Be a Hero, Write a Hero

My dear friend, Daniel Pike, has invasive squamous cell carcinoma.  This Wednesday, November 19^th, he will have over half his tongue removed, which will be followed by radiation and chemo treatment.  As a husband and father of three children, Daniel is the family’s primary source of income, yet his recovery will take him out of work for several months.

My plan is to raise money to help mitigate a portion of the financial burden the Pike’s will incur.  I will be the editor of an anthology of short stories contributed by anyone interested.  The final product will be free, but donations would be accepted and all profits would go to the Pike family.

Daniel is a huge science fiction, fantasy, and comic book fan.  The short stories should be in one of these genres, though much leeway will be given.  The overarching theme of the stories should be about the celebration of life, imagination, and hope.  There are no age requirements for contributors, yet I ask that there be no R rated content.  All contributors will retain intellectual rights to their stories (more than one submission is fine).  I ask that all stories be submitted to me by March 1^st, 2015.  I aim to have the final product out by June 1^st, 2015.  Please send submissions to kevinandallison@gmail.com. 

If you are not interested in this collaborative effort, please still consider donating now at the Pike’s personal fundraising site.

Wading Through the Misinformation

Imagine its three months ago, one month before my daughter Melody was born, and my wife was hit by a drunk driver, resulting in Melody's death. Under current Colorado law, the drunk driver would avoid prosecution because Melody would not have been recognized as a person. Fortunately, this did not happen to us, but it has happened to others.

Amendment 67 would change that.  The ballot question states:

"Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution protecting pregnant women and unborn children by defining "person" and "child" in the Colorado criminal code and the Colorado wrongful death act to include unborn human beings?"

If passed, Article XVIII, Section 17 of the Colorado constitution would then include:

"In the interest of the protection of pregnant mothers and their unborn children from criminal offenses and neglect and wrongful acts, the words "person" and "child" in the Colorado Criminal Code and the Colorado Wrongful Death Act must include unborn human beings."

Some have erroneously made Amendment 67 into an abortion issue.  Some may find it difficult to wade through all the fear-mongering muck of misinformation out there.  They could, however, just try reading the ballot question and the legislation it will actually effect.  

Amendment 67 is about holding those accountable that commit "criminal offenses" which result in the death of unborn children. Drunk driving is a criminal offense, abortion is not. We need to hold criminals accountable.  Of course, those that vote "No" on Amendment 67 would disagree.

Valuing Life in the Face of Death

Our culture has a problem facing death.  This is seen in everything from the death penalty, abortion, foreign policy, to the acceptance of suicide.  While this list may seem like we have embraced death well, we have not.  There is one thing in common between the way we put our guilty to death, murder our unborn, kill foreigners, and praise suicide; they all place the horrible reality of death out of sight.  We want our nation’s guilty to be sentenced to death, but we do not want to watch it happen.  We are fine with encouraging others to kill their babies, but would certainly never want to watch that happen, either.  We are fine with our nation being engaged in a perpetual state of war, as long as the atrocities are committed far from our own homes.  We do not want to be faced with the discomfort of watching a loved one slowly die before our eyes.  We would rather the sick be removed from our sight, now. 

Death is repugnant.  Death is profane.  To some extent I think we grasp this or we would not avoid it so.  On the occasion that we are forced to face the grotesque reality of death, we try to change our perception of it in our minds.  When someone commits suicide, we call it “brave.”  When someone commits suicide in the face of a terminal illness, we call it “dignified.”  Never believe that suicide is “dignified.”  Never let anyone tell you that suicide is “brave.”  Those are lies.  There is nothing dignified about death.  Death is a heinous molestation of that which was once bright and beautiful.  While there may be bravery in death, as is seen when one lays down their life for another, there is nothing brave about self-murder.  I have seen close friends and family die from both agonizing illness and from suicide.  The former was brave, the latter was not, yet neither was dignified.  

As uncomfortable as it may be, facing death helps us value life and see that this value is intrinsic.  Life’s value is independent of our perception of one’s usefulness.  Life’s value is independent of our ever fluctuating standard of what is deemed as “quality of life.” 

  

Free Will, The Fall and The Holy Spirit

“Why do some desire God while others do not?”  

Such questions inevitably bring up terms like, “Free Will,” which should only, if at all, be used in carefully explained situations.  Free Will here is defined as making choices according to one’s own desire.1  The nature of mankind, however, is marred by The Fall2, making us unable to desire God.3  Our inclination towards evil and self-destruction does not free us from such a responsibility, however.  In this state, we freely choose to flee from God.  In this state, Free Will is a curse, which continues until the Holy Spirit performs a work of regeneration in us, renewing our desire such that we can freely run to, rather than away from God.4 As such, the glory of a sinner repenting and trusting in Christ alone for their salvation belongs to God alone.5

Despite this, we who now have renewed wills capable of desiring God are still capable of sinning, as corruption from The Fall remains within us.  This remaining corruption can make us unnecessarily miserable and depressed.6 We overcome this corruption over time as we rely on the strength of the Holy Spirit.7 This same Spirit also ensures that we persevere in our desire for God to the end.8 

1. R.C. Sproul, Essential Truths of the Christian Faith, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1992), 179.

2. Gen. 3:6-8; Rom. 3:23; Gen. 2:27; Eph. 2:1-3; Rom. 5:12; Gen. 6:5; Jer. 17:9; Titus 1:15; Rom. 3:10-19; 1 Cor. 15:21-22, 49; Ps. 51:5; John 3:6; Rom. 7:18; Rom. 8:7;

3. Rom. 8:7-8; John 6:44, 65; John 15:5; Rom. 5:5.   

4. Acts 26:18; 1 Cor. 2:10, 12; Eph. 1:17-18; 2 Cor. 4:6; Ezek. 36:26; John 6:44-45; Acts 16:14; Ps. 110:3; John 6:37; Matt. 11:28; Rev. 22:17; Rom. 6:16-18; Eph. 2:8; Phil. 1:29.

