I have been keeping a list of readings (not periodicals) for several years now. I read extensively before starting the list, but those readings are only recorded in my memory. Seeing my reading list might explain some of my interests and eccentricities.
2023 (so far)
Small Preaching: 25 Little Things You Can Do Now to Make You a Better Preacher; by Jonathan T. Pennington - February
2022
God's Debris (A Thought Experiment); by Scott Adams - January
02 March 2023
The Militant Pacifist's Reading List - UPDATED!!!
2021
How to Exasperate Your Wife; by Douglas Wilson - September
2020
The Rewired Brain; by Ski Chilton - October
The Rewired Brain; by Ski Chilton - October
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes; by Suzanne Collins - July
History & Christianity; by John Warwick Montgomery - March
The Christian Sexual Worldview; God's order in an Age of Sexual Chaos; by P. Andrew Sandlin - March
2019
Eggs are Expensive, Sperm is Cheap; by Greg Krehbiel - December
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis; by J.D. Vance - October
Uhm, Like, You Know?: Verbal Garbage and the Sacred Art of Speaking Well; by Hal Brunson - July
Longevity Solution: Rediscovering Centuries-Old Secrets to a Healthy, Long Life; by Dr. Jason Fung and Dr. James Dinicolantonio - March
2018
Jesus and the Gospels; by Luke Timothy Johnson - August
On Jesus; by Douglas Groothuis - May
Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?: Larry Norman and the Perils of Christian Rock; by Gregory Thornbury - April
Charles Spurgeon: Preaching Through Adversity; by John Piper - January
The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss; by Dr. Jason Fung - January
2017
The Last Battle; by C.S. Lewis - December
The Silver Chair; by C.S. Lewis - November
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; by C.S. Lewis - November
Prince Caspian; by C.S. Lewis - November
The Horse and His Boy; by C.S. Lewis - October
The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting; by Dr. Jason Fung - October
The Kamado Smoker and Grill Cookbook; by Chris Grove - October
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe; by C.S. Lewis - October
God's Crime Scene: A Cold-Case Detective Examines the Evidence for a Divinely Created Universe; by J. Warner Wallace - October
The Magician's Nephew; by C.S. Lewis - September
Mind-Body Philosophy; by Patrick Grim - September
Lila; by Marilynne Robinson - January
A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-1918; by Joseph Loconte - January
2016
Home; by Marilynne Robinson - December
Gilead; by Marilynne Robinson - November
Why Evil Exists; by Charles Mathewes - October
The Prayer of the Lord; by R.C. Sproul - October
The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert; by Rosaria Butterfield - April
Skeptics and Believers: Religious Debate in the Western Intellectual Tradition; by Tyler Roberts - March
Evil and the Justice of God; by N. T. Wright - February
The Clue of the Maze; by C.H. Spurgeon - January
2015
Echoes and Stars: Pastoral Thoughts on Faith, Grief and Hope; Matt B. Redmond - December
Everything That Rises Must Converge; Flannery O'Connor - August
Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life; by Eric Metaxas - May
A Tale of Three Kings; by Gene Edwards - March
2014
He Wins, She Wins: Learning the Art of Marital Negotiation; by Willard F. Harley, Jr. - October
Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God; by J.I. Packer - September
The Pilgrim’s Progress, from this world to that which is to come, delivered under the similitude of a dream; by John Bunyan - September
The Apostle Paul; by Luke Timothy Johnson - August
Fight: A Christian Case for Non-Violence; by Preston Sprinkle - July
Look at the Birdie: Short Fiction; by Kurt Vonnegut - July
Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship; by John MacArthur - June
The Philosopher's Toolkit: How to be the Most Rational Person in Any Room; by Patrick Grim - May
God's Debris, A Thought Experiment; by Scott Adams - January
2013
Insurgent; by Veronica Roth - December
Divergent; by Veronica Roth - November
A Rumor of War; by Philip Caputo - October
Epic Jesus; The Christ You Never Knew; by Frank Viola - September
The Little Way of Ruthie Leming: A Southern Girl, a Small Town, and the Secret of a Good Life; by Rod Dreher - September
Poem Strip; by Dino Buzzati - August
Economics for Everybody; by R.C. Sproul Jr. - August
The Weight of Glory; by C.S. Lewis - July
The Prodigal God; by Timothy Keller - July
The Christian Sexual Worldview; God's order in an Age of Sexual Chaos; by P. Andrew Sandlin - March
2019
Eggs are Expensive, Sperm is Cheap; by Greg Krehbiel - December
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis; by J.D. Vance - October
Uhm, Like, You Know?: Verbal Garbage and the Sacred Art of Speaking Well; by Hal Brunson - July
Longevity Solution: Rediscovering Centuries-Old Secrets to a Healthy, Long Life; by Dr. Jason Fung and Dr. James Dinicolantonio - March
2018
Jesus and the Gospels; by Luke Timothy Johnson - August
On Jesus; by Douglas Groothuis - May
Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?: Larry Norman and the Perils of Christian Rock; by Gregory Thornbury - April
Charles Spurgeon: Preaching Through Adversity; by John Piper - January
The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss; by Dr. Jason Fung - January
2017
The Last Battle; by C.S. Lewis - December
The Silver Chair; by C.S. Lewis - November
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; by C.S. Lewis - November
The Horse and His Boy; by C.S. Lewis - October
The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting; by Dr. Jason Fung - October
The Kamado Smoker and Grill Cookbook; by Chris Grove - October
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe; by C.S. Lewis - October
God's Crime Scene: A Cold-Case Detective Examines the Evidence for a Divinely Created Universe; by J. Warner Wallace - October
The Magician's Nephew; by C.S. Lewis - September
Mind-Body Philosophy; by Patrick Grim - September
Lila; by Marilynne Robinson - January
A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-1918; by Joseph Loconte - January
2016
Home; by Marilynne Robinson - December
Gilead; by Marilynne Robinson - November
Why Evil Exists; by Charles Mathewes - October
The Prayer of the Lord; by R.C. Sproul - October
The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert; by Rosaria Butterfield - April
Skeptics and Believers: Religious Debate in the Western Intellectual Tradition; by Tyler Roberts - March
Evil and the Justice of God; by N. T. Wright - February
The Clue of the Maze; by C.H. Spurgeon - January
2015
Echoes and Stars: Pastoral Thoughts on Faith, Grief and Hope; Matt B. Redmond - December
Everything That Rises Must Converge; Flannery O'Connor - August
Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life; by Eric Metaxas - May
A Tale of Three Kings; by Gene Edwards - March
2014
He Wins, She Wins: Learning the Art of Marital Negotiation; by Willard F. Harley, Jr. - October
Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God; by J.I. Packer - September
The Pilgrim’s Progress, from this world to that which is to come, delivered under the similitude of a dream; by John Bunyan - September
The Apostle Paul; by Luke Timothy Johnson - August
Fight: A Christian Case for Non-Violence; by Preston Sprinkle - July
Look at the Birdie: Short Fiction; by Kurt Vonnegut - July
Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship; by John MacArthur - June
The Philosopher's Toolkit: How to be the Most Rational Person in Any Room; by Patrick Grim - May
God's Debris, A Thought Experiment; by Scott Adams - January
2013
Insurgent; by Veronica Roth - December
Divergent; by Veronica Roth - November
A Rumor of War; by Philip Caputo - October
Epic Jesus; The Christ You Never Knew; by Frank Viola - September
The Little Way of Ruthie Leming: A Southern Girl, a Small Town, and the Secret of a Good Life; by Rod Dreher - September
Poem Strip; by Dino Buzzati - August
Economics for Everybody; by R.C. Sproul Jr. - August
The Weight of Glory; by C.S. Lewis - July
The Prodigal God; by Timothy Keller - July
24 July 2018
C.H. Spurgeon on War
"We are up to the hilt advocates of peace, and we earnestly war against war. I wish that Christian men would insist more and more on the unrighteousness of war, believing that Christianity means no sword, no cannon, no bloodshed, and that, if a nation is driven to fight in its own defence, Christianity stands by to weep and to intervene as soon as possible, and not to join in the cruel shouts which celebrate an enemy's slaughter. Let us always be on the side of right."
"We are up to the hilt advocates of peace, and we earnestly war against war. I wish that Christian men would insist more and more on the unrighteousness of war, believing that Christianity means no sword, no cannon, no bloodshed, and that, if a nation is driven to fight in its own defence, Christianity stands by to weep and to intervene as soon as possible, and not to join in the cruel shouts which celebrate an enemy's slaughter. Let us always be on the side of right."
07 January 2017
Remember the Signs
“But, first, remember, remember, remember the signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night. And whatever strange things may happen to you, let nothing turn your mind from following the signs. And secondly, I give you a warning. Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters.” - Aslan, The Silver Chair; by C.S. Lewis
19 November 2014
Pacifist Poetry
A repost from August 6, 2009
(With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore)
Roses are red, Violets are blue
Please don’t shoot at me, and I won’t shoot at you
You claim you’re a follower of heaven’s own lamb
But your claim’s not convincing with your AK in hand
The flag that’s your glory’s own stripes stand for blood
But not blood that saves - blood was shed for what good?
