Sunday, July 31, 2011

Defining Charisma Down


Some special folk are known for having "charisma" or for being "charismatic." The Greek root refers to possessing divine favor, as in having a gift of the Holy Spirit. The more popular meaning refers to charm, magnetism, or the ability to leave a lasting impression on others or to command a following. Charisma is also closely linked to personality, the salient features of a self. Someone may be charismatic because he or she is a person of virtuous character (as in Jesus Christ, or, to a lesser extent, the Apostle Paul), but not necessarily. One may be known for charisma or personality and fail to exhibit any of the classical virtues (prudence, temperance, courage, and justice) or Christian virtues (faith, hope, and love). Consider Mick Jagger, for example.

While moral character is more important than charisma (which in the end will amount to no more than wood, hay, and stumble if not tempered and inspired by virtue), it seems that charisma itself is losing its charisma. In 1993, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan wrote a famous essay in The American Scholar called "Defining Deviancy Down." The thesis is that moral were decaying so rapidly that what was considered socially deviant was losing its stigma or becoming acceptable. Thirty year ago, having an "illegitimate child" was quite a scandal, but not so much today, since illegitimacy rates have gone through the ceiling in recent decades. Now "partners" have children together and few think twice about it.

It strikes me that American culture is now defining charisma down just as it has defined deviancy down. That is, just as it is increasingly easier for vices to be deemed normal, less than charismatic people are now being defined as charismatic. It is difficult to explain why this is, but I offer two examples: Rob Bell and Barack Obama.

Bell is frequently hailed as charismatic, but I have no idea why. He does not have a distinctively attractive voice, is no wordsmith, and it not remarkable looking. Nor does he draw deep from the wells of wit or arresting intelligence. Rather, he has a smirking, joking demeanor that is something else entirely. It is not even the "coolness" of jazz (say Miles Davis).

Obama, who sadly now presides over the American decay he has so long desired, is also hailed as charismatic. But I have found nothing of that property. He thrives on catch phrases with no meaning; revels in absurd grandiosity (more so before taking office), has odd speech patterns; off teleprompter, he incessantly says "uh" (the bane of public speaking--or any speaking), draws out words during which he is, apparently, trying to come up with thoughts (usually the word "aaaaaaaaand"), and is far less than commanding. He doesn't seem very comfortable in his own skin. He has a better voice than Rob Bell, but hat hardly confers charisma.

Not all charisma has been defined down, however, in the same way. Some search for hyper-charisma through rude, crude, vile, and spectacular behavior, such as Lady Gaga. But even she fails to be truly charismatic because when everything is mere hyperbole, there is no deep mystery, no exotic entrancement, no fierce fascination. She comes across as a noisy, hyperactive, special-effects zombie.

Charisma, when wed to virtue and sound life principles, can be profound indeed. Think of Ronald Reagan, for example, in politics. Or, consider Billy Graham in evangelism. But mere charisma, even lacking moral character, has its own charms--as long as one recognizes them as such. Popcorn has its charms, although it is not very nutritional. If one tries to live off it, it will not suffice. The charismatic personality has a certain flair that provokes and may inspire; or at least it entertains. But when charisma is defined down, nothing is left besides a facade. I, for one, will pass that action.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Facts on Taxes

What people do not understand about taxes. 1. Lower tax rates increase state revenue in the longer haul. It happened under Presidents Kennedy and Reagan. Why? People pay less taxes, make more money, and pay more taxes overall. 2. Lower tax rates on the higher incomes does not merely help those people, but helps those who benefit from their increased profits--that is, the people they hire and the salaries they give. Remember this, next time you hear talk of "the wealthy paying their fair share." Their "fair share" (higher taxes) means a worse economy for everyone. Further, (3), why penalize success in business unless it is out of envy, which is a sin?

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

It is Here

Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith is now available for purchase as an -e-book at Google Books.

John Stott: Dead at 90

The great preacher, teacher, writer, and evangelical leader, John Stott has passed from this life into the presence of his Lord and Savior. A great man receives an even greater reward.

To honor his memory, read as many of his books as possible. Here is a short list:

1. Basic Christianity
2. The Cross of Christ
3. Why I am a Christian
4. Commentary on Romans
5. Your Mind Matters
6. The Contemporary Christian.

Robert Spencer and the Norway Killings

Robert Spencer has written a number of intellectually responsible (and courageous books) about the nature and history of Islam. He argues that the Islamic worldview is fundamentally different from the Judeo-Christian worldview. The former has no place for universal human rights, while the latter provided the basis for these rights in the West. Part of that Western patrimony is religious freedom, freedom of speech, and the rule of law.

Now Spencer is being blamed by some for the homicidal killing spree that recently stunned Norway. Why is this? Because the killer mentions Spencer many times in his writings. This charge against Spencer patently absurd, since Spencer defends the Western values of law, order, and tolerance all religions. The killer disavowed all of these principles affirmed by Spencer.

Monday, July 25, 2011

From Carl Henry, God, Revelation, and Authority, Volume 6, concluding paragraph of the book.

