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We left the bar with a knife in our pocket. That did not stop us from dancing. The lords of Babylon have always known what they were doing, using queer bodies as a wedge, trading in fear, stoking lust for power to keep the people of the earth divided. This episode walks the Four Paths through the heart of that mechanism and finds, on the other side, what they cannot take from us. Simca: the communal joy that protests by refusing to stop. You were not born broken. Fifteen billion years of the universe’s grace says otherwise, and this book shows you how to live from that. Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer, foreword by Matthew Fox. Creation’s Paths is a Christopagan Creation Spirituality community rooted in the conviction that creation is original blessing, not original sin. If this episode found you at the right moment, you are welcome here. New to Creation’s Paths? Start here: https://www.creationspaths.com/p/start-here The book: Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer https://www.amazon.com/dp/1972869019 Educational resources: https://wisdomscry.com This work is listener and reader supported. If it has been nourishing to you, the most direct way to sustain it is a paid Substack subscription: it keeps the teaching flowing and the community growing. All are welcome here regardless of financial capacity. Spiritual nourishment should flow freely to all who seek it. Become a paid subscriber: Other ways to support: Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett Patreon: https://patreon.com/cedorsett Cash App: https://cash.app/$CreationsPaths Find us: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com Threads: https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/ #QueerLiberationTheology #PrideIsAProtest #LordsOfBabylon #QueerFaith #LGBTQSpirituality #PrideMonth #Christopagan #CreationSpirituality #CreationsPaths Chapters: 0:00 Three Figures on the Horizon05:41 Walk With Us Down Creation’s Paths07:24 The Divide Is the Weapon18:59 The Face of Christ in Every Face (Via Positiva)26:11 Do Not Hold Too Tight (Via Negativa)38:04 You Cannot Have Solidarity With Paper (Via Creativa)50:08 The Joy That Cannot Be Taken (Via Transformativa)58:35 Pride Is a Protest1:00:43 Create in Me a Pure Heart1:03:43 Just Listen to It Beat Get full access to Creation's Paths at www.creationspaths.com/subscribe

Devotion without discernment is just blind obedience. That line builds across an entire episode, and it lands somewhere true. John Cassian, a third-century desert father writing before Augustine reshaped everything, gave us four questions to apply to any belief system, spiritual teacher, community, or practice: is it truly valuable, is it genuine, does it bear the right intention, can it carry the weight of what it claims? Charlie and Brian work through each test with examples ranging from Jonestown to prosperity gospel to billionaire philanthropy, and close with a reframing of utopia as honest direction rather than impossible destination. Discernment isn't the enemy of devotion. It's what keeps devotion from becoming captivity. Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it. You left the institution but not the longing. Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer is for everyone who still feels the sacred moving through the world and wants a language worthy of that feeling. Creation’s Paths is a Christopagan Creation Spirituality community rooted in the conviction that creation is original blessing, not original sin. If this episode found you at the right moment, you are welcome here. New to Creation’s Paths? Start here: https://www.creationspaths.com/p/start-here The book: Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer https://www.amazon.com/dp/1972869019 Educational resources: https://wisdomscry.com This work is listener and reader supported. If it has been nourishing to you, the most direct way to sustain it is a paid Substack subscription: it keeps the teaching flowing and the community growing. All are welcome here regardless of financial capacity. Spiritual nourishment should flow freely to all who seek it. Become a paid subscriber: Other ways to support: Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett Patreon: https://patreon.com/cedorsett Cash App: https://cash.app/$CreationsPaths Find us: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com Threads: https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/ #Discernment #SpiritualTechnology #JohnCassian #FaithDeconstruction #SpiritualAbuse #DesertFathers #Christopagan #CreationSpirituality #CreationsPaths 0:00 We Look Under the Hood of Used Cars. Why Not Our Beliefs? 1:26 Welcome to the Workshop 4:38 When the Message Sounded Good and the Warning Signs Were Right There 6:27 Before Augustine: John Cassian and the Desert Elders 8:00 Test One: Is It Actually Valuable? 12:10 Test Two: Is It Genuine or Counterfeit? 20:17 Test Three: Does It Bear the Right Image and Intention? 26:41 Test Four: Can It Hold the Weight of What It Claims? 34:28 Utopia Is a Direction, Not a Destination 40:13 Discernment Is the Vital Aspect of Your Autonomy Get full access to Creation's Paths at www.creationspaths.com/subscribe

