Outsourced Thoughts

I live in Cebu City. A city that Tholons (a business processes outsourcing consulting group) has dubbed the most viable place to set up and operate Business Process and Knowledge Process Outsourcing enterprises.

It’s still another way of saying you can get it done cheaper here than where you live. That is, if you live in the developed world that’s being crippled financially.

No matter. There are more job opportunities for the 25,000 or so college graduates that finish a four or five year degree course only to find themselves awake at night, making or receiving calls overseas in behalf of clients that need to keep their CRM costs down. Way down.

That way, they are still able to maintain a certain degree of good customer relations and the otherwise potentially unemployed have jobs, except that their nightlife is ruined forever. (While they are still working there, anyway.)

Now what has this got to do with renovating our minds?

Well, a group of friends from an old school got together just recently and gave us the chance to catch up, as some of us hadn’t seen each other for almost 33 (?) years.  One became a pastor, after a profound career change from being Army officer.

The inevitable question had to be asked: “So…how do you…make a living??” or something similar to that was brought up.

I wasn’t quite prepared for his answer, but somehow it made sense. “There are certain people who appreciate our efforts to provide spiritual direction in the lives of people, and they decide to invest in our ministry.”  Very tactful, gracious and a sufficient answer.  Never mind if there are other justifications for it.  Other people would have quoted irrelevant scriptures or cite practices that are somehow inconsistent already, given the covenant of Grace which we are already subject to. ( Read  Obligations and Contracts, and study the matter of contract novation to understand it better.)

In the congregation where we gather to worship, we are studying the matter of shepherding – sheep behavior and what is involved in the process of shepherding.  As it is – shepherding, the way our King expressed His wish for Peter, was not a paid job, but a calling and a response to our King’s wish: to care for His sheep.

And in so doing, we do what we do to shepherd His people. Not for money or anything else, but to fulfill His call to make mathethes of every ethnos. The difference between a career and a call.

Throughout this time, my good friend and teacher exegeted the scriptures well enough to allow us to see that making mathethes is not a job that can be quantified and bill for later on, on a per hour or per lesson basis.  Freely we receive, therefore we must give freely.

BUT – though we are under no compulsion to support those that provide this knowledge in order that we can eventually shepherd our own flocks, we receive when we do give freely and generously to them – as we invest in their efforts and benefit from their care and prayer support as well.

It makes sense when you realize that we no longer depend on priests, as the new covenant has eliminated the need for the necessity of intermediaries.

True, we are a priesthood of believers. But the stark, sad reality is that the overwhelming majority of the new priesthood do not do their homework.  Which is why many either fall astray or get lost altogether.

No wonder the Good Shepherd is always out looking for lost sheep.

And this, to my understanding is where the matter of Outsourcing the Defense is necessary.

In all of the blogs I’ve come across, ministry sites I’ve visited and lettered apologists, scholars and theologians I’ve communicated with, I find that there are less than 1% of followers of Jesus that engage in the life of the mind.  For whatever reason.  And another common factor is that, when they are faced with the challenges that they don’t have answers for – then, they call: the MYTHBUSTERS!! ( Lousy joke, I know. I was just kidding!)

It seems to be easier to call a friend who knows the answers to meet the challengers head on and call on them to find answers instead of reading a book, listening to a podcast, or (God help us!) thinking it through.  It seems like a dreadful chore, but since it’s got to be done, let’s call the specialists.

While I continue to sigh inwardly at the current inclinations of those of my generation to depend on me to help them defend what they believe, I’m also honored because they feel that they can trust me enough to help them out in providing the justification to what the more critical and less thoughtful would refer to as a reasonless faith.

I am glad that I am able already (or so I think). And also, for the work that I do that allows me to read, study, think and hammer out my own worldview so that others can form their own, with a bit of my guidance.

This is where I think our roles as Knowledge Process Outsources become relevant. Because we CAN provide better explanations, a formidable defense and a strong, evidential justification for what we believe and articulate it for those who haven’t bothered to try.  If we are able to get them interested enough to want to do the same, we take it to a higher level – to the level that our King would so desire, and make more mathethes in the process.

