Earlier today, I got word that the outpost I visited a few days back had an insider attack. I called my soldiers there and got word that they were safe and accounted for. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for three other soldiers: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/afghan-security-forces-uniform-turns-gun-kills-three-131230896.html. When I was there a few days ago, my soldiers noted that things seemed "too quiet." This is another reminder that even in the present lull before our departure, we must remain vigilant. This is also another reminder to pray for our soldiers, particularly for three families whose worlds were changed today.
On a related note, at my new post, most of my soldiers directly advise their Afghan counterparts on a daily basis (this is presently one of the more dangerous jobs because of the possibility of an insider attack). One of my new responsibilities will be to patrol the motor pool while these many dozens of soldiers prepare their vehicles, and then pray with them before they leave. In particular, I will pray with one team tomorrow that has come under constant fire at their distant location, which is in enemy country. Please pray for their continued safety.
The command chaplain here happily handed the reigns over to me for tomorrow's traditional chapel service. I look forward to the new venue! I also have reserved a weekly slot for my No BS BS, which will track with a DVD series by Mark Driscoll called "Vintage Jesus."
One of the things I enjoy at this new post (besides the renewal of dozens of friendships) is the vast number of international soldiers attached to this unit (we only had a few left at the old post). I have already met a substantial number of Canadians, Aussies, and Turks. I have also befriended a Romanian soldier through the initiative of one of my soldiers. I also am becoming friends with my command chaplain.
I have brought a number of my running initiatives over here. Now that I am in a much larger post, I tried to run the Army Ten Miler on the gravel paths that run along the outer walls. Gravel really slows you down! As the sun set, I decided to take the last half of the run to the treadmill. I think I will be able to recruit a couple dozen more of my soldiers to participate in the half marathon series. Woopee!
Please pray that God would quickly deepen (or re-deepen) my friendships with these soldiers. I cannot as easily transition into weighty discussions of spiritual matters like I could with the more established and maintained friendships at my old post. And as always, pray that in my Spirit-sustained service and sin-induced stumbling, Christ would be magnified before the eyes of a watching and broken people!
21.9.13
20.9.13
Darwin on the Decline
My wife was originally a marine biology major at her prestigious college. At one point, she attended a lecture by a visiting proponent of Intelligent Design. When she later told a science professor that she didn't find the ID proponent's views entirely absurd, the professor said that such a response was "scary."
And so it is with the old guard of the scientific academy. They have sought for years to drive opposing viewpoints regarding origins from the intellectual sphere, only to find their own ideas more opening criticized than at any point in the past fifty years.
Philosophical Darwinism has come under attack from a variety of directions. Postmodern philosophy as a whole has proven particularly destructive. It has exposed the reality that facts to not appear in a vacuum, but are always viewed through the skewed lens of human perception. Everybody brings a wide array of faith assumptions and accompanying biases to the table.
A number of Christian scientists have also levied substantial critiques against philosophical Darwinism, but often somewhat unsuccessfully, as they tend try to make their case scientifically, rather than philosophically. As I will discuss in a moment, to engage modern "science" on its own terms it to engage an enterprise that is intrinsically flawed in its philosophy.
Recently, a number of substantial of books advocating ID have been put out by intellectual heavyweights within the scientific community (see, for example, this book review: http://spectator.org/archives/2013/09/18/darwinism-and-materialism-they). In addition, I have read at least two articles in the normally vapid pages of the New York Times that have criticized philosophical Darwinism in the last two months alone (see opinion pieces by Trevin Wax and Ross Douthat).
Of course, what many of these writers argue regarding PD are merely reflections of a century old critique made my Christian philosophers: Before one engages any intellectual enterprise, they must first make an apriori (pre-conceived) decision to either place their faith in God's inspired revelation or in man's autonomous reason. In other words, all knowledge arises out of a worldview--one that either makes God the author of knowledge or man.
As the book review above rightly contends, Darwinist scientific claims are rooted first and foremost in a materialist philosophy (a philosophy that assumes the material world to be the whole of reality). Thus, the science that "proves" a Darwinist conception is skewed from the outset--eliminating potential data (i.e, metaphysical/supernatural data) from the investigatory process because of the apriori contention that such data does not exist. Do you see the circular argumentation of philosophical Darwinism? They rule out the metaphysical in their quest to explain origins, which in turn--surprise!--rules out the metaphysical as a possible explanation. To break it down further:
1) PD, before engaging in any scientific process, starts with the assumption the autonomous human mind is the ultimate arbiter of knowledge.
