Science Saturday - challenging the things we fear

 Whatever Happened to Smallpox?

 "Smallpox is an acute contagious disease caused by Variola virus, a member of the orthopoxvirus family. It was one of the world's most feared diseases until it was eradicated by a collaborative global vaccination programme led by the World Health Organization. The last known natural case was in Somalia in 1977. Since then, the only known cases were caused by a laboratory accident in 1978 in Birmingham, England, which killed one person and caused a limited outbreak. Smallpox was officially declared eradicated in 1979." WHO 

 Listen here to an interview with DA Henderson, author, "Smallpox: The Death of a Disease" (Prometheus Books, 2009);  Director, World Health Organization's Global Smallpox Eradication Campaign (1966-1977).  The eradication of smallpox was both an amazing feat of medicine, and a great mercy from God.

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Even with smallpox out of the way, there is plenty left to contend with.  Here is Listverse's list of the Top Ten Incurable Diseases.  Some of them might surprise you.

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Now, What's all this I'm Hearing About Mammograms?...

And pap smears...and prostate cancer screening?

Here is an article and interview discussing "evidence-based medicine" - the field of study driving the latest health care screening guidelines.

Listen here to an interesting (and very civil) discussion between and advocate and an opponent of the new mammography screening guidelines.

And here is a brief discussion of the politics of health care screening guidelines.

Through Gates of Splendor - a sensible Saint

Perhaps you'll recall from a previous post that I'm currently reading Elisabeth Elliot's book, Through Gates of Splendor, the story of the mission and martyrdom of her husband Jim and his co-workers in Ecuador in 1956.  In that entry I shared a quote from Jim Elliot.  Today I'd like to share some thoughts from his fellow missionary, pilot Nate Saint.

At the age of thirteen, during the forced inactivity of a bout of osteomyelitis, the young Christian first wondered if perhaps God was calling him to be a missionary. Upon recovery, however, and renewed vitality it would appear that notion fell by the wayside as he pursued his other passion -  flight, eventually becoming an Air Force cadet.  Nate was on course to be an Air Force pilot until, on the eve of his first day of flight instruction, once again his osteomyelitis grounded him. His dream of becoming a military pilot would never be realized.  His new position was that of maintenance crew chief.  In his deep disappointment he immersed himself in Scripture, rekindling the love for the Christ he had known from his youth and once again feeling the call to missions.  He would become a missionary pilot.  He acquired an old airplane, fixed it up and practiced, practiced, practiced until the opportunity finally presented itself to head into the mission field.

He quickly became known for his intense caution, rehearsing every potential mishap - in the air or on the ground - in his mind and preparing for it.  He apparently took some ribbing for his "constant concern for safety....After all, a missionary is supposed to trust the Lord!"  His response to such attitudes is the bit of his philosophy I wanted to share today:

"Perhaps my reasoning is pagan, as I've been told.  I do believe in miracles.  They are nothing to God, surely.  But the question is one of finding the pattern that the Lord has chosen us to conform to.  I wouldn't be here if I weren't trusting the Lord.  Chances are that those who shrug it off by saying, 'The Lord will take care of you,' are the same ones who would hardly expose themselves to the bacteriological risks of working in a downtown rescue mission.  Forgive me if I feel a little strongly at this point.  I'm concerned about safety, but I don't let it keep me from getting on with God's business.  every time I take off, I am ready to deliver up the life I owe to God.  I feel we should be quick to take advantage of every possible improvement  in carrying out the job before us."

He took the work God had given him seriously and did not presume upon God to do his maintenance or preparation for him.  He proved his love for God, his fellow missionaries, and those to whom they ministered in his utmost care for their safety. He used the gifts and abilities, natural and spiritual, that God had given him and expected God to work through them. He did not expect God to keep his equipment in good repair any more than he trusted God to fly his plane for him.  If any mishap were to occur, it would not have been attributable to neglect, lack of diligence, laziness, or presumption on the part of Nate Saint. When and if he and his fellow servants did die on the mission field, if he had any say in it, it would not be a result of neglect on his part, but for the sake of the gospel, pure and simple. And so it was.

