One of the biggest problems facing Christian families today (the Militant Pacifist believes) is discussed in the BLOG posting linked in the title above.
Father in heaven, please grant us more grace!
31 October 2005
28 October 2005
A Quote from the Mighty Calvin
John Calvin, the great Christian reformer and theologian, lifted up humility as the cardinal Christian virtue.
A saying of Chrysostom’s has always pleased me very much, that the foundation of our philosophy is humility. But that of Augustine pleases me even more: “When a certain rhetorician was asked what was the chief rule in eloquence, he replied, ‘Delivery’; what was the second rule, ‘Delivery’; what was the third rule, ‘Delivery’; so if you ask me concerning the precepts of the Christian religion, first, second, third, and always I would answer, ‘Humility.’”
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2.2.11, 268-69.
25 October 2005
Thinking About Harriet Miers
The Militant Pacifist is aware that most folks do not like to think. To really think requires effort. It requires self-criticism. It requires one to admit that his or her opinion may be very, very wrong. To really think, one must acknowledge presuppositions and become epistemologically self-conscious. It is at this point that one often sees that the emperor has no clothes. This can quickly become a personally unpleasant state of affairs.
Much better not to think. Take it easy. Stay with the status quo. Believe the lies. Just drink the Kool-Aid.
But, if you would like to think - then think about the looming disaster that is the Harriet Miers Supreme Court judicial nomination (click on the posting title above to the linked article).
But then, The Militant Pacifist should remind the readers (are there any?) that it is vain to hope in human judges.
It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes (Psalm 118:8-9). (See my 14 September 2005 post).
Put no confidence in princes, nor for help on man depend - he shall die, to dust returning, and his purposes shall end.
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God (Psalm 43:5).
Much better not to think. Take it easy. Stay with the status quo. Believe the lies. Just drink the Kool-Aid.
But, if you would like to think - then think about the looming disaster that is the Harriet Miers Supreme Court judicial nomination (click on the posting title above to the linked article).
But then, The Militant Pacifist should remind the readers (are there any?) that it is vain to hope in human judges.
It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes (Psalm 118:8-9). (See my 14 September 2005 post).
Put no confidence in princes, nor for help on man depend - he shall die, to dust returning, and his purposes shall end.
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God (Psalm 43:5).
24 October 2005
Our Inscrutable Iraq Policy: Why We Did It, What To Do Now, and What Happens Next
The Militant Pacifist recommends that you read the article linked in the posting title above.
Nobody ever eats crow willingly. They have to be "force-fed" it. Oh, for a real liberty-lover to vote for! Oh, for a politician that would leave me, my family and my money alone. Statism stinks!
Nobody ever eats crow willingly. They have to be "force-fed" it. Oh, for a real liberty-lover to vote for! Oh, for a politician that would leave me, my family and my money alone. Statism stinks!
23 October 2005
A Theistic Argument (against naturalism) from Evil
The Militant Pacifist sees “Naturalism” as the primary enemy of Christian thought in modernity (or post-modernity, wherever it is that we are).
The so called “Problem of Evil” is thought by many pagan philosophers and naturalistic thinkers to mitigate the existence of the Christian God. In his essay “A Christian Life Partly Lived” (from the essay collection Philosophers Who Believe: The Spiritual Journeys of 11 Leading Thinkers - see link in the posting title above), the renowned philosopher (and Christian) Alvin Plantinga argues for the reality of a powerful “Theistic Argument from Evil (pages 72-73).”
“ ...there is a theistic argument from evil, and it is at least as strong as the antitheistic argument from evil. (Here I can only sketch the argument and leave it at an intuitive level.) What is so deeply disturbing about horrifying kinds of evil? The most appalling kinds of evil involve human cruelty and wickedness: Stalin and Pol Pot, Hitler and his henchmen, and the thousands of small vignettes of evil that make up such a whole. What is genuinely abhorrent is the callousness and perversion and cruelty of the concentration camp guard taking pleasure in the sufferings of others; what is really odious is taking advantage of one’s position of trust (as a parent or counselor, perhaps) in order to betray and corrupt someone. What is genuinely appalling, in other words, is not really human suffering as such so much as human wickedness. This wickedness strikes us as deeply perverse, wholly wrong, warranting not just quarantine and the attempt to overcome it, but blame and punishment.