2) PD assumes, again from outset, that the mind is unaffected by sin and thus eliminates a serious consideration in terms of biasing a potential investigation.
3) PD assumes that the physical sciences, which typically are used to study physical things, have rightful claim to the metaphysical question of origins, which has long been understood to belong in the domain of theology and philosophy, which both seek to understand the physical within a larger framework.
4) PD, upon the outset of its investigation, immediately eliminates a crucial data set--the metaphysical realm.
5) PD only employs empirical (sensory) tools to study the study, since those are the only tools that exist.
Do you see how skewed the whole procedure is? The whole process begins with faith in the evolved human mind. This assumption then justifies itself with only the data and tools that are afforded by the evolved human mind. At the end of the process, initiated and governed by the evolved human mind, we find that we have an evolved human mind. We can have it no other way. If materialism is the governing philosophy, than the only possible scientific method available to us is that governed by Darwinism.
Of course, these attacks on PD, leveled from many different directions, do not begin to address the horrendous consequences of Darwinism, which removes all moral constraints from man. Thus, Hitler, in consistently employing Darwin's "survival of the fittest" paradigm through his own evolved mental processes, decided to wipe out millions of innocent men, women, and children. PD naturally leads to a utilitarian view of life and morality, with the ends of "the fittest" always justifying the means to perpetuate their survival.
And because PD is rooted in a materialist philosophy--with its all-encompassing worldview and set of religious claims about God, man, and the world--it would be natural then the the PD scholars who still dominate the scientific academy would throw a hissy whenever their claims are challenged. In fact, much of the venom shot at the authors above does not substantially take on their critiques, but relies on ridicule and ad hominem attacks. That's because it is not an objective scientific process and conclusion that is being attacked, but a religious Scientism that is feeling increasingly threatened.
And so it is with the old guard of the scientific academy. They have sought for years to drive opposing viewpoints regarding origins from the intellectual sphere, only to find their own ideas more opening criticized than at any point in the past fifty years.
Philosophical Darwinism has come under attack from a variety of directions. Postmodern philosophy as a whole has proven particularly destructive. It has exposed the reality that facts to not appear in a vacuum, but are always viewed through the skewed lens of human perception. Everybody brings a wide array of faith assumptions and accompanying biases to the table.
A number of Christian scientists have also levied substantial critiques against philosophical Darwinism, but often somewhat unsuccessfully, as they tend try to make their case scientifically, rather than philosophically. As I will discuss in a moment, to engage modern "science" on its own terms it to engage an enterprise that is intrinsically flawed in its philosophy.
Recently, a number of substantial of books advocating ID have been put out by intellectual heavyweights within the scientific community (see, for example, this book review: http://spectator.org/archives/2013/09/18/darwinism-and-materialism-they). In addition, I have read at least two articles in the normally vapid pages of the New York Times that have criticized philosophical Darwinism in the last two months alone (see opinion pieces by Trevin Wax and Ross Douthat).
Of course, what many of these writers argue regarding PD are merely reflections of a century old critique made my Christian philosophers: Before one engages any intellectual enterprise, they must first make an apriori (pre-conceived) decision to either place their faith in God's inspired revelation or in man's autonomous reason. In other words, all knowledge arises out of a worldview--one that either makes God the author of knowledge or man.
As the book review above rightly contends, Darwinist scientific claims are rooted first and foremost in a materialist philosophy (a philosophy that assumes the material world to be the whole of reality). Thus, the science that "proves" a Darwinist conception is skewed from the outset--eliminating potential data (i.e, metaphysical/supernatural data) from the investigatory process because of the apriori contention that such data does not exist. Do you see the circular argumentation of philosophical Darwinism? They rule out the metaphysical in their quest to explain origins, which in turn--surprise!--rules out the metaphysical as a possible explanation. To break it down further:
1) PD, before engaging in any scientific process, starts with the assumption the autonomous human mind is the ultimate arbiter of knowledge.
2) PD assumes, again from outset, that the mind is unaffected by sin and thus eliminates a serious consideration in terms of biasing a potential investigation.
3) PD assumes that the physical sciences, which typically are used to study physical things, have rightful claim to the metaphysical question of origins, which has long been understood to belong in the domain of theology and philosophy, which both seek to understand the physical within a larger framework.
