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Blogs that do not fit into any of the parent categories. These are often personal reflections on current events.

A Call to Post-Trump America: Make the Environment Great Again

As electors cast their vote today, we can breathe a sigh of relief: Donald J Trump is no longer president of the United States. Let that sink in! I honestly believe that even those who supported the president will not miss his conduct in the office, his tantrums, and undignified tweets. They may miss his policies but most will gladly dispense with his destructive personality.

The last four years have been a long whirlwind of chaos that I hope our nation never returns to. Just not having to deal with his tweets and the consequent media outrage surrounding it has been refreshing. Moreover, we can celebrate that civility is returning to the White House.

My main hope is that a Biden presidency can make politics boring again unlike the intrusive disruption it was in our lives for the last four years. With that said, this cannot be an invitation for disengagement as the work is far from complete. Let us not repeat the mistakes of 2009-2010 when an Obama presidency was quickly undermined by losses in the mid-term elections. While the electorate sat back, radical factions of the right woke up and mobilized. Their efforts would eventually bear fruit in the election of 45. A vacuum of a common cause that unites that country will invite a resurgence of irrational populism.

Listening to the 2020 electorate

How do we move forward? For those inclined, I recently posted a summary of election statistics. I don’t speak here as a progressive but as a moderate person of faith. First, it is important not to interpret 2020 as a mandate for the Democratic party. While the party re-took the coveted White House, the losses in Congress point to an electorate that disapproved of Trump but was not fully ready to ride a blue wave. If there was a mandate, it was for the parties to work together, a task that was all but impossible under the previous president.

In the past years, most of my comments and concerns were with a self-destructing GOP. While much work remains before Republicans become a vestige of the party it used to be, I think the moment calls for a plea to the other side. Biden won with a broad coalition that included moderates in the center along with die-hard progressives in the left. The threat of 45 was enough to bring them together but keeping the coalition together will be a different story. If we are to see Americans regain confidence in our institutions again, here is a place to start.

While Trumpism will certainly not fade away, its influence will be diminished in the next years. The best way to combat it is not to simply denounce it and shame its believers. Instead, it should be by showing a viable alternative that listens to the pain that made so many susceptible to populist lies and responds with effective governance. Sure, the right-wing noise machine will constantly put forth a narrative that undermines any progress that does not align with its narrow ideological shackles. Yet, we must believe that eventually, reality will break through the noise.

Make the Environment Mainstream

One of the greatest losses of the last 4 years was in our care for this earth. Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris accord and systematic dismantling of the EPA can have devastating consequences for the long term health of our nation. It is vitally urgent that these steps are remedied right away. It is encouraging to hear that Biden already signaled a return to the Paris agreement in day one of his presidency. That is a good start but much more work needs to be done.

My plea to Democrats is that they become the Green party. Show the American people that it is not about destroying capitalism but saving it and making it sustainable. Work with Republicans, corporations, and anyone willing to tilt this economy towards sustainability. The COVID reset should be an opportunity to shift the economy towards more equitable, holistic, and long-term thinking. An economic system in which a tree is worth more dead than alive is not just an impediment but the root of the problem. We cannot address our climate crisis until this structural problem is rectified.

As a person of faith, I believe there is no issue that carries as much importance and consequence as this one. The environment impacts all races, ethnicities, and socio-economic statuses. It is not even limited to humanity but affects all of life on our beloved planet. Furthermore, it has the potential to unite us but also the danger of ending our existence if we ignore it.

A Task for All of us

Above all, it requires bold leadership that is able to build consensus across many interest groups represented in our political system. That is why it must be de-politicized. This requires a change of approach from both Republicans and Democrats. On the GOP side, moderate voices must rise up and reject climate denialism. We need conservative voices to participate in this process as government policy will not be enough. Courageous moderates should buck the more radical voices in the party that question the science on this matter.

Democrats, on the other hand, should not use this issue as an excuse to enact progressive policies. They should also be willing to work with moderates on the other side who take this issue seriously. It is important that this issue does not get confused with Socialism but is understood as the transcending matter it actually is. The Green New Deal is a good start but Democrats should be willing to incorporate Republican ideas that can help it make it more effective.

