His Name Is King - Sermon

Empathy in the Face of Opposition

You didn't ask, but here's my two cents on what's wrong with our country, and really even the world:

Not to call anyone out, but multiple people have said that living in Austin has changed me. The implication being that my being around those that don't think like they do has corrupted my ideology. A couple things to respond with: 1. I'm insulted to think that I could be manipulated or fooled into an inferior position. 2. Since when did we become so fearful of opposition? Why do we demonize those that think differently from us?

Growing up, I've had the privilege to make genuine and deep friendships with people of different political leaning, race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, religion, etc. and have had real dialogue on these matters with them. Sure, my views have sometimes changed as a result (same goes for them) but it's because I've gotten a better understanding on not just how I and like-minded people view an issue, but on how others do as well. 

What I've learned is empathy, I start to understand what drives people to think the way they do and I'm able to better put myself in their shoes and consider how things might affect them. And I'll tell you, it makes it a hell of a lot harder to fear or hate others when you do so. What I see in this world is a lack of empathy for our fellow man. We stereotype those we aren't affiliated with and set up straw men arguments for them in their place. and I'd hate for this to come off as a "holier than thou" or "I've got it all figured out" post, because I don't have it all figured out, but I know the right first step to make and I try to take it each day. 

You know, my freshman year here at UT I had a Kurdish friend whose family was forced to relocate just outside of Paris due to the Kurdish-Turkish Conflict. He told me that Islamophobia was so rampant in France that Muslims were forced into segregation and treated as second class citizens. He said this was breeding domestic extremism there and that he wouldn't be surprised if a terrorist attack occurred in that area within the next three years. We all remembered what happened last November in Paris. Now obviously I don't condone their actions in any way, but you start to see the extremes people will go to when you force them into a corner. 

Hate breeds only hate. And I fear for this country, not from outside threats or immigrants, but from the hate and divisiveness we are breeding here at home. The call for banning Muslims, the mistreatment of injustices towards blacks and other minorities, while we only continue to blame the victim and attempt to suppress their voice. Even politically, complete division in congress and the vilification of other parties' members. If you're a Republican, Democrats aren't out to destroy this country; if you're a Democrat, Republicans aren't hellbent on screwing over the middle and lower class. 

If you really think Muslims want to destroy America, maybe ask some Muslims for their perspective and why that is. If you really believe Black Lives Matters insinuates that other lives don't and that black people aren't mistreated in this country, maybe ask some black people why they think they are and what forms of racism have they experienced in their lives. If you really think that another political ideology wants to destroy this country or neglect the poor, maybe ask them why that is. 

All I ask is that we begin to dialogue with those who think differently than us and try to understand their logic. Don't dismiss their thoughts and feelings, just listen. Maybe then we can stop fearing and hating each other and start to genuinely care about each other's needs.

A Critique of Naturalism

But to understand who we are and why we are here, we must first establish where we came from. The Naturalist claims we are products of chance, a cosmic accident. There is no design to man so too then man has no purpose, no end goal. Man is but a fading blink in time. Freedom from purpose has liberated him from all accountability. So then Hedonism would be his logical out working, but as Tolstoy reveals it's all for naught. Nihilism must then be the end result. Man is created by nothing through nothing and for nothing. An untenable worldview to live, yet the unavoidable worldview for his rationale. And so a dichotomy emerges within man. A dichotomy of professing one thing yet living another. Here we find the core of Chesterton's new rebel, breeding chaos amongst the head and the heart. But where Naturalism fathers dissonance, Christianity harmony. Where the inner ache of man longs for purpose, Christianity affirms an intent to his origin. Where man acknowledges right and wrong, Christianity provides an objective author to them. And though man attempts to escape any incurrence of wrongdoing, Christianity offers his only ransom. Man tries to flee accountability for his actions and in so doing subjects himself to his own eroticism in the hopes of maintaining his facade of autonomy. But Christ has held Himself accountable for the payment of man's wrongdoing and of his insubordination. All man must do is bow the knee to his King and his Maker.

Reflections on Jake's Drowning

Today marks the two year anniversary of Jake's death. I've never publicly shared my side of the story, partly because it never felt right and partly because not enough time had passed; it was all still too real for me. But now's as good a time as any, so here it is. 

Jake has always gone  with my parents and me on our annual family vacation to Lake Tahoe. It was the last day of this particular trip and so we decided to spend it by renting a boat and going out on the lake. My father, Mills had just had his knee replaced so he was back home in Houston but two good church friends of ours Don and Debby were on this trip accompanying my mom Roxanne and it was the five of us who were in the boat that day. With a storm on the west side of the lake preventing us from going to Emerald Bay, we instead decided to go to Sandy Harbour where these massive collections of rocks jut out from the water to form this cove of sorts and where people amass to jump off into the water below. It was such a beautiful site that, looking back on it, I would never have guessed the events which were about to unfold in the next half hour. Seeing as large rocks stuck up from the bottom of this shallow part of the lake, we couldn't get the boat in too close so Jake and I decided to swim over to the rocks; and seeing all the other people in the water, we didn't think twice about the dangers of the lake or wearing life vests for such an easy swim. 

Immediately we lost our collective breath when jumping in. Although it was ending July, they were coming off a specially cold winter and melting snow ran from the mountains into the lake below year round. We took a minute to try to adjust before we began to swim. Halfway there we really started to struggle. We both went into hypothermic shock, causing us to lose our breath and fatigue harshly while also impairing muscle movement (all not ideal for swimming). 

Jake began to panic as he realized he wouldn't be able to make it there. I tried to help him out by holding on to me as I swam, but he just started to hold me down as he was trying to stay up. I realized at that moment that we weren't both going to be able to make it. The hardest thing to this day I've ever had to do is look my best friend in the eyes and tell him I'm sorry but I can't carry him anymore as I let him go. What I saw was despair, I saw the last bit of hope start to run from his eyes. I still see that vision now. I rushed to the rocks as I began to white out and called to a couple of kayakers to help Jake, but they thought we were kidding, I pleaded with them that it wasn't a joke, but they didn't do much to try and help other than call for others. They couldn't, when I saw them later on the beach the guys that I saw out on the water turned out to be a couple of 12 year olds. 

That's when I made it to the rocks just in time to turn around and see Jake's head slowly go under, then his arms, then his hands, and like that he was out of sight. After what felt like an eternity later, Joe (an off duty nurse) came paddling by, slipped off the side of his paddle board, made that 20 foot dive, effortlessly slung Jake's body into the kayak that had gotten out there by this point from two lifeguards on a jet ski following close behind him, and within seconds he was already back on the beach. A nice young lady assisted me to shore and when I got there medics were already hard at work on Jake. I remember seeing his face a dark blue. The crowded beach was deathly quiet aside from the eerie screams of my mother and a few people praying. I remember hearing a medic saying "we got a faint pulse" before hearing later "we lost it." I then went to the police who were there and gave my report, by the time I was done with that life flight had already taken off for Reno. 

