#Sin and Sovereignty

[dandyseedlings]

you should play the prelude to @pallisia's new visual novel. please. please play it please. i have no one else to talk about it to.

[walkswithmyfather]

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” —1 John 2:1 (ESV)

A Devotion By Bible League International:

“The Apostle John wrote his letter so that his readers “may not sin.” That is, he wrote his letter to the readers of his day, and to us by extension, in order to encourage us not to sin. Although God sent Jesus Christ to earth in order to provide a remedy for sin, John still wants us to avoid sin. The remedy was not given by God as a license or an excuse to sin. Consequently, we should strive, with the help of God, to avoid it. As children of God, we should seek to be like our Father in heaven who is “light” and in whom “is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).

Nevertheless, John is fully aware of the fact that this high ideal will not be fully achieved by us in this age. That’s why he says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). And that’s why he also tells us how to make use of the remedy for sin: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). When we confess our sins, “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

In our verse for today, John also tells us that when we sin we have an advocate with the Father: “Jesus Christ the righteous.” What does Jesus advocate on our behalf? Although His advocacy is similar to that which a lawyer provides for clients in a court, in that He seeks our good before a judge, there is a difference. Unlike a defense attorney, He does not try to prove that we are innocent of the charges brought against us; He acknowledges that our confessions of guilt are necessary. Instead, He advocates that because our confessions are sincere, we should be pardoned and treated as innocent, not because of any virtue on our part, but because He paid the penalty for sin by suffering and dying on the cross.

Praise be to God that Jesus Christ, the righteous one, is advocating on our behalf in heaven!”

[kdmiller55]

Sovereign Over All

13 Then, according to the word sent by Darius the king, Tattenai, the governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates did with all diligence what Darius the king had ordered. 14 And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and…

[thinkingonscripture]

Why Grace is Hard for Many to Accept

God’s eternal salvation is based on a grace paradigm, not a works paradigm. Grace means undeserved or unmerited favor. It is the kindness one person extends to another without any regard for the beauty or worth of the recipient. All are lost sinners, which means no one deserves salvation. Good works do not save; therefore, God’s gift of salvation cannot be earned by human effort. Salvation is…

[bluecollarbiblicalscholar]

Anxiety is a Friend of Fear

Anxiety comes in many forms. Anxiety can be based on the fear that things won’t work out in your favor. Anxiety tells you to act or it will be too late. It is a presumption that you yourself need to intervene to accomplish the goal or you will suffer the consequences. But certain forms of anxiety can be a positive thing. For example, a certain degree of anxiety pushes you to study hard for your…

[lucidknight-blog]

PSALM‬ ‭94‬:‭1‬-‭23‬ ‭‬

“O Lord, the God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, let your glorious justice shine forth! Arise, O Judge of the earth. Give the proud what they deserve. How long, O Lord? How long will the wicked be allowed to gloat? How long will they speak with arrogance? How long will these evil people boast? They crush your people, Lord, hurting those you claim as your own. They kill widows and foreigners and…

[biblebloodhound]

The Grace of Redemption and Gratitude (Exodus 37:1-16)

No matter how you slice or dice it, it always comes out as grace.

Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. He overlaid it with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it. He cast four gold rings for it and fastened them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. Then he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. And he…

[brianbachochin]

Predestination and Free Will

Scriptusre: Romans 9:17-18, Ephesians 1:3-12, John 6:44, 2 Tim. 1:9, John 17:9, John 3:16, John 5:39-40, Romans 1:18-32, 1 Tim. 2:1-4, 2 Peter 3:9, 1 John 2:2

[heartofashepherd]

Let God, Be God! (Habakkuk 1-2) - A chronological daily Bible study from...

[andrewpcannon]

What About Human Responsibility?

Jesus has so far affirmed Pharisee soteriology. God first loves an individual. In response to God’s love, the individual cares to keep God’s Law. If a person keeps God’s Law, that person is righteous. God’s love is what brought the person into righteousness (i.e. saved the person). When the person kept the Law, that was evidence that he had been made righteous by God. This is the soteriological…

[cuppajj]

Beast Ancients AU FAQ

I’ve seen a lot of asks in my inbox that are identical to each other, so I decided to put em all in one post and then some. This’ll be updated the more I develop the AU and the more info we get.

