The Lost Art of the Argument

The idea for this blog came from a talk that Douglas Wilson gave at Indiana University earlier this year. If you haven’t watched it yet you really should. It’s quite good. I’ve blogged about it before. But the Q & A at the end is, as far as I’m concerned, where the action on these videos is at. During the Q & A Doug is bombarded with question insult after question insult. But one questioner really struck me. It was a young man who says something like “I’d like an answer. This time with logic please.” He then proceeds to interrupt Doug with exclamations about how his answer doesn’t make sense.

All this got me to thinking that people have really lost the art of the argument. Indeed, were it not for my philosophy and history studies I fear I would not possess it at all. So, I’m going to give you a really basic primer on how to argue.

“Argument” is not a Bad Thing

“Argument” in its most traditional sense simply means that we disagree and now we’re talking about it. The following is NOT a traditional argument,

“The Office is dumb.”

“No, it’s not!”

“Yes, it is!”

These guys REALLY love The Office.

This IS, technically, an argument, but a really stupid and unproductive one. Here is a traditional and useful argument.

“The Office may be the best show on television. It has excellent characters and is well written.”

“I disagree, while Dwight and Creed are funny the rest of the characters, and the writing, is derivative.”

“Please explain.”

“Okay . . . “

See what happened there? In the traditional argument two differing points converge. A premise is stated, “The Office may be the best show on television. It has excellent characters and is well written.” After that, an opposing premise is presented backed up by supporting claims. That is how an argument is supposed to go. It is important, at this point, to note that it is the dissenting view (The Office is bad) to prove the other wrong but not always.

Burden of Proof: A Woefully Misunderstood Concept

Some Atheists use Russell’s Celestial Teapot example to show that proving God is ALWAYS on the Christian. Commonly the refrain is, “there is no God. He’s like the teapot; YOU have to prove ME wrong. The burden of proof is on you!” 

That is not entirely correct. Burden of Proof can be tricky but I’ll do my best to show how it works. If I assert something my opponent has two valid options they can say “what is your proof?” or “No, that is wrong. Here is why.” If your opponent answers with the former the burden of proof is on YOU. If he answers with a dissenting view it is now up to him to explain why. Basically, contradicting me doesn’t automatically put the burden of proof on my argument. Now, it’s time to make your arguments.

Marshaling Arguments

I've always loved the phrase “marshaling arguments.” 

Think of your arguments as soldiers and the opponents’ arguments as opposing soldiers. Essentially, the ways you arrange and send forth your arguments is going to determine who “wins the fight.” How do you marshal arguments? Here are some basics,

• Use only relevant facts. 
• Good: The Office is a good show because is causes me to laugh which is its intended purpose 
• Bad: The Office is good because cats have tails. 
• When possible use your opponents’ arguments against them. 
• Ex. “You say the office is derivative but there are many shows that now use the ‘documentary style’ format. That format was not popular until the Office came along.” 
• Avoid Fallacies 
• I’m not going to get into formal fallacies. They are not fun and are a little less common in everyday language. However, be very wary of informal fallacies! They pop up all the time. Knowing how to spot them and neutralize them is a valuable skill (Blog idea!). Check out this list of fallacies to get an idea about them. 
• Make sure that your supporting points always lead back to your initial premise. 
• Ex. “The Office has good characters. Also, the writing is creative and insightful. For those reasons, and others, the Office is a good show.”
  

Some Non-Argument Things to Keep in Mind

Remember that you will probably not convince your opponent of your rightness especially on big issues like God’s existence or abortion. Side note, it is a SWEET feeling when your opponent is forced to admit your rightness, but it doesn’t happen often. But I digress. There are two things to remember when it comes to disagreements. One, you both can’t be right but that’s okay. This doesn’t mean that you have to say “okay, I guess both of us are right.” It means you can say “Listen, I’ve presented my arguments and you yours. I think you’re wrong but I don’t seem to be convincing you.” People can have different opinions.

The other thing to remember is to be polite. So you don’t agree. It’s not a problem. I will make one important exception. If people could get hurt or in trouble don’t be polite. If you’re disagreeing about robbing a bank, don’t be nice. However, does your friend think God doesn’t exist? While his soul is in the balance you’re not going to win him over by being arrogant with your arguments for God’s existence. Remember, the way you act is at least equally important to the arguments you make.

So there you have. Stick with these basics and I guarantee you win more arguments and be better liked.

Another blog on the books! How do I keep up this pace? Follow me on the twitter, you won't regret it.

Wrath of God ReDux

Remember when I blogged about God's Wrath? You don't remember it? Well deal with it, it happened. The reason that I bring this up is because I saw that Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian and all around excellent author, wrote about the same subject.

You should check it out. 

Call it a comeback.

Man I was in a sweet groove for a while there. Hopefully, I can get back in the game an finish out the year strong!

We've been getting ready for the new semester at Faith Bible Seminary. Check out this video while I think of some good ideas to blog about.


MABC Overview from Faith Ministries on Vimeo.

Delays :(

Sorry guys today was a crazy day here at work. But keep your eyes open for a new post Monday.

Update: Man I hate to do this but with family in town and wedding to go to I'm not gonna have a lot of quality "computer time" for the next week. I hate to say it (again) but another week delay is in order. New post Monday 8/20/2012.

In Soviet Union Review Watches You!

This book review is going to be a little different than the other ones but here we go anyways.

Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time by Joel Comm

About a year ago the seminary that I work for joined the world of twitter. Partly at my behest and, in a careful what you wish for situation, I was made curator of our Twitter feed. So now there was the small problem that I didn't really know what I was doing. That's when our director of electronic communications suggested the above book. Twitter Power was a very helpful book if a little outdated.

