Out And About (2013/06/18)

Reading

Freedom

Theology

  • A Divine Cordial (All Things For Good), the book by the Puritan Thomas Watson, is now available as a free audiobook on Librivox.

Local Interest (Windsor / Essex County, Ontario)

  • This panorama of the Windsor, Ontario riverfront is simply amazing

The “Chemical Weapons” Card

cwPlain old war activities, it appears, doesn’t rile the masses into supporting foreign adventures anymore. When describing the latest must-intervene situation, political handlers need something “juicier” like “chemical weapons”, “biological weapons” or “nuclear weapons”.

In modern political discourse there is a lot of talk of “chemical weapons”. Most of it is not good. Most of the time, it’s basically a talking point to get people to support intervention. For example, in Syria. The idea is, if you claim that the Syrian government is using chemical weapons (which may or may not be true), then the populace would support providing the rebels arms or intervening in some other way.

This sort of use of the “chemical weapons” card is very problematic.

First of all, there is the question of whether the accusation is even true. In the case of Syria, the United Nations have found that the Syrian government isn’t using chemical weapons, but some of the rebels, which so many Republicans and Democrats (and Al Qaeda) support, are.

Second, even if the party in question is using chemical weapons, the question of whether their opponent is doing the same is often left unanswered.

Third, there are broader questions, such as: Do we oppose use of chemical weapons consistently? What about when they are used for causes we support? Where did they get the chemical weapons from? Was it us? Take Iraq for an example.  During the Bush administrations, much has been made about Saddam’s use of chemical weapons. Much hasn’t been made of, on the other hand, the fact that Reagan’s administration provided chemical weapons to Saddam for use against Iran.

In deciding to arm the Syria rebels based on alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syria government, Obama is continuing in a tradition of American presidents who play this game and pull the chemical weapons card when, clearly, chemical weapons have very little to do with it.

A Classic Example of Americolatry: “[T]here is nothing to replace us”

At a recent Faith And Freedom Coalition Conference, Marco Rubio attempted to justify intervention in Syria.

He said: “If rubioAmerica’s light is extinguished, there is no other light. We are called not to hide our light but to shine it. If we lose the will … there is nothing to replace us…If we’re encouraged to be silent … then who will say it instead of us?…Who will be the salt if we are not the salt?”

I’d like to discuss his statements from my perspective, as a non-American (Canadian) who is also a theologically conservative Christian.

I believe this is a great example of contemporary “Americolatry”. I do want to give Rubio the benefit of the doubt. Certainly he was probably trying to exhibit “rhetorical flourish” more than giving an exacting explication of his views. That said, from what he’s said elsewhere, it’s clear that Rubio stands behind the general thrust of his words. And, of course, this flavor of Americolatry is not unique to Republicans like Rubio, Democrats hold to a modified version of it as well. And, of course, it must be said that all nations have unrealistic and problematic views of their place in the world in one way or another.

Rubio’s comment verges on seeing the U.S. as “Savior of the World”. This ought to be disturbing, especially for Biblical Christians. It is one thing to have an “exceptional” America. Certainly, nobody in their right minds would oppose America being a “city on the hill” of sorts, a good example of liberty shown forth to the rest of the world. However, Rubio is claiming far more than that, namely that America is the only light, the only salt, and irreplaceable.

Statements like Rubio’s inevitably sound arrogant and pompous to many outside of the U.S., but they are also unsound from a theological perspective. From a Christian perspective, Rubio is showing a crucial misunderstanding of history and God’s view of “nations”. And he’s misusing a biblical text, Matthew 5, horribly.

It is also worth question whether, given the complex and controversial nature of the U.S.’s foreign policy activities, “light” is actually the right word for the American presence in the world. At the very least,  American foreign policy is not “unalloyed” goodness. It would be hard to seriously claim that America has always done right and performed justice in their activities.

Leaving that aside for a moment, though, whatever America’s “light” is, it is clear from history (and the Bible) that every nation is replaceable.  Job 12 makes that perfectly clear. And ever since the Tower of Babel, nations has been saying to themselves “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves”.

Large (and seemingly important) nations have risen and fallen throughout history. Being powerful and important in world affairs is one thing, having the attitude that you are irreplaceable is another thing.  Like individuals, nations have the tendency to exalt themselves in their pride and importance. Even tiny nations.  However, all such pride is folly, whether it be placed in an actually powerful nation or a mere “paper tiger”.  Nobody can dispute that America is a powerful and vastly important nation. However, viewing it as the savior of the world is an affront, not only to other nations, but to the God!

Unfortunately, it seems theologically conservative Christians have too easily bought into the “Americolatry” which is pervasive in the thinking of many right-leaning politicians. There is a strong sense of “civic religion” that is so pervasive, it’s surprising it is not etched into church creeds. “America” because a force that is yielded throughout the world in some sort of abstract holy quest to save the world.

The idea, of course, is not to react to “Americolatry” by hating ones country.  Rather, the proper antidote to “Americolatry” or the an over-exalted view of any country is (a) Placeing our hope not in our nation, but in the only one who can give hope (as a Christian I say this is the triune God), (b) humility–knowing that our nation’s place, as exalted as it may appear be, is low before an all-powerful God, (c) love for ones neighbor countries by respecting their independence (d) avoiding the abstractions and justifications that nationalism ultimately relies upon, and (e) focusing on becoming exceptional in behavior and conduct rather than in reputation, force, or control.

