jovial_cynic
@jovialcynic.bsky.social
Theologically problematic. Relentlessly optimistic.
Author of Turtle Heaven.
Author of Turtle Heaven.
Ladies: can you share some of the dumb things Christian men (or even other women) have said to you specifically about Eve and how it relates to you and/or all women?
I’m doing some research here.
I’m doing some research here.
October 6, 2026 at 2:28 AM
Ladies: can you share some of the dumb things Christian men (or even other women) have said to you specifically about Eve and how it relates to you and/or all women?
I’m doing some research here.
I’m doing some research here.
We Christians enjoy saying "the church is the people, not the building," but we should be saying "the church is the people, not the institution."
It's hard to see the teachings of Jesus through the fog of Empire's organized and packaged and sanitized religious structure, but that's what we must do.
It's hard to see the teachings of Jesus through the fog of Empire's organized and packaged and sanitized religious structure, but that's what we must do.
October 2, 2026 at 9:06 PM
We Christians enjoy saying "the church is the people, not the building," but we should be saying "the church is the people, not the institution."
It's hard to see the teachings of Jesus through the fog of Empire's organized and packaged and sanitized religious structure, but that's what we must do.
It's hard to see the teachings of Jesus through the fog of Empire's organized and packaged and sanitized religious structure, but that's what we must do.
I finally added a search function to the Genesis commentary! This was mainly for me because I kept forgetting which chapters contained certain commentary. This will make it a lot easier.
newprotest.org/genesis-proj...
newprotest.org/genesis-proj...
The Genesis Project
An ongoing commentary on the book of Genesis by Joshua Culley. 657 commentaries across all 50 chapters.
newprotest.org
September 28, 2026 at 10:12 PM
I finally added a search function to the Genesis commentary! This was mainly for me because I kept forgetting which chapters contained certain commentary. This will make it a lot easier.
newprotest.org/genesis-proj...
newprotest.org/genesis-proj...
Maturity as a Christian is listening to criticisms against your denomination, your interpretation of scripture, your entire framework of viewing the world, and engaging with the criticism with curiosity with the intent to understand the person in front of you.
September 22, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Maturity as a Christian is listening to criticisms against your denomination, your interpretation of scripture, your entire framework of viewing the world, and engaging with the criticism with curiosity with the intent to understand the person in front of you.
If somebody you loved wronged you or injured you, whether intentionally or unintentionally, you are able to forgive them if you want to. You can forgive them if they repent. You can forgive them before they repent. You can even forgive them even if they never repent. That's how love works.
September 22, 2026 at 2:06 PM
If somebody you loved wronged you or injured you, whether intentionally or unintentionally, you are able to forgive them if you want to. You can forgive them if they repent. You can forgive them before they repent. You can even forgive them even if they never repent. That's how love works.
I have finally exhausted my supply of author copies of Turtle Heaven, which means I need to re-stock. The next batch should arrive in a few weeks, which means if anybody wants a SIGNED copy of my novel mailed to them, let me know!
September 21, 2026 at 7:14 PM
I have finally exhausted my supply of author copies of Turtle Heaven, which means I need to re-stock. The next batch should arrive in a few weeks, which means if anybody wants a SIGNED copy of my novel mailed to them, let me know!
A careful read through scripture does not help you know God more than it helps you to understand humanity.
The end result of the readings is not that you become more like God, but that you become more human.
Love your neighbor. This is where divinity lives.
The end result of the readings is not that you become more like God, but that you become more human.
Love your neighbor. This is where divinity lives.
September 20, 2026 at 7:14 PM
A careful read through scripture does not help you know God more than it helps you to understand humanity.
The end result of the readings is not that you become more like God, but that you become more human.
Love your neighbor. This is where divinity lives.
The end result of the readings is not that you become more like God, but that you become more human.
Love your neighbor. This is where divinity lives.
Love your neighbor, and be unburdened by their expectations of you.
Love in freedom of all that weight.
Love in freedom of all that weight.
September 20, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Love your neighbor, and be unburdened by their expectations of you.
Love in freedom of all that weight.
Love in freedom of all that weight.
I sometimes wonder if one of the layered meanings here is that we must eventually leave our religious practices and identity in order to love our neighbor rightly.
September 20, 2026 at 3:53 AM
I sometimes wonder if one of the layered meanings here is that we must eventually leave our religious practices and identity in order to love our neighbor rightly.