As a disclaimer, I am very new to CRK (as of December 2023) and I haven’t gotten to all the game or story modes yet (notably odyssey), so things are definitely bound to change + be elaborated on more! Anyway without further ado:

General

What are the Beast Ancients’ themes?

Vanilla is Penance, Lily is Sovereignty, Dragonberry is Pride, Cacao is Solitude, and Cheese is Conquest. I tried to keep them within the realm of their original meanings

Essentially my philosophy is: Penance is the acknowledgment (truth) that sins such as deceit exist in the world and must be cleansed. Sovereignty is an extreme form of freedom where one can have all the agency they wish, but can be just as silent about their presence/power as well. Pride is a byproduct of passion or sloth, boiling down to the adamancy of the subject. Solitude is a choice made with both resolution and apathy in various degrees, and lastly Conquest promises an abundant future at the cost of untold destruction.

If the ancients are bad, are the beasts good?

No, the old Beasts are still a threat. With a total of ten beasts to worry about, the situation on Earthbread is very dire. However, there is still hope left, and hope can go a long way.

Is there a new set of ancient heroes with soul jams?

No, and there likely won’t be. The Neo Beasts and first Beasts still have their respective soul jam halves, and both want each other’s.

Where’s Gingerbrave and his party?

Likely the Crème Republic, which becomes a refuge for many cookies after the rise of the neo beasts. They’re at the front of the resistance movement, working with Clotted Cream Cookie to plan how the beasts will be taken down.

What do the Neo Beasts think of their past selves?

Generally they see themselves as improved or improving. The only one who doesn’t feel that way is Frigid Cacao, who doesn’t reflect on himself that often.

Did they all corrupt at the same time?

Still working on that part. The timeline for beast ancients is a WIP, but for now, it’s likely that while they didn’t corrupt at once, they corrupted pretty close to one another. Cheese was likely first, followed by Lily. Vanilla was among the last to fall and evidently had it the worst.

Do the Neo Beasts still have kingdoms? How is life like there?

Answered here

What are the cookies of darkness doing?

As of writing (5/31/24) we don’t have a lot of info on the cookies of darkness in beast yeast, but at the very least I can say Dark Enchantress cookie may or may not know about Midnight Lily’s plan to destroy her.

How would legendaries react?

I admittedly don’t know everything about the legendaries to say yet, but they’re all alarmed to some degree. I can flesh them out the more I learn about them

Individual Neo Beast questions under cut!

Saint Vanilla Cookie

How do his powers work?

Answered here

Does he know he’s killing cookies?

Nope, he doesn’t see it as that and it would pain him to. He sees purification as a form of transition or ascension in itself, to put it simply; he might even envy those he turns to stardust, knowing his own tainted soul will be so much harder to liberate.

Why is he constantly crying?

He’s just like that. He’s just that big of an empath.

Has his relationship with Lily changed?

Saint Vanilla still cares very much about Lily, and may even be more open about his feelings towards her; but he admits the only reason why she’s still alive is because she convinced him to leave her for last. Lily very well knows that Vanilla, in his mind, wants to purify her more than anyone else. Vanilla often pities her choice to stew in her tainted soul, but he respects her decision… at least the alternative is that they’ll someday be the only two cookies on Earthbread.

What happened to Black Raisin?

As the very first to witness his rise, she inadvertently became his very first martyr.

Where’s Custard Cookie III?

With his relatives in the Crème Republic, alongside the rest of Gingerbrave’s party. The kid has a hard time wrapping his head around what happened to Pure Vanilla, and it may be a blessing that he’s been largely focused on worrying about the well being of his uncle, Clotted Cream Cookie. As the head of the resistance, he’s been working tirelessly… is this what a king goes through too?

Shadow Milk’s opinion on Saint?

To put it simply, he starts out thinking that a confused Vanilla will be easy to manipulate, but he soon finds out that Saint Vanilla is way smarter and more aware than made out to be. He knows Shadow Milk is with him, and he wants to purge him from his soul; but that is a process that may be harder than anything else. So in the meantime, Shadow Milk can watch as he continues on his path of Penance towards ascension, fighting back the resistance he creates before it can truly harm him. Essentially, Saint Vanilla isn’t trapped with Shadow Milk, Shadow Milk is trapped with Saint Vanilla.

Dragonberry Cookie

Is the skull on her head real?

Yes! It comes from a nondescript monster.

If Pitaya is imprisoned, where is Snapdragon?

