We're still in the Cold War

The Cold War existing because two super powers were building massive nuclear arms. Each power also helped their respective allies with their own nuclear arms (South Africa, Great Britain, etc). There was no imminent threat war for any normal cause. The threat stemmed from the fact that nuclear weapons existed, and each state felt threatened simply by the existence of these weapons programs. After all, why build weapons if you have no reason to use them?

In the past, weapons development always resulted from war, and in the midst of that war to adapt to the changing battlefield to gain an advantage over the enemy. Part of a war is development of weapons. Better weapons than the enemy. Stronger, faster, more reliable ways to engage in war.

The Cold War was a war without battles. We fought over who had the advantage on the battlefield even when we didn't have a battlefield.

But the point I'm getting at is that nations feel threatened when another nation is stockpiling weapons, building up their armies and navies, and positioning them against other states. And for good reason.

In the past when a nation was building up their armies they invariably went to war. Perhaps to justify the build up, or maybe because of hubris over their great strength. For example, Germany built up a strong, mechanized military leading up to their invasion of Poland and Czechoslovakia. The Allies had to respond in the midst of war to build up their own mechanized forces to match their abilities.

We see this still today. We see nations nervous of other nations arms programs. Pakistan built their nuclear program because India has one. Iran may be seeking nuclear weapons because Israel has some. Russia is protesting the missile systems the US have been installing around their borders.

But the whole world is nervous because the USA continues to build up its military strength year after year, developing newer, more awesome weapons of mass destruction. Inventing new ways to kill people all over the world. We have 24 hour surveillance of every corner of the globe, and a military presence in every theater. They look at us and ask themselves why we have so much power. We call it a defense force but we're so far away from our borders. We're in their country.

So the Cold War continues. People feel threatened by the state with a massive military presence.

John Howard Yoder said this:

Christians whose loyalty to the Prince of Peace puts them out of step with today's nationalistic world ... are not unrealistic dreamers who think that by their objections all wars will end. The unrealistic dreamers are rather the soldiers who think that they can put an end to wars by preparing for just one more. ... Christians love their enemies not because they think their enemies are wonderful people, nor because they believe that love is sure to conquer those enemies. ... The Christian loves his or her enemies because God does, and God commands His followers to do so; that is the only reason, and that is enough.

(link)

La Grande Trappe

I wrote a new song tonight I hope to use for my Hopedale project. It is called "La Grande Trappe" because the songs I'm writing for Hopedale all take a name from a location you might find on the map. Let me know what you think of it:

I have ascetic powers. I can build walls with my words; dikes with my acumen. I can keep the world at arms length in 140 characters or less

Derek Webb - What Matters More

You say you always treat people like you like to be
I guess you love being hated for your sexuality
You love when people put words in your mouth
'Bout what you believe, make you sound like a freak

'Cause if you really believe what you say you believe
You wouldn't be so damn reckless with the words you speak
Wouldn't silently conceal when the liars speak
Denyin' all the dyin' of the remedy

Tell me, brother, what matters more to you?
Tell me, sister, what matters more to you?

If I can tell what's in your heart by what comes out of your mouth
Then it sure looks to me like being straight is all it's about
It looks like being hated for all the wrong things
Like chasin' the wind while the pendulum swings

'Cause we can talk and debate until we're blue in the face
About the language and tradition that he's comin' to save
Meanwhile we sit just like we don't give a shit
About 50,000 people who are dyin' today

Tell me, brother, what matters more to you?
Tell me, sister, what matters more to you?

Maps of empires

I noticed in the back of my wife's study Bible a few maps of empires found within its pages. I found it interesting. So I put together a collection of maps from oldest to newest. This is far from comprehensive. Here's a list I didn't go by, but found just as I finished my own list: List of largest empires

Indus Valley (3300 BC - 1700 BC)


Elamite Empire (2700 BC - 539 BC)


Akkadian Empire (2350 BC - 2150 BC)


Assyrian Empire (1920 BC - 609 BC)


Babylonian Empire (1900 BC - 1600 BC)


Egyptian Empire (1570 BC - 1270 BC)


Hittite Empire (1460 BC - 1180 BC)


Kingdom of David (1050 BC - 920 BC)


Median Empire (728 BC - 559 BC)


Achaemenid Empire (550 BC - 330 BC)


Athenian Empire (477 BC - 431 BC)


Macedonian Empire (338 BC - 3091 BC)


Seleucid Empire (323 BC - 60 BC)


Maurya Empire (321 BC - 185 BC)


Han Empire (206 BC - 220 BC)


Parthian Empire (200 BC - AD 224)