On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer, and Vixen
On Roosevelt, Truman, and Johnson and Nixon
On Clinton and Bush I, Bush II and Barrack
Warmongering psychopaths, hmmm, the whole lot
Endless propaganda, from the cradle to the grave
“You know your country needs you son, freedom you must save”
And so they swallow easy, line, sinker, even hook
And jet away to take what God has said should ne’er be took
And some men fight for honor and some men fight for blood
But most men they just fight for what they’ve been told that they should
But Jesus didn’t fight at all, He bleated like a lamb
Yet untold millions bow to Him, the King, the great I AM
A sword shoots out from His mouth; it’s like a spear of fire
And all who have been pierced by it have shriveled up and died
They’ve died to dreams of freedom, dreams of gold and fortune here
But in their very dying their vision’s become clear
They’ve seen their Savior as He is, the King of kings, the Lord
And when they’ve seen that vision, they’ve heard, “put up your sword”
And they’ve followed His instruction, men of peace they’ve come to be
Men who’re hated by the warmongers who claim to keep them free
So sell your shirt and buy a sword, but two’s aplenty man
And try to keep your conscience clean in this polluted land
And teach your children not to trust the things they hear at school
Cause it’s all propaganda, it’s the arguments of fools
Jesus said “be peaceable,” “lay down your life, and die,”
But no man can hear or see this, if he’s blinded in the eye
A radical commandment makes a radical devotee
But this, this is the lot, of those who’ve come to see
(With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore)
Roses are red, Violets are blue
Please don’t shoot at me, and I won’t shoot at you
You claim you’re a follower of heaven’s own lamb
But your claim’s not convincing with your AK in hand
The flag that’s your glory’s own stripes stand for blood
But not blood that saves - blood was shed for what good?
On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer, and Vixen
On Roosevelt, Truman, and Johnson and Nixon
On Clinton and Bush I, Bush II and Barrack
Warmongering psychopaths, hmmm, the whole lot
Endless propaganda, from the cradle to the grave
“You know your country needs you son, freedom you must save”
And so they swallow easy, line, sinker, even hook
And jet away to take what God has said should ne’er be took
And some men fight for honor and some men fight for blood
But most men they just fight for what they’ve been told that they should
But Jesus didn’t fight at all, He bleated like a lamb
Yet untold millions bow to Him, the King, the great I AM
A sword shoots out from His mouth; it’s like a spear of fire
And all who have been pierced by it have shriveled up and died
They’ve died to dreams of freedom, dreams of gold and fortune here
But in their very dying their vision’s become clear
They’ve seen their Savior as He is, the King of kings, the Lord
And when they’ve seen that vision, they’ve heard, “put up your sword”
And they’ve followed His instruction, men of peace they’ve come to be
Men who’re hated by the warmongers who claim to keep them free
So sell your shirt and buy a sword, but two’s aplenty man
And try to keep your conscience clean in this polluted land
And teach your children not to trust the things they hear at school
Cause it’s all propaganda, it’s the arguments of fools
Jesus said “be peaceable,” “lay down your life, and die,”
But no man can hear or see this, if he’s blinded in the eye
A radical commandment makes a radical devotee
But this, this is the lot, of those who’ve come to see
28 May 2014
What is thy only comfort in life and in death?
That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me, that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live unto Him.
- Heidelberg Catechism 1 (1563)
05 August 2013
21 May 2013
Good News For Anxious Christians - Phillip Cary
I really enjoyed the book...now here's an interview with Dr. Cary...
15 May 2013
17 April 2013
01 April 2013
22 March 2013
01 March 2013
Only God Can Ultimately Forgive Sin!
Check out the news story "'I'm a monster, God won't forgive me' -- Troop shame over killing may rival PTSD cases" by clicking the link.
Pray that more men and women who have been abused by a wicked state that's propagandized them into becoming its killers will wake up, repent and follow Jesus...
Pray that more men and women who have been abused by a wicked state that's propagandized them into becoming its killers will wake up, repent and follow Jesus...
27 February 2013
04 February 2013
01 February 2013
30 January 2013
04 January 2013
15 November 2012
11 October 2012
01 October 2012
18 September 2012
05 September 2012
28 August 2012
Schleitheim and "the sword"
Historically Anabaptists have not been big on confessions of faith; however, on February 24, 1527, a Conference of Swiss Brethren (“A Brotherly Union of a Number of Children of God”) produced what is sometimes referred to as the "The Schleitheim Confession,” though more properly it is “The Seven Articles of Schleitheim.”
The 6th article responds to those who seek accommodation between the civil and spiritual sword.
The thoughts are worthy of consideration…
“The sword is ordained of God outside the perfection of Christ. It punishes and puts to death the wicked, and guards and protects the good. In the Law the sword was ordained for the punishment of the wicked and for their death, and the same (sword) is (now) ordained to be used by the worldly magistrates. In the perfection of Christ, however, only the ban is used for a warning and for the excommunication of the one who has sinned, without putting the flesh to death - simply the warning and the command to sin no more. Now it will be asked by many who do not recognize (this as) the will of Christ for us, whether a Christian may or should employ the sword against the wicked for the defense and protection of the good, or for the sake of love. Our reply is unanimously as follows: Christ teaches and commands us to learn of Him, for He is meek and lowly in heart and so shall we find rest to our souls. Also Christ says to the heathenish woman who was taken in adultery, not that one should stone her according to the Law of His Father (and yet He says, As the Father has commanded me, thus I do), but in mercy and forgiveness and warning, to sin no more. Such (an attitude) we also ought to take completely according to the rule of the ban. Secondly, it will be asked concerning the sword, whether a Christian shall pass sentence in worldly disputes and strife such as unbelievers have with one another. This is our united answer. Christ did not wish to decide or pass judgment between brother and brother in the case of the inheritance, but refused to do so. Therefore we should do likewise. Thirdly, it will be asked concerning the sword, Shall one be a magistrate if one should be chosen as such? The answer is as follows: They wished to make Christ king, but He fled and did not view it as the arrangement of His Father. Thus shall we do as He did, and follow Him, and so shall we not walk in darkness. For He Himself says, He who wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. Also, He Himself forbids the (employment of) the force of the sword saying, The worldly princes lord it over them, etc., but not so shall it be with you. Further, Paul says, Whom God did foreknow He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, etc. Also Peter says, Christ has suffered (not ruled) and left us an example, that ye should follow His steps. Finally it will be observed that it is not appropriate for a Christian to serve as a magistrate because of these points: The government magistracy is according to the flesh, but the Christian's is according to the Spirit; their houses and dwelling remain in this world, but the Christian's are in heaven; their citizenship is in this world, but the Christian's citizenship is in heaven; the weapons of their conflict and war are carnal and against the flesh only, but the Christian's weapons are spiritual, against the fortification of the devil. The worldlings are armed with steel and iron, but the Christians are armed with the armor of God, with truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the Word of God. In brief, as in the mind of God toward us, so shall the mind of the members of the body of Christ be through Him in all things, that there may be no schism in the body through which it would be destroyed. For every kingdom divided against itself will be destroyed. Now since Christ is as it is written of Him, His members must also be the same, that His body may remain complete and united to its own advancement and upbuilding.”
The 6th article responds to those who seek accommodation between the civil and spiritual sword.
The thoughts are worthy of consideration…
“The sword is ordained of God outside the perfection of Christ. It punishes and puts to death the wicked, and guards and protects the good. In the Law the sword was ordained for the punishment of the wicked and for their death, and the same (sword) is (now) ordained to be used by the worldly magistrates. In the perfection of Christ, however, only the ban is used for a warning and for the excommunication of the one who has sinned, without putting the flesh to death - simply the warning and the command to sin no more. Now it will be asked by many who do not recognize (this as) the will of Christ for us, whether a Christian may or should employ the sword against the wicked for the defense and protection of the good, or for the sake of love. Our reply is unanimously as follows: Christ teaches and commands us to learn of Him, for He is meek and lowly in heart and so shall we find rest to our souls. Also Christ says to the heathenish woman who was taken in adultery, not that one should stone her according to the Law of His Father (and yet He says, As the Father has commanded me, thus I do), but in mercy and forgiveness and warning, to sin no more. Such (an attitude) we also ought to take completely according to the rule of the ban. Secondly, it will be asked concerning the sword, whether a Christian shall pass sentence in worldly disputes and strife such as unbelievers have with one another. This is our united answer. Christ did not wish to decide or pass judgment between brother and brother in the case of the inheritance, but refused to do so. Therefore we should do likewise. Thirdly, it will be asked concerning the sword, Shall one be a magistrate if one should be chosen as such? The answer is as follows: They wished to make Christ king, but He fled and did not view it as the arrangement of His Father. Thus shall we do as He did, and follow Him, and so shall we not walk in darkness. For He Himself says, He who wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. Also, He Himself forbids the (employment of) the force of the sword saying, The worldly princes lord it over them, etc., but not so shall it be with you. Further, Paul says, Whom God did foreknow He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, etc. Also Peter says, Christ has suffered (not ruled) and left us an example, that ye should follow His steps. Finally it will be observed that it is not appropriate for a Christian to serve as a magistrate because of these points: The government magistracy is according to the flesh, but the Christian's is according to the Spirit; their houses and dwelling remain in this world, but the Christian's are in heaven; their citizenship is in this world, but the Christian's citizenship is in heaven; the weapons of their conflict and war are carnal and against the flesh only, but the Christian's weapons are spiritual, against the fortification of the devil. The worldlings are armed with steel and iron, but the Christians are armed with the armor of God, with truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the Word of God. In brief, as in the mind of God toward us, so shall the mind of the members of the body of Christ be through Him in all things, that there may be no schism in the body through which it would be destroyed. For every kingdom divided against itself will be destroyed. Now since Christ is as it is written of Him, His members must also be the same, that His body may remain complete and united to its own advancement and upbuilding.”
