Podcasts about Imitation

As the year comes to a close, Immigrantly host Saadia Khan reflects on belonging, faith, and identity without assimilation. In this solo year-end episode, Saadia shares why she doesn't celebrate Christmas, having grown up in Pakistan surrounded by nearly three million Christians who do, and how witnessing joy across difference has shaped her understanding of respect, pluralism, and belonging. She reflects on holding on to her Muslim identity on her own terms, without turning it into an assimilation exercise. Saadia also looks back on an unexpected but transformative 2025 for Immigrantly Media: launching the Love-ly relationships podcast with Mehak, producing over 200 episodes across the network, and building an app that emerged organically from her own immigrant experience of self-censorship and identity editing. Looking ahead to 2026 with cautious optimism, she previews what's next, including Bitefully, a new food podcast with MasterChef winner Claudia Sandoval, and Borderly, a four-part Immigrantly series centered on human stories from the U.S.–Mexico border. This episode is both a reflection and a thank-you to the community that makes Immigrantly possible—and an invitation to end the year by holding on to the parts of ourselves we were once told to edit. Join us in creating new intellectual engagement for our audience. You can find more information at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Please share the love and leave us a review on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to help more people find us!  You can connect with Saadia on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IG ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@itssaadiak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email:saadia@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host & Producer: Saadia Khan I Content Writer: Saadia Khan I Editorial review: Shei Yu I Sound Designer & Editor: Lou Raskin I Immigrantly Theme Music: Simon Hutchinson | Other Music: Epidemic Sound The episode also highlights music by the famous Kashmiri Musician Ghulam Nabi Sheikh and other Kashmiri musicians Immigrantly Podcast is an Immigrantly Media Production. For advertising inquiries, contact us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠info@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Want to go deeper into your own identity? Download Belong on Your Own Terms, the app helping first-gen, second-gen, and third-culture kids reclaim belonging on their own terms. link below http://studio.com/saadia Don't forget to subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Immigrantly Uninterrupted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for insightful podcasts. Follow us on social media for updates and behind-the-scenes content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1. The Content of It 2. The Idea of It 3. The Imitation of It

I had another episode planned for today, but at the last minute I decided to rerun this Christmas episode for you. I think this will become our traditional Christmas episode here at Gnostic Insights. And, if you are new to this podcast, welcome! Next week’s episode will be controversial, so I thought it best to wait until after Christmas for its release. Today, we're going to look at the nature of the Christ—the who, what, why of Christ. Most people are familiar with seeing the baby Jesus in the manger and that's what we celebrate at Christmas time, the birth of the Christ on Earth in the form of a human. But the Christ is an ethereal creature that predates the birth of Jesus. Jesus and the Christ aren't exactly the same, although Jesus was fully Christ. The Christ predates the birth of the human known as Jesus. So, let's learn more about the Christ and why the Christ figure is so essential to us Second Order Powers.  Gnosticism is the forerunner of the modern Christian faith. As such, a better understanding of the figure of the Christ is essential to understanding both Gnosticism and Christianity. The cosmology that I talk about here on the podcast was well known to Jesus and his original followers, but it was cut out of Christianity about 1700 years ago by the Nicene Council, at the urging of the Pope and the Roman Emperor. Because this theology was subtracted from orthodox Christianity, many of the ideas of gnostic cosmology sound odd and unfamiliar to modern churchgoers. Some of the ideas may even sound heretical at first glance due to their unfamiliarity. Yet the theology contained in these early scriptures makes sense of so many puzzling aspects of Christian faith that they must be reexamined. That's why I call the Substack The Gnostic Reformation. I'm confident that once you understand gnostic Christianity, you will better understand your relationship with God. According to gnostic cosmology as laid out in the Nag Hammadi, we humans and all other forms of life on Earth, from bacteria and eukaryotes on up, are the fruit of the Pleroma and Logos. We Second Order Powers find ourselves locked in a never-ending battle for dominion over the Earth with forces that were generated as a result of the Fall. Due to the law of mutual combat, we have forgotten our origin in the Fullness and our mission to bring love and harmony to creation and have instead taken on many of the characteristics of the shadows of the Deficiency. The Second Order Powers are locked in a never-ending war with the Deficiency. Here below, we constantly battle the physical forces of death and entropy, as well as the spiritual forces of vice, sin, delusion and despair. In order to restore memory and reason to the Second Order Powers, the Aeons of the Fullness, every one of them individually and all of them collectively, gave glory in unison to their Father while praying for a helper to bring peace to the Deficiency and forgiveness to Logos. Out of this focused prayer, a unique fruit emerged, one that contained all of the capabilities and powers of the Fullness, along with all of the love and eternal qualities of the Father. The singular fruit of the Fullness and the Father is known by various names: the Christ, the Savior and the Redeemer, the Advocate, the Light, and the Beloved. In Simple Explanation terms, the Christ is a perfect and full fractal of the Father and the Son, all rolled-up into one perfect form. Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth was both perfect man and perfect God incarnate. Christian Gnostics believed the same. Here is a more complete explanation of who Jesus was. It's said that Jesus was conceived without sin because he carried within his body the perfection of man and God. This would mean that Jesus was perfect and true to the original DNA formula for humanity. Hence the importance of the virgin birth that then imparted that perfect DNA to the baby. Jesus was also without negative karma attached to his soul, as his soul was the soul of God. The components of Jesus's body were also without sin, as the cells and flesh that became Jesus were in fact the Aeons of the Fullness incarnate. As Colossians 1:19 says, “For God was pleased to have all his Fullness dwell in him and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on Earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.” This one sentence from Colossians contains the entire Christian Gnostic Gospel. Because Jesus brought along the entire Fullness of the Pleroma when he incarnated, every aspect of the Father and Son came to material instantiation on Earth. In this manner, the eternal God experienced the finite life of us Second Order Powers and all of the struggle between birth and death that plague us all. Here is how the Tripartite Tractate of the Nag Hammadi scriptures describes this process: “As for those of the shadow, Logos separated himself from them in every way, since they fight against him and are not at all humble before him. The stumbling which happened to the Aeons of the Father was brought to them as if it were their own, in a careful and non-malicious and immensely sweet way. It was brought to the Fullnesses so that they might be instructed about the Deficiency by the single One, from whom alone they all received strength to eliminate the defects. They gathered together, asking the Father, with beneficent intent, that there be aid from above from the Father for his glory, since the defective one could not become perfect in any other way unless it was the will of the Pleroma of the Father, which he had drawn to himself, revealed, and given to the defective one. Then, from the harmony, in a joyous willingness which had come into being, they brought forth the fruit which was a begetting from the harmony, a unity, a possession of the Fullnesses, revealing the countenance of the Father of whom the Aeons thought as they gave glory and prayed for help for their brother with a wish in which the Father counted himself with them. Thus it was willingly and gladly that they brought forth the fruit. And he made manifest the agreement of the revelation of his union with them, which was his beloved Son, but the Son in whom the Fullnesses are pleased to put himself on them as a garment through which he gave perfection to the defective one and gave confirmation to those who are perfect, the One who is properly called Savior and the Redeemer and the Well-pleasing One, and the Beloved, the One to whom prayers have been offered, and the Christ and the light of those appointed in accordance with the ones from whom he was brought forth, since he has become the names of the positions which were given to him. Yet what other name may be applied to him except the Son, as we have previously said, since he is the knowledge of the Father whom he wanted them to know? Not only did the Aeons generate the countenance of the Father to whom they gave praise, but also they generated their own, for the Aeons who give glory, generated their countenance and their face. They came forth in a multifaceted form in order that the one to whom help was to be given might see those to whom he had prayed for help. He also sees the One who gave