Fight for Your Faith

Does your faith need strengthening? Are you confused and wondering if Jesus Christ is really "The Way, the Truth, and the Life?" "Fight for Your Faith" is a blog filled with interesting and thought provoking articles to help you find the answers you are seeking. Jesus said, "Seek and ye shall find." In Jeremiah we read, "Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall seek for Me with all your heart." These articles and videos will help you in your search for the Truth.

Monday, October 30, 2017

THE LOVE DARE

, , No comments
by Stephen Kendrick
40 Days Love Journey

Day 1: Love is patient
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
—Ephesians 4:2 NIV
TODAY’S DARE
The first part of this dare is fairly simple. Although love is communicated in a number of ways, our words often reflect the condition of our heart. For the next day, resolve to demonstrate patience and to say nothing negative to your spouse at all. If the temptation arises, choose not to say anything. It’s better to hold your tongue than to say something you’ll regret.

Day 2: Love is kind
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
—Ephesians 4:32
TODAY’S DARE
In addition to saying nothing negative to your spouse again today, do at least one unexpected gesture as an act of kindness.

Day 3: Love is not selfish
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.
—Romans 12:10
TODAY’S DARE
Whatever you put your time, energy, and money into will become more important to you. It’s hard to care for something you are not investing in. Along with restraining from negative comments, buy your spouse something that says, “I was thinking of you today.”

Day 4: Love is thoughtful
How precious also are Your thoughts to me. . . .How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
—Psalm 139:17–18
TODAY’S DARE
Contact your spouse sometime during the business of the day. Have no agenda other than asking how he or she is doing and if there is anything you could do for them.

Day 5: Love is not rude
He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be reckoned a curse to him. —Proverbs 27:14
TODAY’S DARE
Ask your spouse to tell you three things that cause him or her to be uncomfortable or irritated with you. You must do so without attacking them or justifying your behavior. This is from their perspective only.

Day 6: Love is not irritable
He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.
—Proverbs 16:32
TODAY’S DARE
Choose today to react to tough circumstances in your marriage in loving ways instead of with irritation. Begin by making a list below of areas where you need to add margin to your schedule. Then list any wrong motivations that you need to release from your life.

Day 7: Love believes the best
[Love] believes all things, hopes all things.
—1 Corinthians 13:7
TODAY’S DARE
For today’s dare, get two sheets of paper. On the first one, spend a few minutes writing out positive things about your spouse. Then do the same with negative things on the second sheet. Place both sheets in a secret place for another day. There is a different purpose and plan for each. At some point during the remainder of the day, pick a positive attribute from the first list and thank your spouse for having this characteristic.

Day 8: Love is not jealous
Love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire.
—Song of Solomon 8:6 NIV
TODAY’S DARE
Determine to become your spouse’s biggest fan and to reject any thoughts of jealousy. To help you set your heart on your spouse and focus on their achievements, take yesterday’s list of negative attributes and discreetly burn it. Then share with your spouse how glad you are about a success he or she recently enjoyed.

Day 9: Love makes good impressions
Greet one another with a kiss of love.
—1 Peter 5:14
TODAY’S DARE Think of a specific way you’d like to greet your spouse today. Do it with a smile and with enthusiasm. Then determine to change your greeting to reflect your love for them.

Day 10: Love is unconditional
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
—Romans 5:8
TODAY’S DARE
Do something out of the ordinary today for your spouse—something that proves (to you and to them) that your love is based on your choice and nothing else. Wash her car. Clean the kitchen. Buy his favorite dessert. Fold the laundry. Demonstrate love to them for the sheer joy of being their partner in marriage.

Day 11: Love cherishes
Husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies.
—Ephesians 5:28
TODAY’S DARE
What need does your spouse have that you could meet today? Can you run an errand? Give a back rub or foot massage? Is there housework you could help with? Choose a gesture that says, “I cherish you” and do it with a smile.

Day 12: Love lets the other win
Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
—Philippians 2:4
TODAY’S DARE
Demonstrate love by willingly choosing to give in to an area of disagreement between you and your spouse. Tell them you are putting their preference first.

Day 13: Love fights fair
If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
—Mark 3:25
TODAY’S DARE
Talk with your spouse about establishing healthy rules of engagement. If your mate is not ready for this, then write out your own personal rules to “fight” by. Resolve to abide by them when the next disagreement occurs.If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

Day 14: Love takes delight
Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting life.
—Ecclesiastes 9:9 HCSB
TODAY’S DARE
Purposefully neglect an activity you would normally do so you can spend quality time with your spouse. Do something he or she would love to do or a project they’d really like to work on. Just be together.

Day 15: Love is honorable
Live with your wives in an understanding way . . . and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life.
—1 Peter 3:7
TODAY’S DARE
Choose a way to show honor and respect to your spouse that is above your normal routine. It may be holding the door for her. It might be putting his clothes away for him. It may be the way you listen and speak in your communication. Show your mate that he or she is highly esteemed in your eyes.

