day no. 17,052: going somewhere and getting there

“Everyone is growing up into something. No matter what the world says, our life is not static. You are either growing up into Christ, or you are growing up into Gollum—diseased, malicious, and bent. Those are the only options. You can’t just freeze the frame and say, ‘I want to stop right here and be sorry for myself forever.’” — Douglas Wilson, Keep Your Kids

Everything is going somewhere and sooner or later it's gong to get there. Everyone is becoming something and sooner or later they are going to become it.

Psalm 135:15-18

The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands.

They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see;

they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths.

Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them.

If you go after idols, you become idle.

2 Kings 17:15

They went after false idols and became false.

If you trust in false gods, you will bear false witness against the one, true God.

2 Corinthians 3:18

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

If you go hard after the one, true God, you will become one with Him.

“If you dip into any college, or school, or parish, or family – anything you like – at a given point in its history, you always find that there was a time before that point when there was more elbow room and contrasts weren’t quite so sharp; and that there’s going to be a time after that point when there is even less room for indecision and choices are even more momentous. Good is always getting better and bad is always getting worse: the possibilities of even apparent neutrality are always diminishing. The whole thing is sorting itself out all the time, coming to a point, getting sharper and harder.” ― C.S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength

The principle holds true: you become what you behold; you will be what you worship.

"We become what we worship." ― G.K. Beale

History has only two roads. There is the narrow path that leads to light and life in Christ and the wide way that leads to waste and the outer darkness.

day no. 17,051: the reverend rabbitheart

“A number of you have been languishing out there for a while, listening to sermons from a man who, if he had been a character in The Pilgrim’s Progress, would have been the Rev. Rabbitheart.” — Douglas Wilson, Mere Christendom

If the shepherd has fled, how much hope is there for the sheep to stand firm?

If the shepherd flinches, how can the sheep expect to hold their ground?

Matthew 26:31

Then saith Jesus unto them, "All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, 'I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.'"

As goes the shepherd, so go the sheep. If a smacked shepherd causes the sheep the flee, how much more so a shepherd who is afraid of having smack talked about him? If the shepherd cowers before even the tiniest hint of hate, how much hope do the sheep have of enduring a bold blast of backchat?

John 10:27-28

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

The grass withers and the flowers fade and the grass fed flock falls away. Sheep need the sure Word of God not the grass of men. Sheep need a Shepherd who sticks to the Word and chases away the weeds and the wolves.

Cocksure shepherds create chicken-hearted cowards.

Humble heralds create lion-hearted heroes of the faith.

day no. 17,050: character and personality

“Character wants to deliver a product; personality wants to get a sale.” — Douglas Wilson, Keep Your Kids

Character wants to make things,

caricature wants to make an impression.

Responsibility wants to love its neighbor,

personality wants its neighbor to love it.

Good works multiply the pie,

good advertising divides attention.

Do not sell yourself short, 

give yourself to longsuffering.

Character is the mark responsibility leaves on a man,

personality is the mark a boy wants to leave on others.

day no. 17,049: something out of nothing and something out of anything

“God is that which can make something out of nothing. Man (it may truly be said) is that which can make something out of anything. “ — G.K. Chesterton, What’s Wrong With the World

Because man is not a god, he cannot make something out of nothing, but because he is a man, he can make something out of anything. 

A creature cannot create anything ex nihilo, even a speck of dust, but a sub-creator in submission to his Creator can subdue the entire earth.

day no. 17,048: Callista is EIGHT!

Happy Birthday, Callista!!!

You are EIGHT years old today.!!!! You are GREIGHT years old. You are, after all, a GREAT daughter. And you are eight. You get the idea.

I love being your dad.

You are so smart. You ask good questions and you think about the answers you get. You ask because you want to know and you stick around to hear the answers. You think things through. You ask questions when things don't fit together. You pay attention and you spend time thinking things over. These are great qualities and will only grow and mature with the rest of you.

You are the leader of the little girl gang that lives in your room. You like taking care of Oey and showing her the ropes and you like having Juni to play with. You are all little, so there are lots of little bumps that go along with that, but for the most part you like and love each other most of the time.

You like going on walks around the neighborhood at night and you are trying to learn how to roller skate. You love going fast on your bike, but you don't like wearing shoes or a helmet in order to do it. So, you don't ride bike that much anymore. I guess you'd rather walk as fast as you can than ride slowly.