God who stands and stoops and speaks is God who stays: He it is who preserves and governs and consummates his cosmic purpose. But the awesome wonder of the biblical revelation is not his creation and preservation of our vastly immense and complex universe. Its wonder, rather, is that he came as God-man to planet Earth in the form of the Babe of Bethlehem; he thus reminds us that no point in the universe is too remote for his presence and no speck too small for his care and love. He came as God-man to announce to a rebellious race the offer of a costly mercy grounded in the death and resurrection of his only Son and to assure his people that he who stays will remain with them forever and they with him. He is come in Christ incarnate to exhibit ideal human nature and will return in Christ glorified to fully implement the Omega-realities of the dawning future.

Searching Inside "Christian Apologetics"

You may know search inside my upcoming book, Christian Apologetics, at Amazon.com. You can find the entire table of contents and more. The release date for Amazon is September 5, 2011.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

"Midnight in Paris"

Woody Allen's, "Midnight in Paris," is the best film of his I have seen; although I admit to not seeing any in about twenty years. It is thoughtful, humorous, and philosophical. It moves at a sane pace (unlike most films today), has no gratuitous sex or violence, and is plot and character driven. It's quirky surreal device works well to help us ponder the idea of a golden age and how to live in the present.


Sadly, the worldview is atheistic Existentialism, which may be a kind of step up from the grim nihilism of his recent films. The message is to create and recognize meaning, despite the cosmic meaninglessness of the universe. But if everything is finally absurd, so is any sense of local meaning--in Paris or elsewhere.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Electronic Sabbath

The world
unplugged
is surround-sound.

The world
unplugged
is in living color.

The world
unplugged
is more fascinating
than YouTube.

The world
unplugged
is not a play-list.

"The games people play"
are more interesting
--if you attend--
than video games.

There is a world
in your midst
that you may
have missed.

Screen out the screen
for a time--and see, hear, and feel
Again, for the first time.




Doug and dogs

Relaxing with my two favorite dogs: Bonnie and Quincy, border collies pups about seven months old.

Friday, July 22, 2011

The Empathy Machine: An Unfinished Essay

This is a thought experiment. Thought experiments have a long and checkered history in philosophy, and I cannot explore their nature or purpose in depth. (In fact, the protocol, propriety, and purposes of thought experiences are not entirely clear to me.) Suffice it to say that the features of a thought experiment need not be realizable, but they must be logically possible or at least imaginable. A thought experiment should also make some point not easy or possibly seen otherwise. Consider Plato’s myth, “The Ring of Gyges." It is unlikely anyone will ever become literally invisible, but we can well imagine what it would be like to be in this state and how it might affect one’s conduct.

The Empathy Machine

What if someone invented a device that could convincingly capture the subjective experience of a person and then transfer those experiences into someone else’s consciousness? A movie called “Brain Storms” described such a machine, but did not capitalize on the empathy theme, but rather (not surprisingly) experiences of sex and—more importantly—of death. The empathy machine resembles Robert Nozik’s thought experiment involving the famous “experience machine,” which he concocted in order to argue for the deficiencies of one type of utilitarianism. That machine enables one to experience all the happiness one desired—all without any connection to a real, objective, external world—the world of things, people, nature, and so on. If one would not be hooked up to the experience machine at the expense of participation in the world of sense and embodiment, there is something deeply wrong with the axiology of utilitarianism. [i]

But let us revise Nozik’s thought experiment—turn it on its head, so to speak. The empathy machine records what is otherwise nearly inexpressible or at least inarticulate in the mouths of most of us. It records pain—pain and distress of every kind under the sun. When one is hooked up to the empathy machine, there is a radical shift from the third-person and second-person to the first-person; from propositional knowledge to experiential knowledge (or Russell’s “knowledge by acquaintance”); from hearing about pain and observing pain to being in pain and thus knowing it from the inside out. It is a shift from being-near to being-there.

The empathy machine does not generate pleasure, as does Woody Allen’s fictional “orgasmatron” from his film, “Sleeper.” Quite the opposite; it produces pain, but not pain in the sense of actual torture. Torture produces pain, my pain. I can, though, in this state identify and empathize with others similarly tormented. The empathy machine allows one to participate in the sensorium of another’s distress without physical torture or deprivation. Moreover, one can leave the empathy machine at will. It is not inflicted on anyone, but it can be chosen. For example, a husband can enter the empathy machine to experience the full force of his wife’s chronic illnesses—from the inside out. For a set period of time, he will feel all the muscle pain, weakness, fatigue, depression, despair, confusion, self-loathing, and shattered dreams. He cannot, by entering the machine, log her long years of discontent, but he can taste fully what these years have brought to her consciousness, both mentally and physically. He retains his identity, but he takes on crucial aspects of her experience subjectively through a kind of inter-subjectivity. In a sense, he takes on a secondary first-person identity (or at least experience). To invoke something from popular culture, consider a “Vulcan mind meld.” The character Spock in “Star Trek” is capable of tapping into another’s mind and (if I’m not mistaken) even experiencing that person’s feelings to some degree.

