Advice

 Seek to know rather than be known

    and to sow rather than be sown.

For wither thou goest or yet remain

    wisdom and action form greater refrain

    than all the fortune regardless your fame.

To Jairus

If I could still the storms for thee
I would do so, lovingly
Whisper peak and trough to soothe
Calm the crest and ripples smooth
No wave nor tide would e’er there be
If I could still the storms for thee
But oh what lessons you will have lost
If I esteem too high the cost
In the billows of wind and rain
You’ll learn of sorrow, joy, and pain
Should I remove tumult from sea
If I could still the storms for thee?

No, if I could still the storms for thee
I would not do so, lovingly.

Aún Lejos, Cerca Estás

Cuando ando lejos de ti

Tú te quedas cerca de mí

Rechazando tu amor

              Yo busco mis placeres

Vuelvo a las mismas mentiras

              Que me engañan una vez más

Vendo mi integridad

        Y se ríen de mí, los alrededores

Me apedrean, me escupen

Se burlan y se chisman de mí

¿Cómo me he alejado tanto de ti?

¿Por qué me desvié de tu vista?

Me arrepiento por fin

Y empiezo el largo regreso

Pero me sorprendes que de repente

Estás ahora a mi lado

Cuidándome y limpiándome

Y de nuevo me acuerdo que

              Tú te quedas cerca de mi

Cuando ando lejos de ti

Location, location, location

Location, location, location
The most critical three
Factors for your home and care.
Now location is and will always be
Here, there, and where.

Origins, origins, origins
The start of all life’s travels
And the root of all significance.
Our origins unfold and the story unravels
Hence, thence, and whence.

Purpose, purpose, purpose
Everyone always asks why
Life has become like never before.
With purpose investigators, willing to spy
Herefore, therefore, wherefore.

Destination, destination, destination
Seeking adventure or lights and sites,
So many people continue to dither.
But destination bound to ever higher heights
Hither, thither, and whither. 

Consequence, consequence, consequence
Because two and two are four,
And mundane life lacks pizzazz.
Find consequence in an open door
Hereas, thereas, and whereas.

Experience, experience, experience
History’s greatest teacher;
Her lessons can be harsh or full of love.
The experience is often a double feature
Hereof, thereof, and whereof.

Fulfillment, fulfillment, fulfillment
The longing heart desires a friend,
Success, and peace of mind too.
But fulfillment to what end?
Hereto, thereto, and whereto.

Not All Those Who Wonder…

JRR Tolkien’s poetic prophecy that Aragorn would return to be king in his famous Lord of the Rings trilogy included a line that has become a song and perhaps a motto for some, “Not all those who wander are lost.” Abraham and John the Baptist may have lived by this motto as they spent time wandering in the wildernesses of their lives under God’s direction. 

But our title concerns not wandering but wondering. The Psalmist spent time pondering and wondering over the marvelous universe God created (Psalm 19) and his natural body and the depths of God’s knowledge (Psalm 139). This type of wondering is akin to the word, marvel. The Psalmist was awe-struck by God’s majesty. There is another meaning of the word wonder, which is the subject of this post. To question or wonder how or why something is as it appears. 

Many times, this definition of wonder springs from the previous definition. Consider the magician’s illusion or card trick that caused you to marvel in amazement at first sight. Did you not question how the trick was preformed? In your wonder, you wondered how. In the case of the magician’s performance, the result of one’s wondering investigation many times leads to a lack of wonder in future performances because the observer knows the secret to the illusion or trick. However, many wonderers who investigate are all the more wondered because knowing the mechanics and seeing them in action is all the more marvelous. 

Scripture speaks of the “mystery” of the gospel, and Paul tells us to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12). Is it not then a command from God that we wonder and wonder about our lives, the universe, and the mysteries surrounding us? 

Not all who wonder are faithless.