Violence in Munster (A History Poem)

Anabaptist warrior
Riding dark clouds in Europe
Pontificating with a matty beard
Crying out “Gottes macht ist myn cracht”
Strength, yes indeed. He looks at himself
and sees a messianic forerunner
Millennial zeal gone weird
Apocalypse about to rain down
and Strasbourg is New Jerusalem
Coroner detects infliction of a rain of terror
In Munster town
A corruption of power
Such a blot on Menno
Radical reformation gone sour.
And then when it all came to naught
to show that no one ought try that again
three cages with the bones of
the two Bernards and one John
hung from the steeple of St. Lambert’s
and only years later the bones were removed
but the cages remain to this time
as a reminder of mad, violent times.

Fernando Perez, Baseball Player / Poet

PerezTBheadshotFernando Perez was selected in the 7th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft. He’s an American of Cuban descent and was one of the six Ivy-league players on MLBA rosters in 2009. He’s played for the Tampa Bay Rays and is currently in the New York Mets minor league system.

Perez is also a bit of a writer. Previously, at Columbia University, he studied creative writing and eventually became the first Major League Baseball player published in Poetry Magazine.  He’s once said: “I write a lot of poetry still, but since playing baseball I’ve started to write personal essays more, I’ve also experimented with fiction. So there’s lot of different stuff I write that makes it out occasionally.”

In another interview, he said “Baseball is this perfectly fertile situation for poetry”.

A Review of “The Hidden Art of Homemaking”

imagesA review of The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer.

It is easy for someone to look at this title and see “Homemaking” and jump to all sorts of conclusions.

This book is an excellent look at the ways you can make your home a warm home through your creativity, whether or not you consider yourself a “homemaker”.

Edith, the wife of the late Francis Schaeffer, who now also has gone on to her reward, provides excellent ideas for creative expressions–even for those who feel they have no proper outlet for their expression. She exhorts people not to wait some future big burst of creativity, but to express it here and now in the little things.

Faith in God and a genuine love for people is the thread that runs through this entire book as Edith talks about flower arrangements, poetry, reading, clothes, hospitality, drama, and many other things. I highly recommend this book to anyone who values creativity, beauty, and a welcoming home.

2013 Reading/Writing Goals Progress

In the beginning of 2013, I made a number of reading/writing goals, 16 in total. I figure it is about time to give a report on my progress.

A. Writing

1. Participate in our family writing project, which plays into one of our family goals. I’m not going to get into the details of it here, but it should be fun and it starts in January!

I’ve been making decent progress on this one, although I’ve fell behind at times. Presently I’m caught up, with a few gaps that I need to fill in if I can.

2. Keep on plugging away at my poetry–refining existing poems and writing new ones as I am able to. I hope to get at least a dozen of my poems in journals or anthologies in 2013.

The rate of my poems being accepted continues to increase. 31 of them have been published so far in 2013! It’s been very encouraging. Soon, I plan to submit to my first poetry contest, one which has a cash prize (and no entry fee)!

3. Try out some new poetic forms (in 2012 it was Tanka).

I’ve been playing around with some new forms recently. Namely two old French forms, the Kyrielle and the Huitain. They’re pretty simple forms and I’m not going to guarantee I’m following them in every detail.  None have been published yet.

4. Work up the nerve to try my hand at a short story (maybe 5,000-10,000 words?).

Nothing on this yet, other than a few experimental paragraphs.

5. Write a few more blog-post essays talking about my childhood experiences.

Nothing on this yet.

6. Spend less time overall on my blog. Slow down a bit and focus on quality over quantity. Feature a proportionally higher percentage of essays and essay-length book reviews.

Not much of a change here yet. I feel like the blog is still mainly small snippet posts, although the post about the Cottam Yard Sale is an exception.

7. Publish a book review somewhere new (other than my blog, Amazon, or GoodReads).

Nothing on this yet.

8. Come up with another idea for a fun interview project (something similar to the “Christians And Literature” feature I did a while back).

Nothing on this yet.

B. Reading

1. Read the 12 books my wife will chose out for me to read in 2013 (one per month–a mutual tradition we started in 2012).

I’ve read five so far. I still need to pick one out for her for this month!

2. Read 5 books I’ve already read (some potential candidates are The Master and Margarita, Augustine’s Confessions, Holy War, Pilgrim’s Progress, Brothers Karamazov, and The Hobbit)

I’ve started re-reading Holy War by Johhn Bunyan.

3. Read two books I’ve been meaning to read for a long time: Augustine’s City of God and Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago

Nothing yet.

4. Read The Lord Of The Rings trilogy

Nothing yet.

5. Read 5 African novels (I’m thinking maybe something by Chinua Achebe or Nuruddin Farah. Does anyone have any other suggestions?)

I’ve completed the Somali novelist Nuruddin Farah’s Crossbones so far, so that’s 1/5. I’ve also begun my second one, In The Country of Men by Libyan novelist Hisham Matar.

6. Read a new poet from 5 different countries besides Canada, U.S., or the U.K. (Does anyone have any suggestions?)

I’ve completed 4 out of 5 so far: Persia (Hafiz and Khayyam), Israel (Aharon Shabtai), Chile (Neruda), and Serbia (The Ballads of Marko Kraljević – some Serbian epic poetry).

7. Read all the books I have loaned out from my church library and return them

No progress on this yet.

8. Read at least two books from every book shelf I have (we have five 7 segment shelves, and one 5 segment shelf)

Not sure where I am on this right now.