Traverse Fantasy

There’s an idiom by which evangelicals refer to the Bible, namely the “Word of Gxd”, and they will read bits of the Bible referring to the Logos as being self-referential towards the Bible (never mind that the form in which we receive it is different from what the authors, who probably had not realized they were contributing to canon, would have had in mind). Then it occurred to me: wait a second, the Logos ? Are there any references to the Logos in the New Testament which are not either referring to the Logos qua ontological function or to logos qua reason (if not  logos  in its most basic, literal sense)? Keep in mind that the New Testament is addressed to the Hellenistic world which was well acquainted not only with the language in which the various authors were writing, but also probably (whether by being literate or via cultural osmosis) with the concepts of Greek philosophy which Christians were both competing with and borrowing from linguistically as Hellenized Me...

With help from James Bishop’s blog , I’ve compiled quotations from Paul which elaborate upon his understanding of Jesus’ life (a sort of mini-gospel): But when the fullness of time had come, Gxd sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. Galatians 4:4 (NRSVue) Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of Gxd, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of Gxd with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the gentiles for the sake of his name, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, to all Gxd’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be ...

I had a dream a few nights ago. Maybe you can help me. I was taking someone to a childhood favorite bakery of mine—not a real place, just in the dream—and I was very excited. However, no matter where I stood at the counter, the workers there would either ignore or heckle me while serving others. Eventually, even the other customers became frustrated that I was standing there even though I obviously wasn't welcome there. Some time passed, but then someone I understood to be the owner came out and apologized to me. He said that they might not have what I originally wanted—it was so busy and they were running out of goods, I remember in particular slices of cookie cake and a fried sheet cake which they iced like a donut and sliced into long rectangles, none of this making any sense—but that he was going to give me a box and I could pick out anything I wanted. I woke up and felt melancholy. A dream is a dream, but I understood intuitively what my mind was trying to communicate through ...

Previously, I submitted a working definition for gnosticism, an infamously vague category which typically serves to mark various doctrines as heterodox. These still have in my view a family resemblance, despite the exonymic nature of the term itself. There’s no minimum viable criteria to which all doctrines called gnostic can be reduced without shaving off the edges and possibly mischaracterizing many (or all ) of them. However, there are tendencies manifest in doctrines called gnostic, which distinguish them from others called orthodox, and we should think of these tendencies not as specific beliefs but as relations between a believer, their dogma, and their praxis. My earlier go was : that physical creation is a corrupt prison in which our souls are trapped, and that the goal of religion is to release our souls into a perfect immaterial realm where we’re free of material trappings and temptations But even my attempt to cast a wide net is too specific and thus fails to accomplish ...

Back from wherever I was! First, I’d like to call attention and give thanks to those of you who have submitted projects to the Icon0clasm Ball  (extended to end of the year for my sake!): Songs for Polymede ( Oleander Garden ): I was fully gagged when I saw this project submitted. It’s freak shit in the most delightful way: a module whose setting is encoded through fictional myths in poetry and prose, combined with new rules for manufacture and trade, and a possible elaboration of 0E ’s combat rules. Transsexual body politics meets Capital-as-god meets neko goblins. This is a really fascinating setting which I’d love to explore someday, and the way in which it transforms (or, as Oleander puts it, tortures) OD&D reflects the material culture of the original work, being in line with the form factor of the 1975 supplements. The Hidden Chains of Command ( Anteater ): This is a really fascinating critique of FMC as a facsimile of Chainmail and OD&D . Specifically, t...