Something happens in the body when someone says "Jesus." A clench, a recoil, a strange silence. This episode traces that response to its source: a fourth-century theologian who needed an excuse, an empire that found the idea useful, and the residue that soaked into the culture whether or not you ever set foot in a church. Charlie and Brian walk the Four Paths through original blessing, finding in the cross not a payment for debt but a living demonstration of grace that takes in every wound the world can pour and gives back love. It ends with a practice: say it until you feel it in your body. We are born blessed, not broken. Creation’s Paths is a Christopagan Creation Spirituality community rooted in the conviction that creation is original blessing, not original sin. If this episode found you at the right moment, you are welcome here. New to Creation’s Paths? Start here: https://www.creationspaths.com/p/start-here You were not born broken. Fifteen billion years of the universe’s grace says otherwise, and this book shows you how to live from that. Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer, foreword by Matthew Fox. Educational resources: https://wisdomscry.com This work is listener and reader supported. If it has been nourishing to you, the most direct way to sustain it is a paid Substack subscription: it keeps the teaching flowing and the community growing. All are welcome here regardless of financial capacity. Spiritual nourishment should flow freely to all who seek it. Become a paid subscriber: Other ways to support: Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett Patreon: https://patreon.com/cedorsett Cash App: https://cash.app/$CreationsPaths Find us: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com Threads: https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/ #OriginalBlessing #ReligiousResidue #BornBlessedNotBroken #Jesus #ChristianDeconstruction #FaithHealing #Christopagan #CreationSpirituality #CreationsPaths 0:00 What Happens in Your Body When I Say Jesus? 3:26 We’re Supposed to Share the Good News. Then We Hit a Wall. 5:45 The Cringe Has Deeper Roots Than You Think 18:44 Augustine Couldn’t Keep His Toga On (Via Negativa) 37:33 The Glory of God Is the Human Being Fully Alive (Via Positiva) 43:06 What Did Jesus Actually Do on the Cross? (Via Creativa) 48:47 Transmuting Violence: The Conscience That Feels (Via Transformativa) 59:20 Whitewashed Tombs and the Least of These 1:03:01 Say It Until You Feel It Get full access to Creation's Paths at www.creationspaths.com/subscribe

She was in the National Cathedral, surrounded by moon rocks and ancient stones from around the world, and all she could say was that the lighting was not right for her pictures. Most of us are her. The meaning crisis is not about emptiness out there somewhere; it is about distraction from what is already here. In this episode, Charlie and Brian walk the Four Paths through the meaning crisis and find that the kin-dom Creation Spirituality has been pointing to all along is not deferred. It is here. And simcha and a simple bracha are the practices that break the whole machine. Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh https://amzn.to/4tFQTFy Viriditas. The greening power. Hildegard knew it. The forest knows it. Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer is for everyone who has ever felt the divine moving through roots and rain and refused to call that feeling anything less than holy. Creation’s Paths is a Christopagan Creation Spirituality community rooted in the conviction that creation is original blessing, not original sin. If this episode found you at the right moment, you are welcome here. New to Creation’s Paths? Start here: https://www.creationspaths.com/p/start-here The book: Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer https://www.amazon.com/dp/1972869019 Educational resources: https://wisdomscry.com This work is listener and reader supported. If it has been nourishing to you, the most direct way to sustain it is a paid Substack subscription: it keeps the teaching flowing and the community growing. All are welcome here regardless of financial capacity. Spiritual nourishment should flow freely to all who seek it. Become a paid subscriber: Other ways to support: Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett Patreon: https://patreon.com/cedorsett Cash App: https://cash.app/$CreationsPaths Find us: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com Threads: https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/ #ViaPositiva #MeaningCrisis #LostArtOfSavor #Mysticism #Malkuth #SpiritualFormation #Christopagan #CreationSpirituality #CreationsPaths Chapters:0:00 She Never Saw the Moon Rock6:57 The Lost Art of Savor14:01 The Kin-dom Is Already Here16:15 FOMO Is Not the Via Negativa18:07 The Broken Shell Hiding the Spark24:14 Let It Melt28:24 Simcha Is the Root of Justice29:45 Flooding the Zone36:07 Simcha Bites Back37:12 Practice: Say a Bracha Get full access to Creation's Paths at www.creationspaths.com/subscribe