it to him.” (That is from the Tripartite Tractate sections 85 through 87.) So you see, the mission of the Christ, as stated in Colossians, was to redeem all of creation, including the fallen Aeon who had founded our material universe. Because the Christ came to redeem everyone, the body of Jesus came to Earth with every one of the Fullnesses on board. For every fallen spirit, the Christ brought forth their own personal and recognizable Savior. Redemption has already taken place. It is up to the Second Order Powers and the one who fell to recognize and accept that redemption in order to complete the mission of the Christ. In Simple Explanation terms, the Christ brought the correcting formula for all of our spirits and souls, each unique and personally formulated to meet our individual needs. The baptism of the Christ washes away the mental and spiritual confusion brought on by the endless war with shadows of the Fall. Gnostics are apocalyptic, as are Christians. Gnostics believe that some day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus, the Christ, is Lord. Repentance and redemption comes harder for some than for others. Some souls take more time to recognize and remember. Ultimately, though, there comes a day of reckoning, for the Father will not be denied forever. There will soon come a day when the Deficiency ends. On that day, a new economy will unite Heaven and Earth, and all souls will find their joyful place in Paradise. The only forms banished to the outer darkness will be the shadows and phantoms of the Fall, which did not exist within the Father's consciousness from the beginning. These shadows are not real and they will have no home with us in Paradise. The hierarchy of the Fullness of God dreams of Paradise. Logos crowns the hierarchy and contains fractals of all the other Aeons. Now here's a gnostic perspective of Jesus on the cross. One of the central themes of the Christian faith is the death of Jesus on the cross. Christians the world over focus on the body of Jesus hanging on the cross, and I've often wondered, why this fixation of Jesus on the cross? Why is the crucifix the focal point of every church and altar? Why do people wear the cross as jewelry or hang a crucifix in their bedroom? The obvious answer Christians give is that without the cross, Jesus could not have saved humanity from sin, for he bore our sins into the grave with his death and they were washed away with his resurrection from the dead. Praise be to God, but why the cross? If Jesus had been stoned to death or drowned or beaten or thrown from a high tower, would we still feel such affinity for the stone, a lake, a club or a roof? I don't think so. I think there is something very special about the shape of the cross itself. I ask this question because Jesus never said, I'm soon to pass on from this world, and I want you to focus on my body hanging on the cross as I take on the sins of the world. And yet, that's what people do, as if that were the entire point of the Gospel. As far as I can tell, Jesus did not ask for his death and resurrection to be the focal point of worship. What Jesus actually said was: “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30), and, “Whoever welcomes me welcomes the Father that sent me” (Luke 9:48). In other words, Jesus acknowledged himself in reference to his Father and he deflected glory to his Father. Yet Jesus is worshipped by modern Christians to the extent that the Father almost goes unmentioned. Thank goodness for the Lord's prayer, which is directed to the Father and not to the Son. Jesus taught it to be said to the Father; he did not teach it to be recited to himself. No slight to the Son, of course, we're merely emphasizing the importance of the God Above All Gods. During the last supper, Jesus instructed his followers to think of his broken body as they break and eat bread and to consider his blood as the fulfillment of a contract with humanity as they drink wine. This is what Jesus left the church as instruction regarding his death. He did not instruct them to erect images of crosses and to worship him hanging on a cross, as if he were stuck up there forever. Yes, Protestants have allowed Jesus to come down off the cross and therefore their crosses are unoccupied to remind us that Jesus resurrected, but still the focus is on the cross. Again—why the cross in particular? Here is the symbolism of the cross as I understand it. We who dwell on Earth are engaged in endless warfare with the Imitation that always seeks to lure us away from our Father in Heaven. Oftentimes we don't even realize we're engaged in warfare with the Imitation, because it can appear disguised as goodness. This is what is meant by the Devil being a liar. Things are proposed “for our own good,” but they're not; they're proposed for power and control. We Second Order of Powers are engaged in this endless warfare and, although we come from a good disposition of the Father and the Fullness, we have forgotten our heavenly nature and become deluded because of rage and other passions and addictions. The Christ came to Earth in the form of a Son of Man to bring the Third Order of Powers to Earth as the solution to overcoming the phantoms of the Imitation that have mired the Second Order Powers in error and ignorance. Those who have eyes to see the Christ are able to remember their Father in Heaven. Those who remember their Father in Heaven and repent from the Imitation are redeemed. Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the promise to redeem the fallen. Jesus as the Son of God and the Son of Man brought salvation to the Deficiency and restored it to the Kingdom of Heaven. The reason the cross looks as it does and occupies such a central role in worship is that the cross represents human beings. The Cross is shaped like a human, a Son of Man. It is no accident that Jesus was crucified on a cross because Jesus is a Son of Man, the Son of Man. The Cross should remind us that humankind has been redeemed by the body and blood of Christ in an even more profound way than acknowledging the indignity and suffering of Christ on the cross. It should remind us that the Son of God—the Christ—bridged with the form of his human body spirit-to-matter, which is top-to-bottom, and neighbor-to-neighbor, which is side-to-side, just as the shape of the cross. In the Gnostic Gospel, redemption comes to all of creation through the incarnation of the Son of God into the body of the Son of Man. The manner of the Savior's birth, death, and resurrection will come to every soul as they realize their Father is in Heaven and to Heaven they will return. For, as it says, “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” That affirmation comes from the New Testament (Philippians 2:10). It just takes time. We aren't there yet because of the common delusion of presumptuous thought, which causes people to behave selfishly. Ego must first make way for the love of Christ to take over the throne of the Self. Only then may you rise above the egoic imitation, for then you will have a champion and a king. The very public way that Jesus was crucified and the very public way that he resurrected gives us all hope of the same: Jesus demonstrates proof of resurrection and his life, death, and resurrection is about all of us, not only about the Christ. Jesus is the exemplar of our resurrection. And, by the way, in a Gnostic sense, which could be considered heretical by many Christians, the story of Jesus and the Christ and the Father don't even have to be believed as historical fact, which many nay-sayers make the cornerstone of their argument against Christ and God. The very concepts themselves—the very thoughts, the mind—is what carries this. We are consciousness and this Christ story is in our consciousness for our salvation. Think on that… I acknowledge that this is a very different version of Christianity than has been traditionally presented to us. This is gnosis that was originally contained in the sacred scriptures that formed the New Testament prior to the Pope and Emperor of Rome getting their hands on it and stripping it out. It's nice to know. I hope you get it. It doesn't really matter, because all you need to know is that we come from the Father and to the Father we will return. That is the bottom line. We are emanations directly of the Father and the Father has promised to save us all and bring us all home. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me.” This has been taken to mean that one must acknowledge the power of the Christ before the Christ can redeem you. But, you see, this would put all of the power of redemption in your hands rather than Christ's. The Christ will redeem all Second Order Powers by the end of time, with or without your prior acknowledgment. All redemption comes to the Father through the Christ, and that is in Christ's hands. What accepting the Christ now does for you is open the door for the Third Order Powers to enter your egoic soul. This power makes it possible to live a joyous and virtuous life. It allows the love of the Father to flow through you and out into the world. And it eases your transition after the physical death of your body, so you may enter the afterlife without fear, knowing that you rest in the Pleroma of the Christ. The Final Economy is our foretaste of Paradise. No more shadows, no more sorrow. I hope that this information is helpful to you and will help you remember your gnosis. Merry Christmas. God bless us all. And onward and upward. If you are getting any gnosis from this information, please consider supporting Gnostic Insights with a generous donation. It helps keep me motivated. I’m a one-person enterprise with full responsibility for every aspect of this podcast, from writing to recording to editing to artwork to paying for the hosting services that bring this gnosis to you. I could really use some more support! Please do what you can. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name *FirstLastEmail *Stripe Credit Card *Choose your item *Item A - $10.00Item B - $25.00Item C - $50.00Total$0.00Submit