I'm not saying I made a better Bible. I'm saying I made a better Bible tool, with note-taking, community commentary, and historic rabbinical notes that you can browse through.
This is the tool I made so I can study. I'm sharing it with folks who want to study the way I do.
This is the tool I made so I can study. I'm sharing it with folks who want to study the way I do.
September 17, 2026 at 10:36 PM
I'm not saying I made a better Bible. I'm saying I made a better Bible tool, with note-taking, community commentary, and historic rabbinical notes that you can browse through.
This is the tool I made so I can study. I'm sharing it with folks who want to study the way I do.
This is the tool I made so I can study. I'm sharing it with folks who want to study the way I do.
Do you know what’s strange about the Proverbs 31 “Woman of Valor?”
This word “chayil” (חַיִל) is translated as “valor” or “virtue” here, but it is translated quite differently exactly seven verses earlier.
This word “chayil” (חַיִל) is translated as “valor” or “virtue” here, but it is translated quite differently exactly seven verses earlier.
September 15, 2026 at 11:10 PM
Do you know what’s strange about the Proverbs 31 “Woman of Valor?”
This word “chayil” (חַיִל) is translated as “valor” or “virtue” here, but it is translated quite differently exactly seven verses earlier.
This word “chayil” (חַיִל) is translated as “valor” or “virtue” here, but it is translated quite differently exactly seven verses earlier.
If “your faith has healed/saved you,” maybe it’s also true that “your lack of trust and your hopelessness is making you sick and killing you.”
September 11, 2026 at 6:16 AM
If “your faith has healed/saved you,” maybe it’s also true that “your lack of trust and your hopelessness is making you sick and killing you.”
Most Christians agree that the world is corrupted by sin, but many disagree that this sin is demonstrated by institutionalized racism and sexism, power structures that take advantage of the weak, and a might-makes-right system of ethics.
September 10, 2026 at 9:17 PM
Most Christians agree that the world is corrupted by sin, but many disagree that this sin is demonstrated by institutionalized racism and sexism, power structures that take advantage of the weak, and a might-makes-right system of ethics.
A lot of folks read Thomas's "my Lord and my God" to assert that Thomas is declaring that Jesus is God.
I'm only half-interested in Thomas' thoughts as presented by the writer(s) of John, and more interested in what the writer(s) are trying to show us here.
I'm only half-interested in Thomas' thoughts as presented by the writer(s) of John, and more interested in what the writer(s) are trying to show us here.
September 10, 2026 at 7:02 PM
A lot of folks read Thomas's "my Lord and my God" to assert that Thomas is declaring that Jesus is God.
I'm only half-interested in Thomas' thoughts as presented by the writer(s) of John, and more interested in what the writer(s) are trying to show us here.
I'm only half-interested in Thomas' thoughts as presented by the writer(s) of John, and more interested in what the writer(s) are trying to show us here.
Dear Christians -
The greek word for "save" (σῴζω, sozo) is the same word for "heal." The work God has tasked you with is also to care for the weak and oppressed, to lift up the poor and downtrodden, to bind the brokenhearted, and not merely to care for their after-death destination.
The greek word for "save" (σῴζω, sozo) is the same word for "heal." The work God has tasked you with is also to care for the weak and oppressed, to lift up the poor and downtrodden, to bind the brokenhearted, and not merely to care for their after-death destination.
September 10, 2026 at 5:09 PM
Dear Christians -
The greek word for "save" (σῴζω, sozo) is the same word for "heal." The work God has tasked you with is also to care for the weak and oppressed, to lift up the poor and downtrodden, to bind the brokenhearted, and not merely to care for their after-death destination.
The greek word for "save" (σῴζω, sozo) is the same word for "heal." The work God has tasked you with is also to care for the weak and oppressed, to lift up the poor and downtrodden, to bind the brokenhearted, and not merely to care for their after-death destination.
Christianity is so weird, because according to this very touching DM, I’m either doing this Christian thing correctly, or I’m doing it very poorly, depending on the church you attend.
September 10, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Christianity is so weird, because according to this very touching DM, I’m either doing this Christian thing correctly, or I’m doing it very poorly, depending on the church you attend.
The destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah is less about who is being punished and for what reason, and more about the fact that God would have saved a city if there was a SINGLE righteous person in it.
September 8, 2026 at 10:01 PM
The destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah is less about who is being punished and for what reason, and more about the fact that God would have saved a city if there was a SINGLE righteous person in it.