One of the officers was kind enough to drive us to the hospital an hour away. As I rode shotgun, I was looking up how long a person could go without oxygen before irreparable brain damage began in drownings. It depended upon a couple of factors but most notably the temperature of the water. The cold water that caused him to drown is also what ended up helping to save Jake's life. A year later that same police officer told me that he saw me researching all of this and all he had was an urge to rip my phone away from me and throw it out the window. He knew the odds, he's dealt with multiple drownings on this lake. Very few have the same ending as this one. 

We arrive at the hospital and wait for hours, they won't let us see him because we're not family. Finally they allow my mom and I back there simply to say our last goodbyes. They said that his parents Keith and LaNay would get in by midnight and that they were going to do all that they could to try to keep his heart beating until then. My mom went in to a panic, I did everything I could to fight back the tears and try to keep her calm. She later said that she saw the tears in my eyes. 

We had to move out of the condo the next morning so Don and Debby drove me back so that the three of us could pack our rooms, they would pack my mom's as she'd stayed at the hospital. I would pack Jake's. We stopped for dinner and then made that hour long trek back, I was holding back tears  the entire time. Maybe they noticed me crying silently in the back seat of that car but didn't have the heart to tell me they did, I don't know. 

We get in to the condo and I go to take a long, hot shower (I was still coming out of the hypothermia). This was my first time to be alone and I broke down. I finally prayed my first and only prayer of this whole ordeal saying "God, whatever happens, wether Jake lives or dies, may more honor and glory and praise be brought to Your name through this situation. I strongly believe that if You were to fully heal Jake that more glory would be brought to You and Your kingdom would advance all the more, however not my will but Yours be done." Immediately, peace overfilled me. I didn't know what would come of Jake at that point, but I knew it would all work out God's providential way. 

By this point LaNay had posted publicly about Jake and the calls and texts of support swept in. I especially remember a lengthy phone call with Collin Roach who poured a lot of truth into me. I remember a call from Graham Williams who told me God assured him that Jake would make a full recovery. I wanted to believe him (he was right, after all), but I was too afraid to get my hopes up. 

I then packed up Jake's room. It was a surreal moment as I looked around that room and thought that he was never going to use these things again. I then found on his nightstand a small bug catcher that his little brother gave him so that he could "catch cool bugs on his vacation." I thought a lot about Luke and how this 4 year old boy was going to grow up never really knowing his brother. I thought a lot about how I was going to grow up myself. When I'm in my 30's or 40's will I even remember this person who played such a monumental role in my life? If so, will I remember him as my best friend or will I remember him as that 19 year old kid I used to hang out with when I was young? I realized that I was going to grow old, but Jake never would. 

I felt a lot of guilt. I knew I did all I could, but it wasn't enough. I had to look my best friend in the eyes as I gave up on him. I wasn't strong enough for the both of us. I wasn't able to carry him to shore. By this time it was the 12 o'clock hour. The moment he was supposed to go off life support. I turned to the only outlet I've always had, writing. Today marks the 2 year anniversary of this poem I wrote. A poem I only shared with Jake and two other friends. It still hits a very real and raw nerve with me and with Jake as well, so neither of us have made it public. But I feel like the time has come, it's come for me to share this story and it's come for me to share the only catharsis I had that night.  Below are the 4 short stanzas I produced before I went to bed that night. (Note it's marked 7/31/14 because it was midnight technically of the next day now when I wrote this)

7/31/14

Why couldn't it be me

At the bottom of the lake

To take the suffering

In the stead of my friend Jake

I did all that I could

And yet still not enough

In the calm is where he stood

But now the waves are getting rough

Why didn't I save you?

Could I have done any more?

I failed to be your rescue

To take you safe to shore

The bells toll a taste of sour

But they still don't have to ring

Like a beacon in the darkest hour

Don't succumb to the sting

I woke the next morning to eagerly text my mom to ask if Jake was still alive, but I dreaded what her response would be. It was a yes. That night I flew home and had to put on a lock-in for my home church where I was interning, the next day I went off to Ignite for a week where I was a counselor. By the time Ignite ended I was on the next plane to Reno to visit him. I got a text from him while I was in the airport where he was even joking in his old Jake way. I had the biggest, dumbest smile on my face. I knew that the worst was passed and I finally could breathe a sigh of relief. 

He later would make a full recovery months ahead of schedule. I remember through this whole ordeal Nick Nilson wanting to check in on me and see how I was handling everything, that meant a lot to me and still does to this day. Funny enough, Jake was also the one to see how I was handling it. Here the spotlight is on him and everyone wanting to see how he's doing and he's concerned with how I'm doing. 

As some of you might know, Jake still has a hard time with his short term memory. I remember a few months back, about a year and a half removed from the incident, he was expressing his frustration to me over studying material and knowing he studied the material but not remembering what it said. I asked him if it ever gets to him and he said "oh sure, I mean I even have some pretty bad days, but then I remember that I'm not even supposed to be here and suddenly my issues aren't that big." I've learned a lot from him over the years and have asked his guidance on countless decisions in my life, but this has had the most impact on me. Anytime I get to spend time with my best friend, even anytime we might argue or get on each other's nerves, I'm thankful that I get to do so one more time. 

Now I said this was my side of the story, but it's not even really my story. It's not even Jake's. It's the story of an all good, all loving, and all powerful God who is the proper object of our worship and glorification and who reminds us that only life can come from Him. Only meaning can come from Him. Only hope can come from Him. Through this story, I know firsthand of dozens of people who have either given their life to Christ or rededicated their life to Christ. From friends and family I've heard of hundreds. I remember John O'Korn telling me how he witnessed to three guys in the locker room through this story. This story has reached thousands of people in dozens of countries, and I know God's still not done with it yet. 

Friends, I'm here to say that Jake, myself, and all those I've mentioned in this story have that hope. We have that assurance. We know that our life was made with a purpose and that we are intrinsically valuable because of the God who made us and because of His dying on the cross to redeem us. If you don't know this God personally and you'd like to, or even if you just want to pick my brain to know more about Him or what I believe please don't hesitate to message me. 

In response to Whole Woman's Health vs Hellerstedt

In response to Whole Woman's Health vs Hellerstedt

As a preface, this is not a response to the Supreme Court's ruling directly nor the law it ruled as unconstitutional. This is simply my thought on some of the underlying issues.

I believe that abortion is wrong (at least in 80-98 percent of cases depending upon whose data you're looking at); I also believe that the death penalty is wrong. Now I know my position on these matters puts me at the fringe, but my reasoning is simple: I believe human life possesses intrinsic value. I deny the argument that this value is lost after some terrible offense and I deny the argument that this value is not gained until birth. 

