:28 The Prophetic Call: Tear Down and Build Up

10:13 Acting from a Liberated Place

12:19 The Power of Creative Imagination

13:25 The Parable of the Strong Man

17:05 Breaking Free from Scarcity Mindset

19:45 The Great River of Trust

24:12 Living Without Guilt and Shame

26:10 Healing Takes Time

27:31 Reflection Exercise: Dream Your Future

29:41 Closing Prayer to Brigid

There are moments when taking up the sword feels justified, even righteous. This Via Negativa episode explores why refusing violence is not weakness, retreat, or denial of harm, but a disciplined spiritual stance shaped by trust, formation, and long memory. We sit with the tension between power that coerces and power that protects, and ask what it means to resist without becoming what we oppose.

Read the full article here:

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Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer

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#ViaNegativa #CreationSpirituality #ChristianNonviolence #SpiritualResistance #FaithAndJustice #MysticalTheology #ContemplativePractice

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction: Responding to Violence

02:08 The Challenge of Accepting Anger

03:37 Understanding Anger as Fire

06:42 The Forge: Making Tools, Not Weapons

10:18 Systemic Change & Historical Accountability

13:01 Discipline & Keeping the Fire Alive

18:24 Searing the Fire: Sustainable Practice

22:03 From Reaction to Intentional Action

22:59 Building Sustainable Energy for Change

25:21 Closing Reflection & Personal Discoveries

27:48 Closing Prayer

What happens when the fragile Gospel of mutual care enters a world ruled by threat, hierarchy, and violence? In this episode, we sit with Jesus’ most misunderstood words about the sword and trace how the nativity itself exposes the systems of control that surround us. Rather than resolving the tension, we enter it, asking what kind of life becomes possible when power is expressed through mutual indwelling instead of coercion. This is an invitation to imagine a world shaped not by fear, but by care.

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Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer

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#CreationsPaths #Christopagan #CreationSpirituality #NonviolentFaith #GospelOfPeace #MutualIndwelling #LivingWithoutThreats #ChristmasTheology

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

00:22 The Vulnerable God: Christmas and Violence

01:51 Mutual Indwelling and Care

03:09 The Sword Motif in Matthew’s Gospel

04:54 Nonviolent Resistance in the Nativity

05:53 The Mystery of Christmas: Mary and God

07:07 Misinterpreting ‘I Came Not to Bring Peace’

08:57 Paradigm Shift and Violent Reactions

10:06 The Cleansing of the Temple Reconsidered

13:05 The Three Sword Passages in Matthew

14:45 Rejecting Systems of Control

16:48 Work, Community, and False Hierarchies

20:37 Love Without Coercion

22:11 The Temptation to Add ‘Or Else’

23:34 Blessed Are the Peacemakers

24:30 Living Without Threats

25:35 Call to Imagine Together

26:55 Closing Prayer

What does it actually mean to “take God’s name in vain”? In this Christmas-season conversation, Charlie and Brian trace the commandment back to its Jewish roots, where names carry authority, responsibility, and consequence. From the ineffable Name to performative Christianity, from “the war on Christmas” to costly signaling, this episode invites us to examine how power, faith, and compassion intertwine. If we claim the name of Christ, the question is not what we say, but how we live.

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Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer

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#CreationsPaths #Christopagan #CreationSpirituality #CosmicChrist #AntiImperialFaith #AdventReflections #ChristmasTheology

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

00:28 The Phrase “Taking the Lord’s Name in Vain”

01:12 Host Introductions

01:57 Understanding the Ten Commandments Context

03:38 The Sacred Name and Ancient Taboos

05:51 Moses and the Power of God’s Presence

07:08 Sacred Names and Holy Objects

08:40 Jesus and the Name of God

10:25 Taking on the Name of Christ

11:48 Performative Christianity at Christmas

13:03 The War on Christmas

14:48 The History of “Xmas”

16:41 Evolution of Religious Language

18:31 Personal Responsibility and Authority

20:28 Virtue Signaling and Costly Signaling

22:26 Judging by Fruits, Not Words

25:04 Approaching Sincere vs. Performative Beliefs

27:00 Reflection Questions

27:19 Invitation to Dialogue