But could there really be any such thing as horrifying wickedness if naturalism were true? I don’t see how. A naturalistic way of looking at the world, so it seems to me, has no place for genuine moral obligation of any sort; a fortiori, then, it has no place for such a category as horrifying wickedness. It is hard enough, from a naturalistic perspective, to see how it could be that we human beings can be so related to propositions (contents) that we believe them; and harder yet, as I said above, to explain how that content could enter into a causal explanation of someone’s actions. But these difficulties are nothing compared with seeing how, in a naturalistic universe, there could be such a thing as genuine and appalling wickedness. There can be such a thing only if there is a way rational creatures are supposed to live, obliged to live; and the force of that normativity – its strength, so to speak – is such that the appalling and horrifying nature of genuine wickedness is its inverse. But naturalism cannot make room for that kind of normativity; that requires a divine lawgiver, one whose very nature it is to abhor wickedness. Naturalism can perhaps accommodate foolishness and irrationality, acting contrary to what are or what you take to be your own interests; it can’t accommodate appalling wickedness. Accordingly, if you think there really is such a thing as horrifying wickedness (that our sense that there is, is not a mere illusion of some sort), and if you also think the main options are theism and naturalism, then you have a powerful theistic argument from evil.”
The Militant Pacifist summarizes – naturalists who believe in the existence of evil are intellectually inconsistent, i.e., they are irrational idiots.
Your perception of evil is a powerful testimony to the existence of the God who made you!
If you believe in evil, but not in God, then you should look into this inconsistency immediately!!!
Idiot - A foolish or stupid person. (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.)
The so called “Problem of Evil” is thought by many pagan philosophers and naturalistic thinkers to mitigate the existence of the Christian God. In his essay “A Christian Life Partly Lived” (from the essay collection Philosophers Who Believe: The Spiritual Journeys of 11 Leading Thinkers - see link in the posting title above), the renowned philosopher (and Christian) Alvin Plantinga argues for the reality of a powerful “Theistic Argument from Evil (pages 72-73).”
“ ...there is a theistic argument from evil, and it is at least as strong as the antitheistic argument from evil. (Here I can only sketch the argument and leave it at an intuitive level.) What is so deeply disturbing about horrifying kinds of evil? The most appalling kinds of evil involve human cruelty and wickedness: Stalin and Pol Pot, Hitler and his henchmen, and the thousands of small vignettes of evil that make up such a whole. What is genuinely abhorrent is the callousness and perversion and cruelty of the concentration camp guard taking pleasure in the sufferings of others; what is really odious is taking advantage of one’s position of trust (as a parent or counselor, perhaps) in order to betray and corrupt someone. What is genuinely appalling, in other words, is not really human suffering as such so much as human wickedness. This wickedness strikes us as deeply perverse, wholly wrong, warranting not just quarantine and the attempt to overcome it, but blame and punishment.
But could there really be any such thing as horrifying wickedness if naturalism were true? I don’t see how. A naturalistic way of looking at the world, so it seems to me, has no place for genuine moral obligation of any sort; a fortiori, then, it has no place for such a category as horrifying wickedness. It is hard enough, from a naturalistic perspective, to see how it could be that we human beings can be so related to propositions (contents) that we believe them; and harder yet, as I said above, to explain how that content could enter into a causal explanation of someone’s actions. But these difficulties are nothing compared with seeing how, in a naturalistic universe, there could be such a thing as genuine and appalling wickedness. There can be such a thing only if there is a way rational creatures are supposed to live, obliged to live; and the force of that normativity – its strength, so to speak – is such that the appalling and horrifying nature of genuine wickedness is its inverse. But naturalism cannot make room for that kind of normativity; that requires a divine lawgiver, one whose very nature it is to abhor wickedness. Naturalism can perhaps accommodate foolishness and irrationality, acting contrary to what are or what you take to be your own interests; it can’t accommodate appalling wickedness. Accordingly, if you think there really is such a thing as horrifying wickedness (that our sense that there is, is not a mere illusion of some sort), and if you also think the main options are theism and naturalism, then you have a powerful theistic argument from evil.”
The Militant Pacifist summarizes – naturalists who believe in the existence of evil are intellectually inconsistent, i.e., they are irrational idiots.
Your perception of evil is a powerful testimony to the existence of the God who made you!
If you believe in evil, but not in God, then you should look into this inconsistency immediately!!!
Idiot - A foolish or stupid person. (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.)
21 October 2005
So you think your mind is sound!