And mostly, we as apologists, provide Clarity to our faith. And in that sense, we qualify as providers.

And what about the enterprise of it? 

I’m not holding my breath. 

Of all the disciplines in the field of theology and Christian philosophy, I find that the most difficult to get financial rewards from is this path that is least trod. And not just because it’s a challenging one.  Christianity, by itself, is the narrow road.  This trail requires more tracking skills so you don’t get lost.  So, should we be surprised if there are less that take the path towards a more rational righteousness?

Paul was a tentmaker.  I am a media producer and a sweat equity investor in a friend’s growing business.

And at the same time, a freelance philosopher, armchair theologian and an apologetics coach.

(By the way, that’s a nice development from being an erstwhile apologist.)

And thankful for the gift of reasoning skills, being able to use them and working through the tough questions myself.

So someday, I can assist more who think that they can't.

The Principal Advantage of Socially Networking among Apologists

I have to thank Greg West of the Poached Egg blogsite (www.thepoachedegg.net). for admitting me into the Apologetics Bloggers Alliance on Facebook.https://www.facebook.com/groups/ApologeticsBloggers/


Being able to access more information that's already been validated is a really good thing - not having to cross check everything all the time, considering that the pages that are being referred to are being written by scholars.


Just like other informal groupings of apologists, theologians and Christian scholars, the group is also a mixture of people with varying theological orientations and preferences, and well considered opinions that they can very well defend.  But that doesn't matter so much as the fact that they all are unanimous on taking their faith seriously enough to want to learn more about it and talk sensibly about it to anyone who'd care enough to listen.


The sad thing is, the majority of those who say that they follow the Lord Jesus think that they know enough about the faith that they profess that they feel that investigating these matters thoroughly is the equivalent of theological nitpicking.  And they predictibly lapse into the usual contention to suggest that "Why don't you just be practical and teach things like improving your marriage, learning to live responsibly and helping the less privileged so we can have a better world? Go out and serve!"


The fact is there is no shortage of these well meaning people, but the only thing is that they completely miss the point as their immediate objective, it seems, is to repair the world that we live in, as if it was the domain that we are going to inhabit for all eternity.


When we inevitably get diverted to the matter of discussing what the Lord Jesus first proclaimed about the "Kingdom of the Heavens" that had "come near", we finally get the glimpse of the true message that God's Kingdom seeks to "retake territory" and that we should inform everyone else that this is so. And that the Lord Jesus is now the ruler of this invisible territory that must be asserted over the fallen domain that's long been "grabbed" by the evil deceiver.


It is facets of this message that becomes available when you get the glimpses of insight when reading the work of these individuals that have thought these things through and made them available for everyone to consider for integration into their worldview.


And that, by itself is a good thing.


We no longer have to content ourselves with the popularized "Christian" message writers that continue to be sold in bookstores and now become aware of the more credible material that's available and have become resources to draw on by most of these gifted writers.


What it also does is make your reading wish list grow even longer.  


I am privileged to have been included among these rigorous thinkers and prolific writers and my only regret is that we live too far away, to be able to meet up for coffee and a long chat to discuss and compare views.  The consolation is that we are able to do so in snippets when we are able to post our views on matters that we consider worthwhile to "like" or present another viewpoint that would not have been raised altogether.


My thanks to Greg West for putting that Facebook group together. And for according me the privilege of being counted among you great thinkers.

The iPod - a tool to study Apologetics

If there's one thing I've learned from my stint in radio, is that the audible message, repeated constantly, becomes an indelible part of your memory.

Why do you think that a thirty second radio ad, hammered into the subconscious of so many listeners, at least six times a day for at least six months, is committed to their memory in such a way that they can even repeat it verbatim - knowingly or unknowingly?


There's something to what Joshua was told in the book of Joshua, in verse 1:8.  "This law scroll must not leave your lips! 1  You must memorize it 2  day and night so you can carefully obey 3  all that is written in it. Then you will prosper 4  and be successful. 5 " - from Netbible.org.


