Life Under the Son: Recent Episodes
Prudent Thinker
A running commentary, evaluation, criticism of current events and culture, viewed through the lens of history and the Gospel. This is the conversation many people want to have, and the church should be leading, to answer the most pressing questions.
My message to my fellow man today; be a man. In matters. You have a unique role to play in society, and only you can play it when it's needed.
Using Scripture out of context is a persistent problem in the church. I think it happens when we want something to be true, or when we need some justification for what we want to do. We find a text or Biblical principle and apply it to a scenario where it meets our needs. So it is sometimes with the theme of unity in the body, or when faced with disunity. For some, the question of "does this bring unity or division" has become the acceptance criteria for a evaluating a challenge to the status quo. For some, being united as a group (body) has become more important than being united with Christ.
Let's explore
There is no shortage of tragedy and depravity on display in our world today, and our kids will see it and won't know how to contextualize or properly understand it. It's our jobs as parents to be there with them in those moments and guide them to the truth, and it's our job as Christians to guide them to Jesus.
Everything we see in the world today; murder, homosexuality, gender dysphoria, lies and deception, war, abortion...it can all be traced back to original sin and properly contextualized through the Gospel, both in why these things exists and how we overcome the chaos and pain and suffering they cause.
Let's talk about it.
In the midst of a tragedy, once the events have stopped, it becomes prudent that we not react. Once the event has stopped, we must not act. Unlike the demands of those who seek to manipulate the event to their personal benefit, now is not the time for action. Now is the time for reflection. Now is the time to pause. Now is the time to mourn. Now is the time to be thankful for what we have had, to miss what we have lost, and to celebrate what remains.
Once our emotions have settled we will be able to look forward with rational thought to see what, if anything, we need to learn or change as a result. That will come with time, but it will not be in the hours, days, weeks, or likely months after the event. That time will come later, once we are sober and the threat of being compromised by our passions has subsided.
However, the left is trying to seize this moment of pain to create injustice and so it is now that I feel compelled to provide clarity and perspective on this issue.
I believe that in 2019 a major chapter began in the story of humanity. Something shifted globally, and when that happens, I immediately look to the story of humanity, which always brings me to God. The West is in uncertain and dangerous times when it comes to the human condition. Rightly so, people are wondering, "how do I prepare for what may be coming?" As we do so, there are many voices out there trying to answer that for you, selling a product in the process. I offer some thoughts on how to keep this all in perspective. I am all for preparation, but it can be a trap.
There is no end to the damage this world will cause in the absence of good men. Because good men know this, we strive to be perfect in all things, so that those we love can be shielded. However, we can push this too far and become the very thing that will enslave the ones we love if perfection is all we ever portray.
The real answer to being the perfect husband, father, defender, protect, provider, shepherd, friend, is to learn to fail well; to acknowledge our failures and limitations and to use them to point people to the only perfect one; Jesus.
In thinking through how we in the church treat sin, forgiveness, and reconciliation, there's a lot I think we get wrong and so there's much we feel obligated to that shouldn't be, and we have expectations that are unjust.
Let's explore
A sad reality of the American Conservative today, is that we've been so conditioned by the left and the institutes of power in our society to not trust them, that we immediately disregard anything we can't independently verify with our own experience and facts, and so our new basis for context is within the sphere of ourselves. This is dangerous and it's leading to a complete and total misunderstanding of the Ukraine situation and how it directly relates to us.
This is the initial war in a larger global power struggle where Western and Eastern civilizations are asserting themselves to redefine the post COVID world. It matters to every one of us.
You have probably heard the explanation that the condition of mass formation psychosis is the reason for the insanity of the world regarding COVID-19. We keep asking, "has the world gone insane," and the answer has been, "well, yes." However, keeping things in a Biblical worldview, I don't think the mass formation psychosis is sufficient. Perhaps it is a clinical definition of faith and perhaps the COVID-19 hysteria is simply a new branch of the cult of humanism.
I'll explain...
The past years under the COVID and culture wars have proven to us that the powers that control the institutions of society cannot be trusted. However, as we turn to a general distrust and skepticism of the main voices of society, we risk becoming like the left; defined by only what we can experience and what we decide individually to be true. There is great danger here, and a caution to not harden our hearts, lest we become unable to recognize the truth when it does come to us.
As a follow-up to my skepticism shared in episode 17 about the "Red Wave" being celebrated by the media and political pundits, in this episode I dive into some real examples of the deeper, more meaningful Red Swell that is happening and might provide the force needed to right our way of life.
We keep hearing of a growing "red wave" that is finally gaining form and momentum to sweet the nation with conservative values that will overwhelm the left and wipe away the impact of the last few years, but is it happening? Are people standing and pushing back? Will it be sufficient? How do we get people to stand up, join the movement, create the momentum, and make the change that is so badly needed?
