Gabriel Hatcher's Blog

Let me start with a few scriptures:

1 Corinthians 14:33  

For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints

2 Timothy 3:1-17 

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. …

Proverbs 1:10-15

My son, if sinners entice you, do not yield to them. If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause, let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole like those descending into the Pit. We will find all manner of precious goods; we will fill our houses with plunder.…Throw in your lot with us; let us all share one purse. my son, do not walk the road with them or set foot upon their path”

In the following, I am going to be talking about politics and scripture. If that offends you, or you are the sort of person who thinks they should be kept separate, remember that the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit should invade and inform every part of our lives, not just the parts that fit within the four walls of a sanctuary.

As you can probably tell, Im going to talk about the George Floyd riots. Id like to talk about the most sensative issues first, so we can get to the bulk of things.

Firstly, what happened to George Floyd was a tragedy. Anytime anyone is killed unjustly its a tragedy. And thankfully, it seems as if the officer involved will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Secondly, I have no problem with the protests. I don’t personally agree with their message, mainly because the statistics on police shootings and brutality when viewed by race, don’t seem to support it (backed up by several university studies), and I think there are clear ways that the media has used the idea of racial inequality as a polical weapon. But all of that is neither here nor there. The protesters who are acting peacefully are well within their rights to do so, and I even applaud them for looking to inspire change in our system. Not everyone has that kind of passion in our world anymore.

What I am bothered by, are the riots.

Cops are being run over, beaten, and shot in the streets. Innocent civilians are being maimed and killed. Buildings are being burned, small businesses are being destroyed, or stolen from.

And this isn’t just confined to cities. I recently heard from a friend of looting and destruction happening in their quiet suburb.

Now the government are in a tough position. Back down and it gives credence to this anarchy and endangers the lives and livelihood of many, especially when there is no clear reform that could solve the problems the protesters are against. Fight back in force, and they could incite even greater rage, especially when they are divided on state and federal lines.

But guess what? You and I, or at least the majority of us, aren’t making those calls. Whether you are a protester, an onlooker with no opinion, or even someone against the protests, you don’t have the power to make sweeping reforms or send in the military.

Furthermore, as members of Christ’s family, we do have specific action to take.

Stand against injustice. As the people of God, we are called to stand against injustice regardless of our political opinions. Do you believe the police system is unjust and abusive on a systemic level? Go protest. Do you see someone looting a business or attacking someone unjustly in the street. Go stop them. Do your research to know where you stand on this issue, and pray about your beliefs. Then go and fight for the truth. Go and protect the innocent and the weak. Weep with those who weep. Whether you agree or disagree with the protesters, many of them are broken-hearted over all of this. Listen to them, share the love and truth of Christ with them, and remind them that this earth is not what is important. Point them toward the heavenly Kingdom, and the new earth to come.Stand against Chaos. God has established the role of government in society for the protection of the weak and the marginalized. Now, because we live in a fallen world, this is not always the case, but Anarchy and chaos do not bring about wholesome change. God creates order, it is fallen nature that distorts and destroys it. We are to judge people and movements by their fruit, and the fruit of these riots have been chaos, death, and destruction. Stand against these rioters and continue to promote peaceful protest.Pray. When we have no physical action to take in the face of evil, we have a spiritual action. Your prayers are not unheard, your prayers are not ineffective. We have a God who acts on our behave. Speak, and do not be silent.

Take heart, brothers and sisters in Christ. 2020 is just another minor speed-bump in the story of the kingdom. Where there is corruption it WILL be rooted out. Where there is Injustice, there WILL be justice. Where this is hate, there WILL be love.

Wherever you stand right now, look towards Christ, and know he is good.

-The Indefinable Emotion

In Matthew 13, there are a number of parables, but five of them make direct comparisons to the Kingdom of Heaven: The parables of the mustard seed, the leaven, the treasure in a field, the costly pearl, and the dragnet. I was reading through these parables and was struck both by their beauty and by how they contrast one another without contradicting. Let me go through each and show you what I mean.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed:

31 He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; 32 and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

Here we see the Kingdom of Heaven presented as a passive. The birds find their way to the tree and take joy in it, but the tree didn’t call them or draw them in, it just was. Here also we see the tree as imposing. While starting as a mustard seed, it becomes greater and larger than anything else in the garden. To start with, this parable is only so interesting. We can say many vague things about the quality of the mustard seed and how great wonders come from small things, but it is only when we start to look at the comparable parables that a picture emerges.