The traditional ontological view of scripture is that God is the first of everything. I get it. It would make sense: “In the beginning, God…”
However, prior to anyone knowing the scripture, there was a narrator.
There was a storyteller.
However, prior to anyone knowing the scripture, there was a narrator.
There was a storyteller.
September 5, 2026 at 11:51 PM
The traditional ontological view of scripture is that God is the first of everything. I get it. It would make sense: “In the beginning, God…”
However, prior to anyone knowing the scripture, there was a narrator.
There was a storyteller.
However, prior to anyone knowing the scripture, there was a narrator.
There was a storyteller.
A theological musing I’m toying with…
Genesis 1 shows 6 days, three of which are places; the next three are the things that go into those places:
The celestial bodies dwell in the place of light and darkness (sky)
The fish and birds dwell in the sea and sky
The animals & people dwell on the land.
Genesis 1 shows 6 days, three of which are places; the next three are the things that go into those places:
The celestial bodies dwell in the place of light and darkness (sky)
The fish and birds dwell in the sea and sky
The animals & people dwell on the land.
September 5, 2026 at 9:48 PM
A theological musing I’m toying with…
Genesis 1 shows 6 days, three of which are places; the next three are the things that go into those places:
The celestial bodies dwell in the place of light and darkness (sky)
The fish and birds dwell in the sea and sky
The animals & people dwell on the land.
Genesis 1 shows 6 days, three of which are places; the next three are the things that go into those places:
The celestial bodies dwell in the place of light and darkness (sky)
The fish and birds dwell in the sea and sky
The animals & people dwell on the land.
If “he shall rule over you” is the result of the curse in Genesis 3, the intended design is the inversion of this.
Perhaps the woman (associated with life and spirit) was created to rule over the man (associated with death and flesh).
Perhaps the woman (associated with life and spirit) was created to rule over the man (associated with death and flesh).
September 5, 2026 at 7:48 PM
If “he shall rule over you” is the result of the curse in Genesis 3, the intended design is the inversion of this.
Perhaps the woman (associated with life and spirit) was created to rule over the man (associated with death and flesh).
Perhaps the woman (associated with life and spirit) was created to rule over the man (associated with death and flesh).
So strange that people would read the wickedness and subsequent destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah as a statement about “the gays” and not as an indictment on men.
August 31, 2026 at 1:53 AM
So strange that people would read the wickedness and subsequent destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah as a statement about “the gays” and not as an indictment on men.
Much of scripture is less about teaching moral uprightness and punishing wickedness, and more about showing us the consequences of tilting towards things that are eternal vs tilting towards things that are perishing.
August 30, 2026 at 1:13 AM
Much of scripture is less about teaching moral uprightness and punishing wickedness, and more about showing us the consequences of tilting towards things that are eternal vs tilting towards things that are perishing.
In January, I'm participating in the Winter Solace again. I've been asked to be one of the breakout speakers, and the theme is "Grow."
I will likely gear my session around the theme of the Garden , to show how many of our faith-positions are grown from the seeds planted in the First Book.
I will likely gear my session around the theme of the Garden , to show how many of our faith-positions are grown from the seeds planted in the First Book.
August 21, 2026 at 2:01 AM
In January, I'm participating in the Winter Solace again. I've been asked to be one of the breakout speakers, and the theme is "Grow."
I will likely gear my session around the theme of the Garden , to show how many of our faith-positions are grown from the seeds planted in the First Book.
I will likely gear my session around the theme of the Garden , to show how many of our faith-positions are grown from the seeds planted in the First Book.
That Jesus calls himself “son of man” in the Gospels is so interesting. We never refer to him that way.
I’m not saying that we refuse to, but it just doesn’t really happen. I think there something important about that.
We desperately want Jesus’ divinity, but what he gives us is his humanity.
I’m not saying that we refuse to, but it just doesn’t really happen. I think there something important about that.
We desperately want Jesus’ divinity, but what he gives us is his humanity.
August 19, 2026 at 5:10 AM
That Jesus calls himself “son of man” in the Gospels is so interesting. We never refer to him that way.
I’m not saying that we refuse to, but it just doesn’t really happen. I think there something important about that.
We desperately want Jesus’ divinity, but what he gives us is his humanity.
I’m not saying that we refuse to, but it just doesn’t really happen. I think there something important about that.
We desperately want Jesus’ divinity, but what he gives us is his humanity.