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Thanks for reading!

A few months back my friend Laura wrote a post on her website called The Fear of Man vs. The Fear of God. In it she opens a window into her struggle with satisfying men instead of satisfying God. She brought it up again in a post yesterday and I thought I would toss my own hat in the ring with some thoughts. (Also, I’m a terrible person because I never commented on this before. Forgive me, Laura.)

First, a quote from Laura’s first post:

People-pleasers are bold, too, as long as everyone in the room agrees with them. People-pleasers do not, though, have true opinions of their own; their current view depends upon who has ‘gotten to them’ last. People-pleasers are never satisfied because they await the next thing that makes them feel like ‘part of the crowd.’

This is exactly the way I feel sometimes. I am willing to stand out on the ledge, so long as the ledge is big enough to hold several others that are out there with me. I feel like I’m rarely bold enough to throw my own opinion out there unless I know that there are others who agree with me. I’m not anxious to move out, draw fire and take the flaming arrows for unpopular ideas.

This affects me as a worship leader too. I want everyone to be happy with the music that we do, so I often tend to play it safe rather than push the envelope a little. While I do believe that I should never push for the sake of pushing, I do think that we should be a little uncomfortable. Comfort leads to complacency.

How do we get past this fear of man? Laura smacked this one out of the park:

Standing in awe of God, revering God, allowing God to take His proper place in our lives gives great freedom! Proverbs says that the fear of the Lord brings knowledge, strong confidence, and a fountain of life.

When our eyes are fixed on the One who gives us life, they can’t be drawn to those who suck the life out of us. Our focus should be on God and what God wants us to do. The people who sling the arrows aren’t responsible for what God has given us, we are! Only when we get those priorities straight can we really blossom into what we’re intended to be.

On a personal note, I’m glad that Laura put this out there. It’s tough to admit our failings in front of the world, but especially in front of our friends. As Christians we spend so much time trying to be perfect, so much energy trying to hide the dark side of ourselves, and we forget that there are probably others sharing that same struggle. We need more openness, more community, and less of the stained glass masquerade.

This year, I’m thankful for…

…my lovely wife. As we close in on 13 years of marriage, I find that I love you more than the day we met. You’re the most beautiful woman in the world, the greatest mother, and my best friend. I can’t imagine life without you. God truly blessed me with the perfect helpmate. You allow me to do so many things, and support me in every one of them. I love you twice as much as yesterday and half as much as tomorrow.

…my beautiful daughter Ashlee. As you grow much too quickly into a young woman, it is my honor to watch you blossom. I love it when you’re silly, and love it when you’re serious. You are such a sweet and loving princess. I love that God made you so much like me. You’re my snuggle buddy.

…my awesome son Alex. You’re so funny to watch hop around when you play video games. You get more exercise in 20 minutes of Lego Star Wars than you would in an hour on a bicycle. Your sweet heart is a gift from God that I treasure and try to handle with care. Keep being awesome.

… my angel girl Katie. What do I say about you? When God made you he broke the mold, then banished the mold maker. Your fierce determination is matched only by your immovable will. I can’t wait to see what you are going to grow up to be. Every morning you greet us with a smile brighter than sunshine, then wish us goodnight with a snuggle and laugh. Even though you were unexpected, I can’t imagine life without you.

… my little David. I still feel like I barely know you. Just six months into your life, you push on through all the annoyances of being the youngest sibling. Your mom and I know the feeling and we empathize with you. You’re going to be the fair haired, blue eyed child, totally different from the others. God put a cute bow on our natural family.

… my parents. You’ve always been patient with me, letting me go my way with suggestions, but never making demands. I know you don’t get to see your grandchildren as often as you would like, and I wish that I could change that. We may disagree sometimes, but you’ve never held my opinions against me. You’re generous, loving, understanding, and the best parents a child could ever wish for. You make it easy to follow the fifth commandment. I’ll always be indebted to you for making me who I am. I’ll always love you.