Day 16: Love intercedes
Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.
—3 John 2
TODAY’S DARE
Begin praying today for your spouse’s heart. Pray for three specific areas where you desire for God to work in your spouse’s life and in your marriage.

Day 17: Love promotes intimacy
He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.
—Proverbs 17:9 NIV
TODAY’S DARE
Determine to guard your mate’s secrets (unless they are dangerous to them or to you) and to pray for them. Talk with your spouse, and resolve to demonstrate love in spite of these issues. Really listen to them when they share personal thoughts and struggles with you. Make them feel safe.

Day 18: Love seeks to understand
How blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding.
—Proverbs 3:13
TODAY’S DARE
Prepare a special dinner at home, just for the two of you. The dinner can be as nice as you prefer. Focus this time on getting to know your spouse better, perhaps in areas you’ve rarely talked about. Determine to make it an enjoyable evening for you and your mate.

Day 19: Love is impossible
Let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
—1 John 4:7
TODAY’S DARE
Look back over the dares from previous days. Were there some that seemed impossible to you? Have you realized your need for God to change your heart and to give you the ability to love? Ask Him to show you where you stand with Him, and ask for the strength and grace to settle your eternal destination.

Day 20: Love is Jesus Christ
While we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
—Romans 5:6
TODAY’S DARE
Dare to take God at His Word. Dare to trust Jesus Christ for salvation. Dare to pray, “Lord Jesus, I’m a sinner. But You have shown Your love for me by dying to forgive my sins, and You have proven Your power to save me from death by Your resurrection. Lord, change my heart, and save me by Your grace.”

Day 21: Love is satisfied in God
The Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire.
—Isaiah 58:11
TODAY’S DARE
Be intentional today about making a time to pray and read your Bible. Try reading a chapter out of Proverbs each day (there are thirty-one—a full month’s supply), or reading a chapter in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). As you do, immerse yourself in the love and promises God has for you. This will add to your growth as you walk with Him.

Day 22: Love is faithful
I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the Lord.
—Hosea 2:20
TODAY’S DARE
Love is a choice, not a feeling. It is an initiated action, not a knee-jerk reaction. Choose today to be committed to love even if your spouse has lost most of their interest in receiving it. Say to them today in words similar to these, “I love you. Period. I choose to love you even if you don’t love me in return.”

Day 23: Love always protects
[Love] always protects.
—1 Corinthians 13:7 NIV
TODAY’S DARE
Remove anything that is hindering your relationship, any addiction or influence that’s stealing your affections and turning your heart away from your spouse.

Day 24: Love vs. Lust
The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
—1 John 2:17
TODAY’S DARE
End it now. Identify every object of lust in your life and remove it. Single out every lie you’ve swallowed in pursuing forbidden pleasure and reject it. Lust cannot be allowed to live in a back bedroom. It must be killed and destroyed—today—and replaced with the sure promises of God and a heart filled with His perfect love.

Day 25: Love forgives
What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ.
—2 Corinthians 2:10
TODAY’S DARE
Whatever you haven’t forgiven in your mate, forgive it today. Let it go. Just as we ask Jesus to “forgive us our debts” each day, we must ask Him to help us “forgive our debtors” each day as well. Unforgiveness has been keeping you and your spouse in prison too long. Say from your heart, “I choose to forgive.”

Day 26: Love is responsible
When you judge another, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the same things.
—Romans 2:1 HCSB
TODAY’S DARE
Take time to pray through your areas of wrongdoing. Ask for God’s forgiveness, then humble yourself enough to admit them to your spouse. Do it sincerely and truthfully. Ask your spouse for forgiveness as well. No matter how they respond, make sure you cover your responsibility in love. Even if they respond with criticism, accept it by receiving it as counsel.

Day 27: Love encourages
Guard my soul and deliver me; do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.
—Psalm 25:20
TODAY’S DARE
Eliminate the poison of unrealistic expectations in your home. Think of one area where your spouse has told you you’re expecting too much, and tell them you’re sorry for being so hard on them about it. Promise them you’ll seek to understand, and assure them of your unconditional love.

Day 28: Love makes sacrifices
He laid down His life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers.
—1 John 3:16 HCSB
TODAY’S DARE
What is one of the greatest needs in your spouse’s life right now? Is there a need you could lift from their shoulders today by a daring act of sacrifice on your part? Whether the need is big or small, purpose to do what you can to meet the need.

Day 29: Love’s motivation
Render service with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to men. —Ephesians 6:7 HCSB
TODAY’S DARE
Before you see your spouse again today, pray for them by name and for their needs. Whether it comes easy for you or not, say “I love you,” then express love to them in some tangible way. Go to God in prayer again, thanking Him for giving you the privilege of loving this one special person—unconditionally, the way He loves both of you.

