Over at my Access To Destiny blog you will find the latest installment of the Argentinian Urban Survival series. Also, you can click on a link to the blog of the author, where you will find many more post-collapse survival experiences and recommendations.
Post-Collapse Survival, 6b
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Somewhere Between Jesus & John Wayne, 2
Continued from "Somewhere between Jesus and John Wayne"
This post is a polemic -- an engagement in spiritual warfare that addresses a much-neglected issue in the Church.
Over 30 yrs ago, I worked for an independent Baptist pastor who wanted to start a school. I was the principal. One day, I approached him with a problem.
During recess, the boys liked to play baseball, and daily there were heated arguments over whether someone had touched base or not, whether a certain pitch was a strike, etc. The arguments had not consummated in physical blows, but it was only a matter of time.
The school was understaffed, and my duties kept me from supervising the games, although I could observe and hear through the window. To compound the problem, the pastor's 12-yr-old son was invariably one of the participants in these arguments.
It did not help that the pastor was an insufferable narcissist. He told me that I was to let the arguing continue, because he did not want his son to grow up to be a wimp.
I have recounted this story because I believe, to some degree or other, it expresses the view of many Christian men. They want enough of Christ to get them to heaven, but in other facets of their life, they want to be like John Wayne.
This, of course, comes -- at least in part -- from the liberal picture of Jesus as the effete, if not effeminate, Holy Victim. Mainstream churches have swallowed and perpetuated this distorted view of Christ's passion. Large parts of Evangelicaldom have followed suit.
In the early Church, however, Jesus was not seen as the Holy Victim, but as the Victorious King. Christians saw the cross as a tactical move leading to ultimate victory rather than as a defeat.
I think, perhaps, one of the clearest literary presentations of this fact is the death and resurrection of Aslan in C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It shows that the forces of wickedness fell into a great and wise trap baited by the King, Himself.
The false view of Jesus leaves the modern Christian man between the devil and the deep blue. On the one hand, from boyhood he has heard the stories of Joshua, David, and the Mighty Men (including Benaiah), and these stories stir him.
On the other hand, his pastors and teachers tell him that these men and their deeds are from the OLD Testament. They tell him that he must follow the NEW Testament and strive to be like Jesus, whom they depict as the Holy Victim.
You may think that such pastors and teachers are your friends. But with friends like that, who needs enemas?
We have here a false view of Scripture as well as a false view of Jesus. As Gary North has pointed out, the Old Testament is not God's Word emeritus.
But those boys and men indoctrinated by these false teachings find themselves on the horns of a dilemma. Do they follow the false Christ of the false teaching and deny the manhood with which God has gifted them and to which He calls them? Or do they affirm their manhood and then look for an appropriate role model outside of Christianity altogether?
Sadly, too many try to take the middle ground and end up "somewhere between Jesus and John Wayne." Jesus, the true paradigm of manhood, has a sad message for those who deliberately choose the middle ground.
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
To be continued . . .
This post is a polemic -- an engagement in spiritual warfare that addresses a much-neglected issue in the Church.
Over 30 yrs ago, I worked for an independent Baptist pastor who wanted to start a school. I was the principal. One day, I approached him with a problem.
During recess, the boys liked to play baseball, and daily there were heated arguments over whether someone had touched base or not, whether a certain pitch was a strike, etc. The arguments had not consummated in physical blows, but it was only a matter of time.
The school was understaffed, and my duties kept me from supervising the games, although I could observe and hear through the window. To compound the problem, the pastor's 12-yr-old son was invariably one of the participants in these arguments.
It did not help that the pastor was an insufferable narcissist. He told me that I was to let the arguing continue, because he did not want his son to grow up to be a wimp.
I have recounted this story because I believe, to some degree or other, it expresses the view of many Christian men. They want enough of Christ to get them to heaven, but in other facets of their life, they want to be like John Wayne.
This, of course, comes -- at least in part -- from the liberal picture of Jesus as the effete, if not effeminate, Holy Victim. Mainstream churches have swallowed and perpetuated this distorted view of Christ's passion. Large parts of Evangelicaldom have followed suit.
In the early Church, however, Jesus was not seen as the Holy Victim, but as the Victorious King. Christians saw the cross as a tactical move leading to ultimate victory rather than as a defeat.
I think, perhaps, one of the clearest literary presentations of this fact is the death and resurrection of Aslan in C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It shows that the forces of wickedness fell into a great and wise trap baited by the King, Himself.
The false view of Jesus leaves the modern Christian man between the devil and the deep blue. On the one hand, from boyhood he has heard the stories of Joshua, David, and the Mighty Men (including Benaiah), and these stories stir him.