Those who wait to deserve will never be worthy. The goalposts always move, because the system was built to keep moving them. Charlie and Brian walk into Yesod, the Sephiroth of foundation, and find the rhythm beneath every real community: gracious giving, gracious receiving, and the covenant that holds when contract fails. Stories from Berkeley, from the inflatable frog in Portland, from the dry aquifers of the Bible Belt, and from the strange company of holy rascals who refuse to wait for permission to live. Some people pray to a God they no longer believe in because they have not yet found language for the God they do. Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer is that language, grown from twenty years of walking the Four Paths. .Creation’s Paths is a Christopagan Creation Spirituality community rooted in the conviction that creation is original blessing, not original sin. If this episode found you at the right moment, you are welcome here. New to Creation’s Paths? Start here: https://www.creationspaths.com/p/start-here The book: Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer https://www.amazon.com/dp/1972869019 Educational resources: https://wisdomscry.com This work is listener and reader supported. If it has been nourishing to you, the most direct way to sustain it is a paid Substack subscription: it keeps the teaching flowing and the community growing. All are welcome here regardless of financial capacity. Spiritual nourishment should flow freely to all who seek it. Become a paid subscriber: Other ways to support: Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett Patreon: https://patreon.com/cedorsett Cash App: https://cash.app/$CreationsPaths Find us: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com Threads: https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/ #Yesod #Covenant #HolyRascals #TreeOfLife #Mysticism #Theology #Christopagan #CreationSpirituality #CreationsPaths 0:00 We Forgot That We Belong to One Another 1:53 Druid Priest of Bridget, Sous-Chef to the Dagda 3:34 Try Pulling Yourself Up by Your Bootstraps 6:09 Edison Had Four Hundred Engineers 9:04 Which Word Would You Erase from English? 11:05 The Whole Phrase We Forgot 13:16 The Church That Laid Hands on Us (Via Positiva) 19:27 Habit, Not Malice (Via Negativa) 29:04 Thirty-Six Hidden Ones Hold the World (Via Creativa) 32:53 You Were Robbing Them of Giving 38:04 Meritocracy Was a Dystopian Satire (Via Transformativa) 41:24 Charity Is Not Covenant 42:51 How Rage Hurts the Cause It Loves 44:59 Everyone Was Welcome There 46:22 Those Who Wait to Deserve Will Never Be Worthy 47:31 A Prayer to Saint Zacchaeus Get full access to Creation's Paths at www.creationspaths.com/subscribe

You are already the diamond. The light has been coming in for years, refracting through every sorrow, every question, every practice, and you have been waiting for a piece of paper to tell you it was real. This episode explores Hod, the Sephiroth of Splendor, and asks what it actually means to receive: not as passive absorption but as the active, creative act that turns tradition into a living third thing. Charlie and Brian walk through the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality to name the difference between obedience culture and genuine receptivity, and close with an embodied practice and blessing for the diamond heart. You left the institution but not the longing. Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer is for everyone who still feels the sacred moving through the world and wants a language worthy of that feeling. Creation’s Paths is a Christopagan Creation Spirituality community rooted in the conviction that creation is original blessing, not original sin. If this episode found you at the right moment, you are welcome here. New to Creation’s Paths? Start here: https://www.creationspaths.com/p/start-here The book: Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer https://www.amazon.com/dp/1972869019 Educational resources: https://wisdomscry.com This work is listener and reader supported. If it has been nourishing to you, the most direct way to sustain it is a paid Substack subscription: it keeps the teaching flowing and the community growing. All are welcome here regardless of financial capacity. Spiritual nourishment should flow freely to all who seek it. Become a paid subscriber: Other ways to support: Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett Patreon: https://patreon.com/cedorsett Cash App: https://cash.app/$CreationsPaths Find us: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com Threads: https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/ 0:00 The Certificate I Was Waiting For3:29 Hod: The Sephirah of Splendor5:32 Systems That Train You to Wait9:05 The Soul Is an Instrument That Must Be Played13:20 When Receiving Closes Into Control16:18 You Are Already the Diamond (Via Positiva)17:53 One Plus One Equals Three19:46 Clearing Ground Before the Seed (Via Negativa)27:04 Nobody Gets Lego to Stare at the Bricks (Via Creativa)35:31 Radiate It Out (Via Transformativa)36:45 Practice: Receive and Send39:22 Blessed Are Those with the Diamond Heart Get full access to Creation's Paths at www.creationspaths.com/subscribe

