I already wrote a post, titled “So why not let’s forgive everyone?” detailing most of my argument, and that can be read here. I’ll quote myself in excerpt:

…we are told to forgive as we’ve been forgiven, or else God will do to us as the unforgiving servant of Matthew 18. The man in the parable was forgiven an impossible debt; we likewise, who have been forgiven much, are called to forgive much in return. We’ve been forgiven everything, so we have no excuse for ungratefulness. We’ve been forgiven everything, so why not let’s forgive everyone, everywhere, everything?

That last line is from a song by mewithoutYou, and they’ve written a couple songs I think are applicable. Aaron Weiss, the lead vocalist and songwriter, has described forgiveness as the center of his faith, and this defines the trajectory of their lyrics. In this interview at 3:20 he discusses forgiveness, how we forgive as we are forgiven, and how bitterness hurts only you. I’ll just excerpt them below in closing, and exhort sons and daughters to extend to their parents the same forgiveness they hope for and rely upon, both from God and from others, and live in the humility of realizing their own brokenness.

From “bullet to Binary, (pt. two)” (listen):

we all well know
we’re gonna reap what we sow
but Grace, we all know,
can take the place of all we owe
so why not let’s Forgive everyone, everywhere, everything
all the time, everyone, everywhere, everything

all the time, everyone, everywhere, everything…

From “Allah, Allah, Allah” (listen):

it doesn’t matter what you’ve done…
what effect is without a cause?
so what does it matter what you think you’ve done?
now, lay your faithless head down
in necessity’s Cotton Hand
there’s a Love that never changes
no matter what you’ve done

or if your Old Man did you wrong,
maybe his Old Man did him wrong
so if you’d care to sing Forgiveness songs
come down and join our band
we’ll cut you like Sword
and sing Forgiveness songs

It’s a musical expression of the explosive joy of forgiveness—the belief that in our darkness a light shines, that the darkness has not overcome it, and that the light is God.

Painting by Liz Lemon Swindle

P.S. Yes, this post is reviving a so-called “dead” blog. Break out the defibrillator, huh?

My problem with this, and the reason I personally messaged him about it, is that even unbelievers often evidence better charity than this, comporting themselves with goodwill even in heated disagreements. But they act only out of an intangible sense of sporting or intellectual solidarity. To employ the classic how-much-more argument, shouldn’t we Christians be legendarily quick to forgive? I think the excuse often given, and the misconception I want to address, is that we don’t have to forgive someone unless, or until, they’re truly repentant.

To begin with, forgiveness is different than reconciliation, meaning that you don’t have to wait for them to ask before you forgive them. Some might place the distinction between being prepared to forgive, and actually forgiving (once the other party has sincerely asked forgiveness), but I submit that these are different ways of getting at the same thing. Being prepared to forgive someone really just means you’ve forgiven them, otherwise you’re still holding something against them, whereas you should love them enough to pursue reconciliation.

In the above scenario, I told my friend that it didn’t seem very Christ-like to withhold forgiveness, to which he responded that God doesn’t forgive us unless we truly repent. My best answer was that we’re not God, which I think is a valid point. But more than that, I think God deals with us in a more forgiving way, though repenting of our sins is essential to being in fellowship with God, and conviction is how God brings us back because we are His atoned-for children. But if I were to die suddenly with unrepented sins, I don’t think I’d be cast into utter darkness or serving time in purgatory. And, on a more basic level, “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  Simply put, if God didn’t forgive us before we deserved it, we’d be screwed.

I was recently inspired to consider this topic again by a sermon on handling conflict, the telos of which was that we are told to forgive as we’ve been forgiven, or else God will do to us as the unforgiving servant of Matthew 18. The man in the parable was forgiven an impossible debt; we likewise, who have been forgiven much, are called to forgive much in return. And this fits nicely with a Thanksgiving theme, since I technically still have half an hour of “Turkey Day.” We’ve been forgiven everything, so we have no excuse for ungratefulness. We’ve been forgiven everything, so why not let’s forgive everyone, everywhere, everything?