On the other hand, his pastors and teachers tell him that these men and their deeds are from the OLD Testament. They tell him that he must follow the NEW Testament and strive to be like Jesus, whom they depict as the Holy Victim.
You may think that such pastors and teachers are your friends. But with friends like that, who needs enemas?
We have here a false view of Scripture as well as a false view of Jesus. As Gary North has pointed out, the Old Testament is not God's Word emeritus.
But those boys and men indoctrinated by these false teachings find themselves on the horns of a dilemma. Do they follow the false Christ of the false teaching and deny the manhood with which God has gifted them and to which He calls them? Or do they affirm their manhood and then look for an appropriate role model outside of Christianity altogether?
Sadly, too many try to take the middle ground and end up "somewhere between Jesus and John Wayne." Jesus, the true paradigm of manhood, has a sad message for those who deliberately choose the middle ground.
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
(Rev 3:15-16)
To be continued . . .
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Post-Collapse Survival, 6a
I have located Part 6 of the "Urban Survival" series by an Argentinian who lived through the 2001 crash & its aftermath in that country. It seems somewhat longer than even the other installements, so I am breaking it into two parts (a&b). You may read it over at my Access To Destiny blog:
"Post-Collapse Survival, 6a"
Also, for those of you who suffer from presbyopia*, I have enlarged the print in the previous installments.
*Presbyopia, noun, 1) a condition common to the elderly which makes it difficult to focus the eyes; 2) the ability to see clearly the doctrines of grace.
"Post-Collapse Survival, 6a"
Also, for those of you who suffer from presbyopia*, I have enlarged the print in the previous installments.
*Presbyopia, noun, 1) a condition common to the elderly which makes it difficult to focus the eyes; 2) the ability to see clearly the doctrines of grace.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Somewhere Between Jesus & John Wayne
I am providing the following music video (thanks to my barber) for your thought and analysis. I really would like to see some responses in the comments section, because I think this song describes some of the inner struggles of the typical American Christian male.
The song is about sanctification -- a process that's never finished in this life. I also see it as an indictment of the false concepts about Jesus and manhood foisted upon us by pietistic Christians. Anti-christian media are more than happy to reinforce these misconceptions.
A [male] Christian Martialist should be clear on who Jesus is, on his manhood, and on how those two things relate.
What are your thoughts?
The song is about sanctification -- a process that's never finished in this life. I also see it as an indictment of the false concepts about Jesus and manhood foisted upon us by pietistic Christians. Anti-christian media are more than happy to reinforce these misconceptions.
A [male] Christian Martialist should be clear on who Jesus is, on his manhood, and on how those two things relate.
What are your thoughts?
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Post-Collapse Survival, "8" (Q&A)
Continued from "Post-Collapse Survival '7'"
I have been finding a lot of food for thought in this series. I am particularly interested in the fact that, even in a time of social unrest, most attacks are up close (handgun rather than rifle range). That's good tactical info. I'd like to know what you think about the series.
Here's the link to the latest installment over at Access To Destiny:
Post-Collapse Survival, "8" (Q&A)
I have been finding a lot of food for thought in this series. I am particularly interested in the fact that, even in a time of social unrest, most attacks are up close (handgun rather than rifle range). That's good tactical info. I'd like to know what you think about the series.
Here's the link to the latest installment over at Access To Destiny:
Post-Collapse Survival, "8" (Q&A)
Monday, March 2, 2009
AK-47
My barber sent me this some time ago because in my self defense articles I often refer to predatory dirtballs as orcs.
You can mentally replace the AK-47 with the "wizard's staff" of your choice.
.
You can mentally replace the AK-47 with the "wizard's staff" of your choice.
.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Psalm 149:6 -- A Meditation
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth and a two edged sword in their hand. (Psalm 149:6)
Praise and power go ever hand in hand. The two things act and react upon each other. An era of spiritual force in the Church is always one of praise; and when there comes some grand outburst of sacred song, we may expect that the people of God are entering upon some new crusade for Christ. Cromwell's Ironsides were sneeringly called Psalm singers; but God's Psalm singers are always Ironsides.
—William Taylor, in "The Study," 1873 (as quoted by C. H. Spurgeon in The Treasury of David)
Thanks to my wife Laura for bringing this to my attention.
Praise and power go ever hand in hand. The two things act and react upon each other. An era of spiritual force in the Church is always one of praise; and when there comes some grand outburst of sacred song, we may expect that the people of God are entering upon some new crusade for Christ. Cromwell's Ironsides were sneeringly called Psalm singers; but God's Psalm singers are always Ironsides.
—William Taylor, in "The Study," 1873 (as quoted by C. H. Spurgeon in The Treasury of David)
Thanks to my wife Laura for bringing this to my attention.
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