You do a great job at church and pack things for Oey and take care of her during service. You go with her to the restroom when she needs it and you get her snack to keep her occupied. You do a great job. You like opening your Cantus to the right song and trying to follow along. You draw pictures of the sermons as you listen. You love seeing your friends after service and have grown close to several girls at our church. You eat lunch with them and play with them after service most weeks and are sad when one of them is sick and unable to make it.

You are a good friend. You think about people and what they like. You worry about them when they aren't feeling well and you cheer for them when things go well for them.

You like to draw and make the cutest little versions of members of our family. You are crafty. You like making things and you're good at it. You like to bake with your sisters and you like to eat with anyone who is eating. You like snack and often eat your weight in whatever is set before you. Second to Atticus, you probably eat the most of any of the other kids.

You like school and are learning a lot. You are smart, just like your mom and sisters. And you're only getting smarter as the years go by.

You are a good girl, Callista and I like being your dad. I can't wait to see what eight has in store for you. Here's the your birthday, and many more to come!

Love,

Dad

day no. 17,047: a long fuse and a loud bang

Ephesians 4:26

Be angry and do not sin

Be dangerous, but under control.

Keep calm and tarry bombs, but do not tarry forever.

Pack your patience, but pack a punch too.

Go off when you want to, not when someone else lights your fuse.

Choose when your fuse is lit and let it be a long one with a loud bang.

Numbers 14:18

The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

Be like God: suffer long, but not forever.

Be angry, but do not sin.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

If you can’t, or even worse if you won’t, get angry... it is sin. You must be angry sometimes, but never without a sense of proportion. Do not blow someone up over nothing, but do be ready to blow some things out of the water.

Matthew 5:5

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

The meek will inherit the earth. Meekness is strength under control. If you are not strong, you  cannot be meek. Meekness is not weakness out of control. It is strength under the control of Christ; and it will conquer the world.

day no. 17,046: pacifists of fury

“There are no pacifist traditions left. All worthy traditions must be militant in order to survive this time of upheaval.” — Douglas Wilson 

The doctrine of the antithesis inserted into the story by God in Genesis 3:15 requires fighting. There are irreconcilable differences between the seed of the serpent and the seed of Eve. As it turns out, the mother of the living produces different offspring than the father of lies. So, all that said, there will be warfare. In a fallen world, it is inescapable and inevitable. Those who fight against this reality still fight, but they are literally and figuratively fighting for a lost cause. They will not be able to wish the war away. They will simply be swept away.

 "Non-combatant, n. a dead Quaker.” — Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary

Pacifism may be at war with war, but it cannot win. It will not carry the day because it will not even carry its own weight. It wants violence to punch itself out without landing any of its punches in the process.

Matthew 11:12

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

The world will not be won by those who do not love it enough to fight for it. The world will be inherited by those meek enough to enlist in the army of God. The church militant will march into the kingdom. Only then will it pound its swords into plowshares, but not a minute before.

day no. 17,045: following the rules

“The subtle and far-reaching effects of the change, which are still proceeding, may be gauged by the implication of the fact that those who were once called a nation’s rulers are now almost universally called its leaders” — C.S. Lewis, English Literature in the Sixteenth Century

Leaders are easier to handle then rulers. A ruler is the measure of his people. A leader is open to suggestions. A ruler is the standard by which you are judged. A leader is judged by his standards. Democracy demands leaders and rejects rulers. Democracy will not elect Christ as King because it presupposes a majority of people constitutes a king. As such, they support no single king, even Christ... especially not Christ.

“And you notice that I am guilty of a slight archaism in calling them ‘rulers’. ‘Leaders’ is the modern word. I have suggested elsewhere that this is a deeply significant change of vocabulary. Our demand upon them has changed no less than theirs on us. For of a ruler one asks justice, incorruption, diligence, perhaps clemency; of a leader, dash, initiative, and (I suppose) what people call ‘magnetism’ or ‘personality’.” — C. S. Lewis, Selected Literary Essays

There are many books about being a good leader, but one good book for righteous rulers. There are any number of creative ways to lead a corporation, but only one tried and true way to rule a people. You cannot get justice from someone who holds their office by a majority vote. Sometimes the minority is in the right and the arbiter of justice must not favor the poor or the rich, he must uphold justice. The poor can be wrong. And even more shocking, the rich can be right. Not always, but sometimes and you cannot rule well if you presuppose that can never happen. You cannot expect purity from people who depend on other people's favor to remain in power. Only a ruler can provide justice, but even then, only by him submitting to the rules of the Ruler of rulers.