The Twittersphere was a very different place when Joel Comm wrote this book but his basic principles remain very relevant. Comm says that the number one thing to remember is that Twitter, like all social networking programs, is about community and relationships. This is a great reminder that networking is about people. Some of the practical advice Comm throws out is stuff like answering questions immediately, ask questions of your users, offer advice, and give out promotions. So as you build relationships you build your community. Finally, as you build community you advertise effectively. 

This is great advice in our day and age when everyone just uses Twitter as a glorified RSS feed. While it is hard to implement if you can build the community he talks about you really can dominate your market. 

My major criticism of this book is that the info in this book is a little outdated. For example, he mentions how to re-tweet but much of that information is irrelevant. Also, it is no longer considered proper etiquette to follow everyone who follows you. Unless, of course, you're really interested in following a bunch of bots that are spamming porn.

How does this help me be a man?

Well, I guess the stuff about maintaining relationships is good. But, for the most part, this a book is chock full of practical knowledge on a specific subject. Sorry guys, not a lot of applications here.

Recommendation

If you tweet on a regular basis for an organization or business this book is very valuable. Otherwise, its probably not worth the trouble. 


Update: As I was grabbing links for this blog I found out there's a Twitter Power 2.0! I'll have to check that out.

Place Holder.

Uhhh, so I'm still on vacation. Enjoy this picture until I get back.

"Say carbonite again! I dare you! I double dog dare you!"

Now It's Time for You to be Jealous of Me!

Thank you Blogger for allowing me to schedule posts! As you're reading this I'll probably be here

"Hey, hey" rhymes with "Wadda ya say . . ." It perfect! The perfect song!

Yes, I'll be in the friendly confines watching the Cubs probably lose to the Cardinals. My wife and I are celebrating our second wedding anniversary a little early with a 4 day weekend in Chicago. Then after that we're gonna get some fabulous Moroccan food. We might even take in a late showing of The Dark Knight Rises . . . IMAX style!

IMAX is the screen that I don't deserve. Also, I believe in Harvey Dent. Wait, what movie is out now?

Basically the who weekend is going to be a whirlwind of eating, sight seeing, and that thing married people do when they go on vacation.

Highlights include the field museum, fire works at navy pier, flaming Greek cheese, Table 52, Fogo De Chao (all you can eat meat!), and ice cream at Fair Oaks farm to cap it off! It's going to be an amazing weekend.

Now its time to get serious

The point of this vacation is to celebrate 2 years of marriage. This is definitely a time for celebration. My wife is the best woman in the world for me. In addition to being beautiful and funny she makes me a better man every minute of every day. She is encouraging when I lack confidence. She is funny when I am sad. When she is sinful she is teaching me to be patient. She supports me in all my endeavors. Thank you God for putting her on Earth to be my wife!

Thank you Mrs. Fatool for putting up with me. If this trip brings you a fraction of the joy you've brought me you'll be VERY happy. Love you.

Alright, enough of the sappy stuff. See you on Monday! Also, today is my birthday.

Book Review: The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World

BOOM! Here’s another review.

The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World By Michael Pollan

I reviewed a different Pollan book last week so I’ll spare your reiterating what I think of his argumentation and writing style. I’ll just jump straight into my review of Botany.

The question at the heart of this book is, “do we choose the plants in our garden or do they choose us?” As Pollan himself points out, this seems like a silly question; of course I choose my plants. But not so fast; why did you choose those plants? Pollan would argue it’s because, through the long dance of evolution, you “desire” those plants more than any other. To illustrate his point Pollan walks us through the history of the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. In each part he explains how each plant went from its wild form to a wildly desirous piece of horticulture.

Pollan’s discussion of each plant is very fascinating as he breaks down the desires that caused the above plants to boom in popularity. For example, when discussing the apple he points out that the plant engendered itself to human by being sweet and making good booze. As a result colonial Americans planted apples in mass quantities. This idea is absolutely fascinating! We don’t choose the plants they choose us. Moreover, the plants “manipulate” we humans by playing to our desires and that is how they propagate themselves. This idea is fascinating but I’m not sure it’s right.

YUM!

How does this help me to be a man?

Pollan’s idea about plants is interesting but not biblical. Genesis 1:29-30 tells us that God has put man over the earth. Pollan does not subscribe to this view so it is not surprising that he doesn’t include it into his work. However, while Pollan covers the “plants choose us theory” very well the doesn’t give much credence to the "we rule the plants" theory.

But there are examples in Botany of how humanity has mastered the plants. Potatoes, for example, were wild tubers growing in South America but we’ve managed to grow and distribute them in quantities more massive than they ever would grow in the wild.

Humanity’s place is rule over nature. That does not mean that we abuse nature but we are, to the best of our ability and in an attitude of humity, control and rule over it.

Recommendation

Like Omnivores, I wouldn’t get this one for your book shelf. Grab the audio book or manuscript from your local library but don’t skip anything on your reading list for it

Bonus Blog!

It's from a few years ago but this is a cool interview between two guys I really like; Lecrae and Mark Driscoll. They talk about urban ministry, 21st century missionaries, legalism, and more. Definitely check it out!

Man Up Monday's: Making the Long Trip

It’s been a long time since we’ve had a Man Up Monday. But here we go anyways!

The summer is upon us and that means travel in the car. But how do you go about it? Well, I’m here to help. I've made the long trip from Indian to Pennsylvania on many occasions. Plus, it’s in my blood. My Dad once made it from Pennsylvania to Arizona in 46 hours.

Taking a page out of the Cracked playbook I’m going to do this list style. Here are my best tips for making those long road trips

Get Lots of Sleep the night before.

There is nothing worse than hitting hour 5 of a 12 hour trip and you start dozing off. You can avoid this by making sure you get to bed early the night before. Also, a little extra coffee and soda can help you on the day of the trip. But don’t overdo it on the stimulants! Too much soda and coffee will lead to dramatic loss in energy once the caffeine wears off. You’ll just end up worse than before. Finally, if you’re just too tired pull over and take a nap. Or ask your wing man to drive . . .

Bring a wing man.

