Be All You Can Be

The Army used 'Be All You Can Be' as their marketing slogan for twenty years before changing it to, 'Army of One' back in, I believe 2001.

For many more years than twenty I have lived by this slogan, not because I had my eyes set on the Army as a career or anything, but because I just believed that any goal I set for myself was only as good as my determination and will to complete it. Since I can remember I have been living my life believing that I was the one calling the shots. For years now, after surrendering most things to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ back in February of 1996 I continued, although I would never have admitted it at the time, to control my own destiny, believing that I was shaping my own destiny through the power we have been granted from our God in freedom of the individual will. All the while God frowned, shook his head, and perhaps grinned a little at my goofy decisions. I can hear Him now, like a loving yet disapproving parent, "If you would only have heard me back then, you can not even conceive the blessings."

Well, here I am now.

Lord, help me to be all You have created me to be.

For All Things Pass Away

Perhaps I think too much. A luxury would be the ability to think less especially when my thoughts dissect everything around me.

Today I noticed how wanting we are as humans, much more so as Americans than anywhere else on the planet, and how we want for much more than we are worthy. God never promises us a thing when we are born except the gift of eternal salvation and only if we are willing to accept it. We are either reared with these expectations instilled in us by our parents or we, one day just out of nowhere, decide we want 'more'. Whatever that 'more' is depends also on the individual wanting. Some want more stuff while others want to do more. Perhaps more time and I guess we all want more of this the less of it we have.

What do I want? I don't know. This changes all the time in relation to the world and what there is to be had but I think when all around me unravels I will be satisfied with what I have. Paul writes that he has learned to be content in any and every situation (Philippians 4:11-12) and while I am certainly not there yet I have prayed that God would take me there (as though it were a place). Asking Him for this is a precarious request. God has a funny way of answering prayers. A friend of mine even poked fun at me recently, making reference to the chaos we have endured in the last year, saying, "So, have you been praying for patience or what?" Now asking for God to allow me Paul's otherworldly satiated temperament could bring even more interesting times.

I have not prayed for patience in quite some time but perhaps God's knowing better than I do what I need He has been obliged to help me experience a few things and perhaps I am experiencing this in the smallest moments of life.

What do I want?

To be truly loved for not what I can provide but just for who God create me to be.
To love truly.
To be dealt with honestly by all I cross paths with.
To understand why we attach conditions to our acceptance of others.
To not attach conditions to my acceptance of others.
To know Him as well as He knows me.
To be free of misunderstanding.
To be truly free.
To not want anymore.

One thing I do know is that this too will pass. All things pass away.

Scottish Roulette??

Aren't the Russians the ones who invented this foolish idea of brutish male bravado? Well, of course they are the unlucky people associated with this unfortunate game or whatever it is, so much so that if one was to say, "Roulette" and nothing else I am willing to bet most people would think 'Russian'. Of course we make exceptions for all the hopeless Vegas addicts who cannot get past the roulette table.

Tonight though, agitated by life's tortuous pitch and yaw, I am left to wonder why I cannot, read the writing on the wall, so to speak. I am a lot of things and one thing I believe I am is a thinker. To a fault even in that I tend to over analyze issues long after they should be laid to rest. Tonight my thinking has brought me to the conclusion that God created me the way I am, through His infinite knowledge and ability to see all time, for some great event which I cannot even comprehend. He created me many things, but most of all He created me stubborn. Bull-headed, persistent, single-minded, hard-headed, head strong, determined, mulish, unyielding, resolute and any other synonym one wants to lump in here, but what it all comes down to is when I get an idea stuck in my brain you can all but forget about changing me.

Now the value of this character trait is as varied as the synonyms above are in their descriptions, however it seems lately my idiosyncrasy is more a liability than anything else. Who do I have to thank for this? Can we attribute it to rearing? I am not certain how fair this is since I spent my youth ping-ponging between my parent’s homes. Deep inside my being I believe the fault belongs to the Scots. Sure there is some English, Irish, and German mixed in, but we all know who the most stubborn of these is.

So I continue in my pig-headed myopic dithering even while destruction courts me the entire way, a sort of Scottish Roulette if you will. This has almost been the natural way of things most of my life. Sure there have been moments of quiet calm but those have been few and far between. I almost feel like it is my destiny to live in this tempest.