That last line and the following excerpt, which I’ll end with, are from the lyrics to “bullet to Binary (pt. two)” by mewithoutYou:

We all well know
We’re gonna reap what we sow
But grace, we all know
Can take the place of all we owe
So why not, let’s forgive everyone, everywhere, everything
All the time, everyone, everywhere, everything

All the time, everyone, everywhere, everything…

https://www.abrokenmold.net/2010/11/so-why-not-lets-forgive-everyone/feed/ 4 https://www.abrokenmold.net/2010/11/review-spyderco-endura-4-wave/ https://www.abrokenmold.net/2010/11/review-spyderco-endura-4-wave/#comments Tue, 23 Nov 2010 22:57:20 +0000 https://www.abrokenmold.net/?p=477 Back in mid-January, I ordered and received a Spyderco Endura 4 Wave, and, while I wanted to review it right then and there, I decided to wait until I’d tested it a bit more. That time has come.

“Spyderco is a company, founded in 1978 by Sal Glesser and based in Golden, Colorado, U.S.A., that produces knives and knife sharpeners.” Thus says Wikipedia (and, incidentally, they’re right). They also have only 38 employees, which I think is pretty cool; it gives that small business feel and attention to detail. Anyways, Sal Glesser was the first, back in 1981, to think of and implement the pocket clip. He also introduced one-hand opening, with the signature Spyderco thumb hole. And serrations. In other words, he shaped the knife industry and made the “tactical knife” possible.

The Endura and it’s smaller counterpart, the Delica, were launched in 1990 as lightweight, affordable pocket knives. Since then, they’ve undergone improvements with each generation, this being the 4th (hence Endura 4). Pricing on the Endura runs from $60 to $115 (I got mine for $61). The knife measures 8 3/16 inches when open and 5 inches closed (the handle length). That leaves 3 13/16 inches for the blade, 3 7/16 of which are cutting edge. For its dimensions, the weight is a fairly light 3.6 oz, partly due to the skeletonized steel liners. Granted, the previous generation was lighter at 3.0 oz, but it lacked the additional strength of steel liners, which I think justify the weight. Opinions differ, however.¹

I just like the fact that it is a more rugged knife, regardless of whether the reinforcement is necessary or not. There is always the potential situation wherein you are sliding down the conical roof of a grain silo towards a 200-foot fall and certain death; dragging your fingernails has availed naught. Wha-chawww! You draw your Endura Wave and open it in one fluid motion, driving it desperately into the thin aluminum sheeting. It bites deep and torques under your weight, but holds, thanks to the tensile strength of the steel liners! Besides, that steel gives the pocket clip screws something more to tie into, and I hate wiggly pocket clips.

Build quality is excellent on the Endura I reviewed, the fit and finish near perfect. The handles are made of FRN (Fiberglass Reinforced Nylon), tough and resilient. I’ve dropped mine on asphalt and concrete with minimal scuffing to the blade and handles, and most of that has buffed itself out, excepting one shallow but visible nick.

Note the scuffed Endura clip vs. the unpainted Persistence clip.

The pocket clip, as I’ve already mentioned, holds up well. (And well it should—Mr. Glesser invented it!) The black paint looks good, but, like all painted or un-painted pocket clips, it scratches when you scrape it against rocks and concrete and so forth.² As you can see in the picture, it’s held in place by three screws positioned in a semi-arc. Not quite so solid as the setup on the Drifter, but adequate. And even the best clip can fail: I caught the Drifter clip on a vinyl chair the other day and bent it (CRKT sent two replacement clips free of charge). But with the longer clip and smaller screw base, leverage is greater on the Endura, and the screws did loosen. And I hate wiggly pocket clips.