Ecclesiastes 8:11

Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily,

therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

Justice is rare and so many run wild.

day no. 17,044: all the fines are not all fine

“Before fining someone, or flogging him, or putting him in jail, or exiling him, or executing him, which pretty much exhausts the options, we had better know that what we are doing is authorized by God. If it is, well and good. If it is not, then we are abusing someone created in the image of God, and God is going to hold us accountable for it. We should either coerce with a clean conscience (and an open Bible) or not at all.” — Douglas Wilson, Mere Christendom

Moral imposition is inescapable. Someone's morality will be hoisted upon someone else. The only question then is, whose morality will be hoisted upon whom. That said, God is the standard and His Law is the only thing which can in good conscience be imposed to the point of consequence upon another image bearer. If you are proposing some kind of injury, whether it be financial or physical, you must first demonstrate that a principle of God that has been violated that permits you to do so. There is no room for personal preference when it comes to the administration of justice. Just weights and measures means no thumbs on either side of the scales. You can choose to wear an orange shirt for no good reason, but you cannot clap an orange jumpsuit on your neighbor without a good and godly reason.

day no. 17,043: when the wit comes too late

"This latter phenomenon is something the French have a phrase for—l’esprit de l’escalier. And please, for those of you who listen to my blog posts, pardon my French—which I accomplish by means of rusty hedge clippers. This refers to the “wit of the staircase,” and refers to things you think of later on that you should have said. The perfect point you ought to have made occurs to you, but it does so on the staircase, as you are making your way to bed. Oh well.” — Douglas Wilson, Smashmouth Compromise?

The wit of the staircase is that thing you think of in the shower the morning after the big fight. It is the perfect comeback that comes to you too late. It is brilliant and baffling. How could you not have thought of that before? And why think of it now? You cannot drop it now without bringing up old stuff and beside, the timing would be off. Zingers don't count after the bell. Ripostes are best as counter punches, not as a sucker punch a day later. You cannot pin someone after the match. I mean, you can, but it doesn't count as a win. Instead, it will only highlight the loss that took place on the mat.

Proverbs 17:28

Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise:

and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

So, do not make a habit of rehashing the past. You cannot go back and say what you wish you would have said. That is, unless you are circling back to say, "I'm sorry." You will not improve your position by revisiting your response in order to edit it after the fact. You cannot look cool by circling back, but you can be humble in going back to say, "I'm sorry." If you find yourself in the shower thinking, "I was an idiot. I should have said, 'sorry,'" by all means, dry off and find that someone and say it. But if you find yourself replaying your previous loss in order to find a way to win it in retrospect, give it up and save your staircase wit for the next next engagement.

day no. 17,042: you snooze, you lose

“Sleep is a great giant, and the time to defeat it is in the early morning when it has you pinned to the mattress.” — Douglas Wilson, A Hole Under His Nose

Every morning begins with you pinned to the mat. The Sleep Giant sits on your chest and holds your shoulders down. Do not tap out by hitting the snooze. Do not start your day with an L. Fight the good fight and get upright. Sleep is a feature, not a bug; but sleeping in is often a sin that bites you in the bottom.

Ephesians 2:10

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

God has good works in the chamber ready for you to fire off, but they begin with you pulling the trigger on getting out of bed. God has good work planned for you that requires you to walk. 

Matthew 11:12

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

You cannot doze your way into good deeds. The kingdom of Christ is not one of catching a few more winks. On the contrary, it is going into the fray with both eyes wide open.

1 Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

So, get up and get to work.

The Son of God rose from the dead; you can get yourself out of bed.

day no. 17,041: body counts

Buddha’s body is buried in his grave in Pingliang.
Confucius’ body is buried in his grave in Qufu.
Muhammad’s body is buried in his grave in Medina.
Marx’s body is buried in his grave in London.
Nietzsche’s body is buried in his grave in Lutzen.
Darwin’s body is buried in his grave in London.

Jesus’ body is sitting at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; and from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

"The graveyards are full of indispensable men." — Charles De Gaulle

Many men have claimed to have cornered the market only to go out of stock. Some said we could not go on without them, but we are their great grandchildren and we barely remember them.

God, however, has no grave marker. He isn't buried under history, He reigns over it. His body of work is not dead and has not decayed. He did borrow a tomb once for three days, but He checked out at the crack of dawn and never looked back.

