27 January 2008

"Real World" Christianity

The Militant Pacifist is currently reading The Divine Conspiracy:  Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God by Dallas Willard (Christian, Baptist, Scholar and currently Professor of Philosophy at USC).  At present, the Militant Pacifist is only about 100 pages into this 400-page book and is finding it slow going due to his having to underline almost everything.  To get a feel for the incisive nature of this work, enjoy the convicting quotation below:

     “In any context in which people are supposed to be smart and informed, even the most thoughtful and devout Christian will find it hard to make a convincing presentation of the relevance of God and his spiritual world to “real life.” 

     The “real” world has little room for a God of sparrows and children.  To it, Jesus can only seem “otherworldly” – a good-hearted person out of touch with reality.  Yes, it must be admitted that he is influential, but only because he affirms what weak-minded and fainthearted individuals fantasize in the face of a brutal world.  He is like a cheerleader who continues to shout, “We are going to win,” though the score is 98 to 3 against us in the last minute of the game.

     When this cheerleading approach to the “real world” triumphs among those who profess Christ, they may then have faith in faith but will have little faith in God.  For God and his world are just not “real” to them.  They may believe in believing but not be able to rely on God – like many in our current culture who love love but in practice are unable to love real people.  They may believe in prayer, think it is quite a good thing, but be unable to pray believing and so will rarely, if ever, pray at all.”

Willard, Dallas.  The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God.  San Francisco.  Harper Collins, 1997.  p 91.

25 January 2008

Amerika the Beautiful...what happened to you?

This is old news, but every time the Militant Pacifist thinks about it, he has a hard time believing it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-taU9d26wT4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgPR9I4KMNI

23 January 2008

Modern Political Science Is a Farce

The inability (or unwillingness) of the modern discipline of "political science" to answer even the most basic moral questions has propelled many thinkers towards "philosophical anarchism*" (the reasoned position that it is not the excesses of "the state" which is the fundamental problem, rather it is the state's very existence).

To those infected with the sickening disease of "nationalism," the very idea that their beloved "state" is illegitimate may be disturbing - but may we agree that truth is always better than lies?

To read a concise analysis of (just) one question which modern political thinkers reliably refuse to engage, click on the link in the posting title above.

THINK…the Militant Pacifist recommends it!


*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_anarchism

22 January 2008

I / Me / Myself

All of us have "pet peeves," and one that really bugs the Militant Pacifist is the misuse of the reflexive pronoun "myself."

Probably the reason it bugs me so much is that by and large when I hear someone use "myself" in a non-reflexive way, they are using it ("myself") because they think it is correct. Probably they had a writing instructor at some time warn them against overusing the personal pronoun "me," and probably they think that "myself" sounds intelligent.

Here's a hint. It doesn't sound intelligent. If you want to use the word (and it is a good word) you should learn how to use it so you won't sound unintelligent.

You can read a brief explanation of the proper use of "myself" by the author of Common Errors in English Usage by clicking the link in the posting title above. If you are interested in the book, you can buy it at:

http://www.amazon.com/Common-Errors-English-Usage-Brians/dp/1887902899/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201052561&sr=8-1

15 January 2008

On Dissolving the United States of America

I don't know how anyone would get this done...but in light of the current situation...maybe there's a way...

You can read the essay by clicking on the link in the posting title above.