Mind - the element or complex of elements in an individual that feels, perceives, thinks, wills, and especially reasons (Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.).
Sound - free from defect, decay, or damage; in good condition (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.)
The Christian scriptures teach that God made man upright (the original “state of nature”), but that our proto-typical parents “fell” into sin which resulted in spiritual death passing upon all of their natural descendents (a most un-natural situation). Christianity teaches that the only remedy for this dire situation is a spiritual resurrection in which the spiritually-dead person is raised to new life by God in Jesus Christ.
Not only did this “fall” result in the condemnation of an entire race of created beings, it also damaged the creature’s bodies and even their immaterial minds. Following this fall, the creatures became subject to errors in reasoning, and they began to die physically as they received the “wages” (the payment) for their sins.
“For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).”
Christianity teaches that after this fall, the minds of the fallen creatures actually became hostile against the Creator.
“The carnal mind is enmity against God (Romans 8:7).”
Therefore what was originally natural (a love towards God) has now (in the fallen state) become un-natural. The scriptures teach that NOW, by nature, humans are enemies of God. Their minds are generally in a state of hostility against Him (God).
Post-fall human minds are “un-sound,” and therefore, they are prone to moral evil, and faulty reasoning.
The laws of thought (logic / λογος) were totally unaffected by the creaturely fall; however, the ability of an un-sound mind to reason according to divine laws has been massively compromised.
The Militant Pacifist recommends that you think. The Militant Pacifist recommends that you think deeply. But the Militant Pacifist warns you that when you have finished thinking – you should remember that your mind is not totally sound. Therefore, you must do the very best that you can to try and align your thoughts with the thoughts of God (a lot of these thoughts are recorded in the Holy Bible).
Only when your thoughts are aligned with the thoughts of God can you be confident that your thoughts are sound. All glory to the Λογος!
Sound - free from defect, decay, or damage; in good condition (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.)
The Christian scriptures teach that God made man upright (the original “state of nature”), but that our proto-typical parents “fell” into sin which resulted in spiritual death passing upon all of their natural descendents (a most un-natural situation). Christianity teaches that the only remedy for this dire situation is a spiritual resurrection in which the spiritually-dead person is raised to new life by God in Jesus Christ.
Not only did this “fall” result in the condemnation of an entire race of created beings, it also damaged the creature’s bodies and even their immaterial minds. Following this fall, the creatures became subject to errors in reasoning, and they began to die physically as they received the “wages” (the payment) for their sins.
“For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).”
Christianity teaches that after this fall, the minds of the fallen creatures actually became hostile against the Creator.
“The carnal mind is enmity against God (Romans 8:7).”
Therefore what was originally natural (a love towards God) has now (in the fallen state) become un-natural. The scriptures teach that NOW, by nature, humans are enemies of God. Their minds are generally in a state of hostility against Him (God).
Post-fall human minds are “un-sound,” and therefore, they are prone to moral evil, and faulty reasoning.
The laws of thought (logic / λογος) were totally unaffected by the creaturely fall; however, the ability of an un-sound mind to reason according to divine laws has been massively compromised.
The Militant Pacifist recommends that you think. The Militant Pacifist recommends that you think deeply. But the Militant Pacifist warns you that when you have finished thinking – you should remember that your mind is not totally sound. Therefore, you must do the very best that you can to try and align your thoughts with the thoughts of God (a lot of these thoughts are recorded in the Holy Bible).
Only when your thoughts are aligned with the thoughts of God can you be confident that your thoughts are sound. All glory to the Λογος!
19 October 2005
I Believe in Order to Know
The Militant Pacifist recommends that you check out this excellent entry on John H. Armstrong's BLOG (linked in the title of this posting above).
If you find this interesting, then you should read Lesslie Newbigin's book, Proper Confidence: Faith, Doubt, and Certainty in Christian Discipleship, which covers this material in more depth.
It is an excellent little book, and you can order it here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0802808565/qid=1129749614/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/104-5890949-4977546?v=glance&s=books.
If you find this interesting, then you should read Lesslie Newbigin's book, Proper Confidence: Faith, Doubt, and Certainty in Christian Discipleship, which covers this material in more depth.
It is an excellent little book, and you can order it here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0802808565/qid=1129749614/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/104-5890949-4977546?v=glance&s=books.
18 October 2005
Iraq and the Neo-Domino Theory
Prime Militant Pacifist rhetoric! Click on the title of this posting for a link to a very interesting article.