Kingdom of Armenia (95 BC - 60 BC)


Roman Empire (27 BC - AD 476)


Kushan Empire (AD 105 - 250)


Byzantine Empire (AD 330 - 1453)


Hephthalites Empire (AD 425 - 557)


Holy Roman Empire (AD 843 - 1806)


Chola Dynasty (AD 850 - 1279)


Saffarid Dynasty (AD 861 - 1003)


Fatimid Caliphate (AD 910 - 1171)


Song Dynasty (AD 960 - 1279)


Ghaznavid Empire (AD 963 - 1187)


Mongol Empire (AD 1206 - 1300s)


Ottoman Empire (AD 1299 - 1922s)


Aztec Empire (AD 1375 - 1521s)


Timurid Dynasty (AD 1401 - 1505)


Spanish Empire (AD 1402 - 1975)


Safavid Dynasty (AD 1501 - 1736)


Swedish Empire (AD 1611 - 1721)


Qing Dynasty (AD 1636 - 1912)


British Empire (AD 1707 - 1997) **Largest empire ever


Afsharid Dynasty (AD 1736 - 1796)


Gran Colombia (AD 1819 - 1931)


Empire of Brazil (AD 1830 - present)


French Empire (AD 1822 - 1889)


Japanese Empire (AD 1856 - 1945)


Austro-Hungarian Empire (AD 1867 - 1918)


Third Reich (AD 1933 - 1945)


Soviet Union (AD 1922 - 1991)


American Empire (AD 1787 - present)

More Than This new songs

Sick of the judgement

I'm sick of it. I'm sick of the self-righteous judgment in the Church. It comes from me as from anyone else. Who am I to think I'm better than another brother/sister because I've read a few more books and know a bit more about what the Gospel really means when living in the empire? Why should I cut myself off from worshiping alongside my adopted siblings in the Lord because they haven't been convicted as I have?

I'm sick of it. I'm sick of my brothers judging my sisters because of what they wear. The men in the Body of Christ who treat women as second-class citizens in the Kingdom of God and refuse to let them participate fully in service to our Lord.

I'm sick of it. I'm sick of my sisters judging politicians for working in a secular government. From one side of their mouths they want to secularize countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia, and from the other they want to make the United States of America become more controlled by the Christian religion.

I'm sick of it. I'm sick of my brothers judging the relationship the Church has with the world. "The Church is a whore, but she is my mother." Yes, the Church is in bed with the world's political systems, and corrupted by world's powers. This needs to change, but by judging the Church from the outside and refusing to fellowship with these poor siblings desperate for the love of God, we're only causing division within the Church, and this doesn't help at all.

I'm sick of it. I'm sick of my sisters judging my brothers for watching movies, and playing video games. "The body is not defiled by what enters the body, but by what comes forth from within." While participating in the culture of the day isn't particularly helpful, it is also not inherently harmful either. This should be a individual choice based on what that particular individual can take; not in trying to define lines one can cross or come up to, but in how one relates to the world while remaining pure.

I'm sick of it. I'm sick of my brothers judging my brothers who drink or smoke saying it might cause someone else to stumble. It's a cop-out. Our fellowships do plenty of things that might cause someone to stumble, but we take the time to teach doctrine on these issues so the "weaker" brothers/sisters won't judge the "stronger". But in this area we don't teach anything, we just judge the "stronger."

I'm sick of it. I'm sick of walking into buildings set apart for worship and judging my brothers and sisters for displaying the flag of the USA on the stage. It is a stumbling block for me, and it may be for others - manifest in the way they can't distinguish between the USA and the Kingdom of God - but how can I judge their hearts? Is it any different than displaying a sport team logo? Is it any different than the brand logo on the front of my bass gear?

I'm sick of it. I'm sick of steering clear of fellowships because I can't agree with them on theological minutia. We have the same Lord, and the same Savior. We can find common ground and "love one another."

How will the world know we are His people? We love one another. We must love one another or we've already given in to the Devil.

I chose a fellowship this morning, the day after our Independence Day, specifically thinking this pentecostal worship would remain spiritual and not delve into the politics of the day, and the worship of the nation-state we call home. I thought if they gave in I would have lost hope for humanity. I didn't. They sang the Battle Hymn of the Republic, and they bantered out the tired "church and state" and "Bible in schools" things. But it was humbling because I LOVE THESE PEOPLE. They're all broken people in need of a Savior, and they know who this Savior is - Christ the Lord. If I can forgive one sin, how can I not forgive this one? "The measure you forgive is the measure you will be forgiven."

I'm done with judging.