<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[scribespark: Religion & the Liminal]]></title><description><![CDATA[The story goes that the mystic Rabia of Basra was once seen running through the streets carrying a torch in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. Asked what she was doing, she said she meant to burn down Paradise and put out the fires of Hell — so that people would finally love God for God's sake, and not for the reward or the fear. 

"Liminal" means threshold: the doorway, the in-between, neither the room you left nor the one you're entering. It's the truest word I know for where the mystics live.

This stream follows religion to its edges: the Sufi poets, the Jewish mystics, the contemplatives of every tradition who went looking for God past the reach of ordinary language and came back with poems instead of arguments. As someone who thinks in contrasts across traditions, I find the thresholds more revealing than the sanctuaries. It's at the border that a faith tells you what it really is.]]></description><link>https://www.scribespark.com/s/religion-and-the-liminal</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!LroU!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F203602b8-8b34-419a-b381-53835cc9ddd7_1254x1254.png</url><title>scribespark: Religion &amp; the Liminal</title><link>https://www.scribespark.com/s/religion-and-the-liminal</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2026 12:18:40 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.scribespark.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Jae Jerkins]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[scribespark@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[scribespark@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Jae Jerkins]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Jae Jerkins]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[scribespark@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[scribespark@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Jae Jerkins]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block></channel></rss>