None of the four classical virtues (prudence, courage, self-control, and justice) or the three theological virtues (faith, hope, and love) directly implicate empathy, although love comes the closest. In order to love, one must reach out of oneself and, to some degree, reach into another person. One imagines what (say) chronic illnesses or a terminal illness or the loss of a child must be like. Then one can attempt to express an informed and heart-felt concern (that is, love) for that person in that state—however foreign it may be to one’s own first-person experiences.

I have not found very much on empathy as a virtue in the literature of moral philosophy. Of course, I may simply have missed this. But it seems that those interested in virtue theory would be the more likely to reflect on this state of being than would those explicating deontology or consequentialism. William Frankena, who is principally a deontologist who gives place to virtues in a secondary sense, speaks of the need for “benevolence” to motivate one to duty. In this connection, he cites statements by Josiah Royce and William James. First, Royce’s reflections:

What then is thy neighbor? He too is a mass of states, of experiences, thoughts and desires, just as concrete, as thou art. . . . Dost thou believe this? Art thou sure what it means? This is for thee the turning point of thy whole conduct towards him.[ii]

William James writes this:

This higher vision of an inner significance in what, until then, we had realized only in the dead external way, often comes over a person suddenly; and, when it does so, it makes an epoch in his history.[iii]

Both Royce and James, then, attribute to these empathic experiences a kind of moral epiphany, a quantum leap forward in moral awareness and moral virtue. Time spent in the empathy machine would increase this kind of awareness astronomically.

If one decided to embark on a voyage into another person’s pain, one would set oneself up in antithesis to any hedonic theory of value. Inside the empathy machine, pain is multiplied, not pleasure.

The Metaphysics of Persons and the Empathy Machine

For the experience machine to work, a particular ontology of persons must be in place. Any worldview that denies the reality of persons as genuine substances who endure over time and who experience life in the irreducibly first-person singular mode cannot employ this thought experiment to any benefit. Consider nondualism and Theravada Buddhism. Nondualism denies the reality of individual, separable selves. The only reality is Nirguna Brahman (God without qualities). For nondualists, such as Sankara, first-person awareness is ultimately maya or illusion. Enlightenment delivers one from such experiential limits through a “cognition of the infinite.” That is, one knows oneself as infinite—an experience that transcends any of the limits and suffering of maya-ridden existence. On this ontology, there is no reason to enter empathetically into the illusions of others. One’s own illusions are sufficient to drive one to a supposedly higher state of ultimate awareness—one in which there is no “other” whatsoever. Mutatis mutandus, Theravada Buddhism also denies the reality of the individual self, but through another metaphysic wherein there is precisely no self at all (instead of the singular, impersonal, and all-absorbing Brahman).

So, it seems that the empathy machine is only desirable as an exercise in gaining moral knowledge given some substantial view of the self in world of other selves. Otherwise, one cannot stipulate the objective existence of irreducible others who become the subject of one’s own experience. The nondualist and Buddhist would only gain a first-person knowledge of the illusion of the first person experience in another. They would not gain knowledge conducive to moral growth in virtue.

Those holding worldviews that affirm the existence of individual selves which can grow in moral knowledge should consider the implication of the empathy machine. One would need courage to enter this machine, even for a brief period of time. Likewise, one would need wisdom, since gratuitous (or at least misguided) suffering is obviously not its purpose; nor is the perverse gratification of masochists.

Entering the Empathy Machine

Consider an example of someone who should consider entering the machine. John, a bright and intellectual adventurous fellow, is told repeatedly by close friends and his spouse that he tends to be impatient and rude with slow-witted or mentally retarded people. They are often the butt of his jokes and he steers clear of them, even those who are apart of his own extended family. But John experiences something of a moral epiphany through an accident. After checking out of the supermarket with his friend, he makes a disparaging remark about the bagger, who obviously has Down’s syndrome. To John’s surprise and horror, the female bagger hears his comment, loudly announces that she is quite competent at her job (“I’m a good worker, even though I’m not like you!”), and then breaks into tears and runs away. Several strangers observe the scene and stare at John with scornful amazement. For a brief moment, John inhabits a new moral world—that of the other. He begins to wonder what it would be like have a mental handicap, to know it, and to live in world where most others do not share this condition.

John is thus a good candidate for some time in the empathy machine, with the dial set to “mental limitation.” But not only would John experience the diminishment of his prized wit and intelligence, he would also experience memories of being taunted as a child, being left out of social gatherings, and the experience of being ridiculed by a bright and insensitive man (like John himself).

If my argument is sound, anyone in reasonably good health and with the appropriate worldview (see above) and who lacks empathy should consider entering the empathy machine. Short of having such a machine, one can use one’s imagination to enter into the subjective pain of others. This is profoundly anhedonic; it is not done for any immediately felt pleasure, but for the purpose of growing in moral awareness, knowledge, and character growth.