I Think Therefore I Am

When René Descartes wrote these words (Cogito, ergo sum) as part of his meditations on philosophy, they were part of an elaborate, well-reasoned argument of empirical observation.  Because I (whatever “I” entails) have the ability to cognitively process and even ponder my own existence (think), I must in fact exist (as anything that has the ability to think must exist).  Descartes was a rational man who spent time questioning even his own conclusions.  His basis for reasoning and drawing conclusions, however, was factual observation or natural philosophy. 

In society today, we have lost this ability to reason and question.  We have lost the objective art of observation and sacrificed philosophy for psychology.  Our culture has twisted Descartes’ words from the philosophical, observable, objective truth of existence into a predication of psychological, unobservable, preferred state of being.  Rather than ‘I think, therefore I exist’, a rational and observable conclusion, our culture abuses the philosophical argument to state things such as, ‘I think I am a woman, therefore I am a woman’, an unverifiable, desired status.

In other words, rather than relying on the faculties of reason to evaluate the reality of our observable existence, our culture has determined to use our reasoning to define alternatives to our observable reality.

Who was that masked man?

Why have we not heard: “Who was that masked man?” in 2020? 

It seems like an appropriate time in my life to be hearing this question from my childhood. With the advent of public mask wearing brought on by the Coronavirus, most of the US population have been wearing various types of masks to prevent the spread of the virus. Even so, I have yet to hear this question asked. Perhaps its because our current society has lost the cultural reference to The Lone Ranger and even the resurgence of the phrase in the 1980s. It could be that our circles of acquaintances are more familiar because we have seen them more in our communities. Or maybe it’s just not in the script. I have a sneaking suspicion, though, that the reason we aren’t hearing this phrase is much deeper than ignorance of the iconic phrase. 

 Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials have all become encapsulated in the single denomination of iGen, where the only value is self-serving, self-interest, and self-importance. Our focus has shifted away from ‘what can I do for my country?’ back to ‘what can my country do for me?’. As such, here are a couple of reasons why we may not be hearing the phrase, “Who was that masked man?” 

1) Few people are willing to anonymously help others. 

• Our society is addicted to attention. Actors, Athletes, Politicians, Influencers, and the average Joe are all thirsty to make their own names known. Acting with anonymity is contrary to our cultural norm, and it is a contradiction to our community upbringing. This is sad because one of the greatest ways to help another person is through anonymous support as it demonstrates that the community cares rather than a single individual. When a gift is given in public, the giver is most celebrated; when a gift is given in private, the recipient is most valued. 

2) Few people are willing to recognize the benevolent acts of others. 

• This one is even more disappointing than the first. Our culture has become a judging court of public opinion rather than a community of coaching and cooperative correction. We are so afraid of public opinion that when we see someone perform a benevolent act, we are hesitant to praise that action out of fear that whatever else that good-deed-doer stands for may contradict the desires of the court of public opinion. We can’t express appreciation or admiration for someone who disagrees with us on any single issue. This causes division and isolation, and leads us back to the first cause because if no one else is going to give me credit, I must toot my own horn. 

Paul explains to us how to solve this problem in Galatians 6:1-5. We see spiritual standards, personal accountability, community, empathy, humility, personal responsibility, and submission to Christ. 

Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted. Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else. For each person will have to carry his own load. (Galatians 6:1-5, CSB)

Freedom is not Free

Philosopher that I am...
I’ve been reflecting on this phrase:
“Freedom is not free.”

So many times in the life of the believer, we focus heavily on the sacrifice Christ made for us. I have no intention of diminishing that sacrifice, so please understand I grasp the necessity and sufficiency of that sacrifice. Paul tells us though (Romans 6) that we are to be actively participating in rejecting slavery to sin and actively living in freedom. Could it be that we focus too much on the one-time sacrifice that afforded us eternal life that we fail to strive to live the abundant life?

Is this also one of the causes of our division in America today? Have we read this phrase in the preterit: ‘Freedom was not free’, as if it were purchased for us by a one-time payment made by many soldiers of various racial backgrounds?

At the very least, we can see that one’s choices today affect his/her future freedoms.
Do my choices today affect other people’s liberty? Do our collective choices as a community affect present or future liberties?

