Happy Friday,
Do you not know that in a race all runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.
The Apostle Paul, I Cor. 9:24
If you were inspired by any of the athletic performances in Tokyo, remember that Paul leveraged the Panhellenic Games of the 1st century to challenge Christians to raise their game. The practiced brilliance of world-class athletes is a model for the grace-filled, disciplined pursuit of Christ we are called to. What might it look like for you to consider ways to bring an athlete’s commitment to their sport to your commitment to Christ? Press on towards the goal for the prize of the higher calling of God in Christ Jesus.
The Gini Coefficient: The Economist is reporting that researchers are closing in on the “magic” variable related to COVID-19. As you may have noted, something less than universal agreement exists on a few of the details surrounding the virus (e.g., its origin, spread, death rates, best treatment options, the effectiveness of masks, the effectiveness of lockdowns, States’ rights, everything related to COVID and students, etc.) If The Economist is right, the key variable in COVID and its impact has little to do with health measures, climate or geography and much to do with economics. They specifically cite the Gini Coefficient (which I have explained earlier). Hmm. On the one hand, one expects a magazine called The Economist to suggest the economy is more important than others realize. On the other hand, I look forward to the day when we have greater clarity about this disease.
Truth: On a possibly related note, when I was young, I was told the next war would be over communism. When I was in college, I was told it would be over food. Then I was told it would be water. Then it was oil. Then it was water again. FWIW, though today’s hostilities do not constitute a war, what we seem to be fighting over at the moment is truth. Behind the claims about fake news and conspiracy theories lies a battle over truth itself. And not just over whether a specific matter is true or false, but who gets to define truth.
Thoreau: Because I’ve grown concerned that my efforts to stay informed are deforming me, I’m reading the news less and reading about it more (Malcolm Muggeridge’s Christ and the Media and Jeffrey Bilbro’s Reading the Times). To that end, I recently ran across Henry David T’s Walden lament about the news. His complaint? The advent of the railroad meant the speed at which news reached us had dramatically accelerated. He longed for the days when information traveled no faster than a horse.
FWIW: My suggestion in last week’s update (here) – that the Left has moved further left than the Right has moved right – generated pushback. I still think it’s true, but I am working to better understand the study I cited. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, if you have empirical data about this, please send it my way.
Question: How did you decide how to spend your time yesterday? What criteria are you using to decide how you will allocate it tomorrow? Not that you are asking, but John Calvin – the reformer one seminary professor would identify as, “the theologian who shared the same initials as our Lord” – is on record stating that “Our daily task is to make God’s invisible Kingdom visible in our midst.”
Big Brother: I suspect I’m as against child pornography as anyone. Indeed, I fear the pornography juggernaut unleashed by the web is doing so much daily damage that there will be growing cries for censorship. (Supposedly 35 percent of all Internet downloads are pornographic.) However, all that aside, I’m a bit unsettled by Apple’s announcement that it will use “NeuralHash” to scan our iPhones for images of child sexual abuse.
Virtues > Values: In this 2008 lecture by the late Gertrude Himmelfarb – author, historian and social critic – she explains something previously lost on me. Apparently, the advocacy of “values” was initially championed by Friedrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher famous for pronouncing the death of God. Nietzsche was anxious to move society away from the Christian “virtues” of faith, hope and love. Value-based living was promoted, not as a way to raise society’s game, but to lower it.
Good News, I Guess: I was recently assured that no matter how contentious today’s debates become, actual Civil War is unlikely. I agree. Unfortunately, the reasons they offered for assurance were less than reassuring. The speaker argued two points: 1) We are too lazy to fight (he noted that today people think they’ve acted valiantly if they’ve posted on social media); and 2) We are too old. “This isn’t the sixties, with lots of young people coming of age. Today the most politically agitated on the left are middle-aged women, and the most politically agitated on the right are in their 70s. And neither are known for violent protests.” I’m not sure how to respond. As noted above, I have not been worried about an actual civil war but being told we are too lazy and old to do anything but get steamed hardly leaves me thinking, “The state of the union is strong.” (BTW, we are certainly aging. I remember hearing that at 69, Ronald Raegan was too old to be President. At the moment: Biden is 78; Schumer is 70; McConnell is 79 and Pelosi is 81.)
Closing Prayer: Almighty God, you are Lord of time and have neither beginning nor end: You are the redeemer of souls, the foundation of human reason and the guardian of our hearts; through all that you have created you have revealed your indescribable power; receive, O Lord, our supplication, provide fully for the needs of each one of us and make us worthy of your goodness. For your name is worthy of all honor and greatness and is to be glorified with hymns and blessing, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever, to the ages of ages, Amen. (An 8th century Greek Orthodox Prayer)