5. Titus 1:1; Heb. 10:39.

6. Gal. 5:17; Rom. 7:14-15; 1 John 1:8-10.

7. 2 Pet. 3:18; 2 Cor. 3:18.

8. Phil. 1:6; 2 Pet. 1:10; Rom. 8:28-30; John 10:28-29; 1 John 3:9; 1 John 5:18; 1 Pet. 1:5, 9.

Christian Zionism and American Foreign Policy

Never fails. War starts up between the states of Israel and Palestine and American Christian Zionism rears its ugly head.  Why?  While Christian Zionists believe that Christ’s covenant was a fulfillment of the Mosaic covenant, i.e. dealing with salvation, they do not believe that Christ’s covenant was a fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant, i.e. dealing with Abraham’s offspring and land.  Christian Zionists, however, miss the Apostle Paul’s point in Galatians 3 that the offspring (singular) and the land (God’s Kingdom) are realized in Christ.  Christ is the offspring.  Those that belong to Christ are also Abraham’s offspring (Gal 3:28-29).  Abraham’s children are spiritual, not ethnic.  Furthermore, this “land,” God’s Kingdom, is not dependent upon where lines are drawn on a map in the Middle East.  Rather, the Kingdom of God is found in Christ.

Does this mean that I do not support the contemporary state of Israel?  Certainly not.  I support Israel’s right to defend itself just as much as I support any nation’s right to, including Palestine.  It is a complicated situation and I do not have any easy answers for that region.  If Christian Zionists, however, are going to allow their interpretation of Scripture to affect their foreign policy, I would ask that they re-read the New Testament and consider how Christ’s covenant affected the Old Testament covenants.

Encouragement for This Season's Mover

Having a military career means lots of moving.  In the last fifteen years I have moved my family no less than nine times; an average of once every 20 months.  Military members also often help each other move.  Over an entire career, that is a lot of moves I have participated in.  Over time, our nomadic lifestyle has disciplined us into developing adaptive and persevering natures.  We grow not only accustomed to change but over time thrive and even yearn for it.  

I realized recently that my “adaptive and persevering” nature has developed a thorn.  I have become condescending towards those that rarely move and therefore buckle under the pressure of doing so.  However, in a moment of my significant lack of sympathy in my neighbor’s struggle, I was hit with an epiphany; moving is not normal.  Consider the first move of Man.  Adam and Eve lived in the paradise of Eden until they sinned and were promptly evicted from the premises (Gen 3:23-24).  Every time we move it is a reminder of original sin and the resulting alienation between Man and God.  Even in the best of situations, when we choose to move rather than be evicted, we are merely seeking something better than we have, ultimately searching for that which can only be satisfied when we finally arrive in God’s Heavenly Kingdom.  We drag our families around in pursuit of that better job, prestigious school district, bigger house, etc.  There is nothing wrong with any of these, yet our never ending hunger for such things is really an ancient echo of our eviction from Eden and our longing to return.

Moving will continue to be a part of life this side of glory.  Being adaptive and persevering through change are sound traits.  However, one should never become so callous to moving that they look down on those that rightly struggle.  Do you trust in the righteous works of Jesus alone for your salvation?  If so, you can go through the process of moving with the peace of mind that at least your move into the Kingdom God has already been accomplished.  

Here's to Complicating Your 4th

Every 4^th of July I have mixed feelings. There are, of course, the patriotic emotions that are hard to avoid when one is surrounded by loved ones under a firework filled night sky. Why the mixed feelings? As my wife often points out, I am a rule follower. I am most comfortable when I obey the established authority. As a child I obeyed my parents. As a Christian I obey God. As a citizen I obey my government. In this context I realize that I would most likely have been a Loyalist during the time of the American Revolution. I cannot see myself taking up arms against my country, in that case England, and my King. 

I sympathize greatly with the often misunderstood "traitor," Benedict Arnold. He first fought beside his countrymen (English & American colonists) in 1755 against the tyranny of France and their terrorizing Indian tactics during the French and Indian War. Later, believing in the American struggle against British oppression, Arnold took up arms against his country and became the most brilliant soldier of the Continental Army, most notably at the Battle of Saratoga, at which his right leg was desperately wounded. His private correspondence displayed both a spirit of rebellion against tyranny and a desire to see America eventually rekindle her communion with England.  However, Arnold was beside himself upon learning of the Franco/American alliance of 1778, an unthinkable treason to any British-American. Arnold changed sides and once again fought for his King.  Having traded his blue coat for a red one, Arnold later asked a captured Continental officer what the Americans would do if they captured him.  The officer replied, “Cut off your right leg, bury it with full military honors, and then hang the rest of you on a gibbet.”

I do not live during the American Revolutionary era, however. The American colonists won and I live on this side of history. I have since attempted to take up and participate in this experiment of liberty and the spirit of rebellion against tyranny. The mixed feelings continue, however, and will likely endure for some time.