… my church family. What do I say to such a wonderful group of people? Even with my mistakes, foibles, lack of confidence, and overbearing opinions, you all accept me. I’m humbled that you allow me to be a worship leader week in and week out. I’m emboldened by the work that you all do on a weekly basis. I’m so blessed to be part of a church family that truly cares for each other and the community around us, whether that community be Anna, Honduras, Ethiopia, or beyond. My family and I are supported in ways that we’ve never really experienced, and blessed because of it. This last year has been such a ride and I can’t wait to see where we go from here.

… my job. At a time when so many people are out of work, I’m blessed to have the job that I have. What makes it even better is that I’m able to thrive and grow in my position. Sure, there are the times of drudgery and fixing things that someone else broke, but overall I can’t be more pleased. Ray, you are as generous as you are kind and my family can’t thank you enough each month for my paycheck.

… my Lord and Savior. As I move forward in life, I realize that I can’t do it without the strength I get from You. I learn more about my faith through school, but I truly grow when I spend time with You. I pray that everyday I learn from my mistakes and I am able to turn those mistakes into successes for Your glory. Keep me humble, no matter my position. Keep me always looking to You. Really, just keep me. Each day is one more day closer to eternity, and I hope that I’m doing everything possible with the time I have to advance Your kingdom. I know that it can only be done through You, but You’ve given me my gifts and my ministry. I lean on you for the results.

I’ve always loved old church buildings. There is just something about the smell, the atmosphere, the feeling that you get inside an old church, especially when you are alone inside the building.

I’ll always remember the church that I grew up in. It was a new building, at least compared to the buildings around it in the little town I grew up near. A friend of mine and I were the first babies baptized in the new church building in 1976. The sanctuary still has the same carpet, the pews are the same, nearly everything is original right down the the big iron bell out front. That congregation has stood in some form or fashion for 125 years.

My grandfather’s funeral a few weeks ago was held at the church my mother grew up in, where my grandfather was a deacon. It’s a much older, much bigger building, built in the 1920s. Like most buildings in Kansas, this church has a very large basement where I remember having 4H banquets, family gatherings, and visiting my grandmother when she was quilting with other ladies from the church.

I think this is the primary reason why I fall in love with old church buildings. Each one of them has a such a unique history. These buildings were the dreams of the congregations that built them, who poured blood, sweat, tears, and money into them, often sacrificially so. These buildings were where the community came together at least once a week to share their joys, their sorrows, and many times their food. These buildings held the dreams of parents who wanted to raise their children in a Christian environment. These buildings represent the starting line for couples who were married there, and the finish line for those whose lives are celebrated at funerals. These buildings are where people first come to know Christ, and where people grow in their knowledge of Him. These buildings are more than brick and mortar, wood and nails. These buildings are the heart of communities, the single strand around which everyone’s life intertwines. These buildings are built to be houses of worship, a place where we commune with God and with each other. These buildings are special.

Our church doesn’t really have that sense. We meet in an old bank building, which is nice, but it doesn’t have the history, the gravitas that a church building does. Our church is growing more rapidly than our building can hold us. It’s painful, difficult, and frustrating, but it is the situation that God has us in. However, because of the people in our congregation, our building is special. Our building is where we worship together. Our building is where we’ve had small groups meet. Our building is where we fellowship, enjoying each others stories and recipes. Our building is where people have been baptized, where people have accepted Jesus. Our building has been the starting point of service to our community. If and when we move out of this building, it will be missed.

I guess my point is that the church building is important, but yet it isn’t. The place where we meet is only as special as the people who meet there. The heart of the church isn’t the building, it’s the people and the faith we share that makes the building what it is. The old church building is a representation of the Christian heritage that we all have, a demonstration of the faith declared by those who came before us. Each building is infused with the memories, the joy, the pain, the laughter, and the tears of the people who have passed through it. When this is combined with the Spirit of God, these buildings transcend their earthly materials and become beacons of light that shine into the darkness of the world around us. The church building is special because the people of God are special.

That’s why I love old church buildings.

Conclusion

How can truth be known absolutely? How can one make the statement “there is no absolute truth” without it being absolutely true? This is the paradox of modern and postmodern thought. Absolute truth is true absolutely, with no exceptions.