I had another episode planned for today, but at the last minute I decided to rerun this Christmas episode for you. I think this will become our traditional Christmas episode here at Gnostic Insights. And, if you are new to this podcast, welcome! Next week’s episode will be controversial, so I thought it best to wait until after Christmas for its release. Today, we're going to look at the nature of the Christ—the who, what, why of Christ. Most people are familiar with seeing the baby Jesus in the manger and that's what we celebrate at Christmas time, the birth of the Christ on Earth in the form of a human. But the Christ is an ethereal creature that predates the birth of Jesus. Jesus and the Christ aren't exactly the same, although Jesus was fully Christ. The Christ predates the birth of the human known as Jesus. So, let's learn more about the Christ and why the Christ figure is so essential to us Second Order Powers.  Gnosticism is the forerunner of the modern Christian faith. As such, a better understanding of the figure of the Christ is essential to understanding both Gnosticism and Christianity. The cosmology that I talk about here on the podcast was well known to Jesus and his original followers, but it was cut out of Christianity about 1700 years ago by the Nicene Council, at the urging of the Pope and the Roman Emperor. Because this theology was subtracted from orthodox Christianity, many of the ideas of gnostic cosmology sound odd and unfamiliar to modern churchgoers. Some of the ideas may even sound heretical at first glance due to their unfamiliarity. Yet the theology contained in these early scriptures makes sense of so many puzzling aspects of Christian faith that they must be reexamined. That's why I call the Substack The Gnostic Reformation. I'm confident that once you understand gnostic Christianity, you will better understand your relationship with God. According to gnostic cosmology as laid out in the Nag Hammadi, we humans and all other forms of life on Earth, from bacteria and eukaryotes on up, are the fruit of the Pleroma and Logos. We Second Order Powers find ourselves locked in a never-ending battle for dominion over the Earth with forces that were generated as a result of the Fall. Due to the law of mutual combat, we have forgotten our origin in the Fullness and our mission to bring love and harmony to creation and have instead taken on many of the characteristics of the shadows of the Deficiency. The Second Order Powers are locked in a never-ending war with the Deficiency. Here below, we constantly battle the physical forces of death and entropy, as well as the spiritual forces of vice, sin, delusion and despair. In order to restore memory and reason to the Second Order Powers, the Aeons of the Fullness, every one of them individually and all of them collectively, gave glory in unison to their Father while praying for a helper to bring peace to the Deficiency and forgiveness to Logos. Out of this focused prayer, a unique fruit emerged, one that contained all of the capabilities and powers of the Fullness, along with all of the love and eternal qualities of the Father. The singular fruit of the Fullness and the Father is known by various names: the Christ, the Savior and the Redeemer, the Advocate, the Light, and the Beloved. In Simple Explanation terms, the Christ is a perfect and full fractal of the Father and the Son, all rolled-up into one perfect form. Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth was both perfect man and perfect God incarnate. Christian Gnostics believed the same. Here is a more complete explanation of who Jesus was. It's said that Jesus was conceived without sin because he carried within his body the perfection of man and God. This would mean that Jesus was perfect and true to the original DNA formula for humanity. Hence the importance of the virgin birth that then imparted that perfect DNA to the baby. Jesus was also without negative karma attached to his soul, as his soul was the soul of God. The components of Jesus's body were also without sin, as the cells and flesh that became Jesus were in fact the Aeons of the Fullness incarnate. As Colossians 1:19 says, “For God was pleased to have all his Fullness dwell in him and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on Earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.” This one sentence from Colossians contains the entire Christian Gnostic Gospel. Because Jesus brought along the entire Fullness of the Pleroma when he incarnated, every aspect of the Father and Son came to material instantiation on Earth. In this manner, the eternal God experienced the finite life of us Second Order Powers and all of the struggle between birth and death that plague us all. Here is how the Tripartite Tractate of the Nag Hammadi scriptures describes this process: “As for those of the shadow, Logos separated himself from them in every way, since they fight against him and are not at all humble before him. The stumbling which happened to the Aeons of the Father was brought to them as if it were their own, in a careful and non-malicious and immensely sweet way. It was brought to the Fullnesses so that they might be instructed about the Deficiency by the single One, from whom alone they all received strength to eliminate the defects. They gathered together, asking the Father, with beneficent intent, that there be aid from above from the Father for his glory, since the defective one could not become perfect in any other way unless it was the will of the Pleroma of the Father, which he had drawn to himself, revealed, and given to the defective one. Then, from the harmony, in a joyous willingness which had come into being, they brought forth the fruit which was a begetting from the harmony, a unity, a possession of the Fullnesses, revealing the countenance of the Father of whom the Aeons thought as they gave glory and prayed for help for their brother with a wish in which the Father counted himself with them. Thus it was willingly and gladly that they brought forth the fruit. And he made manifest the agreement of the revelation of his union with them, which was his beloved Son, but the Son in whom the Fullnesses are pleased to put himself on them as a garment through which he gave perfection to the defective one and gave confirmation to those who are perfect, the One who is properly called Savior and the Redeemer and the Well-pleasing One, and the Beloved, the One to whom prayers have been offered, and the Christ and the light of those appointed in accordance with the ones from whom he was brought forth, since he has become the names of the positions which were given to him. Yet what other name may be applied to him except the Son, as we have previously said, since he is the knowledge of the Father whom he wanted them to know? Not only did the Aeons generate the countenance of the Father to whom they gave praise, but also they generated their own, for the Aeons who give glory, generated their countenance and their face. They came forth in a multifaceted form in order that the one to whom help was to be given might see those to whom he had prayed for help. He also sees the One who gave it to him.” (That is from the Tripartite Tractate sections 85 through 87.) So you see, the mission of the Christ, as stated in Colossians, was to redeem all of creation, including the fallen Aeon who had founded our material universe. Because the Christ came to redeem everyone, the body of Jesus came to Earth with every one of the Fullnesses on board. For every fallen spirit, the Christ brought forth their own personal and recognizable Savior. Redemption has already taken place. It is up to the Second Order Powers and the one who fell to recognize and accept that redemption in order to complete the mission of the Christ. In Simple Explanation terms, the Christ brought the correcting formula for all of our spirits and souls, each unique and personally formulated to meet our individual needs. The baptism of the Christ washes away the mental and spiritual confusion brought on by the endless war with shadows of the Fall. Gnostics are apocalyptic, as are Christians. Gnostics believe that some day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus, the Christ, is Lord. Repentance and redemption comes harder for some than for others. Some souls take more time to recognize and remember. Ultimately, though, there comes a day of reckoning, for the Father will not be denied forever. There will soon come a day when the Deficiency ends. On that day, a new economy will unite Heaven and Earth, and all souls will find their joyful place in Paradise. The only forms banished to the outer darkness will be the shadows and phantoms of the Fall, which did not exist within the Father's consciousness from the beginning. These shadows are not real and they will have no home with us in Paradise. The hierarchy of the Fullness of God dreams of Paradise. Logos crowns the hierarchy and contains fractals of all the other Aeons. Now here's a gnostic perspective of Jesus on the cross. One of the central themes of the Christian faith is the death of Jesus on the cross. Christians the world over focus on the body of Jesus hanging on the cross, and I've often wondered, why this fixation of Jesus on the cross? Why is the crucifix the focal point of every church and altar? Why do people wear the cross as jewelry or hang a crucifix in their bedroom? The obvious answer Christians give is that without the cross, Jesus could not have saved humanity from sin, for he bore our sins into the grave with his death and they were washed away with his resurrection from the dead. Praise be to God, but why the cross? If Jesus had been stoned to death or drowned or beaten or thrown from a high tower, would we still feel such affinity for the stone, a lake, a club or a roof? I don't think so. I think there is something very special about the shape of the cross itself. I ask this question because Jesus never said, I'm soon to pass on from this world, and I want you to focus on my body hanging on the cross as I take on the sins of the world. And yet, that's what people do, as if that were the entire point of the Gospel. As far as I can tell, Jesus did not ask for his death and resurrection to be the focal point of worship. What Jesus actually said was: “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30), and, “Whoever welcomes me welcomes the Father that sent me” (Luke 9:48). In other words, Jesus acknowledged himself in reference to his Father and he deflected glory to his Father. Yet Jesus is worshipped by modern Christians to the extent that the Father almost goes unmentioned. Thank goodness for the Lord's prayer, which is directed to the Father and not to the Son. Jesus taught it to be said to the Father; he did not teach it to be recited to himself. No slight to the Son, of course, we're merely emphasizing the importance of the God Above All Gods. During the last supper, Jesus instructed his followers to think of his broken body as they break and eat bread and to consider his blood as the fulfillment of a contract with humanity as they drink wine. This is what Jesus left the church as instruction regarding his death. He did not instruct them to erect images of crosses and to worship him hanging on a cross, as if he were stuck up there forever. Yes, Protestants have allowed Jesus to come down off the cross and therefore their crosses are unoccupied to remind us that Jesus resurrected, but still the focus is on the cross. Again—why the cross in particular? Here is the symbolism of the cross as I understand it. We who dwell on Earth are engaged in endless warfare with the Imitation that always seeks to lure us away from our Father in Heaven. Oftentimes we don't even realize we're engaged in warfare with the Imitation, because it can appear disguised as goodness. This is what is meant by the Devil being a liar. Things are proposed “for our own good,” but they're not; they're proposed for power and control. We Second Order of Powers are engaged in this endless warfare and, although we come from a good disposition of the Father and the Fullness, we have forgotten our heavenly nature and become deluded because of rage and other passions and addictions. The Christ came to Earth in the form of a Son of Man to bring the Third Order of Powers to Earth as the solution to overcoming the phantoms of the Imitation that have mired the Second Order Powers in error and ignorance. Those who have eyes to see the Christ are able to remember their Father in Heaven. Those who remember their Father in Heaven and repent from the Imitation are redeemed. Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the promise to redeem the fallen. Jesus as the Son of God and the Son of Man brought salvation to the Deficiency and restored it to the Kingdom of Heaven. The reason the cross looks as it does and occupies such a central role in worship is that the cross represents human beings. The Cross is shaped like a human, a Son of Man. It is no accident that Jesus was crucified on a cross because Jesus is a Son of Man, the Son of Man. The Cross should remind us that humankind has been redeemed by the body and blood of Christ in an even more profound way than acknowledging the indignity and suffering of Christ on the cross. It should remind us that the Son of God—the Christ—bridged with the form of his human body spirit-to-matter, which is top-to-bottom, and neighbor-to-neighbor, which is side-to-side, just as the shape of the cross. In the Gnostic Gospel, redemption comes to all of creation through the incarnation of the Son of God into the body of the Son of Man. The manner of the Savior's birth, death, and resurrection will come to every soul as they realize their Father is in Heaven and to Heaven they will return. For, as it says, “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” That affirmation comes from the New Testament (Philippians 2:10). It just takes time. We aren't there yet because of the common delusion of presumptuous thought, which causes people to behave selfishly. Ego must first make way for the love of Christ to take over the throne of the Self. Only then may you rise above the egoic imitation, for then you will have a champion and a king. The very public way that Jesus was crucified and the very public way that he resurrected gives us all hope of the same: Jesus demonstrates proof of resurrection and his life, death, and resurrection is about all of us, not only about the Christ. Jesus is the exemplar of our resurrection. And, by the way, in a Gnostic sense, which could be considered heretical by many Christians, the story of Jesus and the Christ and the Father don't even have to be believed as historical fact, which many nay-sayers make the cornerstone of their argument against Christ and God. The very concepts themselves—the very thoughts, the mind—is what carries this. We are consciousness and this Christ story is in our consciousness for our salvation. Think on that… I acknowledge that this is a very different version of Christianity than has been traditionally presented to us. This is gnosis that was originally contained in the sacred scriptures that formed the New Testament prior to the Pope and Emperor of Rome getting their hands on it and stripping it out. It's nice to know. I hope you get it. It doesn't really matter, because all you need to know is that we come from the Father and to the Father we will return. That is the bottom line. We are emanations directly of the Father and the Father has promised to save us all and bring us all home. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me.” This has been taken to mean that one must acknowledge the power of the Christ before the Christ can redeem you. But, you see, this would put all of the power of redemption in your hands rather than Christ's. The Christ will redeem all Second Order Powers by the end of time, with or without your prior acknowledgment. All redemption comes to the Father through the Christ, and that is in Christ's hands. What accepting the Christ now does for you is open the door for the Third Order Powers to enter your egoic soul. This power makes it possible to live a joyous and virtuous life. It allows the love of the Father to flow through you and out into the world. And it eases your transition after the physical death of your body, so you may enter the afterlife without fear, knowing that you rest in the Pleroma of the Christ. The Final Economy is our foretaste of Paradise. No more shadows, no more sorrow. I hope that this information is helpful to you and will help you remember your gnosis. Merry Christmas. God bless us all. And onward and upward. If you are getting any gnosis from this information, please consider supporting Gnostic Insights with a generous donation. It helps keep me motivated. I’m a one-person enterprise with full responsibility for every aspect of this podcast, from writing to recording to editing to artwork to paying for the hosting services that bring this gnosis to you. I could really use some more support! Please do what you can. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name *FirstLastEmail *Stripe Credit Card *Choose your item *Item A - $10.00Item B - $25.00Item C - $50.00Total$0.00Submit