I first started to listen to podcasts after finding out that there were lessons to be learned from the great divinity schools in the US through iTunes U and other great websites.  At that time, it was just good to listen online because I could choose to stop listening at any time.


After starting my studies in apologetics, downloading the podcasts became mandatory.  It was difficult already to wrap your head around the concepts, much more grasp them completely after reading through the pages of the book just a few times.  Add to that, my failing eyesight, reading became quite a challenge after going through at least five pages.


Downloading podcasts by Dr. William Lane Craig, JP Moreland, Mike Licona and Gary Habermas to work through the issues of the resurrection account helped me understand the propositions and the arguments better. After realizing that I could take the lectures with me while waiting in line at banks, walking from place to place, I began to load the podcasts on my old iPod.  Who cared if I couldn't upload video? I didn't need visual aids.  I needed to remember these things.


Uploading the lectures and interviews by Dr. Mike Licona helped my understanding of historiography and how valuable it was in making the case for the validity of the resurrection accounts.


Downloading, and listening to Reasonable Faith podcasts brought me up to speed on the absurdity of life without God, the Kalam Cosmological Argument, the problem of evil and a great many other issues that are taken up by most apologists.


With the lectures by Dr. Doug Groothuis, I learned to appreciate Francis Schaeffer, Soren Kirkegaard, Blaise Pascal and cultural apologetics.


Listening with the iPod is the next best thing to being with these esteemed scholars and listening to them in real time. It's even better, because you can get to rewind and really commit what they say to memory.


Many other people have become enamored with tablet PCs and other gadgets. 


I value my old iPod - and plan to get another one with larger memory space when it finally conks out. It has served me well since 2006. And continues to do so up to now - in my quest to study the hope that we have and why it's the most viable system of thought to believe in.

Battling the invisible Evil Supernatural forces

In the course of my work in serving the tribal people of the highlands of Mindanao, we are exposed to many different situations quite uncommon to city dwellers.

Among these are what most ministry folk refer to as “power encounters” – or the kind involving the supernatural dark forces that the less educated of these people pander to, in order to gain some unusual “favors”.

I had long known that these kinds of forces existed and had read about them, but it never occurred to me that these happen to people in a different reality.

I met Pastor Edgar Aleo of the Titik, Zamboanga del Norte Tribal Gospel Fellowship in a pastor’s conference sometime in January, 2012. He attended the conference with his brother in law, Pastor Albert Tinda, of the Mount Moriah Training School in Guintolan, Zamboanga Sibugay.

We were there to enlighten them and quite a few other pastors on the projects of Remember the Poor/Village Health (www.villagehealthministry.wordpress.com) that would benefit them as colleagues in the ministry of MCN. (www.mcni.org).

It was during the course of that conference that I came to talk to them and learn of these significant encounters with the dark forces that truly exist in their areas and wield such a strong influence on the people that they are hoping to win over to the Kingdom of God.

I happen to adhere to the view that miracles still do occur in this day and age, and we who walk with our King will do “greater things” as He had said we would. We can save that discussion for another post and focus on these two that strengthened my view that we as followers of the Way, must do battle with “principalities and powers” that exist in this world and use the authority that He gave us to overcome them.

Pastor Edgar is a Subanen and comes from a family of Baylans (shamans). His father, Alake Aleo was a Baylan before him and they had both become followers of the Lord Jesus one after another.

A Baylan is a local spiritual figure among these tribesmen, who go to them for healing, through appealing to the spirits and appeasing them with sacrifices – some done on a yearly basis, to renew their spiritual “powers”.  Some of them are also suspected of causing sicknesses to enemy tribal groups.  Tribal villagers have been known to have given a total value of 150,000 Philippine pesos worth of offerings for sacrifices to these baylans.

After Edgar committed to follow Jesus, his father did not immediately follow, and continued in his way as a local shaman.  However, after noticing that Edgar became completely different and much better, he sought to follow suit and asked his son to help him do the same.