Can someone claim to know God and yet adhere to postmodern thought? The subjective truth of postmodernism makes this a difficult claim. If God can change, then what would He change to? He could either change to be better or worse. If God changes to something better, that would imply that he was not the best previously.[1] This goes against what is said in John 3:31 which states, “(t)he one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all.”

Furthermore, if God cannot change for the better, can He change for the worse? For God to be worse than what he is would imply imperfection or the presence of evil in a being who is wholly good. God does not change. Psalm 102:26-27 says, “They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”[2]

This unchanging God strikes at the heart of postmodernist thought. How can truth be subjective and malleable if the author of truth, the one who created truth, is not? The answer is that truth does not change, that God holds the absolute truth.

There exists in the world today a war between cultures. This war is not new as it has been raging since the fall of humanity in the Garden of Eden. However, today this war is everywhere, prompting McGough to comment, “(t)o keep up with the ‘culture wars’…one would have to be omniscient, omnipresent, and awake 24 hours a day.”[3] There are so many fronts in this war that one cannot hope to fight on them all.

It is important to take up this battle, but in order to fight it one must first grasp the theology of the Christian faith. Without this knowledge it will be impossible to counter the cultural arguments of those who hold to postmodernism. This doesn’t refer to scholarly knowledge, but to general knowledge. Christians must know why they believe what they believe. I John 3:18-20 says “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”

The second weapon in this fight is knowing what exists in the culture around us. “Those who do not know their opponent’s arguments do not completely understand their own.”[4] This is not to say that Christians should immerse themselves in the world’s culture. Christians are called to be in the world but not of the world. Romans 12:2 speaks, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Third, when talking about “reaching” the lost in this culture, tactics must not take precedence over strategy. The church cannot focus on ways to bring the lost in to the church through worldly means. Christians must engage the worldview of a person with truth, or else the tactics will be seen as empty. Biblical truth contradicts cultural spirituality, “displaces it, refuses to allow its operating assumptions, declares it to bankruptcy.”[5]

Theology is crucial to the Christian walk. The church must not feel that they know something; they must think about it and know it. R.C. Sproul says, “(w)e live in a period that is allergic to rationality . . . (t)here is a difference between thinking and feeling.”[6] This battle is won by God, but the people of the church are the foot soldiers in the war. Christians must engage the culture without becoming enveloped by it. Knowledge of theology and the ability to apply it to the culture around us is a vital tool to reach the lost people of our contemporary society.

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[1] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1994), 168

[2] Ibid., 163

[3] McGough, A Field Guide to the Culture Wars, xiii

[4] Mitchell Young, Culture Wars (Farmington Hills, Michigan: Greehaven Press, 2008), back cover

[5] John Piper and Justin Taylor, The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2007), 38

[6] Sproul, Essential Truths of the Christian Faith, xvi

Current Worldviews

Studying Niebuhr’s types is important because it gives one a basic overview of how Christians react differently to the world around them. However, this only gives one a partial view of applying theology to culture. In addition to understanding how Christians respond one must also understand the issues that culture is facing. How does the culture think and what causes them to think that way?

There are a variety of worldviews that are present in this today’s society, but for the sake of focus and brevity, only two will be discussed. The most recent two large schools of thought have been modernism and postmodernism. Some argue that modernism has passed, supplanted by postmodernism. This view is even supported by the name “postmodernism” which literally means “after modernism.”

Modernism

First, what is modernism? Modernism rejected the certainty of Enlightenment thinking, along with the belief in a Creator. It saw society accelerating towards desctruction and meaninglessness, undermining much of the certainty in society.[1] This movement began the process of moving religion from part of everyday life to something more private, more out of public discussion.

The rejection of the supernatural caused people to look for scientific and rationalistic explanations for everything, though it held to the idea that one can know truth and that universal and absolute truth still existed.[2] However, the path for finding these truths moved from theology to the scientific method. Modernism gave rise to several different worldviews, including Darwinism, Marxism, fascism, socialism, communism, and theological liberalism.