4) PD, upon the outset of its investigation, immediately eliminates a crucial data set--the metaphysical realm.
5) PD only employs empirical (sensory) tools to study the study, since those are the only tools that exist.
Do you see how skewed the whole procedure is? The whole process begins with faith in the evolved human mind. This assumption then justifies itself with only the data and tools that are afforded by the evolved human mind. At the end of the process, initiated and governed by the evolved human mind, we find that we have an evolved human mind. We can have it no other way. If materialism is the governing philosophy, than the only possible scientific method available to us is that governed by Darwinism.
Of course, these attacks on PD, leveled from many different directions, do not begin to address the horrendous consequences of Darwinism, which removes all moral constraints from man. Thus, Hitler, in consistently employing Darwin's "survival of the fittest" paradigm through his own evolved mental processes, decided to wipe out millions of innocent men, women, and children. PD naturally leads to a utilitarian view of life and morality, with the ends of "the fittest" always justifying the means to perpetuate their survival.
And because PD is rooted in a materialist philosophy--with its all-encompassing worldview and set of religious claims about God, man, and the world--it would be natural then the the PD scholars who still dominate the scientific academy would throw a hissy whenever their claims are challenged. In fact, much of the venom shot at the authors above does not substantially take on their critiques, but relies on ridicule and ad hominem attacks. That's because it is not an objective scientific process and conclusion that is being attacked, but a religious Scientism that is feeling increasingly threatened.
19.9.13
Sick, Moving, and Growing by Grace
This past Sunday--the last day before I moved to my new post--I had the privilege of not only preaching at the morning traditional service, but the evening contemporary service as well.
God sustained my voice. After the first chapel, having preached and led the singing, my throat felt scratchy and strained. (I also do everything without a mic.) Even though I practically threw my voice out again singing contemporary (if already dated) praise songs in the evening, God enabled me to throw the remainder of my voice into the evening preaching.
It turns out that it wasn't just the preaching and wild-man singing. By the time we began our movement to the new post on Monday, my scratchy throat descended deeper than my vocal chords, and it hurt on occasion to speak. On Tuesday, it grew into fatigue and a runny nose. By the time I jumped on a chopper to visit some of our soldiers in the boonies yesterday, the solidity of my face descended into pressurized gas within my face and a liquid river with several spouts on the outside. On my chopper ride back today, the congestion ascended into the top of my head so that I was partially deaf and disoriented when we landed. After working in the office for a few hours, I decided to call it quits a bit early. It seems that this dust-infused cold strikes everyone at some point while they're out here. Right now, it seems to be striking every room. I feel like I should put blood on the doorposts. Well, maybe that's a bit dramatic. :)
Over the past couple of days, I have read through some of my old pieces of fiction writing. I cannot help but notice that God has grown me (though I still have a long way to go!). I wrote a 220 page novel on Malawi in 2007, mostly while in the country. While I think the focus and issues dealt with in the piece would make for a good story, the writing is pretty mediocre and the theology is shallow, confusing, and cliched. In 2008, I wrote a 120 page novel on a family processing the grief of losing a son/brother in Iraq. The writing still leaves something to be desired, and the implicit theology is still a bit confusing, but I will probably send it to my (five foot tall) editor for an initial read-through at some point soon. I wrote a short story through the eyes of a young woman in her final hours of battling cancer a few years ago, and that was just sent off to the little Mrs. The writing and thinking are both more coherent.
I note these improvements with appreciation and humility, as many of my weaknesses (arrogance, foolishness, etc.) are painfully exposed in my writing. But God--through His Word and Spirit first and foremost, my call to and practice of the ministry, my marriage and growing family, additional trips to Malawi, countless trying experiences in the Army, and bits of everyday pain and suffering--has grown me. I can't see it in myself. I am constant condemning or acquitting myself in my sin apart from Christ. But God has worked in me to will and work according to His good pleasure. My writing bears testimony to His faithfulness to me.
Tomorrow, I begin a new daily routine with my chaplain assistant--morning prayer and time in the Word. May God bless this time, even as I "sniff, sniff, sniff" throughout.
God sustained my voice. After the first chapel, having preached and led the singing, my throat felt scratchy and strained. (I also do everything without a mic.) Even though I practically threw my voice out again singing contemporary (if already dated) praise songs in the evening, God enabled me to throw the remainder of my voice into the evening preaching.
