Christianity is Unique

                                   
                                            "In Christ is hidden all the treasures and wisdom"

                                                                                                 ~ Colossians 2:3

                                                "For what accord has Athens with Jerusalem?"
                                                                                                ~Tertullian

                                                               "I say no to natural theology!"
                                                                                             -Karl Barth


I have studied Christian apologetics for over twenty-five years. I have studied apologetics at some of the leading Evangelical academic institutions in America and have given the defense of the faith a lot of thought. While this does not make me an expert on anything, I have pondered the veracity of Christianity and how to best elucidate the truthfulness of Christianity to the Church and the world with some degree of intellectual rigor.

There was a time in my life where I would have claimed to be an "evidentialist apologist." That is, I was under the assumption that the evidentialist approach to Evangelical apologetics was the most accurate and Biblically congruent approach to defending the faith out there.

However, as I had the opportunity to reflect and probe the concept of Christianity and the truth further, I have modified my approach to Christian Apologetics considerably. After reading some of Karl Barth's work against natural theology and contemplating some ideas I have found in the writings of the Reformed Presuppostionalist apologists Van Til and Bahnsen, I have come to develop ideas that are entirely antithetical to my former evidential approach to Christian Apologetics.

I now believe that Christianity is "Sui Generis." That is, I believe Christianity is a self-contained and unique philosophical system that has no rivals or comparisons in reality. I believe Christianity and God's revelation and self-disclosure of Himself in Christ crucified has no analogies in human reality. Thus, I believe Christianity is a unique epistemological and existential system that is entirely self-contained, self-authenticating and self-attesting. There is really nothing like it and I believe it is incongruent with God's unique revelation in Christ to somehow attempt to synthesize Christianity with the thought of Aristotle, Plato and other secular philosophers.

 What I mean by "self-authenticating" and "self-attestation," is that I believe God will make the truth of His revelatory self-disclosure of Christ crucified, (the apex of Christian revelation) known to those whom He has chosen. My view of epistemological self-authentication and self-attestation is directly tied to my Calvinistic and Augustinian view of divine election wherein God makes Himself known to the elect through His eternal decree and sovereign will

From time to time I will be developing my views on the uniqueness of Christianity and Christian apologetics here on this blog.

           

(Pictures from my walks around the Princeton University campus in recent days)

"The Paradigm of Praise"

By Lee Edward Enochs

“But God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified and I to this world” (Galatians 6:14).

In recent months I have been very forthright and diligent in electronically disseminating my aversion towards fundamentalist Evangelicalism through various modes of social media. I have also been very clear that I had a horrible time at a Southern Baptist school down in Texas. I think it is also clear that I see myself as a misfit and “Kurt Cobain type” alternative rebel within the context and confines of conservative American Evangelicalism.

Since last October, my blog has been read by over 10,000 people and have generated over 40,000 profile views on Google. In recent weeks close to a 1,000 people a week have been watching my iconoclastic videos I have posted on Facebook and elsewhere on the worldwide web. While these numbers are paltry in today’s social media obsessed world, I believe it is safe to say that I have established some sort of minor presence on the internet.

Yet, I am not satisfied with the strictly rebellious motif I have established for myself in certain circles. In fact, I am aghast that some people know me now as an incessant critic of American Evangelicalism and Southern Baptists. It actually pains me that I have positioned myself and am now characterized by some as merely a bitter critic.

This pains me because I believe I have so much more to give and so much more to say about Christianity and truth in American society.

While I do not want to be accused of formulating a form of Evangelical reductionism, wherein I truncate the majestic and vast themes of Scripture into a formulaic set of propositions, My locus classicus or primum argumentum scriptura (central doctrinal theme and primary argument from scripture), pertains to God’s self-disclosure and self-revelation of Himself in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. I believe all of life pertains to Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Rather than continuing to foster a reputation as an “Evangelical Bad Boy,” I want to be seen as a person that makes God in Christ known to humanity in a relevant and Biblical manner. I also believe that God and His inerrant and infallible Word are self-attesting and self-authenticating and need no external verification. I believe authentic and Biblical Christianity is sui generis (unique unto itself) and there is nothing in reality quite like God’s disclosure of Himself in the person and salvific and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. I want to be like the Apostle Paul who was determined not to know anything but Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2).

I want to somehow jettison and discard my bad boy reputation at times and promote a “paradigm of praise”(paradigma laudis). That is, I want to glorify God with every aspect of my being and make His kingdom and majestic glory known to all nations. I want to say with King Solomon of old, “That all the earth might know that the Lord is God there is no other” (1 Kings 8:60).