Near the end of the 20^th century, modernism was on its way out, giving way to postmodernism. Most of the worldviews proposed by modernism had been found wanting and were discredited.[3]

Modernist Theology

Modernism affected theology as well. Some theologians who subscribed to modernistic theory began to view doctrine as secondary to culture. They sought to synthesize culture and doctrine together, believing that “doctrine was inherently divisive and a fragmented church would become irrelevant in the modern age.”[4] This gave way to a Christian pragmatism, allowing the results to justify whatever needed to be done. While the aim of the modernist theologians was to bring the church up to date with the culture, the movement opened the door to moral relativism and theological liberalism.

The modernist theology emphasized brotherhood and experience to the detriment of doctrinal differences, believing that doctrine should be “fluid and adaptable.” They wanted unity among the denominations and didn’t feel that theology was something worth fighting over. Many people during that time, including church leaders, ignored any kind of warnings about this kind of activity since it came from inside the church.[5]

Postmodernism

Postmodernism is defined as “any of a number of trends or movements in the arts and literature developing in the 1970s in reaction to or rejection of the dogma, principles, or practices of established modernism.”[6] Some view it as a replacement to modernism, while others state that it is an extension of modernism. Postmodernism differentiates itself from modernism by rejecting the idea that absolute truth exists or can be discovered. It represents a move from the rationality and scientific method of modernism to more irrational thinking and skepticism.

To the postmodernist, objectivity is an illusion, and anyone who speaks with conviction about a particular belief is considered arrogant and naïve. Postmodernism holds that everyone is entitled to their own truth.[7] Naturally, this goes against the theology of the Bible in which truth is absolute. Christ said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6, NKJV).

The Postmodern Church

In the church, postmodern thought has given birth to the Emergent church movement. One issue that some take with this movement is the abandonment of certainty, that doubt and skepticism are lauded as humility. John MacArthur writes, “The Emerging postmodernists have blurred the line between certainty and omniscience. They seem to presume that if we cannot know everything perfectly, we really cannot know anything with any degree of certainty.”[8]

MacArthur further points out that by undermining the certainty of truth, the postmodern church introduces doubt and qualms about every teaching of scripture. Any plainly stated convictions are taken as arrogance.[9]

Theology provides the surest way for Christians to contend with the culture. Any outside influence that seeps into Christian theology weakens the purity of the faith.[10]

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[1] eNotes.com, “Modernism: Introduction”; available from http://www.enotes.com/modernism/introduction; Internet; accessed 9 October 2009

[2] John MacArthur, The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007), 9

[3] Ibid., 10

[4] John MacArthur, Ashamed of the Gospel (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1993), xv

[5] Ibid.

[6] Random House, Inc., “Postmodernism”, available from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/postmodernism; Internet; accessed 9 October 2009

[7] MacArthur, The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception, 11

[8] Ibid., 22

[9] Ibid., 155

[10] R.C. Sproul, Essential Truths of the Christian Faith (Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, 199), 156

Niebuhr’s Five Viewpoints

Niebuhr discusses at length in Christ and Culture how Christians have and do interact with the culture they live in. These five viewpoints are summarized below:

Christ against culture

This viewpoint holds that Christ is the sole authority and that the Christian owes no loyalty to culture.[1] This has the effect of segregating the believer from culture, and making their Christian walk almost monastic. The Christian should hold no political office, not serve in any military capacity, shun philosophy and the arts, essentially remove themselves from any kind of public life. Niebuhr stated that “(t)he movement of withdrawal and renunciation is a necessary element in every Christian life, even though it be followed by an equally necessary movement of responsible engagement in cultural tasks.”[2]

Theologically, he points out that those with this view can often be accused of legalism and of neglecting grace in the Christian life. This can lead to the creation of rules which will overstep the saving grace of Christ.

Christ of culture

The second viewpoint Niebuhr explores is that of the Christ of culture, the view that while one considers one’s self a Christian, they still hold great allegiances to culture. These people “interpret culture through Christ” but “understand Christ through culture.”[3] Niebuhr compares those who hold this viewpoint to the early Gnostics, people who are trying to synthesize Christ with contemporary reason, philosophy, and science.