It turns out that it wasn't just the preaching and wild-man singing. By the time we began our movement to the new post on Monday, my scratchy throat descended deeper than my vocal chords, and it hurt on occasion to speak. On Tuesday, it grew into fatigue and a runny nose. By the time I jumped on a chopper to visit some of our soldiers in the boonies yesterday, the solidity of my face descended into pressurized gas within my face and a liquid river with several spouts on the outside. On my chopper ride back today, the congestion ascended into the top of my head so that I was partially deaf and disoriented when we landed. After working in the office for a few hours, I decided to call it quits a bit early. It seems that this dust-infused cold strikes everyone at some point while they're out here. Right now, it seems to be striking every room. I feel like I should put blood on the doorposts. Well, maybe that's a bit dramatic. :)
Over the past couple of days, I have read through some of my old pieces of fiction writing. I cannot help but notice that God has grown me (though I still have a long way to go!). I wrote a 220 page novel on Malawi in 2007, mostly while in the country. While I think the focus and issues dealt with in the piece would make for a good story, the writing is pretty mediocre and the theology is shallow, confusing, and cliched. In 2008, I wrote a 120 page novel on a family processing the grief of losing a son/brother in Iraq. The writing still leaves something to be desired, and the implicit theology is still a bit confusing, but I will probably send it to my (five foot tall) editor for an initial read-through at some point soon. I wrote a short story through the eyes of a young woman in her final hours of battling cancer a few years ago, and that was just sent off to the little Mrs. The writing and thinking are both more coherent.
I note these improvements with appreciation and humility, as many of my weaknesses (arrogance, foolishness, etc.) are painfully exposed in my writing. But God--through His Word and Spirit first and foremost, my call to and practice of the ministry, my marriage and growing family, additional trips to Malawi, countless trying experiences in the Army, and bits of everyday pain and suffering--has grown me. I can't see it in myself. I am constant condemning or acquitting myself in my sin apart from Christ. But God has worked in me to will and work according to His good pleasure. My writing bears testimony to His faithfulness to me.
Tomorrow, I begin a new daily routine with my chaplain assistant--morning prayer and time in the Word. May God bless this time, even as I "sniff, sniff, sniff" throughout.
18.9.13
Visiting Soldiers
I am presently in a more remote part of the country, visiting several of my soldiers that I haven't seen since our mobilization in the States. Another pleasant reunion.
Between my mobilization and my first couple of months at my other post, I feel like I have progressed through two phases of this deployment. In line with that sense, I will spend some of my upcoming posts reflecting on how I noticed God at work in His providence in my last phase. Perhaps, through these reflections, I will learn lessons in following Him in the phases to come.
As an aside, if you happen to notice any typos in these posts, they are the result of three deficiencies: (1) my speed of writing and lack of desire to edit, (2) the spellcheck function doesn't work out here for some reason, and (3) my editor is currently half a world away (and I got her pregnant!).
Enjoy my baby boy, but beware him "going ostrich."
Between my mobilization and my first couple of months at my other post, I feel like I have progressed through two phases of this deployment. In line with that sense, I will spend some of my upcoming posts reflecting on how I noticed God at work in His providence in my last phase. Perhaps, through these reflections, I will learn lessons in following Him in the phases to come.
As an aside, if you happen to notice any typos in these posts, they are the result of three deficiencies: (1) my speed of writing and lack of desire to edit, (2) the spellcheck function doesn't work out here for some reason, and (3) my editor is currently half a world away (and I got her pregnant!).
Enjoy my baby boy, but beware him "going ostrich."
17.9.13
Commonalities in a Small Corner of the World
Firmly ensconced in my new location today, I began to set up my cubby-hole office with my assistant, greet long-lost soldiers, suffer through an array of newcomer briefs, and spend some quality time with several chaplains and assistants.
My chaplain assistant and I spent an hour or two talking with the command chaplain and his assistant, as well as another chaplain who is visiting from another post. All of them are from Alabama. In fact, I am always impressed by the number of Alabameranians (!) in the military and am almost always favorably impressed by them. They tend to carry themselves with an extra measure of dignity, with wisdom and a not-too-serious outlook on life that is a good counter to us Sonic the Hedgehog folks from DC.
My command chaplain is part of the Church of Christ, but he very consciously labels himself part of the Calvinist wing that draws strongly from the Presbyterians and the Reformed Baptist London Confession of Faith. He is very humble and is eager to make me useful for Christ's sake. The visiting chaplain is Southern Baptist, and also very intentionally identifies himself as a Calvinist.