Day 30: Love brings unity
Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.
—John 17:11
TODAY’S DARE
Isolate one area of division in your marriage, and look on today as a fresh opportunity to pray about it. Ask the Lord to reveal anything in your own heart that is threatening oneness with your spouse. Pray that He would do the same for them. And if appropriate, discuss this matter openly, seeking God for unity.

Day 31: Love and marriage
A man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
—Genesis 2:24
TODAY’S DARE
Is there a “leaving” issue you haven’t been brave enough to conquer yet? Confess it to your spouse today, and resolve to make it right. The oneness of your marriage is dependent upon it. Follow this with a commitment to your spouse and to God to make your marriage the top priority over every other human relationship.

Day 32: Love meets sexual needs
The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband.
—1 Corinthians 7:3
TODAY’S DARE
If at all possible, try to initiate sex with your husband or wife today. Do this in a way that honors what your spouse has told you (or implied to you) about what
they need from you sexually. Ask God to make this enjoyable for both of you as well as a path to greater intimacy.

Day 33: Love completes each other
If two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?
—Ecclesiastes 4:11
TODAY’S DARE
Recognize that your spouse is integral to your future success. Let them know today that you desire to include them in your upcoming decisions, and that you need their perspective and counsel. If you have ignored their input in the past, admit your oversight and ask them to forgive you.

Day 34: Love celebrates godliness
[Love] does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth.
—1 Corinthians 13:6
TODAY’S DARE
Find a specific, recent example when your spouse demonstrated Christian character in a noticeable way. Verbally commend them for this at some point today.

Day 35: Love is accountable
Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.
—Proverbs 15:22 NIV
TODAY’S DARE
Find a marriage mentor—someone who is a strong Christian and who will be honest and loving with you. If you feel that counseling is needed, then take the first step to set up an appointment. During this process, ask God to direct your decisions and discernment.

Day 36: Love is God’s Word
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
—Psalm 119:105
TODAY’S DARE
Commit to reading the Bible every day. Find a devotional book or other resource that will give you some guidance. If your spouse is open to it, see if they will commit to daily Bible reading with you. Begin submitting each area of your life to its guidance and start building on the rock.

Day 37: Love agrees in prayer
If two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father.
—Matthew 18:19
TODAY’S DARE
Ask your spouse if you can begin praying together. Talk about the best time to do this, whether it’s in the morning, your lunch hour, or before bedtime. Use this time to commit your concerns, disagreements, and needs before the Lord. Don’t forget to thank Him for His provision and blessing. Even if your spouse refuses to do this, resolve to spend this daily time in prayer yourself.

Day 38: Love fulfills dreams
Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.
—Psalm 37:4
TODAY’S DARE
Ask yourself what your mate would want if it was obtainable. Commit this to prayer, and start mapping out a plan for meeting some (if not all) of their desires, to whatever level you possibly can.

Day 39: Love endures
Love never fails.
—1 Corinthians 13:8
TODAY’S DARE
Spend time in personal prayer, then write a letter of commitment and resolve to your spouse. Include why you are committing to this marriage until death, and that you have purposed to love them no matter what. Leave it in a place that your mate will find it.

Day 40: Love is a covenant
Where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
—Ruth 1:16
TODAY’S DARE
Write out a renewal of your vows and place them in your home. Perhaps, if appropriate, you could make arrangements to formally renew your wedding vows before a minister and with family present. Make it a living testament to the value of marriage in God’s eyes and the high honor of being one with your mate.
From: http://lovedare.bhpublishinggroup.com/lovedare/

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

University 'turned down politically incorrect transgender research'

No comments
James Caspian says Bath Spa University approved but then rejected his proposed research into gender reassignment reversal
A student. James Caspian had begun to conduct research into ‘detransitioning’ before an ethics committee rejected it. Photograph: Alamy

Sally Weale Education correspondent  Monday 25 September 2017 

Bath Spa University is conducting an internal inquiry into claims that it turned down an application for research on gender reassignment reversal because it was “potentially politically incorrect” and would attract criticism on social media.

James Caspian, a psychotherapist who specialises in working with transgender people, proposed the research about “detransitioning” to the university in south-west England, which, he said, initially approved the application.

When he went back with his preliminary findings that suggested growing numbers of young people, particularly women, were regretting gender reassignment, Bath Spa said his proposal would have to be resubmitted to the ethics committee, which rejected it.

Caspian, who enrolled on an MA course at the university, said he was “astonished” by the decision and had sought legal advice.

“The fundamental reason given was that it might cause criticism of the research on social media, and criticism of the research would be criticism of the university. They also added it’s better not to offend people,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday.

“A university exists to encourage discussion, research, dissent even, challenging ideas that are out of date or not particularly useful.”

