Love God - Love Your Loved Ones Less

Yesterday, my brother shared an article on Facebook concerning Evangelical pastor Francis Chan's challenge for Christians to stop idolizing their family and put Christ's mission first. He asked for his readers' thoughts. After perusing the article, I wrote:

"A: Chan believes anyone who does not "have a relationship" with his god will be tortured for eternity by said god - so out the gate, I am convinced that his view of god is going to be harmful to humanity. Ergo any thought he has to add about how a believer should go about spiritual pursuits, in my view, is going to be highly suspect.

B. Chan is encouraging you to put the most important relationships of your life on the back burner so you can go out and... well, at this point it gets vague... be radical, and all out, and live over the edge! This too will probably end badly. Not for Chan, Chan will get awesome book deals and speaking engagements out of this. He will get lots of perks.

The followers of Chan? Not so much. They will probably mess up relationships, wax and wane between guilt and euphoria until something gives, and make a lot of financial and life decisions with no more consideration than a role of the dice.

My challenge to Christians... stop idolizing... period."

Then this morning, I read an article by Libby Anne over at Love, Joy, Feminism, where she shared about growing up with that evangelical mindset of near paranoia about making sure everything and everyone in your life was undervalued when compared to God.

"I also remember worrying that I loved my family more than I loved God. I was taught that this was wrong—that it made my family idols. I felt so conflicted over this, and purposed time and again to love God more than I loved my parents or siblings."

Reading both of those articles made me reflect on how real that topic was to me growing up. I regularly saw folks give up various past times and pleasures because they were concerned these things were becoming an "idol" in their life. I many times abandoned enjoyments, passed on opportunities, or sabotaged relationships because I thought these things would "hinder my walk with God". Jesus needed to be ultimate (whatever that meant) and nothing could even be a close second.

One of the musical heroes in my circles growing up was named Keith Green. I lived and worked at Green's ministry for 6 months when I was 18.  He wrote a song where he pointed out that everything in his life took 2nd place to Jesus. Keith speaks of his marriage in this way:

"As I told her when we wed, I'd surely rather be found dead, than to love her more than the one who saved my soul."

There was a time when I heard that song and that line and felt it was a powerful testimony of dedication to Jesus - now I see it as a dysfunctional mess.

Imagine a husband insisting to his wife that she love him more than the children. Contemplate what kind of mother would tell a daughter that, if the daughter loved her brother more, then the daughter was unworthy of her mother's love.

Does any reasonable person consider this jealous, competitive perspective in any way loving?

My Journey to Atheism - Part 2

Here is part 2 of my discussion with my brother about leaving the faith. We talk about why I couldn't stop at Agnosticism and what effect this all had on my family. If you haven't listened to Part 1 yet, you can find it here:  Part 1

My Journey to Atheism - Part 1

I want to recommend to you my brother's podcast. Steve is a Christian believer whose faith journey has led him to ... more open pastures ... in the past half dozen years. Steve and I have both gone through a lot of changes over our decades as brothers, but no matter where we were politically, philosophically, or religiously, we have always managed to have excellent dialogue. One reason is because Steve, at his core, is a great conversationalist and that really comes through in the podcast. Be it discussions of faith, stories from his month long walk on the Camino de Santiago, or opinions about the latest Star Wars movie, his new podcast has proven to be a worthy listen on my list.

In his latest episode, Steve interviews me about my journey from a life of faith to atheism. We talk about Hell theology, life among the Mormons, and how Evangelicals respond to diversity.  We had a great conversation, in fact, it lasted over 2 hours. So Steve split it in half and this is part one. Enjoy!

In Defense of the Smartwatch

When the Apple watch was first coming out, I remember an Apple friend of mine arguing on Facebook that there was no point to it.  In fact, he felt that watches in general were passé. Why wear a watch when you have a phone in your pocket?

I couldn't disagree more.  I started with my first smartwatch back in the mid 90s.  I had a Timex Datalink watch which housed my contacts, tasks, and calendar from my computer. In transferred the information by flashing lines across the screen which the watch read with an "eye" on the watch face. This was before anyone was carrying around a Palm Pilot.

Admittedly, PDAs and smartphones seemed to remove the need for a smartwatch.  Once I started carrying a Palm, the need to export my information to my watch seemed redundant.  However, the smartphone added a whole new layer to the personal assistant experience, and I find that a smartwatch really allows one to better use all the functions of their phone.  Let me list the ways my smartwatch makes my life easier.  I have a Samsung Neo Gear 2.