24 July 2012
09 July 2012
18 April 2012
14 February 2012
08 February 2012
Some "Pascalian" Wisdom
"Why do you kill me"? He lives on the other side of the water. "Why do you kill me? What! do you not live on the other side of the water? If you lived on this side, my friend, I should be an assassin, and it would be unjust to slay you in this manner. But since you live on the other side, I am a hero, and it is just."
(Section V, Justice and the Reason of Effects, 291-293) Pascal's Pensées (Blaise Pascal, 1623-1662)
(Section V, Justice and the Reason of Effects, 291-293) Pascal's Pensées (Blaise Pascal, 1623-1662)
02 February 2012
"Christian" Soldiers?
There was a prophet (John, the baptizer) of whom God (Jesus Christ) said “Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist (Matthew 11:11).” Apparently, the Lord, Jesus Christ had a very high regard for John.
One day some soldiers came to John and asked him, “what shall we do? (Luke 13:14).”
John’s answer is instructive. He answers them, “do violence to no man.”
Since violence is the soldier’s business, what he (John) is really saying to them is “find another job.”
In syllogistic form,
Major Premise: Christians should not be violent
Minor Premise: The ultimate job of a soldier is to do violence
Conclusion: A Christian should not be a soldier.
This was the consensus of the Church fathers, and the practice of Christians until the Constantinian creation of “Christendom” (for more on this, read The Reformers and their Stepchildren, by Leonard Verduin).
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap (Galatians 6:7).”
One day some soldiers came to John and asked him, “what shall we do? (Luke 13:14).”
John’s answer is instructive. He answers them, “do violence to no man.”
Since violence is the soldier’s business, what he (John) is really saying to them is “find another job.”
In syllogistic form,
Major Premise: Christians should not be violent
Minor Premise: The ultimate job of a soldier is to do violence
Conclusion: A Christian should not be a soldier.
This was the consensus of the Church fathers, and the practice of Christians until the Constantinian creation of “Christendom” (for more on this, read The Reformers and their Stepchildren, by Leonard Verduin).
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap (Galatians 6:7).”
31 January 2012
Kinda Sad...
Dr. Michael Sudduth was kind to me.
He responded to my e-mails and recommended some reading materials for me when I had questions (http://philofreligion.homestead.com/PostmortemSurvival.html).
Now the bad news of a "deconversion" has me troubled (see link in the posting title above).
Please pray for Dr. Sudduth...
He responded to my e-mails and recommended some reading materials for me when I had questions (http://philofreligion.homestead.com/PostmortemSurvival.html).
Now the bad news of a "deconversion" has me troubled (see link in the posting title above).
Please pray for Dr. Sudduth...
29 November 2011
19 November 2011
A Little Philosophical Reflection...
Theistic philosopher Bernard Lonergan (1904-1984) wrote in Method in Theology (1972):
To deliberate about x is to ask whether x is worthwhile. To deliberate about deliberating is to ask whether any deliberating is worthwhile. Has "worthwhile" any ultimate meaning? Is moral enterprise consonant with this world? ...Does there or does there not necessarily exist a transcendent, intelligent ground of the universe? Is that ground or are we the primary instance of moral consciousness? Are cosmogenesis, biological evolution, and historical process basically cognate to us as moral beings or are they indifferent and so alien to us? Such is the question of God. It is not a matter of image or feeling, of concept or judgment. They pertain to answers. It is a question. It rises out of our conscious intentionality, out of the a priori structured drive that promotes us from experiencing to the effort to understand, from understanding to the effort to judge truly, from judging to the effort to choose rightly. In the measure that we advert to our own questioning and proceed to question it, there arises the question of God ...[H]owever much religious or irreligious answers differ, however much there differ the questions they explicitly raise, still at their root there is the same transcendental tendency of the human spirit that questions, that questions without restriction, that questions the significance of its own questioning, and so comes to the question of God. The question of God, then, lies within man's horizon. Man's transcendental subjectivity is mutilated or abolished, unless he is stretching forth towards the intelligible, the unconditioned, and the good of value. The reach, not of his attainment, but of his intending, is unrestricted. There lies within his horizon a region for the divine, a shrine for ultimate holiness. It cannot be ignored. The atheist may pronounce it empty. The agnostic may urge that he finds his investigation has been inconclusive. The contemporary humanist will refuse to allow the question to arise. But their negations presuppose the spark in our clod, our native orientation to the divine. (102-103)
To deliberate about x is to ask whether x is worthwhile. To deliberate about deliberating is to ask whether any deliberating is worthwhile. Has "worthwhile" any ultimate meaning? Is moral enterprise consonant with this world? ...Does there or does there not necessarily exist a transcendent, intelligent ground of the universe? Is that ground or are we the primary instance of moral consciousness? Are cosmogenesis, biological evolution, and historical process basically cognate to us as moral beings or are they indifferent and so alien to us? Such is the question of God. It is not a matter of image or feeling, of concept or judgment. They pertain to answers. It is a question. It rises out of our conscious intentionality, out of the a priori structured drive that promotes us from experiencing to the effort to understand, from understanding to the effort to judge truly, from judging to the effort to choose rightly. In the measure that we advert to our own questioning and proceed to question it, there arises the question of God ...[H]owever much religious or irreligious answers differ, however much there differ the questions they explicitly raise, still at their root there is the same transcendental tendency of the human spirit that questions, that questions without restriction, that questions the significance of its own questioning, and so comes to the question of God. The question of God, then, lies within man's horizon. Man's transcendental subjectivity is mutilated or abolished, unless he is stretching forth towards the intelligible, the unconditioned, and the good of value. The reach, not of his attainment, but of his intending, is unrestricted. There lies within his horizon a region for the divine, a shrine for ultimate holiness. It cannot be ignored. The atheist may pronounce it empty. The agnostic may urge that he finds his investigation has been inconclusive. The contemporary humanist will refuse to allow the question to arise. But their negations presuppose the spark in our clod, our native orientation to the divine. (102-103)
03 November 2011
Did God Cause Judas To Betray Jesus?
Check out my friend's new posting by clicking on the link in the posting title above....his blog is here (http://isaiah457.blogspot.com/).
23 August 2011
22 August 2011
12 August 2011
10 August 2011
01 August 2011
02 June 2011
God can save our children
“[Much of the church] fears that if the young person, especially in adolescence, is permitted to become acquainted with the world and its lures, he is sure to be lost. This prediction is, in all its intended realism, a lack of faith and a surrender to determinism. If the Gospel cannot call people out of the world, it is no Gospel. If what we preach to our young people cannot call them out of the world, then we must ask ourselves if what we are preaching is the Gospel. If placing people in a context of choice where it is possible to choose the wrong is unwise, then God himself made the first mistake when he created Adam and the worst mistake when he let people kill his Son. At the bottom of it all, this pessimism means placing oneself fully on the level of the world. It means agreeing with the world that all human development is determined by physical and psychological necessities; agreeing with the world that Christian faith is a matter of behavior patterns and of truths to be passed on; agreeing with the world that there is no miracle of resurrection, no miracle of faith, no Holy Spirit.”
(John Howard Yoder, “Christian Education: Doctrinal Orientation”)
(John Howard Yoder, “Christian Education: Doctrinal Orientation”)
08 March 2011
27 January 2011
01 January 2011
24 December 2010
04 November 2010
02 September 2010
A little Schaeffer
“One of the greatest injustices we do our young people is to ask them to be conservative. Christianity is not conservative, but revolutionary … We must teach the young to be revolutionaries, revolutionaries against the status quo.”
- Francis Schaeffer
- Francis Schaeffer
16 May 2010
Sunday Morning...NOT
Thanks to a friend for this link...enjoy...or weep...
"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.
"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.
05 May 2010
11 April 2010
05 April 2010
24 March 2010
22 March 2010
Anthem...
I just enjoyed an essay over at the blog of "The Enchanted Etymologist". You can (and should) check it out by clicking the link in the posting title above.
There's something I really love about the writer...
There's something I really love about the writer...
19 February 2010
17 February 2010
05 February 2010
03 February 2010
WWJSD - Who would Jesus “smack down”?
Visit the link by clicking the posting title above.
Call me cynical, but I think using violence, pain and intentional conflict as a means of Christian evangelism makes about as much sense as using “Hustler” as a marriage manual.
I guess everybody draws lines somewhere.
One of the big influences in my life has been rock and roll music. I have finally reached the age where I can honestly confess that rock and roll has not done me any good. God help me…I still like it a whole, whole lot…but…I don’t want it in my Church.
I’ve also been a martial artist. Those who know me now may find this humorous, but there was a time when my consuming passion was “the fight” – and like anything else – what we practice at – we get better at. I’m sure there was some value to the bodily exercise (1 Timothy 4:8) but, in retrospect, I sure wasted a lot of passion on “the fight.”
Jesus was a peacemaker. He is called the “Prince of Peace.” He has “made peace by the blood of His cross.”
Am I missing the boat here? Does this make sense at all? Could hosting “beat downs” at a “Christian” Church be a good thing?
“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you (Ephesians 4:31-32).”
