Boys Will Be Boys

I first posted this five years ago. Things are changing in my family, you know. I might be feeling a little longing for the old days.

I’ve never met a little boy that didn’t love playing superhero.  If they don’t have a real superhero costume, a pair of briefs over long underwear and a towel-cape will do. If you let them (or you’re not looking) they’ll take flying leaps across the livingroom from the coffee table or the back of the couch. It’s always cute, sometimes annoying, and possibly dangerous, depending on what superhero he is, what superfeat he’s attempting, and how many other superheroes there are in the room.

Playing superhero is fun, for sure, but it’s also very important work—purposeful work. When the caped pretender turns 12 or 13, give or take a few years, you’ll see him begin to unfold into a real hero.

The metamorphosis might start with a bit of a bad attitude. He thinks he knows better than his parents; he thinks he’s invincible; and he doesn’t like taking instruction. This can be a difficult stage, because he doesn’t know better than his parents, he’s not invincible, and goodness knows, he needs instruction more than he ever did. This stage of hero development is not much fun, but parents who hang in there may see that this, too, has a purpose.

Youngest daughter is twenty-one and works at a gym. A week or so ago she came home and told us about her day. A young man, a customer at the gym who is the same age as youngest son and still in high school, had been hassling her.

“We should hang out sometime,” he said. He was nothing if not persistent, even though she thought she was obvious in her refusal.

Oldest son’s response? “I should have a talk with him.” Youngest son? “I’ll beat him up!”

As it turns out, her boss had overheard things and he had a talk with the young man, so  it was all resolved without any help from her brothers.

Yes, youngest son needs to learn a better approach to fixing these sorts of problems—a better step one, anyway. I expect that to come with time. A year ago, however, it would never have crossed his mind that this situation might require something of him.

He’s one step closer to becoming a hero, and that, really, is what the briefs pulled up over the long johns when he was five were all about. Boys will be boys, and that’s a good thing, because it’s working to turn them into men.

Thankful Thursday

This year has been a big year for wildlife spotting in this family. Just this week, youngest daughter almost ran into a big lynx—as tall as our golden retriever, she says—while running the dogs on the local ski trails. A few minutes ago, there was a little fox, not nearly as tall as our golden retriever, standing right below the window that was beside me as I sat at the dining room table. Just now, youngest daughter told me that she saw him curled up sleeping right on the street when she drove home from work at 4AM. And, she says, there is a mama fox and three babies that live right beside the Air North buildings where she works and she sees them out and about quite often. I’m guessing that some the abundance of animals (We’ve also seen a moose, a bear, and multiple coyotes rather close to our home.) has to do with the particular place we are in the population cycle of some of the rodent species. Whatever the reason, it makes me thankful for the animals God made and placed, and for my home here where the animals are.

I’m thankful for rain yesterday, for potato plants coming up in the garden, for rhubarb picked and already made into sauce and pie, and for rhubarb ready to pick again.

I’m thankful that God spoke—in creation, in scripture, and in Christ—so that we can know him truly.

On Thursdays throughout this year, I plan to post a few thoughts of thanksgiving along with Kim at the Upward Call and others. Why don’t you participate by posting your thanksgiving each week, too? It’ll be an encouragement to you and to others, I promise.

Theological Term of the Week

presuppositional apologetics
An approach to apologetics that starts with the foundational axioms of the existence of God and his divine revelation to us in Scripture, and seeks to show that the Christian faith built on these presuppositions makes sense of life and reality and that any other belief system built on other foundational axioms does not. Also called presuppositionalism or biblical apologetics.

• From scripture:

  So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,  25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he 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, 27 that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for

  “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; 

  as even some of your own poets have said,

  “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ 

  29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:22-31 ESV)

• From The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 1:

  Of The Holy Scripture

  IV. The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, and obeyed, depends not upon the testimony of any man, or Church; but wholly upon God (who is truth itself) the author thereof: and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God.[9]

• From Defending the Faith: An Introduction to Presuppositional Appologetics by Massimo Lorenzini:

  There are traditionally three approaches to faith and reason:

  • The rationalistic apologetic: Thomas Aquinas, “I believe because I understand.”
  • The irrational, fideistic apologetic: Tertullian, “I believe what is absurd.”
  • The presuppositional apologetic: Augustine, “I believe; therefore, I understand.”

  Contrary to rationalism, human reason is not a religiously neutral or independent realm that is philosophically prior to faith. Contrary to irrationalism, human reason need not be a futile and impossible task that is contrary to true faith. Consistent with presuppositionalism, the realm of true faith encompasses all and is prior to all, including logic and science, and only in the context of faith is a rational and orderly world possible.

Learn more:

1. Wikipedia: Presuppositional Apologetics
2. GotQuestions.org: What Is Presuppositional Apologetics?
3. Dr. Brian M. Abshire: Reason, Evidence, and Presuppositional Apologetics
4. S. Joel Garver: A Primer on Presuppositionalism
5. Fred Butler: Apologetic Methodology in a Nutshell and God Fearing Apologetics
6. Fred Butler: Starting Points with Evidence
7. Dr. Greg Bahnson: Presuppositional Procedure
8. Dr. Greg Bahnson: Van Tillian Apologetics (4 mp3s)
9. Westminster Theological Seminary: Apologetics Course on iTunes.
10. Dr. Scott Oliphant: Apologetics and Doctrine of Scripture, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 (YouTube videos)

Related terms:

• evidential apologetics

Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it.

I’m also interested in any suggestions you have for tweaking my definitions or for additional (or better) articles or sermons/lectures for linking. I’ll give you credit and a link back to your blog if I use your suggestion.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms organized in alphabetical order or by topic.