Tagged: Christianity
Another Example of the Rewards of Reading in General, and Reading the Great Books of the Western World in Specific.
I have written or implied here that it is my belief that the Great Books of the Western World set is nearly as inspired as the books of the Holy Bible. No one cares.
But I care. And so I persist. Here, then, is another example of the rewards of reading them. I am currently in Vol 4 “Religion and Theology” of the companion guided reader set “Great Ideas Program”. After Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, there was some Old and New Testament passages and now St. Augustine’s (aw-GUSS-tinz) Confessions.
Some backstory (“Learning is a change in behavior based on experience”) is relevant.
While at Seminary, studying the Bible in its original languages (which truly means being told aloud in English that translators fear “Yahweh was hot” will sound too human ((ergo, not separate—or the Holy in “Holy Bible” (((The “separate book(s)”))))) and so they have opted for the supposedly more esoteric and divine sounding “Yahweh was angry”), I persuaded myself that these early humans were exceedingly (and uniquely) concrete in their writing. And I still believe this to be true, the following reward notwithstanding.
For example of what I mean by this unique “concreteness”, I believe when Moses would tell the Genesis account, he would sweep his arm over his head, from horizon to horizon, as he said, “In the beginning God created the heavens” and then sweep his arm under his feet, from horizon to horizon, as he concluded, “and the earth.” Get it? In other words, I believe that he pointed at the night sky (in my mind I can never shake that all the Old Testament stories were told only after darkness near a pleasant campfire) as he said “heavens” and then the ground as he said “earth”. In short, I believe that Moses did not try to trick anyone or talk about anything unseen in order to talk about the unseen Yahweh. Put one other way, I don’t believe there are two steps of belief. It’s not “Let me explain one unseen. Got it? And then, stick with me, you’ll get God!”
No. For me, my theology—based on content of Bible, to include when it was written—all that the Bible authors ever did was use material world to explain spiritual world.
That backstory complete, let’s get to the heart of the post.
Augustine has a book (chapter) which translators subtitle, “Augustine proceeds to comment on Genesis 1:1, and explains the “heaven” to mean that spiritual and incorporeal creation which cleaves to God unintermittingly, always beholding his countenance; “earth,” the formless matter whereof the corporeal creation was afterwards formed…”
Like you’re undoubtedly thinking, I also thought, “That is an intense sentence. I had to read and re-read it too much to want more.” But I pressed on.
And as I read, with my gesturing Moses in mind, I couldn’t help but notice something. Augustine was spending a lot of time defining formlessness or describing how he couldn’t wrap his mind around it—despite wanting to understand it and then explain it to others.
Then it hit me.
My gesture theory is flawed, in one sense. At the stage of creation in verse 1 of Genesis, a careful reading reveals that this “earth” that Moses points to CANNOT be Planet Earth (however little Moses and mankind knew of it at the time) because the next part of the story is, “formless and void”. Planet Earth is not, formless and void, so something else MUST BE meant. But what?
I still say Moses gestured (and meant it) while he spoke. But I am now forced to clarify that he definitely added a clarification that means he does not believe he is talking about Planet Earth and the rest of the material universe when he gestures.
The new question on this Sunday of Sundays: According to the text, what did God create, by creating “the heavens and the earth”, because it certainly can’t mean material/corporeal/measurable bodies beloved by physicists?
Augustine wrote down his ideas. I have some reactions to those. Others have recorded their ideas. The idea here is not to suggest we can know what Moses meant. The idea is that we can live richer lives knowing that we don’t know what he meant.
“Learning is a change in behavior based on experience.”
In short: the reward for my reading from the Great Books of the Western World is that I learned, that despite my previous intentions and best efforts, that I was wrong. And the “right”, oddly enough, was plainly written and right in front of me for all this time, too. Fascinating.
Much Ado About Guns, Much Ado About Safety, Much Ado About First Responders
“As a veteran military interrogator…”
“From an ER nurse married to an LEO…”
“As a retired sheriff’s deputy…”
“As a physician…”
“As a retired federal agent…”
Dear Reader, care to make a guess as to the title or content of the YouTube video which had such opening lines to the comments?
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Last week was a busy week for me.
For a myriad of reasons, we just don’t fly as much at night, so most of my night hitches grow long and I run out of things to do. Sure, I read diligently. You remember I dabble in learning ASL. I exercise. But if you are able to rest all night and then have 12hrs before work, that is a lot of time to fill.
With that in mind, I had resolved a while ago to get my concealed carry permit again (I had one while active duty, but never kept it when I moved). Rather than take up time when home with the kids, I figured, “Why not find some training while away at work?” So I did.