According to Caspian, the university said: “Engaging in a potentially politically incorrect piece of research carries a risk to the university. Attacks on social media may not be confined to the researcher, but may involve the university.

“The posting of unpleasant material on blogs or social media may be detrimental to the reputation of the university.”

A spokeswoman for Bath Spa said the university could not comment because of a continuing investigation into the matter, which was first reported in the Times.
Advertisement

The US transgender activist Riki Wilchins told Today there had been a strong political undercurrent in previous studies, which had been used to restrict transgender people’s access to surgery.

“So when I see one more study that aims to show transgender people really don’t need this or want this, or they are just deluded or suffering from some other kind of psychopathology, I look at it a little bit warily … The problem is not the study itself, it’s the uses to which that study is put,” she said.

Wilchins said a “very small fraction” of people decide to detransition. “I’m not trying to say it’s not a fraught experience for them, or that it should not be studied. But it’s not the first place I would put my money if I wanted to study the problems afflicting transgender people,” she said.

Caspian said he understood concerns in the transgender community. “I’ve worked for many years with people who have transitioned their gender and I think that when people feel marginalised and vulnerable to criticism, they are very sensitive to anything they may perceive as that, and feel afraid,” he said.

“The idea we might use the information from the research that I was going to do in a way that would not help people is completely wrong. The research is necessary to really help people.”

Caspian is a trustee of the Beaumont Trust, a charity that provides education about and support to transgender, transsexual and cross-dressing people. He said he was first alerted to the issue of gender reassignment reversal in 2014, when a Belgrade doctor told him he had been asked to carry out an unprecedented seven reversals that year.

“I found it very difficult to get people willing to talk openly about the experience of reversing surgery. They said they felt too traumatised to talk about it, which made me think we really need to do the research even more,” he said.

The Guardian UK  You might like to look at the following link: https://tranzformed.org/

Friday, October 20, 2017

Blowin' In The Wind - Bob Dylan

, , No comments

Why Jesus?

, , No comments
The following link http://y-jesus.com/ has some good articles on the question of faith especially around the life of Jesus. Has the Da Vinci Code or the supposed Tomb of Jesus' Family made you wonder if Jesus really is what He claimed to be? What about the Gnostic Gospels and the Gospel of Mary Magdelene? Are these accurate? If you have questions like these, please take time to investigate the y-Jesus site. You'll find material that will help answer your questions or those of your friends and loved one. Jesus said, "Ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."[1] "Seek and ye shall find."[2] "If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."[3] Happy reading. Dennis

[1] Jeremish 29:13
[2] Matthew 7:7
[3] John 8:31-32

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Keeping the Faith

No comments
Question: My family and most of the other people I’m around every day aren’t interested in spiritual matters. How can I “keep the faith” in what seems to be an increasingly skeptical world?

Answer: Faith is at the core of our spiritual lives, so it’s worth fighting for. Here are a few tips that can help yours not only survive, but thrive:

Feed on the Word of God. Faith is built by faithful study of God’s Word. As you read and absorb it daily, as you think about its truths and how they apply to you, your faith will grow. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”1 Jesus promises, “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”2

Pray and meditate. God wants to have a personal relationship with you through His Son, Jesus. “There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.”3 Communing in spirit with Jesus—sharing your heart with Him and receiving His love, encouragement, and answers in return—will strengthen your connection and deepen your relationship.

Live your faith. “Faith without works is dead,”4 but conversely, putting faith into action brings it to life. As you apply God’s Word to daily living, its principles and promises will ring true time after time, and your faith in it and its Author will grow.

Look for the good. Nothing can put a damper on faith like adverse circumstances, but the Bible promises, “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”5 Learn to find and focus on that good, and your faith will be buoyant enough to survive anything.

Draw from the experience of others. Reading accounts of what God has done for others will increase your faith. What God has done for them, He can do for you!

Thank God for the good. Praising God for His goodness propels us into His presence. “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.”6 The more you thank God for His goodness, the more you’ll find to be thankful for and the more He will bless you. It’s an upward spiral that makes God and the spiritual realm more real to you; it strengthens your faith.

1. Romans 10:17

2. John 8:31–32

3. 1 Timothy 2:5

4. James 2:26

5. Romans 8:28

6. Psalm 100:4

Is Truth Relative?

No comments
It is a central heresy of our culture to say that all truth is relative; that one thing may be true for me and quite another may be true for you. This absurdity destroys the very notion of truth … and is the result of muddled thinking. No one can seriously believe that a belief which contradicts his or her own is just as true. The expression “It is true for me” is self-confuting. Either a thing is true or it is not. … Can we imagine saying, “Well, the earth is round to me; but it may be flat to you”? The earth is either round or flat; it cannot be both; and what you or I think about it is irrelevant. You may claim that religion and ethics is not a matter of truth at all. Very well, do not use the word “true”; but if you use it, do not render it unintelligible by adding that empty phrase, “for me.”—Keith Ward

Thursday, October 12, 2017

How We Learned Not To Care About America’s Wars

No comments
By Andrew J. Bacevich, TomDispatch, Oct. 9, 2017

Consider, if you will, these two indisputable facts. First, the United States is today more or less permanently engaged in hostilities in not one faraway place, but at least seven. Second, the vast majority of the American people could not care less.