In the Subanen setting, this is not as simple as we think it should be.

By doing so, the Subanen baylan concedes that there is a far more superior power than his own and submits to this power and has to concede this in public. And Edgar and his father did so in the Tribal Gospel Fellowship church altar sometime in 1998.

The ritual involved the public relinquishment of these powers by turning over the plates and other instruments used in making these sacrifices to the spirits and putting them before God the Father as a way of acknowledging that He is Lord and the superior power over them.

It was during the public acknowledgement and denouncing of these forces in the altar that what looked like a flame leaped out of these implements and left the church building.  This was witnessed by Pastor Edgar and many in the congregation, strengthening their belief in the God of the Bible, the one referred to by the Lord Jesus as “our Father”.

The second time this occurred was with a far more prominent baylan, the uncle of Pastor Edgar and Albert Tinda – a man known to the villagers as Singkat Tinda.  He had been a baylan to the tribal villagers for a much longer time and his “powers” were legend.  There were many reports of bedridden people being revived and could walk again after consulting with this baylan offering sacrifices to the “spirits” in their behalf, as well as other stories of people being “healed” or recovering from other illnesses.

Pastor Edgar knew this uncle well and continually talked with him to dissuade him from continuing in his ways as he knew of the dangerous implications of what he was doing. For quite some time, his uncle did not pay attention.  Sometime in September, 2011, his uncle had a change of heart and wanted to be baptized.

And in a very public manner, Pastor Edgar and many other friends of the congregation brought the baylan to a river for a public baptism.  The event was witnessed by many, including a great number of followers of the baylan.

It was during this encounter, when the pastor attempted to immerse the baylan, and it was just the baylan’s head that had to be submerged under water, a strong force resisted their attempts to put him under the water and complete the process.

The pastor and other attending friends began praying and attempting to do this for at least one hour – and each time they tried to put his head under water, a great strength would arise, preventing them from doing so.

Finally, after an hour of attempting to do so, the entire process of baptism was completed and the people witnessing the event saw what appeared to be a “black shadow” arising from the water and flying away fast from the scene.

The baylan has since become a believer and attends church services, and bible studies and proclaims that the Lord Jesus is his savior. And so with the followers that saw what had happened.

Incidents such as these are few and far between in an urban setting, where most modern day “Christians” think that these are mere superstitions and are not real occurrences.  I write of these incidents to give credence to the real situations that are faced by these modern day spiritual warriors in the field, in the tribal upland areas of Mindanao – where they battle poverty, lack and the delivery of basic services, yet win great battles in the invisible supernatural world, where they gain much territory in the Kingdom that the King had tasked each one of us who claim to follow Him, to proclaim and expand.

A Long Overdue post (and hello 2012!)

It's been ages since I uploaded my last post, and I don't want to say I have good reasons for not gathering my thoughts to publish them, however I must say I really do.


Not that I hope to be excused. I know I've been remiss. But I am banking on the goodness of the hearts of my friends to allow me this lapse. And for future ones as well.


These past few months have been devoted to helping a real, working ministry (www.mcni.org, www.villagehealth.wordpress.com and www.tribalchildrensliteracy.blogspot.com) and doing what we can to help prop up their efforts to help the tribal people in Mindanao so that they can do better in influencing their communities to receive the message of the Kingdom of the Heavens better.


And alongside that, selecting the books and podcasts that would best help me construct a more viable and workable worldview regarding the Kingdom (read: what does work, and what doesn't) to be able to proclaim it better.


It doesn't help that a great many don't share the view and the passion, and would rather prefer to "keep it simple", for a variety of reasons - and most of them are actually excuses disguised as "new and better ways" to proclaim the King that has come and will come again.


I really don't mind that, but my eyebrows go up when I'm chided for embarking on "uncharted waters" because it really isn't necessary.  The Gospel is simple - let's keep it that way.  


Or so most would like to think. 


Or do they actually think at all.


Lest I become "puffed up", we're better off exploring those things that have interrupted the free flow of thought that must be typed down and posted online.