Let's examine that...
With news this morning that Germany and possibly all of the EU will be requiring all citizens be vaccinated for COVID-19 in order to participate in society, I can't help but be drawn to a warning from the Bible found in Revelation 13. Perhaps this should be the basis for our religious exemptions.
Let's explore
There's no question that America is in the midst of a cultural revolution where part of the population is struggling to maintain the "self evident truths" that have defined our way of life, while another part of the population is trying to dismantle and replace those truths with relativism; the ideology that humanity can redefine itself in it's own image and produce a better state of living than civilizations before.
The issue is an ideological one, it's about beliefs, and until we align ideologically, we will wrestle politically. Be prepared.
Benjamin Franklin is attributed to have answered the question, "what type of government do we have," with "a Republic, if you can keep it."
Today we hear constantly from the media and politicians about the activity and preservation of our Democracy.
In my opinion, it is the churn of the Democracy that is the danger to our Republic.
Let's chat.
A fireside chat with friends, having a conversation about life, values, family and how we balance all of that in these trying times.
What is family?
Where do learn our core values?
How do we preserve our core values?
What do we do when core values collide in the context of family?
Great thinkers and critics of society like G.K. Chesterton, Dennis Prager, and Jordan Peterson have pointed out that conservatives and liberals need each other to build progress, but those claiming to be "progressive" are focused on destroying our pillars and traditions and definitions and replacing them with chaos.
How can "progress" lead to chaos? The answer is, it cannot. We can only grow upon our traditions if we respect and cherish them.
Let's discuss
CRT tells you to ignore you intuition because it is negatively biased against people for unjust reasons. They tell us our gut instincts produce racism and bigotry today.
This is only true if you are controlled by your sin nature, so it is only true for the Godless.
For those who put their hope in Jesus, our intuition is a naturally supernatural expression of the Holy Spirit working through us.
Arm yourself with the truth and celebrate your God-given advantage.
In this episode I'm joined by another parent as we discuss the action of gift giving from the lens of the giver and the recipient, sharing some lessons we have learned as parents.
Among the questions we explore include:
Who is the most important person in the context of gift giving and receiving?
Shopping off the list of being creative?
How do we help kids respond to unwanted gifts?
Achieving greatness and building a lasting legacy is a significant pressure in western civilization today. All throughout life, we're told to be bigger and greater than the context from which we started.
Is that really good, or is that striving for greatness and pursuing a meaningful legacy in the eyes of the world creating our identity crisis and robbing us from the greatness of who we could truly be?
Let's explore it.
Social Justice is a topic that has permeated most of American lift from politics to faith. However, is it really a calling or natural expression of Christianity?
Let's explore that
Have you noticed how much the COVID-19 conversation has shifted America to the left, and that while the experience seems to be so unlike what was originally predicted, we remain obsessed with the same solutions?
Is this a real health crisis that warranted all the actions we have taken so far? Are the vaccines the only way out of this madness? What is the truth?
That's what we'll discuss in this session.
Emotional Intelligence is a new ideology being circulated in the professional and business worlds, as a tool for managing relationships.
How should we contextualize this new ideology? Is it aligned with the Gospel? Is it true?
These are some questions I explore in this presentation of thought.
Something really bothers me today when people say "don't throw your career away over vaccine mandates." That's the wrong way to look at this.
Bullies in government and executive boards are stepping in front of you and I and telling us we can no longer live the course of life that we are on, unless we meet their nonsensical demands. They are threatening to take it all away from us. We aren't throwing it away, they are stealing it from us.
How do you defeat a bully? You stand and say "no."
Phrases I have repeated and heard repeated often in 2020 and into 2021 have included "this is insane," "this doesn't make sense," "how could this happen?"
The world seems to have gone crazy. There seems to be something deeper happening to humanity. It seems we have started a new chapter in our story.
That's what I explore in this episode; what is the true significance and story behind the chaos of the world today?
Have you held the belief and hope that a silent majority of people in America will one day rise and stand as the final bulwark against tyranny?
I have.
Have you wondered where the silent majority is and why they won't stand?
I have.
I have concluded the silent majority isn't what we always hoped. They exist, and they are silent, but they are a silent tool of tyrants.
Current events have people rightly asking the question, "how do I preserve my savings and buying power," as we look at the possibility of domestic and global financial collapse, recession, inflation, and supply chain issues.
Some are promoting Cryptocurrency as a viable alternative to traditional currency.
I dive into that subject and provide my point of view.
For the past 2 years, humanity the world over has been wrestling with answering the question, "how do we live in the face of sickness and death," when that question has always been present as has the answer.
The fundamental issue with COVID-19, is that it forced humanity to deal with the issue that death is imminent. The response by humanity, and sadly the Christian church at large, has been totally wrong.
We know the answer, but those who know it won't share it.