The Parable of the Leaven:

33 He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”

34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“I will open My mouth in parables;
I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

Here we see the parable of the mustard seed’s contrast. While the mustard seed was a passive, the leaven is an active. Where the mustard seed became an imposing tree, the leaven doesn’t become the center of attention. But if we look at both parables final result, we see the same thing. Despite their small size, both change their entire environment and ultimately bring a resolution. The birds fly to the tree and the leaven leavens the flour, but both end up in the same place. This contrasting finality will become even more apparent as we look at the final three.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure and The Parable of the Costly Pearl:

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

“I’ve put these two together, because I believe they are paired as a single idea to contrast the final parable. In these verses we see the Kingdom of Heaven again, as a passive. It is something to be acquire; more precisely, something man acquires. We see man’s revelation, exultation, and ultimately his sacrifice to obtain the prize. Here also, the Kingdom of Heaven is something to be possessed. In the parable of the Mustard seed, it was something to be enjoyed and dwelt in. In the parable of the leaven, it was something to be changed by. On a final, and side note, I find it interesting that while the man does not steal the treasure, he is shrewd in acquiring it.

The Parable of the Dragnet:

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; 48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51 “Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” 52 And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

In this final and lengthier parable, the Kingdom of Heaven takes on its most literal and active form yet. Here man is the object to be possessed, and the Kingdom of Heaven is the possessor. We are shown a foreshadowing of the judgement at the end of the age, with angels sifting through men and throwing the wicked into fire.

So which is it? Are we possessors or possessed? Is the Kingdom of Heaven a place for us to live and be at peace or our final judgment? Do we choose salvation or are we changed by it like leaven?

These verses illustrate the brilliance of Christ. Therein we are shown flashes of The Kingdom of heaven through dim earthly lenses, because Christ knows we are not able to understand the picture in it’s entirety yet. Yet, he has shown us enough of these parables that we can divine the nature of God and the calling of man.

When I was at Moody Bible Institute, we had almost daily discussions of the nature of salvation and the participation of man within a covenant with God. Some would say that it was obvious that God was the sole active participant in salvation, calling who he would and saving them with or without their desire. Others would say that God calls and we listen and accept his call as our own. Still others would proclaim that Salvation was a thing to be strived for and grasped, given only to the person who truly sought it out.

These verse speak the truth of the matter plainly. Is the kingdom of God something to be grasped by man, like a found treasure? Absolutely. Does God draw us near at his own whim of and volition, like birds to a tree? Of course. Are we changed inwardly by the working of the Lord, perhaps even without our volition, like leaven in flour? It would appear so. To say our salvation is a simple matter, is folly. We argue over faith versus works, Calvinism versus Arminianism, God’s grace versus our choice. These are important arguments, but at the end of the day, would we not say that man is a participant to salvation, and yet like his covenant with Abraham, God takes a much greater share of the responsibility and credit? Can we not agree that there cannot be proper works without faith, and there is no real faith without works?

Can we not see the Kingdom of God as children, in awe and devotion, and put off the madness of approaching God like dour scientists?

“You begin by breaking up the cross; but you end by breaking up the habitable world. We leave you saying that nobody ought to join the Church against his will. When we meet you again you are saying that no one has any will to join it with. We leave you saying that there is no such place as Eden. We find you saying there is no such place as Ireland.” -G.K. Chesterton, The Ball and The Cross

We live in perhaps the strangest possible age of the earth to date; an age of madness. If you haven’t seen it, you’ve obviously done the wise thing and thrown away your television and your computer before things descended past the point of ill return.

In the time of Chesterton, this madness was just beginning to bud. It was the the mantra of unproductive scientists, fat philosophers, and sedentary socialists. Fast forward to now, and the foolhardy “brilliance” of past psychotics have become the base doctrines upon which our culture is built. We teach Macro-evolution and the death of God in schools because a sad, demented existentialist and a scientist who thought cells were packets of jelly told us these things could be possible. We massacre children and sell their organs all but legally, because women would rather be comfortable murderers than uncomfortable mothers. We decry the establishment of morality, and praise the creation of new anarchies. Psychedelic drugs are legalized and accepted, while the FDA blocks cheap Insulin substitutes from coming to the market. The sacredness of sex is trampled underfoot and it’s destruction is paraded in our streets.