Finally, faith leaders must also do their part. Celebrating “Creation Sunday” once a year won’t cut it. If conservative Christians are militant about life and progressive Christians are passionate about the poor, they both can come together to uplift the planet that sustains life and empowers the poor through its bounty. Christians and people of other faiths in this country should come together on this matter. They can play a crucial role in compelling a distracted society to join in the fight to preserve, restore, and maintain our biosphere.


2020 Voters Fire Trump but Democrats Have Reasons to Worry

Joe Biden: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America (source: Joe Biden); User:TDKR Chicago 101 (clipping)Donald Trump: Shealah Craighead (source: White House)Сombination: krassotkin, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

As a data geek, I could not resist pouring over the early statistics coming out of this election. In previous blogs, I expressed my thoughts on the issues at stake. In this blog, I offer a brief summary of the main insights coming out of the data published on the election so far. Certainly, more data will come but there is enough already for some interesting points.

  1. Turnout was the highest in 120 years hovering around 67% of eligible voters.
  2. African Americans (87%), first-time voters (64%), and people under 30 (60%) voted overwhelmingly for Biden. 9 out of 10 African-American women voted for Biden, by far the largest alignment in the electorate.
  3. White evangelicals or born again (76%) and white with no college degree (67%) and white men (61%) voted overwhelmingly for Trump.
  4. From a regional perspective, Trump bested Biden in the South and Midwest while Biden won by larger margins in the East and West.
  5. Trump voters thought that the economy and public safety were the top issues in this election. Biden voters saw the pandemic and racial inequality as the most pressing issues.
  6. Nearly a 1/3 of Biden voters did so to oppose Trump rather than support Biden. This is an important statistic for the Democrats to keep in mind if they have any hope of keeping the presidency in 4 years.
  7. Biden won in every income level except those with $100K or more where Trump won by 12 points.
  8. For every moderate that voted for Trump, there were two who voted for Biden.
  9. Biden narrowly edged Trump in the suburbs: 50/48
  10. Compared to 2016, Biden was able to convince 3% more voters to switch from Trump than from Clinton. More importantly, Biden was the choice of 58% of those who did not vote in 2016 but decided to vote this time.

Note that it is still early to draw any definite conclusions but these numbers already paint an interesting picture of voter’s preference in 2020. As I reflect on these findings, I would like to highlight some main observations.

By J4p4pn

Voters want a balanced government

The blue wave did not materialize. In fact, Democrats lost seats in Congress though still retained a majority. The Senate is up for grabs as the country waits for Georgia to vote in a January runoff. What that means is enough voters rejected Trump at the top of the ballot but were not willing to commit to the Democrats elsewhere ballot choices. The majority of the electorate wants the party to work together even if the most radical factions continue to control the narrative and the campaign money.

Considering the lagging popularity of the president with the majority of the electorate and a Republican party that stood steadfastly behind him, it is surprising how the Democrats struggled in the house and senate races. These initial numbers suggest that the electorate is still hesitant to give a solid mandate. I think a lot of that is suburban voters who are wary of “defund the Police” rhetoric among Democrats. Others are concerned with a rise in Socialism, which however realistic a claim, was an effective GOP attack. This was especially true for voters making $100K or more, the only income group where Trump won by a decisive margin.

Biden won narrowly in those areas that continue to be the bellwether for American politics. While the cities and rural areas get the most attention for their opposing views, it is the suburbs that decide elections. It was demographic changes in two large Atlanta suburban counties (I live in one of them and would like to believe was part of that change) that turned the state blue for the first time since 92. Yet, this cannot be interpreted as a turn to progressive politics but more of a reaction against the worse incarnation of conservative politics reflected in Trumpism.

In short, Democrats have a long way to go if they want to keep these voters in the blue column. As point 8 above demonstrates, Biden won in large part by courting the moderate vote. The president-elect and his party have a monumental challenge ahead as they seek to balance appealing to moderates while keeping the progressive wing of the party happy.