Charity, the Sum of All Virtures - Part Two

Charity and Its Fruits

(This week we continue our reading together of the Jonathan Edwards' classic, Charity and Its Fruits. We have just concluded the reading of the "Application" portion of Lecture 1. We will continue with the "Doctrine" portion of Lecture Two in next week's reading. This is the pattern we will be using for the entirety of the reading. The notes below will follow Edwards' own outline directly, with my commentary inserted in green. My goal is to make each post edifying on its own, even to those who are not reading along with us. I will welcome your questions or comments in the form below.)

Application

In the application of this subject, we may use it in the way of self-examination, instruction, and exhortation. And,

1. In view of it, let us examine ourselves, and see if we have the spirit which it enjoins....

"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him." 1 John. 5:1

"Have we this love to all who are the children of God?"

"And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

"Great and amazing are your deeds,

O Lord God the Almighty!

Just and true are your ways,

O King of the nations!

Who will not fear, O Lord,

and glorify your name?

For you alone are holy.

All nations will come

and worship you,

for your righteous acts have been revealed."

Rev. 15:2-4

"Do we thus delight in God, and rejoice in his worship, and in magnifying his holy name?"

"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him..." 1 John 3:16-19

"Is this the spirit, which dwelt in Jesus Christ, the spirit that reigns in our hearts, and is seen in our daily life?"

2. In the way of instruction.

• First,"This doctrine shews us what is the right Christian spirit.

"...it is plain that this spirit, even a spirit of love, is the spirit that the gospel revelation does especially hold forth motives and inducements to; and this is especially and eminently the Christian spirit - the right spirit of the gospel."

"...the spirit of divine and Christian love...is much more insisted on in the New Testament, than anything that concerns either our duty or our moral state....This spirit, even a spirit of love, is the spirit that God holds forth greater motives in the gospel to induce us to, than to any other thing whatever. The work of redemption which the gospel makes known, above all things affords motives to love; for that work was the most glorious and wonderful exhibition of love that ever was seen or heard of. Love is the principal thing that the gospel dwells on when speaking of God, and of Christ. It brings to light the love eternally existing between the Father and the Son, and declares how that same love has bee manifested in many things....There it is revealed how the Father and Son are one in love, that we might be induced, in the like spirit, to be one with them, and with one another, agreeable to Christ's prayer in John 17:21-23....The gospel also declares to us that the love of God was from everlasting, and reminds us that he loved those that are redeemed by Christ, before the foundation of the world; and that he gave them to the Son; and that the Son loved them as his own....And all this love is spoken of as bestowed on us while we were wanderers, outcasts, worthless, guilty, and even enemies...."

[See also John 15:13 and Romans 5:7-10]

• Second, "If it is indeed so, that all that is saving and distinguishing in a true Christian, is summarily comprehended in love, then professors of Christianity may in this be taught as to their experiences, whether they are real Christian experiences or not. If they are so, then love is the sum and substance of them."

In other words, we can evaluate our experience as Christians both on the large scale, judging whether we have reason to believe we are truly Christians at all, and on the small scale, evaluating particular behaviors and relationships to discover whether they are the product of Christian love, some lesser motive.

"If persons have the true light of heaven let into their souls, it is not a light without heat. Divine knowledge and divine love go together. A spiritual view of divine things always excites love in the soul, and draws forth the heart in love to every proper object. True discoveries of the divine character dispose us to love God as the supreme good; they unite the heart in love to Christ; they incline the soul to flow out in love to God's people, and to all mankind. When persons have a true discovery of the excellency and sufficiency of Christ, this is the effect....When persons experience a true trust and reliance on Christ, they rely on him with love, and so do it with delight and sweet acquiescence of soul....When persons experience true comfort and spiritual joy, their joy is the joy of faith and love. They do not rejoice in themselves, but it is God who is their exceeding joy."