The last thing Charlie sees every night before turning out the light is St. Sarah's face smiling from a painting on the altar across the room. And somewhere deep inside, that courage smiles back. Then morning comes. And somehow, you get up and go back into the daily struggle. This week on Creation's Paths, Charlie and Brian walk with Netzach: the energy on the Tree of Life that keeps things moving forward, the green drive that refuses to stop. They follow the Four Paths through dandelions breaking concrete, ships with no rudder finding shore, and three little birds singing so loud on the windowsill you'd think an alarm was going off. What's wanting to be born in us right now is not a strategy for surviving empire. It's something older, smaller, and far more stubborn than that. Matthew Fox calls it 1+1=3: one tradition meeting one life makes a third thing no one expected. Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer is that third thing and an invitation to find yours. Creation’s Paths is a Christopagan Creation Spirituality community rooted in the conviction that creation is original blessing, not original sin. If this episode found you at the right moment, you are welcome here. New to Creation’s Paths? Start here: https://www.creationspaths.com/p/start-here The book: Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer https://www.amazon.com/dp/1972869019 Educational resources: https://wisdomscry.com This work is listener and reader supported. If it has been nourishing to you, the most direct way to sustain it is a paid Substack subscription: it keeps the teaching flowing and the community growing. All are welcome here regardless of financial capacity. Spiritual nourishment should flow freely to all who seek it. Become a paid subscriber: Other ways to support: Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett Patreon: https://patreon.com/cedorsett Cash App: https://cash.app/$CreationsPaths Find us: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com Threads: https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/ #Netzach #BlackMadonna #TreeOfLife #ViaNegativa #ViaPositiva #Christian #Mysticism #Spirituality #Christopagan #CreationSpirituality #CreationsPaths Chapters: 0:00 She Came to Shore With No Rudder2:50 What It Takes to Keep Moving4:09 The Narrow Place7:50 Sitting With the Dark Until It Greens13:44 Dandelions Break Concrete19:04 Three Little Birds on the Windowsill22:28 Self-Love Is Not Small27:48 This Week’s Practice Get full access to Creation's Paths at www.creationspaths.com/subscribe

We are living in a time that wants to drain the color out of everything: from politics to consumption culture to the slow accumulation of fear. Charlie and Brian walk the Four Paths through a single question: what actually holds the center when things fall apart? The answer is not optimism. It is beauty understood as the cosmological balance point of the Tree of Life, the dwelling place of the Cosmic Christ, and the practice that elevates the divine sparks still burning inside the broken shells of the world. This episode is pastoral, practical, and quietly insurgent. It moves from Via Positiva awe through the klippot and nitzotzot of Via Negativa, into the gemilut chesed and brachot of Via Creativa, and arrives at Via Transformativa in time to talk about dancing at protests and why a movement that cannot dance has already lost its way. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get your copy here —> Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer Creation’s Paths is a Christopagan Creation Spirituality community rooted in the conviction that creation is original blessing, not original sin. If this episode found you at the right moment, you are welcome here. New to Creation’s Paths? Start here: https://www.creationspaths.com/p/start-here The book: Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer https://www.amazon.com/dp/1972869019 Educational resources: https://wisdomscry.com This work is listener and reader supported. If it has been nourishing to you, the most direct way to sustain it is a paid Substack subscription: it keeps the teaching flowing and the community growing. All are welcome here regardless of financial capacity. Spiritual nourishment should flow freely to all who seek it. Become a paid subscriber: Other ways to support: Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett Patreon: https://patreon.com/cedorsett Cash App: https://cash.app/$CreationsPaths Find us: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com Threads: https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/ #ViaPositiva #TikkunOlam #CosmicChrist #Tiphareth #FourPaths #SpiritualResistance #DefiantJoy #FaithAndBeauty #Geburah #Christopagan #CreationSpirituality #CreationsPaths Chapters: 00:00 The Story That Started Everything01:31 Yeats and the World Right Now03:29 Introduction / What Beauty Actually Is05:28 The Gray Haze — What’s Being Done to Us08:22 Beauty, Artemis, and the Blue Marble10:42 Via Positiva — Beauty as the First Path11:14 Tiphareth: Beauty at the Heart of the Tree of Life13:57 The Cosmic Christ Lives in Beauty16:00 Via Negativa — The kelipot and the Divine Sparks18:05 Tikkun Olam: Elevating the Sparks21:58 Releasing the Shell, Lifting the Light22:59 Via Creativa — Making Beauty in the World23:35 Gemilut Chesed: Bestowing Loving Kindness26:22 Brachot: The Practice of a Hundred Blessings28:24 Via Transformativa — Defiant Joy as Resistance31:53 This Week’s Practice: Blessed Is Life34:00 Closing Blessing Get full access to Creation's Paths at www.creationspaths.com/subscribe