Nor can it be said that we don’t care because we don’t know. True, government authorities withhold certain aspects of ongoing military operations or release only details that they find convenient. Yet information describing what U.S. forces are doing (and where) is readily available, even if buried in recent months by barrages of presidential tweets. Here, for anyone interested, are press releases issued by United States Central Command for just one recent week:


September 19: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq

September 20: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq

Iraqi Security Forces begin Hawijah offensive

September 21: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq

September 22: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq

September 23: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq

Operation Inherent Resolve Casualty

September 25: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq

September 26: Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq

Ever since the United States launched its war on terror, oceans of military press releases have poured forth. And those are just for starters. To provide updates on the U.S. military’s various ongoing campaigns, generals, admirals, and high-ranking defense officials regularly testify before congressional committees or brief members of the press. From the field, journalists offer updates that fill in at least some of the details–on civilian casualties, for example–that government authorities prefer not to disclose. Contributors to newspaper op-ed pages and “experts” booked by network and cable TV news shows, including passels of retired military officers, provide analysis. Trailing behind come books and documentaries that put things in a broader perspective.

But here’s the truth of it. None of it matters.

Like traffic jams or robocalls, war has fallen into the category of things that Americans may not welcome, but have learned to live with. In twenty-first-century America, war is not that big a deal.

While serving as defense secretary in the 1960s, Robert McNamara once mused that the “greatest contribution” of the Vietnam War might have been to make it possible for the United States “to go to war without the necessity of arousing the public ire.” With regard to the conflict once widely referred to as McNamara’s War, his claim proved grotesquely premature. Yet a half-century later, his wish has become reality.

Why do Americans today show so little interest in the wars waged in their name and at least nominally on their behalf? Why, as our wars drag on and on, doesn’t the disparity between effort expended and benefits accrued arouse more than passing curiosity or mild expressions of dismay? Why, in short, don’t we give a [expletive deleted]?

Perhaps just posing such a question propels us instantly into the realm of the unanswerable, like trying to figure out why people idolize Justin Bieber, shoot birds, or watch golf on television.

Without any expectation of actually piercing our collective ennui, let me take a stab at explaining why we don’t give a @#$%&! Here are eight distinctive but mutually reinforcing explanations, offered in a sequence that begins with the blindingly obvious and ends with the more speculative.

Americans don’t attend all that much to ongoing American wars because:

1. U.S. casualty rates are low. By using proxies and contractors, and relying heavily on airpower, America’s war managers have been able to keep a tight lid on the number of U.S. troops being killed and wounded. In all of 2017, for example, a grand total of 11 American soldiers have been lost in Afghanistan–about equal to the number of shooting deaths in Chicago over the course of a typical week. True, in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other countries where the U.S. is engaged in hostilities, whether directly or indirectly, plenty of people who are not Americans are being killed and maimed. (The estimated number of Iraqi civilians killed this year alone exceeds 12,000.) But those casualties have next to no political salience as far as the United States is concerned. As long as they don’t impede U.S. military operations, they literally don’t count (and generally aren’t counted).

2. The true costs of Washington’s wars go untabulated. In a famous speech, dating from early in his presidency, Dwight D. Eisenhower said that “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” Dollars spent on weaponry, Ike insisted, translated directly into schools, hospitals, homes, highways, and power plants that would go unbuilt. “This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense,” he continued. “[I]t is humanity hanging from a cross of iron.” More than six decades later, Americans have long since accommodated themselves to that cross of iron. Many actually see it as a boon, a source of corporate profits, jobs, and, of course, campaign contributions. As such, they avert their eyes from the opportunity costs of our never-ending wars. The dollars expended pursuant to our post-9/11 conflicts will ultimately number in the multi-trillions. Imagine the benefits of investing such sums in upgrading the nation’s aging infrastructure. Yet don’t count on Congressional leaders, other politicians, or just about anyone else to pursue that connection.

3. On matters related to war, American citizens have opted out. Others have made the point so frequently that it’s the equivalent of hearing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” at Christmastime. Even so, it bears repeating: the American people have defined their obligation to “support the troops” in the narrowest imaginable terms, ensuring above all that such support requires absolutely no sacrifice on their part. Members of Congress abet this civic apathy, while also taking steps to insulate themselves from responsibility. In effect, citizens and their elected representatives in Washington agree: supporting the troops means deferring to the commander in chief, without inquiring about whether what he has the troops doing makes the slightest sense. Yes, we set down our beers long enough to applaud those in uniform and boo those who decline to participate in mandatory rituals of patriotism. What we don’t do is demand anything remotely approximating actual accountability.