Voters Lack Choices

While we celebrate the record turn out, it is important to highlight that close to 1/3 of eligible voters refused to participate. Furthermore, the high rate and is still below other industrialized nations. This is a remarkable finding considering the amount of media attention on this year’s contest. Some could attribute it to the Trump effect that brought new voters to the polls either to support or reject him. Hence, it is possible this turnout rate is not sustainable.

There was a lot of outcry about polarization in politics but the elephant (and donkey) in the room remains unaddressed. Voters still are under the tyranny of a duopoly that cannot represent the diversity of the American population. Unfortunately, there are no prospects of change as the two dominant parties have erected large barriers for new entrants. The only way to expand turn out is to open the political system to viable third and fourth parties. I was hoping moderate Republicans disgusted by Trump would take the lead. Instead, they opted to either support Biden or remain on the sidelines.

Until the system is reformed, turnout will continue to hit a ceiling of 66-70%. It is tragic that so many Americans who are eligible to vote do not have adequate representation. We are made poorer as a nation for it.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/exit-polls-president.html

Aqueles que me Trouxeram a Cristo me Trairam

In English

Nasci na família de Cristo por meio de uma igreja carismática, filho de um pastor e profundamente envolvido em igrejas desse tipo até meus 30 anos. Hoje, embora seja grato pelo lar que me apresentou ao Deus do universo, mal consigo reconhecê-la.

As pessoas que me trouxeram a Jesus me traíram, trocaram o amor genuíno do evangelho pelo fascínio do sucesso.

Às vezes, tenho até vergonha de minha herança. O que me trouxe alegria e conforto se tornaram memórias de desapontamento, manipulação e hipocrisia. Embora não só por causa disso, essa situação se fez clara quando eu testemunhei líderes que respeito votarem e apoiarem com entusiasmo um candidato que era a antítese do Cristo que eles me ensinaram.

Sera que eu fui enganado o tempo todo?

Embora não haja estatísticas sobre o apoio P&C (Pentecostal e Carismático) para Donald Trump, não ficaria surpreso se esse número fosse o norte para os 81% de evangélicos brancos que votaram nele em 2016. E como um grupo diverso nos Estados Unidos, a apoio não se limita apenas aos brancos, mas provavelmente abrange a maioria dos hispânicos, senão mesmo afro-americanos P&C. Não é simplesmente uma questão racial, mas sim uma crise teológica.

Quanto mais reflito sobre essa situação e relembro minha experiência, percebo que todos os ingredientes para essa guinada ao nacionalismo cristão estiveram lá o tempo todo. Eu apenas tolerava, negava ou simplesmente escolhia olhar para o outro lado. Minha fidelidade à experiência carismática me cegou para as contradições grosseiras que nossa tradição florescente carrega. Toda essa adoração exuberante, crescimento vibrante e fé implacável têm um lado negativo. Freqüentemente se manifesta em cultos a personalidade, uma tendência ao autoritarismo e um perigoso desprezo pelo escrutínio intelectual. A combinação desses três tornou possível a aliança profana com um líder narcisista, autoritário e nacionalista. Não vamos fingir que, com toda a nossa conversa sobre o poder de Deus, não estávamos interessados ​​no poder humano. Fomos e ainda somos perigosamente seduzidos por ele. Em uma trágica barganha faustiana, pastores pentecostais trocaram a alma de nossa fé pelo acesso ao homem mais poderoso do mundo.

No entanto, meu objetivo aqui não é simplesmente expressar um desabafo mas transformá-lo em um apelo. Apesar do meu desapontamento com o movimento, conheço o Deus que os P&C adoram. Ele é maior e mais amplo do que todas as nossas mesquinhas ilusões teológicas. Reis e reinos passarão, mas o amor de Deus permanecerá. É por isso que imploro aos meus irmãos na fé que se examinem e se arrependam. Baseado na tradição profética bíblica, peço que eles reconsiderem suas lealdades políticas destrutivas. Ouça o que o Espírito está falando através das vozes nas margens, pois Deus não vive em casas brancas expansivas, mas nos gritos perturbadores dos oprimidos. Eu oro para que você transforme seu engajamento político no trabalho duradouro da igualdade, justiça do cuidado a criação.

