It's finally (almost) here!

On Tuesday my entire family (mom and dad, 3 brothers & one sister-in-law, my wife and I, a nephew, and a foster brother) will be together for the first time since New Year's. The ten of us are staying in a cabin in the Colorado mountains for 5 nights. I have been looking forward to this get-together for MONTHS. I love my family, and it kills me when I can't be around them. Elizabeth and I are working overtime today and tomorrow to get ahead on our homework for later this week so that we don't have to spend all of our "family time" on class work.

In short, today and tomorrow might not be that fun... but Tuesday thru Sunday will probably be the best week of my year so far.

A very good election-themed article

Here are two articles, one by a white guy and one by a black girl, saying things that a lot of people are too politically correct to point out -- that just as there are those racists who will NOT vote for Obama just because he's black, there are also those racists who WILL vote for Obama just because he's black. These two Christians write of an election that's more important than race.

Enjoy.

bloggin'

It's been a bloggy-kind of night for my wife and I. We took an accidental nap for quite a long time this afternoon, and then I drank three cups of coffee while watching a movie this evening, which is probably why this is my third post in the last half hour.

Anywho.

My dear wife

I have a pretty special wife. I love hanging out with her. Last night we went out with a plan to stop at three different places. They included: Wal-Mart (for a few groceries), Sam's Club (to take advantage of their $10 for 10 weeks membership -- it's a trial run for us to see if we'd benefit from a year membership), and Kohl's (to look for and pick up some much needed clothing items and shoes for Elizabeth). Instead we stopped at 5 different places and tried to stop at a 6th but it was closed. The two we added was Whole Foods (a huge-mongous grocery store that we'd never been in before) and a different Wal-Mart (because we remembered a couple of things that we'd forgotten at the first Wal-Mart). The 6th stop that we attempted was Savers (a second-hand store -- we're looking for a couch that's not broken).

Through it all Elizabeth was an absolute delight, which may not sound especially amazing to you, but she has been dealing with some weird sickness for a few weeks now and yesterday she started a special diet that actually makes you feel worse before it makes you feel better. She's quite a trooper, and I'm glad she's the one I get to spend most of my time with.

Last night after we got home, we found out that the mother of one of Elizabeth's mentors had passed away. It was one of those things that was pretty heartbreaking because we knew the woman from church and Sunday school classes. She was an extremely pleasant woman with a lovely southern accent. It's obviously a bummer of a situation, but it made me fall in love with my wife even more, because in situations like these her huge heart for other people just pours out of her. She hates it any time one of God's creatures suffers, and she can't hide her care for them. I love her so much.

Politics and stuff

Today the blogs I frequent were full of good stuff. Below are some links and descriptions of some of the better entries and articles I found. Below that are some of my own rants and raves about those topics.

Here is an article by Princeton professor Robert George called Obama's Abortion Extremism, detailing the extent to which Obama supports abortion. He refers to Obama not as pro-choice, but as pro-abortion, because he seems to oppose anything that would even attempt to curb the number of abortions in this country. It's a little scary.

Here is a blog post by Justin Taylor which summarizes George's article and is very interesting.

Here is a blog post by Dr. Ben Witherington III on pacifism. Dr. Witherington, whom I respect immensely, is a pacifist, and I really loved reading about his position.

A post from Denver Seminary Philosophy of Religion professor Dr. Doug Groothuis that was written back in March. It's about what he calls "fetus fatigue," or evangelical Christians who are sick of abortion being the only issue other Christians care about.

Another Justin Taylor post that picks up on the "fetus fatigue" idea and has some ideas from Al Mohler on the same topic.