With Tarte Tatin and/or Royal Margarine. Dragon City likely got taken over by Dragonberry’s kingdom, but they noped out of there as it happened. The two of them might’ve been the first few to recognize Hollyberry’s spiral into corruption and where it was headed

How is her family doing?

Alright for the most part, but they can feel Dragonberry’s influence in every aspect of their life now. While Royal and Jungleberry are technically still the king and queen, it’s only a figurehead role as Dragonberry is the true ruler. She still cares about her family very much, but she’s controlling and good at keeping them under her thumb. Dragonberry’s granddaughter Princess Cookie is the only one who objects this new way of life, and runs away from the palace.

How would the other dragons react?

The other dragons aren’t canon to CRK so they’re not canon to the au by extension, but just for this question, they’d be different levels of alarmed or concerned save for maybe Longan. I could see Ananas wanting a word with Dragonberry in particular esp since they’re both prideful cookies

Frigid Cacao Cookie

Does he ever go outside?

Very rarely, but it’s usually to observe the licorice sea or meet with the few denizens he has left.

Where is Dark Choco?

Still working on this part (waiting for Apathy pt 2 to come out so I have a better idea), but he’s likely alone by himself. He heard wind of his father’s corruption though and took it less well than he thought he would. Perhaps he’ll run into someone who feels the same?

Is his permafrost truly permanent or can the frozen citizens be thawed?

Technically yes, the permafrost can be thawed, but it’s a meticulous process since Cacao’s ice isn’t normal ice. It’s a cure that Crunchy Chip is looking for to save Caramel Arrow.

How does the licorice sea work for him and how did he come to tame it?

I can’t say how yet outside of the fact that it was a definitely cool and heroic thing for Dark Cacao to do, on the scale of taming the Black and White dragons. The sea, arguably a sentient monster in itself, and all of the creatures within it came to follow Cacao and Cacao only. Now it almost acts like an extension of himself: the beast can make the sea do whatever he wants, like acting as his shield, arms, or barrier, and the licorice horrors will vehemently defend him. There are tons of monsters roaming his frozen kingdom now.

Mystic Flour’s opinion on Cacao?

Working on it, but to some degree she knows Cacao is much stronger than he looks. She might see his apparent apathy for his frozen kingdom with fondness though.

Celestial Cheese Cookie

Is the Golden City still running or did she leave it to die?

It may still be running but in a scaled-down beta form. Cheese learned to accept the fact that what she’d built was entirely fake, but she didn’t move on from regaining what was lost. Her virtual Golden City serves as a blueprint for the kingdom she wants on Earthbread, and then some; with nothing in the barren desert to grow her kingdom, her brightened eyes turn elsewhere towards civilizations that could be brought into the fold. Such is the beginning of the Beast of Conquest’s terror.

She does sometimes visit her golden city, only sometimes. It doesn’t look the same; it’s not a paradise for her to escape to, but it is a promise of what she will have someday. This time, it will be no mirage, and there will be no one to threaten its destruction ever again.

Midnight Lily Cookie

What is her opinion on dark enchantress cookie?

DE is the source of insecurity for Lily, who regards herself as the weakest among all the beasts. Because she’s half of a complete whole, who was already half of another whole, she is passionate about reuniting her souls. While she is focused on expanding the influence of the faerie kingdom, her true goal is to track down Dark Enchantress Cookie and destroy her; but she knows she will need more help than just herself, and has considered asking for help from other vengeful allies.

Does she still guard the silver tree?

Yes, she still fiercely honors Elder Faerie’s wishes.

Have her relationships with the other neo beasts changed?

Ish, most notably her and Celestial Cheese are a little more on speaking terms; but they’re connecting through their potential partnership as Lily hopes she can help her take down Dark Enchantress. In return, she might help her expand her kingdom and take down Burning Spice.

If more FAQs come up, I will make a part two. Thank you for your interest!

[kdmiller55]

A Mind of His Own

19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies! 20 The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to…

[followerex]

Beast Ancients Calling Cards

Celestial Cheese Cookie Calling Card

To Celestial Cheese Cookie, the Burning Beast of Conquest, the tyrannical sinner of Pride and Greed,

You who lost your kingdom to the destruction of the Dark Flour War, your pain does not excuse your actions.

The lives you have reduced to gold are proof of your evil actions. You were once a hero, but now you have fallen to madness. No more.

We will take your distorted desires without fail.

