tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2224204979128038089.post6426954229689982806..comments2023-09-24T04:49:37.439-07:00Comments on Randy's Rag: THE CHALLENGE TO HOLINESS FROM A SURPRISING SOURCEA. Randy Naborshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16582652319512391777noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2224204979128038089.post-58241578063650919302015-05-30T12:02:26.980-07:002015-05-30T12:02:26.980-07:00I am overwhelmed, so I just simply say, "than...I am overwhelmed, so I just simply say, "thank-you." A. Randy Naborshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16582652319512391777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2224204979128038089.post-78363323177967936592015-05-25T21:28:18.459-07:002015-05-25T21:28:18.459-07:00Randy, Amazon.com’s author page for David Brooks h...Randy, Amazon.com’s author page for David Brooks has the following summary about him:<br /><br />David Brooks is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times and appears regularly on “PBS NewsHour,” NPR’s “All Things Considered” and NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He teaches at Yale University and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the bestselling author of The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement; Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There; and On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense. He has three children and lives in Maryland.<br /><br />My take is that Mr. Brooks would like to have many of the ethical benefits of the Judeo-Christian legacy of the past, but probably feels compelled to do so under the guise of Neo-Orthodoxy, which feels it has no alternative but to deny the authenticity and authority of Scripture, and can generally be summed up as “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5 ESV). This would certainly make sense for an author and speaker who is lionized by NPR as a Yale professor and former Wall Street Journal op-ed editor, whose religion is listed in his Wikipedia biography as Jewish. I could be wrong in some of these assumptions or assertions, and if so I stand corrected, but I thought this might help you to get a better sense of what you’ve been digesting.<br /><br />Want to know something funny, Randy? When I was in grad school at the University of Baltimore in the late 1980s (I was studying publication design then), I often found I had a more profound admiration for those who were unafraid to stake a moral claim, even if it was one with which I vehemently disagreed, than I did for those who were cynical, noncommittal and ready to compromise, and couldn’t wait to take a smoke break outside after class. I always felt an affinity with the activist-crusaders that I simply couldn’t with students who were smugly satisfied with getting by and the status quo. I suppose I would respect and admire you in that same way, whether you were friend or foe—for your constant non-lukewarmness and energy for the cause of Christ.<br /><br />Randy, one other thing I wanted to say to you today, which is a two-pronged “Thank you for your service.” When I think of all the people who have influenced my life and still come up in conversations to this day, you are at the very top of my list, and I want to recognize your courageous actions in invading Satan’s segregated fiefdom in the early days of New City Fellowship. You will always remain in my mind as one of the modern heroes of the faith, from whom I have taken constant inspiration, and to whom I now point with my children.<br /><br />I also want to say thanks for your service in the U.S. Army chaplaincy, as I have come to know more military service members here in Colorado Springs recently who are striving to live out their Christian faith authentically. One young man I know decided to go to officers’ school and become a chaplain after serving as a youth minister in my church, and I have heard from him on several occasions not only the harrowing tales of his deployment but also his struggle to maintain the faith once delivered in the midst of many overtures that appear to be aimed at making the gospel of the chaplaincy a gospel of diversity, moral relativism, social engineering and social services delivery.<br /><br />Thanks, Randy, for all the risks you’ve taken on so willingly for the sake of the kingdom of our majestic Lord and Savior, Jesus, and for us, his flock and yours. No doubt on this “Decoration Day” you may be remembering some of those with whom you served who made the ultimate sacrifice, but I want you to know that you have also on innumerable occasions demonstrated your willingness to lay down your life for your brothers and sisters, stepping into the bootprints of our Savior.<br /><br />With all brotherly affection in Christ,<br /><br />Tim Collins<br />Colorado Springs<br />Memorial Day 2015Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02841348182208620879noreply@blogger.com