Se você mora nos Estados Unidos, acredito que rejeitar Donald Trump nesta eleição é um passo importante nessa direção. Se você mora no Brasil, o mesmo se aplica a Jair Bolsonaro. Eles são falsos messias tentando manipular sua fé para ganho próprio. Resista à tentação de obter acesso ao poder e escolha manter sua fé perene. Se você estiver em outras partes do mundo, continue a apoiar o trabalho da caridade, igualdade e justiça no ambito local e global. Resista às narrativas políticas que prometem ordem na troca pela liberdade. Rejeite aqueles que falam de um passado moral utopico quando nossa fé está voltada para o futuro. Acima de tudo, fuja de líderes políticos que exigem lealdade inquestionável e atacam a mídia quando ela os questionam.

Plante uma árvore. Comforte o abatido. Fale pelos que nao tem voz. Dê aos pobres. Pois é dando que recebemos. É com humildade que honramos o Príncipe da paz.

O mundo ainda precisa testemunhar o que Deus pode fazer quando os cristãos cheios do Espírito buscam a paz. E se o movimento se tornasse uma voz implacável pela justiça, ungida para pregar as boas novas aos pobres e libertar os grilhões dos oprimidos? Este é o tempo Kairos de Deus para a nossa geração.

Vamos ouvir o chamado ou deixá-la passar por nós?

Que Espírito de Deus nos tornem ousados ​​para um momento como este.

In English

Plea to evangelicals II: Culture War, Social Unrest and COVID

In a previous blog, I went over the two most often cited reasons that evangelicals use to justify their vote for Donald Trump. Here I want to continue examining other rationalizations to see if they hold water. My contention continues to be that voting for the current president is the worse choice for a Christian in this junction of history. I record this here in an attempt to persuade those who have voted for him in the last election to reconsider their support on November 3rd.

Trump the Culture Warrior

The president has proven to be a consistent culture warrior, advancing conservative causes in his speeches and nominating a record number of conservative judges. He has also addressed excesses from zealous culture warriors on the left. I can understand how conservative Christians may feel like they have an ally in the White House on this matter.

His record on religious freedom is more ambiguous. At times, he has spoken for persecuted Christian minorities in the world. The State Department under Secretary Pompeo, an evangelical Christian himself, has put (Christian) religious freedom at the forefront of US diplomacy. Yet, Trump’s betrayal of the Kurds, many who are Christians, was jarring. His action demonstrated what we feared all along: that his support for conservative causes was not borne out of conviction but political expediency. Some evangelical supporters can see that but are satisfied with the bargain given the consistency he has shown in the domestic front of the culture war.

Even so, I would contend that evangelicals should re-visit their participation in the culture war. Their blind support for conservative causes comes with strings attached. While upholding traditional moral values that often align with Biblical principles, conservative judges also betray the heart of Christianity when they side with libertarian economics. There is nothing biblical about siding with the rich or removing regulations that seek to preserve the environment. Surely every involvement in politics requires some compromises but it is important to at least spell them out. To equate Christianity with American Conservatism is to diminish the gospel to traditional morality and trickle-down economics.

Furthermore, I question whether winning the battle in the courts will achieve the wholesale culture change evangelicals desire. That often happens through grassroots movements from below rather than from legislation from the top. Moreover, our faith revolves around invitation, not coercion. Passing laws that uphold moral values may change behaviors but rarely change hearts.

Trump’s Response to Social Unrest

I add this section as this topic has come to the forefront lately with multiple instances of black men (and women) being brutally murdered by the police. These tragic events have sparked multiple demonstrations in many cities of the country. Some protests go on till this day. The murder of George Floyd, especially, was a watershed moment that exposed the long-lasting legacy of racism in our nation.

The president’s response to these multiple events has been inadequate at best and cruel at its worse. While conceding the injustice of George Floyd’s event, his unwillingness to admit the problem of systemic racism in the police was a complete failure of leadership. Instead, he has resorted to golf metaphors to explain that cops sometimes make mistakes. The carelessness of this response is appalling. It was a slap in the face of grieving families and an insult to people of color. His response only further inflames the anger that is boiling in the streets.