Sometimes it’s your wife or just a friend but try to bring someone along with you. Having a travel partner is great! Now you have someone to check the map, keep you awake, drive when you’re too tired, etc. Driving alone just isn’t as fun; but I know that it is sometimes unavoidable. So, maybe it’s time to bring your girlfriend
home to meet the family.

Bring your own meals

Bringing your own meals saves you time AND money. I suggest sandwiches, sodas, something sweet, and a snack. But anything that you can easily eat with your hands is good to. I once made the 12 hour trip from Indiana to Pennsylvania on nothing but Slim-Jim’s and Pop Tarts.

Combine Stops.

You’ll have to stop for gas. Sorry, it’s just the way cars work. But make good time by combining bathroom breaks and gas stops. Also, be sure to limit the number of bathroom breaks by limiting your coffee and soda intake (see above.)

Audio Books are your new best friend.

Whether you have wing man or not get a couple of audio books for your trip. Usually these book come on CD. And sure you could pop them into your CD player disc by disc but I suggest that you load them onto an MP3 player the night before. If you’re willing to drop about 50 bucks I suggest that you get and FM transmitter. I like this one. I got one for Christmas and I use it ALL THE TIME. That being said, audio books are great because they keep you focused and awake. Plus, you get to catch up on the “reading” you’ve always wanted to do.

Got some tips of your own? Leave them in the comments section.

God’s Personality "Flaws" Part 3: God’s Holiness.

Man, this article has been a long time coming! This three part series about the less “popular” aspects of God was one of the original reasons that I started this blog in the first place. Way back in the day I looked at God’s Wrath and God’s Judgment. So today we finally finish off this series by looking at God’s Holiness.

This post is going to be a little different than the other two. In the other two articles the idea was that we don’t like the fact that God is wrathful and judgmental. But once we delved into those a litter further, hopefully, we found that those attributes are actually good. Not quite the same with God’s holiness.

If you were like me, then you basically understood that holiness, especially God’s holiness, as something that is good and to be revered. But what you didn’t understand was why? That is what I hope to answer for you today. Holiness is God’s primary attribute and “holy” is something that you and I can be. Let’s start by unpacking what God’s holiness is and why it is important.

What is Holiness?

When something is “holy” it simply means that it is set apart and not for common use. That is a good place to start thinking about God’s holiness. God is set apart from creation. That doesn’t mean he is aloof from or unable to interact with creation. What it means is that he is above and outside creation because of his holiness. We see God’s holiness in the famous story where Moses is receiving the Law on Mount Sanai (Exodus 33:17-23). Moses has to hide behind a rock to even get peep at God’s holiness. Being in full view of God’s holiness would have destroyed Moses because of his body’s inability to comprehend the greatness of God. Later, when Moses comes down from the mountain his face is glowing from having been near God’s glory (Exodus 34: 29-35). The reason this happens, simply speaking, is that God cannot be comprehended by man. He exists in a way the humanity cannot fully grasp. Let’s next dig into why this is important to us.

Holiness is God’s Primary Attribute?

God remains set apart from creation and this allows him to judge it perfectly. It also allows him to redeem it perfectly. There are many references that point to God’s holiness but one of the best is Isaiah 6:3-5. When an angel of the Lord is announcing God he proclaims “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts.” Notice it’s not “just, just, just” or “loving, loving, loving.” It’s God’s holiness that is called to attention. This complete set-apartness and perfection allows God work all things for His own glory. God is not tainted by creation. He is perfection and the standard by which all things are judged. Being above creation also allows God to be perfectly compassionate as well. It was God’s holiness that allowed him to strike Jesus dead on the cross (Luke 23:46). Jesus for a moment took sin upon himself. God, being perfectly holy, could not tolerate the presence of sin. But, in his perfect wisdom, he knew that he could resurrect Jesus. So the greatest act of love in the universe was accomplished, in part, because of God’s holiness.

How does this help me now?

Holiness is something that you and I can have. The bible tells us that we should be holy like God is holy (Matthew 5:48). Can we be perfect like God? No. But we can be set apart. Yes. 

We must endeavor to be set apart to do to the will of God. We must be “in the world and not of the world” (Romans 12:2). Through the power of God’s Holy Spirit we can be set apart. We can look to Jesus, God’s perfect example to humanity, for an example of how we should act and think. We can be better than this fallen world because we have the holy example of God and he son Jesus.

Conclusion

For this series I chose the three aspects of God Evangelical Protestants tend to talk about the least and “redeem” them. All of these posts have essentially had the following form,

• God has attribute X
• Let’s unpack attribute X so that we understand God better
• This new understanding should lead us to love God more

Whether I’ve been successful is, in a large measure, up to you, the reader. But the above form holds true with all of God’s attributes. We can never understand God too much.

Hopefully I didn’t get too much wrong J Let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

Book Review: The Omnivores Dilemma

Here we go! Three for three weeks in a row! Yay blogging!

The Omnivores Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan

Having read both The Omnivores Dilemma and The Botany of Desire (review forthcoming) I can say that Pollan has an initial line of inquiry in these books that is similar to what strikes many of us when we’re sitting at the computer. For most of us it goes something like this, “I wonder who that one dude is from that episode of Buffy the Vampire?” 

Nicholas Brendon. You were thinking of Nicholas Brendon.

Then, solving that mystery pulls us all over this vast place we call the internet. Similarly, Pollan starts with the simple question of “what happened to bread in the American diet?” From there Pollan decides that he is going to 1) trace a meal from farm to plate and 2) see if he can put together a meal totally free of any processing. Along the way he makes some very interesting discoveries and some very interesting musings.

First, a word about Pollan’s writing style. He doesn’t so much present arguments as he does curate a museum. What I mean by this is that typically Pollan will present a point of interest, muses about it for a while, and then move on to a new subject. Like a museum guide. For an analytical mind like mine I prefer closure. I prefer tight arguments that prove points. So I’m gonna ding Pollan on this one. That being said, his writing style is also very alluring (like the internet example above) I found myself eager to turn the page and hear his next thought.