4. Terrorism gets hyped and hyped and hyped some more. While international terrorism isn’t a trivial problem (and wasn’t for decades before 9/11), it comes nowhere close to posing an existential threat to the United States. Indeed, other threats, notably the impact of climate change, constitute a far greater danger to the wellbeing of Americans. Worried about the safety of your children or grandchildren? The opioid epidemic constitutes an infinitely greater danger than “Islamic radicalism.” Yet having been sold a bill of goods about a “war on terror” that is essential for “keeping America safe,” mere citizens are easily persuaded that scattering U.S. troops throughout the Islamic world while dropping bombs on designated evildoers is helping win the former while guaranteeing the latter. To question that proposition becomes tantamount to suggesting that God might not have given Moses two stone tablets after all.

5. Blather crowds out substance. When it comes to foreign policy, American public discourse is–not to put too fine a point on it–vacuous, insipid, and mindlessly repetitive. William Safire of the New York Times once characterized American political rhetoric as BOMFOG, with those running for high office relentlessly touting the Brotherhood of Man and the Fatherhood of God. Ask a politician, Republican or Democrat, to expound on this country’s role in the world, and then brace yourself for some variant of WOSFAD, as the speaker insists that it is incumbent upon the World’s Only Superpower to spread Freedom and Democracy. Terms like leadership and indispensable are introduced, along with warnings about the dangers of isolationism and appeasement, embellished with ominous references to Munich. Such grandiose posturing makes it unnecessary to probe too deeply into the actual origins and purposes of American wars, past or present, or assess the likelihood of ongoing wars ending in some approximation of actual success. Cheerleading displaces serious thought.

6. Besides, we’re too busy. Think of this as a corollary to point five. Even if the present-day American political scene included figures like Senators Robert La Follette or J. William Fulbright, who long ago warned against the dangers of militarizing U.S. policy, Americans may not retain a capacity to attend to such critiques. Responding to the demands of the Information Age is not, it turns out, conducive to deep reflection. We live in an era (so we are told) when frantic multitasking has become a sort of duty and when being overscheduled is almost obligatory. Our attention span shrinks and with it our time horizon. The matters we attend to are those that happened just hours or minutes ago. Yet like the great solar eclipse of 2017–hugely significant and instantly forgotten–those matters will, within another few minutes or hours, be superseded by some other development that briefly captures our attention. As a result, a dwindling number of Americans–those not compulsively checking Facebook pages and Twitter accounts–have the time or inclination to ponder questions like: When will the Afghanistan War end? Why has it lasted almost 16 years? Why doesn’t the finest fighting force in history actually win? Can’t package an answer in 140 characters or a 30-second made-for-TV sound bite? Well, then, slowpoke, don’t expect anyone to attend to what you have to say.

7. Anyway, the next president will save us. At regular intervals, Americans indulge in the fantasy that, if we just install the right person in the White House, all will be well. Ambitious politicians are quick to exploit this expectation. Presidential candidates struggle to differentiate themselves from their competitors, but all of them promise in one way or another to wipe the slate clean and Make America Great Again. Ignoring the historical record of promises broken or unfulfilled, and presidents who turn out not to be deities but flawed human beings, Americans–members of the media above all–pretend to take all this seriously. Campaigns become longer, more expensive, more circus-like, and ever less substantial. One might think that the election of Donald Trump would prompt a downward revision in the exalted expectations of presidents putting things right. Instead, especially in the anti-Trump camp, getting rid of Trump himself (Collusion! Corruption! Obstruction! Impeachment!) has become the overriding imperative, with little attention given to restoring the balance intended by the framers of the Constitution. The irony of Trump perpetuating wars that he once roundly criticized and then handing the conduct of those wars to generals devoid of ideas for ending them almost entirely escapes notice.

8. Our culturally progressive military has largely immunized itself from criticism. Put simply, critics who in an earlier day might have blasted military leaders for their inability to bring wars to a successful conclusion hold their fire. Having women graduate from Ranger School or command Marines in combat more than compensates for not winning.

A collective indifference to war has become an emblem of contemporary America. But don’t expect your neighbors down the street or the editors of the New York Times to lose any sleep over that fact. Even to notice it would require them–and us–to care.

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

If you exercise a lot, you probably think your heart is in good shape. Maybe not.

, , No comments
By Emily Sohn, Washington Post, October 7, 2017

Jason Lathrop was training for a solo backpacking trip in 2015 when he started to feel a creaking sensation in his knees during morning runs near his home in Portland, Ore.