Protests in some cities have turned violent. Some included instances of looting and rioting. Yes, keeping the streets safe is important and de-funding police departments may lead to an increase in crime. Yet, the worse reaction a politician could have is to ignore or minimize the causes of the riots while repressing them violently. Callous calls for “law and order” in periods of social unrest will likely fuel further grievances. It has nothing to do with Biblical Christianity but instead belongs to the playbook of authoritarian regimes.

Corona Confirmed our Worse Fears

The global pandemic that started earlier this year has tested societies in every continent. The death toll continues to rise daily to a point we have become numb to it. It has hit our nation particularly hard, exposing the cost of our disunity, and the underside of our individualistic culture. It has also exposed the gross incompetence of a ruling party that scoffs at science believing more in conspiracy theories rather than facing reality for what it is.

The basic function of the federal government is to aptly coordinate a response to national crises. No private entity can do that and local governments are limited in their ability to cope with a global pandemic. If we compare our handling of the pandemic with other countries, the US undoubtedly comes in the bottom. It does not matter how you frame the analysis, 200K deaths (as of the publishing of this blog) will never be acceptable. While not all deaths were caused by the federal response, many could have been prevented by it.

The pandemic was a perfect storm that exposed the dangers of Trump’s character failings. His gross narcissism prevented him from foreseeing the worse and acting quickly to coordinate a response. Also, his inability to lead by example encouraged widespread neglect of CDC guidelines. Furthermore, Trump’s resignation before the growing death counts was insensitive and served only to hide the incompetence of his administration. The least we expect of our leaders is that they do not stand in the way of experts who are best prepared to respond in these situations. In his insatiable thirst for attention, Trump undermined experts and politicized a matter instead of uniting the country behind a response.

For that mistake, we are all paying a heavy price.

While this affects all citizens, his failure of leadership strikes at the heart of evangelical engagement in politics. If evangelicals are pro-life, they cannot stand by a president that shows so much disregard for the life of the governed. His response was not just a matter of incompetence but a moral failure.

Conclusion

In short, voting for Trump is the worse choice an evangelical Christian could make in this election. In these two blogs, I showed how in multiple issues Trump has proven to be more of a curse than a blessing. While evangelicals gained an apt culture warrior, that benefit has come at a high price of in multiple areas.

I also know that many reading this will protest saying that the alternative is worse. They will contend that the Democratic party stands against everything evangelical Christianity is for. Others will claim that even the most egregious mistakes of this administration are justified in the fight to contain Socialism. Is that really true? That is what I will turn to in my next blog.

My Plea to Evangelical Voters: Rethink

I rarely write about political matters. This time, things are different.

As I reflect on this election and our historical moment, maybe for the first time I feel that simply expressing my support through voting is not enough. I’ll resist the temptation to call this election the most important of our lifetimes. However, to me, it clearly calls for greater engagement than previous ones. Also, in this case, there is no doubt in my mind that one outcome is much worse than the other. This is not just about policy or even a candidate character but a battle for the soul of our nation. It is about who we are as a people and our role as Christian citizens in service of the common good.

My contention is simple: voting for Trump is the worse option a Christian (evangelical or otherwise) could make. I would go even further: to reject Trump’s Christian nationalism even as it seems against the self-interest of the evangelical church, is the most powerful act of gospel witness in the public square. The way of Jesus compels us to go against the natural order of political power. If evangelical Christians care most about changing hearts then the best way is through cultural influence not political power. Some times, we must give up power to gain influence. Lose a battle to win the war.

Intended Audience

With few exceptions, most of my evangelical brothers and sisters that voted for Trump, did not like him as a person. Many abhorred his tweets, disapproved of his lifestyle choices and acknowledged his sick narcissism. Unlike George W. Bush in the early 00’s, he is not a guy you casually “want to have a beer with.” Many were scandalized by his immoral behavior. Yet, they were convinced that putting up with all that was worth it to deny Hillary Clinton the presidency. They often cited some specific reasons and rationales for this decision.