We are not looking at the rise of inane and destructive philosophy, we are living in the rise of it’s reality. My heart longs to study and disseminate the deep truths of the world, but the longer I look around, the more I realize how futile that would be. Why is the church so focused on the instruments to use for worship, the best way to draw a crowd in with a sermon, or the efficacy of one baptism or another? We are living in a world of people who have begun to disbelieve in the value of life itself; a people who cannot even understand the base truths of existence. We are living in a world of children who have so much time and information at their hands they have devised ways to makes themselves more foolish.

This generation cannot understand the value of the Abrahamic covenant, but neither do they need to be told once again, to “accept everyone as they are.” This generation is not ready for meat, but stop watering down the milk, or you will feel the wrath of your God. The gospel is not a message of acceptance and universalism. The gospel is not a freedom from morality. The gospel is the truth of Allegiance; a freedom through servitude.

Let us return to the first truths and speak them loudly and passionately. Then, when we have found that those we minister to have understood, move on to higher things. Let us put aside the theological bickering and meditate stolidly at the base truths of God’s heart. Cut off the heretics from amongst you, and pull close those believers that you have kept at an arm’s length.

All of that to say, Happy New year. Let us hope, and pray, that the Lord will remove the scales from many many eyes in 2020.

People need to listen to music more often, and music that means something. Personally, I love folk and Horror punk. If you don’t know the genres, I can’t recommend them. Folk punk is notorious for drug addiction, Nihilisim, and anarchy. Horror punk is known for very dark satire and deviancy. They are both incredibly honest, and I’ll admit, I’ve fallen in love with them in a perhaps irrevocable way, but the truths in them, though precious, are indeed covered in filth.

I listen to a ton of genres, but often I go back to my Christian roots and listen to Christian 90’s alt rock, punk, or post punk. When I was a child, it was all I listened to, and while it isn’t my main focus these days, it probably should be. There’s a power to music made under the influence of the Holy spirit that no other music has. It really doesn’t matter the genre, Christian music just IS better. Not because the artists are more talented, or because they are more innovative, because usually they’re behind the times and have a lot less money and talent at their disposal. But because of one simple equation:

Music + The Holy Spirit > just music

Regular music can talk to truths and there are many songs like “You can have alone time when you’re dead” by Remember Sports, or “We don’t believe you” by Will Varley that hit me pretty hard and really do speak to something in my soul. But regular music can’t touch eternal truth, isn’t working with the whole picture, and can’t speak life INTO someone, like Christian music can.

Secular music cannot touch the victory of David Crowder’s “We Win!”, the joy of “Love, Liberty, Disco” by the Newsboys, the grief of Stavesacre’s “Why Good People Suffer” or the righteous rage of “Dear Beelzebubba” by Calibretto 13.

I was reminded of this fact today when I listened to Moment to Moment by Children 18:3. Here’s a link if you care: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RqpD16rJ6k

On it’s face, it’s not an overly Christian song, but let’s look at some lyrics.

Every choice before you was a challenge to succeed
Oh whoa oh, moment to moment
Like every breath is a step to forever
Oh whoa oh, moment to moment, boy
You don’t give up, give up

Is this not the gospel in all it’s brilliance to we who have been saved? The choices before us are no longer, Salvation or Damnation. Instead, we have the choice between mundanity and glory, the thief or the disciple, the stowaway or the servant, renegades or royalty.

Every choice is a challenge to grow, succeed, and glorify, and in every challenge there is a thrill, a life, a fullness. Because in every choice we can become more of whowe are, or wallow in worldliness.

And yet, regardless of the choice we make, every breath is a step towards eternity. in every moment we need to hold to that and not give up, because in every moment and every day, no matter how mundane or grueling or brutal the tasks we have been called to, we have this promise of a glorious salvation.

The glory of God is shown through his people and through their work. Lay aside your cynicism, greed, and selfishness. Take up the banner of beauty and truth. Here is joy. Here is hope. Here is life.