For those that disagree over the death penalty: part of that intrinsic worth means that no amount of annual costs for keeping a prisoner alive is worth the value of that life itself. 

For those that disagree over abortion: I made the claim that human life possesses intrinsic value. Either you disagree then with the claim that human life is intrinsically valuable or you disagree with the idea that a fetus is a human life. I assume most would fall into the latter category, so allow me to petition my reasons. Is a fetus a human life? We'll certainly it's human, it possesses human DNA (as genetics is the main feature used in taxonomy), it is a human fetus. The main rub comes with classifying the fetus as a life. Again, I turn to biology where the working definition of a life is one that contains 5 characteristics: growth, response, energy use, metabolism, and reproduction. A fetus possesses all such characteristics. One might wish to interject that a fetus can't reproduce, but that qualification is simply if left to its natural life cycle. A fetus can reproduce as much as a 6 year old could, or a postmenopausal woman (or even someone who is simply infertile). A fetus is a stage of human life, akin to infancy, adolescence, and adulthood. The last argument I've heard posited is that the fetus is dependent upon the mother to be sustained. How is this any different than an infant dependent upon breastfeeding? And how does that deny the fetus life? I've heard fetuses likened to parasites as well, even a parasite is considered living. 

It is for these reasons that I defend that both the fetus and the convict are in both cases human life and that terminating such life (assuming intrinsic worth to human life) is wrong. 

Christianity and Culture

Just as it is the objective of apologetics to allow a cultural backdrop where it is intellectually tenable to believe in God, Scientism has done a very effective reverse of that here in the West. Christianity is not a knowledge of God but rather a relationship with Him, and so naturally it is not the practice of Christian apologetics to convert the nonbeliever through intellectual understanding but rather provide intellectual security so that the nonbeliever does not resist the pulling on their heart by God into that relationship with Him based on intellectual barriers. The reason I say Scientism has done the reverse is that it has allowed the nonbeliever a cultural backdrop where Atheism is considered the rational position and thus freely allows the nonbeliever to accept Atheism free from intellectual barriers. That is why most Atheists I encounter have done an exceedingly poor job in familiarizing themselves with the arguments and evidences on either side of the issue and yet still mask their unbelief in the veil of intellect.

It is my personal opinion that in history the Christian laity became intellectually lazy in providing rational support for their claims since the culture of the time freed people from needing intellectual arguments to accept Christianity's truth claims. Thus, when questions arose there were few who were able to properly answer them, eventually causing the swing to Atheism. Now, it is coming back in reverse. The atheistic laity does not have a proper response to natural theology. If the body of Christ can properly equip itself in understanding the intellectual truths and evidences of Christianity then we might be on the eve of another momentous swing in our culture back from Atheism to Christianity once more.

Racism

Racism is such a vast and touchy subject that I really don't even know where to begin, but it's time to start somewhere. Part of me feels ashamed for having waited this long but this summer has really helped shape my view on the matter to where I feel adequate enough to articulate my position. I don't mean to sound pretentious when I say this, but this summer has allowed me to understand society. The reason why I say that is simple: I have had many an honest discussion with people both from a similar background as mine as well as from different races, sex, genders, sexual orientations, religious beliefs, political affiliations, and socioeconomic statuses. This has allowed me to not only see where my position and those like me stand on different issues, but other individuals and groups that all fit in to the make up of our society. That way I don't strictly see aspects of our culture from one point of view but from many, and that is what makes up this whole puzzle. I think it's important to note that the only way we can make progress is if we sympathize and empathize with each other, and the only way we can do so is by listening to each other as we voice our concerns. We must build relationships with those different than us and see each other for the individuals that we are, each with our own dreams, passions, struggles, and aspirations. So before I continue on to my points, I first want to implore you to begin to have these open and honest discussions with someone that varies from you. That's the big takeaway I want you to get from this letter and I'm opening off with it in the hopes that it just might stick by the time that you are done reading this.

I think the first issue and the most obvious one we face is that most don't even see racism as a real thing anymore. Sure, Facebook posts over police brutality and fatal shootings of police bring some of this to light, but even then racism is considered to be all in the past. A family friend who I am friends with on Facebook has posted both statuses of "I hate n******" and statuses of prayer for a little black boy with an illness. I know family members who will tell me behind closed doors that they don't like certain races but also have genuine friends of that race. The problem is simply a lack of exposure. It's been ingrained all their life through something as seemingly harmless as racist jokes that are taken simply to be innocent jokes told all in good fun, to something much more blatant and harmful that this is how a certain race acts. And having it so ingrained can make it become even a subconscious issue. The few they've met and had the opportunity to build relationships with of these races are then taken to be exceptions to the rule. That's because it becomes personal; they know the person. The problem is seeing them as individuals from a group as opposed to seeing the group as comprised of individuals. 

Another way we think racism doesn't exist is because, as a white person (whites composing 77% of America) I don't see racism. Or when I do, it's very rare and it occurs to my friends of different races. In fact, the only way I know racism is still alive and well is because good friends whom I trust of different races will tell me of the racism they encounter. It's hardly ever experienced first hand. The old adage "ignorance is bliss" might very well ring true here. 

Lastly, when we do see racially charged attacks, like the ones we've been experiencing in the media, we fear guilt by association. We don't want to see whites committing hate crimes because we don't want whites to be viewed as racists because we don't feel like we are racist and we don't want people to view us as racists too. And we especially don't want to see our police force, our very symbol of justice and preservation of peace and order as corrupt. But just as we should see races as a group comprised of individuals, so should we too see police in the same light. And some individuals are racist (again, they might not even consider themselves racist). So many times white people will double down and say that the minority in question (who doesn't have a voice since the dead don't talk) was a "thug" or a variation thereof. We look for any way out of this being a racist incident. Accepting that racism is real is a bitter pill to swallow, but until we stop covering our ears and closing our eyes to it, we can't work on it and improve it. 

One thing I can definitely tell you though from understanding myself and understanding others is that we truly are products of our environment. So let's take a look at the facts concerning our environments. 

Socioeconomic Status (SES) "affects overall human functioning: our physical and mental health, the neighborhoods in which we live, our daily activities, and our access to resources. Its effects can be observed across the life span. Variance in socioeconomic status, such as disparities in the distribution of wealth, income, and access to resources, mitigate social problems. Low SES and its correlates, such as lower education, poverty, and poor health, ultimately affect our society as a whole." (1)

"Research finds that declines in academic attainment are common after exposure to or experience of violence." (1)

"Research on postviolence consequences finds that exposure to violence can negatively affect the ability to sustain employment." (1)

"Arrests statistics and much research indicate that poor people are much more likely than wealthier people to commit street crime. However, some scholars attribute the greater arrests of poor people to social class bias against them. Despite this possibility, most criminologists would probably agree that social class differences in criminal offending are “unmistakable”." (2)

"Thus social class does seem to be associated with street crime, with poor individuals doing more than their fair share." (2)

"Explanations of this relationship center on the effects of poverty, which, as the next section will discuss further, is said to produce anger, frustration, and economic need and to be associated with a need for respect and with poor parenting skills and other problems that make children more likely to commit antisocial behavior when they reach adolescence and beyond. These effects combine to lead poor people to be more likely than wealthier people to commit street crime, even if it is true that most poor people do not commit street crime at all.