However, the screws are fairly long and do tighten up nicely into the steel liners. I just had difficulty finding the necessary Torx set, but, after searching all our local hardware stores, I bought one online. I used some LocTite on the screws and set them tightly, and it hasn’t budged since (an impressive feat, considering the five weeks of active construction and trail-clearing work I’ve carried it through). To summarize, I really like Spyderco’s clip design: the shape, tension and flared tip lend superior ergonomics. I think the size ratio is right on, and despite a questionable screw array, remains secured extraordinarily well. (Incidentally, the Torx size was TX9 for the pivot screw and the rest are TX6, for those interested.) Finally, the clip may be moved to any corner of the knife to accommodate tip-up, tip-down, left- or right-handed carry.

The blade is 3 13/16 inches long, and made of the excellent VG-10 steel.³ I have noticed some side-to-side blade play, but I read somewhere that this has to do with the way it’s engineered for maximum strength. Besides, you can tighten it simply by adjusting the pivot screw; I just like it loose enough where it opens easily.

The Emerson or “Wave” opener is the wave-shaped hook on the top of the blade that works by catching the seam of your pants as you pull it out of your pocket. Here is a good video review that shows how the opener works (frame-by-frame pictures here), and another more humorous use. It is the result of a collaboration with Emerson knives; owner, knife-maker and martial arts expert Ernest Emerson designed the “Wave” opener for his distinctive tactical knives. Combined with the Endura 4, the result is a fast and affordable tactical knife. The deployment—gliding on phosphor bronze bushings—is wicked smooth and scary fast, as this guy demonstrates. The Spyder-hole, the regular opening method, is funky but attractive and works well, especially with cold fingers, gloves or big hands where a thumb stud would fall short. It was also, as mentioned above, the first one-handed blade-opening device.

The lock system is a lockback—more solid than most, if not all, linerlocks (although the LAWKS system feels comparable). The lockback mechanism also features the Boye indent in the release lever, which is “a half-moon of steel removed from the locking lever,” designed to “[make] the knife impossible to accidentally close when gripped very tightly.”⁴ The lockback is also a bit more awkward to close with one hand than linerlocks. It can be managed, however, and I will hopefully be posting a video soon to demonstrate a few methods.

I would call the intended application for this knife EDC (Every Day Carry) and light tactical. The length of the blade takes away much of your precision control, making food prep (like peeling an apple) and other tasks requiring fine-grained control difficult. You can, however, choke way up on the handle and brace your thumb against the opening hole, and gain some manipulability that way. On the positive side, the long blade (almost 4 inches) gives you lots of reach in defensive situations, and the long handle ensures you won’t lose your grip: you can hold the knife farther back on the handle and gain an extra inch of reach, or you can choke up to the thumb ramp for a solid thrust. It’s got a good stabbing point and a rock-solid reverse grip, but unfortunately not a whole lot of slashing belly (compared, for instance, to the Persistence). Finally, the Endura has really nice, functional jimping, both on the thumb ramp and on the plastic behind it, giving your thumb plenty of purchase.

My first impression of the Endura was that, like a ThinkPad, the knife is sturdy and rugged, and even attractive after a fashion. I fell in love with the snick of the lockback. I should note in closing that, while many online pictures and descriptions give the color as dark grey, almost black, the true color is more of a slate blue. (You can see the discrepancy between the two pictures I’ve posted.) The Endura came “shaving” sharp, as it should. I’m quite pleased with my Endura, and most exceedingly so with the excellent Persistence, with the result that I plan on buying more from Spyderco—possibly a Tenacious or FFG (Full Flat Ground) Delica.

From Wednesday night to Friday afternoon a couple weeks ago, I worked almost exclusively on a paper proposal (abstract) for my History Colloquium class. It was the sort where you have to have your topic, sources, thesis and supporting argumentation—your paper in all but implementation—already decided and articulated in your abstract. I hadn’t done any work on it until Wednesday. Resultantly, much caffeine and stress ensued, and only four hours of sleep until Friday night.

But wait (as they say), there’s more! When I got home after turning in the abstract, the document was still up on my desktop, and as I scrolled back through it with great satisfaction, I realized that my last-minute margins adjustment to 1″ from the 0.79″ default (stupid, OpenOffice) had seriously rearranged my bibliography indentations. I didn’t end up failing the assignment, but regardless, it caused me no small mental agitation.