Paul’s answer to living in freedom was spiritual discipline. Am I disciplining my life to live in the freedom Christ bought for me?

In America, I absolutely believe that Christ is the essential key to reconciliation. However, we as Christians (of every race and color) must discipline ourselves to both 1) live in the freedoms purchased by those who went before us and 2) ensure that others are granted those same freedoms. Until we do so, how are we being Christians? I’m not suggesting that America will ever solve its racial problems because America is a secular nation, but we as Christians can live Christ-like lives embracing all of humanity as it is.

“For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:10-11‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Señor, ¿hasta cuándo? (Salmo 13 adaptado)

Señor, ¿hasta cuándo nos deja sin hablar?

Señor, ¿hasta cuándo nos va a olvidar?
¿Por qué esconderás tu rostro?
Ve nuestros corazones rotos.
Respóndeme Dios, o Jehová
Alúmbrame los ojos para verte ya

Señor, ¿hasta cuándo quedamos a velar?

Señor, ¿hasta cuándo podémonos aguantar?
Mas en tu misericordia
Ha confiado mi alma
Sé que tú me has hecho bien
Tu salvación es mi sostén

A-le-lu-ya

A-le-lu-ya

Sé que tú me has hecho bien

Tu salvación es mi sostén

Who is responsible for this?

That is the question we should be hearing in these uncertain economic times, but instead we are hearing, “_______ is to blame.”  Fill in the blank (the President, Congress, the Red, the Blue, the Star-Bellied Sneetches, etc.).  Right now there is a cry to hold the businesses accountable for their actions.  They extended risky loans, so it is their fault.  Let me remind us, “It takes two to tango,” or in this case, the dance requires many individuals to accept loans that they cannot possibly repay from institutions who were encouraged to make the loans.  Who is better qualified to assess one’s personal financial situation, a business that makes loans to hundreds of thousands or the controller of one’s own checkbook?  Don’t get me wrong, loaning money to someone without evaluating and considering the risk involved makes for poor business, but accepting such a loan is no better.

John Leo said, “You can’t run a society or cope with its problems, if people are not held accountable for what they do.”  George Pataki said, “When government accepts responsibility for people, then people no longer take responsibility for themselves.” 

Until an individual is held accountable for his own actions by other individuals, why would we ever presume to hold an organization accountable for its actions?  Ultimately, someone must pay the price.  The piper will not go unpaid, and I assure you, he is coming back for our children.

If we don’t hold an individual responsible for committing perjury, how can we hold Enron accountable for its lies?

If we don’t hold individuals responsible for their own credit card debt, how can we hold Fannie Mae accountable for making bad loans.

If we don’t hold young people accountable for their decisions to have sex, how can we hold O.J. Simpson accountable for killing his wife?

How can we exit this current situation?

Say what you want about the government’s contribution, the US exited the Great Depression by taking personal responsibility.  In my high school American history class, I clearly remember the text describing the mindset of the day, “Americans believed that they could improve their standard of living by working hard and practicing thrift.”  Today’s circumstances call for no government policy or program; it calls for personal responsibility.  The government may have contributed to our current dilemma, but at the grass roots of this problem is many individuals making bad and selfish decisions and refusing to take responsibility for them.  Instead we are blaming someone else.
It didn’t work out so well for Adam to blame someone else.  Yes, Jesus Christ ultimately took responsibility and paid for Adam’s sin, but Adam still suffered some of the consequences.  Now, we are asking the government to be crucified for our sins.  Remember that government is not God, and I guarantee that it will not be as gracious a Redeemer as our God.

Psalm of my Soul

Once I have spoken, twice blundered my words

Yeah thrice I have foolishly uttered my request


Now I say, ‘hold thy tongue, my soul.’

‘Hold thy peace until thy God enlighten thee.’


‘Otherwise thy nonsense shall discover thee’

‘And regret shall be thy home and stay.’


‘Let God be thy light and thy salvation.’

‘Let God order thy steps and establish thy days.’