With this in mind I am left asking what God’s purpose is for a man like me. I love to work in a fluid environment. I love to help people. I don’t like being hovered over by a supervisor or boss. I don’t like a strict routine or schedule. What does this spell? Why has financial success for me all but stopped since I sold Bumper Man?

I don’t have answers for these questions. I do know that despite my over the top, one hundred and twenty percent commitment and effort to making Owner/Builder work we have nothing to show. After three trade shows, two seminars, about thirty appointments, countless phone calls, handing out thousands of flyers, expensive billboard advertising, emails, postcards, and on and on, we have NOTHING. We are now in more debt than we have ever known and for what? I used to have an answer. I used to believe people would want to be intimately involved in the construction of their own homes while saving thousands of dollars. I used to believe I would be providing a service desired by others while truly blessing them. Now I am not sure.

Once again the question is begged, what has God planned for me and my family? Can I keep up this game of Scottish Roulette? Does God really give one the desires of his heart?

Now it is time to abandon success and the pursuit of financial stability for something different, something new, but something God has purposed me for.

The question is What?

8 Years and a Life of Danger

When I married Sugar, eight year ago, I had no idea what I was in for. We have been through our fair share of ups and downs and even a little to the sideways. We have lived in several states, both in this country and in our minds (joke) and we have weathered many storms. When we were dating I thought I had an idea of what life would be like with Sugar Kyzer (now Jeffcoat, of course) but man was I in for a surprise.

We are both passionate people. At least I think I am a passionate person. She definitely is. This passion has been the reason why our fights or arguments often last long after the sun has set, and even though we glare at one another by the light of our digital alarm clocks, we love one another for that stubborn passion. I don't believe there is another woman on the planet who could put up with me or who would even volunteer to do so after really getting to know me (just getting to know me is a challenge I am sure). No doubt, I can be difficult and this is putting it lightly.

Sugar is a special woman. Not only does she draw me in with those dark pools of mystery and mischief when she gazes my way, or captivates me with that single dimple, or drive me crazy when she lets her hair hang down and around her face (something about that wild look), but she can share moments with me that no one else ever could. She understands me more than anyone else ever could. She talks with me. She speaks to me with a look. She looks at me with truth. And the truth is I am in love with Sugar Kyzer Jeffcoat.

I am certain the next eight years will be full of both challenging moments and Kodak moments but there is not another person I look more forward to sharing these moments with than my wife.

I love you Sugar.

I don't blog very often so it took me a while to get to this:

Five things I dig about Jesus!

The rules are simple:

1. Those tagged will share 5 things they DIG about Jesus!!
2. Those tagged will tag 5 other bloggers (this doesn't apply if you don't know that many other bloggers!)

Here are my 5:

1. He is the MAN! (Luke 3:22-23)

2. He is the TRUTH! (John 14:6)

3. He has conquered death! (Matthew 5:5-6)

4. He is a simple man with a simple message. (1 Corinthians 2:1-2)

5. He is my friend. (John 15:14)

I tag:

Scott a.k.a. Frank
Kane
Dad
Ben
Brandon

The Pursuit of Love

A couple of weeks ago I spoke to high schoolers about love, better yet, the pursuit of love and how they are to do so and remain pure. Tricky? I think so. I was standing before a group of hormone ravaged boy/girl crazy, horny, barely able to keep their hands to themselves youngsters. And the goal was to convince them that God wants the best for them and that means keeping their clothes on.

It is probably easier to convince the French to actually win a battle instead of retreating but I let the Lord speak through me and I believe something stuck. I believe that these lust filled youngsters may have actually taken a few of my points to heart.

Speaking to young people is definitely a challenge and a calling. There are time when I ask God if this passion he has given me, to work with young people, is not some sort of joke he continues to play on me that I haven't quite figured out. Of course I will continue to get up in front of young people and pour out my heart in hopes that the Lord will use my words and His Word to leave some small impression on their hearts and in their minds.

Funny too, because while I teach young people about all sorts of things from how to find God to pursuing love in a way that pleases God, I myself am sort of pursuing love in that I seek to please God by sharing in his will for others and myself.

Zoom, Zoom, KABOOM!

I have never bought a nice car, whatever that is by any specific definition, and now I guess having a BMW would classify in the nice category. If...

If it wasn't FIFTEEN years old. Hello?