Where we live also makes a difference for our likelihood of committing crime. We saw earlier that big cities have a much higher homicide rate than small towns. This trend exists for violent crime and property crime more generally. Urban areas have high crime rates in part because they are poor, but poverty by itself does not completely explain the urban-rural difference in crime, since many rural areas are poor as well. When many people live close together, they come into contact with one another more often. This fact means that teenagers and young adults have more peers to influence them to commit crime, and it also means that potential criminals have more targets (people and homes) for their criminal activity. Urban areas also have many bars, convenience stores, and other businesses that can become targets for potential criminals, and bars, taverns, and other settings for drinking can obviously become settings where tempers flare and violence ensues." (2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

Let's just observe a few key factors to our environment in which we grow up in:

School System

The public school system is failing and that's no surprise to anyone. The middle and upper class pay to send their children to private schools for a proper education, a luxury lower class individuals can't afford. 

Resources and Network

Less money and lower status in society means less resources and poorer network to pull from. No surprise there. 

Parenting Skills/Two Parents

As provided in the sources above, lower socioeconomic status leads to higher single parent homes and poorer parenting skills and abilities. Single parent homes provide the child with fewer role models and positive adult influences to look up to. 

Exposure

Also citing the sources above, more exposure at a younger age leads to violence, doing poorly in school, and higher difficulty in holding steady employment. Those that grow up in the lower class have a much higher rate of exposure at earlier ages. Exposure leads to desensitization and gang involvement as well. 

Lastly, we see very clearly that most minorities are in a lower socioeconomic status. As if it weren't clear enough, let's remember that desegregation wasn't a thing until just over 50 years ago and the system wasn't fixed over night. The system still isn't fixed. All of my grandparents had a college education and steady employment by this time. Even well after desegregation, minorities would be passed up on a job they were qualified for and it would be given instead to a white person. Is it any surprise then that this leads to a lower socioeconomic status? Of course not. 

Hegemony is a very real thing that exists in every culture. We accept that it existed in our nation's history but then naively assume that it just disappeared after the Civil Rights Era. Hegemony did not disappear, it just moved in to the shadows. It is much more subtle now and no longer out in the open in our country; and its weapon of choice is poverty. 

On a personal level, I can tell you about my cousin and how he lost his job when the recession hit. I remember that family Christmas party when he told some of my aunts and uncles, my cousins, and me that he was going to start selling drugs. We tried talking him out of it and pleaded for him to just keep searching for a job; but you have to understand, he had two babies with his girlfriend and was searching for a job for months. He had a family to support and he was unable to do so. And that's the thing, back someone into a corner and they will do almost anything to get out. When faced with staying inside the boundaries of the system and potentially putting you and your kids on the street or breaking the rules in order to prevent that, he chose the latter. How can I fault him for his decision? Would I have done the same thing if I were in his position? I don't know. I'd like to think that the answer would be no, but until I'm actually in that circumstance I can't truly speak on what I would do. And thank God that I don't have to. My cousin ended up selling drugs, robbing a crack house, robbing a bank, and killing a guy while they were on an interstate drug run who was planning to take his life. My cousin is now serving life in prison. I was just a freshman in high school when this all went down and I didn't truly appreciate the gravity of it all at the time, but now I do. I'm not here to condone my cousin for what he did, but what I am here to do is challenge you to put yourself in his shoes for a moment. Is this some deadbeat dad who got what he deserved or was this a man doing what he saw as his only option to put food on the table and a roof over his kids' heads? All I'm saying is seriously consider all sides of an argument before you come to any sort of conclusion. My cousin, just like you and I, was a product of his environment. 

On an even more personal level, let's look at my environment. I was raised by two solid parents in a middle class family that was able to afford to send me to a private school to receive the best education possible. I now attend a prestigious university that my parents are able to fully pay for, allowing me to graduate debt free. My family is well connected and I have an unusually vast network to pull from. I was also fairly well sheltered through my early years up until my adolescence, so my exposure to things at an early age was severely limited. I would love nothing more than to say that I made myself the man that I am today, but that would simply be a foolish and ignorant thing to say. Yes, it was up to me to utilize the resources and opportunities that I have been given, but the resources and opportunities were there, and that's a very rare thing for many people to be able to say. 

If I'm able to be seen as an individual to most and not simply seen for the color of my skin, others should have that same right as well. Know that I am not writing this because of white guilt but rather because I feel compelled to speak out against injustice.

Citations

1. http://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/factsheet-violence.aspx

2. http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/a-primer-on-social-problems/s11-03-who-commits-crime.html

3. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html

4. Steven E. Barkan, A Primer on Social Problems

5. Edward N. Wolff, 2010

6. U.S. News

7. Heritage.org

Forgiveness

Forgiveness

Someone close to me was cheated on and he broke up with his girlfriend because of it only to take her back a few months later. I was talking to his brother about it and expressed my anger over how he could take her back; I said that I could never forgive her for what she did to him. He replied by saying that he felt the same way too until he realized that her crime was against his brother, not him, and that if his brother could forgive her for cheating on him then so should he. The reason for that is she didn't cheat on him, she cheated on his brother. Oh, how that put things into perspective. I found that I was able to forgive her myself because of that and come to find what a wonderful woman she truly is, but that she simply made a mistake. What I learned is this: that we should be able to forgive if the person who was wronged was able to forgive. If someone sins against you then I should be able to forgive them if you are; but here's the rub: all sin ultimately goes against God. Whatever transgressions are brought about towards me, I know that truly they are transgressions towards God, they just affect me. For example, if someone treats me with malice then they fail to obey God's command of loving our neighbors as ourselves. I am merely affected by their sin against God, not being sinned against myself. On a philosophical side, Plato talks about the Good. God, as the greatest conceivable being, is the essence of goodness or all good; God is the Good. To do evil is to be in opposition to the Good, it is a blatant offense towards the Good. So to do wrong by anyone is ultimately an offense against the Good, God. And here's the beauty of that: God has already forgiven any and all transgressions, we just simply need to accept His payment. "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace." (Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ NASB) So if God is the one who was truly wronged by one's sin and yet He has forgiven them, how much more should we desire to forgive them as well? How foolish would I be to not forgive when God has already done so; it would be like not forgiving someone cheating on a loved one when that loved one has already forgiven them. God has forgiven them just as He has forgiven us, we therefore should forgive them as well. That's why Paul says "be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." (‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭32‬ NASB) As the doctrine of imputed righteousness affirms, we are given the righteousness of Christ. So that even as we are sinning, God still sees His own righteousness when looking upon us. Our sins have permanently been paid for by the Son, and therefore we are forever in right-standing with the Father. We have been forgiven an enormous debt, we should be able to then forgive others when they have any debt toward us. Jesus says "For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.' And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, 'Pay back what you owe.' So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you.' But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. Then summoning him, his lord said to him, 'You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?' And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart." (‭Matthew‬ ‭18‬:‭23-35‬ NASB) Similarly Jesus when teaching the disciples how to pray said this, "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 'Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 'Give us this day our daily bread. 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [ For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.' ] For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. (‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭9-15‬ NASB) How can we know the lengths to which we have been forgiven and yet then not forgive ourselves? To do so, quite simply, is to have another god in our life other than the one, true God. We place something or someone else as a god in our hearts (idolatry).  For if we have Him as Lord then we obey His commandments (John 14:15) and He has commanded us to forgive (Matthew 18:21-22). Not to mention that if God were truly Lord then we would be able to forgive since He has forgiven us and we know that any wrong done to us is first done to Him. "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you... Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. (‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭18, 20-21‬ NASB) The truth then is that by not forgiving ____ (fill in the blank) we are then placing ____ over God. We are not giving God the ultimate authority in our life, we are not giving Him reign, and we are not living in Him. That is why the Bible so explicitly affirms that if we do not forgive then our sins will not be forgiven, because as we saw in the Ephesians 1:7 verse our forgiveness is through the redemptive blood of Jesus Christ. So if we do not forgive, we place something over Him as lord in our lives. And if we do not have Him as the Lord of our lives, then we deny His redemption. But to live in Christ is to live in right-standing with God, knowing the immeasurable debt He has forgiven us, and because of this knowledge, being able to freely forgive the minuscule crimes committed against ourselves. I shall close then how John closed his first epistle: "And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, guard yourselves from idols." (‭1 John‬ ‭5‬:‭20-21‬ NASB)

The Purpose of Man (Pieces to a Puzzle)

The Purpose of Man (Pieces to a Puzzle)

     Man was made to have a relationship with God. That is why Christ died in order to reconcile man and God's relationship as He ushered in His Kingdom. That is why our Messiah said that the greatest command is to love the Lord with our whole selves (Mark 12:29-30). We are, essentially, an avenue for God's attributes to be greatened. Through His relationship with man, God's love, mercy, justice, power, and glory are magnified. This is the purpose of man. 

     I've written previously on how our innate desire is to become our own god. So many religions and even naturalism aspire to this standing for man. That was Satan's fall, wanting to be like the Most High (Isaiah 14:13-14). That was man's fall, desiring to be like God (Genesis 3:5). We aspire for our own greatness and our own downfall is all that ensues. So, when I first started to understand my purpose I felt trapped. I felt like I was forced to submit to an authority when I desired to be the authority. However, setting aside my pride and my ego I was able to see how beautifully I was created and the fulfillment I found in submitting to God. Two images came to my mind in this moment. The first is of a light bulb. The lightbulb's purpose is to illuminate, however in and of itself the lightbulb cannot do so. It must first be plugged in to a current. I imagine ourselves to be like the lightbulb and God to be the battery with His love being the wires. God loves us, and we in turn love Him back. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). The second illustration is that of a puzzle piece. The puzzle piece as it stands alone is incomplete and incapable of being of any real significance. However, a part of the puzzle it plays a vital role in the completing of the puzzle. I akin man to the puzzle piece and the puzzle as God's plan. See, both the lightbulb and the puzzle piece are worthless on their own and cannot stand, however by being a part of the system they were designed for, that is where they find purpose. That is where they find fulfillment. Just like man. What a beautiful thing. What a beautiful plan to be apart of. Thank God that He chose us to play a role in His grand masterpiece. 

Are They the Same God?

Are They the Same God?

I had an interesting discussion with a group of Muslims and Christians. They claimed the Christian and Muslim gods are the same. Their rationale was that "Allah" is the Arabic word for "God." While this is true, that doesn't equate the Muslim god to the Christian god. Just like the Deist god, the Jewish god, and the Christian god are not the same though they all claim the name "God." This is where I'm sure I've lost your support by now, so allow for me to explain. In this discussion, I claimed that the Christian and Muslim gods cannot be the same for they have separate characteristics (all loving, not all loving, triune, single-personed, etc.). Similarly, the Jewish god and the Deist god are single-personed, making them fundamentally different than the Christian god, philosophically speaking. Allow me to draw an illustration. Let's say that I am talking of my friend Stephen and I say Stephen is 6'2" tall, while you maintain that he is in fact 5'10" tall. I say that I know for a fact that Stephen is so tall while you say that you know for a fact that he is so tall. Philosophically speaking, we are talking about 2 separate Stephens; for a single Stephen cannot possess the characteristics of being both 5'10" and 6'2", this is simply incoherent. However, it is quite plausible that one (or both) of us has (have) a misrepresentation of the true Stephen. Similarly, the gods of the monotheistic faiths (Deism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity) from a philosophical standpoint cannot be the same entity; however, it is entirely possible that 3 (or 4) of the views of God are misrepresentations of the one true God. This is the position that I hold. So I'll leave you by asking, are they the same God?

Quick Response to "Quick Response to 10 Common Theist Arguments"

Quick Response to "Quick Response to 10 Common Theist Arguments"

I recently read an atheist article that gives 10 popular arguments for theism and then refutes them. I want to briefly address them here but will not go into much detail as these are clearly straw men and I can't think of any theist that would argue such claims.  

"Science can't explain the complexity and order of life; God must have designed it to be this way." - This is the God of the gaps idea where anytime something is unexplainable the theist would point to God and say "we don't know why, so therefore God." This is a caricature  of theism and almost no theist would make such a claim. However this "argument" seems to touch upon the teleological, or fine tuning argument, which says that the fine tuning of this universe for life is due to either chance, necessity, or design. The theist would then argue why it is not due to chance or necessity, therefore proving it must be design. The complexity of life is one argument that could be used to refute mere chance. 

"God's existence is proven by scripture." - Come on, do you think any theist would argue God's existence to an atheist based on "The Bible says so"?...

"Some unexplained events are miraculous, and these miracles prove the existence of God." - In the refutation, the writer makes two claims. One is that miracles can't occur which begs the question for atheism, the second is that something might seem miraculous but that's just because science hasn't yet been able to explain it. This seems like the very "God of the gaps" idea it mocks above, only this time it is "science of the gaps". Claiming "we don't know how something happened, but science will prove it." 

