Careful Conversations

As is usually the case, what I am writing about here is the result of something I read or heard. I read an article this morning that was titled; “Racism definition: Merriam-Webster to make update after request.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52993306 My subject matter here has nothing to do with race and everything to do with the definitions of words. Francis Schaeffer, in his book ‘Escape from Reason’, said the following. “So, it is with the Christian church. Its responsibility is not only to hold to the basic, scriptural principles of the Christian faith, but to communicate these unchanging truths “into” the generation in which it is living. Every generation of Christians has this problem of learning how to speak meaningfully to its own age.”…

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Generational Perspective

  I had a conversation with my daughter last night. Entering into a conversation with one of your kids should always be prefaced with a reminder to yourself that you will hear, at least once and possibly multiple times, and not necessarily in these words literally, but certainly it will be communicated, “You’re wrong, Dad" or "Ok Boomer". Fortunately, I have thick skin and I know that any criticism comes from love. Nevertheless… The word perspective came up several times. This is a word that I have referenced in many things I’ve written and on many subjects. It is very important at all times to keep this word and it’s meaning in mind if we are to have any chance of coming…

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The Caricaturing of America

  “The ignorance of conservative white folks is almost too much to bear.” Followed by; “You're blind and ignorant no matter how much education you have!” This was a statement I read on Face Book yesterday. It was categorical. It was definitive. It was all inclusive. There were no qualifiers. There were no percentages. It was blanket. For now, we’ll set aside the arrogance and ignorance (I use the word ignorance literally, not intended to mean stupid) of the statement and concentrate on the broader issue. Unfortunately, this is an all too common mindset found on both sides of most issues. There is little thought of discernment, of considering each individual. It is far easier to lump people into categories. It is…

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Thinking Disorder

Thinking Disorder My pastor made a comment a couple Sundays ago in which he said, “you can’t build a Godly life using human wisdom”. This, of course, raises the question, “How can one build a Godly life?” Given that there is only one other kind of wisdom, we need to look in that direction. This is something I have been pondering and pursuing for quite a few years now. 2 portions of Scripture seem to pop up on a regular basis. Sometimes daily, sometimes less frequently, but reoccurring nonetheless. The first one is I Corinthians 3:18-19. “Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For…

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Presupposition

Presupposition: to suppose or assume beforehand; take for granted in advance. I’ve often talked about conversations I’ve had with people online. People of all different beliefs. Relatively recently, I had a conversation with a guy that comes from roughly the same background as me, that being fundamentalist Baptist. He experienced much the same on the negative side of things in that environment that I did. The difference between where he is today and where I am today is the result of what could be described as, “throwing the baby out with the bathwater”. He has gone through a process known as deconstruction. It would take much longer than I care to take here to fully describe what that process is and his current status of belief , so I will just…

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