Call me cynical, but I think using violence, pain and intentional conflict as a means of Christian evangelism makes about as much sense as using “Hustler” as a marriage manual.
I guess everybody draws lines somewhere.
One of the big influences in my life has been rock and roll music. I have finally reached the age where I can honestly confess that rock and roll has not done me any good. God help me…I still like it a whole, whole lot…but…I don’t want it in my Church.
I’ve also been a martial artist. Those who know me now may find this humorous, but there was a time when my consuming passion was “the fight” – and like anything else – what we practice at – we get better at. I’m sure there was some value to the bodily exercise (1 Timothy 4:8) but, in retrospect, I sure wasted a lot of passion on “the fight.”
Jesus was a peacemaker. He is called the “Prince of Peace.” He has “made peace by the blood of His cross.”
Am I missing the boat here? Does this make sense at all? Could hosting “beat downs” at a “Christian” Church be a good thing?
“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you (Ephesians 4:31-32).”
05 January 2010
Knife Skills
Well...those of you who know the Militant Pacifist know that one of his passions is "fine cooking."
My Christmas present last year was a very nice Shun Chef's Knife.
Since I'm now the owner of such a nice knife...I'm trying to learn some "knife skills." Check this out...
My Christmas present last year was a very nice Shun Chef's Knife.
Since I'm now the owner of such a nice knife...I'm trying to learn some "knife skills." Check this out...
30 December 2009
28 November 2009
The Exclusive Kingdom of God
Christian "statists" are an enigma to the Militant Pacifist.
In Paul Green's brief essay (linked in the posting title above), he points out just a few of the gross inconsistencies involved in Christian support of states.
Let us pray with specific purpose (as the great Apostle instructed) that the state may "leave us alone" - i.e., NOT for the state's prosperity, NOT for the state's success, NOT for the state's persistence, NOT for the state's glory, NOT for the state's victory in its wars, NOT even for the protection of the state's agents - let us pray that the state powers that be will "leave us alone" so that we may live a life of honesty, godliness and peace.
"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour (Paul the Apostle to Saint Timothy, 1 Timothy 2:1-3)."
In Paul Green's brief essay (linked in the posting title above), he points out just a few of the gross inconsistencies involved in Christian support of states.
Let us pray with specific purpose (as the great Apostle instructed) that the state may "leave us alone" - i.e., NOT for the state's prosperity, NOT for the state's success, NOT for the state's persistence, NOT for the state's glory, NOT for the state's victory in its wars, NOT even for the protection of the state's agents - let us pray that the state powers that be will "leave us alone" so that we may live a life of honesty, godliness and peace.
"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour (Paul the Apostle to Saint Timothy, 1 Timothy 2:1-3)."
21 November 2009
16 November 2009
The Hope of Victory
You can read Bob Murphy's excellent essay by clicking the link in the posting title above.
If you don't know what the "prisoner's dilemma" is, you can learn about it here.
If you don't know what the "prisoner's dilemma" is, you can learn about it here.
12 October 2009
05 October 2009
J.I. Packer on Reading the Bible
Ouch!!!
You can read Packer's musings by clicking on the link in the posting title above.
You can read Packer's musings by clicking on the link in the posting title above.
21 September 2009
Entropy Reloaded
I'm commenting over at Spurgeon's Cigar. You can read it by clicking the link on the posting title above.
20 August 2009
The jokes on you...if you believe the US Constitution guarantees ANYTHING!
The farce documented in the link in the posting title above should silence some of the crowd who want to crow about their imagined "rights" under the US constitution.
All this poor guy is guilty of is being an idiot. I'll bet that back in the government junior high school that he went to, some government paid teacher told him to take pride in the "rights" he had. The same "teacher" probably told him that his rights were guaranteed and protected by the government's constitution.
The fact that he's now going to be involuntarily "detained" and have two years of his life stolen from him by the institution that markets itself by claiming that it guarantees and protects his "rights" demonstrates the absurdity of even the smallest amount of faith, hope or trust in human governmental schemes.
For some reason, this has raised my Militantly Pacifistic blood pressure - and I'm not even a NY Giants fan.
An H.L. Menken quote is rolling around in my head...
"Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats."
All this poor guy is guilty of is being an idiot. I'll bet that back in the government junior high school that he went to, some government paid teacher told him to take pride in the "rights" he had. The same "teacher" probably told him that his rights were guaranteed and protected by the government's constitution.
The fact that he's now going to be involuntarily "detained" and have two years of his life stolen from him by the institution that markets itself by claiming that it guarantees and protects his "rights" demonstrates the absurdity of even the smallest amount of faith, hope or trust in human governmental schemes.
For some reason, this has raised my Militantly Pacifistic blood pressure - and I'm not even a NY Giants fan.
An H.L. Menken quote is rolling around in my head...
"Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats."
24 July 2009
13 July 2009
09 July 2009
Quagmire Exchange
As usual (well, sadly, he doesn't write regularly anymore), Charley Reese "nails" it.
05 July 2009
17 June 2009
The "Bomb Iran" contingent's newfound concern for The Iranian People
For a lawyer, Mr. Greenwald has some really good points. I still find it hard to understand how anyone who is bombing you can be classified "friend."
08 June 2009
A Personal Message
“In the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair…”
I can’t believe it’s been 24 years my fair one!
May our God bless us still - as we stumble together towards the New Jerusalem…
I can’t believe it’s been 24 years my fair one!
May our God bless us still - as we stumble together towards the New Jerusalem…
06 June 2009
19 May 2009
07 May 2009
29 April 2009
24 April 2009
09 April 2009
08 April 2009
26 March 2009
13 March 2009
11 March 2009
10 March 2009
The Coming Evangelical Collapse
To read an interesting missive from the "Internet Monk," click the link in the posting title above.
19 February 2009
17 February 2009
Stimulus spelled out
Wow!
I was in the process of drafting a post outlining my take on the stimulus package when I discovered that Vox Day has already done it.
Click the link in the posting title above to read a concise "Austrian School" (economic) analysis of the probable effects of the "stimulus."
I was in the process of drafting a post outlining my take on the stimulus package when I discovered that Vox Day has already done it.
Click the link in the posting title above to read a concise "Austrian School" (economic) analysis of the probable effects of the "stimulus."
Pity this young man...
I (the Militant Pacifist) thank God for an earthly father who discouraged me from enlisting in the military in my youthful naiveté.
Would to God that the young man who authored the article linked in the posting title above could have read Laurence Vance's "Letter to a Christian Young Man Regarding Joining the Military" years ago.
Would to God that the young man who authored the article linked in the posting title above could have read Laurence Vance's "Letter to a Christian Young Man Regarding Joining the Military" years ago.
12 February 2009
The Ubiquity of Depravity
If you’ve never studied Dr. Stanley Milgram’s 1963 experiment in which he confirmed man’s inhumanity to man, you should check it out.
The ubiquity of depravity and the “banality of evil” was recently confirmed by Dr. Jerry Burger of Santa Clara University who replicated (a slightly modified version of) Milgram’s experiment.
Interestingly, the results of Dr. Burger’s experiment confirm Dr. Milgram’s results from forty-five years earlier.
What a reminder that the only hope for humanity is Jesus Christ!
The ubiquity of depravity and the “banality of evil” was recently confirmed by Dr. Jerry Burger of Santa Clara University who replicated (a slightly modified version of) Milgram’s experiment.
Interestingly, the results of Dr. Burger’s experiment confirm Dr. Milgram’s results from forty-five years earlier.
What a reminder that the only hope for humanity is Jesus Christ!
11 February 2009
06 February 2009
The Resurrection Paradigm
I made my second post over at Spurgeon's Cigar.
You can read it by clicking the link in the posting title above.
You can read it by clicking the link in the posting title above.
05 February 2009
The Christian and War
Professor Warford applies the plain words of Jesus and explains how "money changes everything"...click on the link in the posting title above.
Please do!
04 February 2009
Caesar and God in Context
Some very interesting perspective...click on the link in the posting title above...
29 January 2009
Why Does the World Feel Wrong?
Will Groves offers and interesting hypothesis for why the world feels so wrong.
To read about it, click on the link in the posting title above.
28 January 2009
Exponentiality
In chapter 4 of his book, Hurtling Toward Oblivion: A Logical Argument for the End of the Age (click link in the posting title above), Dr. Richard Swenson explains the startling phenomenon called "exponentiality." I highly recommend this little book, but only for the reader who is "not easily troubled."
As the YouTube video below demonstrates, humans must now deal with events with which they have no experience. The pretensions of central bankers, treasury secretaries and the wall street suit and tie crowd are amazing. The amount of lipstick being smeared onto the discredited Keynesian pig is astounding.
I refer the troubled viewer here here.
As the YouTube video below demonstrates, humans must now deal with events with which they have no experience. The pretensions of central bankers, treasury secretaries and the wall street suit and tie crowd are amazing. The amount of lipstick being smeared onto the discredited Keynesian pig is astounding.
I refer the troubled viewer here here.
27 January 2009
Bush, Obama and the American State
I think Anthony is pretty much "spot-on" in his analysis. You can read it by clicking the link in the posting title above.
And...if you'd like to watch Dr. Paul attempt to use that ever-so-blunt instrument (logic) on some Keynesians, click here.
And...if you'd like to watch Dr. Paul attempt to use that ever-so-blunt instrument (logic) on some Keynesians, click here.