Pollan’s journey from the corn fields of Iowa to the mushroom hunting grounds of northern California is a fascinating journey from beginning to end. What makes it so interesting is that Omnivores explores where our food comes from. Something we often don’t think about in this highly industrialized food culture of ours. From beginning to end Pollan provides (terrible pun imminent) lots of food for thought.

Ultimately this book is more conversation piece than masterpiece. My poor long suffering wife had to hear me bring up examples from this book for 2 weeks straight. That is, however, the cool thing about this book; it provides you lots of stuff to talk about with your friends. But what the book won’t do is provide you definitive answers or change your mind. Pollan just doesn’t go there and that is the greatest weakness of the book. Pollan seldom explores and never tells the reader how this deluge of information about the food industry should change their mind about how they eat.

How does this help me be a man?

The most interesting interaction of the books comes about half way through when Pollan meets an all natural farmer named Joel. Joel is, unapologetically, Christian (from what we can tell anyways.) It is fascinating to see how Joel’s upfront-ness about his faith and how that relates to his farming really throws Pollan off guard. In my favorite section of the book Pollan and Joel are beheading chickens. Pollan asks Joel if he ever has doubts about what he is doing. Joel replies simply that chickens don’t have souls and were designed to be eaten. No moral ambiguity necessary.

The contrast between Pollan’s constant skepticism and uncertainty and Joel’s confident demeanor is a great lesson for Christian men. Joel goes about doing and saying what he believes to be right because he is certain in his convictions about creation and God. Pollan never gets there. He never is firmly convicted one way or the other and his book is weaker for it. Christian men should strive to be like Joel; certain and confident in their convictions.

Recommendation

If you’re anything like me you haven’t put much thought into where your food comes from. This book is a great read if you’re looking for some info about the food industry. But if you want strong convictions and powerful arguments about how and what you should eat you won’t find it here.

Pick this one up from the library or listen to it on audiobook.

Sexual by Design | Douglas Wilson in Bloomington, IN — CanonWired

Man I wish I could embed these bad boys!

Anyways, today I'm bringing you a BONUS BLOG!!! Click the below link and you'll be directed to a talk by Douglas Wilson about homosexuality. It's great stuff. I'm going to check out he Q & A tomorrow.

Sexual by Design | Douglas Wilson in Bloomington, IN — CanonWired:

'via Blog this'

Some Thoughts:

• Props to Doug Wilson for going into and extremely hostile environment. Living in Indiana I know that Bloomington, despite their embrace of "diversity," aren't very welcoming to Christian viewpoints.
• I really liked Wilson's point about laying out "what used to be called an argument." The art of the argument is gone. However, we need it back. We need it back bad! (Perhaps a future blog post?) Wilson's detractors seem to think they scored a victory because they shouted louder than he did. Maybe you should focus on his arguments instead of yelling? Just a thought.
• Wilson handled himself very well. Kudos on a great Christian witness
• Also, kudos to IU and the IU police force for enforcing Wilson's right to free speech. A couple years ago a fire and brimstone, bible thumping, hate monger of a pastor came to Purdue. Editorials we made to prevent him from coming on campus. I wrote a letter that, in effect, said "Sorry Charlie. Purdue is state owner property. He has a constitutional right to be there and speak." I wish that opponnents of Wilson had decided to sit down and listen. A better discussion would have ensued.

Okay, that's it. Enjoy your bonus blog.

Ownership

It's hard to miss the banner on this blog. It says updates "Monday, Wednesday, Friday." I haven't been on that schedule. No more! There WILL be updates on those days even if they're short or re-postings of articles. Thanks for reading.

Kirk

Update: Sorry that today's update was weak. But hey, it's there. So tomorrow off. Look for a new post Wednesday.

Why No Denomination Will Survive the Homosexuality Crisis – Kevin DeYoung

I like the underlying theme of decisiveness in this article by Kevin DeYoung. Check it out!

Why No Denomination Will Survive the Homosexuality Crisis – Kevin DeYoung:

'via Blog this'

The Republic by Plato

Okay one review down. Here’s another.

The Republic by Plato

This was a tough one. I had previously read this book as a sophomore in college and then picked it up again for Thinking Man (see the last entry for background.) Honestly, this is a tough one to get through. But it’s totally worth it if you can slog through the dense prose and antiquated language.

What the book is “about” is Plato, via Socrates, arguing with some dudes about how to create the perfect government. The government that Plato arrives at is a little autocratic. In his ideal state kids abilities are pegged and they are provided the job they are best at. This will ensure they are always “happy.” The idea being that you’ll naturally gravitate towards what your good at so if you’re always doing what your good at you’ll always be happy. But Plato’s conception of the perfect government isn’t where the action is at in this book.

No, the real action in Plato comes from the analogy of the cave. This is fairly famous example from the book but it is good. In this analog Plato talks about forms. Without going too in-depth forms are what reality emulates and the closer that we get to the form the closer reality gets to perfection. But we can never get there completely. Why is this the aforementioned “action?”

Because The Republic sets the ground for all of modern philosophy until the 1960s and the arrival of non-rational philosophy. Several hundred years after Plato’s death Augustine would synthesize Christianity with Platonic philosophy. How did he manage to do this? The reason is that as Christians we believe that this world is just a fallen “preview” of heaven. We can live in this world but we look expectantly to the next. This is very similar to Plato’s idea of forms.

"So in about 2000 years people who study
us won't be qualified to do anything except serve food!"

How does it help me to be a Man?

This book, in addition to the stuff mentioned above, also discusses the topics of justice, fairness, government, religion, and more. Once you read it you will understand why philosophers have constantly referred back to this book for centuries. Furthermore, you will see through Plato’s rigorous questioning how we can refine and improve our arguments and the arguments of others.