An Evangelical Appreciation of Karl Barth

I have had the opportunity to study at some of the leading Evangelical academic institutions in the United States. While most of my professors in these schools have been excellent practitioners of their theological craft, I find their knowledge of the propositional content of Karl Barth's teaching to be insufficient and lacking.

 My personal observation that many Evangelical Christians have been led to believe that Karl Barth was unequivocally a heretic and liberal theologian who led many people astray into false doctrine. However, the vast majority of Evangelicals have never read anything from Karl Barth himself. Most Evangelicals I have encountered have never read a book or even an excerpt of Barth's teachings, but merely parrot the widely disseminated and negative views about Barth and his theology they have heard in a piecemeal fashion from others.

Because of the massive impact that Karl Barth has made on Christian theology over the last hundred years, it is of paramount importance in the case of Karl Barth and his body of teaching, that we "examine everything carefully and hold fast to the truth" (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

I personally want to encourage my Christian friends to actually study the works of Barth themselves and not merely repeat the negativity about Barth they have heard from others.
I for one have found Barth to be very Christ-centered and Christo-centric at his doctrinal core and agree with Barth about the supernatural transcendence of God. I have come to respect Karl Barth and found him and his theological writings to be essential reading at this juncture of my personal studies.

The God of Endless Days

   " Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God."

                                                       ~Psalm 90: 2

    

One of the most profound truths of the historic Christian faith is that God is eternal (Deuteronomy 33:27). That means that God has always existed and there has never been a time when God has not been. Contrary to some people, God has existed for eternity and is an uncreated being. I agree with the following creeds:

The Apostles Creed

I BELIEVE IN GOD the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth.

I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended into Hades. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

The Nicene Creed

WE BELIEVE IN ONE GOD, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.

AND IN ONE LORD JESUS CHRIST, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

AND WE BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets; and we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.

The Chalcedon Creed

Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.

The Athanasian Creed

Whoever wills to be in a state of salvation, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith, which except everyone shall have kept whole and undefiled without doubt he will perish eternally.

Now the catholic faith is that we worship One God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding their Persons nor dividing the substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, another of the Holy Spirit. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is One, the Glory equal, the Majesty Coeternal.

Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit; the Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated; the father infinite, the Son infinite, and the Holy Spirit infinite; the Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet not three eternals but one eternal, as also not three infinites, nor three uncreated, but one uncreated, and one infinite. So, likewise, the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Spirit almighty; and yet not three almighties but one almighty.

So the Father is God, the Son God, and the Holy Spirit God; and yet not three Gods but one God. So the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord; and yet not three Lords but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by Christian truth to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be both God and Lord; so are we forbidden by the catholic religion to say, there be three Gods or three Lords.

The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not made nor created but begotten. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and the Son, not made nor created nor begotten but proceeding. So there is one Father not three Fathers, one Son not three Sons, and one Holy Spirit not three Holy Spirits. And in this Trinity there is nothing before or after, nothing greater or less, but the whole three Persons are coeternal together and coequal.

So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the trinity in Unity and the Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped. He therefore who wills to be in a state of salvation, let him think thus of the Trinity.

But it is necessary to eternal salvation that he also believe faithfully the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. The right faith therefore is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man.

He is God of the substance of the Father begotten before the worlds, and He is man of the substance of His mother born in the world; perfect God, perfect man subsisting of a reasoning soul and human flesh; equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, inferior to the Father as touching His Manhood.

Who although He be God and Man yet He is not two but one Christ; one however not by conversion of the Godhead in the flesh, but by taking of the Manhood in God; one altogether not by confusion of substance but by unity of Person. For as the reasoning soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ.

Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again from the dead, ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father, from whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies and shall give account for their own works. And that they have done good shall go into life eternal, and they who indeed have done evil into eternal fire.

This is the catholic faith, which except a man shall have believed faithfully and firmly he cannot be in a state of salvation.      

Trinitarian

In recent months I have done much to make my views known. The unfortunate thing about this is that the vast majority of my writings of late have been about what I disagree with more than what I agree with Christians about. I have become known in certain circles as a critic of Evangelicalism and the Southern Baptist Convention, but as much as I want to see definite change occur throughout American Evangelicalism and the SBC, I want to know God and give an accurate representation of who God is to contemporary postmodern society.

Once and for all, for the record and for the utmost clarity; I am a devout Christian. I make no apologies for my Christian faith. I believe in Jesus Christ with all my heart and I believe the Bible is the inerrant, inspired, infallible Word of God. I also believe that the Bible is our only authority, and while I strongly concur with the historic and ecumenical creeds of the Christian faith, my faith is predicated on God's Word alone.

I believe that salvation in Jesus Christ alone. I believe we are justified by God's grace alone, apart from human works or effort and I most definitely believe salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone and based exclusively on the Bible alone.