Which ultimately led me to recognize again something about how God deals with us in our self-importance. I say recognize again because this is a pattern I’ve observed before, but seem to forget without God’s occasional humbling reminders. Almost like I’m a fallen son of Adam or something. God blesses my endeavors much more than I deserve, given how often I am lazy or unfocused—not exactly working heartily as unto the Lord. But often, as I scramble to salvage the consequences of my own irresponsibility, I give no time to prayer and Bible reading. I neglect those around me. And in God’s mercy, I get flattened. Two verses in closing:

“For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” — Hebrews 12:6 (ESV)

“For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” — 2 Corinthians 7:10 (ESV)

There are situations where death can be a blessing, but only in the sense that God uses or allows evil to work a greater triumph. Like the death of a dear saint in the pain of old age, ready to go home. Like Aslan and his death at the hands of the White Witch, or Christ’s own death on the cross. Caleb said at one point that death is just taking us to be with Christ. That is true, but that’s not the way it was intended. We were to fellowship with God by truly natural means; it is death that is unnatural, the result of a curse. And yet, Christ has taken the curse upon himself, and triumphed over death. Dying with him, we are raised to new life.

But I also believe there is an appropriate sorrow at death — in the case of beloved saints, merely at the separation, but with unbelievers the separation is eternal. That is worth grieving about. While everyone who rejects Christ gets what they want, it’s still a terrible, sorrowful result of the Fall. To repeat myself in a comment on Caleb’s post, while we trust and submit to God’s sovereign plan, it is not wrong to sorrow or attempt to change things (through evangelism, etc.).

But we live in God’s story, and we must tune our sense of humor to match his. Caleb made his case well in a follow-up comment: Eglon’s death is pretty funny. Yes, we can laugh at a dead man. But we can also sorrow. “The Lord is … not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). And finally, we surely must not fear death. I close with a quote from the end of Pilgrim’s Progress:

“My Sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my Pilgrimage, and my Courage and Skill to him that can get it. My Marks and Scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me that I have fought his Battles who now will be my Rewarder.” When the day that he must go hence was come, many accompanied him to the Riverside, into which as he went he said, “Death, where is thy Sting?” And as he went down deeper he said, “Grave, where is thy Victory?” So he passed over, and all the Trumpets sounded for him on the other side.

This and Nathaniel’s post on audience have got me thinking and somewhat re-working my approach. In fact, this is an attempt at a short to medium post that puts forth a thought for consideration. Now there is, of course, an appropriate way to strategize and target your audience. That’s what this post is about. But targeting your audience doesn’t mean broadening your appeal¹ so much as knowing your audience, like Nat said, and producing good content.

As should be apparent, this is really just a good business model — it applies to blogging almost informally. Companies like Apple, Inc. understand this.² Apple has a niche market and focuses on content that resonates within this group, to the extent that Jobs has what is termed a “cult following” [warning: link contains some language]. After all, Macs just work. Nevertheless, Apple is also a good example of a company that expanded its focus to great advantage (read: iPhone).

Conversely, Microsoft wants the whole market — go big or go home. Call it biting off more than you can chew, taking in too much territory, or whatever; but Microsoft tries to cover a broad range of user needs, hardware manufacturers and platforms, and comes up short on the quality front. Not content to focus on what it does best (using the term generously), Microsoft is constantly competing with Sony, Apple, Google, Gmail and Linux. And — whether it’s gaming consoles, hardware, media players, operating systems, communication services or search engines — you get a lineup of products doomed to eternal second place.

I could regale you with talk of BSODs, driver headaches and viruses, Windows ME and Vista, but the goal was merely to demonstrate what I mean by “the myth of relevance.” Just getting the most customers or the biggest audience is not an end unto itself. A streamlined, focused business model and quality control builds and retains a loyal consumer following. Spyderco is a good example. With only 30 employees and direct input from owner/founder Sal Glesser, there is a personal attention to quality and focus on customer relations that makes a Spyderco owner feel included, as it were. One wants the same sort of connection with a blog audience.