Recommendation

As mentioned earlier this book is a tough read and not very exciting. You could read the cliffs notes but don’t cheat yourself! Taking the time to read and understand The Republic is a reward in and of itself. Read it at least once so that you understand all of the basic questions of all of western philosophy.

Book Review: The Kid Who Climbed Everest: The Incredible Story of a 23-Year-Old's Summit of Mt. Everest By Bear Grylls

Well readers (if you even exist) I’m going to be working on catching up on my book reviews. I’m waaaaay behind. But, what the heck, this is my blog and nobody gives me feedback. So naturally I’m left to assume that everyone loves me and you’re basking in the glow of my wonderfully written posts.

So without further ado let’s take it all the way back to September and take a look at this awesome Bear Grylls book.

Book Review: The Kid Who Climbed Everest: The Incredible Story of a 23-Year-Old's Summit of Mt. Everest By Bear Grylls

First things first, how manly is that name! Bear Grylls (pronounced “bear grills”). It just rolls off the masculine tongue (do not search this term on Google!). This book is part of a series of books that my friends and I get together to discuss roughly every month. Originally it we called ourselves the “Broadly Thinking Christian Men” that title being too unwieldy we settled on calling the group “Thinking Man.” But the philosophy remains the same; read books in a wide variety of genres and consider the impact on us as Christian men.

I hear you saying, “that was a pointless aside” but I assure it wasn’t. So we get back to the point. When one member of our group picked this I didn’t have high hopes. But to my surprise this book was an excellent read both for entertainment value and conversation points. Grylls (better known as the host of Man vs. Wild) recounts his story as the youngest British person to every climb Mount Everest. Almost every part of this story was exciting and well written. Everything from Grylls trying to raise the necessary funds to go to Nepal to all the dangers that befell him and his fellow climbers as they sought to stand on the highest point on earth was written in a concise and exciting manner.

Most fascinating were the little details about climbing Everest that I’d never thought about. For example, you don’t climb Everest in one shot. Grylls and his friends had to go up and down numerous times before they were ready to reach the top. Other details like where they camped, how helpful the Sherpa were, and contests about urinating (seriously) were nice touches that made Grylls and his friend more relatable and likeable.

How does it help me be a Man?

The answer to the above question, much to my surprise was “a lot of ways.” I think that number one is the fact the Grylls is humbled by the task of climbing Everest. Initially his optimism leads him to believe that he’s simply going to go to Nepal and climb the mountain. But he hits a road block right away when he isn’t able to find any sponsors due to the fact that he’s 22 years old. Even on the mountain he is humbled by how difficult the mountain is to climb. Grylls learns his lessons well and doesn’t drown in despair. Rather, he acknowledges that he can only try as hard has he possibly can and see the chips land where they may.

Furthermore, he gives credit where credit is due. He understands that even with this training he accomplished his amazing feat because of those around him, some good luck, and a higher power granting him success when all seemed hopeless.

Did you realize the same is true for us? You may have worked hard to get your job but have you stopped to consider that you had nothing to do with being born with the brain that makes you good at your job? I think that is an important lesson exemplified in this book. We can work hard and use our gifts but ultimately we need to be humbled by that fact that many of our “gifts” are just that, gifts. We didn’t earn them they were given to us.

There are other great lessons about toughness, bravery, and friendship.

Recommendation

I highly recommend that you pick this up from the library. It’s a good book but unless you really love Bear Grylls or mountain climbing there isn’t going to be much impetus to pick it up again. This is a great manly read about accomplishing a difficult task.

Billy Graham, Woody Allen, and talking to the unsaved

At the church I go to I’m teaching a class on church history every Wednesday night (as mentioned previously). Last night I was covering church history from 1900 to about the mid 1980’s. You can check out the notes form all of my classes here. But the highlight of last night was a two part clip of Billy Graham having an interview with Woody Allen (below).

Go ahead and give this clip a view when you are able. After that I HIGHLY suggest you look below to see my comments on the clip.

Okay, that was awesome, right? The answer is, of course, “yes Kirk you are right.”

What I really like about this clip is that it is a great example about how to talk to the unsaved. A little background, the year is 1969 and Woody Allen is very popular as playwright. But he also, I think, exemplifies 1960s culture; cynical, distrusting of authority, and out to have a good time. We also see his skill as an interviewer. Notice how his looks are very unassuming and he is disarmingly self-depreciating. But he also smart often trying to catch Billy off-guard as with the questions about premarital sex and God’s existence. Billy, however, is never caught off-guard.

These clips show why Graham was the great evangelist that he was. Never is he insulting to Allen and he’s always got a joke when appropriate. He doesn’t dodge any of Allen’s questions but answers all of them candidly and with Biblical truth. I think, and I’m obviously biased, that Graham wins that day. He looks cool, collected, and always ready with God’s truth.

I told my wife, “if every conversation I had with non-believers went like this it would be awesome.” I think we can learn a lot from Graham. He comes into the interview ready to give his point of view but never looking for a fight. He engages Allen in conversation and never preaches at him. At the end Graham even sets up another meeting with Allen (though I don’t have any evidence Allen went a Graham revival).

When talking to the unbeliever I think we can learn a lot from Graham. We should always be ready to make conversation instead of having an argument. We should always say what is true about God but let the other guy have his say. Finally, in never hurts to crack a joke!

Wanna know more about history? Have question about my notes? Wanna leave note confessing your undying love for me? Leave a comment.

Should Cultural Expectations Shape Christian Views of Masculinity?

Debatable: Should Cultural Expectations Shape Christian Views of Masculinity? – The Gospel Coalition Blog:

'via Blog this'

Right, so I'll be the first to admit that "blog posts" (note the quotations) with nothing but a link are, generally, über lame. But this one is a good topic and very close to the stuff I like to talk about. So read up.