The three most significant developments I've come across is first, the matter of God's Kingdom "recovering territory" through the continuing work that the Lord Jesus began in the first century and how we should continue it in the manner by which He demonstrated during his three and a half year ministry.


The second, the way that we "lost it" along the way because of the events that transpired and the developments in Christian thought throughout history, and why we hold to certain beliefs that aren't necessarily true, but are held simply because they were passed on by those who were percieved to be "Godly", however erroneous in their thinking.


And finally, through the advent of the technologies made possible with the new internet and networking, we are now able to access the necessary resources in order to be able to work through all the available material, and through careful thought and reasoning, we can arrive at what something that we can truly believe in and make a better case of it.


I have been fortunate to have found the great and careful work of Dr. Douglas Groothuis (http://www.DougGroothuis.com) - a philosophy professor at Denver Seminary, who wrote a great book "Christian Apologetics" (among so many other great books) and did some great lectures, which I downloaded and listen to, over and over again.


His philosophical orientations exposed me more to the works of the late Francis Schaeffer (an author already introduced to me by my ministry mentor,  and dear friend John Ricards) and other philosophers. These have helped me greatly in understanding why the Western Christian church continues in the way it does, proclaiming an emasculated Gospel and focusing on the things of this life (though not necessarily of this world), which are considerably temporary in light of the eternity that we are destined to enter.


For instance, I don't see how "Fireproofing" a  marriage will help in an eternal Kingdom when marriages are no longer viable. And the Lord Jesus taught mostly about fixing our gaze on the eternal Kingdom that has "drawn near" and will be put in place when He returns as the conquering King.


Because of these inputs, I was convinced to acquire a classic, by Schaeffer - "The God Who Is There". And as a bonus, my good friend and ministry buddy, Byron Gary lent me his old copy of "How Then Should We Live". Powerful tomes on the way culture influences thought, and the way we then live.


To complete the next few months of reading is a two-volume work by Dr. Craig Keener on Miracles.  A great work detailing the historical evidence to show that miracles did not die out after the last apostle (John) passed away, and thousands of documented supernatural events of healing, exorcisms and revivifications occuring in various parts of the world, including the Philippines. This, I believe to be very, very important.


In one instance in the book, Dr. Keener vividly describes a healing of someone that was bound to a wheelchair for years, yet crawled to the front of a church congregation to pray for healing. And got it. And a whole new congregation was brought forth because of that miracle.  To say that these things don't happen simply because it's not the "uniform human experience" as propounded by David Hume or because your previous church background is your mental baggage is simply unreasonable, in the light of the evidence that does exist. 


And if you look hard enough by yourself, you'll be surprised at what you'll find.


Question: would you be brave enough to actually pray for a miracle to take place - regardless of whether the Lord God would or wouldn't instantaneously intervene because of your appeal to Him in behalf of that person desperately seeking that divine response?


This, I find quite significant, as I have started to put together my own documentation of these supernatural occurrences which validate the truths about the Judeo Christian God we believe in, and the reality of the eternal future that we all face - with or without the God who is there.


I  never quite thought that the study of Christian apologetics, church history, the history of the translations of the scriptures, New Testament criticism and philosophy, from a Christian perspective would ever be one of my passions.  But it is. And in a really big way.


And what's amazing is that it has truly changed my perspectives, priorities and desires in such a radical fashion that if I had to reveal them to close friends and family that don't share my worldview, I'd be percieved to be as quite bizarre or just plain nuts.


Well, the Roman ruler said the same thing of Paul in the book of Acts. So I'm in good company.


Renovating my mind - or, in the KJV tradition "renewing" my mind - has taken on quite a different meaning and direction already and still challenges me to press on - though I must admit that it's not exactly something I relish simply because I realize that it will definitely entail losing out on more of what I would want or desire, as I must put in place what is desired by the God who is there.


The time for the eternal kingdom to be installed in the history of humanity draws near, and then the judgement - before eternity in it's final, perfect form will be restored in completion.