22 January 2009
Why I Am a Panarchist
Dr. Rozeff explains why he is a "Panarchist." You can read his explanation by clicking on the link in the posting title above.
20 January 2009
14 January 2009
I hope I see you in heaven...
Click on the posting title above to read a letter from Martha Vaughan...
12 January 2009
30 December 2008
There's No Pain-Free Cure for Recession
"Dr. Doom" used to be the laughingstock of the financial networks. His accurate recession predictions have now made him a desired "talking head" on the financial networks. Even the Wall Street Journal is now on board. You can read the article by clicking the link in the posting title above.
29 December 2008
Take a Little Quiz
Click the link above to take a neat little quiz that contrasts Austrian economic theory (the Militant Pacifist's position) with other schools of economic thought (e.g., Keynesian, Chicago-school, Marxian, Classical, etc.).
It'll make you think!
It'll make you think!
16 December 2008
Juvenile Humor...
Why is this funny?
I'm not sure, maybe it reminds me of playing dodgeball in elementary school. One thing I'm sure of. You should never laugh really hard with food in your mouth.
13 December 2008
The Subversion of Christianity (Jacques Ellul)
The Subversion of Christianity; by Jacques EllulEver since reading his Anarchy and Christianity a couple of years ago, I’ve been wanting to read The Subversion of Christianity. I finally did. Ellul is an interesting, persuasive and depthful thinker.
Ellul believes that true Christianity (the Christianity of Jesus) is necessarily subversive of power (I agree with him), but that Christianity has become so subverted that it is no longer subversive. He reviews many of the trends, ideas and movements that have subverted Christianity in his book.
Links to a couple of online reviews are here, and here. Read together, the reviews are very informative, so I’ll not write a complete review, but I will post some quotations that I found interesting. My hope is that by sampling the quotes, you’ll get a feel for Ellul’s writing - and that you may decide to read this (or similar works) yourself. There are things to disagree with in the book (and many things to upset conservatives and fundamentalists) but for the thinker with an interest in Christian Anarchy and the ethics of Jesus, The Subversion of Christianity is definitely a worthwhile read.
On the effects of the fall - “From the beginning of Genesis we learn a stupefying fact whose implications have seldom been grasped. What Adam and Eve acquire when they take the fruit is the knowledge of good and evil, that is, knowledge in the sense of the ability to state, as God does, that this is good and that is bad. There is no good and evil above God that even God is bound to apply. There is no transcendent good and evil as we constantly think when we judge that the Old Testament God is wrong when, for example, he orders Abraham to sacrifice his son. To be like God is to be able to declare that this is good and that is bad. This is what Adam and Eve acquired, and this was the cause of the break, for there is absolutely nothing to guarantee that our declaration will correspond to God’s. Thus to establish morality is necessarily to do wrong (15).”
On Christian freedom – “Perfect freedom, spiritual as well as political or social, freedom because liberation by God from new bondage is the supreme mutation that was not just proclaimed or ideologized but achieved, is accomplished in us by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; in him fate ceases to exist and we are radically free. All this is contained already in the first act of liberation from Egypt. It is the constant promise of the God of Abraham. It is effected in the incarnation. But it is strictly intolerable in the fullness of its implications. It is psychologically unbearable. It carries frightening social risks and is politically insulting to every form of power. It was not possible. On every social level and in every culture, people have found it impossible to take up this freedom and accept its implications. This is the basic impossibility, the unanimous refusal of all people, which has resulted in the rejection of Christian freedom.
A risk with no cover, a joyful and perilous acrobatic feat with no net! It was not what we wanted. This is the pure and simple reason for the rejection of freedom. But since it is at the same time acquired, a tragic conflict develops between effective freedom (transformed into an ideal or formula or so-called need) and the refusal to accept the risk of it. This is the conflict that gives rise to the incoherences of the Western world with its oscillation between dictatorship and revolution. And it was found in the very reality of God’s revelation itself (43).”
On the origin of “just war” – “The famous story of Charlemagne forcing the Saxons to be converted on pain of death simply presents us with an imitation of what Islam had been doing for two centuries. But if war now has conversions to Christianity as its goal, we can see that very quickly it takes on the aspect of a holy war. It is a war waged against unbelievers and heretics (we know how pitiless was the was the war that Islam waged against heretics in its midst). But the idea of a holy war is a direct product of the Muslim jihad. If the latter is a holy war, then obviously the fight against Muslims to defend or save Christianity has also to be a holy war. The ideal of a holy war is not of Christian origin. Emperors never advanced the idea prior to the appearance of Islam.
For half a century historians have been studying the Crusades to find explanations other than the silly theory that was previously held and conforms to addresses and sermons, that claims their intention was to secure the holy places. It has been shown that the Crusades had economic objectives, or that they were stirred up by the popes for various political motives such as that of securing papal preeminence by exhausting the kingdoms, or reforging the weakening unity of the church, or again that they were a means whereby the kings ruined the barons who were challenging their power, or again that the bankers of Genoa, Florence, and Barcelona instigated them so as to be able to lend money to the Crusaders and make fabulous profits, etc. One fact, however, is a radical one, namely, that the Crusade is an imitation of the jihad. Thus the Crusade includes a guarantee of salvation. The one who dies in a holy war goes straight to Paradise, and the same applies to one who takes part in a Crusade. This is no coincidence; it is an exact equivalent.
The Crusades, which were once admired as an expression of absolute faith, and which are now the subject of accusations against the church and Christianity, are of Muslim, not Christian, origin. We find here a terrible consequence and confirmation of a vice that was eating into Christianity already, namely, that of violence and the desire for power and domination. To fight against a wicked foe with the same means and arms is unavoidably to be identified with this foe. Evil means inevitably corrupt a just cause. The nonviolence of Jesus Christ changes into a war in conflict with that waged by the foe. Like that war, this is now a holy war. Here we have one of the chief perversions of faith in Jesus Christ and of the Christian life.
But we must take this a step further. Once the king is the representative of God on earth and a war is holy, another question necessarily arises. If a war is not holy, what is it? It seems that the Christian emperors of Rome did not ask this question. They had to defend the empire. That was all. Naturally it did not arise in the period of the invasions and the Germanic kingdoms either. War was then a fact, a permanent state. No one tried to justify it. But with the Muslim idea of a holy war the idea is born that a war may be good even if it is not motivated by religious intentions so long as it is waged by a legitimate king. Gradually the view is accepted that political power has to engage in war, and if this power is Christian, then a ruler has to obey certain precepts, orientations, and criteria if he is to act as a Christian ruler and to wage a just war. We thus embark on an endless debate as to the conditions of a just war, from Gratian’s decree to St. Thomas. All this derives from the first impulse toward a holy war, and it was the Muslim example that finally inspired this dreadful denial of which all Christendom becomes guilty (102-104).”
On the Islamic origin of infant baptism - “We have still to examine a very different subversion. It concerns piety, the relation to God. We see in it an influence that we have already mentioned in passing. Every infant is supposedly born a Muslim, for Islam is perfect conformity to nature. Scholars, then, argue that it is through a bad influence of the “cultural” setting that this baby, who is by nature a Muslim, deviates from the truth and becomes a Jew or a Christian or a pagan. Evangelical thinking takes exactly the opposite view. One becomes a Christian only by conversion. Our old being, which is by nature corrupt, is changed by the action of the Holy Spirit, who makes of us new beings. Conversion alone, conscious and recognized, so that there is confession with the lips as well as faith in the heart, produces the Christian. This new birth, the opposite of natural birth, is confirmed by the outward sign of baptism, which seems to imply an express acknowledgement of faith. But progressively this strict view weakens. The church fathers analyze the sacraments, and the tendency toward an opus operatum understanding develops. The sacrament is intrinsically efficacious. Baptism ceases to be a sign of converting grace and becomes in itself an instrument of salvation. Hence, if we desire that infants, who are naturally damned due to the transmission of original sin, should be saved, we must baptize them immediately at birth so as to avoid the risk of their dying first. Salvation, then, comes almost at the moment of birth. At the same time that we reevaluate nature, which is now not radically bad, the conviction gains ground that the soul is “naturally” good and saved, that there is only a hindrance, a flaw, and that original sin is merely an obstacle that baptism overcomes.
Very quickly the formula spreads that the soul is by nature Christian, which is the counterpart of the Muslim view. Now the idea that faith is natural, that one is put in a Christian state by heredity, that being a Christian is indeed a kind of status in society, that it involves at the same time membership in both the church and society (just as excommunication is exclusion from both church and society), is the very opposite of the work of Jesus Christ. We have to insist that Christendom in this sense is superimposed upon the church and that it duplicates exactly what is taught by Islam. Once the theory of “the soul by nature Christian” is accepted, society has to be made up of Christians. There is no alternative. Already with the Christian emperors there was a thrust in this direction. But it was the Muslim example that proved decisive. Each time we find the same refrain. There is a need to outdo Islam, and that means imitating it (104-105).”
On the Christian embrace of “weakness” - “And what about another concept that seems to be essential in the life of Jesus Christ, that of weakness, which is linked with antipolitics? What can be more the opposite of what we are? Is not the spirit of power at the heart of all our actions? I concede that it nay not exist among some so-called primitive peoples in tribes that know no violence and seek no domination, But these are such an exception that we certainly cannot take them as a natural example of what humanity is in general – if there is such a thing as “humanity in general.”