Hebrews 13:8

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

The future is Christian.

day no. 17,040: the end of Christianity

Nero: this is the end of Christianity,

Diocletian: this is the end of Christianity,

Muhammed: this is the end of Christianity,

Voltaire: this is the end of Christianity,

Nietzsche: this is the end of Christianity,

Darwin: this is the end of Christianity,

Marx: this is the end of Christianity,

Freud: this is the end of Christianity,

Liberalism: this is the end of Christianity,

Feminism: this is the end of Christianity.

Communism: this is the end of Christianity,

Secularism: this is the end of Christianity,

“Men have spoken too soon in claiming that the world has now entered a post-Christian era and we have been fools to believe them.” — Iain Murray, The Puritan Hope

Christianity cannot end because the Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Because He is, Christianity ever will be. The gates of Hell will not prevail in keeping back the Kingdom's advance. They cant. He is alive. The future is Christian.

“Strictly speaking, there will never be a post-Christian era, because there will never be an era post-Christ.“ — Toby Sumpter

Christianity will never end and there will never be anything after Christianity. Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father patiently destroying all of His enemies save death. Once every last enemy has been rallied under His feet, He shall stand again and come to judge the quick and the dead and put an end to that last enemy when death itself is thrown into the lake of fire.

“Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a God who knew the way out of the grave.” — G.K. Chesterton

Resurrection rules the world. He is seated, but His seeds keep growing. As they die to themselves, falling like grains of wheat to the ground in faith, they are by grace regenerated. The Lord is landscaping and the leaven continues to conquers the lump. 

“Christendom has had a series of revolutions and in each one of them Christianity has died. Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a God who knew the way out of the grave.” — G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man

Christendom can die, but it cannot stay dead. If it dies for its faith, it rises against because of it. You cannot kill the resurrection. You cannot end Christianity. It is the defeat of defeat and the death of death. It is the end of the end.

“The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church." — Tertullian

Faithful death is like fertilizer. The Church is antifragile. If you kill it, you multiply it. If you strike it down like the reaper, you only serve to sow it like a farmer.

day no. 17,039: edom and gomorrah

“Any nation that defends herself with women in combat is not worth defending.” — Douglas Wilson, A Christian View of War

When it has come to the point where men are insisting on being saved by women, it has come to the point of no return. The edge of the cliff in that scenario was twenty seconds ago and the next stop is the bottom and it is approaching at an alarming rate.

“A nation that sends its women to fight its wars is not worth defending.” — Pat Buchanan

You should not defend the indefensible. It is unconscionable to send women and children to die in order to save the men. That should not be and soon won't be if it is allowed to continue.

Obadiah 1:1, 12

The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom; thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.

When you rejoice over the end of men, you are either Edom or Gomorrah. You are either excited to watch men burn or you are burning after other men. Either way, it is the end of men and you are rejoicing over the ashes.

Jeremiah 51:30

The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.

If you win the men, you win the war.  But if you send your women our into harm's way, your homes are already forfeit. If you've lost the men, you've lost the war and someone else's men are soon to be your masters.

day no. 17,038: there are no off the rack jacks

Acts 17:26

God made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.

Our Father in Heaven picked the time and place for you to be born, including your family and father. Your Father in Heaven did not randomly say, “eenie-meenie-minie-Joe.” No, He is a good Father and He handpicked your particulars just for you. There are no off the rack Jacks. Everyone is made to order and designed to fit the place that God has assigned to them. No one is a generic knock-off.

Why did He do it like that? The next verse tells us,

Acts 17:27a

That they should seek God.

You were born to seek God from where you are: in your place, in your people, in your gender, in your family, and in your father. You could have been born anywhere at any time to anyone… but you weren’t. You were born somewhere… at sometime… to someone. So, do not forget to see God in your circumstances; for as the verse goes on to say,

Acts 17:27b

He is not far from each one of us.

day no. 17,037: paternity and Trinity

Habakkuk 2:14

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

Malachi 4:6

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Matthew 28:19

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

The scriptures teach us that the hearts of fathers will be turned back to their children and that the hearts of children will be turned back to their fathers. The scriptures also teach us that the world will be covered with the knowledge of the Lord like the water covers the seas and that the nations will be baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Our cultural calendar marks today as Father’s Day and our church calendar marks today as Trinity Sunday. This is a double blessing. As sons, we honor our Father in Heaven when we honor the fathers He gave us. As fathers, we glorify God when we raise our children in the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ; the love of God, our Father; and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

So, Happy Father’s Day and Happy Trinity Sunday.