Signed,

The Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

Dragonberry Cookie Calling Card

To Dragonberry Cookie, the Bloodied Beast of Pride, the controlling sinner of arrogance.

You who seek to clad yourself in dragonscale no matter the cost, who have turned the Hollyberry Kingdom to a tool of your ambitions, abandoned by those who saw what you were becoming.

Though you claim to care, you seek only to control and grow in strength. You were once a hero, but those days have passed. No more.

We will take your distorted desires without fail.

Signed,

The Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

Frigid Cacao Cookie Calling Card

To Frigid Cacao Cookie, the Hollow Beast of Solitude, the quiet sinner of Sloth.

You who have turned your kingdom into an icy wasteland empty of almost all life, having once sought to protect it from the dangers of the Licorice Sea.

Your frozen heart has led to you secluding yourself from those who once followed you with true loyalty. You were once a hero, but you succumbed to darkness. No more.

We will take your distorted desires without fail.

Signed,

The Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

Midnight Lily Cookie Calling Card

To Midnight Lily Cookie, the Unseelie Beast of Sovereignty, the fae sinner of Pride and Sloth.

You have taken a kingdom of light and order and turned it into a tool for your iron-fisted reign. The kingdom you were entrusted with, to protect Earthbread.

Elder Faerie would be disappointed. You were once a hero, but you fell to malice, just differently from your other half. No more.

We will take your distorted desires without fail.

Signed,

The Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

Saint Vanilla Cookie Calling Card

To Saint Vanilla Cookie, the Tearful Beast of Penance, the ashen sinner of Pride and Delusion.

You claim to save the souls of those you cleanse, but the truth is clear to us. You are killing them, false deity, reducing them to nothing but dust on the wind.

You tell yourself you are purifying them to hide from your sin and the destruction you preach, yet all you do is lie to yourself. You were once a hero, but your mind has been warped by a corrupt light. No more.

We will take your distorted desires without fail.

Signed,

The Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

-

Images from @sunseed-fandump, the idea of Beast Ancients from @cuppajj.

[sabrgirl]

dhul hijjah - a second chance after ramadan ♡

what is dhul hijjah?

meaning 'the month of the pilgrimage' as many muslims go on hajj in this time, dhul hijjah is the twelfth and final month of the islamic year. the first ten days of this month are the best days of the entire year. yes - even better than ramadan:

it was narrated by Ibn Abbas that the Prophet ﷺ said: “There are no days during which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these days,” meaning the (first) ten days of Dhul- Hijjah" - Sunan Ibn Majah 1727

these ten days encompass the day of Arafah, Hajj, and Eid ul-Adha

this month, we remember prophet Ibrahim (as) and how he was told by Allah to sacrifice his son, Hadrat Ismail (as). he took hadrat Ismail (as) on top of mount Arafat for the sacrifice, and just as he was about to sacrifice Ismail (as), Allah told him to stop as He was only testing him to see if he was truly obedient and willing to sacrifice everything for Allah's sake. the 9th day of dhul hijjah is the day of Arafah, commemorating this event.

we also remember how Allah told Ibrahim (as) to leave Ismail (as) and his wife, Hadrat Hajar, in a desert - which, today, is present day makkah.

this month is therefore about obedience, surrender and sacrifice for Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ.

depending on the sighting of the moon, dhul hijjah is expected to begin friday 7th june!

what to do in these first ten days?

even if you're not going for hajj, you should use these blessed days for extra righteous deeds and worship, especially on the day of arafah - the 9th day (which falls on 16th june this year, Insha'Allah) - the day before eid.

FASTING

it is a sunnah to fast the first 9 days of dhul hijjah. if you won't fast all 9 days, then it's best to prioritise the 9th day, the day of Arafah. this is because the prophet ﷺ said: “Fasting on the Day of ‘Arafah expiates for the sins of the year before and the year after.” (Sunan Ibn Majah 1730) however, unless you're going for hajj and you're actually at Afarah, then you cannot as it's forbidden to fast while on the mountain.