17 October 2005
Pay it Anyway!!!
If there is anything that gripes the Militant Pacifist more than statist aggression, it is state-mandated slavery; however, the Militant Pacifist pays income taxes. The excellent article linked in the title of this posting is a fair summary of the Militant Pacifist's position on the horrific position in which most of us find ourselves today.
14 October 2005
A Nobel Laureate Speaks
Receiving the Nobel prize for literature doesn't make you a genius, but it's bound to get some of your quotes published. Harold Pinter, British playwright and poet, is the 2005 Nobel Laureate for Literature. The following comment is from his House of Commons Speech given on Tuesday, January 21, 2003.
"One of the more nauseating images of the year 2002 is that of our Prime Minister kneeling in the church on Christmas Day praying for peace on earth and good will towards all men while simultaneously preparing to assist in the murder of thousands of totally innocent people in Iraq.
I've been taken to task recently by the American Ambassador to Britain for calling the US Administration a blood thirsty wild animal. All I can say is: take a look at Donald Rumsfeld's face and the case is made.
I believe that not only is this contemplated act criminal, malevolent and barbaric, it also contains within itself a palpable joy in destruction. Power, as has often been remarked, is the great aphrodisiac, and so, it would seem, is the death of others.
The Americans have the ostensible support of the "international community" through various sure-fire modes of intimidation; bullying, bribery, blackmail and bullshit. The "international community" becomes a degraded entity bludgeoned into the service of a brutal military force out of control. The most despicable position is that of course of this country which pretends to stand shoulder to shoulder with its great ally while in fact being more of a whipped dog than anyone else. We are demeaned, undermined and dishonoured by our government's contemptible subservience to the United States.
The planned war can only bring about the collapse of what remains of the Iraqi infrastructure, widespread death, mutilation and disease, an estimated one million refugees and escalation of violence throughout the world, but it will still masquerade as a "moral crusade," a "just war," a war waged by "freedom loving democracies," to bring "democracy" to Iraq.
The stink of the hypocrisy is suffocating.
This is in reality a simple tale of invasion of sovereign territory, military occupation and control of oil.
We have a clear obligation, which is to resist."
"One of the more nauseating images of the year 2002 is that of our Prime Minister kneeling in the church on Christmas Day praying for peace on earth and good will towards all men while simultaneously preparing to assist in the murder of thousands of totally innocent people in Iraq.
I've been taken to task recently by the American Ambassador to Britain for calling the US Administration a blood thirsty wild animal. All I can say is: take a look at Donald Rumsfeld's face and the case is made.
I believe that not only is this contemplated act criminal, malevolent and barbaric, it also contains within itself a palpable joy in destruction. Power, as has often been remarked, is the great aphrodisiac, and so, it would seem, is the death of others.
The Americans have the ostensible support of the "international community" through various sure-fire modes of intimidation; bullying, bribery, blackmail and bullshit. The "international community" becomes a degraded entity bludgeoned into the service of a brutal military force out of control. The most despicable position is that of course of this country which pretends to stand shoulder to shoulder with its great ally while in fact being more of a whipped dog than anyone else. We are demeaned, undermined and dishonoured by our government's contemptible subservience to the United States.
The planned war can only bring about the collapse of what remains of the Iraqi infrastructure, widespread death, mutilation and disease, an estimated one million refugees and escalation of violence throughout the world, but it will still masquerade as a "moral crusade," a "just war," a war waged by "freedom loving democracies," to bring "democracy" to Iraq.
The stink of the hypocrisy is suffocating.
This is in reality a simple tale of invasion of sovereign territory, military occupation and control of oil.
We have a clear obligation, which is to resist."
13 October 2005
World's Smallest Political Quiz
Okay, so it's not that sophisticated. So what? Take the quiz! Click the link above.
The Labyrinth of Iraq
It's never popular to tell the emperor that he has no clothes! Click on the link above.
08 October 2005
News from the Wild Wild East
One of The Militant Pacifist's friends (yes, The Militant Pacifist does have friends) is completing his university education in the heart of the former Soviet Union. For some very interesting commentary on modern Russia, see his BLOG (linked in the posting title above).
07 October 2005
The Political Problem of Islam
The Militant Pacifist recommends that you read the article linked above in the title of this posting. The link will lead you to a PDF file containing a very interesting commentary/summary of the mess we face in these opening days of the 21st Century.