ORDER TODAY Get lost in the details with this stunning marbled paper design. Featuring a cool azure blue base layered with earthy brown veins and delicate golden highlights, this pattern brings a sophisticated, old-world charm to any product. It has that perfect “antique book cover” vibe that feels both timeless and trendy. Whether you're looking for a unique phone skin, a stylish notebook for your thoughts, or a textured throw pillow to tie a room together, this blue marble design adds an effortless touch of class. Also available on throw blankets, pillows, tops, tees, iPhone cases, and much more! *Redbubble has discounts when purchasing multiple items and also gives 10%-20% discounts on a regular basis. Check back often! See More Products On These Sites DouglasEWelch.com/shop/follow | PixelFed | Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads See my entire catalog DouglasEWelch.com/shop/ –

In life, in competition you will inevitably copy someone as you grow, and possibly not even consciously. I think this is a normal part of development, and as you grow you become more you……however you will see people who don't emulate, assimilate, or ''facsimilate'' others…..they just plain steal. You see this in China, with questionable manufacturing practices, even in politics with speeches, in writing it's called plagiarism.  In fact it even happens in the martial arts. I purposely don't look at what other schools do in my area….one because it takes focus off what I'm doing, two because I don't want to be influenced by it, and honestly three because I just don't care. My Wife brought something to my attention the other day, another school owner copied pretty much, word for word a video I did, and btw their website is mysteriously similar, they have a logo of an award we won on some of their ads….I'm sure the list goes on. This particular person actually came to my school and took notes before they opened their own school. It's not a secret, it's not hard to see that's not being influenced….its a copy (and not a great one). She was hot, not happy, and I get it….ironically She also gave me the best advice about this type of situation years ago. She said “it doesn't matter how much they copy you….they can't be you.” Truer words have never been spoken, it took me 48 years to become this version of me, it took triumphs, tragedies, and a mountain of effort. It took sweat, stitches, surgery, broken bones, and late nights. It took mistakes, and shortfalls, broken relationships, and misunderstandings. It took, getting back up, trying to be better, to be more, and doing it all over again, and again to find out who I am and what impact I want to have on the world. Becoming me is more than copying my words, its waking up at 5am, its going to the gym every week, going to yoga every week, reading and studying every week, putting on the blackbelt and not just talking about martial arts but training martial arts, getting kicked and punched, by amazing fighters I trained, to grappling with smart, strong grapplers I trained. Its being transparent about my fight and recovery with Anorexia so other people can start, continue, or win their fight with it, or any fight they find themselves in, its investing in my staff every day, giving 100 percent of me to my students when I'm on the mat whether I'm happy, sad, broken, motivated, injured, hurting, hobbling, or feeling like im in my prime. Its impossible to be me, one because I am just simply committed or crazy enough to dedicate my life to what I do, and more so because even a perfect copy is just a shadow of who I was yesterday….and today Im better, evolving, and improving. My superpower, your superpower, our superpower is finding out, and living into who we are. Of the astronomical and unknown number of people who have lived, or are alive now, and even who will be born long after we are gone….there will only be one you. Only one person with your set of skills, abilities, talents and blessings. It's up to you to find out who that person is, to share that uniqueness with the world, because no one else can. We need you to be you…..almost as much as you need you to be you. 

Can an algorithm truly understand the human experience, or is it merely a mirror reflecting our own emotions back at us? As technology delves deeper into the intricacies of empathy, we confront a provocative question: Is our digital interaction cultivating genuine connection or just an artful imitation of it? Join us as we untangle the fabric of what it means to feel in an age where our very souls could be encoded in lines of code. Prepare for a thought-provoking journey that challenges our perceptions of authenticity in an increasingly synthetic world.

When temperatures plummet and bass go lethargic, most anglers struggle—but jig fishermen thrive! Discover why a methodical jig presentation dominates winter bass fishing and how to unlock its full potential in rocky, deep, clear water. Learn the critical cadence adjustments that trigger strikes, why thinning your weed guard increases hookups, and how football jigs paired with craw-style trailers perfectly imitate winter forage. Master the long-cast approach that keeps spooky bass comfortable, optimize your line choice for deep water sensitivity, and understand why slower presentations consistently outperform everything else when the water turns frigid.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bass-cast-radio--1838782/support.Become a Patreon memebet now for less then a pack of worms you can support Bass Cast Radio as well as get each epsiode a day early & commercial free. Just click the link below. PATREON 

Nils är besviken, Theo tror på Ford, Petter tror på Volvo, Johan vet inte vad han ska tro och Sandra känner sig som hemma. Dessutom har vi kört en värdig ersättare din kombibil oavsett vad du äger nu, Ford Mondeo MK3!

Do you feel discouraged or hopeless about the state of your country or the world? In this episode, Fr Columba unpacks why placing our hope in politicians or institutions always leads to disappointment—and how easily we turn people into idols by expecting from them what only God can give. Drawing on The Imitation of Christ, he shows that people are channels, not sources, and that real hope returns when we place our trust in God's power, not human ability.

Imitation to Innovation — A Conversation with Isaac Miller & Pat Miller | The CollectiveIn this episode of The Collective, Chance and Shaun sit down with returning guest Isaac Miller (Marine Corps veteran, tech founder) and Pat Miller (Canadian SOF veteran, armourer, and photographer) to explore one of the most fundamental forces behind human progress:Where does imitation end… and true innovation begin?Across two hours of deep conversation, the crew dives into:

Sis, let's be real.Diese eine Frage hat uns ALLE schon mal gestoppt:„Kann ich das bringen…? Macht sie das nicht schon?“Dieser Moment, in dem wir nicht unserem Impuls folgen, sondern dem Vergleich.Heute schauen wir uns an, warum dieser Vergleichsmoment entsteht, warum er uns so klein macht, und warum er überhaupt nichts darüber aussagt, ob deine Arbeit gebraucht wird.Wir reden darüber:✨ warum dieser Vergleichs-Moment kein Zeichen von Wahrheit ist, sondern ein Nervensystem-Reflex