[i] See Robert Nozick, “The Experience Machine” in Louis Pojman, Moral Philosophy.

[ii] William Frankena, Ethics 2nd ed. (Prentice-Hall, 1973), 69.

[iii] Ibid.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Defining Charisma Down

Some special folk are known for having "charisma" or for being "charismatic." The Greek root refers to possessing divine favor, as in having a gift of the Holy Spirit. The more popular meaning refers to charm, magnetism, or the ability to leave a lasting impression on others or to command a following. Charisma is also closely linked to personality, the salient features of a self. Someone may be charismatic because he or she is a person of virtuous character (as in Jesus Christ, or, to a lesser extent, the Apostle Paul), but not necessarily. One may be known for charisma or personality and fail to exhibit any of the classical virtues (prudence, temperance, courage, and justice) or Christian virtues (faith, hope, and love). Consider Mick Jagger, for example.

While moral character is more important than charisma (which in the end will amount to no more than wood, hay, and stumble if not tempered and inspired by virtue), it seems that charisma itself is losing its charisma. In 1993, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan wrote a famous essay in The American Scholar called "Defining Deviancy Down." The thesis is that moral were decaying so rapidly that what was considered socially deviant was losing its stigma or becoming acceptable. Thirty year ago, having an "illegitimate child" was quite a scandal, but not so much today, since illegitimacy rates have gone through the ceiling in recent decades. Now "partners" have children together and few think twice about it.

It strikes me that American culture is now defining charisma down just as it has defined deviancy down. That is, just as it is increasingly easier for vices to be deemed normal, less than charismatic people are now being defined as charismatic. It is difficult to explain why this is, but I offer two examples: Rob Bell and Barack Obama.

Bell is frequently hailed as charismatic, but I have no idea why. He does not have a distinctively attractive voice, is no wordsmith, and it not remarkable looking. Nor does he draw deep from the wells of wit or arresting intelligence. Rather, he has a smirking, joking demeanor that is something else entirely. It is not even the "coolness" of jazz (say Miles Davis).

Obama, who sadly now presides over the American decay he has so long desired, is also hailed as charismatic. But I have found nothing of that property. He thrives on catch phrases with no meaning; revels in absurd grandiosity (more so before taking office), has odd speech patterns; off teleprompter, he incessantly says "uh" (the bane of public speaking--or any speaking), draws out words during which he is, apparently, trying to come up with thoughts (usually the word "aaaaaaaaand"), and is far less than commanding. He doesn't seem very comfortable in his own skin. He has a better voice than Rob Bell, but hat hardly confers charisma.

Not all charisma has been defined down, however, in the same way. Some search for hyper-charisma through rude, crude, vile, and spectacular behavior, such as Lady Gaga. But even she fails to be truly charismatic because when everything is mere hyperbole, there is no deep mystery, no exotic entrancement, no fierce fascination. She comes across as a noisy, hyperactive, special-effects zombie.

Charisma, when wed to virtue and sound life principles, can be profound indeed. Think of Ronald Reagan, for example, in politics. Or, consider Billy Graham in evangelism. But mere charisma, even lacking moral character, has its own charms--as long as one recognizes them as such. Popcorn has its charms, although it is not very nutritional. If one tries to live of it, it will not suffice. The charismatic personality has a certain flair that provokes and may inspire; or at least it entertains. But when charisma is defined down, nothing is left besides a facade. I, for one, will pass that action.

The Church

The church should be concerned with in-reach (teaching and formation) and outreach (mission) and upreach (worship), not just upkeep!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

"Calminianism" (clarification added)

Some claim that Calvinism and Arminianism are both right in some ways and wrong in some ways. Thus, the good of both can be combined into a synthesis, while avoiding the errors of both. The argument for this seems very weak.

"Calminian" means something like this: we chose our salvation freely, but cannot lose our salvation once we have freely chosen it. By "free" is means the Arminian idea of power of contrary choice. That is, God does not predestine us to salvation (election). God offers it and we, by our own power, chose or reject it. Or, more technically, God does all that is necessary for salvation, but not all that is sufficient. Calvinism claims that God does all that is necessary and sufficient for the salvation of the elect. Or, more broadly, Calminianism is understood to mean that God is sovereign (something Armianism denies) and that we are responsible for our choices (something Calvinism denies).

But this will not fly. Both Calvinism and Arminian have differing and incompatible accounts of both God's sovereignty and human responsibility. It is not the case that Calvinism emphasizes sovereignty and de-emphasizes human responsibility. Nor is it the case that Arminians emphasize human responsibility and de-emphasize sovereignty. Therefore, for you cannot synthesize them.

Let me explain this with respect to Calvinism, and leave Arminianism aside. On the Calvinist model, God exercises "meticulous providence" (Paul Helm) over every detail of existence, including human salvation (Ephesians 1:11). The number of the elect is set before the creation of the universe. It is not determined by God passively "looking ahead" to see who will chose salvation. Rather, it is determined by God's sovereign grace. On this, I present chapter three from The Westminster Confession. (I have omitted the copious biblical citations.)