Kirk

Man Up Monday: Making a Budget Part 2

Making a Budget: Part 2

Last time I showed you some of the basic principles of making a budget. Be sure to check that one out! This week I’m going to show you how I did that awesome stuff.

Making the overall budget

Like I said last week the best bet for making a budget is Excel but Open Office will do in a pinch.

Here is what my budget looked like last time.



Here’s how I did it,

1. Start the top cell with the amount of money you make in a month. Guess if you don’t know exactly. But in

the future you should begin keeping track of EXACTLY how much you make in a month

2. Start by labeling your cells. You’ll see that I’ve labeled mine by what I spend the money on. Try to put your non-fluctuating bills (rent, phone, mortgage, etc.) towards the top. The reason being that you can adjust your flexible ones (food, fun money, miscellaneous) later.

3. In the next row down put your first expense.

4. Leave a space between each entry. I’ll explain why in a minute.

5. Try to figure out how much you want to spend on various items like food and clothes. Enter your ideal number.

6. Highlight your cells. Right click and select “format.” Go to accounting. Choose the money display that works best for you. I choose American dollars with two decimal places.

7. Here’s why we left the space and where it gets a bit tricky. In the A3 cell type “=a1-a2” then hit enter. It’ll subtract it for you! Now do the same with every blank cell substituting the “a1” and “a2” with the two cells above the blank cell. (Note: Excel has a great function where you can drag and continue a formula. Unfortunately I haven’t found a good way to do this with a budget but if there’s a way I’m all ears!!!)

There you go! Did you come up with a negative number at the end? Either you did your math wrong or you got trim some fat!

I find that food is one of the worst places to trim from. A man’s gotta eat, right? Got the fancy cable? Go to basic! Eating out 5 times a month? Cut it to one! Do whatever you got to do to get the number on the plus side of zero.

Creating itemized tabs

1. At the bottom of your page you should see a group of tab named “sheet 1, sheet 2, etc.”


2. Right-click on any one of them and click “rename”. Type in the word “food.”

3. Click on the tab

4. Label the first 4 horizontal rows “Date, Item, Spent, Saved, Total” in that order  

5. In the first cell under “remaining” write the amount you want to spend per month on food.

6. In the next row under “remaining” type this formula “=E2+D3-C3” hit “enter.” You should see the number above duplicate itself.

7. Grab the little black box with cell highlighted and drag it down REALLY far.  

8. Now try typing a number into the “spent” or “saved” cell in the second row. See what happened? Then number was subtracted or added? Now in the future when you make a purchase just type the date, item, and how much you spent and it will automatically be subtracted from your monthly total. When you’re new month starts just type an amount into “saved” and that amount will be added!

9. Duplicate this process with as many tabs as you want!

General advice

• That’s a pretty basic budget. Tweak it how you want to figure what works best for you. Here is some more closing advice. 
• Remember the power of saving! You know Christmas is coming so why not save $20 per month for Christmas. That way when it rolls around you already have $220 (11x20 for all you smarty pants!) in the bank. 
• Christmas is just one example. Make sure you are saved up for all kinds of yearly expenses like registering your car or getting your taxes prepared. 
• Try to have money put away for a rainy day. Most financial advisors will recommend that you always have 3 month of income saved in the bank for unforeseen circumstances. Good advice in my estimation. 
• If you think you can handle it take out a credit card that provides rewards. Chase is the one I use. BE CAREFUL!!! With a credit card it is very easy to spend more than you have. Stick to the budget and pay your balance in full at the end of every month. If you can do it you’ll get money back for money you spent any ways and your credit score will soar! 
• Speaking of credit score, make sure you pay everything on time. When I was fresh out of college I got a HUGE bump in credit score just by paying my student loans on time. 

Hope that was helpful.

I am by no mean a master money saver . . . but I am pretty good. Dave Ramsey even asked for my number once so I could give him advice. Okay, maybe that didn’t happen. 

Now that your saving so much would it hurt to show me a little love? Money love. Leave me some comments please!

Musings on History

One blog a month? That seems about right. Man this blogging thing tough! Maybe I just don’t have the moxie to get it done? Doesn’t matter, I’m not going to let that stop me.

Most of my current busyness comes from the fact that I’m teaching a class on Church History. I am historian by trade. But I still have to come up with this curriculum for a church history course. I’m learning so much. I’m sure the amount I’m learning is only a fraction of what I actually impart upon my students. History, as I’m finding out, has a lot to teach us about being men and being Christian. Below is a short list of things I’ve learned.

1.      History is littered with strong Christian men.

There was Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield, and Martin Luther just to name just a few. What these men have in common was that they were lions for the faith. All of these men, in one fashion or another, experienced various hardships. They remained undeterred. The persevered and stood up for what was right. These are men we should seek to emulate because of the ferocity in which they fought for the name of Jesus.

2.      No matter how great they were our heroes are fallen.

Even though I know about their flaws (for example Luther with his anti-Semitism and Whitfield with his promotion of slavery) it makes me sad to see these great men marred by regrettable decisions and viewpoints. But the point is that we shouldn’t be worshiping them anyways. Every human who has ever lived, with one exception, has had a tragic flaw. The fallen-ness of these great men should make us realize the greatness of Jesus.

3.      Doctrine isn’t born; it’s forged in the crucible of debate.

I’ve learned lots of new things about doctrine and the struggles for that doctrine’s place by studying history. By studying the early church I’ve discovered why what we think about Christ’s mind is important. Many of the doctrines we take for granted about Christianity were fought over for centuries. Then those battles began anew in the Reformation.

4.      There are some great sources out there waiting to be read.

Don’t believe me? Check out Jonathan Edwards’ classic Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God!

History is great! Fact.

What did you think? Leave me a comment.

For the Love of Baseball!

Now that's what I call "heart" fast ball!
Instead of "hard." Get it?

Oh, blog I love you! But now as much as I love you [insert list of things I put off instead of blogging] come first.