Like the Christ against culture believers, the Christ of culture adherents have issues associated with grace and sin, though typically on the other end of the spectrum. These believers think reason “the highest road to the knowledge of God and salvation.”[4]

Christ above culture

If the previous two viewpoints represent opposite ends of the spectrum, Christ above culture falls directly in the middle. This type represents the large center of Christianity. Rather than focusing on the struggle between Christ and culture, adherents appear to be more concerned with the relationship between God and man.[5] Thus, not much attention is paid to the issue of Christ versus culture. This does not mean that believers with this viewpoint do not hold to the authority of Christ, but simply that they don’t believe that Christ and the world can be opposed to each other. This is the synthetic view, which holds that one can live in both the Christian culture and the worldly culture at the same time. This person’s knowledge of the meaning of Christ differentiates him from the Christ of culture type, but his appreciation of culture separates him from the Christ above culture viewpoint.

The first issue with this type of belief is that this is a type of spiritual pragmatism where the ends justify the means. By synthesizing the two previous viewpoints, Christ above culture becomes a melting pot of everything. It inherits the problems with grace and sin, but includes a new problem of the institutionalization of the church, making something Christ freely did for all humanity more like a human achievement.[6] Niebuhr adds that throughout history, an adherent to this belief “tends to devote himself to the restoration or conservation of a culture and thus becomes a cultural Christian.”[7]

Christ and culture in paradox

To the believers in the paradox between Christ and culture, one cannot compare God and man, much less Christ and culture. While previous viewpoints hold human achievement in some regard, those who believe in the paradox “see that all their works and their work are not only pitifully inadequate, measure by that standard of goodness, but sordid and depraved.”[8] Thus nothing could redeem the culture except Christ, but Christ is not in the culture. The paradoxical believers typically consist of those who are worldly-minded but wish to acknowledge Christ slightly, or those who are radically pious and feel they owe some allegiance to culture.[9]

Christ transforming culture

The final viewpoint that Niebuhr expounds on is that of Christ transforming culture. These adherents have a decidedly more positive view of culture and tend to live more in the theological “now”, believing in what Christ can do to the culture. They have “a view of history that holds that to God all things are possible in a history that is fundamentally not a course of merely human events but always a dramatic interaction between God and men.”[10]

Why Christ and Culture?

The main point that Niebuhr makes is that Christians are constantly interfacing with the culture. Whether intentionally rejecting the culture and embracing faith, or embracing the culture and casually acknowledging faith, Christians are constantly in the trenches in the war with culture. Since this is the case, knowledge of theology is crucial. One must be able to apply theology to their culture, regardless of their particular viewpoint.

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[1] Ibid., 45

[2] Ibid., 68

[3] Ibid., 83

[4] Ibid., 110

[5] Ibid., 117

[6] Ibid., 147

[7] Ibid., 146

[8] Ibid., 152

[9] Ibid., 184

[10] Ibid., 194

History

The history of the modern Christian church begins with the story of Christ and the various accounts of work done by the apostles and other early teachers and missionaries. However, that history as recorded in the Bible ends in the first or second century after Christ’s ascension. As the church spread in the early world it encountered “three centuries of intermittent persecution, martyrdom, and extraordinary courage.”[1]

This early Christian culture had only the theology of the Old Testament to live by at the time. The fact that Jesus fulfilled the law and became the Messiah prophesied about in the Scriptures had not yet been set to written word. Paul’s writings became the basis of much of modern Christian theology. He was the first to declare for a universal and unified church that accepted non-Jews and practiced a universal doctrine.[2]

Early Christians had a broad affect on their culture. Nero blamed them for the burning of Rome.[3] Pliny discovered that the execution of Christians was having little effect on the growing sect, still considered by many to be a cult.[4] Christian martyrs were influenced by their Hellenistic counterparts in their willingness to die for a principle.[5]

During the late second century, a crisis occurred in the Roman Empire which seemed to bring Christianity into acceptance by the Roman citizens. The empire was under constant attack from invaders and common Roman beliefs were being questioned. The Christian tenets of loving and helping your neighbor brought many to think that the feud between Rome and Christianity was insignificant compared to the battle between the empire and invaders. Rather than being viewed as internal enemies, Christians helped to preserve the empire.[6]

During the same period, the theology of Christianity was beginning to integrate with mainstream Roman life. Theologians of the time put forward the idea that Christ’s role “was not to overthrow the empire but to be a teacher and healer” and to bring all previous philosophies and religions under one umbrella, resolving all their differences.[7]

Through the fall of the Roman Empire, the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, and into the Renaissance and the modern era, Christianity became a way of life, a civilization unto its own. The established church structures became the early civil structures in England and other European countries. The history of Christianity shows ebbs and flows of influence, but what was once considered a small Hebrew cult grew exponentially throughout the world.

