Category Archives: China

“We Know Better” Ignoring Conscience and Choosing Compromise

April 28th, 2022 | Dr. Charlie Self

When I was growing up, my parents would often say to me, “You know better!” as I messed up, and said and did things that were foolish or wrong. We are watching the infantilizing of our social ethos as emotionalism, erotic passions, and ideological narratives triumph over critical thinking, lasting virtues, and the search for the truth.

“We know better” a friend said to me in a coffee shop recently as we shared about many “hot topics.” As he spoke, my mind went to a whole list of inversions and perversions that are being peddled as true, and any disagreement is labeled as hatred, intolerance, or one of the new “phobias” that pop up each day.

In several coming posts, I will continue this theme of “We know better” and offer insights around the following issues where we deceive ourselves:

We know that abortion kills a pre-born human being. While we may differ on permissibility, we know that a life is ending. Replacing “baby” with “fetus” does not change this.

We know that the future of any child is improved when the biological parents finish high school, delay children until after marriage, work, and stay married. We know that fatherlessness is destroying communities trapped in poverty.

We know that China is a serious threat to democracy and freedom, yet we refuse to take serious measures to confront their aggrandizements and injustices.

We know that the world will not end in 10 or 100 years from climate change, but people in power love apocalyptic narratives that infringe on personal liberties, compel wealth transfers, and destroy the middle- and working classes.

We know there are two biological sexes and that all but a miniscule number of persons are born female or male. We also know there are complexities involved in attractions and gender identity, but these do not change the binary nature of humankind.

We know there are structural challenges to achieving equality for all people. We also know that every story of success includes agency, relationships, and hard work, regardless of gender or race.

We know that parents bear primary responsibility for their children, including their education, religious beliefs, and moral sensibilities. We also know that teachers should be teaching basic subjects that prepare children for adulthood in the 21^st century.

We know better about all of these topics…and we are afraid. We fear being labeled as the oppressor of women for opposing abortion. We fear being called racist for demanding fathers take responsibility for children they are producing. We are afraid of being called colonialist or xenophobic when we call out the Chinese government (We have no contentions with Chinese people per se) for its abuses. We are called callous capitalists if we do not mouth the inanities of climate fear. We are considered zealots and full of hatred for affirming basic biology. Making the family more important than government is impeding the “long march of Marxism” (Os Guinness) and hence the “new freedom” of the “new humanity” shaped by collectivism.

It is time to displace fear with love, for the Bible says that, “Love perfected casts out fear.” If we love God and our neighbor and desire flourishing for all, we will “know better” and stop lying to ourselves. Let’s not just react, but respond to these inanities with courage, love, and wisdom, seeking the maximum consensus possible. Stay tuned. In the next post we will take on abortion and offer a new vision for receiving children as gifts from God.

Certain Predictions for 2015

December 31st, 2014 | Dr. Charlie Self

As 2014 ends and 2015 begins, prognosticators are hard at work, offering their insights on everything from fashion to global politics, cultural mores to economic opportunities.

If history is any guide, predicting the future is an uncertain science at best, though trend analysis and evaluation of the past can help us anticipate what may happen. The divine gift of freewill coupled with our global connectedness keeps certainly out of reach.

With these qualifiers, including my non-omniscience (a fancy way of saying only God knows everything and I am not God.), I do offer the following as “certain” predictions for 2015. They are general enough to keep me from being stoned and sufficiently specific so that future assessment is possible.

Here are my certain predictions for 2015:

Millions will come to faith in Jesus Christ and thousands of new Christian churches of all traditions will be planted – most in the Global South.
Almost under the radar, the Christian churches will grow in the West and the USA through compassionate, insightful outreach, church planting and revitalization and the awareness among thoughtful people that science and technology will not usher in Utopia.
Political and social leaders will continue to struggle to find consensus on shared principles and vision for America’s future.
The new Discipleship Dynamics Assessment from The Assemblies of God Theological Seminary at Evangel University will help thousands of individuals and hundreds of communities celebrate progress in their relationship with Christ.
The Acton Institute’s new video series, “For the Life of the World; Letters to Exiles” will grow in fluency as thousands catch a new vision of human flourishing.
Hollywood will continue its march toward mediocrity.
The Oikonomia and Made to Flourish Networks will increase in influence as seminary leaders and pastors help their students and parishioners grasp 24/7 whole-life discipleship that integrates faith, work and economics.
Missio Alliance’s evangelical and egalitarian vision will inspire creative missional enterprises among diverse Christian communities.
The Institute and its sister organization REP will equip hundreds more for business-as-mission and the transformation of all spheres of society.
Messenger Fellowship will advance a mission of Kingdom vision and the ways of God as many more leaders learn to think kingdom before institution and mission before preservation of tradition.
Jihadi Islam will find resistance from two camps. The first will appeal to base passions of nation and race. These will gain momentary influence, but do not offer compelling principles for peace. the second will be diverse people of all faiths choosing resistance to evil and active peacemaking, calling on Muslims to accept philosophical and religious plurality as part of a free society.
Israel will resist all unilateral attempts by the EU, UN, USA and others to shrink her borders without the guarantee by a new Palestinian State of full diplomatic recognition as a Jewish nation.
Their will be new voices attempting to restore civility to public discourse and offer solutions instead of slogans.
New African-American voices will be heard, offering an alternative to the Jessie Jackson-Al Sharpton narratives and shakedowns. Hopefully they will be heard for their substance and not labeled/libeled for being different. By today’s standards, MLK was not “truly Black” with his appeals to Christian principles, non-violence and the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution!
China and Russia will continue their militant ways, trying to intimidate smaller neighbors and blackmails nations dependent upon their resources and wealth.
Republicans in the US Congress will have to choose between capitulation to totalitarianism from the White House and serious confrontation with policies detrimental to America’s future.
And in the midst of all this, Dr. Charlie and Kathy Self will continue to love God and each other and serve productively with our callings and gifts. All of this is possible because of God’s grace and the prayers and support of so many friends!