Expecting to learn that he’d torn his meniscus or strained a ligament, he went to his doctor, who told him his knees were just fine. Instead, he learned, he had a heart murmur. Six weeks later, the 43-year-old father of two was undergoing open-heart surgery to repair a faulty mitral valve.

After a lifetime of active and virtuous living that including frequent exercise, healthy eating and no smoking, Lathrop was stunned to learn that something could be wrong with his heart.

“Your heart is your aerobic engine along with your lungs, and I thought if there were any organs I would not have problems with, it would be those two because I took such good care of them,” says Lathrop, an analyst at Intel. “It was such a shock.”

Exercise does a lot to strengthen the heart and lengthen lives, experts say. But heart problems are still common–and sometimes dramatic–in active people. It’s a point that’s likely to come up during this fall’s marathon season, given the cases of sudden cardiac death and heart attacks that sometimes occur during long races.

Those rare but often highly publicized events offer an opportunity to deliver a nuanced message about heart health to active people: Exercise is good, but nothing is 100 percent protective, says Aaron Baggish, director of the Cardiovascular Performance Program at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

“No amount of exercise confers complete immunity to heart disease,” Baggish says. “You can’t outrun heart problems completely.”

Decades of research on tens of thousands of people have drawn a direct connection between routine exercise and heart health. Among other measures, studies show, getting the recommended 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week can lower rates of blood pressure, heart disease, death and more.

“If you had to pick one pill for the American public to take, exercise is more perfect than any other pill you could come up with,” says Mark Link, a cardiac electrophysiologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

But reducing risk isn’t the same as eliminating it. Sometimes exercise can exacerbate heart risks, especially at extreme levels–although scientists are still working out the details of what an athlete’s heart should look like.

In one 2013 study, researchers looked at the health records of more than 52,000 Swedish cross-country skiers who competed in a 56-mile race between 1989 and 1998. They found that male athletes who had skied faster and those who had competed in more races showed higher rates of irregular heart rhythms, called arrhythmias, over a period of 10 years.

Compared with men who had competed just once, those who completed five races were twice as likely to be hospitalized for bradyarrhythmias, or unusually slow heart rates. Atrial fibrillation, an irregular or very fast heart rate, was also more common in the most-serious skiers.

But overall, the athletes reaped plenty of benefits. Rates of death were lower in skiers who did more races compared with those who did fewer. Mortality rates were lower in the skiers compared with the general population.

This is not the only example where evidence is revealing that vigorous training alters hearts in ways that require more research. For example, serious athletes seem to show increased levels of calcium deposits in the arteries of the heart. These plaques are normally a sign of elevated risk for heart attacks, but new studies suggest that they may be less worrisome in otherwise healthy athletes. “To some degree,” Baggish says, “the jury is still out on this.”

A more common risk that active people face is the belief that exercise gives them freedom to indulge in heart-damaging behaviors. And excessive alcohol, junk food and tobacco in early adulthood can catch up to people later in life, Baggish says.

Genetic predispositions also matter, even for people who do everything right. That’s something that Jay Kuo, a 49-year-old Broadway composer and producer in New York, has been struggling with since his blood pressure and triglycerides spiked a couple of years ago, despite his healthy habits.

Already spooked by a family history of heart disease, including the death of his father at age 44, Kuo had stopped smoking, reduced his salt intake, cut out processed meats and started drinking a kale smoothie every morning. He also jogs, does yoga, meditates and takes medications to improve his blood pressure and triglyceride levels. Despite all that, he’s not making as much progress as he’d like.

“It’s frustrating,” he says. “I need to not have what happened to my dad happen to me.”

Screening for heart conditions remains controversial, as researchers continue to debate whether looking for trouble would wind up harming more people than it might help.

See a doctor if you have concerns, Baggish suggests. But don’t let stories of athletes with heart problems scare you away from exercise.

“Our country’s problem is not too much exercise,” he says. “It’s too little exercise.”

And a diagnosis doesn’t have to mean the end of an athletic lifestyle. Two years after his heart surgery, Lathrop is running three days a week, often for 10 miles or more at a time.

“I’m running much farther than I ever did before the surgery,” he says. “I have a new lease on life.”

How to Actually Get Rest

, , , No comments
By Brad Stulberg, New York Magazine, Oct. 4, 2017

The thing about scrolling through social media is that it often feels like it should be a restful activity. It even looks like one. You’re barely moving, after all; you might even be lying down. And yet when is the last time you closed Twitter feeling refreshed?

In case you haven’t yet heard, rest is important. It’s when our bodies repair and grow; our brains become smarter and more creative; and our minds replenish willpower and gain emotional control. Rest is so important to working in a happy, healthy, and sustainable manner that we’d be wise to think of it not as something separate from doing good work, but rather, as an integral part of doing good work; sometimes, not working is the work.

But there is a science–and art–to resting well, and not all forms of kicking back are created equal. It turns out that lots of the activities we think are restful may actually leave us feeling more tired and stressed.

