The Wisdom of Al Swearengen

The character Al Swearengen from the television series Deadwood once said,

“Every beatin’ I’m grateful for.  Every one of them.  Get all the beat outta you.  And you know what the world is.” (I took the liberty of omitting no less than three f-bombs from this quote.) 

I found myself thinking about Swearengen’s “wisdom” recently because there is some truth to be found here.  I doubt I am the only one out there that entered this world naively trustful and optimistic.   After a few years I got “the beat outta me” and saw “what the world is”; corrupted by sin.  That sin hurts and in the face of that pain trust turns to distrust, optimism to pessimism.  In order to not be disappointed or let down we simply lower our expectations and standards.  I do this all the time.  Swearengen trusts no one and assumes the worst intentions from them until proven otherwise.  His response is understandable, especially in the town of Deadwood.  This response starts off defensive, but eventually we are taking offensive action, as well, contributing to this world’s corruption. 

We end up with Swearengen wisdom when we forge our discernment from the beatings we receive in this world alone.  This is not what the people of God are called to do.  True discernment comes from the Word of God, which reveals the truth about good and evil.  God’s Word reveals that we are called to love our neighbor, which means that we are to assume the best regarding another’s intentions until proven otherwise. There is risk with this.  We might get hurt.  No, let us be honest.  We often will get hurt and that is not Swearengen pessimism, either.  God’s Word warns us of this reality and still calls us to longsuffering.  Longsuffering sounds bad, but here is one word we loath even more; patience.  We can hardly stand to wait in a line at the supermarket.  How much harder is it to patiently endure injury caused by those we love, let alone a stranger?  This kind of patience we are called to, however, is a reflection of the patience God had for us in the moment of our worst sin.  Consider the patience of Christ as he suffered for our sins on the cross.  Yet He did so willingly.  In fact, Christ also could have uttered the same words as Swearengen (without the f-bombs) yet the meaning would be quite different.

“Every beatin’ I’m grateful for.  Every one of them.”  Why?  Because with His stripes we are healed.  “Get all the beat outta [Me].  And [I] know what the world is.”  Why?  Because Christ’s suffering on the cross redeemed a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation to Himself from bondage to sin and death.  The world is fallen and corrupt in sin, yet through the sacrifice and righteous works of Jesus Christ, those that trust in Him alone are empowered by the Holy Spirit to assume the best in others today and a have a sure hope in the life and resurrection to come.

Is Our Universe a Simulation?

One of the popular subsets of the field of space is cosmology, the study of the origin, evolution, and fate of the universe.  Space.com recently posted an article with a rather philosophical view on the topic.

The philosophical atheists in the article wrestle with the concept that our universe might be a simulated reality, created by transcendent, hyper-advanced beings, existing above and beyond our simulation.  They consider five premises to the simulation argument:

(i) Other intelligent civilizations exist

(ii) Their technologies grow exponentially

(iii) They do not all go extinct

(iv) There is no universal ban or barrier for running simulations

(v) Consciousness can be simulated.

If one of the above premises is to be rejected, then it must always be rejected, everywhere, for all time, in all universes, without exception.  That, of course, makes no sense.  The philosophers, therefore, conclude that our universe is very likely a simulation.

Yet, despite all this, the philosophical atheists in this article still refuse to accept that the maker of this “simulation” is God.

If our universe was a simulation created by transcendent, hyper-advanced beings, then who created those beings and the simulation they exist in, and so on?  If we went back far enough we would eventually, out of necessity, run into a supreme Being that is not confined to a simulation, but rather exists in a beginningless state.  That Being would be God.  And why a beginningless state?  Because something cannot come from nothing.  Nihil fit ex nihilo. Nothing comes from nothing.

Dresden Firebombings

On the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, it is worthy to note that it was not the first time that such a terror attack had been committed by Allied Forces in the year 1945. On February 14 of 1945 (ironically Ash Wednesday), Allied Forces firebombed the German city of Dresden, creating a firestorm that killed an estmated 25,000 civilians. The British Prime Minister at the time, Winston Churchill, was so appalled by the event that he had this to say:

"It seems to me that the moment has come when the question of bombing of German cities simply for the sake of increasing the terror, though under other pretexts, should be reviewed. The destruction of Dresden remains a serious query against the conduct of Allied bombing. The Foreign Secretary has spoken to me on this subject, and I feel the need for more precise concentration upon military objectives such as oil and communications behind the immediate battle-zone, rather than on mere acts of terror and wanton destruction, however impressive."

WWII was a dark time for all parties involved. May we never hide from the horror of war that we may seek the way of peace even just a minute longer when we are called to the test.

I Spoke On Behalf of the President of the United States

No, the above title is not hyperbole, but perhaps requires an explanation.  I recently narrated a military retirement ceremony during which the retiree received a letter from the President of the United States, Mr. Barack Obama.  As narrator, I had the honor and privilege to read the letter to the recipient aloud before the audience.  As I read, I found myself focused on the pronouns, “I” and “you” and became imminently aware that I was, in fact, speaking for the President, using his words, to convey his personal gratitude toward the retiree.  Pretty cool, you may think?  It made me sweat.  I realized I was specifically authorized at that moment to be a messenger for the most powerful man in the country, for the most powerful country in the world. 

Now, in hindsight, perhaps I had put too much thought into the occasion.  My reaction nevertheless occurred and it had a lasting effect on me the rest of the day.   I also realized I felt a bit of guilt.  Why?  I wondered how it could be that I did not feel the same way when I read the Word of God aloud before others.  The letter I read at the retirement ceremony will decay and fall to pieces as it ages, was written by a mortal man that will one day return to the dust, and represented a nation that will also one day go the way of all the other ancient civilizations in the manner of ruins and artifacts.  If I am moved by being a messenger for such temporal things, how much more should I feel reverence and awe when I read aloud before others the very words of the Creator who made the heavens and the Earth?  May we all read God's Word with the seriousness and weight it deserves.