Jumala The Sky God

Jumala

The Sky God

Jumala—Finnish for “god,” the Finno-Ugric sky deity of thunder and lightning—names this blog exploring, from the edge of empire’s twilight, the intersection of authentic Christian faith, America’s democratic decline, and humanity’s struggle with its own contradictions.

Historical photograph from the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, a stark reminder of freedom’s price and fascism’s horrors.

After Liberation Day tariffs devastate markets, what does real liberation mean? A dialogue with a frontier large language model explores organizing strategies for polarized times: building coalitions, focusing on concrete harms, and bridging divides through trusted messengers rather than virtue signaling.

Classical ruins symbolizing the decline and fall of civilizations, representing humanity’s persistent vices and follies across history.

A creative experiment in AI-assisted screenplay development explores human vice through absurdist post-apocalyptic fiction. Twenty years after ASI takeover, Chinese researchers document fragmented America’s competing societies—from ethnostates to Manhattan’s prison-turned-art-colony.

Classical nude painting representing virtue, moral philosophy, and the timeless tension between stated values and practiced behavior.

Virtue becomes performance in polarized societies. A dialogue with a frontier large language model examines how signaling tribal allegiances replaces substantive action—creating moral certainty that fragments coalitions and blinds participants to structural problems threatening the entire system’s survival.

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A vibrant rainbow over a coastal landscape, symbolizing hope, beauty, and the possibility of joy after storms.

Love requires joy. After decades mired in gloom—from failed entrepreneurial ventures to society’s unraveling—a father learns that rewiring his brain isn’t enough. His daughter’s persistence teaches him that joy requires moment-by-moment consciousness: a gift of gratitude and healing.

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Self-portrait photograph honoring Paul Wesley Myers, whose brief life left an indelible mark on his family and community.

Paul Wesley Myers was killed January 2, 1978, chasing a golf ball onto Highway 1. Born tongue-tied, and while only a toddler understood only by siblings, he thrived nonetheless. From small-town life on the outskirts of Army bases to Pattonville’s rough streets, Paul’s humor and grace made him beloved.

Nuclear blast.

“A Point of No Return: Trumpism, Fascism, and Democratic Backsliding in America” explores the persistence and transformation of Trumpism, democratic backsliding in America, and the societal dangers of authoritarianism and hypocrisy, using anecdotes, personal reflection, and references to current events.