I still listen to secular music, but I cannot, and will not deny that Christian music always has been and always will be irrevocably better. Just do that math.

Denominations have split the church for a lot longer than we all care to admit.

Now, I’m not going to sit here and pretend that denominations are simply the problem of the last 100 years, or even the last 500. The truth is, the roots of denominations came about even in the time of the Apostles. At the time, some people were saying “I am of Paul” or “I am of Peter”, affiliating themselves with Men in the Church and not Christ himself. And, the Apostles called them out for it.

I remember when I was a child, I went with my Catholic family to Catholic Mass, and with my protestant family to church. My Catholic family would warn me about the protestant church and the protestant family would warn me about the Catholics, each convinced that the other was going to hell.

As I grew, I made my own decisions, eventually deciding that I couldn’t affiliate with either protestants or Catholics on a purely theological level. But my personal history is neither here nor there. Instead, I want to tell you about a verse in Romans I read today.

Romans 14:17-18 “For the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and joy and peace in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.”

Now I have seen hatred spewed by almost every denomination at a different denomination from every area of the church my whole life, and in my mind, these verses condemn them all. We have split the church a hundred ways over major and incredibly minor differences, and yet we ignore one important thing: holiness.

Yes, we are called to split away from those who speak heresy, at least, after those heretics have been properly warned. But denominational differences ARE NOT heresies. Mormonism, Jehovah’s witnesses, and Gnostics are all heretics. Catholics, Baptists, Pentecostals, Anglicans, and other mainline protestant denominations are not, though there have been specific sects and local churches that are and we should always be wary.

My point is this: Romans 14:18 tell us that what is important is Holiness. By their fruits you shall know them. All of us need to spend a little less time on the theology that divides us, and a little more time focused on holiness, in ourselves, and in our churches. Don’t refuse to go to a church because it’s a different denomination, or refuse to affiliate with others from a different denomination, unless their beliefs contradict the Bible or it’s truth. Love and embrace any and all that express and live within the holiness of God.

And, above all, let go of the thought that your particular theological tradition or denomination makes you better, or more Holy. The label you put on yourself or your church means nothing compared to how well you serve and obey Christ.

Human beings ignore their skin consistently. Like smells, we generally agree that the best reminder is “none at all”. Through it we receive thousands of signals, warnings and pleasures, and yet our habit is to lie to ourselves, readily buying into the fantasy that we are made up of one piece of flesh, the skin being the only visible part. We don’t like blood, muscle, or sinew. We tolerate the idea of bones, but only so long as we can’t see them. We let skin seem absolute so we don’t have to parse the messy details.

I have dandruff. It’s fairly common, and easily treatable, but I’m lazy. So every few weeks when I haven’t used my medicated shampoo enough, my scalp dries and the skin falls off. It’s gross, but manageable. I also have Eczema, a product of my mother’s fair skin. It’s genetic, and as an autoimmune disorder, incurable. The best I can do is treat the infection enough so that I don’t feel the symptoms. But medicine Is expensive, and I’m young. So there are seasons where I don’t treat it. Isolated to one part of the body, It’s not bad. One itchy red rash. Not quite as itchy as poison ivy, but close sometimes. 

But Eczema spreads.

The more you itch, the farther it spreads, week to week, month to month, and without medication, there’s little to nothing to stop it. As it spreads your skin dries, cracks, peels. And of course, you’re always scratching. The effect is that you are constantly shedding skin, constantly ripping it off. You feel like a leper. Like some horrible flesh eating bug has swarmed you, only as you scratch, you realize, YOU are the virus.

The other side effect, is that wherever you go, you leave your skin behind. To the untrained eye, it’s like dust. Dust on your keyboard, on your pants, on the couch. Piles of dust everywhere I go. Matched with the dandruff, I leave dust everywhere.

We forget a lot of times that dust is mainly made up of human skin. Perhaps it’s our unique disgust for our bodies. Perhaps it’s some fantastic mass delusion, directing all of us to believe that dust is the cosmic essence of time left behind as it passes. Perhaps we just forget.