We must restore it first, where it must be firmly in place: In our minds.

Michael Licona's response to Norman Geisler

I've been quite occupied with ministry and work and haven't had the chance to read, much less update this blog. However, a recent development in the apologetics community caught my attention.


"Stormin'" Norman Geisler, one of the old timers in the apologetics disciplines called out Dr. Michael Licona on his position on a verse of scripture in Matthew 27.  The link to that open letter is here.


While I did not know it at that time, Mike was feeling a lot of pressure from the academic community because of those open letters, despite knowing that it wasn't a justifiable action undertaken by the old timer.


I wrote him to let him know of my support and told him that I clearly saw his point. Apparently, quite a lot of people in the apologetics scholastic community also thought so.


Mike just responded to the open letter and I am posting his response for all of you who care to read it.


An Open Response to Norman Geisler
(updated as of 10 September 2011)

Norman Geisler has taken issue with a portion of my recent book, The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach, in which I proposed that the story of the raised saints in Matthew 27:52-53 should probably be interpreted as apocalyptic imagery rather than literal history. In response, Dr. Geisler has offered strong criticisms in two Open Letters to me on the Internet. Until now I have been unable to comment because I have multiple writing deadlines, two September debates in South Africa for which to prepare, and, consequently, no time to be drawn into what would probably turn into an endless debate. I shared these first two reasons with Dr. Geisler in an email several weeks ago. Yet he insisted that I “give careful and immediate attention” to the matter. I simply could not do this and fulfill the pressing obligations of my ministry, which is my higher priority before the Lord.

Dr. Geisler questions whether I still hold to biblical inerrancy. I want to be clear that I continue to affirm this evangelical distinctive. My conclusion in reference to the raised saints in Matthew 27 was based upon my analysis of the genre of the text. This was not an attempt to wiggle out from under the burden of an inerrant text; it was an attempt to respect the text by seeking to learn what Matthew was trying to communicate. This is responsible hermeneutical practice. Any reasonable doctrine of biblical inerrancy must respect authorial intent rather than predetermine it.

When writing a sizable book, there will always be portions in which one could have articulated a matter more appropriately. And those portions, I suppose, will often be located outside the primary thesis of the book, such as the one on which Dr. Geisler has chosen to focus. When writing my book, I always regarded the entirety of Matthew 27 as historical narrative containing apocalyptic allusions. I selected the term “poetic” in order to allude to similar phenomena in the Greco-Roman literature in general and Virgil in particular. However, since Matthew is a Jew writing to Jews, “apocalyptic” may be the most appropriate technical term, while “special effects” communicates the gist on a popular level.

Further research over the last year in the Greco-Roman literature has led me to reexamine the position I took in my book. Although additional research certainly remains, at present I am just as inclined to understand the narrative of the raised saints in Matthew 27 as a report of a factual (i.e., literal) event as I am to view it as an apocalyptic symbol. It may also be a report of a real event described partially in apocalyptic terms. I will be pleased to revise the relevant section in a future edition of my book.

Michael R. Licona, Ph.D.

August 31, 2011

We the undersigned are aware of the above stated position by Dr. Michael Licona, including his present position pertaining to the report of the raised saints in Matthew 27: He proposes that the report may refer to a literal/historical event, a real event partially described in apocalyptic terms, or an apocalyptic symbol. Though most of us do not hold Licona’s proposal, we are in firm agreement that it is compatible with biblical inerrancy, despite objections to the contrary. We are encouraged to see the confluence of biblical scholars, historians, and philosophers in this question.

It has come to my attention that this matter may become a political/theological hot potato. The scholars on the list have stood with me. It was not my intent to amass a huge list. It was my intent to demonstrate that a significant number of the most highly respected evangelical scholars, all of whom are members of ETS, see no incompatibility between the position I took in my book and the doctrine of biblical inerrancy. The list has served its purpose. I have no desire to be the cause of pressure brought on those who have stood with me or on their academic institutions. Therefore, I have decided to remove the list of names for the present time at least. In no case, did an institution demand that their professors withdraw their names.