I also believe in the historic Christian doctrine of the Trinity that teaches that there is one God and in God exists three distinct persons who share the same spiritual essence, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I am very much a Trinitarian and believe in this aspect of Christian theology very much.

I am sorry if there is any confusion out there about what I believe. I need to do better at promoting my Christian faith to this lost world.

For the record and with boldness and agreement with the historic Christian Church, I believe in Jesus Christ.

On those 21 Coptic Christians Killed by ISIS

   I have very little time to write on this today. I am so busy with grad school and my job that I often do not have time to edit these blog posts and that bothers me.

 I had planned on writing some more on why I think Rob Bell is needed in American Evangelicalism today, but my conscience is very bothered and my heart is heavy about those 21 Coptic Christians who murdered by ISIS the other day.

You see as a Libertarian, I have major problems with American intervention in the affairs of a sovereign nation. I do not like government intrusion in my life or any other life for that matter. I do not believe the 2003 invasion of Iraq was morally justified. 

I recently read a peer reviewed report put out by John Hopkins University that states that over 900,000 Iraqi citizens were killed by America in that last campaign and it greatly outrages and sickens me. Because of this, I do not want to see us fight any more unjust and unnecessary wars for oil profit again.

Having said this, I am not a pacifist and do believe there will be times where the United States will have to defend herself and her allies. After much contemplation and internal dialog with myself over this issue. My conscience is bothered by what ISIS is doing and now believe we must go after them with everything we have. We must now crush ISIS to spare human lives. It is that simple. 

My heart is saddened by the great loss of life ISIS is causing in the Middle East and believe we have no other recourse but to end their reign of terror immediately. I now stand behind President Obama and the US Congress and pray that we go after ISIS will full force and bring them to justice at once.

I am writing this out of love for the 21 Coptic Christian brothers who were killed recently by ISIS and for the other people were murdered by this heinous group. It is time to light them up like the 4th of July. Let justice be swift.

Deconstructing Evangelicalism

"If anyone is in Christ, he (or she) is a new creature, old things have passed away, behold new things have come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

In recent months I have been asked why I blog and post so many videos. I guess that is a fair question. Here is why.

I have been part of American Evangelicalism for almost three decades. I have attended some of the most prominent Evangelical megachurches and academic institutions in America. During my almost thirty year sojourn in American Evangelical Christianity, I have seen some grave weaknesses that threaten to make Evangelicalism irrelevant as a spiritual and theological force in America. Because of these weaknesses, I believe I am obligated to do all I can do to right my own ship and proclaim the gospel in a relevant and Biblical manner. My main goal is to clear the American cultural landscape of unnecessary baggage that women and men may hear the Gospel with clarity and come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

An inherent presupposition of historic Christianity is that Christ has come to redeem humanity and set things right on this earth. While this has not happened yet in totality, we Christians concur with the Apostles Creed that Jesus will return to judge the living and dead and impart life everlasting to the redeemed. Through faith in Christ and His salvific work upon the cross we have the promise of our own salvation and the ultimate restoration of this fallen creation.

The world we live  is fallen. The evidence of this inherent fallen condition is all around us. There is much evil and suffering in this world. Our daily newspapers and news broadcasts report to us the radical nature of evil in everyday life on an instantaneous basis. As Christians who have been given the Gospel of life, we have a divine mandate and ethical obligation to proclaim the way out of this fallen situation. Because of the utmost seriousness and gravity of humanity’s predicament, I have chosen to post my thoughts on this blog. Christianity is of great importance to me. As the Apostle Paul said, “Christ is our life” (Colossians 3:4) and, “I am determined not to know anything among you but Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Because of the seriousness of the current situation in this world, I have chosen to rebel against status quo Evangelicalism and the archaic fundamentalism and cultural backwardness inherent in the Southern Baptist Convention. I am now arguing for what I call, “Neo-Reformationalism,” a movement of historic and contemporary Protestant and Evangelical Christianity that respects the doctrinal verities of the past but jettisons all the cultural baggage and garbage so rampant in Fundamentalist Evangelicalism. I am calling for a new Reformation within American Evangelical Christianity. I am calling for the complete deconstruction and reconstruction of Evangelicalism. I want to see the old things pass away and new things come.

So, I guess I am doing all that this to rock and sinking ship of American Evangelicalism, that many may come to know Christ.

Why the Evangelical Church Needs Rob Bell

   Former Mars Hill pastor Rob Bell has made international news again recently while expressing his views on same sex relationships and how he believes the Evangelical church is "moments away from accepting gay marriage."