If we look only at historical peoples, what do we see? Wars, conquests, aggrandizement, the crushing of the vanquished, the magnifying of power, the quest for greatness. Let us not say that this applies only to the West! That is all comes from Rome! For what did Egypt do for two thousand years but conquer and dominate and assert its power? And the Assyrians and the Chaldeans? Is the flower of Greek civilization held up against us (apart from Lacedaemon)? But at Athens what were games in the arena but glorifications of competitive force? And who but the Greeks founded colonies, and gradually invaded the eastern Mediterranean, often by devious paths? And what about Alexander?
It might be objected that I am speaking about the spirit of violence and power only with reference to the Mediterranean basin. Let us look further afield. The Aztecs? Were they not inspired by fear? The Eastern world? Where did those terrible successive waves come from, the Huns, Hungarians, Genghis Khan, Tamburlaine, the Turks who periodically overwhelmed Europe? Did they not come from the very same Asia that many people want to depict today as wise and devoid of any spirit of violence? And within this continent frightful wars ravaged India periodically for two thousand years, not to speak of the Manchurian and Mongolian invasions that spilled across China. China itself until the thirteenth century was a colonizing and imperialistic power. I have already spoken already about the Arab and the Moslem world. Let no one say that Europe alone was characterized by the spirit of power.
Within all societies without exception has there not been equally a split between a small number of rich people and a large number of poor people? Does this not include Buddhist society, which is said to be pacifistic and nonviolent? The domination of the rich is everywhere the same. It expresses everywhere the same spirit of violence and repression. Capitalism did not engender it. Everywhere it has been institutionalized, and particularly in Indian society, where the hierarchical caste system consecrates and solidifies this supremacy of the powerful. In the same way, we find slavery almost everywhere. I admit again that in a small “primitive” group there has not been any slavery, although sometimes this was only because they ate prisoners. In any case, a group of this kind is not of great significance for “humanity” at large, seeing that we find various forms of slavery, of the absolute exploitation of some people by others, in all historical societies. One might truly say that the desire to dominate, to crush, to use others, is a general on and admits of hardly any exceptions. One might refer to the Greek glorification of conquering Eros which enslaves and possesses for its own satisfaction. One might quote also the way in which conquerors called themselves the “scourge of God.” Truly the spirit of power lies deep in the human heart.
How truly intolerable, then, is a message, and even more so a life, that centers on weakness. Not sacrifice on behalf of a cause that one wants to bring to success, but in all truth love for nothing, faith for nothing, giving for nothing, service for nothing. Putting others above oneself. In all things seeking the interests of others. When dragged before the courts, not attempting any defense but leaving it to the Holy Spirit. The renunciation of power is infinitely broader and harder than nonviolence (which it includes). For nonviolence allows of a social theory, and in general it has an objective. The same is not true of nonpower (164-166).”
On Christian action - “Revealed truth spiritualizes all conditions and situations. By this fact it makes everything more radical, bringing it before a final court. Everything, and hence all political, social, economic, and philosophical questions, and all the means that we use – everything becomes more radical. At the same time, however, this radicalness demands that we leave what we claim to have, including political instruments and collective means. (Go, sell all that you have…not just real estate and jewels!) We can then begin to be and to act in a new way, to recognize another form of efficacy….Renounce everything in order to be everything. Trust in no human means, for God will provide (we cannot say where, when, or how). Have confidence in his Word and not in a rational program. Enter on a way on which you will gradually find answers but with no guaranteed substance. All this is difficult, much more so than recruiting guerillas, instigating terrorism, or stirring up the masses. And this is why the gospel is so intolerable, intolerable for myself as I speak, as I say all this to myself and others, intolerable for readers, who can only shrug their shoulders.
Grace is intolerable, the Father is unbearable, weakness is discouraging, freedom is unlivable, spiritualization is deceptive. This is our judgment, and humanly speaking it is well founded and inevitable. This is one of the first reasons for the rejection of the proclamation of God in Jesus Christ. And because we do not want to seem to reject it, perversion and subversion take place. All these judgments and actions are based on good sense, reason, experience, and science, that is, on our ordinary means of judgment, on what all people think and believe. But it is precisely here that we fall down. Jesus tells us plainly that if we simply do as the world does, we can expect no thanks, for we are doing nothing out of the ordinary. What we are summoned to do is something out of the ordinary. We are to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. No less. All else is perversion (172-173).”
05 December 2008
04 December 2008
Great Steaks!
A few nights ago (while the progeny were all away for the evening) I acquired a couple of USDA Prime beef tenderloins (I had to go to a special store to find these) to enjoy with my bride.
It was misty and windy, and I didn’t want to cook outside. I decided to try Alton Brown’s technique (which I had seen on the Food Network).
We both enjoy a good flame-grilled steak, but these turned out as close to perfect as any I’ve ever cooked. Alton’s technique facilitates total control of temperature and doneness. Check out the video clip below…
Of course with great steaks, you really need a really big Zin!
It was misty and windy, and I didn’t want to cook outside. I decided to try Alton Brown’s technique (which I had seen on the Food Network).
We both enjoy a good flame-grilled steak, but these turned out as close to perfect as any I’ve ever cooked. Alton’s technique facilitates total control of temperature and doneness. Check out the video clip below…
Of course with great steaks, you really need a really big Zin!
03 December 2008
More on the Christian's Relationship with the State
I've been a regular "commenter" over at Spurgeon's Cigar for a while now, but I just made my first posting over there. You can check it out by clicking the link in the posting title above.
24 November 2008
The Zero Aggression Principle Part II - Put Down the Gun!
If you followed the link in my earlier posting on the Zero Aggression Principle, then you are now ready for part II. Click on the link in the posting title above...go ahead, click it...
Socialism 101
One of Dr. Williams' laudatory skills is his ability to take complex ideas and make them understandable - as the Militant Pacifist's progenitor would say, he can "put the cookies on the lower shelf."
To get a basic and incisive understanding of the perniciousness of socialism, read Dr. Williams' brief essay (linked in the posting title above).
To get a basic and incisive understanding of the perniciousness of socialism, read Dr. Williams' brief essay (linked in the posting title above).
20 November 2008
The Zero Aggression Principle
Click the link in the posting title above to enjoy an easy-to-read explanation of the Zero Aggression Principle (ZAP). The ZAP is the heart of Christian Anarchism and/or Christian Libertarianism.
18 November 2008
14 November 2008
13 November 2008
10 November 2008
Safety is of the LORD
I had the privilege yesterday of hearing a sermon from an Iraqi Christian minister.
In response to a question about security in Iraq, the Christian opined (this is not a verbatim quote, just the best that I can recall), “you may think you are safe in the United States, but you may not be. I’ll be safe in Iraq because that’s where God wants me. When you are where God wants you, that’s where you are safe.”
What a timely reminder. “ …safety is of the LORD (Proverbs 21:31).”
In response to a question about security in Iraq, the Christian opined (this is not a verbatim quote, just the best that I can recall), “you may think you are safe in the United States, but you may not be. I’ll be safe in Iraq because that’s where God wants me. When you are where God wants you, that’s where you are safe.”
What a timely reminder. “ …safety is of the LORD (Proverbs 21:31).”
04 November 2008
31 October 2008
13 October 2008
02 October 2008
01 October 2008
Another Letter (e-mail) Sent to My Senators
Dear Senator,
My wife and I both called to urge you to vote against the so called "bailout" bill. According to news media reports, you voted for it.
Since you are a republican, and a professed conservative, this has shocked and dismayed me since it seems to imply that you do not believe in maintaining a "free market" but rather are in favor of government intervention and meddling in the free market - which destroys the freedom of the market. I never expected such from you.
If you or some of your staff have the time, I would appreciate an explanation of what you were thinking when you voted for what conservatives perceive as rank "socialism," and the 5th plank in Karl Marx's steps towards communism.
Regards,
My wife and I both called to urge you to vote against the so called "bailout" bill. According to news media reports, you voted for it.
Since you are a republican, and a professed conservative, this has shocked and dismayed me since it seems to imply that you do not believe in maintaining a "free market" but rather are in favor of government intervention and meddling in the free market - which destroys the freedom of the market. I never expected such from you.
If you or some of your staff have the time, I would appreciate an explanation of what you were thinking when you voted for what conservatives perceive as rank "socialism," and the 5th plank in Karl Marx's steps towards communism.
Regards,
29 September 2008
Grand Theft Taxpayer
Mr. Peters gets a great analogy going in his little article. You can read it by clicking the link in the posting title above.
27 September 2008
Symphony of Destruction
The slow motion train wreck that has been going on in Washington D.C. this past week has made my stomach sick. What are the powers doing to "our" country? The soundtrack is – Symphony of Destruction (Megadeth).
26 September 2008
A Manmade Disaster
When discussing the problem of evil, philosophers of religion bifurcate evil into two types: natural evil and moral evil.
Natural evil, as the descriptor signifies, is that type of evil that seems to be, as a part of the natural (fallen) world, amoral. Horrible examples of natural evil abound, things like hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, cancer, and so on.
Moral evil, as the descriptor signifies, is that type of evil which (as opposed to natural evil) has a distinctively moral (or immoral) tinge. Horrendous examples of moral evil are things like, theft, rape, murder and torture.
The current “credit crisis” is not a natural evil. The current credit crisis is a moral evil perpetrated against all users of the US dollar.