Chapter III

Of God's Eternal Decree

I. God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.

II. Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions; yet has He not decreed anything because He foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions.

III. By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life; and others foreordained to everlasting death.

IV. These angels and men, thus predestinated, and foreordained, are particularly and unchangeably designed, and their number so certain and definite, that it cannot be either increased or diminished.

V. Those of mankind that are predestinated unto life, God, before the foundation of the world was laid, according to His eternal and immutable purpose, and the secret counsel and good pleasure of His will, has chosen, in Christ, unto everlasting glory, out of His mere free grace and love, without any foresight of faith, or good works, or perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the creature, as conditions, or causes moving Him thereunto; and all to the praise of His glorious grace.

VI. As God has appointed the elect unto glory, so has He, by the eternal and most free purpose of His will, foreordained all the means thereunto. Wherefore, they who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ, are effectually called unto faith in Christ by His Spirit working in due season, are justified, adopted, sanctified, and kept by His power, through faith, unto salvation. Neither are any other redeemed by Christ, effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the elect only.

VII. The rest of mankind God was pleased, according to the unsearchable counsel of His own will, whereby He extends or withholds mercy, as He pleases, for the glory of His sovereign power over His creatures, to pass by; and to ordain them to dishonor and wrath for their sin, to the praise of His glorious justice.

VIII. The doctrine of this high mystery of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care, that men, attending the will of God revealed in His Word, and yielding obedience thereunto, may, from the certainty of their effectual vocation, be assured of their eternal election. So shall this doctrine afford matter of praise, reverence, and admiration of God; and of humility, diligence, and abundant consolation to all that sincerely obey the Gospel.


Many think this account is incompatible with human freedom, but it is not, since everything depends on how one understands human freedom. Take it from The Westminister Confession of Faith.

Chapter IX

Of Free Will

I. God has endued the will of man with that natural liberty, that is neither forced, nor, by any absolute necessity of nature, determined good, or evil.

II. Man, in his state of innocency, had freedom, and power to will and to do that which was good and well pleasing to God; but yet, mutably, so that he might fall from it.

III. Man, by his fall into a state of sin, has wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation: so as, a natural man, being altogether averse from that good, and dead in sin, is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto.

IV. When God converts a sinner, and translates him into the state of grace, He frees him from his natural bondage under sin; and, by His grace alone, enables him freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good; yet so, as that by reason of his remaining corruption, he does not perfectly, or only, will that which is good, but does also will that which is evil.

V. The will of man is made perfectly and immutably free to do good alone in the state of glory only.

I have not given an argument for Calvinism. Rather, am claiming that synthesizing Calvinism and Arminianism into Calminianism is not a logical option. One might remain agnostic on how to combine God's sovereignty and human responsibility, but this would not be "Calminianism."

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Sacrifice

When any politicians speaks of the "wealthy" as needing to make "sacrifices," you should know several things:

1. The economy is in trouble.
2. Envy is afoot.
3. Statism is on the loose.
4. Terms are being abused, since taxation is not sacrifice; it is forcible extraction.
5. The "wealthy" will be defined arbitrarily, since people's incomes are not a sure indicator of their assets.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Kevin Kelly

Here is a quote from Kevin Kelly, a cyberspace philosopher. If this is what "free will" means, I want nothing of it:

God has given us free will—true free will, not a phantom free will—and he wants us to surprise him. We are here to surprise God. God could make everything, but instead he says, "I bestow upon you the gift of free will so that you can participate in making this world. I could make everything, but I am going to give you some spark of my genius. Surprise me with something truly good and beautiful." So we invent things, and God says, "Oh my gosh, that was so cool! I could have thought of that, but they thought of that instead."

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Test

This blog averages about 350 hits a day. I will do the following experiment to see if I can increase hits. This is a test. This is only a test:

Lady Gaga
Sex
Pink
Organism
Hot mama
Nude ants
Casey Anthony
Obama birth certificate
Katy Perry
Elvis is alive

This is only a test.

The slip, the result

A slip
between the cup and the lip.
Hot lava
pours down
into my lap,
into the innocent laps of others.

There is no excuse.
I cannot hide behind
being the victim.

I am to blame.
I am responsible.

I can only seek forgiveness,
restitution, and love.

Nothing else.
Nothing less.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Charles Spurgeon on Reading

Spurgeon on reading

http://ch-books.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/spurgeon_smiles.pngC.H. Spurgeon


We will look at [Paul's] books. We do not know what the books were about, and we can only form some guess as to what the parchments were. Paul had a few books which were left, perhaps wrapped up in the cloak, and Timothy was to be careful to bring them. Even an apostle must read.


Some of our very ultra Calvinistic brethren think that a minister who reads books and studies his sermon must be a very deplorable specimen of a preacher. A man who comes up into the pulpit, professes to take his text on the spot, and talks any quantity of nonsense, is the idol of many. If he will speak without premeditation, or pretend to do so, and never produce what they call a dish of dead men’s brains – oh! that is the preacher.