Hillary Weiss, brand strategist and positioning coach, reflects on growing up in suburban South Florida where attending the same school for 14 years meant everyone remembered who peed their pants in pre-K yet created lifelong friendships that watched her evolve from emo to punk rock to professional white woman. Weiss challenges the dangerous mindset mantra in entrepreneurship, arguing that privilege and circumstance—like having a home to return to if everything went belly up—allow some people to take risks that others cannot afford. She introduces the elevator framework: going one floor down beneath surface-level statements like I help clients find their voice to uncover the golden thread that makes someone exceptional. Weiss explains why imitation is a reasonable starting point but becomes a trap when entrepreneurs copy successful people's maps without understanding why they do things a certain way, resulting in indistinguishable businesses wearing outfits not made for them. She warns against the Protestant work ethic that led her to six figures by 25 but also total burnout from working seven days a week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

He was hundreds of miles from home when his girlfriend Erin called during a blackout in her old Iowa rental house. The storm outside was deafening, but the silence inside was worse. Then came the whisper—a voice behind her that sounded exactly like his voice. Moments later, Erin saw her five-year-old daughter standing in the hallway… smiling, unblinking, and wrong. Over the phone, Mark listened helplessly as static filled the line and Erin screamed. When she finally called back, she was shaking—Ava was asleep upstairs the whole time. Whatever she'd seen wasn't her daughter. It wasn't him either. Days later, after they fled the house, Mark returned—and heard his own name whispered back at him, this time in Erin's voice. A child's toy appeared from nowhere. The air turned heavy, silent. Something in that house wasn't finished. #RealGhostStories #Doppelganger #HauntedHouse #ParanormalEncounter #VoiceFromTheDark #TrueHaunting #SupernaturalStory #StormHaunting #CreepyVoices Love real ghost stories? Don't just listen—join us on YouTube and be part of the largest community of real paranormal encounters anywhere. Subscribe now and never miss a chilling new story:

Today’s Topics: 1) Gospel – LK 21:1-4 – When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.” Memorial of The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Blessed Mother, pray for us! Bishop Sheen quote of the day 2, 3) Father Matthew Kauth interview on his new book, The Imitation of Saint Joseph, from TAN BOOKS https://tanbooks.com/products/books/saints/saint-joseph/the-imitation-of-st-joseph/ 4) Catholic 101: Part of showing proper reverence at Mass is showing up prepared for Mass. Here are six simple things every Catholic should do to get ready for the Holy Sacrifice https://ucatholic.com/blog/6-things-you-should-do-before-mass/

Speaker: Rob BerrethScripture: Hebrews 13:7-19Episode Overview:In this sermon from Hebrews 13:7–19, we explore how God calls His people to relate to spiritual authority within the local church. Scripture paints a vision of leadership rooted in faithful teaching, Christlike character, and vigilant care for souls. At the same time, believers are invited to remember, imitate, obey, and pray for those who shepherd them. This passage offers a deeply biblical, countercultural picture of joyful leadership and joyful followership—one that flows from the grace and supremacy of Christ. Join us as we walk through three movements in the text: remembering and imitating godly pastors, obeying and yielding to spiritual leadership, and praying earnestly for those entrusted with watching over the church.Key Highlights:1. Remember and Imitate Your Pastors (Heb 13:7)• Godly leaders are marked first by speaking the Word of God faithfully.• Their way of life confirms the truth they teach as they strive to model mature Christian character.• Believers are called to consider and continually reflect on the outcome of their leaders' lives and to imitate their faith—not because leaders are perfect, but because they point to Christ.• Imitation is not blind allegiance; Christ alone is the One we follow.2. Obey and Submit to Your Leaders (Heb 13:17)• The command to obey is tied to being persuaded by biblical teaching, not to unquestioning compliance.• Submission describes a posture of willing cooperation rather than stubborn resistance.• Scripture provides limits to pastoral authority; leaders may only require what God Himself commands.• Healthy church life happens when pastors joyfully lead and believers joyfully respond.3. Pray Earnestly for Your Leaders (Heb 13:18–19)• Pastors “keep watch over souls” and will “give an account”—a weighty and joyful responsibility.• The church's prayers safeguard leaders from drifting into false teaching, strengthen their character, and support them in the demanding work of shepherding.• A praying church becomes a spiritually powerful church.Call to Action:This week, intentionally pray for the leaders God has placed in your life—that they would remain faithful to Scripture, walk with integrity, and lead with joy. At the same time, examine your own posture toward authority: ask the Lord to cultivate a heart that is humble, teachable, and eager to follow Him through the shepherds He has provided. Seek ways to encourage your spiritual leaders, and allow their example to spur you toward deeper faithfulness in your own walk with Christ.Redeemer Church211 Northshore Dr. Bellingham, WA 98226www.redeemernw.org

Felicia is joined by Ben Turnbull to talk about the male ego in Douglas Sirk's Written on the Wind (1956). We chat about the earnest approach Sirk takes to all of his films and specifically a high tense story such as this one. This is the series finale and one of my favourite month's of the show so far. It was fascinating learning more about Sirk's life and I hope we encouraged you to seek out more of his work. Send us your thoughts on the episode by sending us a message on any of our social platforms or by email: seeingfacesinmovies@gmail.com Follow Ben Here: The Franchisees Podcast on Spotify: @TheFranchisees Letterboxd: @ben_turnbull Twitter: @FartonFink IG: @benjamin.turnbull Sources: Sirk, D., & Halliday, J. (2018). Sirk on sirk: Conversations with Jon Halliday. Bloomsbury Publishing. https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/7680-written-on-the-wind-no-good-end https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/97-written-on-the-wind https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2005/feature-articles/sirk-2/ https://www.filmcomment.com/article/melodrama-and-the-new-woman/ https://www.filmcomment.com/article/sirkumstantial-evidence/ https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/movie-of-the-week-written-on-the-wind Outro Song: Main Title from Written on the Wind by Frank Skinner Films Mentioned: Saw (Franchise) Interview With a Vampire (Neil Jordan 1994) Queen of the Damned (Michael Rymer 2002) Through a Glass Darkly (Ingmar Bergman 1961) Winter Light (Ingmar Bergman 1963) The Silence (Ingmar Bergman 1963) Dogville (Lars von Trier 2003) Manderlay (Lars von Trier  2005) Imitation of Life (Douglas Sirk 1959)  Magnificent Obsession (Douglas Sirk 1954) My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin 2007) There's Always Tomorrow (Douglas Sirk 1956) Mulholland Drive (David Lynch 2001) Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray 1955) Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Rainer Werner Fassbinder 1974) May December (Todd Haynes 2023) The Go-Between (Joseph Losey 1971) Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes 2002) Lured (Douglas Sirk 1947) The Tarnished Angels (Douglas Sirk 1957) Battle Hymn (Douglas Sirk 1957) A Time to Love and a Time to Die (Douglas Sirk 1958) Airplane! (David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams 1980) Lust for Life (Vincente Minnelli 1956) Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder 1944) Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock 1960) The Ascent (Larisa Shepitko 1977) Peyton Place (Mark Robson 1957) Bigger Than Life (Nicholas Ray 1956) Murder By Decree (Bob Clark 1979) Lolita (Stanley Kubrick 1962) What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (Robert Aldrich 1962) What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? (Lee H. Katzin 1969)

11/23/2025 - I'll Be Back! - Part 4B: Genuine Imitation by Dave Spencer

The Constitution Study with Host Paul Engel – With all the focus on “Artificial Intelligence” and its impact on our lives, there's one fundamental fact that keeps getting lost. These systems, like Grok, ChatGPT, and Gemini, aren't really “artificial intelligence,” they're imitation intelligence. By that, I mean these systems don't artificially create intelligence; they are designed to mimic or imitate human intelligence...

The Constitution Study with Host Paul Engel – With all the focus on “Artificial Intelligence” and its impact on our lives, there's one fundamental fact that keeps getting lost. These systems, like Grok, ChatGPT, and Gemini, aren't really “artificial intelligence,” they're imitation intelligence. By that, I mean these systems don't artificially create intelligence; they are designed to mimic or imitate human intelligence...

Fr. Mattingly preaches on St. Paul's words about the important role of imitation in the Christian life.