One of my personal goals for this year is blog at least once a week and ideally 3 times a week. A task which I have performed woefully bad. 

But, for now, I’m back. 

Today I want to talk about the subject that started it all. Baseball. In my previous blog (now defunct) the happiness that welled up inside of me due to opening day was more that I could contain. 

The world had to know. 

Well another opening day is upon us and my heart if filled with joy at the first win of the season for the Phillies. At the moment nothing can deter my hope that the Phillies will eventually win the World Series. But nothing is certain. 

The lack of certainty in the world is what gave me pause to think of some other ways life and baseball are similar. 

1. There’s no timer. You play the game until you can’t play anymore. 
2. What you do as individual is important but ultimately it’s the team that prospers. 
3. You can lose today but still have a winning season. 
4. It not how you start but how you preform over the long haul. 
5. When you’re down sometimes you just have to trust your teammates. 
6. Just when you think you've seen everything something you don’t expect happens. 
7. Anyone can be a hero if given a chance. 
8. Chances for redemption happen all the time. 

It might be a little sappy but think about it; why are there so many movies about baseball? It’s because you can get all of these great themes. All the great things about life, the victories big and small, are all found in this one amazing game. 

That’s why I love baseball.

Faith and Action

I’m REALLY trying to blog more. I love writing and I love writing about God.

But I’m a serious procrastinator.

Okay, the dear Abby section of this blog is over. What better way to break my procrastination streak than to talk about faith and action?

Almost, every week in my Sunday school class I push our Men’s Bible Study. But on the weeks that we are doing a service project I like to say “because our faith compels us to action we’re going to . . .” I love the idea that the Christian faith compels us to action!

Jesus talked a good game to be sure but he never shied away from action. My favorite verse to illustrate this is in John 2 when Jesus goes in and busts up the temple. But before Jesus the prophets were getting into the game standing up to the followers of Baal, the Philistines, etc.

True men of faith are men of action.

This doesn’t mean that men of faith unthinkingly take action but they always to take action because when you believe in something you act. For example, your friend calls you up and says “the new Doritos Taco is AMAZING! You need to try it!” So you go out and try the taco.

You trust your friend and you believe that what he says is true. Can you say the same about Jesus? When Jesus tells you to help the poor, protect the weak, and stand up for justice do you trust him?

So get off your butt and be a man of action!

Am I wrong am I right? Let me know what you think in the comments section.

Book Review: Christian Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You’ve Been Told by Bradley R.E. Wright 

I’ll be the first to admit that reading a book about statistics was would not be my first choice. But I chose this book alone on the strength of its title which is, in case you didn’t notice, AWESOME! This book is the 10th or so book that I’ve read with a group of friends we call the Broadly Thinking Christian’s Men Club. I have to admit that this book is perfect edition to this group. Wright not only challenges some of the most commonly held misconceptions about Christians and Christianity but does so in an extremely approachable and entertaining way.

Wright takes up the seemingly insurmountable take of trying to convince us that many of our “favorite” statistics about Christianity are often not as accurate as they might appear. Wright tackles these questions with wit, charm, and thoroughness. Each chapter addresses a specific subset of stereotypes and conceptions about Christianity. Do Christian’s behave morally? Is Christianity going to die out in the next decade? Are Christians racist? While we are all familiar with the standard answers to these questions the ones the Wright provides are insightful, convincing, and more than a little surprising.

No book review is complete without noting flaws and while this book was excellent it wasn’t perfect. I have only one major gripe with this book. The call to action is almost nonexistent. Throughout the book the thought in the back of mind was, “Interesting, now what do I do?” Should these stats make us content or worried? Should we tell people about these great stats or do we rest on our haunches? I dare say that Wright even dodges the issue entirely in the final chapter of the book. He simply tells us that now we can think more critically. But even that chapter is written with such finesse and humor that it’s hard to be upset.

How is it important to the Christian Man?

I would say that Christians Are is a great book for anyone to read. But since this is a blog for Christian men I suppose I should play to my constituency. 1 Peter 3:15 calls us to always be ready to give a defense of the faith. This book helps to accomplish that end. In addition to taking a closer look at statistics about Christianity he challenges us to think more critically. Wright points out that stats somehow bypass the critical thinking part of our brain and go right to the “that makes sense” part of our brain. But why should this be? The answer is it shouldn’t.

Recommendation

I strongly recommend this book for anyone who has ever heard a stat, anyone who is a Christian, anyone who wants to think more critically, and anyone who enjoys humor.

I’m starting up my blog again with. I know what you’re thinking,

“Here’s the return of the blog that nobody asked for.” 

True as that may be, I’m back. Deal with it.

I’m even starting up a new feature! Man-Up Monday. Wherein on Mondays I’ll share with you man knowledge. Some of it will come from my own brain, some of it will come from elsewhere, and some will come from guest contributors (any takers?) For that minority that wasn’t thinking the above statement allow me to introduce my first topic for Man-Up Monday . . .
Making a budget

Few things are more boring than making a budget. Not that that’s out of the way let me continue by saying few things are more rewarding than making a budget. Let’s take a quick look at the pros and cons of making a budget.

Pros

• You’ll always know how much money you have
• You’ll always know where you money is being spent
• You can adjust your spending habits to save more or less money
• You never have to feel guilty about spending as long as you stay in the budget.

Cons

• You’ll have more money than you know what to do with. 

As you can tell from the above list I really like using a budget. So let’s get started. 

Getting Started

Without a doubt the best way to make and keep to a budget is using Microsoft Excel or a comparable program. You can do a budget without a computer (who are you and how are you reading this blog?) but it is much easier with one. Excel is by far and away the best program. But there is freeware from Open Office that will do just fine. Before we make the sheet there are a couple of questions you need to figure out. Here are a few,

How much do I make in a month? (I do my budget by month but you can do yours by week.)

What do I want to save for?

