We definitely lack a proper place to practice loyalty as few jobs or friendships rise to the occasion. My feeling is this is something that people have to seek out and create... contexts of association where loyalty means something.
One of the ideas that I've picked up from a number of medieval writers is the idea that Faith Is One. This is basically the premise that Faithfulness is a single quality in a person, and they either have it or they don't. It's a logical extension of 1 Tim. 5:8 that says a person who is faithful to God is also faithful in his political, social, and family affairs. He keeps his promises, holds confidences, abides by contracts, and understands the value of his word. A person who proves that he cannot hold faith with men is showing that he doesn't hold faith with God.
As we see a decline in trustworthiness, we need to keep in mind that this is part of the decline of Christianity. People who act this way are de facto announcing their apostasy. If we're serious about our faith, we need to be shunning people who act like this, kinfolk or not, the same way we would shun someone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit.
Regarding the Olympics, too many Christians are failing to distinguish between the glory of overlooking a personal insult and the sin of not being zealous for the Lord’s honor. Failing to react strongly to open public blasphemy does not demonstrate equanimity, but rather that one does not take one’s own religion seriously—and the world is watching. Taking effective action to prevent things like this does not require violence; it requires Christians to broaden their thinking, break out of the narrow constraints they’ve held themselves within for decades, and explore what kinds of actions might be effective.
And even with a relatively weak response, this may end up being successful in stopping any similar future events, so that will be a victory, even if not a complete and total one.
As for dhimmitude, that is a legal status enforced by violence, and it’s simply not true that western Christians have that status—or at least if it is, let the system come out and enforce it so it’s clear where we stand.
There are examples of multiple ways of handling this.
In Luke 13, a group of people tells Jesus about how the Romans had murdered some Galileans and mingled their blood with the blood of their sacrifices on the altar. In other word, God's altar had been profaned by the Romans. But what does Jesus say? "Unless you repent you will all likewise perish." He doesn't address what the Romans did at all.
I think the key is that there are examples of many ways of handling things in the Bible. So there's no one size fits all. See Ecclesiastes.
That's a good example. At many points the early Christians must have felt immersed in hostility and disrespect for what they believed. In a profoundly 'negative world', they could not have reacted with fury, or with pleas to be granted the status of cultural victims (which as we all know is now the coin of the realm).
I think the best response to the Olympic Blasphemy Tableau is mockery. That is, rather than grant this sad display the implied power of really hurting us, focus on how predictable, been-there-done-that, and outright *boring* this brand of puerile Christian-baiting has become. In a time when drag queen story hour has already passed on into the passé, why reward the talentless designers of this exercise in tedium with that sweet little jolt of outrage that spikes their kombucha? Instead, turn the tables, and tell them, truthfully, that they're dull.
In my experience, cultural lefties cannot handle even mild satire when one of their sacred cows is involved. They like being victims, but certainly not in this way. It's why my lefty friends, even the liberal-Christian ones, cannot even bring themselves to look at the Babylon Bee.
Interestingly, even Tyler Brule of Monocle magazine said the blue guy went over 99.7% of the people's heads, and that there were "a few too many drag queens." It didn't really work artistically, and that was recognized.
The blue guy is surely going over heads of the heads of nearly all the Correct Thinking defenders of this 'pageant'. The small percentage who may actually have heard of Bacchus/Dionysius likely think he really was a cuddly, smurf-like party dude, but how many of them know Euripides's *Bacchae*, in which Dionysius leads a pack of crazed maenads into tearing King Pentheus limb from limb with their bare hands. Fab party game, that!
The more interesting question is if the 'pageant' designers know whom and what they're invoking.
Very insightful. Especially appreciate that this is a combination of both social commentary and personal advice.
A childhood friend is a very talented writer who went through a very brief phase 10ish years ago where he did some anonymous rightist blogging that was highly controversial and probably ill-advised, but very far from the worst material you would have found on the old "alt-right."
Most of our other childhood friends in that circle became leftists (the curse of the Millennials), and against my advice, he shared this writing with one other friend whom he thought he could trust, asking him not to spread it. That friend then shared it with EVERYONE in our social circles, and my friend was basically ostracized from his childhood friends. I still talk to some of them occasionally, but I certainly know not to share any opinions with them.
He works a job that would definitely fire him in an instant if he were doxxed, and at least he hasn't been betrayed on that level. He took the blog down, but I suspect someone somewhere has enough choice quotes to damage him, even if based on hearsay alone, if he assumed a public profile within conservative politics.
Hard truths here. I like to believe that honor, loyalty, and trust still matter, especially among friends. And maybe they can sustain themselves through norms within fictive kinships. Still, it's good to have one's eyes open.
Good commentary for sure. Much appreciated. The AI audio isn’t bad. It was a worthwhile experiment that might be helpful for one who has visual problems that make reading difficult.
I appreciate the audio option!
It is a bit crazy that they can replicate your voice like that.
The AI audio is trippy, but it works!
We definitely lack a proper place to practice loyalty as few jobs or friendships rise to the occasion. My feeling is this is something that people have to seek out and create... contexts of association where loyalty means something.