I say to my soul, ‘Wait patiently for the Lord.’

‘God is thy refuge; with thy words give Him praise.’

Immaturity

when we were wet we went wayward
about an apology arranged around
thought that thinking thumps the theory
hypothesizing hypocrites hitting home

En Passant

En passant is a French term used in chess to describe the most obscure special move in chess.  Castling is the only move in chess in which the king can move 2 squares and is the only time 2 pieces of the same color can move in the same turn.  En passant is the only time a pawn can leave its file without occupying the square of an attacker and is the only move in which the opponent's pawn (or piece) is lost even though it is not actually being threatened.  The particulars of the move are not critical for the purpose of this blog.  It is only important to note that the term, while seemingly innocuous (in passing), is actually a special occasion.

Think of the time you spend in traffic, the time you spend between meetings, the time you spend transitioning from one task or phase to another.  These are examples in your life when you are en passant.  Would you classify these as special?  Probably not.

Recently while I was traveling back from vacation with my family, I was mentally processing the transition back to the work world.  As I was thinking this through, I realized that this transition time is of significant import.  What we do in the waiting, how we behave in the transition, the things we choose to think about in passing, all affect how we will approach the new, upcoming tasks we face next.  It is important to close one chapter of our lives before beginning another.

In general, we as humans do not like to wait.  These in-between moments are uncomfortable or boring to us.  We are accustomed to being entertained or being fully engaged in some interesting or otherwise attention-grabbing event.  I'm convinced, though, that God has called us to be faithful even in the waiting.  David had to be faithful between the time he was anointed as the next king of Israel to the time he moved into the palace as an entertainer to the time he actually became king.

Wherever you are today, realize that God knows the plans He has for you.  He will be faithful to you regardless of the stage or phase your life.  It is your responsibility to be faithful between these stages and phases.

More Information <> Better Informed

My son, Jairus, is 12 years old.  I've spent a lot of time with Jairus and invested my life in him while trying to be a good father.  For certain, there are times that I have failed in that endeavor.

In my opinion, a good father doesn't expect anything in return for the investment he makes in his children.  He's devoted to his children in unconditional, Christ-like love just as Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13.  Being a parent definitely opens one's eyes to God's love for us.

It may come as no surprise to the seasoned parents, however, that not long ago, my son taught me something.  You have to understand that I am philosophical in nearly if not every aspect of my life.  I have told Jairus many times of my tendency to suppress my history or my childhood because all I remember is my mistakes.  This has nothing to do with my parents, my family, or the way I was raised.  It is strictly a mental habit to focus on my failures.

The other day, Jairus instructed me with something like this:
"You know dad, your suppression of your childhood is really caused by the negativity bias.  The human mind naturally gravitates or focuses on negative events and records them.  Then when you think back on your childhood, those events are over represented in your memory creating this negativity bias."

This revelation was profound to the philosopher in me.  Jairus was teaching me to change the way I think.  'Basically, you just need to learn to filter out the over-represented negative events, Dad.  Duh.'  Wow!

So, I began pondering this question of negativity bias.  In which course, I considered the question about real-time access to news and information.  Today, we have instant access to more information than at any time in history.  But does more information really mean that we are more informed?  When I shared this story with a colleague, he challenged me.  Our conversation went something like this:

Me: "We have more information in the news, but regardless of whether you listen to one side or the other or both, the news is heavily biased toward negativity because negative sells and positive not so much.  We hear how many murders took place in X neighborhood.  Even if we receive positive news, it is the extreme positive news.  We don't hear that no murders took place in Y neighborhood unless that is uncommon.  Besides that, many of the original sources of news are the same, so regardless of hearing more information, it is really just repeated over and over again by the same or different anchors.  It is also interpreted and filtered before reaching us, so I think having more information does not make us more informed."

Colleague: "No, having more information even if it is from the same original source or repeated over and over again, does in fact make you more informed because by definition, the information you have now is more than what you had before.  The question you are really asking is whether or not the more information you have received will lead you to make better decisions.  So, while you are absolutely more informed, you are not better informed."