"Morality stems from God, and without God, we could not be good people." - Here the difference must be made between where morals come from and how we come to know morals (moral ontology and epistemology). It is true that objective morality can only come from a god, but that doesn't mean you must believe in Him to have such morals. Scripture even says that He has written His law on their hearts (Romans 2:15). Without God though it is true that we could not be good people, for there would not be good or bad! Only different. 

"Belief in God would not be so widespread if God didn’t exist." - Anyone can look at any widespread belief and say such a thing, no one would honestly argue this as a case for theism. 

"God answers prayers; therefore, he must be real." - This one's interesting, as well as the next one. This is how we might KNOW God exists, however this isn't how we can SHOW God exists. Answers to prayer in my own life help solidify my faith but it can never be used as an evangelistic tool. Also the fact that not all prayers are answered doesn't undercut God. For if one prayer is truly answered (and not something that would have naturally occurred anyways) then that is enough evidence for God. However this can never be proved or disproved seeing how we could never control such an experiment. 

"I feel a personal relationship to God, so I know that he is real." - Again, this is how we know God exists, but this is not how we can show God exists. For that, there are many Apologetical arguments and evidences I can direct you towards (oddly enough, none of which are addressed by this article...)

"It's safer to believe in God than be wrong and go to Hell." - A perversion of Pascal's Wager. Pascal said that if all evidence is equal, go with the God hypothesis because there is greater potential reward. He never claimed despite any and all evidence (as this article paints it as, though I would claim the evidence leans towards theism).

"I have faith; I don't need facts. I just want to believe." - I've never heard any theist say "I don't need facts." In fact, Christ claims to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). He also says that the truth will set us free (John 8:32). Similarly, St. Augustine famously said that all truth is God's truth. These would all be in direct contradiction to "I don't need facts". Also, the facts seem to point towards theism.

"There's no evidence that God doesn't exist." - They want to claim here that the burden of proof lies on the theist and not the atheist. That's simply not true. Atheism says "There is no God" while theism says "There is a God." Both make equal truth claims and therefore must equally shoulder the burden of proof. 