• Third, "This doctrine shews the amiableness of a Christian spirit. A spirit of love is an amiable spirit.  It is the spirit of Jesus Christ - it is the spirit of heaven."

Is your behavior amiable? Would your attitude and behavior seem out of place in heaven?

• Fourth, "This doctrine shews the pleasantness of a Christian life...a life of love is a pleasant life."

"Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
and the one who gets understanding..." Prov. 3:13

"Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace." Prov. 3:17

• Fifth, "Hence we may learn the reason why contention tends so much to the ruin of religion.

Scripture teaches the danger of contention:

"For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice." James 3:16
"But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice,have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned." Titus 3: 9-11

Experience also teaches its dangers:

"When contention comes into a place, it seems to prevent all good. And if religion has been flourishing before, it presently seems to chill and deaden it; and everything that is bad begins to flourish....religion and contention cannot live together."

• Sixth, "Hence, then what a watch and guard should Christians keep against envy, and malice, and every kind of bitterness of spirit towards their neighbors! For these things are the very reverse of the real essence of Christianity.
  
  

  "They should suppress the first beginnings of ill-will and bitterness and envy; watch strictly against all occasions of such a spirit; strive and fight to the utmost against such a temper as tends that way; and avoid, as much as possible, all temptations that may lead to it. A christian should at all times keep a strong guard against everything that tends to overthrow or corrupt or undermine a spirit of love. That which hinders love to men, will hinder the exercise of love to God.
  

  An envious Christian, a malicious Christian, a cold and hard-hearted Christian, is the greatest absurdity and contradiction. It is as if one should speak of dark brightness, or a false truth!"
  

  
  

• Seventh, Hence it is no wonder that Christianity so strongly requires us to love our enemies, even the worst of enemies? For love is the very temper and spirit of a Christian: it is the sum of Christianity." 

"But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Mt. 5:44

3. Our Subject exhorts us to seek a spirit of love; to grow in it more and more; and very much to abound in the works of love.

Take some time to meditate on the series of questions Edwards poses here. How are you doing in your labor of love? Where do your most glaring failures lie? Are there particular individuals for whom you find love hard to come by? What do you think needs your most attention at this time in your life? Make these particular issues matters for focused prayer during the time of our study.

• If you call yourself a Christian, where are your works of love?
• Have you abounded, and do you abound in them?
• If this divine and holy principle is in you, and reigns in you, will it not appear in your life in works of love?
• Consider, what deeds of love have you done?
• Do you love God?
• What have you done for him, for his glory, for the advancement of his kingdom in the world?
• And how much have you denied yourself to promote the Redeemer's interest among men?
• Do you love your fellow-men? 
• What have you done for them?

"Consider your former defects in these respects, and how becoming it is in you, as a Christian, hereafter to abound more in deeds of love. Do not make excuse that you have not opportunities to do anything for the glory of God, for the interest of the Redeemer's kingdom, and for the spiritual benefit of your neighbors. If your heart is full of love, it will find vent; you will find or make ways enough to express your love in deeds. When a fountain abounds in water, it will send forth streams. Consider that as a principle of love is the main principle in the heart of a real Christian, so the labor of love is the main business of the Christian life." (emphasis mine)

Anyone who has ever been in love, or held their newborn child in their arms, knows the truth of these words. Our love for that one will occupy our thoughts. Our concern will be for them. Our desire will be to spend our time with them and help them in any way we can. Often what we do for them will be done with sheer delight and without a sense of obligation. (Though obligation does exist, it will seem like nothing at all, completely unnecessary.)

Since becoming a Christian, is there a difference in your love for others - a marked improvement? Do your see the self-sacrificing love of Christ (even for His enemies) as beautiful? Is it so lovely in your eyes that you wish to emulate it?  Is that your heart's desire? Are you growing in love?