We're living in an Isaiah 5:20 moment: good called evil, evil called good, and a whole lot of broken people performing strength so the rest of us will feel powerless. This episode walks the Four Paths through the theology of Geburah: what communal, weight-sharing strength actually looks like; how Pachad, the projecting fear, corrupts it from within; what courage, the strong heart, wants to be born in us right now; and how we build the real thing together. Creation’s Paths is a Christopagan Creation Spirituality community rooted in the conviction that creation is original blessing, not original sin. If this episode found you at the right moment, you are welcome here. New to Creation’s Paths? Start here: https://www.creationspaths.com/p/start-here The book: Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer https://www.amazon.com/dp/1972869019 Educational resources: https://wisdomscry.com This work is listener and reader supported. If it has been nourishing to you, the most direct way to sustain it is a paid Substack subscription: it keeps the teaching flowing and the community growing. All are welcome here regardless of financial capacity. Spiritual nourishment should flow freely to all who seek it. Become a paid subscriber: Other ways to support: Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett Patreon: https://patreon.com/cedorsett Cash App: https://cash.app/$CreationsPaths Find us: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com Threads: https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/ #Geburah #StrongHeart #KabbalahAndChristianity #SpiritualFormation #CourageAndFaith #PropheticTheology #Christopagan #CreationSpirituality #CreationsPaths Chapters: 0:00 — You’re Not Crazy: Strength in a World Turned Upside Down Cut point: “I feel like we have to start today by saying you’re not crazy.” ~2:00 — Welcome + Book Announcement Cut point: “Hello everybody. My name is Charlie.” ~4:00 — Strength That Demands Loyalty Over Truth Is Already Crumbling Cut point: “All right. Let’s just get into it now, shall we?” ~11:00 — Via Positiva: The Arch and the Weight We Share Cut point: “So let’s walk this idea of strength through the four paths” ~15:00 — Via Negativa: Geburah, Pachad, and the Fear That Robs Us Cut point: “As we turn over to the Via Negativa, to the second path, and start asking ourselves — what do we have to let go of? The answer is fear.” ~23:00 — Via Creativa: Courage Is the Strong Heart Being Born Cut point: “So as we turn to the Via Creativa and ask ourselves, well, what wants to be born within us at this moment” ~31:00 — Via Transformativa: Building Real Communities of Strength Cut point: “As we move on to the Via Transformativa, the fourth path, we ask ourselves — so what change do we actually bring to the world?” ~35:00 — Practice: A Meditation on the Strong Heart Cut point: “So hopefully that gives you a good firm rooting in what strength actually is. But if you wanna feel that, if you wanna experience it, not just think about it, I wanna offer a little practice for you.” ~39:00 — Closing Prayer to Archangel Michael Cut point: “I’d like to just say a little prayer to the Archangel Michael” Get full access to Creation's Paths at www.creationspaths.com/subscribe