DHIKR

it's extremely important to increase your dhikr in this time. recite the tasbeeh, tahmeed, takbeer and tahleel often: tasbeeh - subhanallah (Holy is Allah) tahmeed - alhamdulillah (all praise belongs to Allah) takbeer - Allah Akbar (Allah is the Greatest) tahleel - laa ilaha ill-Allah (there is no God except Allah) Allah said “remembrance of Allah indeed is the greatest virtue” (29:46) - it brings you closer to Him, you feel more certain in His powers that He can remove any hardship which makes the heart feel less anxious, Allah becomes your Friend, you'll become successful (remember Allah often so you may prosper” (8:46), it cleans your heart, it protects you from harm, Allah becomes pleased with you. it truly is the greatest virtue.

also recite istighfar (astagfirullah) and repent for your sins

the best dua to recite on the day of Arafah itself is:

laa ilaaha ill-allaahu, waḥdahu laa shareeka lah, lahul-mulku wa lahul-ḥamdu, wa huwa ‛alaa kulli shay’in qadeer - (None has the right to be worshipped except Allah, alone, without partner. To Him belongs sovereignty and all praise and He is over all things omnipotent)

OTHER INCREASED ACTS OF WORSHIP

do extra voluntary acts of worship (nawafil, sunnah prayers, duha prayers)

read a lot of Qur'an

listen to the Qur'an more

send many, many salutations to the Prophet ﷺ (durood sharif!)

practice gratitude. what are you thankful for?

pray tahajjud

give sadaqah / donate to a charity. make sacrifices!

be kind!

read translation and commentary of surahs

listen to islamic podcasts/read islamic books to increase your knowledge

memorise a surah

talk to Allah!!!! pray!!!!

try and increase your acts of worship throughout the 9 days and especially on the 9th day, the day of arafah, which is the day before eid! (16th june Insha'Allah, depending on where you are in the world)

10th day - eid ul adha

on the tenth day of dhul hijjah (eid), our beloved Prophet ﷺ used to give Qurbani (a sacrifice) every year to remember Ibrahim (as) almost sacrificing his son for Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ's sake. muslims sacrifice animals all over the world to follow this sunnah, and donating qurbani is encouraged for every Muslim who is financially able to do so (this can be done online)

may Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ make it easy for us to utilise these blessed and best 10 days to the best of our abilities, forgive us of our sins, draw us ever nearer to Him and allow us to become His best friends, Allahumma Ameen ♡

[elegantauthor]

Saving Grace Chapter 8

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Aurora Stark

Summary: Zemo gets under Aurora’s skin and shows his hand.

Warnings: allusions to Civil War, manipulation

Series Masterlist

“Care to dance?”

“You aren’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer, are you?” Aurora sighed, offering Zemo her arm. She glided onto the dancefloor alongside him, nearly fainting at the sheer amount of emotion engulfing her.

Zemo caught her, slipping one hand around her to touch the small of her back. He pulled her close, supporting most of her weight until she found her footing. “Are you always this affected by crowds?”

“I wouldn’t know.” She paused, wondering how much to divulge. “My powers didn’t start manifesting until after Dad relocated us to the Compound. I didn’t frequent the city after that, and then— well, you know the rest.”

“Ah, yes, forgive me. Your father and James… they were simply a means to a necessary end.”

“An end that pit me against my dad,” she ground out.

“Perhaps, my actions did tip the scales, but it was you who made the decision, was it not?”

Anger prickled under her skin like a quiet brushfire. She swallowed down her retort, hating that was he wasn’t completely wrong. “I shouldn’t have been forced to make the decision in the first place.”

“We all have to make decisions based on our experiences. That is life, and sometimes it deals us a difficult hand. No doubt you’ve been sheltered to the problems of the real world. Your father’s prestige and money breed a certain lifestyle.”

Whereas before she felt nothing, Zemo believed the truth of his words.

“Tell me, with all your empathy, what would you have done in my shoes, had the Avengers destroyed your home, killed your family, and then left you to pick up the pieces?”

Like air seeping out of a balloon, he laid bare more of his emotions. He knew how to shield himself. He allowed her to feel what he wanted her to feel, and right now he was letting her in to the depth of his deepest sorrow.

Tears gathered in her eyes, unshed and brimming her eyelids. “I’m sorry— I had no idea.”

“Of course, you didn’t,” Zemo replied with restrained calm. “You are the daughter of a billionaire. Posh, beautiful, but ignorant. I hold no ill will toward you. Your father, the Avengers… they’re the ones responsible. I’m not a perfect man, but at least I don’t hide behind pretenses. James, on the other hand…”

“What about Bucky?”