Interests? Whose Interests?
Most people refuse to think deeply. Hence, they buy into the idea that they have “interests” which are not truly their interests at all.
Since the glory days of the Roman Empire (and before) nation-states have sent their sons to die on foreign shores because they had “interests” there. Supposedly, the United States has “interests” everywhere. Historically, honorable Americans were expected to be willing to fight and (if necessary) die for liberty. Today, they are expected to be willing to fight and die for “interests.”
Government officials speak of “national interests.” Some speak of “vital interests,” some of “strategic interests,” and some just mention “interests.” The United States Constitution nowhere speaks of interests, but history teaches us that the Roman Senate empowered the Emperor Vespasian with the “right...to do whatever he deems to serve the interests of the state.” But are the interests of the state your interests - especially if you are a Christian?
As published elsewhere in this BLOG, the Militant Pacifist is “anti-statist.” As a Christian, the Militant Pacifist feels only an exceedingly secondary allegiance to the worldly state into which he was "thrown" (in the Heideggerian sense). As a thinking person, the Militant Pacifist has conquered the bulk of his feelings of nationalism (a disgraceful emotion for professing Christians). As a (conditional) pacifist, the Militant Pacifist abhors the use of the statist sword to advance, protect, and enforce something as fickle and ill-defined as “interests.”
What a tragedy that in the 20th century the impious US government bathed its sword with the blood of its own sons to advance its “interests” (a grievous national sin which has accelerated in these opening days of the 21st century).
Though the Militant Pacifist believes the late American Republic to be the greatest experiment in modern governmental method, he sees it destined for continued horrific judgment because of a relativistic ethic which rationalizes the taking of human life under the guise of “interests.” Such a wicked, wicked concept cries out for Divine judgment.
Dear reader – do not be deceived! The Christian's great interest is in his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ - and His kingdom. All of the kingdoms of this world will fall!
“The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God (Psalm 9:17).”
Recommended Readings:
The Christian's Great Interest; by William Guthrie
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1878442600/104-6180310-9635116?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance
Ancient Rome: How It Affects You Today; by Richard J. Maybury
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0942617568/104-6180310-9635116?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance
Since the glory days of the Roman Empire (and before) nation-states have sent their sons to die on foreign shores because they had “interests” there. Supposedly, the United States has “interests” everywhere. Historically, honorable Americans were expected to be willing to fight and (if necessary) die for liberty. Today, they are expected to be willing to fight and die for “interests.”
Government officials speak of “national interests.” Some speak of “vital interests,” some of “strategic interests,” and some just mention “interests.” The United States Constitution nowhere speaks of interests, but history teaches us that the Roman Senate empowered the Emperor Vespasian with the “right...to do whatever he deems to serve the interests of the state.” But are the interests of the state your interests - especially if you are a Christian?
As published elsewhere in this BLOG, the Militant Pacifist is “anti-statist.” As a Christian, the Militant Pacifist feels only an exceedingly secondary allegiance to the worldly state into which he was "thrown" (in the Heideggerian sense). As a thinking person, the Militant Pacifist has conquered the bulk of his feelings of nationalism (a disgraceful emotion for professing Christians). As a (conditional) pacifist, the Militant Pacifist abhors the use of the statist sword to advance, protect, and enforce something as fickle and ill-defined as “interests.”
What a tragedy that in the 20th century the impious US government bathed its sword with the blood of its own sons to advance its “interests” (a grievous national sin which has accelerated in these opening days of the 21st century).
Though the Militant Pacifist believes the late American Republic to be the greatest experiment in modern governmental method, he sees it destined for continued horrific judgment because of a relativistic ethic which rationalizes the taking of human life under the guise of “interests.” Such a wicked, wicked concept cries out for Divine judgment.
Dear reader – do not be deceived! The Christian's great interest is in his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ - and His kingdom. All of the kingdoms of this world will fall!
“The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God (Psalm 9:17).”
Recommended Readings:
The Christian's Great Interest; by William Guthrie
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1878442600/104-6180310-9635116?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance
Ancient Rome: How It Affects You Today; by Richard J. Maybury
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0942617568/104-6180310-9635116?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance
06 October 2005
The Loss of Simple Bible Reading
The Militant Pacifist can do no better this day than to refer you to the link above. He recommends that you read the Bible today, tomorrow, and every day for as long as ye shall live.
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