Jesus preached the gospel of the Kin-dom. Not a kingdom of domination and accumulated power, but a realm of kinship, mutual care, right relationship, and life lived in abundance together. In this closing conversation of the Kin-dom Rising series, Charlie and Brian ask what that actually looks like when it shows up in ordinary life. They trace the long argument between those who said the Kin-dom is here now and those who found it more convenient to push it off into the far future. They talk about anxiety, Babylon, meaning, the beatitudes, casseroles from neighbors, and what it means to savor life rather than consume it. This is theology from the inside, two people who have been practicing this faith for decades, thinking out loud together about what it asks of us and what it offers in return. Creation’s Paths is a Christopagan Creation Spirituality community rooted in the conviction that creation is original blessing, not original sin. If this episode found you at the right moment, you are welcome here. New to Creation’s Paths? Start here: https://www.creationspaths.com/p/start-here The book: Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer https://www.amazon.com/dp/1972869019 Educational resources: https://wisdomscry.com This work is listener and reader supported. If it has been nourishing to you, the most direct way to sustain it is a paid Substack subscription: it keeps the teaching flowing and the community growing. All are welcome here regardless of financial capacity. Spiritual nourishment should flow freely to all who seek it. Become a paid subscriber: Other ways to support: Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett Patreon: https://patreon.com/cedorsett Cash App: https://cash.app/$CreationsPaths Find us: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com Threads: https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/ #KinDomOfGod #BabylonAndTheKinDom #SavorNotConsume #JesusTeachings #PresentKingdom #ChristianMysticism #ProgressiveChristianity #Christopagan #CreationSpirituality #CreationsPaths Chapters: 00:00 Opening Reflection: The Kingdom vs. Imperial Power01:16 Announcements: Church of the Oak & Upcoming Series02:05 Book Announcement: Creation’s Paths05:09 Announcement: The Risen Gospel of Jesus (Easter Series)06:21 What Is the Kin-dom? Defining the Kingdom of Jesus07:05 Is the Kingdom Now or Later? The Pelagius vs. Augustine Debate10:33 The Kingdom as a State of Mind: Heaven, Hell, and How You Live24:45 Babylon Is Always in the Room: Anxiety and the Kingdom25:39 Savoring vs. Consuming: Reclaiming Life from Babylon’s Mindset31:02 Closing Reflections & Series Wrap-Up32:56 Closing Prayer Get full access to Creation's Paths at www.creationspaths.com/subscribe

Babylon is often imagined as something distant, a system somewhere else, run by someone else. But what happens when we begin to see how its patterns show up close to home, in the ways we treat others and ourselves? This episode invites a deeper awareness of dehumanization, not to accuse, but to help us recognize and respond with clarity and care. Thank you for Liking and Subscribing to this podcast Thank you for sharing this episode with your loved ones, friends and community Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it. Read the full article here: Read the Labor Force Article here: https://www.ms.now/business-culture/300000-black-women-left-labor-force-3-months-s-not-coincidence-rcna219355 Thank you for Tips / Donations: * https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett * https://patreon.com/cedorsett * https://cash.app/$CreationsPaths * Substack: https://www.creationspaths.com/ New to The Seraphic Grove learn more For Educational Resource: https://wisdomscry.com Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer Social Connections: * BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com * Threads https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths * Instagram https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/ #BabylonSystem #Dehumanization #SpiritualDiscernment #ChristianTheology #EmpireCritique #FaithAndCulture #Christopagan #CreationSpirituality #CreationsPaths Chapters: 00:00 Introduction: The Fall of Babylon03:04 Babylon’s Commodification: People and Souls04:23 Historical Context: The Book of Revelation07:19 Labor as Commodity: The Modern Workforce09:35 Unjust Laws: Ancient Problem, Modern Reality12:17 How We Form Moral and Ethical Judgments15:15 Ethics, Morality, and Law: Understanding the Differences21:07 Can You Legislate Morality?25:37 Honor, Integrity, and Compassion: Living in Right Relationship29:40 The Silversmiths of Ephesus: Faith and Livelihood30:38 Fear as Babylon’s Foundation33:19 Recognizing Division and Manufactured Fear33:55 Closing: All Shall Be Well Get full access to Creation's Paths at www.creationspaths.com/subscribe

Romans 13 has long been used to sanctify authority, but what happens when we read it in the light of love, context, and the wider witness of scripture? This episode explores how sacred texts are turned into tools of control and how they can be reclaimed as invitations into discernment. Beneath the debate is a deeper question about power, obedience, and the kind of world we are actually called to build. Read the full article: Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it. Thank you for Tips / Donations: * https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett * https://patreon.com/cedorsett * https://cash.app/$CreationsPaths * Substack: https://www.creationspaths.com/ New to The Seraphic Grove learn more For Educational Resource: https://wisdomscry.com Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer Social Connections: * BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com * Threads https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths * Instagram https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/ #Romans13 #BibleInterpretation #ChristianNonviolence #Theology #Jesus #Christianity #Christopagan #CreationSpirituality #CreationsPaths Chapters: 00:00 Introduction: The Self-Sealing Circle00:22 Romans 13 & Acts 5:29 - The Contradiction03:34 The Problem of Biblical Inerrancy05:38 Creation Spirituality’s Chorus of Voices07:48 Understanding Romans 13 in Context08:33 Paul’s Imminent Expectation08:57 Chapter & Verse: A Medieval Invention10:07 Historical Misuse of Romans 1311:10 Rome’s Failure & Paul’s Sarcasm18:07 Historical Context: Revolt Era Rome20:50 Paul’s Maturity & Wise Action21:40 Future Bible Study Possibilities23:01 The Yo-Yo Between Two Passages26:40 Modern World vs. Paul’s World31:03 God Is Not Partisan32:16 Conclusion & Closing Prayer Get full access to Creation's Paths at www.creationspaths.com/subscribe