Both are eager to avoid the typical Calvinist-Arminian debates, which often become petty. I agree. Instead of using Ephesians 1 or Romans 9 to beat someone over the head about God's sovereignty, why not share with them the good news that God loved His people from the beginning of time, though they followed the prince of the power of the air apart from His grace?
God's sovereign election and predestination of some sinners to eternal life may be bad news for the Arminian viewpoint, but it is good news for the Arminian. It is beautiful! Even reprobation--God's predestined passing over and condemning of some sinners--demonstrates the severity of His justice upon sin, to the glory of His name (Rom. 9). The ultimate question is not "Why did God choose some and not others?" but "Why did God choose anyone of us, me included, when we chose to rebel against Him, reject His Word, resist His Spirit, and crucify His Son?" (Acts 7)
We all deserve the eternal death penalty. The fact that God sent His Son to bare that penalty in my place and acquit me by His righteousness means that I have been given a new life--something entirely unearned and a Spirit-given opportunity to live as if I should have been dead.
My chaplain assistant and I spent an hour or two talking with the command chaplain and his assistant, as well as another chaplain who is visiting from another post. All of them are from Alabama. In fact, I am always impressed by the number of Alabameranians (!) in the military and am almost always favorably impressed by them. They tend to carry themselves with an extra measure of dignity, with wisdom and a not-too-serious outlook on life that is a good counter to us Sonic the Hedgehog folks from DC.
My command chaplain is part of the Church of Christ, but he very consciously labels himself part of the Calvinist wing that draws strongly from the Presbyterians and the Reformed Baptist London Confession of Faith. He is very humble and is eager to make me useful for Christ's sake. The visiting chaplain is Southern Baptist, and also very intentionally identifies himself as a Calvinist.
Both are eager to avoid the typical Calvinist-Arminian debates, which often become petty. I agree. Instead of using Ephesians 1 or Romans 9 to beat someone over the head about God's sovereignty, why not share with them the good news that God loved His people from the beginning of time, though they followed the prince of the power of the air apart from His grace?
God's sovereign election and predestination of some sinners to eternal life may be bad news for the Arminian viewpoint, but it is good news for the Arminian. It is beautiful! Even reprobation--God's predestined passing over and condemning of some sinners--demonstrates the severity of His justice upon sin, to the glory of His name (Rom. 9). The ultimate question is not "Why did God choose some and not others?" but "Why did God choose anyone of us, me included, when we chose to rebel against Him, reject His Word, resist His Spirit, and crucify His Son?" (Acts 7)
We all deserve the eternal death penalty. The fact that God sent His Son to bare that penalty in my place and acquit me by His righteousness means that I have been given a new life--something entirely unearned and a Spirit-given opportunity to live as if I should have been dead.
16.9.13
New Beginnings
I arrived at my new location today, safe and sound.
Of the dozen or so who are moving over this month, six came today--three in an early convoy and three of us in a later one. Moving with me was a junior officer who hopes to become a chaplain down the road and my chaplain assistant, who arrived today. I have already lost him tonight, but will hopefully find him tomorrow. He is from inner city DC and hopes to use the Army to propel himself beyond his surroundings and set up a more secure future for himself and his prospective family.
It was humbling to hear from those at my old post who were sad to see me go and from those at my new post who are happy that I'm here. I have no set chapel service yet, or a Bible study, but I hope that those things will come in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I can invest much of my time visiting and counseling soldiers. I look forward to seeing what God has for me here, in His gracious providence. May He be glorified, here, as before, and always.
Of the dozen or so who are moving over this month, six came today--three in an early convoy and three of us in a later one. Moving with me was a junior officer who hopes to become a chaplain down the road and my chaplain assistant, who arrived today. I have already lost him tonight, but will hopefully find him tomorrow. He is from inner city DC and hopes to use the Army to propel himself beyond his surroundings and set up a more secure future for himself and his prospective family.
It was humbling to hear from those at my old post who were sad to see me go and from those at my new post who are happy that I'm here. I have no set chapel service yet, or a Bible study, but I hope that those things will come in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I can invest much of my time visiting and counseling soldiers. I look forward to seeing what God has for me here, in His gracious providence. May He be glorified, here, as before, and always.