While I am not sure what to think about gay marriage from a theological perspective, as a Libertarian who believes that all Americans should have the same basic rights safeguarded to us by the US Constitution, I generally concur with Bell on this matter.

I think the gay marriage issue in America is a moot point and will be the law of the land  after the US Supreme Court decided upon it this year.

My basic position on gay marriage is that I am very much for a small and limited government that does not intrude on our personal freedoms. I also do not believe the government should try to interfere with how consenting adults choose to express their love for one another. I do not want the government sticking it's nose and long arm into my pocketbook and bedroom and want to afford that same right of privacy and human autonomy to every single American irrespective of their gender identity and sexual preference.

I know full well that my view is controversial within American Evangelicalism. Trust me. I know full well. Almost every day over the last four months I have received a phone call or email from an outraged Evangelical or fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor over my views, and have had ample time to think my views over.

I agree with Rob Bell that the gay marriage issue is a done deal in America and will be the law of the land.

While I do not agree with Rob Bell on every issue, such as his views on hell and the afterlife, I respect his boldness and willingness to take risks. I also love Rob Bell's creativity and innovative manner in the way he communicates his views. I love how Rob Bell wants to be relevant to contemporary secular culture, a big aim of my own.

I also agree with Rob Bell, that all too often, Evangelicals have been mean spirited and have turned away secular people from the church and this is very unfortunate. I am not sure if this is what Jesus would do.

I believe American Evangelicals need Rob Bell, but are they willing to listen?

Creeds and Confessions

 Recently I have been challenged by many Evangelical pastors and other self-appointed fundamentalist gatekeepers to "return back to the Christian faith." I am not sure how to respond to this constant nagging, since in my estimation, I have never left the historic Christian faith. I believe in all the historic and ecumenical creeds and confessions of Christianity. I believe in the Trinity, justification by grace alone and all the other essential doctrinal truths of Evangelicalism as well. 

I am not sure what more I can say folks. I believe in Christ and hold to all the Creeds and Confessions of Christianity. I believe in Jesus and like to play the devil's advocate most of the time. If you do not know that I am goofing around most of the time with these wild posts and videos, I suggest you stop your self-mortification and self-mollification and enjoy life a little more. Try having fun and stop sucking the marrow of humor out of life, it's very dull.

I Heard the Virgin Weeping

 After I was told I could never return to my alma mater, I went back home to Southern California. There I sought healing in the mystical waves south of Big Sur that crashed against the majestic shores of the land that I love more than life itself.

While walking from my friend's apartment to the beach at Costa Mesa, I stumbled upon a rosebush encrusted  labyrinth by an ancient Roman Catholic chapel. While it took me a while to reach the end of the maze, I finally reached its culmination. There at the end of this rose garden stood a statue of the blessed Virgin Mary.

For a hour or more I sat on a bench near her statue weeping. I wondered within myself what I had become and why I had stood against all the sin, odd teaching, nepotism and hypocrisy at my Southern Baptist school. I wondered within myself and asked why I had become this brazen rebel, this forever vigilante. I wept for what seemed like days.

 Then in the bitter distance, in that ancient asylum, I thought I heard a woman's voice. There in my darkest hour, I thought I heard the Virgin Mary crying. When I drew closer to the statue I realized that it was not a representation of the Virgin, but it was in all actuality a bleeding gargoyle!

 And I was wrong! It was not weeping, but merely laughing. Yes, the statue, a figment of my fertile imagination, was laughing at me. So, I kicked it over and went on my merry way.

And with that one, final act of defiance, I joined  Friedrich Nietzsche and all those who smash ideological idols in this postmodern world...

I Still Believe

Dear Family and Friends,

I have went through a lot of storms in recent months, but I still believe. Yes, through the storms and through the trials, I still believe in Jesus Christ and every aspect of the historic Christian faith once and for all given to the saints. Despite all I have been through, I still believe. I am a true believer in Christ and His cross, to which I cling to now. I am taking a break today, but I wanted to let you know I am a Christian and I still believe...

The Apostle's Creed

I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:

And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:

Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell: The third day he rose again from the dead:

He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:  From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:  I believe in the Holy Ghost: I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints: The forgiveness of sins: The resurrection of the body:  And the life everlasting. Amen. 

They Looked Right Through Me...

I receive emails from pastors and other concerned Evangelicals and fundamentalists on a daily basis. Most of these emails are hate mail, but some of it encourages me to return to their version of Christian fundamentalism. To which I reply, why would I want to be part of a church movement that never cared about me or gave me an opportunity to use my gifts in the first place? This video sums of up my life in Evangelical and Southern Baptist Christianity. Everyone looked right through me and never gave me the time of day. I was hated, mocked and left of dead. Why would I want to be part of that again?