For more than 150 years, Italy has been home to a resilient and evolving resistance against the pervasive influence of mafias. While these criminal organizations are renowned for their vast international business enterprises, the collective actions taken to oppose them are less known. In Opposition by Imitation: The Economics of Italian Anti-Mafia Activism (U Minnesota Press, 2025), Dr. Christina Jerne explores anti-mafia activism, revealing how ordinary people resist, counter, and prevent criminal economies from proliferating. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among anti-mafia alliances in Campania, Sicily, and other parts of Italy, Dr. Jerne details a particular aspect of mafia activities: providing cash relief and other forms of patronage to individuals and groups. Her research shows how activism has evolved to imitate this sustaining role. Activists are increasingly challenging mafia control both by creating alternative economies—from producing food that interrupts mafia labor practices to organizing tourism that supports anti-mafia hospitality—and by subversively adopting business tactics similar to the mafia's to compete with their social influence and legitimacy. Exposing the political implications of this mimetic opposition, Dr. Jerne points to its potential impact on crime prevention and criminalization, both in Italy and globally. Opposition by Imitation shows how these modern-day Robin Hoods are redefining collective action, taking what was controlled by the mafias and returning it to the collective. This contentious economic turn, against the backdrop of broader social movements, reveals significant political possibilities afforded by imitative opposition. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

For more than 150 years, Italy has been home to a resilient and evolving resistance against the pervasive influence of mafias. While these criminal organizations are renowned for their vast international business enterprises, the collective actions taken to oppose them are less known. In Opposition by Imitation: The Economics of Italian Anti-Mafia Activism (U Minnesota Press, 2025), Dr. Christina Jerne explores anti-mafia activism, revealing how ordinary people resist, counter, and prevent criminal economies from proliferating. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among anti-mafia alliances in Campania, Sicily, and other parts of Italy, Dr. Jerne details a particular aspect of mafia activities: providing cash relief and other forms of patronage to individuals and groups. Her research shows how activism has evolved to imitate this sustaining role. Activists are increasingly challenging mafia control both by creating alternative economies—from producing food that interrupts mafia labor practices to organizing tourism that supports anti-mafia hospitality—and by subversively adopting business tactics similar to the mafia's to compete with their social influence and legitimacy. Exposing the political implications of this mimetic opposition, Dr. Jerne points to its potential impact on crime prevention and criminalization, both in Italy and globally. Opposition by Imitation shows how these modern-day Robin Hoods are redefining collective action, taking what was controlled by the mafias and returning it to the collective. This contentious economic turn, against the backdrop of broader social movements, reveals significant political possibilities afforded by imitative opposition. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

For more than 150 years, Italy has been home to a resilient and evolving resistance against the pervasive influence of mafias. While these criminal organizations are renowned for their vast international business enterprises, the collective actions taken to oppose them are less known. In Opposition by Imitation: The Economics of Italian Anti-Mafia Activism (U Minnesota Press, 2025), Dr. Christina Jerne explores anti-mafia activism, revealing how ordinary people resist, counter, and prevent criminal economies from proliferating. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among anti-mafia alliances in Campania, Sicily, and other parts of Italy, Dr. Jerne details a particular aspect of mafia activities: providing cash relief and other forms of patronage to individuals and groups. Her research shows how activism has evolved to imitate this sustaining role. Activists are increasingly challenging mafia control both by creating alternative economies—from producing food that interrupts mafia labor practices to organizing tourism that supports anti-mafia hospitality—and by subversively adopting business tactics similar to the mafia's to compete with their social influence and legitimacy. Exposing the political implications of this mimetic opposition, Dr. Jerne points to its potential impact on crime prevention and criminalization, both in Italy and globally. Opposition by Imitation shows how these modern-day Robin Hoods are redefining collective action, taking what was controlled by the mafias and returning it to the collective. This contentious economic turn, against the backdrop of broader social movements, reveals significant political possibilities afforded by imitative opposition. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/economics

For more than 150 years, Italy has been home to a resilient and evolving resistance against the pervasive influence of mafias. While these criminal organizations are renowned for their vast international business enterprises, the collective actions taken to oppose them are less known. In Opposition by Imitation: The Economics of Italian Anti-Mafia Activism (U Minnesota Press, 2025), Dr. Christina Jerne explores anti-mafia activism, revealing how ordinary people resist, counter, and prevent criminal economies from proliferating. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among anti-mafia alliances in Campania, Sicily, and other parts of Italy, Dr. Jerne details a particular aspect of mafia activities: providing cash relief and other forms of patronage to individuals and groups. Her research shows how activism has evolved to imitate this sustaining role. Activists are increasingly challenging mafia control both by creating alternative economies—from producing food that interrupts mafia labor practices to organizing tourism that supports anti-mafia hospitality—and by subversively adopting business tactics similar to the mafia's to compete with their social influence and legitimacy. Exposing the political implications of this mimetic opposition, Dr. Jerne points to its potential impact on crime prevention and criminalization, both in Italy and globally. Opposition by Imitation shows how these modern-day Robin Hoods are redefining collective action, taking what was controlled by the mafias and returning it to the collective. This contentious economic turn, against the backdrop of broader social movements, reveals significant political possibilities afforded by imitative opposition. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/italian-studies

For more than 150 years, Italy has been home to a resilient and evolving resistance against the pervasive influence of mafias. While these criminal organizations are renowned for their vast international business enterprises, the collective actions taken to oppose them are less known. In Opposition by Imitation: The Economics of Italian Anti-Mafia Activism (U Minnesota Press, 2025), Dr. Christina Jerne explores anti-mafia activism, revealing how ordinary people resist, counter, and prevent criminal economies from proliferating. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among anti-mafia alliances in Campania, Sicily, and other parts of Italy, Dr. Jerne details a particular aspect of mafia activities: providing cash relief and other forms of patronage to individuals and groups. Her research shows how activism has evolved to imitate this sustaining role. Activists are increasingly challenging mafia control both by creating alternative economies—from producing food that interrupts mafia labor practices to organizing tourism that supports anti-mafia hospitality—and by subversively adopting business tactics similar to the mafia's to compete with their social influence and legitimacy. Exposing the political implications of this mimetic opposition, Dr. Jerne points to its potential impact on crime prevention and criminalization, both in Italy and globally. Opposition by Imitation shows how these modern-day Robin Hoods are redefining collective action, taking what was controlled by the mafias and returning it to the collective. This contentious economic turn, against the backdrop of broader social movements, reveals significant political possibilities afforded by imitative opposition. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Moses Moody scored a career-high 32 points in the Golden State Warriors' 124-106 win over the Pelicans in New Orleans. Bonta Hill and Monte Poole break down the Warriors' three-game win streak on "Dubs Talk" before being joined by University of Florida basketball coach Todd Golden to discuss his former player Will Richard. (02:30) - Steph Curry had a historic trip to San Antonio and the Pelicans did everything they could to slow him down(05:00) - Warriors role players stepped up in New Orleans(07:30) - Warriors get first three-game win streak of season behind Moses Moody's big first quarter(09:30) - Jimmy Butler has been perfect compliment to Steph over these last three games(11:30) - Draymond Green is back to playing all world defense(14:00) - Warriors role players are starting to figure out their places(15:15) - New Orleans Pelicans are in a tough place, but these are the wins Warriors need to stack(19:00) - Will Richard picks up his 4th NBA start(22:00) - Florida coach Todd Golden joins to talk Will Ricahard(28:00) - Will Richard already is making starts, but what does he need to improve on?(33:00) - How did being a four-year college player help easy him into the NBA  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Join Steve Beres and Ike Goss as they delve into a variety of exciting topics in this week's episode of The Underpowered Hour. From imitation Land Rovers and a floating Defender to Liza and Jenna's detailed recap of the SEMA show in Las Vegas, there's no shortage of intriguing discussions. They review captivating videos of Land Rovers tackling challenging terrains, dive into the financial impact of the recent Land Rover hack, and analyze the latest in vehicle imitations from Beijing Auto Works. Don't miss the insights from the SEMA show, including innovative automotive tools and cool new products discovered. Tune in for a lively conversation and all things Land Rover!

If you had to choose a mask (funny, serious, superhero, etc.) that represents how you sometimes present yourself, which would it be—and why? Join us as we wrap up our message series, "I'll Be Back!", with Part 4: Genuine Imitation, and talk about the times in life when we feel most tempted to ‘perform' instead of being ourselves.

The sermon centers on the biblical imperative to imitate godly behavior while rejecting those who promote evil, drawing from 3 John 9–15 to contrast harmful and godly examples. It highlights the danger of following individuals like Diotrephes, who prioritizes personal authority, rejects apostolic teaching, and excludes others from the church, illustrating how pride and self-seeking corrupt community life. In contrast, the passage commends Demetrius, whose life exemplifies integrity and receives universal testimony, embodying the kind of character worthy of imitation. The preacher emphasizes that true discipleship involves discernment—choosing to follow those who walk in truth and love, not those who disrupt unity through arrogance and malice. Ultimately, the message calls believers to intentional, Christ-centered imitation, grounded in Scripture and guided by spiritual wisdom.