As disgusting and as socially awkward as my conditions are, they are an excellent daily reminder of a truth all of us must face and all of us are running from: that is, we are decaying. Our cells replicate, but as we get older, the genetic code gets screwed up more and more. We become more imperfect versions of ourselves day to day, our bodies literally shrivelling up and collapsing beneath us. 

Human beings are not made still in the plastic box. We are created mangled, warped, and defective. Because the truth that we continue to deny with every breath is that we are not human. We are instead, humanity with the best parts taken out, the cereal without the toy, a remote without batteries. We are dead, and our bodies proclaim our death with loud announcement. We are dead, each and every one of us ripped from our spiritual nature and afraid to admit it.  We are dead.

Christ has brought some of us back to life, yet still our living bodies cannot coexist with a world that is still a corpse. So we wait like caterpillars writhing in cocoons, wailing till we are no longer surrounded by death. 

A denial of death is not a phobia of inevitability, it is a willing ignorance of our life. By refusing to believe that we are dead, we also refuse to accept we could be more alive. It’s like our skin. If we pretend that we are simply skin and bone, then we ignore the myriad of parts and processes that make our body truly functional. We are not made to be hedonist creations, roiling about in their simplistic flesh. We were made to be  spiritual powers, that shape both the physical and non-physical realities around us. Jesus walked on water. Jesus turned water into wine. Jesus made food appear from nowhere. And yes, Jesus was God, but he also said that his followers would do GREATER things than these. 

The first step as with most things is to admit we have a problem.

It is to admit that we are either dead, or at least living like it.

We are made to be more than skin.

I started watching The Blacklist a few weeks ago. I’m only so far in to the story, but a few things have struck me.

For those of you who haven’t watched the show, it follows what I believe are a team of FBI agents in deep cover being led to take down notorious and secretive criminals by an equally notorious criminal, Raymond Reddington.

Reddigton, using his criminal connections, is able to delve into teh criminal underground to pull out the worst of the worst whilst playing both sides with secrecy and brilliance. Kind of like a really skilled deep cover agent or undercover cop right?

Wrong.

Reddington kills with impunity, makes deals constantly with horrid criminals, tortures on a whim. But at every dark turn, the show does one of two things:

One, they put a bright spin on a dark action to make Reddington’s way to look correct.

Or Two, they ignore his actions and then put him on a crusade for a popular issue several episodes later, usually an environmental issue.

Now I’m not going to make a judgment on the quality of the show. I’ve found it very enjoyable, but it does have its flaws.

But it does point to something very wrong with our way of thinking in this media obsessed world. Years ago, our heros were heros. In the start, they were heros in the epic sense. Undefeatable, unstoppable forces of power who fought for good, or at least, a relative good. Greek myths are a great example.

From there we digressed to a defeatable, understandable hero. A hero who shared our own flaws. Much of histories stories fit this category. Many of our stories still fit this category. This hero is in many ways, not a hero, but simply a protagonist. For those of you familiar with Lord of the Rings, Aragorn is a hero, Frodo is a protagonist.

Modern media has popularized anti-heroes. These are heroes or protagonists who go outside of the law for good. They do what we wish we could, Attacking evil people with impunity even if they do things the rest of us wouldn’t feel comfortable or completely moral in doing. They are redeemable, but ugly.

Reddington is part of a growing number of “heroes” that takes this journey one dark step even farther. Reddington is not the hero of the Blacklist. Reddington is the villain. But the show acts as if his villainous deeds are covered by his mystery, his noir attitude, his confidence, or how his actions repeatedly take down other villains. He gets a pass like James Bond gets a past for his less than moral lifestyle, because he is, “A man of mystery.”

We have allowed ourselves to become so far removed from what it means to be a hero, that we now regularly praise our villains for their achievement and forward thinking, and disparage our heros for their archaic ways, their inability to do what needs to be done, and their mercy.

In the second Batman movie in the Dark Knight Trilogy, The Joker says “This town deserves a better class of criminal”

In our era of media, as in the movie, the Joker was that better class of Criminal.

We need a better class of Hero.

Be careful. The characters you love are becoming less and less worthy of your admiration and praise. I would advise you to do two things. One, don’t watch or read without thinking. If you ignore your feelings, you’ll sympathize with the wrong people, and brick by brick build houses that will become prisons.