Contra Fundamentorum

 (Towards Building a Post-Fundamentalist Evangelicalism)

by Lee Enochs

Princeton, New Jersey

 "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace" (Romans 11:6).

 The recent dizzying and meteoric rise of Grammy Award winning R & B singer Sam Smith has inspired me to write this treatise. You see, for many years I have been hindered and held back from maximizing my potential and from expressing myself by self-appointed fundamentalist gatekeepers within American Evangelicalism and the Southern Baptist Convention dominated world I lived in.

That a talented artist like Sam Smith can rock the media establishment and rocket to success and fame without being ambiguous about his sexuality, gives me hope that I too can make a difference in society. For the record, for protest purposes, I do not choose to define my sexuality. If that bothers you, maybe you might want to stop reading this at this point.

For most of my life I have had a tremendous interest in Christian theology but was not able to do much with my interest because I did not conform to some sort of imaginary standards of acceptance within the conservative and fundamentalist Evangelical circles that I found myself trafficking in.

At one time I did not know that a world actually existed outside of my small fundamentalist Christian circles. For years I felt trapped and hemmed in by this religious tradition. I felt I was in sort of an existential and theological dungeon. That is, until the light of God’s revelation and a little help from the important 20th century theologian Karl Barth broke through.

While I often wanted to die or just slip away from it all, somehow God keep me from just disappearing from it all. While my Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christian heritage saw Karl Barth as a heretic, I found him to be a prophet that spoke to my very soul. I learned a brand new weltanschauung or worldview from Barth that all of life is to be “Christocentric,” that is, all of human existence and reality is to be predicated upon Jesus Christ and His redemptive work on the cross.

Like Karl Barth and Martin Luther, I believe salvation is entirely outside of ourselves (extra nos) and that we need the "alien righteousness" (alien iustitiam) of Christ to be imputed to us by God's grace alone.

Like Immanuel Kant upon reading David Hume or Karl Barth, who received a cataclysmic epiphany of grace while studying the Apostle Paul’s epistle to the Romans, I have been awakened from the dogmatic slumbers of fundamentalist Evangelicalism to a new and better way.

You see, for most of my life, I was the “nerd” that sat in the corner or in the back of most pragmatism and consumer orientated Evangelical churches, camp meetings and classrooms. I was held back by everyone and treated like an animal by most. When I did try to speak or express some sort of sentient thought, I was immediately rebuffed and silenced by these self-appointed fundamentalist gatekeepers I mentioned before.

Although I went to many of the leading Evangelical and Southern Baptist schools, I was discouraged from expressing originality and creativity at every turn. I also saw this Evangelical and Fundamentalist world repress and discourage women and LGBT Christians from being part of the conversation, and this loveless dogmatism crushed my very spirit.

After decades of conformity to imaginary standards by self-righteous and spirit-squelching Evangelical fundamentalists, I have chosen to go another way. I have chosen to actually live. I have seen that there is more to life than going on petty little crusades against gays, lesbians and transgendered people. I have found that life in Christ does not consist of spending every weekend with a bullhorn in your hand, shouting down women in front of pregnancy centers. I wasted decades of my life being part of and trying to defend an indefensible form of Christianity that made little impact and contributed absolutely nothing of positive benefit to society.

I am looking to establish a post-fundamentalist Christianity that believes in the authority of the Bible and primacy of Jesus Christ above all things. I see a place for women, gays, lesbians and transgendered people in the church. I also see a place for the outcast and creative loner who believes in equal rights for all, social justice, economic equality and environmental concerns.

The “nerd” who very few people paid attention to is now speaking for full inclusion for people of all nationalities, genders and sexualities in the life of American Christianity. The person that everyone looked right through is now speaking out for a new form of Christianity. I am now arguing for something different than the fundamentalism (Contra Fundamentorum) I saw in my Southern Baptist and Evangelical world I was repressed in. I am now looking for a new and living way.

Like Bono crooned in one U2's famous songs, "I still haven't found what I am looking for," until then, it is me against the world (me contra mundi).

On Rethinking Everything

  Contrary to public perception, I am in all actuality a withdrawn introvert. That may come as sort of a enigma to some who witnessed my recent prodigious technological outpouring. While it is true that I have made a lot of videos and posted a lot on this blog, I have done so mainly, not to inform or entertain others but to help me rethink and reconsider my positions. If I had it my way, I would immediately abandon American academia, politics and theology and again become a recluse on an uninhabited part of the Hawaiian Islands or dwell in a little abode on the coast of my beloved California.