The proposed solution – the so called “bailout” is another moral evil which will further injure the many while benefiting only a few.
Contrary to the pitiful assertions by Comrade Bush that the free market is “not working,” the Militant Pacifist asserts that the exact opposite is true. The free market is working perfectly. I hesitate to brand “ignorance” as a “lie” (I must remain charitable). The invisible hand of the free market is working just fine!
The free market has made a statement. It has said, I have evaluated the mortgage backed securities and derivative products offered for sale by several major investment banks and I have determined their value to be approximately $0. Hence, I, the free market, offer the princely sum of $0 in exchange for this worthless commercial crap paper.
The proposed “bailout” would come and “re-value” these worthless securities at $700B, or whatever the current number happens to be.
Comrades Paulson and Bernanke would purchase these securities, which the free market has said are worthless ($0) for $700B. The purpose of the purchase would be to “remove this toxic paper from the market.”
But look at what would really happen. Something that the free market values at $0 will be purchased (by force – NOT by an arms-length, free market transaction) for $700B.
In other words $0 worth of value will be removed from the economy, and $700B will be “injected” into the economy.
In a few short months, the money supply will be dramatically increased. The resulting inflation should be obvious. The dramatic increase in the number of dollars circulating in the economy makes each dollar worth less than it was before.
The shirt that used to cost $50, now costs $75. The shirt didn’t actually rise in value – the dollar that’s being used to purchase the shirt actually fell in value – the price of the shirt became “inflated.”
For anyone who has read my ramblings, it should be obvious that I’m a strong proponent of the Austrian School (of economic theory) – but the analysis above doesn’t require that you subscribe to Austrian Economics – it just requires some very basic economic reasoning.
Raising taxes to pay for the “bailout” is not feasible. What will happen is that Comrade Paulson will ask Comrade Bernanke to “authorize” the currency to fund the transaction. The resulting “fiat money” will be “legal tender” for all debts, public or private (i.e., the government will require it to be accepted as payment).
The resulting inflation will effectively tax anyone and everyone who uses the US dollar.
The debasement of a people’s currency is a moral evil which harms people indiscriminately.
Those who commit and support such moral evil are worthy of judgment, and unless they repent, they will certainly be judged.
Natural evil, as the descriptor signifies, is that type of evil that seems to be, as a part of the natural (fallen) world, amoral. Horrible examples of natural evil abound, things like hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, cancer, and so on.
Moral evil, as the descriptor signifies, is that type of evil which (as opposed to natural evil) has a distinctively moral (or immoral) tinge. Horrendous examples of moral evil are things like, theft, rape, murder and torture.
The current “credit crisis” is not a natural evil. The current credit crisis is a moral evil perpetrated against all users of the US dollar.
The proposed solution – the so called “bailout” is another moral evil which will further injure the many while benefiting only a few.
Contrary to the pitiful assertions by Comrade Bush that the free market is “not working,” the Militant Pacifist asserts that the exact opposite is true. The free market is working perfectly. I hesitate to brand “ignorance” as a “lie” (I must remain charitable). The invisible hand of the free market is working just fine!
The free market has made a statement. It has said, I have evaluated the mortgage backed securities and derivative products offered for sale by several major investment banks and I have determined their value to be approximately $0. Hence, I, the free market, offer the princely sum of $0 in exchange for this worthless commercial crap paper.
The proposed “bailout” would come and “re-value” these worthless securities at $700B, or whatever the current number happens to be.
Comrades Paulson and Bernanke would purchase these securities, which the free market has said are worthless ($0) for $700B. The purpose of the purchase would be to “remove this toxic paper from the market.”
But look at what would really happen. Something that the free market values at $0 will be purchased (by force – NOT by an arms-length, free market transaction) for $700B.
In other words $0 worth of value will be removed from the economy, and $700B will be “injected” into the economy.
In a few short months, the money supply will be dramatically increased. The resulting inflation should be obvious. The dramatic increase in the number of dollars circulating in the economy makes each dollar worth less than it was before.
The shirt that used to cost $50, now costs $75. The shirt didn’t actually rise in value – the dollar that’s being used to purchase the shirt actually fell in value – the price of the shirt became “inflated.”
For anyone who has read my ramblings, it should be obvious that I’m a strong proponent of the Austrian School (of economic theory) – but the analysis above doesn’t require that you subscribe to Austrian Economics – it just requires some very basic economic reasoning.
Raising taxes to pay for the “bailout” is not feasible. What will happen is that Comrade Paulson will ask Comrade Bernanke to “authorize” the currency to fund the transaction. The resulting “fiat money” will be “legal tender” for all debts, public or private (i.e., the government will require it to be accepted as payment).
The resulting inflation will effectively tax anyone and everyone who uses the US dollar.
The debasement of a people’s currency is a moral evil which harms people indiscriminately.
Those who commit and support such moral evil are worthy of judgment, and unless they repent, they will certainly be judged.
Alaska paratrooper to get conscientious objector status, discharge
Thank you Holy Father. Thank you!
25 September 2008
23 September 2008
The virtue of doing nothing
The recent whining from Comrades Paulson and Bernanke about the necessity of “acting urgently” to bail out irresponsible banks has reminded me of a position that I have come to embrace. I will explain it, and it is controversial, but I don’t think I can be talked out of it.The position is that there can sometimes be great virtue in doing nothing.
Just because Paulson and Bernanke say something doesn’t really mean that anybody has to do anything.
You see, we could just stand by and “let it crater.” Just because a bunch of folks are screaming, “do something, do something, it’s gonna crater,” doesn’t mean that we have to do anything.
And, “it” might crater, or “it” might not.
But away with Paulson and Bernanke, they merely present a contemporary example of the person who says – “you must act.”
One of the things that I’ve come to realize is that often when someone tells me I have to “do something,” they’re wrong. When they tell me, “you have to decide,” or “you’ve got to choose,” it may not be so. It may be the informal fallacy called “false dilemma.” The fallacy taps into our natural bias for action, but it seems that our natural bias for action is often rooted in emotion rather than wisdom, or rational deliberation.
Now, not all options are good options. When I was a boy and my papa told me to do some certain thing – I had options. I could do what he told me, or I could suffer (my hind-end could suffer).
Christians (as did Christ), learn obedience by the things that they suffer (Hebrews 5:8). So, the idea of obeying God’s commands, or the idea of a child obeying his/her parents is really not what I’m talking about here.
What I’m talking about is most other cases.
In the rock band Rush’s philosophical anthem “Freewill,” Geddy Lee screams, “if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.” Though I understand his point, another perspective warrants consideration.
Not choosing is “not choosing.” It is refusing to make a choice. Not choosing is choosing to be passive rather than active. Not choosing is deciding to relinquish the prerogative of choice – with the understanding that something not chosen (something unchosen) may happen.
While such a prospect may be a cause of fear for some, I have come to believe that “not choosing” is often a viable and righteous posture for a Christian.
Imagine that a Christian comes under a violent attack. Many would say that s/he must decide immediately how to respond. This is usually taken to mean that s/he must decide whether to offer resistance (to fight), or to be non-resistant (and maybe to die).
But really…does such a choice have to be made. There seems to be no rational requirement that would force a choice in the moment.
The objector might quote Geddy Lee and say, “well, in such a case, not deciding is the same as deciding.” But such a response is certainly not informed by the Christian worldview. Christianity offers a third way.
In such a situation, might not indecision be the occasion to “stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD (2 Chronicles 20:17)?” In such a situation, might it not be virtuous to “do nothing?”
Contrast this with a naturalistic perspective which would suggest that declining to choose one course of action over another is relinquishing of the human will to power, and when one does such s/he deserves whatever happens to him/her.
Naturalism would suggest that due to the perpetual passage of time, not deciding on a certain course of action may result in something coming about which was not actively chosen – something “random.”
But if one rejects the idea of randomness, is this necessarily a bad thing?
Folks say things like, “you have to do this,” or “you have to do that,” but after many years I have come to realize that I really don’t. Just because someone says that I have to “take action” doesn’t mean that I really do (have to take action).
If the truth be told, all that I have to decide in this moment is - do I take my next breath – or do I pass out.
Realizing this – that I don’t really have to do what it is that someone else says (assuming I’m willing to accept the consequences of inaction) - can be extremely “freeing.”
As I mentioned above, when Comrades Paulson and Bernanke whine about the necessity for quick action to bail out irresponsible banks – that doesn’t really mean that anybody has to do anything. This is not to say that there might be consequences from inaction.
I think I can almost hear the rugged American objection from the “man of action.” “We MUST do something,” he says. But, just because there is an objection, just because you are rugged, or just because you are an individualist, or just because you are an American doesn’t mean you have to do anything.
Λόγος can rule Πάθος.
The American business magnate Martha Stewart spent five months in an American gulag because she thought she had to “take action.” Mrs. Stewart was found guilty of “making false statements to federal investigators.” In other words, because she acted (and surely she must have felt that she “had” to act), she ended up being persecuted (i.e., prosecuted).
I’ll bet if she had it to do over again, she wouldn’t say a word to a “federal investigator.” Much better to have a “federal investigator” think you a dumb (speechless) idiot, than to give him the very ammunition he will use against you. Martha’s best course of action would have been to “do nothing.”
Surely, it requires wisdom to know when it is best to “do nothing,” but we often don’t even entertain the idea of “doing nothing.” Maybe we’ve forgotten that it’s an option.