If it didn't jerk, jive, vibrate, sputter, surge, etc...

If the sun roof WORKED.

If the driver's inside door handle was not almost a separate accessory.

If the tires had tread.

If the seats were not dry and cracked.

If it got better than about twelve miles per gallon no matter how I drive it.

Don't get me wrong. I like my car. The 1992 BMW 325i is my project car and perhaps one day it will be a nice car, but until then I am puttering through traffic on a prayer.

The Hearts of Children

I have a paradoxical faith in that I know what God promises is good enough to take to the bank but then I struggle with anxiety from time to time, and more so lately than ever. Never in my life have the stakes been so formidable. Now with a wife and three small children in tow life takes on a different rhythm, a militant cadence demanding my attention, and I cannot afford to blink too often or I lose measure. The beat is frantic most times and it is all I can do to just keep up with the tempo.

God is in control of this and I know He promises to not overwhelm us or give us anything we cannot handle (1 Corinthians 10:13) and yet there have been times when I have fallen to my knees in desperate need of answers. Answers never come in an Old Testament Revelation (that is probably a paradox all on its own) but sometimes God sends answers in the least expected medium.

We were watching Discovery HD yesterday (awesome station- I could watch paint dry on this channel). It was one of those deals where the lions were eating other helpless creatures. My kids actually watch these parts in awe. I hope allowing my children to watch this isn't considered child abuse since I am definitely guilty. Anyway, the scene was of a plains fire. A bazillion African Elk are running from the flames as it hungrily laps at their hooves.

Cole asks, "What's hap'ning?"

"The fire is coming and all the elk are running away."

Cole says, "I can take my kite and they cans get the string and I can flys them out of the the fire."

This is the heart of God. He wants to fly us out of the flames and all it takes is us allowing Him too. He is God after all.

And He has put His heart in Children.

After the Rain

I cannot even imagine what it takes for a person to run into a burning building while everyone else is fighting to get out but I can say that whatever it is I admire the men and women who have it. While this is way behind the news curve I just want to express my admiration and appreciation for the individuals who live their lives precariously in hopes that they can come to the aid of others. Specifically those brave nine that died here in Charleston, SC this past week.

Capt. William "Billy" Hutchinson, 48 (30 years)

Capt. Mike Benke, 49 (29 years)

Capt. Louis Mulkey, 34 (11½ years)

Engineer Mark Kelsey, 40 (12½ years)

Engineer Bradford "Brad" Baity, 37 (9 years)

Assistant engineer Michael French, 27 (1½ years)

Firefighter James "Earl" Drayton, 56 (32 years)

Firefighter Brandon Thompson, 27 (4 years)

Firefighter Melven Champaign, 46 (2 years)

My prayers continue for those who have been most touched by this tragedy. I am certain that if we stay on our knees long enough we will see the hand of God in this somewhere, despite that in this moment our hearts cry out in anguish against such a catastrophe. We as a people will weather this storm. We will stand hand in hand smiling after the rain.

1 Corinthians 13:12-13 (The Message)

12 We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13 But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

Being Tagged by the Wife

4 Favorite Jobs

1. Husband

2. Father

3. Church Youth Worker (lots of fun)

4. *Assistant to killers of evil men (Corpsman of the Marines)

*Note: I would put Real Estate here but since I haven't quite officially begun my Real Estate career it would be impossible to say it is a favorite job I have had.

4 Favorite Local Places

1. My House

2. A bookstore

3. A friends house hanging out

4. Church Youth Event

4 Favorite Foods

1. Chinese food - specifically anything with the red sauce

2. Mama Gina's Spaghetti

3. Pizza of any sort

4. Candy! (Sour Patch Kids)

4 Favorite International Place

1. Turkey

2. Greece

3. Scotland

4. Israel (so long as there are no car bombs going off)

4 People I TAG!

1. Steven Burns

2. David Merritt

3. Kane Wright

4. Tyson Green

I feel like a wee lass having done this.

Who Are We To Question?

Luke 6: 37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

39 He also told them this parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

41 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

O.K., some of you actually read this small piece of text above which is in fact the word of God. Fewer of you understand it. I myself struggle with this on a daily basis. Not understanding it, but practicing it.