In the following sections, I will address each of these most-cited reasons and demonstrate that, upon closer scrutiny, they do not hold water. In short, they are mirages, fabricated arguments to appease the conscience as opposed to legitimate reasons to tolerate the president’s misdeeds. Because they have been repeated so often without challenge, they became a truth of their own.

By now, most voters had made up their minds but I want to speak to those who are still undecided. Some of them, who voted for the president 4 years ago, are now rethinking their decision. For this group, I offer this blog as one data point in their honest discernment process on who to vote for in this election.

Voting for Trump will NOT Save Babies

Let me put it bluntly: you have been duped. A few decades ago some fundamentalist preachers and market savvy political operatives came up with a brilliant strategy. They saw the Roe vs Wade decision as a pivotal point and decided that the top (and only) priority for Christian voters was to overturn it. At a national level, it meant electing presidents that would pick conservative judges for the supreme court that would eventually overturn that ill-fated decision.

This strategy was a “win-win” for both sides. Republican candidates got unquestioning support from a significant voting block and in return all they had to do was pick conservative judges when the existing one died. They could invade countries abroad, torture prisoners, wreck the economy, reinforce inequality at home and be downright corrupt as long as they came through with their side of the bargain.

For evangelicals, the strategy provided clarity and absolution from guilt. They did not have to think critically about which party to support, or which candidate to vote for. All they had to understand was the following: 1) abortion is murder; 2) one party is trying to end it through judicial nominations and restrictive politics; 3) the other party supports abortion; 4) therefore, the Christian choice is clearly to vote with the first party. They would show up to vote every four years to save the nation and then go back to saving souls in the remaining years with a clear conscience that they did not vote for baby killers!

If this was not clear before let me say it here: voting Republican will not end abortion! The very premise that we could do so is misguided and simplistic. It is more about a pernicious political strategy than biblical truth. If you care about unborn babies do work for a society in which abortion is the last resort. Help the mothers who are making these choices, call for restrictions where appropriate, build pregnancy crisis centers and make an argument for fetus rights in the public square.

In other words, get engaged in the process instead of selling your vote for so little. Don’t settle for this false choice that one party is for saving babies while they other is for killing them. And above all, do not let any religious leader make you feel guilty for voting for the alternative. There are biblical reasons to vote for one party as much as there are for another. There is room in the household of God for progressives and conservatives.

The Cyrus argument is NOT a valid “Biblical” reason to vote for Trump

Another commonly held justification is what I call the “Cyrus argument.” It alludes to the Persian ruler praised in the Bible for allowing the Jewish people to return and re-populate their lost national territory. In Biblical terms, God used him to fulfill his promises of restoring Israel. He was not Jewish and not necessarily a benign leader. Using this metaphor, evangelicals see Trump as a “non-Christian” political leader that will advocate a conservative Christian agenda, returning the US to its supposedly Christian past.

In certain aspects, the 45th president has proven to be really supportive to the conservative agenda spelled out in the previous section. He appointed a record number of conservative judges and multiple circuits, supported moving Israel’s capital back to Jerusalem and sided with conservatives in civil liberty issues. In the surface, the Cyrus metaphor has worked.

Yet, at further examination, the metaphor breaks down quickly showing a lack of knowledge of historical context and bad application to our present situation. It is important to distinguish Ancient world politics with our modern situation. First, the Jewish people had no choice in Cyrus rise to power. In other words, they did not elect him. This is an important point because democracy spreads agency across the population as opposed to ancient monarchies. That means, those that elect a president also become responsible for his or her behavior.

Second, I get disgusted as how this Cyrus argument became cover for Trump’s most egregious words and actions. It went right along with the saying “I am not electing a pastor but a president.” This pernicious statement allowed leaders to justify scandals and minimize misdeeds at an appalling fashion. This is the same voting block that years ago blasted President Clinton for his character failures now happily supported and justified a much more immoral president. This inconsistency did not portray biblical faithfulness but instead it revealed a dark secret of evangelical political involvement, namely that the means justify the ends. In Roosevelt’s words: “Trump may be a SOB but he is our SOB.”

