Author: Jon Partlow

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A Mountain Worth Dying On: When Choice Becomes Yours

Harry Truman. No, not the 33rd President of the United States Harry Truman, but the Harry Truman who owned a lodge on Spirit Lake at the base of Mt. St. Helens. Oh him. Yea, he became something of a local icon and celebrity during the months running up to the eruption of the mountain on May 18, 1980.

A veteran of World War I, a prospector and bootlegger by trade, Truman built and ran the Mt. St. Helens Lodge for fifty-two years. He was eighty-four years old when the volcano began showing signs of an eruption. When the US government evacuated all residences from the region, Truman refused to comply with the orders. He believed the threat was exaggerated as the mountain was a full mile from his lodge. More so, at his age, where would he go and what would he do? Truman tied his fate to the mountain.

A mountain worth dying on. Harry Truman was not the first to dig his heels into the ground and tie his fate to a mountain. He certainly won’t be the last.

Following the Roman invasion of Jerusalem, when Herod’s Temple was razed, nearly a thousand Jewish Zealots fled to the southern region of the Dead Sea. Escaping the terror, they sought refuge in one of Herod’s fortified palaces on top of a mountain. Slaughtering a garrison, they secured the fortress, Masada. However, three years later the Romans laid a three month siege to the fortress. They built a four hundred foot ramp to reach the gates, and once breached they found the Jewish dissidents had committed suicide. For these Jewish Zealots, given the choice of death, torture and captivity, Masada was a mountain worth dying on.  

Mountains, beyond the awe-inspiring view, are easily fortified and defended. An advancing army could be spotted miles away. When that army approached the holdout, they had an “uphill battle,” giving the advantage to those holding the mountain. From the spiritual viewpoint, mountains make us feel closer to God. Sacred places are often found on mountains, and religious encounters are referred to as “mountain top experiences.” Both military and spiritual aspect, it’s easy to see people finding a mountain worth dying on.

Mountains play an important role through the biblical narrative. Noah’s ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat (Gen. 8:4). Abraham is asked to sacrifice Isaac on Mt. Moriah (Gen. 22:2). Moses is called by God on Mt. Horeb (Ex. 3:1). Israel camps and receives the Law at Mt. Sinai (Ex. 19:1-20:21). Moses’s death is on Mt. Nebo overlooking the Promised Land (Deut. 32:48-52). David captures the Jebusite fortress on Mt. Zion to claim as his capital city (2 Sam. 5:6-7). Elijah staged the battle between YHWH and Baal on Mt. Carmel (1 King. 18:16-46), then fled to Mt. Horeb when he feared for his life (1 King. 19:1-9).

But as important as mountains are throughout the biblical story, not all are created equal. Not all mountains are worth dying on. If we created a mountain out of a molehill, it’s probably not a hill to fight, claim or give your life to. In Harry Truman’s case, I’m not sure it was a mountain worth dying on. The same might be said of the Zealots of Masada. Might. But that’s the point, right? Not all mountains are equal.

When Jesus called people to follow him, he was bold up front. He said, “Count the cost” (Lk. 14:28), in order to determine whether following him is cherished over the long haul. Jesus was headed up to a small mountain “knoll” that looked like a man’s bald head. There he would be crucified, executed for our sins. It was a mountain worth dying on, and he calls us to that mountain. But it’s our choice as to whether that knoll is a mountain worth dying on.

Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e. only God is glorified!)

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Playing Out of Tune: Choosing Disonance Instead of Harmony

The Hebrews writer calls God’s people to play their lives out in harmony with the people around them (Heb. 12:14). One might argue that seeking peace is a visual demonstration of a holy life, a requirement by God. Since harmony will not happen on its own, we’re called to “make every effort” to ensure a peaceful harmony. Such melodious sound is felt, not only within the church community, but is experienced when we step outside of church doors and into the world.

Unfortunately, too much dissonance has been, and is being, heard in the world. Instead of tuning the world, the church has too often been the source of dissonance. Or worse, the church has chosen silence. How do we speak peace and bring harmony where so much dissonance is heard?

When Botham Jean was murdered by an off-duty Dallas police officer, but still in uniform, he was shot in his own apartment while eating ice cream. The police tried covering it up and began a “smear campaign” against Botham. When Breonna Taylor was murdered by the Louisville Narcotics Department, they were executing a drug warrant at the wrong apartment. The family claims officers never identified themselves before/when breaking in. She was shot eight times. The police are being accused of covering it up while tarnishing her reputation.

