A Vet Visit and Thoughts on the Sad State of Society

Today I took my dog to his first visit to the vet to get his rabies vaccine. It was an interesting experience to say the least and one that showed me how much the world has changed in how we view animals since my childhood. Ever since I was a child I've always wanted a dog and tended to read about dog ownership or follow things dog owners did. Back then it was quite common that the only visit to a vet was a few weeks after getting a puppy to get it vaccinated. It was also quite rare for dogs to be vaccinated often, it was pretty much that initial vaccination and perhaps rabies boosters every few years. This has changed quite a bit and from what I've read, vets in India pretty much recommend the same schedules of vaccinations and drugs for dogs as they do here in the US.

Pets Aren’t Family

Two days ago, I had to put down my pet rat, Samwise. A couple of months ago he developed a benign tumor, a regular issue for rats. He did well with the tumor and remained playful and enjoyed his treats until this past week when the tumor became larger than him making it very difficult for him to move around and sucking in most of the nutrition that he was taking in, leaving him a skinny husk while the tumor kept growing. That morning, for the first time he refused to eat a cashew nut, one of his favorite treats and I noticed that he hadn't eaten his food or drunk water. He could barely move and just wanted to be held while he slept. The whole situation got me thinking about how pets are viewed in our modern world and how even many Christians have bought into many of the culture's presuppositions and attachments to animals that just isn't healthy. In this era of human history, particularly in the West, it is common for people to view pets as effectively a human being, part of the family. Animals are likewise treated as if they are part of the family and people end up making very unnaturally close bonds with their animals. There is a genuine confusion in the culture on how animals are to be considered. Sadly many Christians don't think about these things Biblically but follow what they have learnt from the culture. This influence is present in each one of us and at times I am likewise guilty of anthropomorphizing my pets.

The Heresy of Christian Nationalism Part 2: Rationalism and Natural Theology

The assumptions behind Christian Nationalism tend to stem from a high view of human reason. Rationalism is the epistemological position that reason is the chief source of knowledge and truth. Rationalists believe that they can perceive eternal truths through human reason. This view has a strong foundation in the Western philosophical tradition, particularly being solidified in Medieval Scholasticism that has reared its ugly head in the Church ever since. Proponents of Rationalism and the Scholastic method tend to underplay the extensive controversy in Protestant history against the Medieval Scholastics. They are positively convinced that all the Reformers were heavily influenced by the Scholastics, particularly Thomas Aquinas, often ignoring the heavy emphasis on the noetic effects of the Fall in their writings. It is unsurprising then that many proponents of Christian Nationalism tend to be Thomists. The assumption here is that the natural realm, i.e. the physical world operates purely within the realm of reason, which is distinct from the supernatural realm.

Human Experience and the Sufficiency of Scripture

I've been watching a Great Courses series on the History of Christianity by Dr. Luke Timothy Johnson, a New Testament scholar, historian and distinguished professor at Emory University. He was formerly a Benedictine monk and Priest in the Romanist religion. While he is still strongly in the Romanist faith by profession, he is certainly a theological liberal (even while he rejects the term) and thus disagrees with several of their central dogmas. He supports homosexual unions, ordination of female clergy and opposes mandated clerical celibacy. I was curious to know the justification of his liberal views, so I read his essay defending his views on homosexual unions.

Natural Revelation and the Sufficiency of Scripture – Part 2

In my previous essay, I wrote about Natural Revelation and how it relates to the Special Revelation we receive through Scripture. Recently, while surveying various Reformed forums on social media, I came across some men who were claiming that General (Natural) Revelation is just as authoritative as Scripture and decrying those who reject their Natural Revelation claims as Nominalists. The basis for their claim was the Scriptural teaching that "all things hold together in Him" (Col 1:17). Since, they claim, all things hold together in Christ, what is revealed to us in Nature is just as authoritative as what is revealed to us in Holy Scripture. Prima Facie, this principle seems reasonable and in line with what the Text claims. However, a simple examination of the context of that very Text and its place in the whole of Scriptures would show why that is not just an error but a serious one.

Natural Revelation and the Sufficiency of Scripture

Recently there's been a surge of interest in Reformed circles on topics pertaining to Natural Law and Natural Revelation. Western Cultures in the 21st Century have seen a rapid erosion of traditional values leading to the formation of several reactionary political movements, like the Alt-Right and several other ethnically conscious movements that claim that the salvation of the West lies in returning to traditional European mores and practices. Reformed tradition is not exempt from the influence of these movements - both progressive and reactionary. Since the Magisterial Reformation didn't abandon the Dominionism of the Middle Ages, this tradition has continued in some form or the other within Protestantism leading to a long history of seeking power, influence and engaging in social activism. While all of these misguided attempts have consistently failed, from Geneva to Apartheid South Africa, the fascination with the notion of taking Dominion for Christ hasn't died.

Traditionalist Historical Metanarratives and the Sufficiency of Scripture

Historical Metanarratives are central to how we view history. They help us make sense of the past, find continuity with it and justify our beliefs, juxtaposed against the grand scheme of things. Hence different factions engage in much effort to defend their Metanarratives against those of their opponents. Christian traditions are not exempt from this reality and it is in the light of this that we see the recent factionalism in Christianity over various Metanarratives and sadly many Christian historians and theologians have engaged in the revisionism. On the one end you have the leftist revisionists who wish to read anachronistic frameworks into the past and "cancel" those with differing views based on present understandings of morality. Likewise, you have right wing revisionists who wish to either read the "good ole days" narrative or want to completely ignore serious issues and transgressions in major figures of the past, so as to bolster their ideal of Traditionalism and Elitism.