 In fact, I have spent much time in contemplative solitude on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii and lived for over twenty years near the beach in Orange County, California in thought and contemplation. I crave solitude and contemplation above everything else. I think I would go back to this way of life if it were not for a conflicting tendency within myself to somehow justify my nomadic existence to the external world. I am a deeply scarred and flawed individual who has been burned by the Southern Baptist Convention and American Evangelicalism and cannot tolerate much religious absurdity, so I like to contemplate things on my own.

Part of the reason for my desire for solitude pertains to my inherent contrarian and iconoclastic tendencies. I generally question everything irrespective of the setting and context. If I am in a conservative school or church, I will more than likely tend to ask questions from a liberal perspective. On the flip side, if I am in a more liberal or progressive academic or ecclesial context, I attempt to formulate questions from a more conservative perspective. I do not like to be defined or hemmed in by anyone or anything. Above everything, I crave autonomy and freedom from conformity. I realize now that I agree with Socrates who said, "The un-examined life is not worth living."

I have a confession to make. I want to become a Stanley Kubrick type individual. A reclusive artist who keeps to himself or herself until they find a need to pop up and express their creativity or opinions to the world. I realize that I am not a good leader of people but I do have a few things of worth to say on occasion. I am now studying on the east coast to explore some significant theological and political issues that I have been thinking and rethinking for many years. I need to blog and shoot videos far less and take advantage of the tremendous resources now at my disposal. I know, deep down inside, that the day will come that I will bemoan my lack of appropriation of the incredible libraries here in the Princeton area.

Thus, I want to communicate to anyone out there who may be a regular reader or viewer of my blogs and videos that I plan to do that less and study more. I need to rethink my positions and use these great resources more. So, if I do not blog or vlog as much, don't worry, I am more than likely still there, but studying in some dank and musty library, longing to be on the Northern Shore...

The Power of One Single Photograph

 
When I was still very young I saw a picture of the late Senator Bobby Kennedy on the campaign trail. I am not sure where I saw it, but I must have been five years old. Since this time, the memory of this photograph and Bobby's zeal for change has been burred indelibly in the splinter of my minds eye. The picture captures the youth, fire and passion of a young man who believed he could still make a difference in this world. I know I will never be a "Bobby Kennedy." I know this, but I still believe. I am a still a true believer. I still believe that one single person can change the world and effect positive good in this world. I still believe, that despite trials and circumstances, I too can change the world.

So, to my critics out there who want me to shut up and just go away, to you I laugh and say, I have just begun to fight...

Should America Torture Her Prisoners?

                                                     Lee Edward Enochs
                                                      The Princeton Conservative Club

                                                     
As a busy graduate student in Princeton, New Jersey, I am finding that it is all to easy to fall into the  a form of cultural solipsism, a worldview or weltanschauung, wherein I believe that I and my immediate academic concerns are all that matter. However, in diametrical counter-distinction to this inward leaning tendency, reality conclusively demonstrates that life goes on with or without me.

With this in mind, I know that the external world and its myriad of issues exists outside of academia and as a fully engaged person, following in Socrates' maxim that "the unexamined life is not worth living," I must by necessity examine, critique and come to some resolution about the issues facing contemporary Western society.

One of the most relevant issues facing citizens living within the North American hemisphere and Western Europe pertains to the subject of torture, which by definition is the; "Infliction of severe physical pain as a means of punishment or coercion."

Throughout the annals of human history, individuals and governments have used torture as a method of either punishing persons for alleged crimes of offenses or as a means of extracting information from a person allegedly in possession of certain information or objective content.

Traditionally, Americans have looked down upon the use of torture as a punitive or information extracting procedure based on their apparent incongruence with Judeo-Christian principle and with seeming unethical nature of such a practice.

However, many Americans might be horrified to discover that the United States has participated in the practice of torturing prisoners to extract information. As recently as the response to the 9/11 attacks and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, America was involved in torturing individuals.

A couple of months ago, the US Senate released a report detailing how American operatives performed waterboarding on terrorism suspects. This report also illustrates how these suspects were tortured until their abdomens were distended. They were also deprived of sleep as long as 180 hours, hung from ceiling shackles for as long as 22 hours in a day and subjected to the inhumane practice known as "rectal feeding."

This seems utterly unconscionable to me. I cannot believe that Americans would resort to the barbaric practice of torturing people and believe this has more in common with Nazi Germany than a country that produced the noble likes of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr.

I for one am against the practice of torture for any reason and believe that these alleged terrorist "suspects" should be tendered the same constitutional rights afforded to any person adjudicated by the US justice system. Just because these alleged terrorist suspects were captured during a time of war and are not in fact, US citizens, does not lend credibility to the argument that could be treated with such inhumanity.  I do believe the Bill of Rights' 8th Amendment to the US Constitution clearly addresses the issue of "cruel and unusual punishments."

