My Queer, Communist Friend

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I WISHED A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY RADICAL, LEFT-WING, COMMUNIST, QUEER ACTIVIST, 30-year-old Facebook friend whose nom de plume is Cher Guevara. He would add this to his description: He would add this to his description: “anarcho-syndicalist, gender non-conforming, poet, journalist, performance artist, actor.”

We have had many spirited yet respectful conversations over the past few years. He knows where I stand on the issues and I know where he’s coming from. We have a lot of fun discussing the various social, political and religious topics that make their way onto social media. Even though his viewpoints are always completely off-the-wall and 100% wrong, I’m glad to have him as my friend.

He asked me some questions a while ago about who I am and why I held particular views; here is how I answered him: 

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Beating the Atheist

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“WHEN I SEE GOD, I WILL TELL HIM THAT HE’S A NUT JOB!” said Rich the Atheist during a conversation I had with him on a college campus.

Why would Rich utter such blasphemous words? Because he got so frustrated with the way I argued my points using what’s called “presuppositional apologetics.” Don’t be intimidated by that phrase, it simply means that I defend the Christian faith (apologetics) by presupposing that God exists and that the Bible is valid and true having the ability to change lives.

When talking with skeptics, Christians do not need to know about every scientific theory or secular doctrine that comes down the pike; they do not have to be well-versed in Quantum Physics, evolutionary biology or abiogenesis hypotheses. That’s the unbeliever’s game. All a believer needs to know is the Word of God.

David Wright from “Answers in Genesis” clarifies further: “When explaining their beliefs, Christians often feel they must first prove the Bible or prove the existence of God. This approach reveals that they do not yet understand the Bible’s approach, known as presuppositional apologetics.

“Presuppositions are simply beliefs that everyone has that affect how they think, view the world, interpret evidence, and read the Bible. Apologetics is a reasoned defense of beliefs. Presuppositional apologetics is a reasoned defense of Christian beliefs based on recognizing our presuppositions.

“For instance, my presupposition is that God exists and He has given us His Word, (the Bible), that is absolute truth. So, I use the Bible as the basis for how to think, interpret evidence, explain the world around me, and read the Bible. An atheist’s presupposition will most likely be that there is no God and that truth is relative. An atheist believes that man decides truth, and so he thinks, interprets evidence, and views the world and Bible accordingly.”

Said another way, atheists presuppose there is no God. The Bible presupposes that they do. 

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“PLEASE STEP AWAY, SIR!”

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“DPS TROOPERS DIRECT REV. STEVE SANCHEZ OF JOHNSON CITY to step away from abortion rights demonstrators during the Texas Rally for Life at the Capitol on Saturday January 27, 2018.” That was the caption of this photo taken by Jay Janner of the Austin American-Statesmen.

You may be wondering what I did. Just exercising my First Amendment Right to Free Speech.

It was the end of the march and the crowd of 5,000 pro-lifers had come to the Capitol to hear Governor Greg Abbott and other anti-abortion advocates speak on behalf of the pre-born. Instead, I wanted to engage the fifty or so people who had a different opinion regarding the “Life” issue, specifically, the ten “handmaids” who stood speechless in their white bonnets and deep-red robes at the entrance of the Capitol gates. The handmaids are a class of women from Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, who are kept for reproductive purposes by the ruling class. They were the only silent protesters.

I wasn’t there to argue, but to bring a very different message, one that had nothing to do with abortion. I was shouted down by a young lady with a bullhorn and an angry attitude. I couldn’t get a word in edge-wise because of her cursing at me. Still, I persisted. I stood in-between two troopers, a small gap in the wall of deputies that surrounded the loud obscenity-shouting “Choicers,” apparently, for their protection. 

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