Two, Search out stories with real heros. It may mean you read or watch something you wouldnt normally, but it may very well be refreshing to your mental pallette.

But in all things, seek wisdom.

Gabriel Hatcher

Ive been spending a lot of time on a treasure hunt.

Not a metaphorical one, not a spiritual one.

A real treasure Hunt.

About ten years ago, a wealthy and eccentric millionaire, Forest Fenn, hid anywhere from 1-5 million dollars worth of gold and ancient artifacts in the Rocky Mountains. And when I say gold, I mean huge nuggets of gold. And when I say artifacts, I mean ancient Chinese masks and Mesopotamian relics from thousands of years ago. All of this is contained in a small Bronze chest named Indulgence.

After hiding this incredible treasure, he published a book called the thrill of the chase, with a poem and a map which he claimed could lead anyone to the treasure.

In ten years, No one has found it.

To all intensive purposes, it does seem like the treasure is quite real and that the reality is, that though thousands have sought it, none have been able to solve the riddle.

My father, brother, and I have been working on our own solves to the riddle for several months, and will be until next summer where we will drive to the Rocky’s to test each solve, in the hopes of all becoming Millionaires. (Ill probably be live streaming it)

As a child, I dreamed about riddles and puzzles leading to hidden treasure. Temples and idols, traps and manuscripts filled my dreams and my time as I dreamed of a more interesting world. I played video games, read books, created art and poetry, all because the normal world has always bored me, always seemed…. sort of fake. Media has been my escape, but in many ways, an escape looking for something more real. I’ve found quite a lot of that reality in God, but even in my faith there has seemed to be something missing from the world.

Then I found Forests challenge. A literal call to adventure. A real mystical journey with a real prize.

And as much as I want the treasure for myself (I actually feel confident that I have a chance in finding it), I think each and every one of you should look for it too.

Not because of Greed, not because normal life is bad, not because a wild journey is the point in and of itself, but because it points to something real.

That reality is that “Normal life”, a 9-5 job, Netflix, online documentation about nutrition supplements, is only half the story.

While I believe the spiritual world is real and important, I also believe there is a region of our souls we ignore quite frequently. An area that we can only glance at in adventure stories and games.

I think we all yearn to be a part of something grand, something passionate, something unique.

Something more alive than the lives we know.

That doesn’t necessarily mean going on a treasure hunt. It could mean getting up early every morning this next month to take walks around your neighborhood to get a bigger perspective on the world. It could mean starting a unique tradition to pass on beauty and truth to your children in an awe inspiring way. It could mean being on the ground floor of a social movement to advocate for change.

It means fighting the complacency of life, to create beauty, to be vibrantly alive, to be angry (I am Jacks Smirking Revenge) at evil.

Maybe that starts this morning.

Maybe that starts with a treasure hunt.

Here’s a link for a place to start http://fennclues.com/fenn-treasure-where-to-start.html

Look to higher things.

Sincerely,

Gabriel Hatcher

I’m struck by the internet.

By its simplicity.

By its complexity.

By its horror.

By its beauty.

The internet is a violent place and don’t let anyone tell you differently. Any opinion can be attacked. Any person can be attacked, just as a mugger can attack on a street corner.

Only the internet doesn’t take your money and leave, it sticks in your mind and in your heart. It weaves into thoughts and actions.

It gnaws at the back of your mind.

As a creator of philosophical content, and a supporter of discussion, I get into internet battles constantly. Maybe not on a daily basis, but close. I debate this topic, I argue this point, I deflect this criticism, I stir up this drama.

Some of it is intentional. Some of it is accidental, much of it is immaturity on my end. I’m human, fallible, prone to be brash. Just yesterday I posted a pointed critique of a community I used to be a part of and sparked a fairly nasty (not on my end) series of tweets. I posted it in a misguided desire for justice. Justice that admittedly, wasn’t mine to dole out in such measure. I stand by what I said, but the execution was poor, and probably immature. Again, human. I apologized, but the anger on their side was too great to accept it.

Now, many, if not all of you may be thinking, “Why subject yourself to these pointless battles? Why stir the pot? Why cause drama?”

That’s the question I want to briefly discuss with this post.

I will give two reasons, one directed towards Christians, the other directed towards non christians.