I had the training scheduled for last Fri/Sat. It made for a bit of stress, because Thursday night and Friday night now became “I hope we don’t fly” instead of “Let’s see what the shift brings.” But it was a good plan.
Then the school shooting happened. This go-around, the unique part was that the kid was already known to be uncommon, to put it mildly. For all the talk about guns, this fact was the most depressing to me because it makes one feel the most helpless. We simply are not safe.
Then I had some time at the beginning of a shift to catch up on any company mandated CBT and saw that I had to do the annual “workplace violence” one before October. So I did it.
To summarize the week thus far, I knew I had concealed carry training (implies self-defense on the brain), there was a school shooting (I have two high schoolers), the shooter was known beforehand to law enforcement (we are not safe), and even at work I had to contemplate how to survive, as a first responder, to any violence while responding to a scene of violence.
That was all before Friday and the first part of the concealed carry training.
Sidebar: There is an actual shooting/accuracy test to the training, and I hadn’t shot in over a decade, so I was a bit nervous. I reviewed some videos which seemed to have good authority and called to mind what the Air Force had taught me. Suffice it to say, I will never watch another. Nor will I ever “train” or consider “training” as anything other than live fire. The recoil and overall physicality endured while firing a weapon cannot be replicated by any amount of anything. This is different from flying, for example, and many other activities in which simulation is highly beneficial. I’m writing this more for me than you, but if you don’t shoot much and have fallen prey to YouTube charisma, then feel free to use this confession to motivate you to get off your duff and go to the range.
Back to the main point of this post.
While in the training, we learned about a concept that I had never considered before (or heard of): insurance for the legal aftermath of “self-defense” shootings. It seemed like a reasonable concept/product and I was about to purchase it.
Then today I was introduced to the fine print and dissuaded from ever purchasing such insurance, in favor of hiring an attorney on retainer. (I am not sure if that is the proper language, but you get my point.)
Then while down that rabbit hole, I discovered the rather unique video which garnered the comments above. Without further ado, the video was a recommendation (which I have taken to heart) to always have the police take you to the hospital after a shooting. Reasons given ranged from strategic, to physical, to financial. But what struck me was the overkill of “appeal to expertise” or “ethos” (recall from Aristotle “logos, pathos, ethos”) in the supportive YT comments. First responders and others in similar positions at hospitals etc certainly have a thankless job. What else can be the reason they so nakedly want respect?
In the end, I am a dad, not a warrior, not a gunslinger. America is a safe place to live and work. First responders are as guilty for their attitudes as the thankless public. And I will be happy for a nice break, and some camping in the mountains with the kids in two days.
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So did you guess correctly? Let me know in the comments.
The Gays Will Save Us?
I discovered Douglas Murray by accident. He was openly and authoritatively denouncing Islam—and still breathing.
On the other hand, a friend shared a Bari Weiss piece with me. I assumed Bari was a man. Funny. She just started a new university—who does that?
Neither of them utter nonsense. They both seem to pick the most relevant fights. But they’re gay.
They’re not dead, so it’s possible that they see the light before too long. I don’t want to discourage anyone who fights for truth from fighting. So keep it up! Keep writing and podcasting. Please do.
But I have been thinking about these two figures for some time now and I just cannot conclude that being gay doesn’t matter. Sure it does. Of course it matters. All sorts of historical figures, so we’re told, were gay, and they may have even done good for Western civilization. But being gay isn’t a binder for us.
Something is amiss. The being gay is not going to work for the same reason that there eventually is just one straw that breaks the camel’s back. One cannot rebel in every instance, at every turn.
Put another way, why can’t we (sober, reasoning mankind) just have one celebrity level, A-lister who is married with kids and boring. Why is that so repulsive and stigmatized as inherently uncool and unintelligent?
In the end, my point is simply that the fact that that last question resonates tells me that no, no the gays (Murray and Weiss) will not save us. Whether this is because 1. We don’t need saving, or 2. They are not fit for the work of saving, I do not yet know. (I’m leaning towards option 1.)
Two Church-Related Thoughts On a Sunday
1. About the Bible: Us Christians love the underdog. We teach ourselves the Bible through this perspective. As a seminarian, I prefer to read the Bible from as neutral of a stance as possible and see what it has to say—and persuade others to do the same. For example, Moses made his tribe (the Levites) the priests (or, cynically, the tribe that doesn’t have to work for their food). Another big not-underdog is David’s Mighty Men. Forget the whole “demonstrated proficiency with a weapon of war” aspect of the infamous David and Goliath battle. Instead move to the fact that, in the same inspired account, he kept mighty men around him.
I ask you, dear sensitive snowflake reader, can you see how, in and of themselves, these facts merely dethrone your love of the underdog, and have nothing to say about the content of Scripture still?