After hearing this superior argument, I have to say I agree.  Perhaps it's a distinction without a difference, but my colleague's choice of words and descriptions are spot on.  And, I am now thinking more freely about my childhood as I wade through my own failures and mistakes.  All of this thanks to my son, Jairus.  The student has become the teacher and the teacher the student.

Simple Inquiry

The following is the text of a real chat I recently was engaged in.  Person is a non-US individual who honestly inquires as to the nature and philosophical basis of our government and value system.  How would you have answered these questions?

Person:

Why so many people against the idea of starship troopers in America ? I'm reading the book, it's really good.
For example, people are not born as a citizen. They have to earn their citizenship if they want to vote or go to elect. I think that's more advance than the democracy nowadays. I mean, everyone have same power on voting, professor and scientists are same with housewives and gangsters, not really make sense.

Me:
Interesting.  The reason we Americans are opposed to this idea is actually rooted in the foundation of the country.  The Declaration is Independence laid the groundwork, although it took another 150 years for the concept to extend to African Americans and women.
We were being ruled by England in the 1700s.  We didn’t like the fact that a monarch and legislative body had so much power over our everyday-lives.  Thomas Jefferson wrote, “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Even then, we had various political schemes wherein the rich or powerful would manipulate the system to keep the poor down.  Such as a poll tax (requires ppl to pay a tax in order to vote), a voting only by land/property owners, only white males could vote...
With these restrictions, the poor and lowly of our society had no voice in government policies and could never influence institutions.  Furthermore this led to corruption bc the politicians only wanted to meet the requests of those who could re-elect them (poor and lowly had no rights and no votes therefore were ignored).  This conflict of interest also contradicts the very Declaration of Independence on which we were founded.

Person:
Actually that's not poor people have no chance, that gives poor people a better chance. Like no matter rich or poor, everyone born as non-citizen, but poor people can join army to get citizenship. Join army or do other great contribution to the society is better than being homeless people on street. How many rich people want to join army?
I think poor people are using equality as their excuse to be dick and demand free welfare from society nowadays
Not only poor, everyone want to do less but get more, things going like this is not good

Me:
Interesting thoughts, however, this perspective equates human value to societal function in a very utilitarian way.  Just today in a blog I regularly read, the author notes that in the Declaration of Independence just after stating the above manifesto, Thomas Jefferson wrote that governments “are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”  In other words no government can truly govern without the consent of its subjects.
The primary issue is that humans have intrinsic, they “are endowed by their Creator with ...”. You are valuable because God created you in His image and ultimately He chose to die for you personally (Jesus Christ on the cross).  Your value does not come from your position, job title, service, grades, shoes, car, family, nationality, etc.  It comes from Christ as the Creator.
When we navigate philosophically down the path described in the utilitarian plan you have presented, everyone only values him/herself.

Person:
So it's based on Christianity. I guess religion is still a big part of people's life. I thought people don't believe anymore,  most of the young men I met here in Canada don't believe, although a lot of them come from Christian family, they still have different thought with their family. Hope I don't offense anyone, just say

Me:
Don’t worry about offending me.  Honest, open dialog, empty of personal attack, is necessary to understand, communicate, and grow.
Yes, originally the US constitution and government were founded on Christian principles, and for me I will behave based on these convictions because I have described they are the root foundation of the philosophical establishment.  Today, as we have come further away from belief in the Almighty, we have lost this foundation and more people are leaning toward what you have described as wanting something for nothing.  I see that; however, my behavior should not and necessarily must not depend on the behavior of another.  Nor should a government deconvolve by its own design into something the people being governed have not initiated.  There are many ivory-tower thinkers who would rewrite our laws without regard to human life or wellbeing. This must be avoided at all cost.