The Militant Pacifist advocates “doing nothing” (i.e., not taking action) only when “doing nothing” has been chosen. This may not require active “choice,” but certainly it requires thought.
Theologians bifurcate sins into, “sins of omission,” and “sins of commission.” To really see “doing nothing” as a live option, a Christian must have thought through the possibility that sometimes – to do nothing would be sinful.
Realizing this highlights the truth that it requires wisdom and discernment to decide to act, or to do nothing.
Next time the pressure is on you to take action, realize that you may just be suffering from your own bias to action, and consider that there is at least a possibility that “doing nothing” might be virtuous.
Take a chill pill, and consider.
The American business magnate Martha Stewart spent five months in an American gulag because she thought she had to “take action.” Mrs. Stewart was found guilty of “making false statements to federal investigators.” In other words, because she acted (and surely she must have felt that she “had” to act), she ended up being persecuted (i.e., prosecuted).
I’ll bet if she had it to do over again, she wouldn’t say a word to a “federal investigator.” Much better to have a “federal investigator” think you a dumb (speechless) idiot, than to give him the very ammunition he will use against you. Martha’s best course of action would have been to “do nothing.”
Surely, it requires wisdom to know when it is best to “do nothing,” but we often don’t even entertain the idea of “doing nothing.” Maybe we’ve forgotten that it’s an option.
The Militant Pacifist advocates “doing nothing” (i.e., not taking action) only when “doing nothing” has been chosen. This may not require active “choice,” but certainly it requires thought.
Theologians bifurcate sins into, “sins of omission,” and “sins of commission.” To really see “doing nothing” as a live option, a Christian must have thought through the possibility that sometimes – to do nothing would be sinful.
Realizing this highlights the truth that it requires wisdom and discernment to decide to act, or to do nothing.
Next time the pressure is on you to take action, realize that you may just be suffering from your own bias to action, and consider that there is at least a possibility that “doing nothing” might be virtuous.
Take a chill pill, and consider.
22 September 2008
Text of Draft Proposal for Bailout Plan
You can check this out by clicking the link in the posting title above. Of special interest is section 8 regarding review. Section 8 states:
Wow! That sure sounds imperial. No review of your actions. What would that make you? A god?
Your highness(es) Bernanke and Paulson...
Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.
Wow! That sure sounds imperial. No review of your actions. What would that make you? A god?
Your highness(es) Bernanke and Paulson...
Letter to my Congressman and Senators
Following is the letter (e-mail) I sent to my senators and congressman.
_______________________________________________________________________
Dear __________,
I'm writing to encourage you to oppose the federal "bail out" of several irresponsible investment houses, banks and insurance companies.
It is shocking to me that I'm writing you because the proposed intervention sounds more like something that would happen in the former Soviet Union than in the American republic.
Please oppose this governmental power grab which would interfere with our precious free enterprise system.
Americans have seen the failure of authoritarian centralized decision-making and control in the former Soviet Union, and we want none of that over here.
Thank you,
_______________________________________________________________________
Dear __________,
I'm writing to encourage you to oppose the federal "bail out" of several irresponsible investment houses, banks and insurance companies.
It is shocking to me that I'm writing you because the proposed intervention sounds more like something that would happen in the former Soviet Union than in the American republic.
Please oppose this governmental power grab which would interfere with our precious free enterprise system.
Americans have seen the failure of authoritarian centralized decision-making and control in the former Soviet Union, and we want none of that over here.
Thank you,
20 September 2008
19 September 2008
King George Demonstrates his Dementia
Strange days indeed...most peculiar mama!
What strange days, what very, very strange days.
King George has lost it, and he's burning the city - pretty music though - Bernanke's on fiddle.
You can read about it by clicking the link in the posting title above.
The king says, "Our system of free enterprise rests on the conviction that the federal government should interfere in the marketplace only when necessary. Given the precarious state of today's financial markets and their vital importance to the daily lives of the American people, government intervention is not only warranted, it is essential."
Well, there you have it. The king says it's necessary. Oh well. The illusion was nice while it lasted. It's not quite the way they told me it was supposed to work back in high school, but I'm sure the king knows what's best.
I sure am glad I serve a real King. If I didn't, it might be distressing to see these barbarians torching the city.
15 September 2008
B.A.T. (Base Attitude Theory)
The Militant Pacifist thinks that he might have coined a new phrase (maybe not).
The phrase is “base attitude theory,” and the idea came to me [The Militant Pacifist] as I pondered the variety of basic attitudes that people hold towards their governments.
Yesterday, I heard a Chinese Christian describe the current situation for Christians in the People’s Republic of China. He presented a modern history of Christianity in China – a history including rampant suppression and persecution by the Communist government.
During a follow-on discussion, an American Christian interviewer asked the Chinese Christian “do you trust your government?” The Chinese Christian immediately responded, “No!”
The American interviewer followed-up this question with, “well, do you think I should trust my government?” The Chinese Christian seemed perplexed by the question, but after a moment of thought he responded affirmatively, citing the many liberties that American citizens enjoy as ample reason why the American interviewer should trust his government.
I cite the incident above as an example of B.A.T. (base attitude theory). My theory is that the Chinese Christian’s base attitude towards his country’s government was one of distrust (even fear) because of the life experiences that he or others have had with his government. These experiences have shaped his attitude so that his base response to his government is fear and distrust. If you have read anything about Chinese communism’s treatment of Christians – you will appreciate that his base attitude is justified.
Most Americans I encounter have a much more favorable attitude towards their government than does the Chinese Christian. Maybe their more favorable attitude is justified, or maybe they have been more “slickly propagandized” and less intimidated than the Chinese Christian. In any case, it seems that most Americans feel more threatened by Iraqis and Iranians than they do by their own government.
I have never had an “unpleasant” experience with either an Iraqi or an Iranian – but most experiences I have had with my government have been unpleasant [granted, I have never discharged a firearm in the direction of an Iraqi or an Iranian].
I’m trying to live a righteous life, but every time I see a letter in my mailbox with “IRS” on the envelope – my mouth gets dry and my pulse increases. When I see my local militarized police, with their Marine Corps haircuts, “terminator” sunglasses, and combat boots, my stomach jumps and I think, “am I doing anything wrong?”
My base attitude towards my government is distrust, fear and ambivalence. It is the Militant Pacifist’s opinion that this attitude would have been advised, encouraged and commended by the great scientists who started the American political experiment (men like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin).
Christians are not to be rebellious (1 Samuel 15:23). They are even commanded to be subject to certain powers (Romans 13:1-7).
Lest this ramble seem uncharitable (or un-Christian) - the Militant Pacifist often has to remind himself that God commands prayer for government officials - specifically, prayer that they (government officials, principalities and powers) will leave us alone (1 Timothy 2:1-2); And he does ([I do] pray for them).
Sometimes, this seems difficult for me. I doubt it is difficult at all for a Chinese Christian.
The phrase is “base attitude theory,” and the idea came to me [The Militant Pacifist] as I pondered the variety of basic attitudes that people hold towards their governments.
Yesterday, I heard a Chinese Christian describe the current situation for Christians in the People’s Republic of China. He presented a modern history of Christianity in China – a history including rampant suppression and persecution by the Communist government.
During a follow-on discussion, an American Christian interviewer asked the Chinese Christian “do you trust your government?” The Chinese Christian immediately responded, “No!”
The American interviewer followed-up this question with, “well, do you think I should trust my government?” The Chinese Christian seemed perplexed by the question, but after a moment of thought he responded affirmatively, citing the many liberties that American citizens enjoy as ample reason why the American interviewer should trust his government.
I cite the incident above as an example of B.A.T. (base attitude theory). My theory is that the Chinese Christian’s base attitude towards his country’s government was one of distrust (even fear) because of the life experiences that he or others have had with his government. These experiences have shaped his attitude so that his base response to his government is fear and distrust. If you have read anything about Chinese communism’s treatment of Christians – you will appreciate that his base attitude is justified.
Most Americans I encounter have a much more favorable attitude towards their government than does the Chinese Christian. Maybe their more favorable attitude is justified, or maybe they have been more “slickly propagandized” and less intimidated than the Chinese Christian. In any case, it seems that most Americans feel more threatened by Iraqis and Iranians than they do by their own government.
I have never had an “unpleasant” experience with either an Iraqi or an Iranian – but most experiences I have had with my government have been unpleasant [granted, I have never discharged a firearm in the direction of an Iraqi or an Iranian].
I’m trying to live a righteous life, but every time I see a letter in my mailbox with “IRS” on the envelope – my mouth gets dry and my pulse increases. When I see my local militarized police, with their Marine Corps haircuts, “terminator” sunglasses, and combat boots, my stomach jumps and I think, “am I doing anything wrong?”
My base attitude towards my government is distrust, fear and ambivalence. It is the Militant Pacifist’s opinion that this attitude would have been advised, encouraged and commended by the great scientists who started the American political experiment (men like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin).
Christians are not to be rebellious (1 Samuel 15:23). They are even commanded to be subject to certain powers (Romans 13:1-7).
Lest this ramble seem uncharitable (or un-Christian) - the Militant Pacifist often has to remind himself that God commands prayer for government officials - specifically, prayer that they (government officials, principalities and powers) will leave us alone (1 Timothy 2:1-2); And he does ([I do] pray for them).
Sometimes, this seems difficult for me. I doubt it is difficult at all for a Chinese Christian.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
+001.jpg)