How rebuked are they by the apostle! He is inspired, and yet he wants books! He has been preaching at least for thirty years, and yet he wants books! He had seen the Lord, and yet he wants books! He had had a wider experience than most men, and yet he wants books! He had been caught up into the third heaven, and had heard things which it was unlawful for a men to utter, yet he wants books! He had written the major part of the New Testament, and yet he wants books!


The apostle says to Timothy and so he says to every preacher, “Give thyself unto reading.” The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains, proves that he has no brains of his own. Brethren, what is true of ministers is true of all our people. You need to read. Renounce as much as you will all light literature, but study as much as possible sound theological works, especially the Puritanic writers, and expositions of the Bible. We are quite persuaded that the very best way for you to be spending your leisure, is to be either reading or praying. You may get much instruction from books which afterwards you may use as a true weapon in your Lord and Master’s service. Paul cries, “Bring the books” – join in the cry.

Monday, July 11, 2011

J.P. Moreland on Apologetic Character

So understood, an apologetic character is not a set of answers a person memorizes and adds to a life otherwise defined without regard to the apologetic mandate. No, an apologetic character is a way of being present in the world, an approach to life, a part of the very structure of one’s embodied soul. Just as there is a difference between someone who can spit out answers from one’s home medical book and a skilled physician who sees the world as a doctor, so there is a difference between one who memorizes a set of answers to certain apologetic questions and one who has an apologetic character. An apologetic character is part of the very warp and woof of one’s journey, of one’s very life as a disciple. So understood, it will increasingly exemplify a set of virtues and exhibit mastery of a range of skills … The development of an apologetic character cannot be reduced to mastery of a set of questions and answers, to a set of skills, or even to a list of virtues. While such a set or list is very helpful for focusing one’s training efforts, we must never forget that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Training believers to exemplify an apologetic character includes, but goes far beyond, any list of answers, skills, or virtues. It is an entire way of living. Thus, such training will always require role models who are themselves examples of an apologetic character. As a result, it is far more important for a Christian school to help its faculty to grow as apologists than it is to learn skills for teaching “apologetic techniques” to students.
----------------
For more on this, see the original post.

Thursday, July 07, 2011

Tatoos

This is from Earthen Vessels by Matthew Lee Anderson. (Thanks to Paul Adams for this.)
The cultural logic, then, of tattoos depends upon the body being a canvas for our self-expression, a lump of clay that we style in ways that express the hidden core of who we are. Tattoos are an aesthetic technique—the program of control and domination—melded with a contrarian aesthetic and applied to our bodies. The practice of tattooing treats the body not as our place of personal presence in the world, but as an object for our self-construction. (p. 113).

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Review of Tim Challies, The Next Story. First published at Denver Journal

Tim Challies, The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Books, 2011. 204 pages. No index. $19.99. Reviewed by Douglas Groothuis.

“If you want to know what water is, do not ask a fish.” So goes the ancient and sagacious Chinese proverb. We are often rendered oblivious to that in which we are immersed. We then become incapable of wise judgments about our environments. Habituation replaces critique, and our lives consist in second-nature reactions devoid of discernment. Of course, the living of life requires that we not critique every commonplace (lest we paralyze ourselves); yet as Christians we are emphatically and repeatedly exhorted by Scripture to unmask and avoid worldliness. What is common may be ungodly—or at least unprofitable. Jesus went so far as to proclaim to the Pharisees that “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight (Luke 16:15; see also 1 John 2:15-17). James also declares that “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27).

Most Christians take such warnings to apply only to doctrinal deviation or immoral conduct. We must hold firm to “the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people” (Jude 3) and not be “blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:14). This is true. However, worldliness is often more insidious than what is conveyed in overtly false teaching or modeled in blatantly immoral living. Worldliness, that which makes the ungodly seem normal and the godly seem abnormal (David Wells), can seep in under the door, crawl in through the cracks, and flow in through the vents—all unannounced. This afflicts us when our taken-for-granted habits engender sensibilities (modes of thought, perception, and conduct) that make us less likely to hear God’s voice, to do God’s will, to redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16), and to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12).

Lest all this concern about subtle worldliness seem too abstract or pedantic, consider my testimony concerning the strange effects of contemporary digital media. My Anglican church celebrates communion every Sunday, and considers this shared sacred event to be the climax of the liturgy. All are invited forward to receive the cup and the bread (or a blessing if one is not a baptized Christian). One morning, I noted a young family walking up the isle for communion. One child was being carried and another was taken by the hand. As they moved toward the chalice and the bread, the father began gazing at his glowing cell phone as he walked toward the minister. He finally looked away from whatever was entrancing him and looked up to be told by the minister that he was now receiving “the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Even several years ago, such a bizarre scene would have been impossible, since telephones were tied to land lines or because cell phones were just phones and not miniature entertainment consoles. But this bemused soul could not turn his phone off even in preparation to receive communion, which the Bible warns is a very sobering matter (1 Corinthians 11:17-34). Even taking communion was subjected to the multitasking afforded by digital technology.