He was hundreds of miles from home when his girlfriend Erin called during a blackout in her old Iowa rental house. The storm outside was deafening, but the silence inside was worse. Then came the whisper—a voice behind her that sounded exactly like his voice. Moments later, Erin saw her five-year-old daughter standing in the hallway… smiling, unblinking, and wrong. Over the phone, Mark listened helplessly as static filled the line and Erin screamed. When she finally called back, she was shaking—Ava was asleep upstairs the whole time. Whatever she'd seen wasn't her daughter. It wasn't him either. Days later, after they fled the house, Mark returned—and heard his own name whispered back at him, this time in Erin's voice. A child's toy appeared from nowhere. The air turned heavy, silent. Something in that house wasn't finished. #RealGhostStories #Doppelganger #HauntedHouse #ParanormalEncounter #VoiceFromTheDark #TrueHaunting #SupernaturalStory #StormHaunting #CreepyVoices Love real ghost stories? Don't just listen—join us on YouTube and be part of the largest community of real paranormal encounters anywhere. Subscribe now and never miss a chilling new story:

The 696th of a series of weekly radio programmes created by :zoviet*france: First broadcast 8 November 2025 by Resonance 104.4 FM and CJMP 90.1 FM Thanks to the artists and sound recordists included here for their fine work. track list 00 [anonymous] - Intro 01 Vessitt - Fallen Dusk 02 Totaleee - La trota 03 Melophobia - 11-v 04 Conrad Schnitzler - DronosWalze / Dron – 2:00 05 Jack Finlay, Douglas Grindstaff, Joseph Sorokin - Viewing Screen Magnification 06 Zane Trow - 909 07 Jeremy Hegge - (Autumn) Deeply Quiet Night in the Outback (Mungo National Park, NSW, Australia) 08 Bryan Lewis Saunders - Super Hero 09 Henna-Riikka Halonen - 100228_22 10 [unknown sound recordist / BBC] - Trains – Midland Electric (Class 317, Built 1983) Interior, Sliding Doors Close, Run, Stop in Station 11 Sound Awakener - The Call Is Fading 12 [unknown sound recordist / Hanna-Barbera] - Bat Screams and Churps 13 Eheim 1000.220 - Imitation_04 14 Megatone - Fourth State 15 Julie Berry / SE Trains - stb_etc 16 Freetousesounds - Ambience, Lighthouse, Ocean, Coast, Birds, Seagulls, Arctic Terns, Calm Wind, Iceland, 19232, 03 17 Rick Sanders - Lethe ++ [anonymous] - Outro

Felicia is joined by Darragh McGrath to discuss why The Tarnished Angels (1957) may be the most Sirkian at its core. We chat about the beauty of the black and white photography, and why Sirk was so good at portraying the lives of broken people. Send us your thoughts on the episode by sending us a message on any of our social platforms or by email: seeingfacesinmovies@gmail.com Listen to our previous episodes: Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder 1951) Straight Time (Ulu Grosbard 1978) Minnie and Moskowitz (John Cassavetes 1971) Sources: Sirk, D., & Halliday, J. (2018). Sirk on sirk: Conversations with Jon Halliday. Bloomsbury Publishing. https://criterioncast.com/reviews/blu-ray-reviews/scott-reviews-douglas-sirks-the-tarnished-angels-masters-of-cinema-blu-ray-review https://www.popmatters.com/tarnished-angels-douglas-sirks-2630900330.html https://www.cineaste.com/fall2019/the-tarnished-angels https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/the-tarnished-angels http://www.storyenthusiast.com/rock-hudson-blogathon-tarnished-angels-1957/ https://filmnoirfoundation.org/noircitymag/Tarnished-Angels.pdf Outro Song: Main Title from The Tarnished Angels by Frank Skinner Films Mentioned: Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder 1951) Straight Time (Ulu Grosbard 1978) Minnie and Moskowitz (John Cassavetes 1971) Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes 2002) All That Heaven Allows (Douglas Sirk 1955) Magnificent Obsession (Douglas Sirk 1954) Written on the Wind (Douglas Sirk 1956) Imitation of Life (Douglas Sirk 1959) Giant (George Stevens 1956) The Big Country (William Wyler 1958) Jubal (Delmer Daves 1956) Interlude (Douglas Sirk 1957) Summertime (David Lean 1955) A Time to Love and a Time to Die (Douglas Sirk 1958) Blue Velvet (David Lynch 1986) Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (David Lynch 1992) Has Anybody Seen My Gal (Douglas Sirk 1952) Seconds (John Frakenheimer 1966) Ali: Fear Eats The Soul (Rainer Werner Fassbinder 1974) Lonelyhearts (Vincent J. Donehue 1958) The Gypsy Moths (John Frankenheimer 1969) Dodsworth (William Wyler 1936)

Pip analysiert potentielles Playtomic-Investment: Padel-App mit Roll-Up-Struktur. Apple wählt Google Gemini für Siri 2.0 statt OpenAI, zahlt bis zu $1 Milliarde jährlich. Apple plant Budget-MacBooks mit iPhone-Chips. KI-Roboter werden von Niedriglohn-Arbeitern in Indien trainiert durch Imitation menschlicher Tätigkeiten. Uber verhandelt mit Getir über Delivery-Business. Elon Musk erhält $1 Trillion Pay Package bei Tesla-Bewertung von $8,5 Billionen. OpenAI-CFO fordert indirekt Staatsgarantien für Data Center, rudert später zurück. Deutsche Bank sucht Hedges gegen Data-Center-Risiken. Perplexity zahlt Snap für Distribution. Google verhandelt mit Anthropic über weiteres Investment. Jensen Wang warnt: China gewinnt KI-Rennen wegen massivem Energie-Ausbau. Trump-Administration plant Medicare-Abdeckung für GLP-1 Medikamente. Reuters-Report: Meta macht 10% Umsatz mit Scam-Werbung, wissentlich toleriert. Unterstütze unseren Podcast und entdecke die Angebote unserer Werbepartner auf ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠doppelgaenger.io/werbung⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Vielen Dank!  Philipp Glöckler und Philipp Klöckner sprechen heute über: (00:00:00) Playtomic (00:15:53) Apple wählt Google für Siri 2.0 (00:19:53) Apple Budget-MacBooks (00:22:05) KI-Roboter Training durch Menschen (00:26:11) Uber-Getir Verhandlungen (00:28:29) Elon Musk Pay Package (00:40:34) OpenAI Business Kunden (00:42:43) Deutsche Bank Data-Center-Hedges (00:49:45) OpenAI fordert Staatsgarantien (00:58:41) Perplexity-Snap Deal (01:01:43) Google-Anthropic Investment (01:07:36) Jensen Wang: China Energie-Vorteil (01:15:48) Airbnb Earnings (01:17:23) Klarna  (01:21:01) Right-Wing Chatbots (01:23:24) Elon Musk fliegende Autos (01:27:55) GLP-1 für Medicare geplant (01:30:19) Reuters: Meta Scam-Umsätze Shownotes 1X Neo - WSJ Apple nutzt Google Gemini für Siri – bloomberg.com Training von KI-Robotern für menschliches Verhalten – latimes.com Uber plant Getir-Deal für Expansion im Liefermarkt – bloomberg.com Tesla-Aktionäre genehmigen Elon Musks $1 Billionen Gehaltspaket – wsj.com OpenAI Business Customer – openai.com Deutsche Bank prüft Absicherungen für Rechenzentren-Exposition – ft.com Exklusiv: OpenAI plant noch keinen Börsengang, sagt CFO – wsj.com OpenAI relativiert Kommentare zur staatlichen Unterstützung für KI-Ausgaben – marketwatch.com Snap schließt 400-Millionen-Dollar-Deal für KI-Suche ab – bloomberg.com Google erwägt größere Investition in Anthropic – businessinsider.com Microsofts ehrgeizige KI-Vision ohne OpenAI – wsj.com Nvidias Jensen Huang: China wird das KI-Rennen mit den USA gewinnen – ft.com Pinterest stürzt um 21% ab, zweitschlechtester Tag durch Zölle – cnbc.com Gelöschte Klarna News – forbes.com Rechtsgerichtete Chatbots befeuern Amerikas politische und kulturelle Kriege – nytimes.com Tesla fliegendes Auto? Elon Musk deutet "unvergessliche" Demo an – axios.com Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk: Adipositas-Medikamente ab $149, Medicare übernimmt Kosten – edition.cnn.com Meta verdient mit Scam – reuters.com

Are you stealing or just getting inspired? we discuss.

What others often forget is that another is rising up to the challenge because they're watching you. Most of us behave because we learned from someone ahead of us. That's how life's greatest lessons get passed down.