Content, people. Content.
2. The Black Baptists were at it again this morning. Many, I’d say most, are veterans, and so the whole Arlington thing was naturally on their mind. Obviously it was brought up as evidence against Trump. As I sat among them, I couldn’t help but imagine what I would say if given a chance to speak. (Keep in mind, I am not voting for Trump. I just maintain that he had this thing won for a long time. And I’m white.)
After some consideration, I think I would say, “I will happily list many, many negative aspects of Trump and the Republican Party as a whole (though I do not know much about the Republican Party) which will be seen when they serve in the administration next term. I am curious if you all would do the same about Kamala. I am under the impression that Blacks think she is perfect. I know you think she is beautiful. I know you think she is smart. I know you think she is joyful. I know you think she is kind. I know you think she is good. I know you think she is sexy. I know you think she is strong. I know you think she is motherly. I also know that those all *might* actually be true descriptions. But I just heard that you believe in one god, and you just said his name is Jesus. Please list some negatives.”
Black Women Need To Be Fired
Trump is going to win. The compelling reason after last week’s unbelievable DNC that I use to combat the media circle-jerk is the media does not lead with her “electoral college” path to victory. Instead, they run the headlines of her mere popularity.
This post and its content is not about “we need to follow the rules”. This post is about how there are rules and what the rules (which everybody does currently follow) show (Trump winning) is not being highlighted by the media. Instead, they are avoiding the topic. This, of course, is their prerogative. Who are any of us to insist someone to drop support of their free choice?
Trump wins. Done deal. Might as well write the history books now.
And yet, for as long as I can remember, there has passed a sort-of life-truth among Whites: Black women cannot be fired.
I do not remember the first time I heard of this notion, but it was early. It was probably in high school, ‘96-‘99.
I definitely remember that while in the Air Force I first heard about “Gee-Ess” employees and how they could never be fired. Worse, the rumor was held that the under or non-performer would actually get promoted.
Again, this was just rumor—zeitgeist.
It must have been around 2005, then, that I heard that beyond GS employees not being able to be fired, if it was a Black woman who worked as a GS, she was literally untouchable. In my mind, for over two decades, right or wrong, I have believed that the situation was such that if a black woman was fired from a federal job, it would prompt a Supreme Court Decision.
Do you hear me, people?
Trump has won. It is a done deal.
And yet I am not blind to the fact that the obstacle in his path is a federally employed Black woman.
Clash. Of. The. Titans.
(Or one more example of it.)
Here’s my thought, my underlying not-distasteful philosophy: I want Black women to live abundantly. I want Black women to achieve beyond their highest aspirations. I wouldn’t care one iota if some super-power nation promoting and securing peace and prosperity for all mankind came to be and was led by Black women.
But I do not believe any of those things will ever happen until Black women are fired.
So, I say again, Black women need to be fired.
Ben Shapiro’s “Authoritarian Joy” Piece Misses the Point
He’s a busy man. I get it. But he missed the point.
We don’t need someone to clarify to Americans that joy is an emotion and not policy. We don’t need someone to clarify that appeals to emotion have been used by bad guys in the past.
Instead, we need some event to prove that government isn’t the answer to our problems.
When you listen to DNC speeches, even if you only lend one ear, the content is chock full of the idea that government can solve problems.
Ben Shapiro disagrees. I disagree.
But he and I have different understandings of where Kamala and the DNC err in their thinking.
He thinks their error is being inconsistent.
I think their error is theft.
The DNC is advocating (besides the actual theft its administration commits today) that the government (schmucks built no different than you and I) should be able to rob us as they tell us “We’re here to help!”
I am not ready to revolt. I can’t imagine how that would work. For now, I rest assured that Trump has this one in the bag. And while he is as guilty as the DNC of robbing us, he doesn’t make it hard for me to teach my kids that government cannot solve your problems.
Reaction to Today’s Obituaries
In this version of a recuring theme, I want to call your attention to each person’s “best”.
I mean that in each obituary there is usually one truth which sneaks past the editor, one ridiculous claim that isn’t about the deceased—but the writer. Some, if we’re lucky, have more than one.
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“Among his many achievements were a state basketball championship at G- High School and a state football championship at W- High School.”
-unnnnnnfortunately, you can’t take it with you.
“He and his family also spent summers growing gladiola for sale to commercial florists and at farmers markets in (city).”
-must’ve been some flowers for commercial florists to take notice.
“She was the beautiful blonde cheerleader and [her husband, E-], the handsome basketball star.” And, “She studied His Holy Word and lived in His Way always.”
-pretty much everything a little tow head girl could ask for in life, no?