See, the problem here is not judging others because we are called to judge our brothers and sisters in Christ in order to keep order in the faith. Paul, in fact the entire fifth chapter of 1 Corinthians is very clear on this topic, tells us we should not hesitate in judging our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. He even goes so far as to hold those accountable for not passing judgment. The sixth chapter of 1 Corinthians goes so far as to say we as believers should hold our own courts instead of taking Christian disputes to the pagan magistrates.

Where this unravels for me is not in the letter of the law, so to speak, but the spirit of the law. I cannot argue with Jesus. Who can? He is very clear that we will be held to the same letter as we hold others. The unraveling begins when I find myself silently judging those around me for sins they commit that if I have not yet, by the grace of God, participated in, may struggle with or even find myself contemplating from time to time. Then, in the event that I have to actually follow through with a real world judgment on someone, the question remains how severe a penalty can I pronounce?

In keeping with the letter of the edict Paul has given us in 1 Corinthians we are called absolutely without question to hold our comrades to bear. Yet, in keeping with the spirit of this edict, dictated by Christ himself, we are unequivocally required to show mercy where at all possible.

So judge, yes. Although the power in our legislation needs to be taken into serious consideration and prayer.

Oh, and always remember that we as Christians have no authority to pass spiritual judgment on anyone not of the faith. If they don't follow the Way, we can't force them to keep the Way.

It is ultimately by love that we show the Way.

To Battle

Some would say that the pen is mightier than the sword or in today's times, the keyboard, or what have you. I am not going to argue the finer points of whether a pen is mightier than a sword, although I would get much more satisfaction from driving a sword into my enemies heart than a pen (if this is even possible).

I have been in a battle with HP (Hewlett Packard) now for about two weeks regarding my laptop being inoperable and whether they are going to honor the three year "no matter what happens" warranty I paid good money for. In summary the reoccurring hostilities went something like this.

First I called the support line getting someone obviously not from here, being the U.S. with very little understanding of the English language. Now I am forced to spend no less than thirty minutes attempting to convince them that I do in fact have the warranty I claim to have, not to mention all the misunderstandings we have between our dialects . Of course I have to email them receipts and do a little "this is my warranty" dance in the living room with underwear on my head before they actually take me seriously and by this point I am stabbing myself with a pen. Eventually, after going through two or three different service representatives I get a tech who takes me through the "Let's see if you are a moron and your computer really works fine" process by making me troubleshoot all the problems I have wasted countless hours attempting to do on my own before even calling H.P. Never the less, if I want help, I must humor the commies.


The tech then says they will take care of me by having a local rep call me about a pickup and confirms my contact information. We hang up and I wait with baited breath and my wife's DELL notebook in lap for a call from the local tech nerd. This call , of course, never comes. Nazi, commie, pinko-pig-a-zoids!

What to do? Call them back of course.

This is, for the most part, the routine for two separate phone conversations. My first contact with H.P. was through online chat a week prior to calling them. Explaining that to the foreigner on the line made no difference however. The third time I call, yesterday, I am highly agitated and not in the mood to be toyed with.

Here are the notes I took while on the phone with Ufinder and Razi.

@ 0957 EST on May 29, 2007: I have been transferred to 800 474 6836 after calling 281-370-0670 (the tech number listed on my documentation, HELLO!!)

Local Technician has not called as of the 25th. Case #7340****49 is not correct so reference back to case # 734*****45.

Started off with rep Ufinder (pronounced 'you-fender', more like 'you-offend-me') saying computer is out of warranty (heard this before) and placed on hold @ 1012. On hold now for approximately five minutes. Ufinder comes back on phone saying warranty is not up to date and wants to argue with me about the validity of my warranty (must I argue this every time I talk to these morons?)

1024 EST: I Send two more emails to hp.pop@mail.support.hp.com one with a return receipt request through Outlook. Ufinder insist on taking me through same hardware checks that all previous techs (including myself long before I even attempted to call HP) have taken me through despite reading previous emails from HP explaining all this has been done before.

Finally, thank God I am able to convince him not to go through the entire forty five minute ordeal by basically explaining everything I would do in detail without his directions; I can tell by the five seconds of speechless silence Ufinder is not accustomed to dealing with people who actually have a general understanding of hardware. Placed on hold again @ 1032 on May 29, 2007.