Are your toddler's meltdowns leaving you “touched out” and wondering how to stay calm? What if the fastest way to end tantrums is more connection—not more limits?In this video, we break down attachment parenting for toddlers—the practical, science-aligned way to reduce tantrums, boost cooperation, and rebuild calm (in you and your child). You'll learn why kids imitate your emotions but can't yet regulate them, how to be the adult in the room, and the exact strategies we used to go 16+ years without tantrums in our home.We'll show you how to increase your capacity (food, sleep, recovery) so you're not running on empty, plus simple co-regulation tools like cuddle-pauses, couch resets, and family calm breaks. Attachment isn't coddling—it's how kids become secure and independent. When their emotional bucket is full, clinginess drops and behavior improves. Parenting isn't convenient—but it can be effective.Key Takeaways✅ Attachment first makes every other parenting strategy work better✅ Capacity over boundaries: build yourself up so you can show up✅ Food & sleep are fuel for patience, presence, and self-control✅ Fill the bucket daily: secure kids act better and rebel less✅ Pause > push through: a 2-minute cuddle beats a 20-minute battleMemorable Quotes

There is a difference in imitating someone, being an imitation of someone or emulating them. Our goal is not to be a cheap look alike but an authentic representation of Christ like values and behaviors in our world.Life lived is life learned. Every experience has facts, concepts and applications.  These arestories from the eclectic life of Lonnie Jones, Licensed ProfessionalCounselor, Minister, SWAT Team Chaplain, Outdoor Enthusiast, Quixotic Jedi andholder of an honorary doctorate from the University of Adversity.  To Support this podcast projectplease send gifts via Venmo @Lonnie-Jones-19 or use Cash App$Lonniejones3006.    Please follow us and share. Want lonnie to speak at yourevent?  Contact:  lonjones@bellsouth.net Check out YouTube for thelive eye view while the episode was being recorded.  Also look for archived lessons, Skits, and videosshowing/explaining some of the rope stuff we talk about.  YouTube.com/@LonnieJones Visit www.lonniejones.org  to find links tooriginal art, swag, 550guys and the following books:"Cognitive SpiritualDevelopment: A Christ Centered Approach to Spiritual Self Esteem";"Grappling With Life. Controlling Your Inside Space";"Pedagogue" The Youth Ministry Book by Lonnie Jones; "If I Werea Mouse" a children's story written and illustrated by Lonnie Jones;"The Selfish Rill, a story about a decision" A fantasy parableby Lonnie Jones.   T-shirts, stickers, prints and other art at www.teespring.com/stores/lonnie-jones-art https://lonnie-jones-art.creator-spring.com/listing/buy-podcast-swag?products=46  #www.worldchristian.org#tkminc2001@twlakes.net #www.hcu.edu #hpcitizensfoundation.orgFaulkner.edu/kgst  graduateenrollment@faulkner.edu    

In this episode of The Cookbook, host Iris Goldfeder welcomes Wilson Zehr, an entrepreneur and educator, to discuss his journey through entrepreneurship, the concept of disruption in business, and the impact of COVID-19 on innovation. They explore the evolution of communication technology, the relevance of direct mail in today's digital age, and Wilson's new venture, Speedy Desktop Comp. The conversation emphasizes the importance of focusing on real problems rather than just technology, and concludes with Wilson sharing what inspires him personally and professionally. Chapters: 00:01 Welcome to The Cookbook 02:53 Wilson's Entrepreneurial Journey 05:23 Understanding Disruption in Business 11:10 The Impact of Uber on the Taxi Industry 17:08 Adapting to Change: Lessons from COVID-19 22:49 Innovation vs. Imitation in Business 28:49 The Evolution of Communication Technology 34:57 The Future of AI in Business 40:53 Introducing Speedy Desktop Comp 46:47 The Importance of Direct Mail 52:42 Finding Solutions to Real Problems 58:28 What Lights Wilson's Fire?

Episode Title: LearningScripture Reading: Romans 12:2, John 8:31 ESVSeries: The “L” Fruits of JesusDisciples of Jesus are learners—the learning never stops! This week, we dive into the second "L" fruit of Jesus, the fruit of Learning, and explore the two ways disciples are called to learn and grow in Christ. Romans 12:2 gives us two ways of learning, both starting with the letter "I":1. Information: This method, associated with Hellenism, focuses on the renewal of your mind. Disciples are called to be faithful learners by meditating on God's Word, looking for a daily God nugget, and internalizing media that is pure and commendable.2. Imitation: This method, associated with Hebraism, focuses on not being conformed to this world, but imitating Christ. Just as an apprentice learns by observing and patterning their life after their rabbi, disciples learn by apprenticing themselves to Jesus, who says, "learn from me".Ultimately, disciples don't conform to the world; we conform to Christ by renewing our minds and apprenticing ourselves to the gentle Master, Jesus

A priest reflects on the horrors of the 2022 Bucha massacre by Russian forces. Meanwhile, Bishop Checchio begins a new chapter as Coadjutor Archbishop of New Orleans. And, Fr. Mike Schmitz launches a new 30-day podcast on Thomas à Kempis' The Imitation of Christ.

There has been an increase in emotional distress across our world over the last decade. As Christians, we often ignore these darker emotions instead of expressing them, but what if the feelings we have are actually an invitation from God to deepen our faith? Join us this fall as we explore our emotional life together.  This week, Pastor Karla discusses how envy destroys relationships. If we can learn to celebrate with others, God restores us with joy.  Passage: Genesis 37; Romans 12:15 We have three worship opportunities for you to experience: 9:00 a.m. - Sanctuary Service 9:30 a.m. - Online Service 10:30 a.m. - Chapel Service  Please consider joining us for one of these services.  To view past worship services along with other digital content, go to our Youtube Channel @PointLomaChurchOnline.  To get involved in what God is doing within our community, please visit our website at www.pointlomachurch.org. For event happenings: http://pointlomachurch.org/connect/events/ To register for any event: http://pointlomachurch.org/register If you would like to give to the ministry: http://pointlomachurch.org/give/ or through our Venmo account: @Point-Loma-Church

Send us a textA quiet yes can reorder a life. We explore how the imitation of Mary moved from early Church whispers to a lived roadmap for modern believers, weaving history, Scripture, and a practical daily rhythm that fits between coffee and carpool. Along the way, we sit with Thomas à Kempis's Marian spirituality, unpack the four-part arc of the Imitation of Mary, and reflect on why the Annunciation, Cana, and the Cross define real discipleship: honest questions, steady trust, generous intercession, and fidelity when everything shakes.We start with the roots—Ambrose, Augustine, and a devotion that grew through monastic practice and lay hunger for something tangible. Then we trace how apparitions, the Rosary, and accessible guides turned admiration into apprenticeship. Thomas's approach keeps Mary close: not a distant ideal, but a companion who teaches humility in ambition, patience in suffering, and focus when prayer is dry. The four-book structure becomes a path: virtues that ground us, sorrows that join us to Christ, intercession that deepens prayer, and a heavenly horizon that strengthens courage for daily faith.You'll also get a simple five-minute routine: choose one short line, talk to Mary honestly, carry a single word into your day, and, when possible, pair it with a decade of the Rosary. It's small, repeatable, and surprisingly steadying. If you're curious about authorship, dates, or how this devotion relates to The Imitation of Christ, we address those questions too, keeping the focus on how to live the insights now.If this conversation helps you take one concrete step toward a more grounded prayer life, share it with a friend who needs hope, subscribe for more thoughtful journeys, and leave a review so others can find it.Click here for rest of this postLink to Imitation of Mary BookOpen by Steve Bailey Support the show

In this episode of Zero to CEO, I chat with serial entrepreneur, author, and founder Chanel Martin about her journey from personal pain to patented innovation in the beauty space. Chanel shares how she turned her experience into an AI-powered haircare solution and launched Her Beauty Regimen — a platform designed to uplift indie beauty brands through data, trust, and community. If you've ever wondered how to protect your ideas, stand out in a saturated market, and scale with purpose, this episode is packed with real advice and bold inspiration.

Fr. Mike Schmitz joins Fr. Gregory Pine for a special conversation about Season 4 of Catholic Classics! Beginning October 22, 2025, Fr. Mike will guide listeners through The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. Together, he and Fr. Gregory explore this spiritual classic's structure and central themes, highlighting why it has been of enduring value for Catholics throughout the centuries. To get your copy of the complete 30-day reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/catholicclassics Season Four of Catholic Classics: The Imitation of Christ is available for free exclusively in the Ascension App. To get started, download the Ascension App in the app store on your mobile device or visit ascensionpress.com/imitationofchrist

Episode: In this episode Chris Tilling interviews Cor Bennema about his new book, Imitation in Early Christianity: Mimesis and Religious-Ethical Formation (Eerdmans, 2023). What does it mean to say that early Christians imitated […] The post Cor Bennema – Imitation in Early Christianity first appeared on OnScript.

Visit donate.accessmore.com and give today to help fund more episodes and shows like this. Today's conversation on Back Porch Theology we're talking about the spiritual discipline of fasting – the willingness to forgo food, or social media, or some other physical or emotional comfort in order to focus more of our attention and affection on God. One of my favorite ancient theologians, Thomas A'Kempis, wrote this in his classic book “The Imitation of Christ”: True peace of heart therefore is found by resisting our passions, not by obeying them. Our Savior is the only One who can master us without abusing us. And sometimes, allowing ourselves to feel physical hunger pains is what prompts us to lean more fully into Jesus to satisfy the spiritual hunger in our hearts and minds. We're diving in pretty deep today y'all, so please grab a tall glass of something refreshing, along with your Bible and a notebook or sticky pad and come hang out on the porch with us. We're so grateful we get to spend this time with you.