• Texting - I do not need to fish my phone out of my pocket to see a text or respond to it.  Sure, for longer responses I do.  But often, I am in a meeting or in class and can look at my watch and reply with a number of pre-set responses like yes, no, or I'll text you after my meeting.
• I can take a call on it.  I admit, when I first saw this as one of its features I thought "Why in the heck would anyone talk on their watch rather than pull out their phone?!"  Actually though, I find myself doing it all the time.  Most often it is when I am at home, and my phone is on a charger somewhere.  Rather than running upstairs or downstairs to grab my phone, I just take the call on my watch.
• Vocal commands.  My watch is connected to my phone's AI.  So pretty much anything I could ask or command on my phone, I can do on my watch.  Weather, setting appointments, general questions.  A press of the button on my watch is often more convenient and faster than grabbing my phone out of my pocket.
• Pedometer.  My watch replaced my Fitbit.
• Find my phone.  If I can't find my phone, I hit a button on my watch and my phone will ring. Concordantly, my phone can find my watch.
• Never forget my phone.  If I step more than 30 feet from my phone, my watch vibrates to let me know I have moved out of range.  This has kept me from leaving the phone on a charger at home or at work dozens of times.
• Silence the ring or alarm.  So often in a meeting or class, someone's phone starts blaring and everyone looks over in annoyance as the owner fishes through purse or coat to silence the foghorn that is their phone.  Actually, I have all notifications silenced since my watch merely vibrates to notify.  But even if there were a noise coming out of my phone, a quick tap of my watch would silence it.

In addition to all of that, there are apps being added every day that may be of use to you in particular. I use my timer app at work almost everyday.  I have a flashlight app that helps me navigate the house at night.  There are also hundreds of watch faces that will cater to your particular tastes or information needs.

Smartwatches may remain in the niche' market, but may they ever remain.

What To Do With An Old Tablet

If you are like me, you tend to collect old electronics.  You upgrade, and the old item falls out of use.  It still works, but like Woody and Buzz, they end up under the bed or in an old drawer... unused.

This was the case with two old android tablets I owned.  Having upgraded, they sat.  With the market flooded with cheap tablets, it is hardly worth it to try to sell them on Ebay.  Besides, they are both quirky.  One only charges when the power is off and the other has a battery indicator that always says full.

So, I have brought them to my classroom.  My second graders use them for Klotski, chess, and other logic games.  There are also apps where they can practice their grammar and math.

I am guessing that some of you also have unused tablets lying around gathering dust.  If you would like to give them a second life, would you consider sending them to my classroom?  Here they can live out their twilight years with a child.  If I get enough of them, I may start using them for centers.

If you have one that is ready to move on, drop me a line at mrhackman@hotmail.com, and I will send you my school address.  Thanks!




***** You may have noticed my previous page requesting old Palm Pilots.  We have been making good use of those but, honestly, they are a lot of work to maintain.  The older ones are always needing battery swaps, the newer ones don't hold charges very long - plus syncing them is no small chore.  Also, getting apps has been difficult as most links are long dead.  So, I am hoping I can do something similar, but easier, with old tablets.

Facebook Faith #56 - St. Paul Set The Bar of Love Well

A friend on Facebook posted this page earlier today.  In general, I like it.  I think it is useful, not only for reflecting on potential life long partners, but it can be applied to ourselves as well.  I think that Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13, does a first rate job of describing love.

The interesting thing is that this practice - inserting the name of a potential life partner into the text - was a maneuver that significantly destabilized my faith.  Like the author of the shared page, I tried inserting my God in place of the word Love in 1 Corinthians 13:

• God is patient
• God is kind
• God does not envy
• God does not boast
• God is not proud
• God is not rude
• God is not self-seeking
• God is not easily angered
• God keeps no record of wrongs
• God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth
• God always protects
• God always trusts
• God always hopes
• God always perseveres
• God never fails

As I looked at that list, I realized that 1 Corinthians 13 did not describe the God of my evangelical heritage.  The God I found in the Bible was like this list sometimes, but certainly not all of the time. In fact, the more I investigated the Bible, the more I found that the god of those pages failed this test miserably.

For a while, I clung to a God that met the love standard.  So what if the god of my sacred text didn't measure up.  I could ignore the text, ignore the proclamations of other believers, ignore my own doubts.  I was like Hawkeye in MASH, desperately pounding on the chest of a dead man, clinging to the hope that my desperation could revive this patient.  I pounded on that chest for a few years.

In the end, I realized that 1 Corinthians 13 is a good list.  Paul had a moment of enlightenment and tapped into something exceptional.

Love is all of those things and is a worthy pursuit for its own sake.

Give Thanks!

People are amazing!  Out of the 7 billion people on the planet, most of the people, most of the time, are really being excellent to each other.

I saw this meme today, and it made me think of how thankful I am for engineers.  Last year, my family was involved in an auto accident near our home.  We walked away from that accident because of those excellent engineers at Ford Motor Company.

I am thankful for the first responders of the South Jordan police, fire, and paramedic teams.  They were at the accident site in no time, checking on everyone involved.

I am thankful for my buddy Geoff who works at Unique Collision Repair in South Jordan.  He was my first call at the accident site and he walked me through everything I needed to do to get the car taken care of in the short term.  He made the tow calls and later handled everything with my insurance company.  The day after the accident, he went over the damage with me and explained the marvels of modern engineering that kept my family safe inside the cab of our Freestyle.