Person:

Well, respect the tradition and foundation is important. I'm a retro person, but probably I'm not born and raised in North America, I think government must always apply some new policy correspond to the changing of the world. I respect human life, but treat the people who caring the society same as treat the selfish and careless people is not fair to my understanding, although this was defiantly come from good will at the first place.
Let the caring people decide more things of the country, and let the careless people stand aside of politics really that bad?

Me:

Unfortunately, that is to predetermine who some one is and what someone could become.  The message of Jesus is that ALL are welcomed to receive Him regardless of what they have done in the past.

In establishing government based on your biases, you predetermine what will be valued in the society rather than allowing people to determine what they want to be.  That’s not the way society functions and it’s certainly not the way God functions. Prescriptive Invitation versus oppressive obligation.

Person:
Now I get it. It contradict to Christian.

Collision Course

Recently I was seated in a restaurant for breakfast while CNN was airing on a nearby TV.  The anchors were soliciting Facebook feedback to the question they were posing to various audiences.  The question was: "How can we finally eradicate slavery from the modern world?"

A man in Nigeria responded that the only way to eradicate slavery was to take all the wealth from rich people and redistribute it to the poor people.

A college-aged female responded that in order to eradicate slavery, we must provide jobs for everyone so that they have a purpose.

While these are interesting responses and we could discuss the positives and negatives of these potential solutions, each of these is based on a supposition of the cause of slavery.  More interesting to me, however, is the supposition behind the initial question, "How can we finally eradicate slavery from the modern world?"  The underlying, unstated assumption is that slavery is bad; this leads me to ask, "Why is slavery bad?"

Fundamentally, I agree that slavery is bad, however, that is because I have a Christian worldview in which humans have inherent value and purpose which is given them by the Creator.  Ignoring this and reasoning from the point of view to which our society has in general subscribed, namely atheism, and that we are the products of cosmic accidents, I am unable to substantiate that claim.  We are hard pressed to find any intrinsic value in human life which leads us to the relative morality that allows us to abort babies and perhaps take the lives of those who do not have what we esteem to be a 'good' quality of life. 

But following this same path of reasoning, it becomes more obvious that if our origins were not ordered, then our lives are the result of billions of cosmic accidents every day and over the past 4.0+ billion years.  In fact, the atoms and molecules that comprise me are unique from those that form you and may cause me to act in a way that you perceive 'bad'.  In reality, my decisions are nothing more than cosmic accidents waiting to happen.  Each individual is independent even though we may all share some general notion of the same moral code.

Without some universal guiding force, though, why does a ruling majority decide what is acceptable and what is not?  We have no inalienable rights endowed to us by the cosmos, we are nothing more than animated objects; we have no value and no purpose other than what we elect by the collision course of particles in our bodies and minds.  So, I ask again, "Why is slavery bad?"  The answer from this perspective is the most hated response from all generations of children, "Because I said so," except in this case, these aren't your mother's words, they are society's words.

Psychological Entropy - Spiritual Remedy

When we face challenges, they hardly ever arise alone.  We live multi-faceted lives with stress on all sides.  How we handle one challenge, always affects how prepared we are for another. 

Consider the chess game, if I block a bishop check with my knight, it becomes pinned to my king and is therefore not able to defend itself from an additional attack, nor is it available to ward off additional attacks or effect an attack of its own.  Once another check is delivered and another, a barrage of attacks leaves many of my pieces unprotected, and the game has spiraled out of control.

In the same way, if I respond to a coworker in anger concerning a situation, my emotional well-being will be affected, and how I respond to my wife later will likely be adversely affected. On the chess board, a strong player can foresee the opponent's attacks.  In life, we can't always be prepared for them.

There is a term for this in thermodynamics; it's called entropy.  In a closed system, entropy is always increasing, order is decaying, the system tends toward chaos.  I'm not certain the principle has been directly correlated to the study of psychology, but it is a simple observation in my own life.  I wake up after a good night's rest rejuvenated, but an argument with my wife or perhaps a breakfast accident soils my pants,  begins my day's progress to complete inner turmoil and chaos. 