Regarding Dr. Witherington's post on pacifism. I completely respect his position, and I don't strongly disagree with very much of what he's written. However, his main argument seems to be that Christians should not act violently against those who act violently toward them. If I'm being beaten I should still take it and be kind to my enemies. I actually don't have much of a problem with that. Witherington, though, doesn't address what we're supposed to do when violence is taking place against others. If I see a woman getting raped or beaten across the street, am I really supposed to let it happen because I'm a Christian? Or when rebels in Africa invade a village and torture all of its inhabitants before killing them, should we stand by and let it happen because we're Christians? Or when a German with a funny mustache is systematically exterminating millions of humans, should we allow it to go on because we're Christians? This is where I don't understand the extent of pacifism. I think even pacifists would probably say that we should intervene in those situations. Does it just mean that we don't kill the perpetrators but instead put them behind bars?

Regarding Obama on abortion. I've been bombarded by pro-lifers pointing out his terrible views on the issue, but today's blog post and article linked above pointed out even more to me. Obama did not support a Democrat-sponsored bill referred to as 95-10 legislation, that would seek to reduce the number of abortions in America 95% over the next 10 years by strengthening the social safety net for poor women. This bill would in no way make abortion illegal, it would simply make it rarer. I could respect a Democrat who believes abortion should be legal but acknowledges that it's tragic and undesirable, and who seeks to make abortion rare. This, however, seems to illustrate the fact that Obama does not want fewer abortions. It's like he wants more of them. Like it would be better for a poor woman to get pregnant and have an abortion than it would for her not to get pregnant at all. Utterly ridiculous.

And regarding the "fetus fatigue" stuff. I understand that Christians shouldn't care about only one issue. We should be committed to peace and to feeding the hungry and being kind to our environment and other very important things. However, as Al Mohler says in the last Justin Taylor post (linked above), "Our vote will determine whether millions of unborn babies live or die. The Freedom of Choice Act [which Obama plans to pass as president], if passed, would lead directly to a radical increase in the numbers of abortions. The abortion industry has told us that themselves. The question comes down to this: How many lives are we willing to forfeit -- to write off as expendable -- in order to 'move on' to other issues of concern? There is no way to avoid that question and remain morally serious."

Good speakers

I just realized that my two most recent posts were both titled "the weekend." Woops.

Over the last four days I've had the wonderful opportunity to listen to three special speakers talk about important issues facing Christians today. On Saturday I heard D.A. Carson talk about suffering. Monday Dr. Ron Sider (founder of Evangelicals for Social Action) spoke in chapel, giving a talk on thinking biblically about politics. Today's chapel speaker was Dr. Darrell Bock, a New Testament professor from Dallas Seminary, who spoke about Christians' engagement with culture and responses to culture's accusations against Christ and his followers.

It's been a good few days, except Elizabeth hasn't been feeling well.

the Weekend

Elizabeth and I spent Friday and Saturday driving to and from Omaha, with a few hours in the middle to spend with Joel and Jase, and to hear Dr. D.A. Carson speak about suffering. It was really a fantastic trip. It cost us less than a trip like that should cost, the fellowship with my brothers was fantastic, and Dr. Carson's talks were intellectually stimulating, theologically challenging, and practically helpful.

By the end of the drive home, we were both totally pooped and I think I slept better last night than I ever have since getting married (the last hour of driving in the dark in the eastern Colorado desert was NOT fun).

Today I did homework and watched football. The "watched football" part can pretty much go without saying for the next few months when I'm describing Sunday afternoons... but I thought I'd let you know.

the weekend

It feels like it's been a really long week. Here, however, is why I'm really excited: I have a two-hour class this afternoon and then I'm done for the weekend. Tonight Elizabeth and I have to do some minor apartment cleaning (like washing the dishes) and then pack up our bags for a trip to OMAHA tomorrow. We're going to get to see Joel and Jase and hang out for an evening, then go to a conference with D.A. Carson on suffering on Saturday, and then drive all the way home... and watch the Cowboys play on Sunday. It sounds like a fantastic 3-day weekend. The tough part is that my 8 a.m. Monday class takes 10 hours to prepare for, so Sunday might not be that fun after all (unless Dallas wins).

Anywho...