 (Text in black is quoted directly from Edwards.  Scripture is quoted in red.  My thoughts are rendered in green.)

Through Gates of Splendor - shaking the dust off your feet

I've recently begun reading Elisabeth Elliot's book, Through Gates of Splendor, the story of the mission and martyrdom of her husband Jim and his co-workers in Ecuador in 1956.  Less than 50 pages in, I can already say that I'm finding myself impressed and inspired.  I may find more to share here in the future, but for now I'd like to leave you with just one quote.

In 1950 Jim came to the conclusion that God was calling him to Ecuador, to bring the Gospel to the Aucas, a tribe dreaded by all who knew of them, and who had murdered the last missionary who had dared approach them - 200 years prior.  Upon learning of his decision, concerned family and friends hoped to convince him that he might be of better use here in the United States, "where so many know so little of the Bible's real message." To these objections he replied:

"I dare not stay home while Quichuas perish.  What if the well-filled church in the homeland need stirring?  They have the Scriptures, Moses, and the prophets, and a whole lot more.  Their condemnation is written on their bank books and in the dust on their Bible covers."

(See Mt. 10:14-15.)

The Infallible Word of God

Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith’s door,

And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;

Then, looking in, I saw upon the floor

Old hammers, worn with beating years of time.

“How many anvils have you had,” said I,

“To wear and batter all these hammers so?”

“Just one,” said he, and then with twinkling eye,

“The anvil wears the hammers out, you know.”

And so, thought I, the anvil of God’s Word,

For ages skeptic blows have beat upon;

Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,

The anvil is unharmed – the hammers gone.

Author Unknown

(Thanks for sharing this, Andy.)

Science Saturday - some fresh perspectives

Take a look at the world through fresh eyes...

If you enjoyed that - and how could you not?! - there's more hidden camera animal footage here.

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Now get some perspective on the actual size of cells - amazing!  (ht Lisa)

Meditations "on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam" - God's Glorious Plan

In my previous meditation in this series I began examining the reasons, from the perspective of Scripture, that "the testimony of creation, as overwhelming and magnificent as it is, has not proven sufficient to bring people to God," asking, "Why has creation not proven a testimony sufficient to elicit praise for God from all mankind?"  I chose to focus on what I consider to be the two over-arching reasons - the glory of God, and the sin of mankind - and began with the more obvious of the two - the sin of man.

Within a day or two of publishing those thoughts this question was posed by a friend of mine on Facebook: "How would you answer a seeker's question: Why didn't God make humans perfect to start with?"  My first thought, of course, was "He did".  But it seemed fairly obvious that was not really what he was getting at. Rather what he seemed to be asking was the bigger question, "Why did God make man capable of sin?"  Hoping to avoid trying to answer an age old question in the space of a Facebook comment, I waited for others to respond, hoping someone else would take on the task.  There were several other answers, but none were, at least in my opinion, even remotely satisfactory.  I'm not impressed with the "free will" argument, variations of which being the most common explanation he received.  

Let me explain briefly why I find this explanation insufficient. Though I agree that man has volition, and is free to do whatever He wants and is capable of, I do not believe that this is the driving force behind God's decision to make man as He did.  Scripture never attributes God's motives for creation to His interest in the free will of man. Rather, the testimony of Scripture is that God does whatever He does for His name's sake and His glory, and that it is His purposes which concern Him, and His purposes which stand.  Yes, God created us volitional beings (He is a volitional being - though He is not free to sin - nor is He capable of it.  That's what it is to be holy), beings able to base their actions upon what their minds and hearts value. But beyond that, He made us beings with minds and hearts capable of valuing Him: seeing  and savoring His beauty, marveling at His wisdom and infinitude, glorying in the depth of His love. In short, He made us beings to witness and experience His glory, and be recipients of His love.  He made us to enjoy Him.  The opportunity for sin did not make man freer to enjoy God (if that were the case, we must be "free" to sin in Heaven as well), quite the contrary. Would Adam have loved God less or been less happy if the Garden had no forbidden fruit and no serpent?  So why then, did God take the sinless man and place Him in such a situation?  This is, I think more to the point of my friend's question. It is also exactly to the point of what I had planned for today's meditation.