A number of scholars have suggested that this discussion is better played out in the theatre of an academic forum. I could not agree more! Southeastern Theological Review (STR) has offered to host a ‘virtual’ roundtable discussion involving several significant scholars commenting on my book. A main subject of this roundtable will be the raising of the dead saints in Matthew 27:52-53. This roundtable discussion(s) will be posted on the STR web site and will precede a full journal devoted to my book in the Summer 2012 edition of STR.

Renewing the mind and the faith

Of recent, it's been a tough ten days.

Ever since we started upping our involvement in a ministry towards tribal groups in selected areas around Mindanao (count 'em - 35!), there have been strange coincidences of unexpected setbacks that some of the regular "no risk" ministers prefer to call "superstitious" occurences.  

What would they know. They live such programmed lives, anything spontaneous would qualify as miraculous. And let's not get into the matter of the Holy Spirit. There are just too many people making Him in their image and likeness in their minds that it's no wonder He chooses to go elsewhere.

At any rate, these minute by minute disturbances range from the irritatingly mundane to the disturbing, and sometimes cruel.

And all this, happening at exactly the time when we made major inroads in the ministry towards the pilot area in Western Mindanao, where we're likely to achieve a degree of success.

But then again, the learned ministers of the Word from the Western Evangelical bible colleges would know better. These are superstitious thoughts and just merely "occurences".

Sure. Let's trade shoes for a month, and then let's talk.

These are the times when I find it convenient to be cynical and question why of all times, when I put my skills and network to a Godly use, is when we suffer an onslaught of these events.  And what's worse, we can't make a head or tail of where they come from or how to counter them.

At least, when I was a new believer, I had fellow likeminded new believers to pray with against these things and for a time, (I'd like to think) we kept them abay.

But of course, we're more educated believers now and these things don't happen. Right.

As far as I can remember, it was in the gospel narratives when the manifestation of supernatural "non beings" like demons were mentioned a great many times more than they were ever mentioned in the annals of the Old Testament.

And we (rather, my divinely educated friends from the Ivy League Christian universities) prefer to refer to them as "superstitious" concepts. Let's take that up with the Coming King when he gets here, okay?

However, in all this, I found encouragement in the most unlikely places.

First a good online friend and fellow apologist (so I'd like to think of myself as such as well) Joshua Tongol ( http://joshuatongol.com/) comforted me and told me to read up on George Muller, who influenced him greatly in his life.

So I did. I found a great many resources such as this one - http://www.georgemuller.blogspot.com/ - which also led me to this wonderful blog piece by Kimberly Powell: http://viaperegrini.wordpress.com/2011/06/16/the-unbearable-unexpected-and-unimaginable-adventure-of-george-mueller-and-me/.  Although the spelling was off and the site she had pointed in the wrong direction, Kim gave such a fresh, candid account of her dependency on the Lord God that I was just taken aback by the vividness of her experience.

It was then when I had realized that the value of studying apologetics first helps in reworking the mind's orientation to be able to think in terms of faith.  Because more often, what we should believe is always in conflict with what we can think should be possible or impossible.

Faith was never logical or meant to be logical.  Somehow I wished that that was deliberately mentioned by the Lord Jesus in the gospel narratives so we could hold on to it earlier than discovering it much later when studying the philosophy of the Kingdom.

But no matter, I discovered the reason why I had to study these difficult subjects first - so that my obstinate mind would know the Lord God thoroughly, and through these rough times, come into consonance with a heart that can be inclined to believe when the mind says it's just not possible to.

I have yet to come through this fire, but deep down I know that my family and I will see this through, with the Grace of the Lord God - to whom I have prayed to just hold my hand in all this, as I can't see any visible indication of a solution to all the problems that have been dumped on me - financial and otherwise.

Just the comfort of being close to Him will be my only solace. But there will be a glorious ending to this. It's what He promised, and we have to hold on to it.  There's no other way.

I hope to post about the surprise when it gets here. Until then, I'd appreciate your prayers.