At the sudden defensiveness in her tone, Zemo smirked. “Ah, so you’ll listen to reason when it comes to the sins of your father, but turn a blind eye to the Soldat’s. Curious.”

“My dad wasn’t a perfect man, either. But, Bucky… he didn’t do anything wrong.”

“He murdered indiscriminately, or are you as ignorant and blind to the fact that he is history’s most ruthless and feared assassin?”

“I know what he did as the Winter Soldier. I’m not…” She raised her voice, lowering it when she noticed the stares they were garnering. “I’m not as ignorant as you seem to think. HYDRA brainwashed him, his sovereignty stripped away. He wasn’t given a choice.”

“Fair enough. I concede to that point. However, he is still a dangerous man. You saw what he did at the bar.”

“On your command!”

“Precisely. A man who follows, but doesn’t lead. For all your father’s faults, he was a natural-born leader. It makes me wonder why you, the daughter of a genius and a goddess, would choose a soldier? I am reminded of the myth about Mars, the god of war and Venus’ lover.”

Aurora’s heart plummeted. He was so close to guessing who her mother was, mentioning Aphrodite’s Roman counterpart. She couldn’t know for sure, because once again he was a blank canvas, void of emotion. He’d given her a glimpse of his pain, a morsel of the brilliance his mind was capable of, and seeded beneath it all, his desire for revenge.

She didn’t know at what point they’d stopped dancing. Even though they weren’t moving, he still had her by the waist. There was no good way to answer his question. The truth would solidify his deductions, and though she was convinced he’d figured it out, she wasn’t going to make the next phase of his plan easy.

“I see we are at an en passe,” said Zemo, finally.

“I suppose so.” She eased out of his grip, turned to find Bucky among the throng of revelers, but not before Zemo grabbed her upper arm and whispered in her ear.

“Remember what I said about your dear Winter Soldier. I do not intend to leave my work unfinished.”

[queenlucythevaliant]

How do you believe Theistic Evolution interacts with other aspects of Christian morality and tradition? I mean, obviously the commands of God are the commands of God - but what new perspective do you think a Theistic Evolutionary viewpoint gives?

Oh my goodness, so many things! Broadly, though, I'd divide the implications into two groups: God's character and the unity of creation.

God's character

Theistic evolution is (I contend) the only framework for understanding creation that has an equally high regard for both Scripture and scientific empiricism; thus, it makes a very profound statement about God's trustworthiness, and about our confidence in him as the arbiter of Truth.

Seeing God's fingerprints in the creative process over the course of millions of years gives us a real sense of his patience and tirelessness. As Chesterton might say, he never gets tired of saying to the replicating cell, "do it again."

We also get a beautiful picture of God's sovereignty over creation: he is the God that knew, from the first time two organic molecules crashed together, that he was creating Man to glorify and enjoy him forever.

In the story of creation through evolution, we see a God who transcends time, but also works within it to bring about his sovereign will; who is endlessly patient, who is clever and inventive, who has an eye for beauty and a love for tangents and (ostensible) dead ends. What does it tell you about God that he spent millions of years creating the platypus? That he created dinosaurs at all? Through theistic evolution, we see a creator who plays across the vast landscape of time, creating endless forms most beautiful. Most importantly, we see a God whose wonderful works are faithfully recounted not just in the pages of Scripture, but in the very substance of the world he created.

Unity of creation

Knowledge of evolutionary history pushes us to think about our own embodied nature, our creatureliness, and our place within creation/the biosphere. We are united in lineage with all other creatures, both living and dead. We are embodied in the same carbon as every other living thing, deliberately, beautifully. This pushes back hard against the strains of "flesh bad" gnostic dualism that have run through our faith for pretty much its whole history. Heaven is not our "real home"; our destiny is the New Earth. God has woven us into its fabric.

Jesus stepped not just into the human lineage, but the lineage of the whole earth! In becoming flesh, he took on our place in the tree of life. Jesus shared DNA with Mary and her family, yes, but also with bacteria and brachiosaurs and banana slugs. While Christ died for the sins of humanity in particular, His stepping into the unity of life points to a future in which all living things are to be redeemed.

We must take the Biblical call to environmental stewardship very seriously then, if the rest of the biosphere is not merely our dominion but something of which we are an inextricable part. Evolutionary theory calls us to reconnect our theology and the created universe. In the same way that Scripture calls us to care for the world God created, evolution tells us of our direct relationship with the rest of creation, which implies a duty of care.