Not I

Death of Apologetics

Renjie Abraham — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 14:55:40 +0000

a·pol·o·get·ics
1) systematic argumentative discourse in defense (as of a doctrine)
2) a branch of theology devoted to the defense of the divine origin and authority of Christianity

After coming to sincere belief in Christ in 1998, I delved into Christian apologetics to find a rational foundation for my belief. I hoped that I would find arguments to help explain to others why it was reasonable for me to hold such beliefs. The funny thing about it all was that I never needed an argument to believe in the first place. It was all about religious experience, plain and simple. While a survey of different religions, philosophies, and worldviews helped me to see that Christian belief was not irrational relative to other positions, it also helped me to see that sincere Christian belief is transrational. Reason alone does not lead to Christ.

I’m fine with discussion on Christ but I take issue with apologetics on its nuance of defense. My problem is the implication of (1) Christ needing defense, (2) Christians needing defense, or that (3) Christ can be deduced from argument. First, God needs no defense. Second, Christians have no need to be defensive. Third, a deducible God is only an idea of God, not a person. God, as Christians know him, is a person who makes himself known in mysterious ways. Apologetics unintentionally implies that God as an idea is sufficient for sincere belief and is therefore misleading. God as a person needs no apology.

Thoughts and Feelings

Renjie Abraham — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 20:56:52 +0000

A few years ago, I read a book by Anthony de Mello called Awareness. Since it was transcribed from seminar talks and wholly other than anything else I’ve ever read, I looked him up on YouTube to get a feel for what this guy looked and sounded like. I wasn’t disappointed. His series called Rediscovering Life was amazing. I started watching them again and realized how much psychological training permeated his ideas. While acknowledging that life is painfully emotional (e.g. depressing), he argues that what we think about life is what real happiness is all about. If our beliefs about life are false, we will be unhappy. If they are true, it’s impossible to be unhappy. Yes, he said that. Check him out and let me know what you think.

Genesis 2:19 and Science

Renjie Abraham — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:53:38 +0000

For one of my counseling classes, I’m writing a paper on the integration of psychology and theology. Since there’s a lot of opposition to modern psychological science in some Christian circles, it would seem as though the Bible would warn against social scientific methods. Genesis 2:19 seems to imply the opposite:

“Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.” (ESV)

God encourages humanity to observe life and classify it. Physical properties are only one way to describe differences between or within species. Cognitions, emotions, and behavior can also be described, classified, and predicted to help differentiate species and subtypes. Taken together, the physical and social sciences help us understand the world and each other.

However, I searched for Genesis 2:19 but didn’t come up with anything related to science. So, am I reading too much into that verse or is it fair to extrapolate that God wants us to observe and classify both physical and psychological phenomena?

Movie Review: Tapped

Renjie Abraham — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 06:16:16 +0000

Not exactly a review. Just felt compelled to pass on some things from Tapped, a documentary about bottled water.

Bottled water is (generally) not safer than tap water.
And 1900 times more expensive than tap water.
Plastic bottles leach carcinogens into the water.
Most of these same bottles go unrecycled and pollute the land and water.
Nestle, Coke, and Pepsi overextract water from their sources, even in times of drought.
Their sources are often public. Yes, tap water.
Plastic bottles require a ridiculous amount of oil to produce them.

So…

Stop drinking bottled water.
Get a water filter.
Avoid plastic. Get a stainless steel bottle, like an insulated Klean Kanteen (works great for hot coffee or cold water).
Stream the documentary on Netflix.
Recycle.
Support bottle bills for your state.
Spread the word.

Teenage Smoking

Renjie Abraham — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 06:58:34 +0000

But they weren’t cool because they smoked. They smoked because they were cool. The very same character traits of rebelliousness and impulsivity and risk taking and indifference to the opinion of others and precocity that made them so compelling to their adolescent peers also make it almost inevitable that they would also be drawn to the ultimate expression of adolescent rebellion, risk taking, impulsivity, indifference to others, and precocity: the cigarette.

Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

The Rule of 150

Renjie Abraham — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:57:35 +0000

…we have to keep groups below the 150 Tipping Point. Above that point, there begin to be structural impediments to the ability of the group to agree and act with one voice. If we want to, say, develop schools in disadvantaged communities that can successfully counteract the poisonous atmosphere of their surrounding neighborhoods, this tells us that we’re probably better off building lots of little schools than one or two big ones. The Rule of 150 says that congregants of a rapidly expanding church, or the members of a social club, or anyone in a group activity banking on the epidemic spread of shared ideals needs to be particularly cognizant of the perils of bigness.

Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Death of Voicemail

Renjie Abraham — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 05:21:56 +0000

On the recommendation of a friend who said my voicemail greeting was rather dreary and the nuisance of three straight days of a collector leaving messages for someone else because of not mentioning my name in said greeting, I rerecorded it. While inserting a modicum of cheer and a basic introduction, I took the opportunity to also omit something, namely the invitation to leave a message. Though not discouraging anyone from leaving one, I instead encouraged the sending of a text message. Why? A typical voicemail takes much longer to access and listen to than an equivalent text message takes to read. Sure, I admit that I like the sound and inflection of a person’s voice, but that can wait for an actual conversation, not a message.