Grace sounds beautiful in theory. It becomes complicated the moment someone who caused harm asks to come back. This conversation explores the tension between redemption and responsibility through the story of Saul’s transformation and the life of early Christian communities. What does it mean to believe no one is beyond grace while still protecting the safety of the community? Rather than offering easy answers, this episode sits honestly inside the tension between mercy, accountability, and discernment. For more on this topic read the full article at Creation’s Paths: Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it. Thank you for Tips / Donations: * https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett * https://patreon.com/cedorsett * https://cash.app/$CreationsPaths * Substack: https://www.creationspaths.com/ New to The Seraphic Grove learn more For Educational Resource: https://wisdomscry.com Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer Social Connections: * BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com * Threads https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths * Instagram https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/ #GraceAndAccountability #SpiritualCommunity #Redemption #ChristianTheology #FaithAndJustice #SpiritualDiscernment #Christopagan #CreationSpirituality #CreationsPaths Chapters: 00:00 Introduction: Can Anyone Be Redeemed? 01:40 Welcome & Channel Updates 03:26 The Story of Paul’s Conversion 08:16 Paul’s First Mistake: Preaching Too Soon 15:56 Barnabas: The Importance of Vouching 18:31 Forgiveness vs. Trust 20:51 Earning Your Place: Humility & Testing 24:21 The Value of Paul to the Church 28:29 Community Discernment, Not Individual Authority Get full access to Creation's Paths at www.creationspaths.com/subscribe

Most of us do not live in cultures that fully reflect our deepest faith and values. Scripture calls that condition exile. In this conversation, we explore what it means to live faithfully in “Babylon” without becoming colonizers, without retreating into bitterness, and without surrendering the Spirit of Truth. How do we build, plant, raise families, and seek the peace of a city that does not mirror our longing? This episode offers orientation for anyone trying to remain rooted in a world of confusion. Read the full article: Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it. Thank you for Tips / Donations: * https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett * https://patreon.com/cedorsett * https://cash.app/$CreationsPaths * Substack: https://www.creationspaths.com/ New to The Seraphic Grove learn more For Educational Resource: https://wisdomscry.com Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer Social Connections: * BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com * Threads https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths * Instagram https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/ #LivingInBabylon #FaithInExile #Jeremiah29 #ChristianSpirituality #TheologyDiscussion #Christopagan #CreationSpirituality #CreationsPaths Chapters: 00:00 Introduction: The Reality of Living in Babylon 04:19 Scripture Reading: Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles 07:27 Building Houses and Gardens in Babylon 10:45 Babel: The Land of Confusion 14:11 Defiant Refusal: Lessons from Daniel and the Fiery Furnace 16:26 Nonviolent Resistance and Civil Disobedience 18:23 Building Community Sanctuaries for Resistance 20:03 Praying for Shalom: The Wholeness of the City 21:51 Embracing Impermanence: No Happy Endings 24:51 Social Constructs Can Change 27:04 The Three Dharma Keys: Change, Interconnection, and Liberation 29:58 Closing Reflections and Upcoming Topics 31:25 Benediction: Peace in All Cities Get full access to Creation's Paths at www.creationspaths.com/subscribe

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: Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it. Thank you for Tips / Donations: * https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett * https://patreon.com/cedorsett * https://cash.app/$CreationsPaths * Substack: https://www.creationspaths.com/ New to The Seraphic Grove learn more For Educational Resource: https://wisdomscry.com Creation’s Paths: A Creation Spirituality Primer Social Connections: * BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com * Threads https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths * Instagram https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/ #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 Get full access to Creation's Paths at www.creationspaths.com/subscribe