In a closed system, entropy only decreases when an outside force acts on the system.  In my life, that may be a good night's rest, perhaps it's meditation on God's word, or a calming conversation with someone who helps me gain perspective. 

When you find yourself growing agitated and increasingly so as the day goes by, remember that Christ is the rest you seek, and He will reset your entropy level.

Sans Voir

For centuries select chess masters have demonstrated their superior skill of playing chess games in an exhibition mode called Sans Voir or blindfolded chess.  These events often pit one player blindfolded against another who could see and move his pieces with a referee conveying moves and moving the blindfolded player's pieces.  Sa'id bin Jubair is thought to have been the first to have performed this feat.

Even more impressive is the multi-game sans voir exhibition.  Some of the best chess players in history (Morphy, Pilsbury, and Alkehine) were able to play multiple blindfolded games simultaneously against other chess masters and dominate their opponents.
https://sites.google.com/site/caroluschess/modern-history/blindfold-chess\

While I have studied chess and practiced play for many years, I have no hope of ever becoming a chess master let alone playing chess sans voir and winning games against other chess masters.  I have a great deal of respect for those who have honed their skills and mastered openings, middle game strategies, and end game techniques so much so that they can envision the board and keep track of the pieces as they move in their own minds without the use of the chess board itself.

Let me ask this question then, what does it take to practice faith sans voir?  So many times I hear the term "blind faith" criticized as ridiculous, foolish, or uneducated.  Let me say that when I practice blind faith trusting the God I serve, it is only because I have practiced faith with sight and have trained my senses to discern good from evil (Hebrews 5:13-14).  Ridicule me if you will.  Perhaps you have never played a chess game before so you do not understand the feat it is to play sans voir. Perhaps you don't appreciate what experiences have led me to the point where I can practice my faith sans voir.

Discovered Attack

A discovered attack is one that takes place by the removal of a piece blocking an attacker.  For instance, if the black bishop is between the black rook and the white queen, once the black bishop is moved, an attack is 'discovered' against the queen.  The bishop may place the white king in check forcing the exchange or loss of the queen for a lesser piece, it may take a white pawn or piece without retaliation because of the attack on the queen, or it may simply take up a strategic location on the board.  The discovered attack is also very effective when it is against the king (discovered check), and it is involved in the double check which is perhaps a topic for another day. 

In life, as in chess, a discovered attack (or check) is a result of being caught unaware or unprepared.  Perhaps, you took note of the threat earlier as positional play developed, but at some point whether through the opponent's strategic play or through your own error, your pieces were left exposed.  A discovered attack may come in the form of a late night party causing you to want to sleep in or call in sick instead of waking up for your early class or going to work.

Unborn into Slavery

I am a modern-day abolitionist. 

I have considered authoring a dystopian society book in which various social issues are resolved (human trafficking, abortion, and some situations of poverty) by marking babies to be delivered as abortees and then upon exit from the womb selling these living, non-humans into various forms of slavery. 

The institution of slavery in our history has marred the human past most notably in the pre-Revolutionary War to Civil War period in the present United States of America.  While slavery officially ended, we still struggle with the definition of humanity and rights.  These questions of equality were not resolved with the Civil War nor with the Civil Rights Movement.

When I entertain the notion that there is no God and that we are the result of random, evolutionary events, I have to question the very core of humanity.  What does it really mean to be human?  Why do we have rules of etiquette?  What institutions are critical to our existence and which are trivial?  Why is it that slavery is wrong?

The founders of our nation struggled with some of these questions since society at that time accepted slavery.  They wrestled with their consciences and finally succumbed to societal peer pressure.  Many of our founding fathers admitted, in dying, their regret for this decision.

With recent videos being released depicting leaders of Planned Parenthood describing the intentional alteration of the abortion process to protect and harvest certain organs from the unborn fetuses, similar to the dystopian society slavery I've imagined in my atheist/evolution-driven thinking, the unborn are clearly our slaves.  The question that remain for us today is clear.  Will we succumb to the societal peer pressure that encourages us to enslave the unborn or will we have the courage to defend and free the slaves?