As a Libertarian American, I have grown tired of the growing coercive power of the State and believe the practice of torture should be eliminated outright immediately and relegated to the barbaric age from whence it came.

Libertarian to the Core

   Clearing up some Misconceptions 

   In recent weeks I have received a lot of emails from friends and others who have expressed major concerns to me. Many of these individuals have articulated to me that they think I have abandoned my Christian faith for some sort of form of liberalism. Time after time and email after email, these concerned people have implored me to "return back to the Christian faith."

I have heard you folks, I have heard you. I have done a very poor job of expressing myself of late. I want to set your mind at ease, I have not departed from Christianity. I have not left the American Conservative movement either. I am sorry I have said things that could be misconstrued. I will attempt to express my views better.

I am definitely as conservative as ever and want to least amount of government interference and intrusion in my personal life, period.

I retract anything that may have led to the impression I have gone over to a collectivist or socialist position. I apologize if my many blogs and videos have led to ambiguity.

School Comes First

   Recently, I had the opportunity to go over my grades from last semester. While I did not tank out completely and received a cumulative grade point average of over 3.0 for my first semester, I could had done much better. While it was my initial semester, I am not disheartened about my current academic status and progress back here in New Jersey.  While It took a while for me to get used to a different culture and ethos here on the East Coast, I know I could do far better than I did and need to step up my game if I have any hope of getting in a good Ph.D program after I complete this master's  degree. I need to be more organized and manage my time better. I know that I need to blog, vlog and podcast far less and focus on my academics.

Saying No to Rick Perry's Foolish Presidential Aspirations

Recently, I read an news article that reported that former three-term Texas Governor Rick Perry is all but decided to run for the GOP Presidential nomination next year. While I am a Republican who spend close to a decade down in the Lone Star State, I do not believe Perry has what it takes to be the Republican nominee, nor is he what America needs at this particular juncture in our storied nation's history. 

Don't get me wrong, I personally  like Rick Perry. I think he is good at what he does; rallying and galvanizing conservatives around particular issues such as Immigration and States' Rights. However, as his much befuddled and weak attempt at winning the Republican nomination the last time demonstrates, you must be more than a one-trick pony to play in the big leagues. Unfortunately, Rick Perry has demonstrated conclusively that he will never be a ready for prime-time player.

In fact, it is often very painful to see Rick attempt to articulate his views and he often losing his place while doing so. I am not sure why he thinks he can be better this time. While Rick has a conservative state and much money behind him, I am just not convinced he is capable of the job.

Will some better candidates for the Republican nomination for President please stand up?

Thoughts on the Brian Williams Scandal

                                          "Dude, I don't remember you being on that helicopter at all."

                                                            

By Lee Edward Enochs

Host, "The Lee Enochs" Show" (America"s Most Controversial Podcast).

For my video response to the Brian Williams scandal, see: 

 https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10205109814372721&pnref=story

Since I have been going to grad school in Princeton, New Jersey, deeply embedded on the progressive East Coast, I have eviscerated aspects of American conservatism in my blogs, videos and podcasts and largely left progressive politics in America alone. This changes today.

Last week, I posted a video where I took the movie, "American Sniper" to task for seemingly glorifying  what I believe to be two unjust wars that ultimately causing the vacum that ISIS emerged from and two wars that greatly drained the US economy. I do not regret skewering "American Sniper," but I am horrified that some thought I was mocking the late Army sniper Chris Kyle. If  I did, I repent in sackcloth and bitter ashes, because I love the United States of America, the US Military and our servicemen and women who have fought for our country. Today, my exclusive critique upon aspects of American conservatism ends. Today, I begin my role as an equal opportunity offended and defender of both the right and left of the American political perspectives. For both sides of the political perspective have both good and bad to say and do for America.

As a libertarian with an increasingly independent streak, I see just as many problems with conservatism and I do liberalism in America. I also see major problems with the media elite in this country which often openly mocks and disdains conservatives and their cherished beliefs.
This whole ordeal with Brian Williams troubles me since he recounted a dramatic story that he had bravely survived a downed helicopter which came under heavy fire on March 24, 2003, during the U.S. Invasion of Iraq.

After being skewered by the very helicopter crewman Williams dishonestly said he had been with during this event, of which one crewman said, "dude, I don't remember you being there,'" Williams finally owned up to the fact he lied about the whole matter and that he was never in fact on on of the helicopter that came under fire.

Ouch....