Then there’s Ahmaud Arbery who was out for a jog in his Brunswick, Georgia neighborhood when a father and son confronted him as a burglar suspect. Intending to make a citizen’s arrest, the confrontation escalated into an argument, then into a scuffle until he was fatally shot. The attorney assigned to the case failed to file any charges (the father was a former police officer and the son had a job connection). A video showing the altercation had to surface first before a new prosecutor was assigned to the case so that an arrest could be made.

The perpetrators’ story fit in a long line of dissonant voices defaulting to false rational. According to James Cone, The Cross and the Lynching Tree, nearly five thousand people of color were lynched between 1882 and 1968. Most, if not all, were falsely accused and refused due-process. “They looked like trouble” became the measure of justice. A crime was committed, so it was penned on a local black man. Maybe he took a second look at someone’s wife or daughter or the way he strutted offended the white community. Almost like the case in Georgia, Arbery looked suspicious (whatever that means). Arbery looked suspicious, so he was confronted. Their story and rationale really does line up with history whenever people justified a lynching.

If we’re going to help bring harmony, then we need to speak out against the dissonance. As Edmond Burk once said, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” As long as (white) Christians remain silent, look the other way or gaslight the issue, racism will continue its pervasive infection, destroying our society in the process. Someone has to admit to playing the wrong note, why not us?

If we’re going to help restore harmony, then we need to seek forgiveness for the dissonance. Because of our individualism, we lack the understanding of community sin. No, I didn’t own slaves. No, I have never participated in a lynching. No, I have never used the “N” word against my neighbor. But I am a part of a society whose history is filled with those actions. If I claim the good in this nation, then I need to be willing to own the bad.

If we’re going to help restore harmony, then we need to educate ourselves on the dissonance and its causes. No doubt, too many assumptions have been made and it’s past time to view the world trough someone else’s eyes (see 2 Cor. 5:16ff [Paul addresses reconciliation]). Talk to the Black community. Read James Cone or others like him. Take a day and tour the Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati. Try to understand the plight of the people of color.

The Hebrews writer calls us to play in tune and to make every effort to achieve in harmony. Left to its own, we’ll never do it. If we make the effort, we have a chance for some beautiful music.

Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e. only God is glorified!)

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SHADING TRUTH: The Silhouette of Reality

As many as seventy-five times in the four gospels, Jesus declares, “I tell you the truth.” He does so to draw attention and to emphasize what follows. He’s also underscoring that what he is about to say is true and not a lie. Truth reaches to the core and very nature of who Jesus is. So much so that Jesus invokes God’s name when declaring, “I am the truth” in John 14:6.

As followers of Christ we are a people who step into truth, or into Truth, without trying to shade him with lies. Sometimes it’s a tall order.

In my lifetime a number of factors have converged that have created a perfect storm to cast a long shadow on truth. While I’m unsure as to if a “cause and effect” exists, certainly a correlation can be found in these factors.

► The Rise of Postmodernity: in an over simplification, truth lost any sense of universal or objective morality, reason or reality. Each individual for themselves what is right or wrong.

► The Eroding Trust in the Government/Institutions: the Vietnam Conflict, Watergate, economic downturns, abuse of power, over billing and self-serving leadership has led to a “drain the swamp” mentality.

► Church’s Fall from Grace: church has shifted from being the center of society to the fringes, and from the place of authority to the place of irrelevancy. Teaching is questioned, while transformation is too often dismissed.

► The Pushback against Academia: we are a society that educates its people while undermining the value of an education (i.e., questioning scientific evidence). As a society, we don’t read. In fact, we hate reading.

► The Attraction to Conspiracy Theories: people long to make sense of horrific/world events, to feel a sense of control and to make themselves look “good” because they are “in the know.” Thus, people are willing to chase and embrace these extravagant explanations.

► The Flood of Information: the internet and social media has given us more information without filters. Trying to wade through the sea of data is overwhelming and paralyzing. Anything posted on the internet is too often met with credibility instead of skepticism.

► Ideological Bias: we all live with blinders. We tend to filter information through our own beliefs. Sometimes it’s helpful to weed out the bad, but other times we throw out the flower that needs to grow.  

Jesus calls us to truth. But the provided list sometimes makes it hard to find the truth. Sometimes I feel like “the truth doesn’t have a chance against such a convincing lie” (Andy Andrews). But Jesus keeps calling us to truth. We have to keep listening through the white noise. When truth is being shaded, remember how the silhouette offers nothing, but the reality is full of substance. Or said another way, the lie will grip to enslave with fear, while the truth will set us free (Jn. 8:21).

Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e. only God is glorified!)