I am thankful to everyone at Unique Collision Repair who took that wreck and put it back together as good as new!

I am thankful to my insurance company, Horace Mann, who took care of getting us a rental and were just great to work with.

A lot of wonderful people were involved that night with protecting and helping my family.


When you have been helped, when you have been rescued, when you have been medically treated, when you have been educated, when you have been mentored - those were people who did that. People who gave to you from their time and hard earned talents.

Give thanks!

... and aim it in the right direction.

Facebook Faith #55 - Christian Munchausen Syndrome

There has been a lot said in the media, particularly the conservative media, about Christian persecution. If you listen to Fox News, or the various Republican presidential candidates, you would get the impression that Christians are under attack in America.

However, when you dig past the rhetoric, you often find that how they use the word persecution tends to differ from the definition most of us use.

For example, I was reading a Facebook post regarding Al Mohler's (president of the Southern Baptists) comments that Christians should not attend the weddings of their gay family and friends. A Christian blogger posted in the comments section that Christians would be insulted by being asked to attend in the first place. The following is part of our discussion.

I know a lot of the push back to this would be that David has an extreme view and that he does not represent most of Christendom. Honestly, I don't know what the numbers are like. I know Christians of all stripes on this topic.

But here is what I do know: There are Christian mayors who think like David. There are Christian governors who think like David. There are many Christians in Congress who think like David.

Nearly all of the the Republican presidential candidates think like David.

The religious powers in the Dark Ages thought like David and much of the pain and suffering in the Middle East is being caused by religious people who think like David.

We all need to fear religion that considers the existence of the "other" an insult and a slap in the face.

Calling All Old Palm Pilots

****  NOTE - I am no longer taking old Palm Pilots.  Thank you to all who donated.  We have been making great use of them!  If you want to find out what item I am in need of now, click here: What to do with an old tablet? *****

During spring cleaning around the Hackman household yesterday, I came across an old Sony Clie of mine which runs the Palm OS. I charged it up, and it still works... but what do I do with this ancient thing?

As with many items around the house I am about to get rid of, I ask myself "Can I use this in my classroom?"  The answer? "Darn-Tootin I can!" It is the perfect classroom electronic. There are still a myriad of Palm apps that I can use in the classroom, and this thing CAN'T get on the internet. The only programs available to students are what I put on it. :)

The more I thought about it, I realized I could use Palm Pilots as part of my centers rotations. Students could use the Palm Pilots to practice math, spelling, and reading. They can use them to track data. This is starting to have a lot of possibilities.

Here is where you come in dear reader. If you are like me, there is a decent chance that you, a friend, a family member, a co-worker, etc... have an old Palm Pilot, Sony Clie, Handspring (anything running PalmOS) stuffed in a junk drawer at home gathering dust. Look around, ask around, then ship any found here to Utah. Rather than having that Palm Pilot spend even more years gathering dust, re-purpose it!

Would you, could you put them in box?
Send them, send them with their docks?
Happy, happy, will my students be!
Send them, send them 1-2-3!

In addition to Palm Pilots, I can make use of outdated e-readers, digital cameras, tablets... Most school districts won't take them because they don't want to support them... but I am my own IT guy. :)

UPDATE***  Also, if anyone archived their Palm apps, I would love a copy of your freeware.  Finding Palm apps has proven to be more difficult than I anticipated.... the web is littered with broken Palm app links.
Drop me an email at mrhackman@hotmail.com, and I will get you the info to send it to my school.  Thank You!

A little Palm trivia. I have owned about 7 different Palm devices (prior to that I had used 3 different Windows CE clamshells - anyone remember Philips Velo?) I attended monthly Palm user group meetings and my first smartphone was the Palm Centro. I was so proficient with a Palm that occasionally while writing on the chalkboard in my classroom, I would accidentally slip into Graffiti... and my students would laugh.

Religious Tantrums

So what to do about Kim Davis?  By now, dozens of excellent articles have been written about her hypocrisy and inconsistency when trying to apply biblical injunctions.  These things are easily discerned by everyone outside the knuckle dragging end of jingoistic Christianity.

However, what accommodations, if any, should society make for religious conviction?  For the most part - I say none.  I agree with the direction of the meme.  This man has a personal conviction concerning pork and HE navigates its burdens.

When Ultra-Orthodox Jews refuse to sit next to women on planes, and hold up flights with their tantrums, they are expecting everyone else to shoulder the burden of their conviction.  When Kim Davis refuses to issue marriage licences, she is insisting that others carry her load.

If the Ultra-Orthodox Jew is so convicted, let him buy a 2nd seat.  If Kim Davis cannot execute the full scale of her duties, she should move to employment where she can.

Instead, these religious folks throw a tantrum.  Rather than doing the heavy lifting themselves, they lay the weight of their issues on to the backs of others.

We control our disdain when toddlers act this way... after all, they are only toddlers.  Adults should get no such considerations.