Ufinder has come back online @ 1041 on May 29, 2007 (I have to put the date since it is possible he would leave me on hold for an entire 24 hours ;-p ) saying he has in fact received the warranty confirmation and that the confusion is related to a changed phone number on record (sure it is little buddy). Ufinder claims, like other reps before him, that he is fixing this problem and I tell him that if I have to go through this process again I am catching a jetliner to Cat Man Doo. He places me on hold again @ 1046 while he supposedly gives my info to a hardware specialist technician (and what the heck were you Ufinder?) Ufinder has come back online giving Case #733*****82 @ 1049 on May 29, 2007 and changed my home phone number as previous reps have (man this is getting old). @ 1051 on May 29, 2007 Ufinder places me on hold AGAIN!

@ 1059 Ufinder comes back online and asks me to take the computer through a Hard Drive Self Test which I have started @ 1100 and computer states test will take approximately 67 minutes to complete. This has been completed several times before and is documented. This will be at LEAST THE SECOND time I have gone through this test with a Hewlett Packard Technician on the phone. This is great documentation on their part - NOT.

@ 1103 I am placed back on hold by Ufinder. @ 1126 Ufinder has come online supposedly with a hardware tech Razi. Razi is not connected or we are having problems. Ufinder says he believes there is a disconnect and has put me back on hold once more.

@ 1129 I receive a call from Ravi on home phone. He claims he will have the tech center pick it up for repair. Razi again confirms warranty and arranges for Fed Ex to send a box for pick up in the next two business days. He agrees to give me a confirmation number and website to plug it into (now we are getting somewhere) after I tell him that I am not hanging up until I get something of substance.

Call completed @ 1145 EST on May 29, 2107 (not really but it felt like a hundred years).


Angels rejoice!

The Yin and Yang of Living

Life has been a little dicey, to say the least, here lately and I have often found myself pondering the meaning of it all. What is there beyond survival and temporal success? The obvious answer here for me goes beyond the mortal, transcending the understanding of terrestrial existence and touching on the spiritual. A challenge here is to keep this celestial mindset whilst life, the flesh taking its moment by moment beating, continues its perilous trek here on planet earth.

The biggest problem with existence is this duality. Most do not even attempt pondering this coexistence and just tamp their days with the business of busyness. I empathize, for this consideration all in itself is enough to drive one mad, the stress of balancing a dual mindset without allowing one or the other to consume you is a formidable challenge.

Right now my biggest challenge has been discerning the difference between earthly and heavenly success. It seems I have been a spectator to this struggle all my youth, watching my dad achieve some form of worldly success and then lose it again. He repeated this process of gain and loss many times over and I, in my own limited juvenile perception of this battle did not quite grasp the metes and bounds of such effort. To me it seemed normal and even now I find myself overburdened by my perception of success and failure. If I do not make ‘x’ amount of money then I am a loser. If I do not achieve ‘x’ then I am a complete failure. It is these thoughts which steadily erode my being.

To strip away such cares and come to the truth is much more difficult in its simplicity than I can even appreciate. All surrendered unto Christ. It really is that simple but then the ignominy of worldly failure creeps up in my being choking out the yang of spiritual awareness. This yin is a cancer needing to be cut away and I manage to cut it out only to find it has been replaced by yet another savage parasitic cousin.

This is the struggle. Not worldly achievement and wealth, and knowledge or learning but to understand that all of this is nothing without the saving grace of Christ and our ability to surrender all to this. We must be willing to embrace earthly disgrace if that is what it means to, at the same time, pick up our cross and carry it.

For one steeped in secular indulgence this mindset is ridiculous but then this is where the duality of existence is lost to them. We are here on the earth and we must coexist as aliens amongst those who prefer the treasures here over eternal fortune and we must do so with the same grace Christ shed on us. We too were once aliens to eternal fortune and eternity itself. In its simplest devise we are cousins to those around us refusing to even attempt a balance. Our cousins, just like us, could shed their worldly crust and join us at any time on an equal ranking and it is because of this uncomplicated and unfettered benchmark that we are forced to maintain a duality.

Christ would not have us forsake those around us in face of the truth that we are but vacationing here. He would have us share this awareness with our cousins in hopes that they too will adopt our duality and accept worldly failure for heavenly acquiescence. With such acceptance comes true wealth.