What are things I have to pay? (Things like rent, food, and car insurance)

How much do I pay for the things I have to pay for?

Have you figured out the answers? No? Too bad we’re moving on any ways. 

Design

Sorry about the quality :(

Here’s a shot of how I set up my budget.

You’ll see that I’ve itemized every expense (blue arrow).

Itemize? That mean’s I’ve specifically noted every expense and subtracted it from what I make every month. By the way, you don’t need to know how poor I really am so I made up the numbers. But I assure you I don’t clear 60K per year.

Also, you’ll notice that I have tabs on the bottom (Pictured above, black arrow). These tabs further itemize all my expenses. Let’s take a closer look at the “food” tab.

I'll try for better pics on the next post. But you get the idea.

You see that on the left I’ve included the date (blue arrow), the place I spent the money (black arrow), and how much I spend (yellow arrow). You’ll also notice that the number on the right keeps going down. The reason it’s going down is because Excel is automatically subtracting based on a formula I put in.

Pretty cool, right?

At this point you’re asking, “how can I make an awesome budget like this?” I’m not gonna tell you this week.

Come back next week and I’ll get into the nitty gritty of making your own budget.

It’s good to be back . . .

Did you like this post? Did you hate this post? Just let me know your weren’t completely indifferent! Email your comments here.

*** We're getting a lot of traffic because of a post on TGC. I'm working on new material after a brief hiatus. Subscribe to my twitter feed for updates on our new blog posts. In the meantime enjoy this "classic."

Pornography. It is now ubiquitous in our internet society. No matter where you turn on the internet it won’t be long before you see scantily clad women and men. A few clicks from there an you’ll have access to hours of videos depicting strangers having rough sex with each other. But porn is bad, right? If you grew up, or are in, a Christian church no doubt you’ve heard this message. Even secular psychologists agree that as men and women become more interested in virtual partners they become less interested in their actual partners. So there, it’s settled. Porn is bad, both sides agree on that.

But not so fast, if that is the case why does porn remain a multi-billion dollar industry? The reason is because there is something we like about porn even though we know it’s wrong.

So how do we stop? This is the question that much of secular psychology lets us down on. The love or our partners and the compelling evidence about porn’s harmful nature are supposed to be enough. But it isn’t.

In the Christian culture we are told the God doesn’t like us to look at porn. Which is true enough (Matt. 5:27-28).Thus, we are taught to fear God’s anger. But the fear of God often isn’t enough to pry us away from the tempting glow of the computer screen.

Today I’m here to offer different reason you should turn away from porn. Here’s the reason, because Jesus loves you.

Why love?
When someone truly loves us it serves as a powerful deterrent against any activity that would hurt the one who loves you. Remember the first time your Dad gave you that “I’m not mad just disappointed” look? Mine came when I just didn’t show up to a job because I was too busy playing video games. I know for me that look hurt way worse than any beating he could have given me. When we love someone we try to avoid doing the things that hurt them.

God Loves Us
We see God’s great love in the book of Exodus. The book of Exodus tells us that God wants us to have “no other god” before him (Exodus 20:3). God said this because he loved the Israelites. He didn’t want to share his love with other, lesser gods. He had proved his love to the Israelites by delivering them out of Egypt. (Exodus 20:2). In the same way when a man loves his wife he doesn’t want her to have other boyfriends. We later see God’s love when Jesus died upon a cross (Phil. 2:8). So sad was God when he thought of his creation being condemned by sin that he sent his only son to die.

But Why Would Porn Upset Jesus?
Simply put when we start on a path to porn addiction we find something that we love more than God. Matthew 5:27-28 tells us that lust is tantamount to adultery. Now in terms of human relationships it is worse to cheat on your spouse than it is to watch porn. To God, however, your love of porn is replacing, or at lease weakening, your love of Jesus. Jesus died that we might be holy and sanctified (1 Cor. 6:11). When you give into the flesh God is sad and disappointed. Disappointed, because he has loved and sacrificed so much only to see you turn down a path to self destructive sin. He is sad because He created you for so much more than self gratification in front of a computer screen.

Great, now instead of fear I feel guilt!
The above is not meant to push us toward putting off sin because we “feel” a certain way. Rather, it is to get us to think about Jesus not as an abstract concept but as a real person with whom we have a relationship. Let me put it another way, Jesus is a real person who loves us. This is the real reason why porn is bad (I bet you were wondering when I was going to get to that). Do you believe that Jesus is a real person with real feelings that get hurt when you sin? If we believe this then sin will be an abomination to us. We’ll want to avoid it so we don’t upset Jesus.

Sin upsets Jesus but how does sin hurt us?
Susanna Wesley summed up sin pretty well when she defined it as “whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off your relish of spiritual things; in short, whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself."

Porn hurts your marriage, your sex life, and your view of the opposite sex. More important than any of that porn provides a love that is something other than Jesus. Jesus loves you and wants what’s best for you. Loving porn more than Jesus hurts Him and those around us. Would a real man hurt his wife or mother? Would a real man hurt anyone he loves?

How does this help us become “fully man?”
It may seem a little touchy feely to talk about doing things because we love somebody. “That’s girly” you may say, but consider this. Every year men dress up in funny out fits and brave sub zero temperatures. I’m talking about football fans. To show their team, and everyone else, their great love they paint up their bodies and faces. Consider this less “girly” example. A man who loves his country might join the army to defend what it stands for. As men we do plenty of things out of love. We can, in a manly and decisive way, show our love for Jesus and others by turning away from porn.

So don’t try to cut out porn through power of will or great arguments. Because it just won’t work. Rather, remind yourself that porn is not a victimless crime and that somebody up there loves you.

Further Reading:

Your Brain on Porn

How Porn can Ruin your Sex Life – and your Marriage

The Song Jesus Christ Is Singing to You

Lust: Not for Men Only

Did you like this article? Is there something I missed? Do you have opinions? I would love to hear them? So, put them in the comments section