12Lions.com

 I wrote this yesterday, decided I hated it, trashed it, and rewrote it completely different today. I’m trying to figure out if that means I take blogging too seriously.

 Arrogance is often associated with knowledge and the cockiness surrounding it. Someone thinks they know a lot, and so they become overconfident and disrespectful towards others they think know less. Arrogance is very much tied to knowledge, but I think it is tied much more closely to ignorance than vast amounts of knowledge...

Tomorrow is the first anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death. The day bin Laden died I posted this note on Facebook. It’s one of my favorite things I’ve written, so I decided to repost it, slightly edited.

 How should Christians respond to bin Laden’s death? Many Christians seem to be condemning any celebration or rejoicing over his death, most of them citing Proverbs 24:17-18 and Romans 12:19 as reasons not to. Many Christians have pointed out that bin Laden was a sinner in need of Jesus, just as much as any other person, with the point being that it is inappropriate to be happy when a sinner goes to Hell. There have even been many Christians whom I respect comparing jubilant Americans to the members of Hamas who celebrated when 9/11 happened. They seem to think that it was wrong for people to celebrate death in September 2001, and so it should be wrong to celebrate bin Laden’s death and that it does not bring God glory to do so.

 While it is encouraging to see so many Christians refuse to get caught up in the moment and turn instead to scripture, I think it is not only appropriate to celebrate bin Laden’s death, but it also good to do so...

 There are some Christians who are super annoying. Not the ones who have obnoxious personalities or habits, and not the Christian who is just a jerk. There are some Christians that look so much like Christ that it grates on us when we’re around them. Again, these aren’t the Christians who are subtly bragging about their own spirituality when they discuss what they’ve been doing for God, such as all the mission trips they’ve gone on or the number of people who listen to them teach.

 No, these are the Christians who just by their faith and character get on our nerves. The Puritan pastor John Owen describes it this way,

 “The multitude of the guilty takes away the sense and shame of the guilt. But, besides, they hope well that it is not inconsistent absolutely with being spiritually minded; only they cannot well deny but that it is contrary unto such degree in that grace, such thriving in that duty, as it is recommended unto them. They think well of others who are spiritually minded in an eminent...

 This is the fourth and final post in a series. Here are the first, second, and third posts. 

 Last November I put this list out on my Facebook page. I was asked to write an actual post discussing them, so here it is. I came up with these rules originally as a way to guide myself when I interacted with people, and have followed them pretty imperfectly for the past couple of years. But I think they're pretty solid and are useful tools for respectfully engaging with people. 

 My Seven Rules For Intellectual Engagement

1: Know why you believe your dogma and be able to defend it. 

 Don’t cling to a point of view or opinion just because I’ve always had it or because I grew up with it. I need to be able to know why I believe something. There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that I don’t know why I believe something, but then I should not be defending that view in a discussion or debate. If I can’t defend my position, then don’t.

 Never play devil’s advocate...

This the third post in ongoing series. Our top priority in cultural and spiritual engagement should be our own sin, and we should strive to win the man, not the fight.  

 There are few sins that devastate like slander.  And there are fewer sins that are as forgotten. Slander is not the same thing as gossip; it is the false speaking and defaming of someone else. Speaking falsely about what someone believes, has said, has done, or simply insulting their character is slander. God views slander as so evil that he forbid it in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:16, Deuteronomy 5:20). 

 Psalm 15 is a psalm about the character of the man who will dwell with God. The center of the chapter says that he is a man “who does not slander with his tongue.” When Jesus talks about the most evil things that proceeds from the heart of men he includes slander (Matthew 15:19, Mark 7:22). Paul includes slander on his list of things that members of the Church should cease from doing (Ephesians 4:31, Colossians 3:8). Proverbs 10:18 calls those who slanders a fool and Exodus 23:1 orders God’s people not to spread a false report.

 When debating with people it is very easy to fall into this trap. It is even easier to do this when debating about someone, especially public figures. This can come out in simple ways, whether in ad hominem attacks when I am debating something with a friend over drinks, or by defaming President Obama’s moral views and character when I lambaste his policies...