“Beginning in 1982 they lived in homes in (city) that P- spent his time improving, until 1977.”
-wish I knew him!
“He was a voracious reader; reading every book in the public library during his elementary and high school years.”
-middle school must’ve been when he experimented with hard drugs though obviously he ultimately decided against the practice.
“Following an intense loss at the B- Invitational Golf Tournament, he decided against a professional golf career.”
-Oh. Interesting. So that’s why. Hmm. Quitter.
(Same man) “He was open-minded and did not see distinctions of class, education, or wealth.”
-lots of Black friends probably.
“They specialized in high quality and custom hardwood lumber for the local building industry.”
-too bad commercial buyers weren’t interested. That would’ve been something to write about.
“C- strived for morality and enjoyed the unique qualities of everyone she met.”
-is that how pro-lifers are described today?
“J- poured his heart and love of writing into this book which can be found on http://www.amazon.com.”
-slow down. Was that three double-u’s or four?
“In 1972, she graduated valedictorian from S- high school.”
-set. For. Life.
“A beautiful woman of deep faith and exceptional grace, she excelled in many endeavors in her life.”
-what can I say? Rotator cuff injury took me out in 8th grade. Downhill from there.
(Same lady.) “At the time of her selection (three years ahead of her peers) she was one of the youngest officers in the Air Force selected for promotion to full colonel.”
-no comment
(One more from this David-hearted mortal.) “L- lived the life that she wanted to have.”
-lucky!!
“S- was an astute businesswoman who helped build a successful business that still exists today.”
-ahh. Finally. In the only meaningful sense of the word, one lucky dead woman found happiness. Or as Aristotle called it, “Eudaimonia.” Flourishing.
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As always, reader, please do better. Please take life seriously. Please do not write this crap about your loved ones. If you need help, comment. Or email me. I would be happy to help you tell the truth.
Point/Counterpoint: Will the Influx of Africans to the West Work? (4)
Yes.
(By work, of course, we mean “rule of law” holding.
By fail, of course, we mean “might makes right” resuming.)
It occurs to me that the well of knowledge in the West—given its unique and rich tradition of valuing literacy—is deeper than any living African immigrant, and his total unfamiliarity with literacy, can dig in one lifetime. However, my conscience will not let the matter settle there.
The African is not without hope. The main lesson of literacy, the main point of the written record, is to insist that we tell the truth.
Will rule of law hold? Yes. If the Africans adopt our manifestly dominant tradition of valuing honesty, then it will hold.
A Trumpian Troll
Still need more ways to discover precisely who the Left are? Troll them. Or as the Black preachers say, “When you throw a stick at dogs, the one who whelps got hit.”
All I want to know is if Trump wrote the troll beforehand or came up with it on the spot.
“Won’t have to vote again.” So funny. So many possible (dark?) meanings.
Is he implying the Second Coming is imminent? Is he implying the end of democracy and the beginning of dictatorship as the Left wet dreams?
Hard to say, no?
It surely can’t mean that the supposedly unmotivated Christian non-voters will be able to go back to their unmotivated-not-voting after this election because the ship will have been so firmly righted by Trump over the intervening years that the morons who might again vote Left in 2028 will not, by virtue of their being incapable of blocking the beautiful light of prosperous peace (the only kind) that he will have brought, a light which consequently will end the Left’s resistance to life-giving truth.
The Rumored Sudanese Family Budgets
The great influx of Africans, in this case Sudanese, is taking on an almost uniform shape at churches across our great country. The general situation is the almost dead whites have their Sunday services as they have for the past 80 years. But then the vibrant-seeming African redeemed, fresh off the airplane, bring out the whole family, extended family, and more and use the same church buildings for their Pentecostal services.
The white pastors, then, in talking to the African church leadership have their finger on this aspect of the immigration pulse more-so than you or I. (If any of this interests you, track down a pastor. He’d love to chat after such a long break.)
The specific heartbeat one pastor revealed to a friend of mine that I want today’s post to illuminate is family money.
Want to know how these non-Western families handle the family budget? I’ll tell ya.
Rumor has it, the fathers are slaving themselves out as their wives spend without limit.
The situation, surely applicable to more than just Sudanese culture, is the wives expect to never be told “no” when it comes to money and then the husband has to figure out how to pay the bill.
Worse, the Sudanese wives, like all you lovely ladies out there, really want to work and have their own money, money which the husband is never allowed to acknowledge exists.
Reader: you know my point. That’s right. The next time you see a midnight-skinned African-looking man whose every fiber screams high strung, summon your compassion. He needs it.
And to you readers who are American wives: if anything I have written remotely describes you, then, seriously, WTF?
Captain’s Log 