Regardless of our place in the hierarchy of comprehension here on earth we will continue to struggle. In the constant, daily, moment by moment surrender we continue to glorify God. So I believe that a part of our heavenly success is in our earthly failure. We fail to gain the ultimate in material achievement because we choose to be triumphant in our walk with God instead.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 Tell those rich in this world's wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they'll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life.

Today is a day is a day is a day...

Seems like life sort of is in slow motion sometimes. You find yourself repeating steps that you know you should have completed long ago, never to return to. I am almost 31 years old. Man am I getting old fast, and today I went through another job interview. I thought I was past the whole job interview process again like you do when you start over.

Well, that's it. I am starting over. Life seems to repeat itself in the areas that are most frustrating. Areas that you can't really learn a lesson from and leave behind like you would like to. Areas that make destiny an old album of no so great music that you find yourself listening to over and over again. I really don't understand it.

Today I was interviewed for a job like one who is just starting out in a career. I am really. Starting out in a career, and of course I got the job.

Real estate? We shall see.

A day is a day is day. Right? Perhaps tomorrow can be a new day.

Wipe Away the Cobwebs

We have, or I suppose I should say, my wife has started a cleaning business. I am more the sales person than anything else. Oh, and do not forget moral support. Moral support is very important after all.

So, do we know what we are doing? Yeah, we can clean really well given all those white glove inspections while stationed with the Marine Corps but when it comes to running a cleaning business well, we will have to see how this all works out. No doubt this is going to be more work than either of us have imagined but then we are only guilty of what every other human being is guilty of in underestimating the task before us. There really is no better way to know whether you can handle a task, outside of any planning that may be done, than to dive in and pray you do not drown.

One neat feature to this is that we, Sugar and I, will be working together more than we have in a very long time and I believe this is going to help our marriage. We will be wiping away the figurative relational cobwebs while doing the same to literal cobwebs from our clients living spaces. Many people I know have said they cannot work with their spouse. I cannot give a judgment here in either direction only because I have yet to experience this but like to think we are going to work very well together. Ask me how it's going in a couple of months and we will see if I have an answer for you.

About Me Continued

This is continuation of the about me section:



I am most proud of being a husband/father. Everyday here is a new adventure, what with the three boys all under the age of three. Something is always being broken or at least tortured into submission. Oftentimes I am exhausted and only find the energy to do anything through some supernatural blessing of God.

I have just recently decided to pursue college education but am finding that the money, coincidentally, is pretty tight right now. Once again looking for some supernatural support. We shall see. My wife is behind me a %100.
We are business owner here in the Jeffcoat house. I started a business in the building consultation industry last October, just when building took a huge nose dive. How smart am I? And my wife, as of last month, has started a cleaning business which looks like it could not only do well but get out of control. Perhaps she is in a better standing with the Lord right now? I know some people who would say this as for me I am not so certain about such ideas.
All of the above essentially says I am a normal person with the same struggles as any other person on the planet. If you want to view any more of my psyche the explore my blog. Have fun.

Through Rose Tinted Glasses

So, who is right? Christians with their pious views of how one should carry out an existence on this planet? Or, Secularist/Darwinist with their lack of a view altogether? Was the world created by a God or did it just explode into existence? Did life find itself here through the divine caress of a loving creator? Or did it just happen through survival of the fittest out of whatever escaped unscathed from the explosion?

If one is to ask them self, does Darwinism undermine the biblical teaching of creation, it is important to consider the presuppositions one starts with. The evidence used to support either argument is after all the same evidence regardless of its assessor it and is seen through the eyes of the examiner to support their presuppositions.

Let's take history itself as an example. Those arguing from a Darwinist position look at all of history through the eyes of men and without any consideration of God claim the universe was conceived of its own devices. A Christian however takes all of the same evidence and then through the looking glass of Scripture says, "See, my God created all of this."

They each have the same data or material to work with but different ways of examining the data. Everything the Christian sees and speculates upon is through the authority of the Scriptures while the same data in the eyes of a Darwinist is seen without any authoritative construct.

It is for this reason that I cannot support an argument purporting Darwinism's superiority over Creationism based on the same evidence. Neither Darwinist nor Christians can recreate what God has done with the evidence in support of their beliefs. However, I will say that it takes just as much conviction of ones presuppositions based on the evidence we have to believe in the Darwinist theory as it does to believe in Creationism. But then isn't that what Christianity argues from the outset? Some things a man must have faith in while others we can know with certitude.

Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.