Euthyphro Dilemma Paper

The intent of this paper is to argue how Christianity must be the one true religion by presupposing monotheism, specifically by looking at the monotheistic view that God is the greatest conceivable being and how ethics must then be rooted in His nature. Note, in this paper I do not wish to argue for monotheism as that is the main purpose of most apologetical material but rather wish to expound further on the presupposition of such material in order to get to Christianity. Specifically I will be arguing from what the three great monotheistic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) believe as a polemic tool of sorts against non-Christian views while also arguing from a basic, or stripped, monotheistic claim in an apologetical sense for Christianity. In doing so, I will use scriptures from these religions’ holy books but not as the basis of my claims but rather as confirmation. All of monotheism agrees upon the central tenet that God is the greatest conceivable being. This notion will be the focal point of the argument. The idea of the greatest conceivable being was posited by St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033 - 1109). Anselm is quoted as saying that God is “that than which nothing greater can be thought” (Williams). In essence, this argument claims that if you could think of something that is greater than our notion of God then that would actually be God because by this definition nothing could possibly be greater than God. The greatest conceivable being then is made up of great making properties, or properties that in lieu of having them would contribute to making one great. For example, a great making property would be goodness. Surely we would say it is greater to be good than evil. So the greatest conceivable being must be all good, or the essence of goodness, as He must have the greatest amount of a great making property. All goodness must then come from the greatest conceivable being. "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow" (James 1:17 NASB). Another example of a great making property would be power. Intuitively we understand power is greater than weakness. He must be all powerful, or the essence of power. All power must come from Him. "Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God" (Romans 13:1 NASB) Another example would be wisdom, for it is better to be wise than foolish. He must be all wise, or the essence of wisdom. All wisdom must come from Him. "For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding" (Proverbs 2:6 NASB). Another translation reads, "All wisdom comes from the Lord, and so do common sense and understanding" (Proverbs 2:6 CEV). Notice again how I am not making these claims based on scripture, but rather I am using these scriptures to affirm how Christianity falls in line with this view of the greatest conceivable being. Now that we have established the monotheistic tenet that God is the greatest conceivable being, allow us to tackled then the Euthyphro Dilemma. The Euthyphro Dilemma comes from Plato's dialogue "Euthyphro" where Socrates poses the question "is the pious loved by the gods because it's pious, or it is pious because it is loved?" (Plato 8) Today's translation would read somewhere along the lines of "is something good because God wills it, or does God will it because something is good?" Both of these answers have devastating consequences to theism. For if something is good because God wills it then goodness is merely arbitrary. God could have willed rape, murder, and torture to be good and then we would be morally obligated to commit such acts. Goodness is completely subjective upon God's whims in such a scenario, which undermines the greatest conceivable being notion as it is seemingly irrelevant on such a view that God is all good. Similarly, if God wills something because it is good then goodness is found outside of God and He would then not be the creator of goodness, this cuts into God’s aseity and He therefore would not truly be the greatest conceivable being on this view either. However it might seem through the way the dilemma is worded, these are not the only two options. In fact, most theists would answer this dilemma by saying that God wills something because He is good. Goodness is then found in God's nature and therefore not arbitrary while also being dependent upon God. So what God commands is ultimately rooted in His nature. Now I suppose that the next step of this paper would naturally be to go into what God has willed and how we come to know this, but given how this argument presupposes monotheism I don’t find this necessary since the monotheistic faiths agree on what God has willed almost entirely. Instead, I wish to simply look at love, specifically in the three main monotheistic faiths. Below are the commandments each of the three main monotheistic faiths have given regarding love. Judaism: “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:18 NASB) “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5 NASB) Christianity: Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31 NASB) Islam: “Yet there are men who take (for worship) others besides Allah, as equal (with Allah): They love them as they should love Allah but those of Faith are overflowing in their love for Allah. If only the unrighteous could see, behold, they would see the Penalty: that to Allah belongs all power, and Allah will strongly enforce the Penalty.” (Quran 2:165) “And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquillity with them, and He has put love and mercy between your [hearts]: Verily in that are Signs for those who reflect.” (Quran 30:21) Through these passages we see that God (in every monotheistic view of God) has commanded us to love one another and love Him. If what is good and what God wills comes from His nature, then we see that love is a part of God's nature. Now herein lies the differences in these faiths: Christians and Jews argue that God is all loving. Muslims argue that He is not. "The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:8 NASB). This scripture is opposed "Say, (O Muhammad, to mankind): If ye love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. Allah is Forgiving, Merci... But if they turn away, lo! Allah loveth not the disbelievers" (Quran 3:31-32). Therefore, it goes to show that the Judeo-Christian God and the Islamic God are not one and the same. If the two are made up of different characteristics then they themselves must be different. God's love is unconditional, independent from the circumstances. Allah's love is conditional, contingent upon the circumstances. So, which one of these two is the greatest conceivable being? God must be either all loving or completely absent of love due to the Greatest Conceivable Being Theory. A point of argument to this claim could be to bring up Aristotelian ethics. Aristotle has a doctrine of virtue as a mean where he claims that excellence is found between excess and deficiency (Aristotle 18). The issue here is that both "excess" and "deficiency" would imply an error. So, a potential argument that would be presented by Aristotelian ethics against God being all loving would be that an excess of love would ignore justice because God would overlook the sin of those whom He loves. However, that is certainly not the case. God holds all accountable to their sins and yet loves all; there is no contradiction here (as we will further explore towards the end of this paper). Similarly, through the lens of the Greatest Conceivable Being Theory, we would say that being all powerful is certainly a great making attribute. Having a balance between strength and weakness would not be great. Having a balance between knowledge and ignorance would not be great. So why then would having a balance of love and indifference be considered great? The Greatest Conceivable Being must have the greatest amount of great making attributes, so great making attributes must fall on one of the two ends, not in the middle. So again, God must be either all loving or completely absent of love due to the Greatest Conceivable Being Theory. Here it is shown that Allah, with his contingent love, must not be the greatest conceivable being. Now that we have established that the greatest conceivable being must be either all loving or completely absent of love, we must then see which of these two are great making properties. I would argue that since we know what God has willed, as we saw through moral epistemology, and how what He has willed must be rooted in His nature, as we saw through moral ontology, and we know that what He has willed is love, that therefore God must be love. The biggest objection to love as being a great making attribute though is that it cuts into God's power. The issue then is to compare love versus apathy and see if they cut into God's power and other great making attributes in order to determine which is truly greater. Which requires more power? I would say love requires more power, for it is easier to be indifferent or even have hatred than it is to love especially for those who do not love us. "You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also... You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven... For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:38-48 NASB). It requires discipline and willpower to love in such a manner. Restraint requires greater strength. Unconditional love overcomes passions while hatred and indifference are both subjected to them. I would argue as well that God must also be personal (in the sense of relatable, or the ability for one person to relate to another person) for it requires greater strength to reveal one's self than to remain hidden. Revealing one's self requires an action, while remaining hidden requires nothing more than for one to remain dormant. Furthermore, revealing one's self requires the ability to express one's self to another, which involves power. Through being personal His attributes are greater shown and magnified, thus making a personal God conceivably greater than an impersonal God. From our rebuttal of Aristotelian ethics we deduce that great making properties fall on the ends and not the middle. So if being personal is a great making attribute, what could be more personal than love? Ergo by being loving, God is more personal, making His attributes greater revealed and magnified. Therefore, unconditional love magnifies power rather than inhibits it. Furthermore, righteousness and mercy are also magnified through unconditional love, ultimately magnifying God's glory. Logically, I can only see how love magnifies power while hatred diminishes it. Seeing how love is a great making attribute, I wish to then observe self-sacrifice and whether or not it is a good thing. Intuition immediately hints towards yes, it is a good thing. In fact, a strong objection to Utilitarianism is how the utilitarian would claim that a viable, young woman saving her grandmother at the cost of her own life is a morally reprehensible act; this claim seems blatantly false. Furthermore, sacrificing one’s self for another is driven itself by love. Christianity affirms this claim when Jesus says “greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13 NASB). So we can confidently claim that self-sacrifice is intuitively good and the greatest example of love, and we can also say with confidence (given monotheism) that God has willed love and what God wills is a part of His nature; it therefore concludes that self-sacrifice is inherently a part of God’s nature. Christianity is the only monotheistic religion in which God exemplifies such a love as self-sacrifice, particularly through Jesus’ death on the cross. In fact, God’s great making attributes, specifically His love, mercy, justice, power, and glory are most greatly revealed at the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let us then briefly examine each of these attributes and how they can be tied to the sacrificial death of Christ. Love: "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13 NASB). There is no greater love than giving up one's life for another. Love cannot be expressed any greater than in such a sacrifice. Through dying on the cross, God ultimately reveals His love. Mercy: According to Merriam-Webster, mercy is "compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power" (Merriam-Webster). We are subjected to God's punishment and power (He is the essence of power, all power comes from Him) for acting in defiance against His laws. Mercy cannot be expressed any greater than fully removing the penalty that we justly deserve. Through His sacrificial death on the cross, God ultimately reveals His mercy. Justice: There is no punishment suitable for us. By sinning against the Good there came a chasm which none but the essence of goodness could bridge. Only a perfect being (God) could properly pay for the crimes which we have committed against Him. For if God is the essence of Good, then even the slightest imperfection removes us completely from Him. As imperfect beings, we could not reconcile ourselves with perfection; it is on part of perfection to do so. In order to be in right-standing once more would require the assistance of one who is already in right-standing for there is no other way for us to relate. Justice cannot be expressed any greater than God satisfying His wrath on Himself. Through His death on the cross, God ultimately reveals His justice. Power: "Who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 1:4 NASB). The Christian view of God is the only one in which God personally overcame death. There is no greater power exemplified than overcoming death. Power cannot be expressed any greater than personally destroying death itself. Through His resurrection, God ultimately reveals His power. Glory: "Praise, honor, or distinction extended by common consent" (Merriam-Webster). No greater praise, honor, or distinction can there be than personally saving mankind by sacrificing one's self while perfectly exemplifying love, mercy, and justice; and also personally overcoming death while perfectly exemplifying power. Glory cannot be expressed any greater than this. Through His death and resurrection, God ultimately reveals His glory. Christ’s death (an act of perfect love) is the only possible way to reconcile perfect justice with perfect mercy and in so doing He furthers His perfect power and glory. Christianity is the only religion that shows God having absolute justice and mercy. If God were to brush aside our sins, then they have not been paid for and thus God inhibits His justice. On the other hand, absolute justice would require that none are saved; similarly, we can never pay for our crimes against God, this would inhibit both His justice and mercy. The only way for God to have both absolute justice and absolute mercy would be for Him to pay the punishment Himself. That is exactly what Christianity claims. Furthermore, God coming down as man and taking our punishment in our stead shows the greatest amount of love. No other view of God shows such love. Furthermore, by personally overcoming death God reveals the most power. No other view of God shows such power; because of this, God's glory is revealed to the greatest extent. Through the aforementioned, we can see how God personally revealing Himself through Jesus Christ is the greatest expression of His great making attributes. Because this view of God is conceivably greater than any other view of God, the Christian Godhead is the greatest conceivable being. Therefore, it concludes that Christianity must be the true religion.