To those of you who do not share my faith, I single you out because my second reason will not be one you share, so I direct you toward the first:

There are things worth fighting for.

Many of have taken two roads on the internet. Either, we harden ourselves to the abuse and yell the loudest, or we hide from conflict and run from pointed topics, fearing the toxicity. I believe both are wrong. The internet is not different than real life, it’s simply another medium. When I speak to you on the internet and speak to you in person, my voice will shine out clearly in both. I am the same man, to be anything else is disingenuous.

To flee from what we believe is disingenuous.

This is not to say any or all of you should be hardily debating your beliefs with anyone who will put their fists up. It is to say that you should not back down from your core beliefs. If you are attacked for them, do not capitulate. Stand strong and fight for them, because without your core beliefs, you will be tossed about on the waves of the worlds opinion, lost and afraid. Do not run away. Walk away when appropriate, and when you have said your piece. Speak the truth, and speak it respectfully.

Don’t become hardened either. Don’t let the cesspool of the worlds hate spill over you until you fall to anger and bitterness. Close off the doorways from which evil and hate spreads into your lives. Surround yourselves with GOOD people. Not just people who share all of your values and beliefs. but good people. And then, when you feel safe, explore the world and internet freely, assured that if a threat is posed that you do not feel you can handle, you have a place and a people you can call your own.

Now, for any believers of Christ reading this, I give you a second reason:

Because the internet is also Christ’s domain. Our LORD is not scared off by negative YouTube comments, jokes in poor taste, or post modern arguments. Neither should you be. You’re faith is not a cloak to hide behind. Your faith is not a joke. Your faith is not a gimmick. Don’t post bible verses for likes. Don’t shower hate on unbelievers. Love those around you, not matter their worldview, while never being dishonest about your dedication to our savior. You are a servant of the most high God, even on the internet. Act like it.

Video Games were very readily accepted and appreciated growing up in the Hatcher household. My dad, my brother and I all played for hours at a time, and as I grew older, this didn’t change. We played MORE as I entered high school, taking summers as an excuse to blow of sleep and life just for a chance to play Skyrim non-stop.

But we didn’t play just everything, and we played in very specific ways. My father was adamant that when we played games, we were the good guys. If a game involved playing as the villain or as just a generally bad character, we couldn’t play. GTA was off the table. We never stole in Skyrim. We chose Mario in MarioKart. My friends, then and now, thought this was incredibly ridiculous. “It’s just a game” they said, while shooting an old woman with a bazooka virtually.

But I still think that moral code is important, and I’d like to share why.

Media is an expression of our darkest and brightest sides. Media takes universals, combines them with current trends, ideals, and beliefs, and creates a product. Wanna know why the Batman didn’t kill people? because when he was created, society didn’t believe that justice could, or should be served that way. You wanna know why the superheroes we see in movies these days kill more and more? Because as a society, we’ve begun to believe that it’s ok to kill bad guys. Our soft sides have hardened quite a bit.

Video games are exactly the same. We glorify gangsters and the drug dealers and we get GTA. We glorify thievery when it looks cool, now we have games loaded with thieves. Now, you might say “It’s just a game, society doesn’t really think that sort of thing is ok.” I’d argue that there are large chunks of society that are becoming increasingly supportive of and desensitized toward these crimes. Don’t agree?

Think about this: Why isn’t there rape in mainstream gaming?

Because society decided, that’s a line we don’t cross.

Why does hurting good people still have hefty consequences in most games?

Again, society still agrees, don’t hurt good people, only bad people.

Why are there plenty of games about pot and not many, (if any) about heroin?

Large sectors of society accept pot. Very, very little of society accepts heroin.

Gaming follows society. Therefore, the games we play and support are in some sense, in tandem with the values we support in society. When we pick up and buy GTA, we are saying that the glorification of the drug trade is ok, and enjoyable. When we play a game murdering good people as a charismatic villain, we are choosing to support an evil ideal and vision, even if virtually.

I’m not saying “don’t ever play violent video games”, or “GTA is evil”. But I am saying that we need to be careful in what we support, and if you think it’s funny to steal a car and then shoot a random woman on the street in the head in a video game, maybe, just maybe, you should ask yourself why.