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[1] Roger Osborne, Civilization (New York City: Pegasus Books, 2006), 113

[2] Niebuhr, Christ and Culture, 117

[3] Ibid., 116

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid., 122

[7] Ibid.

Thesis Statement

The clash between Christianity and culture has existed ever since the beginning of the church. Sometimes Christians have had great influence on the culture, other times culture has greatly influenced Christianity. This constant tug-of-war between faith and “the world” defines the struggle many people of faith face every day. A more thorough knowledge of theology as it pertains to these different areas of life can help everyone make headway against the contemporary culture that Christians face.

Introduction

It should be noted from the outset that this paper borrows its title from a chapter in Dr. H. Richard Niebuhr’s Christ and Culture. In his most famous work, Niebuhr outlines five different viewpoints of how Christians have interacted with the culture around them.[1] Each of the viewpoints given has strengths and weaknesses, but the book itself is a treatise on how Christians can apply theology to the culture every day. Niebuhr’s dedication to pursuing the connection between theology and contemporary culture is summed up in a quote from his obituary in 1962: “Let them orbit. Let them take their sins and their wars to other planets. We will have to ask the same theological questions no matter where we are in the universe.”[2]

How does theology wind its way into contemporary culture? Is theology something that should be left to the academics, authors, and pastors, or is it something that the lay person and even the unconverted can use in everyday life? Furthermore, can theology be used to combat the common views of the world, views that seem to line up with Christian faith, but may run contrary to it under the surface?

In contemporary culture, faith and religion have been pushed back from the public arena. In the last 50 years, what was once a public faith has now become a private matter. Contrary to that, Michael McGough states that “(m)ost battles in the culture wars are joined in the public square.” He adds that both sides of the battle attribute their views to belief in a higher power, making this a theological discussion.[3]

Culture and theology will always contrast each other, but the challenge to the Christ-believer is how to apply theology to contemporary worldviews. Throughout history that challenge has existed, sometimes under threat of violence. It has always been and will continue to be difficult to synthesize culture and theology. This paper will first explore historical viewpoints of theology and culture in order to give some background to the discussion. The remaining sections will discuss various aspects of modern theology and culture, attempting to show that theology can be impressed upon culture in a way that glorifies Christ.

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[1] H. Richard Niebuhr, Christ and Culture (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1951), these viewpoints will be discussed further in a later portion of this paper.

[2] “Rev. H. Richard Niebuhr Dead: Authority on Theological Ethics”, New York Times, 6 July 1962, sec. A, p. 25

[3] Michael McGough, A Field Guide to the Culture Wars: The Battle Over Values From the Campaign Trail to the Classroom (Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2009), 4

Over the next few days, I will be posting sections from my research paper for my Systematic Theology class at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. I’m pretty proud of this one. It is one of the few papers that I had done well before the due date, and because of this, I was able to let others read it before I submitted it. I owe each of them a debt of gratitude. You all helped me make this paper what it is, and I hope that you might be willing to do the same thing in the future. After all, I still have 87 more hours to go before I’m done.

The general idea of this paper was to show how theology is important to a contemporary worldview. I chose to center a great deal of the paper on H. Richard Niebuhr’s popular book Christ and Culture. This book is over 50 years old but still has some valuable insights into how Christians approach this issue. I read it last year and greatly enjoyed it. I recommend it to everyone, but it’s not an easy read.

I hope you enjoy the paper. I received an A on it and I do feel it’s one of the best things I’ve put to a computer screen. As always, your comments would be greatly appreciated.