When I saw Franklin Graham refuse to criticize the president’s policy on immigrant detention that literally put kids in cages, it made me sick. While not all evangelicals agree with him, he is representative of the evangelical voter. Like him, many evangelicals actually took on a harder (and more cruel) stance on immigration as a way not to challenge their Cyrus.

That is simply scandalous and exposes the dark side of political alliances. When you start aligning so closely with a political party, your religious convictions start changing. Suddenly, compassionate evangelicals take on heartless political positions that neglect the least of these. Separation of church and state was not conceived to defend government from religion but the other way around. Our founding fathers understood that religious convictions could easily be co-opted by malignant political motives.

Conclusion

In this blog, I covered two of the most often cited reasons for supporting Trump by evangelicals. In the next one, I want to cover more pragmatic reasons and how those also do not hold water. For now suffice it to say: support for Trump does not equal biblical faithfulness. Quite the opposite, at its core it represents a betrayal of fundamental biblical principles of compassion, hospitality, love for the neighbor and a commitment to truth.

If there is any silver lining for this contentious political period is the unmasking of the unholy alliance between evangelicalism and Conservative politics. For at least 4 decades, these two were often seen as synonymous with each other. This can no longer be the case. It is high time for evangelical Christians to recover their authentic voice in the public square rather than settling for the poor counterfeit of conservative politics.

A Letter to My Son At His Birth

Dear Levi,

You arrived on this world in the day of a total solar eclipse. What a momentous occasion for you to be born! It is as if creation was welcoming you with a party. As we heard your first cries, our heart leapt in joy just as it had for our previous two daughters. You were wanted even before you gave your first breath and now we welcome you into this world.

By God’s grace, you came into this world in the United States of America, the first generation from an immigrant family. You ended up here but your story started elsewhere. Always remember that all those privileged to be born in this land once came from somewhere else. We are all one more link in this historic chain.

You are born into a paradoxical time of history. Never before have the world experienced so much economic development with advances in all fronts. Diseases have been tamed, wars are isolated events, most world economies are thriving, and technological advances push further the limits of possibilities. Never was the world so connected and prosperous. Yet, we are gripped with fear. We are rich in information but poor in wisdom. Never before has any generation had such unfettered access to information. Yet, no generation has been more misinformed. While economies grow and difficult global problems recede, we are bombarded with negative news hence living in a constant state of pessimism and paranoia. Fear sells more than hope. In a capitalistic global system, media outlets, the sellers or information, are more often than not choosing the easier path of fear. Consequently, Democracies are tumbling as confidence in government, church and business are in sharp decline.

We are on the verge of major technological breakthroughs. Artificial Intelligence, drones, smart appliances and virtual reality will revolutionize everything we do in the next years. The constant of our time is change. Not just change, but light-speed change – certainly too fast for any mammal brain to keep up with. These breakthroughs are both disorienting and exhilarating. They will open possibilities that our imagination can barely fathom while also unleash evil like never seen before. The challenge for your generation will be to bend this progress towards human flourishing. Are you up for this challenge?

In view of all that, my word to you is one of hope. You are not just one mere individual in a sea of the 7 billion others currently living in this world. You are belong to the household of the faithful. This is a gathering of people from every nation and many centuries, who have embraced the hope in the person of Christ. This imperfect community of faith, fractured, sinful at times drunk with power is also the beautiful hands of God on this Earth. They live with their eyes firm on the promise of that day when everything will be made right and just. It is inspired in that vision that you are invited to walk in the faith-fully and hope-fully in footsteps of those who came before you.

There is much work to be done as we live in a world skeptical of any good news. Yet, those who believe that death has been defeated have nothing to fear. The future reign of our Lord is fast coming to transform our turbulent present. My prayer is that you embrace the call to point the world to the Source of all hope. Point to the finger of God in every good thing that happens in this world. Tell it, live it, incarnate it, share it lavishly with all who will receive it.

You may very well live beyond 100 years in a reality I cannot even fathom from my present perspective. My prayer is that as you outlive me you will continue to carry the torch of this Good News into the future. I may not get there with you but know that regardless, I will be cheering you on.

Be strong, my son. Be bold. Be kind. Be a humble learner. Only those willing to adapt will ever be able to navigate the stirring waters of neck-breaking change. Know above all that you are loved. Loved by your parents, your sisters and above all by your Creator. You are not alone and there is nothing that can change that.