15.9.13
The Stagnant Zambezi
I finally got around to reading The Lower River, by Paul Theraux, a fictional book about Malawi sent to me by my sister. The story revolves around Allis Hock, an American man, who in the aftermath of his divorce from his wife of three decades, decides to return to the beautiful country of his young, Peace Corps days: Malawi.
A story of a man allured by Malawi after decades away intrigued me, to say the least. I expected him to find a changed country, but with the same objects of love hidden beneath the surface. Instead, the story follows a man who finds himself trapped further and further within the interior of a country and culture rotted away by years of Western aid and corruption. His idealism is quickly dashed. He is begged and robbed into poverty and grows sicker and weaker by the day. The beautiful trees are cut away, and the waters flowing into the Zambezi are stagnant and polluted.
In her book, Dead Aid, Malawian-born and Harvard-educated author, Dambisa Moyo, makes the case the foreign aid has not only been unhelpful to Africa, but has largely destroyed it. Theraux's book is an unflinching, pessimistic, all-encompassing portrait of the same truth. Hock is treated by the people he comes to help as a walking ATM, shamelessly exploited by the desperate and greedy. The honorary treatment he sometimes receives is a thinly-veiled veneer for cynical and manipulative ploys to drain the very life from him. (Spoiler Alert) On the verge of being sold into slavery, he is rescued by an embassy official. The book closes with Allis leaving a trail of dust behind his escape vehicle, saved from the ravages of Africa.
As you might expect, the utterly depressing tale and finale is far from I expected and even further from my experiences in Malawi. My journeys throughout the interior have largely uncovered rural people who were genuinely kind and joyful, making me feel safer in pitch-black nights than I do at times in the States. Hospitality was not a pretense for financial exploitation. Villagers brought the firstfruits of their crops to the local churches--their symbolic way of saying that it was more important to them that the Bread of Life go forth rather than feed upon the meager bread of the land.
Did I experience some of the evils of the dependency culture? Certainly. In the cities, under the greatest Western influence, many kids grow up with "money" as the keystone of their meager English vocabulary. Some will accost you and hold their hand before you until you give them money. Others, especially the "mini-bus" drivers, will intentionally and outrageously overcharge Westerners. There is also a general expectation that all Westerners are rich, and in there is no room in that stereotype for the missionary who is serving due to the generosity of others.
All that said, there is (usually) a stark difference between the cities and their Western-crafted culture of dependency and the rural villages and their sense of pride and dignity in their work. There is (usually) a difference between those whose lives revolve around aid agencies and those who lives revolve around the Church. I don't think it's mere coincidence that the Church is hardly given mention in this book.
One of the few occasions is found near the close of the book, when Allis notes that of the many things to change in this remote, transformed village, there is no more church. Looming much larger is the tribal witch doctor with his vicious innoculations and remedies, and tribal superstitions and ceremonies that empower men with AIDS to rape female virgins to cure themselves.
This book, in a bizarre way, reaffirms my love for Malawi--at least the part of Malawi that has remained unspoiled by Western aid. It reaffirms my commitment to Joy to the World, an organization, led by a native Malawian, that offers everything--from a Bible to an innoculation--at a price (an affordable one). Freebies degrade their recipients, leaving them feeling like dependents and not equals. They degrade their providers, turning them into founts of money, not love and compassion. An implicit thesis of this book: Love and compassion recognizes equality. Material aid, apart from such qualities, creates dependency in one generation and hatred in the next.
(Spoiler Alert) As one final, stinging insult to modern African culture and the Western aid that warped it, the one person who Allis could trust and cared for him unconditionally, a precious and dignified sixteen year old girl, is brutally raped by an AIDS-infected man in her last-ditch quest to secure rescue for Allis. What an ugly and poignant analogy--an undefiled culture brutally raped and infected. Allis takes the young woman with him at the end, but the only hope that leaves the reader is one of escape from Africa, not recovery of Africa.
The hope for Africa, as well as America, is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Life in Christ is one that does not recognize suffering and death as the greatest enemies, but sin. Ultimately, suffering and death as well as the sin at their root is conquered by Christ (1 Cor. 15). Likewise, money is not viewed as the cure for the misdiagnosed disease. If sin is the fundamental problem, then the perfect life and atoning death of Christ is the fundamental answer. Belonging to Christ imbues a sinner with dignity that cannot be bought or taken away with money.
Love is not a transaction made with money, it is the Spiritual overflow of the grateful life in Christ. The love of Christ will abound for the sinner saved by grace in life and death. And we await the day when it will spring forth from the eternal throne of Christ, from which the redeemed from every tribe and tongue will drink and be satisfied.