Works Cited
Aristotle, and Anthony Kenny. Eudemian Ethics. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.
 CEV Bible. Swindon, Wiltshire: Bible Society, 1997. Print.
 Ganeri, Anita. The Quran. London: Evans, 2002. Print.
 Plato. Euthyphro. Trans. Woods & Pack. San Francisco: Cathal Woods, 2011. Print.
 The Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible: Updated NASB. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2007. Print. 
The New Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1989. Print.
 Williams, Thomas. "Saint Anselm." Stanford University. Stanford University, 18 May 2000. Web.

Social Darkness

Social Darkness

Growing up, I was interested in art and poetry. But I suppressed it because it wasn't cool. I buried it in the recesses of my mind hoping that by never allowing it to see the light of day and by playing the part of what is considered cool I could eventually suffocate that part of me until it dies. I thought that you just had to fake it until you make it. I was trying to kill my individuality in order to be accepted by the popular mass. I was trying to kill my identity. Luckily this was a stage that I grew out of in high school, but I still lost a part of me in the process. The sad part of it is though that many haven't grown out of it. We all have our own ambitions, passions, desires, and aspirations that make us us. But these don't always fit the mold of whatever lifestyle we wish to emulate. Anything that isn't apart of that lifestyle isn't cool and if people knew that other part of you they would look down upon you for it. So you try to kill your uniqueness and interests. A suicide of passion and individuality. We are losing so much of ourselves to this pandemic, and for what? A false sense of acceptance? Knowing that the person they are accepting really isn't even you and the person accepting your persona is just another persona in and of themselves; they themselves aren't really accepting you. But we continue to play the part thinking that we are alone in this world. Thinking that no one goes through what we go through, do the things we do, think the things we think. Especially when our thoughts are so dark and haunting. Surely no one else thinks such horrible things as I. When the truth of the matter is that everyone has some truly messed up and disturbing thoughts. But we will never show that because we always have to present this perfect image of us to others when in reality we are far less than that. You ever check social media alone at night seeing everyone else out having a blast and you feel like you're missing something that everyone else has? I guarantee you that you have caused the same thought in other people. We want to show the best of ourselves and expect everyone else to forget that we have our imperfections. None of us really do though. But there's some unwritten social contract that we will ignore them and pretend like they actually don't exist. And it's gotten to the point where we are actually starting to trick ourselves into believing it as well. You think the serial killer, child pornographer, lying cheat, wrathful abuser, and greedy cynic aren't alive in everyone else? You're a fool. You think they're not alive in you? You're a fool in denial. I used to be in denial too. Even when I was truly a horrible person I considered myself good. In terms of story arcs, I considered myself the hero on a quest for redemption. That's not true though. I'm certainly no hero. No, I'm what happens when the villain goes on his own journey for redemption; and now I'm simply trying to live a life worthy of the redemption that I've been given. All the while hoping that my own story can progress another's in the right direction. So here's my story. The rest is up to you. 

A Beautiful Reminder

A Beautiful Reminder

Tonight, I was reminded of what it felt like to be caught up in God's presence. Tonight, I was reminded of what it felt like to not be burdened with depression. Tonight, I was given a glimpse of Heaven. But that can wait. Because for now there is still a fight to uphold. For now, there is still darkness that needs the light. For now, there are still lost that need to be found. For now, there are still broken that need to be fixed. I was granted the highest honor of having the ministry of reconciliation. I was entrusted with the knowledge of the special revelation of God through Christ and His atoning death for our salvation with the sole purpose of going and making disciples. So that is what I'll do. That is the mission which I have been given. And as long as I continue to breathe, that mission still continues. And with it, the depression which God has used through me to reach out to others who share such a burden. The constant reminder of me to focus on things above because of the realization of the true state of things below and the urgency which goes along with it. I am forever grateful for this mission and this tool of depression in God's arsenal that manifests itself through me for combating the evils of this world in order to bridge the gap between Him and His lost children. It is a precious gift which has been bestowed unto me and I will ensure that it is put to its proper use. 

The Three Stages

The Three Stages

This idea came to me a couple weeks ago now and I wanted to sit on it and ponder it in order to make sure that it was sound. Since then I've used it in conversation a dozen times or so and some friends who I have shared it with have also used it in dialogue, so I firmly believe this idea to be accurate and useful. Now what is the idea? It's that everyone is at one of three stages in life. Now before I begin to layout these three stages, I find it important to say that I am using this topic mainly from a Christian perspective but it can be taken from any (a)religious background. Again though, I will use this topic to argue from a Christian perspective.

So the three stages of life are:
1. Accepting what you've been told.
2. Questioning what you've been told.
3. Looking for the answers to those questions.

And sadly enough, I find it that very few people are willing to enter into that third stage. This week I was having a discussion with a friend when she said that she really wants me to talk with her knowledgable atheist friend. She then added "aren't you worried at all that he might prove you wrong?" To which I simply stated "no." You see, almost every "knowledgable atheist" is considered knowledgable because they have these questions or defeaters of God, but very few have ever actually sought answers and solutions to them. I do not wish to convey an arrogant tone by saying I am not worried or troubled, I simply realize that there are good, logical answers in support of theism to anything this young man might throw my way; and even if I don't know the answer off the top of my head, I can search for the answer (to which I am sure there is one) and get back to him. Not only that, but out of all the objections against theism or against Christianity that I hear, 90% of the time it is the same 10-15 questions that keep popping up. Even still, if I must concede an argument in his favor, there are still many other arguments that go in the other direction, so through it all it is still more plausible and logical that God exists. In short, I am not worried because I am at the third stage where as he is still at the second. A lot of people are driven from the faith by the knowledge and intellect of atheists, but that is simply because they were on the first stage: simply accepting what they've been told. So of course someone on the second stage can "show them up" so to speak. But it goes full circle. Those on the third stage can easily "show up" those on the second as well. It's just not publicized as much which again, I believe is due to the fewer number of people willing to enter into the third stage as opposed to the second.

Regardless, whatever life stage you are in I urge you to try to move on to the next in the hopes of eventually finding the answers in the third. I remember when I was an atheist looking at different religions someone said "search for the truth; and if you do, you will always end up at Jesus." Sure enough, that's what happened with me as I am sure that's what will happen with you. You just have to be willing.

6/22/14

6/22/14

Satisfied with no satisfaction
Ignorantly living in bliss
Hallow and distant interaction
While the meaning is missed
Why can't you see?
You're blindly living

Tearing at our eyes
Missing the light from the sun
Living in demise
When the victory was won
Why can't you see?
You're blindly living

All content being envious
Distracting ourselves from the truth
Filling ourselves with emptiness
The tragic wasting of our youth
Why can't you see?
You're blindly living

Lessening all that is greater
Condemning all things redeeming
Denying our very creator
Dismissing all possible meaning
Why can't you see?
You're blindly living

The Importance of Evangelism - Message

Claiming Your Faith As Your Own - Message

The video says July but I meant June.