Welcome to our world!

Your dad,

Elias

Wake Up Call: Helping the I-generation Discern Reality from Illusion

While Millennials continue to capture most of the headlines, we are just now starting to understand the next generation. Early reports are worrisome. The Atlantic just published an article about an extensive study on what is now called the Igeneration and how it compares to previous generations. They found that teenagers of this generation (born between 1996 and 2010) are delaying independence and therefore avoiding many of the risks that other generations fell prey to such as alcohol and drug abuse. Yet, they are also experiencing an increase in depression and suicide rates. In short, adolescents are both safer and lonelier. This is a paradigm we will have to grapple with for years to come.

According to the article, the single defining trait of this generation is technology. They are the first ones to grow up with smart phones. Many spend hours on their phone and fifty percent say they are addicted to it. This trend has had devastating effects most of which is amplifying the sense of being left. In fact, according to the study, phone usage had an inverse relationship with happiness. That is, the less you use your phone, the happier the teenagers reported they felt.

Leaving the pernicious effects of social media aside, I want to focus on the smart phone itself. Its very existence has fundamentally changed how teenagers perceive the world around them.

The Gap Between Generations

Children are like sponges. They have a unique capacity to absorb the world around them in ways adults no longer can. Their minds are malleable by all the stimuli around them. The biggest tragedy of children growing up in front of a screen is that they start losing the ability to differentiate the virtual world from the real one. Even if they cognitively understand the difference, they may still consider the virtual world as essential to their life. The snapchat profile is no longer an avatar but becomes an integral part of their identify. Their day-to-day experience, good and bad, gets amplified. If now teenagers can attain instant fame, they can also experience the devastating effects of cyber bullying. It is one thing to be teased before a small group of peers in school. It is a whole other matter when the teasing happens at millions of screen worldwide.

Now, it would be unfair to say that only teenagers are struggling to limit their smart phone usage. Many adults, including the one typing, have a tendency to check the phone many times throughout the day. However, adults like myself had the advantage of growing up in an offline world. Call me old-school but there is no online experience that can match the satisfaction I get from reading a book. Because of this perspective, I wonder if we adults are underestimating the effects of introducing these devices so early in our children’s development.

As a parent of 7 and a 5 year-old, controlling their screen time is a constant source of worry if not obsession to both me and my wife. I can’t even imagine how the struggle will be as they get older and their peers start coming to school with smart phones. While I can delay it for a few years, I have to accept that our kids simply live in a different world than the one we grew up in. While limiting screen time is a good step, I think the bigger challenge is teaching them to make good choices when we are not present. Essentially, we need to impress on our children that the analog world is vastly richer than the digital representation they see on screens.

Real Versus Virtual

How do we teach a new generation to discern what is real from what is not? In past blogs, I have talked about preparing the next generation through education. Nevertheless, this is not enough. At the heart of this crisis is changing how we and our children approach technology altogether. If we are to help them discern reality outside of their phone screens we must first help them approach the technology they use wisely. That means helping them understand when it is time to put the screen down on their own.

I am encouraged when I see that my kids drop everything at the invitation to go to the pool. This tells me that while they enjoy their screens, they are still no match to the real experience of chlorine-full water splashing through their bodies. In the same way, my prayer for the Igeneration is that they learn that seeing someone face-to-face will always beat a video-conference interaction and that running in the woods will always be superior to any VR game they play.

The best way to help with that is being conduits of analog experiences that will blow away the digital ones. The gift of undivided attention, the warmth of a hug, the encouragement from words of affirmation are just a few examples of experiences that are best delivered in person than digitally.

If you see someone from the igen today, ask them to put down their phone and give them a hug.

Update on 04/10/2021

Subsequent studies have questioned the findings from the research above. The reality is that it is simply too early to make any conclusions. This does not mean we need to throw caution off the window but it does show that the causes to this worrisome trends are more complex than previously thought. The overall conclusion of this blog remains the same, let’s continue to love on our igen children and walk with them as they grow up in a digital world.