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The case against apologetics

Among the best-known Christian apologists of my era are Josh McDowell and Ravi Zacharias. Of course, there are others, some of whom are listed on this page: https://crossexamined.org/top-20-apologists/ I have an issue with apologetics: I don’t see much of it in the New Testament. The most compelling statements that lead people to put faith in Jesus as the Messiah are revelatory rather than rhetorical (by which I mean persuasive). If this point is true, then the old claim that you ‘can’t argue anyone into the Kingdom’ has real substance. The arguments the Pharisees dragged Jesus into didn’t lead to their conversions, but to them holding to a more intractable position against his claims. And what were Jesus’s claims? That he was the bread of life; the light of the world; a dispenser of living water; the shepherd of the sheep—the good shepherd. The sad case of Ravi Zacharias and the double life he lived while winning arguments against atheists and pagans points to the spiritual toot...
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Struggle until the end.

Someday… someday I might adopt an eternal perspective. I’m not there now. If I were, the acceptance of “ I AM ” as the answer to every question/challenge/problem in my life would satisfy. That isn’t the case, however.  In the meantime, struggle is the order of the day. The struggle for survival at multiple levels: physically, relationally, emotionally, culturally, spiritually, intellectually, socially… all of that, and more: gastronomically, visually, aurally, environmentally, politically, organizationally, economically… Struggle is the appropriate response to the challenges of all the above categories. Struggle that leads to success as often as I can achieve it, but it’s not always possible. There are levels of success and failure. Not all meals satisfy on all levels, but we get fed enough to survive. Or we don’t. Death is seen as the enemy to be hated, dreaded, contested, and ultimately overcome. The afterlife is the expectation of many, if not most, religions. Heaven or hell. Gr...
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Stereo perception: an essential life force

Seeing with two eyes imparts depth to our vision. Hearing with two ears imparts depth to our hearing. The slightly different positions of the pair of eyes and the pair of ears from each other gives each ear and each eye a unique perspective that combines with its mate. Mated but unique pairs provide a fulness to perception, both visual and aural. With it, we can locate the object or sound in relation to ourselves. Without it, we’re missing the essential triangulation that is essential for precise location. With it, we have higher success rates in our hunting; without it, lower success. Yes. But so what? It’s just the most obvious analog of a principle that extends everywhere in life and relationship. Culture is based on this principle. Its negation is this: uniformity is sterile. One version of the principle is this: higher forms of life require at least bi- or multi-form expressions. It takes two to tango. It takes two (at least) to negotiate. It takes two (at least) to have a con...
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The rapture isn't what we think.

When most Christians think about heaven, I believe they think about the end of suffering, and very little else. The idea that eternity will be spent worshipping the triune God is beyond what most of can conceive. The simplistic picture of playing harps on clouds is an unfortunate rut that endures without a more compelling thought to replace it. I think that’s one reason most people just don’t think about heaven or eternity much. It makes their heads hurt. The belief that there will be a pre- or mid-tribulation rapture of believers has weak evidence in my view. I take Jesus’ words in Matt. 24:29-31 at face value: “AFTER the tribulation… he will send out his angels … and they will gather his elect…” How might this unfold? I believe that the believers will be most focused on forming a welcoming party to receive the conquering king. Rather than focusing on the idea of being raptured out of the tribulation, the believers will be celebrating the arrival (the Advent in Latin, the Parousi...
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Is the "Great Reset" great?

I had a thought yesterday morning about The Great Reset that has been much discussed in the past six months, and decided I needed to get some more background on it—to know what I was talking about when I referred to it. The process has had some interesting steps: The World Economic Forum website and Klaus Schwab’s view of the brokenness of today’s economy; especially the need to re-envision capitalism to be more humane, greener, and sustainable; and his gratitude for the pandemic that provides the perfect excuse to spring this new world order on the nations that are excited about the power-enhancing features for the governments that embrace/advance it. Explicit assumptions that the world will be dead and sterile in 50 years if we don’t solve the environmental crisis. Lots of great propaganda there. Time magazine website with its special edition of articles that pay homage to the WEF vision of the new world order. The perfect blend of how the Great Reset resonates with BLM, the latest...
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Isolation or hope

Keep men away from each other. They are dangerous in groups. Look at what happened in Minneapolis, in Portland, in Kenosha. Look at the wreckage those wild men left behind. Years of entrepreneurs building businesses and communities from the foundation of the previous generation of immigrants. Swept away in a night, a week, a month. The cities burned; hope fled to the suburbs, the small towns, into the countryside, off the grid. Keep men away from each other. They are dangerous in groups. What if men follow wise warrior kings? Won’t they resist the evil of our day and stand for honor and righteousness? But wait: Just in the nick of time, social and news media have successfully affirmed the irrelevance of men so they isolate and aren’t listening to any but the discrediting voices that crush the hope for meaning in manhood. Welcome to 2020. Men will stay away from each other. Many believe they’re insignificant, impotent in the face of oceanic forces of hostility to masculinity...
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to sleep

It’s terrible to lie in chains And rot in dungy deep But it’s still worse, when you are free, To sleep, and sleep, and sleep. Taras Shevchenko, 1845
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