Before we get into the best ways to rest, it’s instructive to agree on a common definition of what rest even is. Most researchers agree that rest is a physiological state during which your innate fight-or-flight stress response, or sympathetic nervous system, subsides in favor of a more relaxed condition. Your heart rate and blood pressure come down, and your shoulders usually follow. Psychologically, rest is considered a shift from deliberate and effortful thinking–for example, straining to solve a problem or trying to figure out the best way to communicate a complex topic–to a more passive state, sometimes characterized by mind-wandering or zoning out.

While both “stress” and “rest” are somewhat subjective–a five-mile run might be a restful activity for one person and a stressful one for another–there are a few ingredients that are essential to any truly restful activity.

You aren’t exerting self-control. At first, it might take some willpower to resist worrying about work or other seemingly pressing issues, but once you’re in the midst of a nice bout of rest, it should feel pretty easy. Trying really hard to rest–for example, forcing yourself to listen to music and breathe deeply when all you really want to do is respond to emails–defeats its purpose. Either find an activity that more easily lets your mind drift away (more on that below), or just respond to the emails and try relaxing afterwards.

You aren’t consciously thinking about your work or other issues that may be weighing on you. Perhaps your subconscious mind is still connecting dots and problem solving in the background, but your conscious awareness is not on your work–instead, it’s floating freely. Likewise, a restful activity can’t be one that’s triggering anxiety. (See: cable news or a polarizing Twitter feed.)

You aren’t disrupting your ability to fall and remain asleep, which is the ultimate form of rest. As for two of the developed world’s favorite evening activities: If watching television (though not the news) allows you to check out, and doesn’t interfere with your falling asleep, then by all means go for it. Same goes for a glass of wine. But beware: Studies show that if consumed within a few hours prior to bed, both can interfere with sleep–the culprits being blue light from the former and alcohol from the latter. If you are struggling to fall or stay asleep, it’s probably best to eliminate late-night TV and your nightcap.

Plenty of activities meet the above criteria for rest, but a few in particular come with strong evidence of benefits.

Walking: In a study aptly titled “Give Your Ideas Some Legs,” researchers from Stanford University found that individuals who took a short (6 to 15 minute) walking break increased creative thinking by 40 to 60 percent, as compared to those who remained seated at a desk. At first, they speculated that increased blood flow to the brain was the primary reason for walking’s benefits. But it appears the benefits might also emerge from the interplay between walking and attention: mainly, walking requires just enough coordination to occupy the parts of the brain responsible for effortful thinking, allowing us to more easily zone out and mind-wander, both of which are associated with creativity and insight.

Hanging out with friends. The ratio of the hormones testosterone to cortisol acts as a good indicator of stress and recovery. Testosterone is associated with growth and rejuvenation whereas cortisol is associated with stress and degradation–so the higher the ratio, the better. Studies have found that following stressful periods–like a competitive sporting event, for example–individuals who kick back and relax with friends experience a much quicker rebound in their testosterone to cortisol ratio. Other research shows that social connection helps to shift the nervous system into a restful state and releases hormones that have anti-inflammatory properties, like oxytocin and vasopressin.

Experiencing nature. Time spent in nature is associated with more relaxed physiological and psychological states–even just looking at pictures of natural settings for a few minutes has been shown to increase creative thinking. Writing in her book The Nature Fix, Florence Williams suggests that “nature lulls us with soft fascination, helping to rest our top-down, direct attention faculties.”

Hiking. Combine the above three strategies! Group forest walks have been found to decrease stress hormones and attenuate virtually every part of the fight-or-flight stress response. For the full effect, leave your smartphone behind (or at least keep it turned off if you feel the need to bring it). I’ve never met anyone who regretted a digital-device-free hike with friends.

Sleeping! The obvious one, but still: No form of rest is as powerful. During sleep, your body repairs and grows and your mind retains, consolidates, and connects the information that you were exposed to during the day. Short naps (10 to 30 minutes) can give you a boost in energy and creativity, but nothing can replace the massive importance of sleeping seven to nine hours every night. Put simply: Sleep is one of the most productive things you can do.

When it comes to how much you should rest, though there are no straightforward guidelines, a good rule of thumb is to balance stress with rest. The more stress in your life, the more you should offset it with rest. Another good way to think about rest is to mimic “interval” training throughout your days, by alternating between bursts of intense, deep-focus work and short breaks.

If you want to prioritize rest (and you should!), be careful not to fall for a common trap, one that leaves many well-intentioned people believing they’re resting but never feeling too well-rested. The activities that may seem like rest are often far from it. Trade in couch time and screens for walking, nature, mind-wandering, and hanging out with friends. Doing so may seem hard at first, but once you get going, you’ll feel a lot better.

Copyright © Fight for Your Faith