2007-2008 Year In Review

The Sword of the Mind turns 1!


Today marks one year since I first posted to Gladio Mentis! This blog has seen some changes since then, both in content and intent. A few of the ideas raised here have generated considerable feedback, which has been particularly satisfying for me. This is not my sole venture in theology/evangelism/apologetics, but it has become one of the more constructive expressions of my Christian ministry efforts. The only thing worse than nostalgia is amnesia, so I decided to put together a quick rundown of the “blog year”. These are my personal reflections on where the blog has gone, where my own apologetics journey has taken me, and what the future (might) hold.

I think my approach to blogging on apologetics has changed considerably since I first began. I’ve become more convinced that growing Gladio Mentis into a comprehensive catch-all for apologetics isn’t reasonable, unless I somehow manage to do this for a living. There are plenty of resources available for believers on the basics, so I’ve tended to focus more on ideas that I don’t think are as well represented. I don’t see that changing any time soon. I have a tendency not to post brief, news-type posts, which I also don’t think will be changing. I prefer to consider an issue before I talk about it; again, there are plenty of other places to find current-events Christian discussions. For the time being, it’s a better use of my time to point believers towards information that’s already available, and use Gladio Mentis to fill in what’s not.

A few notable highlights from the year past:

Continuing Series

The “Stop The Madness”, “Dangerous Ducks”, “The Whole Story”, and “The Vaunted Opposition” series have been well-received. Unfortunately, "Vaunted Opposition" has been mostly involved with responding to Marshall Brain, but I plan to remedy that shortly. “Stop the Madness”, as expected, has set the teeth of some fellow Christians on edge, but that was somewhat the point anyway. “The Whole Story” collection has probably been more appreciated by fellow Christians than any other posts, to my great satisfaction. The “Core Apologetic” series, on the other hand, hasn’t developed as well as I wanted it to, probably because I aimed a bit high. The scope of the original outline is/was too broad, so I’m planning a re-vamp to condense it into a less daunting form.

Best Posts

Of the posts I was able to publish during this year, I consider these to be among the best:

Curing Worldly Word Curling
Fatherhood – The Ultimate Apologetic
The Rules of the Game
Unnecessary Necessities (part 1)
Unnecessary Necessities (part 2)
Scopes This Out
Galileo’s Gaffe
...and, the three-part discussion found in Odds Are, They Don’t Get It, Predestination Plinko, and Hopeless Hypotheses.

The "hopeless hypotheses" idea has generated a lot of discussion, and it's proven to be very effective when discussing spiritual and religious issues with those critical of Christianity.

Talking Points

The last three posts linked to above generated some animated discussions here, which, in hindsight, had little chance of being productive from the get-go. Ron and I had conversed at great length via email over many of these topics before, and he was never as interested in examining his own beliefs as rolling his eyes at mine. When I say great length, that’s no exaggeration. Those conversations (literally) added up to more words than the first Harry Potter book! Sadly, when I tried to force Ron to actually answer for his beliefs and remain on-topic, he chose to disappear. With any luck, he may appear again, but if not, I can at least hold some small hope that he’s learned something about what the Christian faith actually teaches, and where atheism runs into trouble.

Tom Gilson’s blog, Thinking Christian, was the site of some more productive conversations. No surprise there, as TK has a significantly more readers and active participants than Gladio Mentis. These threads (Hopeless Hypotheses and Atheism Required for Science?) were instigated by posts here at GM, while these (The Myth of Galileo, Recognizing the One True Religion, Unconditional Love, The Skeptical Inquirer, David Heddle: Science and Religion, and The Sense of God were discussions that I jumped into which proved very enlightening.

The Arnold Murray Saga

I never expected my critique of Murray to generate as much buzz as it has. In the last four months or so, almost half of the visitors to Gladio Mentis have viewed this page and its related follow-ups (A Challenge, Serpent Seed Part 1 and Part 2). I’m encouraged to know that so many of Murray’s disciples are reading this information, but also a bit discouraged that so many take a cultish-ly defensive attitude; most of his supporters aren’t defending his theology, they’re accusing me of being afraid of the truth.

Blog Synergy

I found out yesterday that the blog Atheism is Dead (as indicated in the last post) would like me to contribute posts and articles. This is a good opportunity for more intellectual interaction, and greater exposure for the ideas being put forward on Gladio Mentis.

MedicineMan

From a personal standpoint, it’s been an interesting year, for sure. My wife and I welcomed our first child, both my father and mother retired, and the company I work for moved to new ownership. I've found myself dealing with some unsettling health issues, which will hopefully be resolved soon. I’m still working with GotQuestions.org, handling mostly questions related to apologetics. The theatre ministry that I co-founded at our local Church, Spotlight, has recently taken over our annual passion play, with yours truly handling writing and direction responsibilities. All in all, it’s been a busy, fully stocked twelve months. The next twelve promise to be just as hectic!

I’m also feeling more and more of a call towards apologetics. I’d love to get an actual degree in something relevant, Lord willing. Apologetics and philosophy programs tailored to non-traditional students do exist, but some are better than others. The first thing I need to do is decide where and how to get started. With work, family, and financial responsibilities, that might take some time. Still, I’m not going to refuse what I’m convinced is the Lord’s calling for me. I’m just going to take my time and act on opportunities as they arise.

Going forward, I’d like to continue to defend and emphasize the rational, legitimate nature of Christian belief. That, more so than inerrancy or specific doctrinal defenses, seems to have been the most common area of questioning, and the most socially relevant topic. I have often been tired, frustrated, and disinterested in this pursuit, but once God puts a stamp on your heart, there’s nothing you can do to get away from it! Despite the complications, apologetics is, and always will be (I think), the primary focus of my ministry life. I’ll take my pep-talk inspiration from none other than C.S. Lewis, who, as usual, put it quite well (emphasis mine):

“To be ignorant and simple now—not to be able to meet the enemies on their own ground—would be to throw down our weapons, and to betray our uneducated brethren who have, under God, no defense but us against the intellectual attacks of the heathen. Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered. The cool intellect must work not only against cool intellect on the other side, but against the muddy heathen mysticisms which deny intellect altogether...A man who has lived in many places is not likely to be deceived by the local errors of his native village; the scholar has lived in many times and is therefore in some degree immune from the great cataract if nonsense that pours from the press and the microphone of his own age.” – C.S. Lewis, “Learning in Wartime”

One year down, who knows what to come...bring it on!