Finally, one more application: churches. There are, sadly, a lot of churches that would cut off their doctrinal arm to be “relevant.” They are the seeker-friendly, spiritual-milk, easy-believism variety. As Pastor Terry Tollefson is fond of saying, if the young people aren’t coming, break out the pizza, guitars, low lights and couches. Preach what people like to hear. Tickle ears. Unfortunately, they — just like the girl with mismatched shoes (one Converse and maybe a fur-trimmed boot is about right), striped leggings, outlandish hair and the “raccoon” style eyeliner — are pitching an indiscriminate appeal for attention. But attention is not an end to itself. You want the right kind of attention, the right kind of publicity. To quote Pastor Doug Wilson in a related vein, “Young Christian people should seek to become the kind of person that the kind of person they would want to marry would want to marry.”

Churches should want to attract people because of the strong preaching of law and condemnation in tension with grace and love, the unity, fellowship and accountability. The robust doctrine of Psalms and liturgy. The corporate-ness of Christ’s body. If someone is repelled by any of these things, that’s the way it should be — that’s the only hope for them. Diluting the truth until no one feels convicted is doing no one any favors. Taking the potency from worship and the doctrine from the songs is what, in other venues, would be called false advertising.

The church, properly functioning, shows people where they stand in relation to the body of Christ. When this is not done, people either discover spiritual meat at some point and have no taste for it, or settle into a warm, fuzzy, God-isn’t-about-guilt version of Christianity. (Just as long as I don’t have to do anything uncomfortable, like loving unlovable old people in nursing homes or confessing sins or letting grudges go.) On rare occasion, they realize they aren’t getting fed and look for a body to keep them accountable, words they can chew on — the Word himself.

So then, what I’ve called the “myth” of relevance is the notion that attracting attention, broadening appeal or increasing numbers is anything to aim for. At best, you will raise lukewarm interest in your lukewarm product. At worst, you will fill the Church with people who wouldn’t be there if they knew the way is narrow, and deter those who would only be there if they did. If I have spent time and digital ink on this last point, it’s because I’m serious. In any of these applications, there are some people to whom you don’t want to be relevant, and especially when it concerns the sanctification of Christ’s bride.

But, as always, that sanctification should flow out through all our endeavors, even our blogs. And yes, as a short to medium post, this is a fail. Oh well, semper reformanda and all that.

Having weighed the earlier Nite Ize LED modules in the durability balance and found them wanting, I had heretofore purchased an official Mini Maglite LED AA, which also uses a Luxeon. But it flickers, and is longer than my regular Mini Mags, and generally sucks horribly. And flickers. Their LED module must be poorly wired or something. Maybe (hopefully) mine was just defective. One thing I do like about it—due to the longer reflector cone (I think), it is more focusable, as you’ll see in the picture below. This produces a more concentrated beam at greater distances.

But because that was such a fail, I picked up a Streamlight 3N. Pretty rugged piece of gear, it seemed. Used by firefighters and such. Molded polymer case, scratch-resistant lens, up to 30-lumen output, and it even has an “Intrinsic Safety for Hazardous Locations” rating. All this notwithstanding, the contact point on the bottom of the LED module is worthless. Although I’ve bolstered it with solder a few times, it always wears down, makes infrequent contact with the battery, and flickers. It gets worse in cold weather.

Enter the Nite Ize 1 Watt LED Upgrade II. It fit snugly into my old beater Mini Mag, already survived a shoulder-height fall onto tiles without even flickering, and summarily rocks. Here’s a picture I took with all three shining side-by-side at a dark wall. They all had fresh batteries.

Why is the Streamlight so blue?

*Note the Maglite is more focused than the others, since it is actually capable of being focused. That’s why the beam is smaller.