Popular blogger, author, and pastor Tim Challies offers a tonic for these kinds of aberrations in his short, clear, and compelling book, The Next Story. While Challies is very much at home in the world of digital media (his blog is one of the most popular in the Christian community), he realizes that the recent profound changes in our means of communication (all empowered by the Internet) pose momentous challenges to Christian integrity. In the terminology of Neil Postman, digital media have anecological effect. They do not simply add new gadgets and gismos; they change the whole atmosphere of communication and life in general. This book winningly contributes to a small—but it seems growing—literature of Christian critiques of media technology. Fifteen years ago any critical analysis of the Internet was typically dismissed as cranky primitivism (“You cannot turn back the clock”). But in recent years, I am heartened to find more secular and Christian assessments of the Internet that are less messianic and more skeptical.

Challies addressed digital technologies in their historical, functional, and theological dimensions. He challenges Christians to consider technology as both a gift and an area of moral discernment. Unlike the majority of evangelicals, Challies realizes that each technology shapes its message and the ones who use it. That is, technologies are not neutral vessels for communication. In Marshall McLuhan’s justly well-known words, “The medium is the message.” Therefore, each technology should be scrutinized (or exegeted) concerning its often invisible but substantial effects. To give us some perspective, Challies provides a brief but insightful overview of the rise of electronic technologies, looking at how previous technologies such as the telegraph and camera radically altered society.

Challies brings together three features of technology for assessment: our everyday experience of technology, a sound theory of technology, and a wise practice of using technology in its various forms. His focus throughout the book is not merely sociological or psychological; he also develops a biblically faithful and God-honoring understanding and practice of technology. To that end, he includes an “application” section in the chapters of Part 2, as well as questions for discussion, which makes the book ideal for small group study. Early in the book, Challies explains that technology can easily become an idol, and warns the reader of this sin throughout the work.

In Part 2, Challies offers the meat of his concerns, discussing matters of communication, distraction, information, visibility and privacy. These chapters offer much wisdom about the nature and effects of digital technologies, and resonate with the influence of savvy media theorists such as Marshall McLuhan and Neil Postman, as well as more recent writings. (It is difficult to stay current on rapidly-changing Internet technologies, but Challies astutely takes the pulse of cyberspace.) While embracing the benefits of things like email, blogs, twitter, Facebook, etc., he warns of the dangers of becoming distracted by trivia, of losing our embodied relationships, and of being betrayed by careless things posted on line.

Having written on and studied in this field for some time (see The Soul in Cyberspace[Baker Books, 1997]), I found little with which to disagree—and much that was familiar to me. What stood out to me, however, were Challies’s observations in chapter eight: “Here Comes Everybody (Truth/Authority).” In The Soul in Cyberspace, I worried about “the fate of truth in cyberspace.” But that was before the emergence and dominance of Google and Wikipedia, the two main sources of authority on the Internet today. Since the Bible teaches that God reveals truth in various ways to make himself known and to thus advance his Kingdom, Christians should be especially alert to ways in which the Internet can distort truth and hinder knowledge (justified true belief).

Challies contrasts the old Encyclopedia Britannica with Wikipedia. The former was expensive, took up much physical space, could only be updated through the printing of expensive new editions, and was rooted in recognized authorities for its thousands of articles. By contrast, Wikipedia is free (if you have Internet access), takes up no physical space, is updated constantly, and is written by anyone who wants to contribute to or originate articles. Furthermore, unlike the Encyclopedia Britannica, which had a set number of entries, Wikipedia entries expand endlessly on all topics. Challies notes that “The wiki model is increasingly regarded as the best means of arriving at truth, of building a repository of knowledge” (p. 163). Yet this should trouble us, since this model is undisciplined by intellectual authority—even if some limited content control is offered. (To offer an example of the unreliability of Wikipedia not included by Challies, I know a seminary professor whose biographical entry briefly [and falsely] included a reference to his marriage to a pornography star.) Challies aptly summarizes the problem by arguing that Wikipedia presents truth as consensus. However, the majority may be wrong. As Exodus 23:2 states: "Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.” Truth is a property of statements that rightly represent reality. False statements (however popular) fail to do so. Truth is not determined by democratic vote or Wikipedia consensus. (For more on the nature of truth, see chapters three and four of my book, Truth Decay [InterVarsity, 2000].) While Wikipedia has some limited usefulness in tracking down more reliable sources that are linked in its articles, it should not be viewed as a legitimate authority on anything. For several years I have had to lecture my students on this, since they sometimes use Wikipedia in footnotes.

Similarly, Challies comments that Google presents truth as relevance—another deeply defective concept. A Google search will reveal a ranking of cites based on algorithms that detect the number of links to a particular page (to oversimplify). For example, Challies says that when he searched for “What is Truth?” on Google, the second result was the Wikipedia entry, which offered multiple views, of which the “Christian conception was just one option among many” (168).

