NewArt

Hey Everyone, I've got a little bit of new art for you. I made a list of all the people in my class who I thought would be fun to draw. This is a girl in my class named Robin Bowe, and she should be the first of many class pictures to come. I once had somebody ask me, "Do you draw men?" as they had only ever seen portraits I've done of women. Yes I draw men. Actually probably 80% of the people I've ever drawn have been men. But if your going to invest serious time and effort in a portrait, you should draw a woman. They are more appreciative and considerably better looking than guys. Also, you get hugs.
T

Obamanation

A God-fearing Christian is an Obama supporter. Paul exhorts us in Romans, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, … Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.” ¬ God has placed this man in authority over us, and that providential act requires an appropriate reaction from Christians. Some Christians who think themselves rather clever, thanked God for the impending judgment, and asked that it would be swift and would cause a conservative backlash, I unfortunately fell into this way of thinking. This however is simply backward. We know that Barrack Obama has been promised as a “minister for our good” . Whether we like it or not. Expecting the sudden downfall of our nation is the sort of dependence on horses and chariots that we are strictly warned against. Do I trust Obama’s policies, character, or affiliations? No, no more than we ought trust in tanks. I do, however, trust that he cannot thwart God’s plans, and that God has made all things to work together for the good of those that love Him . A pro Obama stance does not make one pro abortion, or pro Gay marriage. On the contrary, we ought to pray that God would preserve our nation from such evils and direct our president away from them. The appropriate Christian response to our president elect is thank God and ask his blessing on our new leader.

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Beard

Last week Mr. Leithart made his clever and well-received attack on the shaggy faces of the freshman class. I appreciate what he was saying. He makes a valid point by warning against the growth of a beard for status or a façade of maturity. I agree. The thing is I don’t think that many members of the freshman class grow beards for this reason. I don’t rely on my beard for social acceptance. I rely on my beard to separate my chin from my neck. There is nothing wrong with growing a beard, but, live up to your beard. If you behave like a prepubescent punk, then I must agree that your chin fuzz only serves to accentuate the contrast between your age and your behavior. But if you are a young man known for maturity and humility, then a beard is totally appropriate.
Again I’ll grant to Mr. Leithart, that part of that maturity and humility is knowing what you can grow and where. Fourteen hairs grown to five inches long is not the mark of wisdom. I’ve spent the last week figuring out that I can’t grow a moustache, and I probably won’t try again for some time. Also, it is important to keep in mind that, most of us come from much more clement weather than the frozen tundra that is Moscow. A little hair on the face goes a long way in maintaining body heat. So to the freshman guys, be wise, stay warm, and grow a beard, if you can.

Suicide

Suicide is the ultimate sin of economy. It combines a disgust for all of God’s gifts and government, with a usurpation by human perversion’s. Chesterton talks about suicide as a sort of cosmic treason, but the dangers and debaucheries of this action run much deeper. Suicide represents utter revolt against God’s providential narrative and authority. In expelling the God-breathed life from their bodies suicides are not only refusing to face, interact with, and accept God’s providence; they are denying his authority as the author of life. This is perhaps the fundamental difference between suicide and martyrdom. The former is the ultimate rebellion against God’s will, whereas the later is the perfect acceptance of, and resignation to God’s will. Moreover, suicide is often a false gospel, a rejection of the gift of Christ efficacious blood, a distortion of the necessity of bloodshed for purgation, which reveals itself in the propensity of cultish activity to end in suicide. The way Augustine viewed the world is the perfect paradigm for understanding suicide. By understanding creation as God’s property built on a hierarchy of love, it becomes plain that in suicide man is stealing from God, himself, and nature. The City of Man, characterized by the economic sins of greed, ingratitude, and domination, is born from the poisonous juices of the first suicide, when Adam and Eve willingly ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and thus knowingly garnered death for themselves.