Sleep, you are cold-blooded, merciless,
an executioner.
You softly slit my throat from ear to ear
into a smile across my neck,
and spill my warm blood onto Calvin or
The Classic Hundred Poems.
Sleep, you are persuasive and insinuating,
loosening my aching ribs.
The caffeine candle lighting up my skull
can only last so long before
it flickers down and
fizzles on the table.
You charm my drooping head
with dark advances,
soft, beguiling.
And at the last you sooth my eyeballs,
burning, frozen orbs.
Forgiving, gentle sleep.

I just wrote a paper on Christians and deception, so I’ve thought this over a bit recently. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with saying “Fine,” in response to “How’re you doing?” especially when asked by, say, the grocery store clerk. Most people don’t expect any more than a one-word courtesy answer. But as of late, when any of my friends or acquaintances asks me how I’m doing, I tend to respond more thoughtfully. It may be “I’m pretty tired and unproductive. Hopefully today will be better. How are you?” Or, depending on the person and their interest in encouraging and exhorting me, I might share my struggles and ask for prayer.

There are two basic truths here: speak appropriately to the situation, and be concerned for the welfare of others. In my paper, I came to the conclusion that (shocker) it comes down to heart motives. For example, some falsehoods actually convey a more important truth, as God’s deception of his enemies communicates His justice and truth. When you say that you’d love to have someone over for dinner even though you inwardly chafe at the inconvenience, it communicates that you value their company and wish to bless them; this is as it should be, and there is no need to let them know about your moment of ungodly selfishness. You know better, deal with it, and prepare dinner in the right spirit.

That was rather long-winded, but I’m tired. What I’m trying to say is that the radical honesty approach has its good applications, and its flaws as well. Sometimes we most certainly should not tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

As to the second point, let us return to the grocery store example. Or coffee shop. As I mentioned, I have been being more thoughtful in my communications with others, say, when in line for coffee at Bucer’s. (Bucer’s is a Moscow coffee shop, where I get lots of schoolwork done. Really, I do.) But sometimes they weren’t really looking for more than “I’m good,” and sometimes it’s just inconsiderate to dump your stress on someone else. The point is, in your openness and communication, be sure you are seeking to “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Eph. 4:29).

Which brings us to what Nat said about finding out what’s happening with others. It can be difficult when they think you’re asking a trite question, but I’ve witnessed many examples of friends showing a sincere interest in the other’s welfare, and it really isn’t that hard to do. When you respond honestly and show an interest in others in your daily conversations, others notice and it benefits everyone. Encourage and sharpen one another (Prov. 27:17).

To wrap up: parents, messy lives, and God. As painful as it can be, I believe it is always best to talk to your parents and work things out. It makes your relationship stronger and enables growth as Christians. Parents are the first sphere of authority set in place by God, and they love you. And life is short. Don’t let relationships fall apart and erode. Don’t let the distance grow. Lives are messy, both ours and others’. Paul wrote as the “chief of sinners” to some new-Testament Christians with terribly messy lives, but God draws straight with crooked lines. Within covenant and communion, we have already overcome the wicked one. Sanctification is a process, but the battle is, in one sense, over.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” — 1 Peter 5:6-11

You can check it out and get the link from our Recommended Software List. Once you’ve installed it, this is to help you how to customize DOSBox so it doesn’t have an annoying console window running in the background, and set it up for your DOS games folder, so you don’t have to mount it every time.

Simply create a shortcut to the .exe file, and then right-click on the shortcut, select ‘Properties,’ and edit the end of the ‘Target’ entry to include -noconsole -c “mount c ‘c:\DOS Games\'”. Replace C:\DOS Games with whatever directory is your games folder.

Note that you will still need to mount C: first by typing “C:” without quotes and hitting Enter. It should already be in your DOS directory due to our above hack. To install a game, open the zip archive or folder and run setup.exe or any other setup file if there is one. If everything is already extracted and ready to rock, you can simply navigate to that folder from within DOSBox, and run the game executable (e.g. keen4.exe).

To control the game speed, Ctrl+F7/8 lowers and raises the Cpu Cycles, and Ctrl+F11/12 lowers and raises the Frameskip. For more help getting things running and learning commands, type “intro” without quotes into the prompt and hit Enter.

Happy DOS gaming!