Spot on. We must rebuild high trust communities from the ground up. Nice how-to format ;)
One of the ideas that I've picked up from a number of medieval writers is the idea that Faith Is One. This is basically the premise that Faithfulness is a single quality in a person, and they either have it or they don't. It's a logical extension of 1 Tim. 5:8 that says a person who is faithful to God is also faithful in his political, social, and family affairs. He keeps his promises, holds confidences, abides by contracts, and understands the value of his word. A person who proves that he cannot hold faith with men is showing that he doesn't hold faith with God.
As we see a decline in trustworthiness, we need to keep in mind that this is part of the decline of Christianity. People who act this way are de facto announcing their apostasy. If we're serious about our faith, we need to be shunning people who act like this, kinfolk or not, the same way we would shun someone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit.
Good observation. See also Luke 16:10:
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."
Similar concept to 1 John. If you don't love your brother that you have seen, then you can't claim to love God whom you haven't seen.
Regarding the Olympics, too many Christians are failing to distinguish between the glory of overlooking a personal insult and the sin of not being zealous for the Lord’s honor. Failing to react strongly to open public blasphemy does not demonstrate equanimity, but rather that one does not take one’s own religion seriously—and the world is watching. Taking effective action to prevent things like this does not require violence; it requires Christians to broaden their thinking, break out of the narrow constraints they’ve held themselves within for decades, and explore what kinds of actions might be effective.
And even with a relatively weak response, this may end up being successful in stopping any similar future events, so that will be a victory, even if not a complete and total one.
As for dhimmitude, that is a legal status enforced by violence, and it’s simply not true that western Christians have that status—or at least if it is, let the system come out and enforce it so it’s clear where we stand.
There are examples of multiple ways of handling this.
In Luke 13, a group of people tells Jesus about how the Romans had murdered some Galileans and mingled their blood with the blood of their sacrifices on the altar. In other word, God's altar had been profaned by the Romans. But what does Jesus say? "Unless you repent you will all likewise perish." He doesn't address what the Romans did at all.
I think the key is that there are examples of many ways of handling things in the Bible. So there's no one size fits all. See Ecclesiastes.
That's a good example. At many points the early Christians must have felt immersed in hostility and disrespect for what they believed. In a profoundly 'negative world', they could not have reacted with fury, or with pleas to be granted the status of cultural victims (which as we all know is now the coin of the realm).
I think the best response to the Olympic Blasphemy Tableau is mockery. That is, rather than grant this sad display the implied power of really hurting us, focus on how predictable, been-there-done-that, and outright *boring* this brand of puerile Christian-baiting has become. In a time when drag queen story hour has already passed on into the passé, why reward the talentless designers of this exercise in tedium with that sweet little jolt of outrage that spikes their kombucha? Instead, turn the tables, and tell them, truthfully, that they're dull.
In my experience, cultural lefties cannot handle even mild satire when one of their sacred cows is involved. They like being victims, but certainly not in this way. It's why my lefty friends, even the liberal-Christian ones, cannot even bring themselves to look at the Babylon Bee.
Interestingly, even Tyler Brule of Monocle magazine said the blue guy went over 99.7% of the people's heads, and that there were "a few too many drag queens." It didn't really work artistically, and that was recognized.
The blue guy is surely going over heads of the heads of nearly all the Correct Thinking defenders of this 'pageant'. The small percentage who may actually have heard of Bacchus/Dionysius likely think he really was a cuddly, smurf-like party dude, but how many of them know Euripides's *Bacchae*, in which Dionysius leads a pack of crazed maenads into tearing King Pentheus limb from limb with their bare hands. Fab party game, that!
The more interesting question is if the 'pageant' designers know whom and what they're invoking.
Very insightful. Especially appreciate that this is a combination of both social commentary and personal advice.
A childhood friend is a very talented writer who went through a very brief phase 10ish years ago where he did some anonymous rightist blogging that was highly controversial and probably ill-advised, but very far from the worst material you would have found on the old "alt-right."
Most of our other childhood friends in that circle became leftists (the curse of the Millennials), and against my advice, he shared this writing with one other friend whom he thought he could trust, asking him not to spread it. That friend then shared it with EVERYONE in our social circles, and my friend was basically ostracized from his childhood friends. I still talk to some of them occasionally, but I certainly know not to share any opinions with them.
He works a job that would definitely fire him in an instant if he were doxxed, and at least he hasn't been betrayed on that level. He took the blog down, but I suspect someone somewhere has enough choice quotes to damage him, even if based on hearsay alone, if he assumed a public profile within conservative politics.
I can't even get loyalty and trust amongst my family post-COVID. We all learned lessons then. This was a good one, Aaron. Thanks for writing.
Hard truths here. I like to believe that honor, loyalty, and trust still matter, especially among friends. And maybe they can sustain themselves through norms within fictive kinships. Still, it's good to have one's eyes open.
Good commentary for sure. Much appreciated. The AI audio isn’t bad. It was a worthwhile experiment that might be helpful for one who has visual problems that make reading difficult.
Really appreciate the perspective on the Olympics opening ceremony. It's a bit reminiscent of Philippians 1:28.