While Challies does not use the term, his discussion of Wikipedia’s and Google’s sense of truth and authority concerns epistemology: the discipline investigating the sources, standards, and limits of knowledge. Although his treatment of this question is preliminary and not academic, it is, nevertheless, indispensible for those who desire to possess and exhibit cognitive virtue. This consists in habitually comporting one’s mind and senses in ways that discern truth and reject error. As the Apostle Peter said, “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13, KJV; see also Romans 12:1-2). This is no easy task, especially when one enters the digital domain where information overwhelms, but where truth and wisdom are much harder to find.

Despite its often trenchant critiques of digital technology, one feature of the book itself betrays the less than salutary results of technological influence. Most on line writing, particular in blogs, dispenses with indenting the beginning of paragraphs. The Next Story does so as well (perhaps to imitate Internet style). When I add a post to The Constructive Curmudgeon (one of my blogs), I have no choice but to use non-indented paragraphs. The technology makes that (bad) decision for me. However, books are produced with more typographic options, and I find no good reason not to indent paragraphs. Not to do so is aesthetically displeasing and defies tradition unnecessarily. Further, although it may be unrelated to technological influence, the inner front cover and first page of the book are black instead of white, thus ruling out note-taking on these surfaces. This is annoying to anyone who is accustomed to making their own index at the front of a book. (The book also lacks an index and bibliography, but does include footnotes.)

I have one last quibble. Challies commendably takes a humble approach throughout the book, confessing his own mistakes in relating to technology and affirming his own need for God’s wisdom in these efforts. Near the end of the book, he writes of how he “sought to reduce inputs and to spend more time encountering the best information and less time encountering the least significant” (195). Challies unsubscribed from many blogs and tried to de-emphasize email. These were wise moves. But his next choice struck me as odd and against the grain of the book: “I even cancelled delivery of the newspaper” (196). As Challies himself claims, one of the problematic features of text on screens is that they tend to be skimmed instead of read, and so encourage less rigorous analysis. (This point is made in more detail in Nicholas Carr’s book,The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains [W.W. Norton, 2010].) One way to counteract this tendency to skim and surf written material on the Internet is to remain immersed in printed material: newspapers, magazines, and books. I am sure that Challies has not abandoned print (he often reviews books on his blog), but perhaps he should have kept the newspaper.

The Next Story is an accessible, smart, and spiritually-provoking exploration of the effects of digital technologies. If you want to know what water is, do not ask a fish. But if you want to know what digital technologies are and what they are doing to us, ask Tim Challies (among others).

Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy
Denver Seminary
July 2011

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Obama and The Muslim Brotherhood

The Obama administration embraces the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization long-committed to the downfall of the Judea-Christian West and to the ascendancy of barbaric sharia law.

Saturday, July 02, 2011

The Truth About Islam

“The chasm [between Islam and Christianity] cannot be bridged by rickety planks of compromise. Syncretism would be equivalent to surrender; for Islam thrives only by its denial of the authority of the Scriptures, the Deity of our Lord, the blessedness of the Holy Trinity, the cruciality and significance of the Cross, (nay, its very historicity) and the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ as King and Saviour. And this denial is accompanied by the assertion of the authority of another book, the Koran, the eclipse of Christ’s glory by another prophet, even Mohammed, and the substitution of another path to holiness and forgiveness than the way of the Cross. These denials and assertions are imbedded in the Koran and are the orthodox belief of ninety percent of the people. On every one of these points the true Moslem stands arrayed in armor against the missionary and the Truth, of which he is the custodian and preacher.” (Samuel Zwemer, “The Chasm” The Moslem World, vol. IX, no. 2/April 1919, pp. 112-113)

The Constitution and Slavery (note qualification added)

The Constitution was not perfect, but it was moving toward abolition. Thus, the founders (as their ideas were represented in the Constitution) were working to end slavery eventually. Thus, Michele Bachmann's comments about the founders working to end slavery were essentially correct (but not in every detail), despite the fact that the Constitution in itself did not end the institution.

The Lone Tree Declalation

The following was released in conjunction with the upcoming Western Conservative Summit, sponsored by Colorado Christian University. I fully endorse it.

1. In our adherence to the self-evident truths of the American Founding, we are conservatives.

2. In our debt to the civilizational heritage of Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London, and Philadelphia, we are Westerners.

3. In our concern for the mounting threat to liberty, seeing freedom in the balance, we convene with solemn purpose at this Summit.

4. We seek a conservative renewal for our country through civic action that puts principle above party, resists the corruption of power, bridges intramural disagreements or rivalries, and protects an open public square centered on the nation’s Judeo-Christian core.

5. We commit ourselves unswervingly to a political and social order that upholds individual freedom and personal responsibility, limited government and the rule of law, free enterprise and private property, traditional family values and sanctity of life, compassion for the poor and voluntarism in service to others, natural law and morality, strong defense and secure borders, all in keeping with the original intent of the Constitution.

6. We reject, and will resist, the socialist temptation, transnational progressivism, secular utopian illusions, appeasement, disarmament, or capitulation to jihad and sharia.