A story of a man allured by Malawi after decades away intrigued me, to say the least. I expected him to find a changed country, but with the same objects of love hidden beneath the surface. Instead, the story follows a man who finds himself trapped further and further within the interior of a country and culture rotted away by years of Western aid and corruption. His idealism is quickly dashed. He is begged and robbed into poverty and grows sicker and weaker by the day. The beautiful trees are cut away, and the waters flowing into the Zambezi are stagnant and polluted.
In her book, Dead Aid, Malawian-born and Harvard-educated author, Dambisa Moyo, makes the case the foreign aid has not only been unhelpful to Africa, but has largely destroyed it. Theraux's book is an unflinching, pessimistic, all-encompassing portrait of the same truth. Hock is treated by the people he comes to help as a walking ATM, shamelessly exploited by the desperate and greedy. The honorary treatment he sometimes receives is a thinly-veiled veneer for cynical and manipulative ploys to drain the very life from him. (Spoiler Alert) On the verge of being sold into slavery, he is rescued by an embassy official. The book closes with Allis leaving a trail of dust behind his escape vehicle, saved from the ravages of Africa.
As you might expect, the utterly depressing tale and finale is far from I expected and even further from my experiences in Malawi. My journeys throughout the interior have largely uncovered rural people who were genuinely kind and joyful, making me feel safer in pitch-black nights than I do at times in the States. Hospitality was not a pretense for financial exploitation. Villagers brought the firstfruits of their crops to the local churches--their symbolic way of saying that it was more important to them that the Bread of Life go forth rather than feed upon the meager bread of the land.
Did I experience some of the evils of the dependency culture? Certainly. In the cities, under the greatest Western influence, many kids grow up with "money" as the keystone of their meager English vocabulary. Some will accost you and hold their hand before you until you give them money. Others, especially the "mini-bus" drivers, will intentionally and outrageously overcharge Westerners. There is also a general expectation that all Westerners are rich, and in there is no room in that stereotype for the missionary who is serving due to the generosity of others.
All that said, there is (usually) a stark difference between the cities and their Western-crafted culture of dependency and the rural villages and their sense of pride and dignity in their work. There is (usually) a difference between those whose lives revolve around aid agencies and those who lives revolve around the Church. I don't think it's mere coincidence that the Church is hardly given mention in this book.
One of the few occasions is found near the close of the book, when Allis notes that of the many things to change in this remote, transformed village, there is no more church. Looming much larger is the tribal witch doctor with his vicious innoculations and remedies, and tribal superstitions and ceremonies that empower men with AIDS to rape female virgins to cure themselves.
This book, in a bizarre way, reaffirms my love for Malawi--at least the part of Malawi that has remained unspoiled by Western aid. It reaffirms my commitment to Joy to the World, an organization, led by a native Malawian, that offers everything--from a Bible to an innoculation--at a price (an affordable one). Freebies degrade their recipients, leaving them feeling like dependents and not equals. They degrade their providers, turning them into founts of money, not love and compassion. An implicit thesis of this book: Love and compassion recognizes equality. Material aid, apart from such qualities, creates dependency in one generation and hatred in the next.
(Spoiler Alert) As one final, stinging insult to modern African culture and the Western aid that warped it, the one person who Allis could trust and cared for him unconditionally, a precious and dignified sixteen year old girl, is brutally raped by an AIDS-infected man in her last-ditch quest to secure rescue for Allis. What an ugly and poignant analogy--an undefiled culture brutally raped and infected. Allis takes the young woman with him at the end, but the only hope that leaves the reader is one of escape from Africa, not recovery of Africa.
The hope for Africa, as well as America, is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Life in Christ is one that does not recognize suffering and death as the greatest enemies, but sin. Ultimately, suffering and death as well as the sin at their root is conquered by Christ (1 Cor. 15). Likewise, money is not viewed as the cure for the misdiagnosed disease. If sin is the fundamental problem, then the perfect life and atoning death of Christ is the fundamental answer. Belonging to Christ imbues a sinner with dignity that cannot be bought or taken away with money.
Love is not a transaction made with money, it is the Spiritual overflow of the grateful life in Christ. The love of Christ will abound for the sinner saved by grace in life and death. And we await the day when it will spring forth from the eternal throne of Christ, from which the redeemed from every tribe and tongue will drink and be satisfied.
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