Some of my more progressive friends may think this is ultimately not a big deal and that I am over-blowing this Williams ordeal. Nothing can be further from the truth. In good conscience, as a budding commentator on American politics and current events, I cannot hypocritically turn a blind eye to the true fact that Williams has participated in an over a decade long self-aggrandizing tour and personally enriched himself at the expense of the real servicemen who bravely endured this downed military helicopter.

One can only hope that electronic pundits such as Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Bill Maher, Jon Stewart and Chris Matthews will verbally skewer Williams as they normally do conservatives.
With laser light intensity, the b.s. and platitudes for Williams' mea culpa need to be cut through and shredded, since he only came forth and admitted, his often repeated lie because he got caught and exposed as a shameless fraud by the very servicemen who is said he risked his life with.

As a person who spent close to a decade in the Bible Belt where conservatism, patriotism and traditional family values are eviscerated by the secular news media and Hollywood, Williams' admission to false war glory is not going over well and will not let him off the hook ever. His credibility has been demolished and he probably needs to step down as the anchor and visible face of NBC's nightly news.

One can only hope that the cast of SNL will trash and skewer Brian Williams for his fraudulent self-glorification as they do almost every public conservative in this country. I for one would like that late night comedy troupe declare, "Live from New York, it's Brian Willams, the debonair news anchor, who lied his arse off to get rich and famous at the expense of the American military that he and his fellow news people often undermine and criticize."

Why NBC's Brian Williams Must Resign

                        The NBC Nightly News Anchor Lied for Many Years About Major Event

Breaking News!  This is just in! NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams blockbuster confession that he was not in fact aboard a helicopter that was hit and forced down by rapid RPG fire during America's invasion of Iraq in 2003. This is sensational news since Williams has a reputation as a brave man with the utmost integrity. However, his entire account was a fabricated lie that has been repeated and hyped to legendary status by NBC for over a decade.

Please see this NPR report on this major issue involving Brian Williams:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/02/04/383877548/nbcs-brian-williams-admits-his-helicopter-took-no-fire-in-iraq

This is very similar to Hilary Clinton's claim that she came under direct gunfire in Bosnia when she did not in fact under go anything close. Some are calling for Williams to resign due to his blatant dishonesty regarding the event. What is even more glaring is that Williams' was compelled to confess this lie due to an actual soldier who was in fact in downed helicopter.

Williams probably should resign his post as the anchor of NBC news since his credibility has been eviscerated and based largely on his legendary participation in a war event that did not in fact occur anything like what Williams said took place in 2003. 

On a personal note, this greatly bothers me because there are many true war heroes that never get proper credit. This is simply not cool and reminds me of a certain swift boat officer who may or may have overstated his service record during Vietnam.

I spend a lot of time criticizing conservatives on this blog and my podcasts, but I will not undermine the service record of our American soldiers. Many liberals in the news media criticized our involvement in Iraq. Williams must know that his credibility has been demolished by those who love and respect the American military. 

Why Lance Armstrong Needs to be Banished from the Island of Humanity

This dude needs to detox from self-worship 

As the euphoria of one of the best Super Bowl's dies down, I would like for us to make mention, ever so briefly of disgraced doper and cyclist Lance Armstrong's most recent lapse of morality (As though he had a conscience).

Armstrong is now due in criminal court upon being accused of leaving the scene of accident and crashing into two parked cars while driving under the influence. While this is very bad, what is worse and demonstrates clearly that Armstrong, 43, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles for blatant and unrepentant doping, instructed his girlfriend to tell the police that she was the one driving. 

The brazen doper dude faces a fine and up to 90 days in prison if prosecuted and convicted of leaving the scene of an accident, causing an accident and driving as too much of an accelerated speed in the snowy conditions of Aspen Colorado. 

                                                          Get a grip on life bro 


It must be nice that the very rich and disgraced Lance Armstrong can still be a socialite and use his ill-gotten gain to hang out in such lofty places as Aspen. However, what is not nice or cool is that he allowed his girlfriend to take the heat for his own bad decisions. 

Yet, this is clearly a pattern for Lance Armstrong, who fell from grace in 2012 and stripped of all his celebrated Tour de France victories. He was also banned from competitive cycling for life by the US Anti-Doping Agency upon admitting he doped and perpetuated a climate of deceit and fraud throughout the sport of cycling.

What is even worse than all of the doping issues surrounding Lance Armstrong, is that he was vindictive in warding of his accusers and even attempted to have those who accused him of illegal doping prosecuted by the criminal system. 

Clearly there are issues in Armstrong's life. I do not if there is a special island that Lance can be sent to. But this dude needs to do penance for the multitude of his social transgressions and wake up from the stupor of his own self-worship.  

Time to take a break

It's time to take a break from theological debate and controversy. I need to seek God and let the dead bury their own dead.