A very Happy 2015 to all!

Truth is the Only Path to Peace

September 4th, 2013 | Dr. Charlie Self

The “Arab Spring” has devolved into the Jihadi Winter. The Cairo 2009 strategy of “leading from behind” and “outreach” to radical Islamic regimes is bearing bitter fruit and global contempt for the USA. “Negotiations” between the Palestinians are interrupted by terrorist attacks on Israelis, continued calls for violence and a refusal of the Palestinian Authority to recognize Israel’s right to exist within secure borders and with full diplomatic relations with a second Palestinian state (Jordan was shaped as the first one in 1947). When Israel defends herself or builds a few settlements, the world declares “Apartheid! Racism! Colonialism!” And those are the nice words.

It is time for honesty about USA foreign policy and the realities of the Middle East. Millions of lives, scores of national economies and our pursuit of justice demand serious accounting, not ideological epithets tossed back and forth on the airwaves and Internet. In the following paragraphs, I will outline a pathway to peace, with the understanding that any accord is fragile and the cohesion of nation-states and tranquility between nations requires ethical courage and constant vigilance. I will not cater to radical Zionists that wish to displace all Arabs from Judea and Samaria. I will also refuse to listen to replacement theologians and leftist activists that reduce Israel to Western colonialism and deny her place in the community of nations.

There are multiple 20th century narratives concerning the Middle East, from the miracle of Zionism to the tragedy to Palestinian diaspora. All of them contain some truth and no one timeline (with its inherent selectivity) can capture the complexity. The pathway to peace requires understanding history and a willingness to lay down the grievances of the past to forge a better future. Recounting terrorist incidents and family tragedies without forgiveness and willingness to create something new only compounds the current impasse. The way forward is rooted in present reality and future hope, not bitterness or nostalgia.

Here are some “mile markers” on a road to peace:

1. Israel is not going away. Much can be negotiated – and has, with Nobel prizes awarded for the attempts – but existence in peace with diplomatic relations is the starting point.

2. A Palestinian State dedicated to peace, economic cooperation and freedom of conscience must be the goal. There will be no new state without renunciation of terrorism. This new state is another “given.”

3. The Palestinian demands for “right of return” for 1947-49 refugees cannot include every distant descendant and must involve relocation in the new state as much as possible, not overwhelming a Jewish State with angry radicals. Realistically, many can return home in Israel, with others welcomed in a new Palestine.

4. Jerusalem can be the capital of both states. The Temple Mount and other holy sites need oversight from outside bodies as well and the consensus of each nation.

5. The new Palestinian leaders must renounce deception, winking at radicals and the long-term goal of annihilating Israel. There cannot be one set of phrases for Western consumption while other agendas are promoted to radical constituencies. No more Temple denial, Holocaust denial or distribution of the Protocols and other scurrilous literature.

6. Israel should freeze settlements if # 1 is unequivocally announced and terrorists are arrested and prosecuted.

7. There should be immediate economic joint-ventures creating thousands of new jobs for underemployed Palestinians.

8. The USA must be the leading mediator at serious peace talks. No other nation has anything close to the objectivity America displays. China wants oil, period. Russia wants imperial power and access to warm water and economic control. All the nations surrounding Israel have much to gain from peace, including the blessings of free trade, tourism and culture exchange. Iran and Syria can be marginalized and a new coalition of freedom-affirmation nations may be emboldened to resist the mad mullahs.

9. The EU needs to stay on the sidelines and enter a new season of humility and repentance for her anti-Semitism and capitulation to radical Islam. Without reverting to the national-racial depravities of the 19th and 20th century, European nations must reaffirm first principles of freedom and arrest their decline toward de facto Sharia. No European nation has the moral strength and objectivity at present to lend any weight to negotiations.

10. All of these principles for peace require unprecedented courage on the part of Israeli and Palestinian leaders. The PA must change their textbooks and include an Israeli State. Israel must welcome a fledgling state next door and create economic and travel pathways for prosperity. Before the ink is dry, death threats will come to all involved. But the lessons of Begin and Sadat are instructive. There has been no war between Israel and Egypt (or Jordan) since Camp David (President Carter’s greatest achievement). Bill Clinton called Arafat after the another broken accord and accused Arafat of ruining the chances fro pace and destroying their personal legacies. Arafat, child of the 1940s jihadi cries of the Mufti of Jerusalem (a joyful visitor to Auschwitz), could not, in the end, let go of his hatred and eliminationist ideology. Israel has proven her willingness to cede land for peace. It is time to find a PA leader who welcomes peace for generations yet unborn.

All peacemaking requires the best of human nature. All peace accords are subverted by human depravity. Israel is a moral good for the world. A peaceful Palestine could point the way toward Islamic cultural revitalization and political moderation. Real peace is a goal worth working for. May “open covenants, openly arrived at…” guide leaders that desire a better future.