Thanks be to God for so much to celebrate.

day no. 17,036: eggs are expensive and sperm is cheap

“Eggs are expensive, sperm is cheap.” — Greg Krehbiel, Eggs Are Expensive, Sperm Is Cheap: 50 Politically Incorrect Thoughts for Men

Men may be made of dirt, but they should not be treated like dirt. That said, if there is a bump in the night, the man should rise to the occasion. He is called to provide and protect his people. Part of that reveals that it would be better for him to perish in protecting his people than for his people to perish in order to protect him. Simply put, masculine virtue is not worth protecting if it cannot protect itself. That is not masculine virtue. If you protect that, what you are curating is not masculine or virtuous. 

Masculinity was made to sacrifice itself in order to save its people. Love lays down its life for the beloved and men are made in the image of the Man of God who did just that. Femininity was made to sacrifice itself in order to produce more people. Love is hospitable and welcomes new life into its womb and spends itself nurturing that life from its own body. 

Men and women were made differently. Men produce seeds faster than eggs can be fertilized. Men make more seeds than women can make eggs. One egg a month for a limited number of decades is a scarcer resource than a lifetime supply of daily sperm. 

Women are the weaker sex and must be treasured accordingly. You do not use the fancy plates for lunch on Wednesday. You save those for special occasions and keep them stored in a safe place in the meantime. You do not display normal dishes. The delicate ones, however, sometimes are put on display, but even then, they are kept safe and sound by being stored out of reach of others. Men are not disposal paper plates, but neither are they fine china... nor should they desire to be. Men are the standard issue ceramic white plates that get food on them often, get washed, dried, and put back into service.

Eggs are expensive; sperm is cheap.

Thanks be to God.

day no. 17,035: the unity of diversity and the clarity of disparity

Genesis 1:27

God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Creation is distinction.

First and foremost, all creation is distinct from its Creator. He is distinct from what He has made. What is made cannot be separated from its Creator, but it is distinctly not its own Creator. It is with God, but it is not God, nor was it from the beginning.

Secondly, all creation contains internal distinctions. God made the night distinct from the day, the land distinct from the water, the waters above distinct from the waters below, the creatures of the air distinct from the creatures of the water, etc... It should come as no surprise then that the crown of His creation, the image bearers of God, should contain the internal distinction of male and female.

Diversity is best blessed when its distinctions are received as blessings.

God separates things in order to bring them back together better than they were before they were broken apart. The man is broken in order to make the woman. God then brings the woman back to the man in order to join them together. This is more than the man merely getting his rib back. He does get it back, but in a much better union. His new unity is better than his previous one. Man and wife is better than man before he lost his rib.

The unity of diversity is best achieved by the clarity of disparity.

If I set the sun beside the moon,

And if I set the land beside the sea,

And if I set the town beside the country,

And if I set the man beside the woman,

I suppose some fool would talk about one being better.

by G. K. Chesterton

day no. 17,034: win the men, win the war

1 Corinthians 11:3

I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ.

Win the man, win the war.

Christ has won.

We are Christ's.

We have won. 

Revelation 1:6

He hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Christ is our Head.

Under Him we serve.

Christ is King.

In His train we conquer.

Revelation 5:10

He hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Win the men, win the war.

Win the man, his people will follow.

With the King comes the Kingdom.

Ephesians 4:8

When He ascended on high, He led a train of captives and gave gifts to people.

If you win the man, you win his people.

Christ has won and we are His people.

day no. 17,033: pacifism is the war on war

“If I tried to become [a pacifist], I should find a very doubtful factual basis, an obscure train of reasoning, a weight of authority both human and divine against me, and strong grounds for suspecting that my wishes had directed my decision.” — C.S. Lewis, Why I Am Not a Pacifist

Pacifism is the war on war.

1 Timothy 6:12

Fight the good fight of the faith. 

Pacifism is faithless because it refuses to fight.

2 Timothy 4:7

I have fought the good fight

Pacifism cannot persevere because it refuses to fight.

“There are no pacifist traditions left. All worthy traditions must be militant in order to survive this time of upheaval.” — Douglas Wilson

Refusing to fight is accepting your enemy's position.

"If you are not prepared to use force to defend civilization, then be prepared to accept barbarism." — Thomas Sowell 

Law and order is imposition. Someone's values will be imposed upon someone else. You cannot have a society without someone's morality being imposed upon another's.

"Christianity is a fighting religion." — C.S, Lewis, Mere Christianity

The good fight will require some fighting.

"As we reject the myth of neutrality, we must remember that we are not rejecting neutrality as a bad thing, but rather as an impossible thing." — Douglas Wilson, Excused Absence

Pacifism is self-defeating... even before it is actually defeated.