I answered my friend, again hoping to avoid a lengthy response, this way: "I'll give you the short version of a much longer answer: So He could die for us." It wasn't long before I received his response, which was, in so many words: "What's the long answer?" And so he received the preview of today's thoughts. God had a lot more of His divine character to display when He created this world than his divine power and eternal nature...

Certainly God, the Alpha and the Omega, knew the end from the beginning (Is. 46:10), and what He meant to accomplish in this creation. He had a special plan, to display Himself in a way never seen before - as a self-sacrificing redeemer - by redeeming His enemies. He'd created other beings who'd rebelled (angels who became demons), yet, for reasons that are not clear, He did not redeem them, and they await the Day of Judgment. Clearly why God would do such things and create a world in which to suffer agony and die is difficult to understand. God's thoughts are much higher than ours. Scripture does, however, make it plain that what God does here on earth is done to display His glory, both to us and to the heavenly host – angels, demons, principalities, powers...:

“Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, 'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him' – these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit...”1 Cor. 2:6-10

“To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord...Eph. 3:8-11

(And if you continue reading through the remainder of the third chapter of Ephesians, you will be filled with awe at the plan God had from eternity to fill a people with His fullness, to show them the height and depth of His great love which is in Christ Jesus!)

And my point in all this, is that God's plan is older than time and intended to reveal an aspect of His character which He had previously never revealed to His created beings. They've seen Him as holy, holy, holy, and omnipotent, and any number of other beautiful things, but they'd never seen His perfect justice meted out on His enemies, nor had they ever dreamed of, let alone witnessed, the depth of His love. Who could have known that God would be willing to die to justify undeserving enemies? Who could have understood His long-suffering toward those who hate him? Who could have known that He could be both just, and the justifier of the ungodly? Who could have known the lengths to which He was willing to go to draw a people into His love:

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (Jn. 17:24-25)?'

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Rom. 8:29-30).

So, you see, God has a great plan to further reveal His glory, but it is also a great plan to draw a people for Himself into that glory. The love He and the Son have for each other is so great that the Father has chosen to bring more creatures into it. He wants many more sons, self-sacrificing sons, in the image of His only begotten One. Adam was created good, but He was not Christ-like. Redeemed mankind will obtain a glory of which Adam would never have dreamed. The state of Redeemed man is far more glorious than that of Adam, and so truly it is only in Christ that he is perfect (complete). It is only in Christ that mankind's purpose is fulfilled. It is only in the Cross of Christ that God's perfect love and perfect justice are exhibited for all creation to witness.  What a mighty and glorious God we serve!

Let's have a talk about inerrancy.

A few days ago I happened upon a statement about biblical inerrancy in Bob Godfrey's little book, An Unexpected Journey, Discovering Reformed Theology, which has left me somewhat puzzled.  I've read it over several times and yet find myself with more questions than answers:

"Today that attack on the full trustworthiness of the Bible comes in many forms.  Some see the Bible as simply a record of human religious experience from which one may or may not learn something useful.  Others believe that the Bible contains the Word of God in the midst of other human thoughts that are not true.  Still others believe that the Bible is the Word of God, although flawed with a few errors.  All of these approaches to the Bible require that we as students become the judges of Scripture, separating truth from error.  But God has revealed his Word to be the judge of our thinking and living.  His Word is completely true and shows us the errors in our lives.  For sinners to stand in judgment of the trustworthiness of any part of the Scriptures is to let the prisoners run the prison.
 "In response to these various attacks on the Scriptures, Bible-believing Christians...have come to refer to the Bible as inerrant - that is, without error....I learned that the Bible was inspired by God, breathed out by him (2 Tim. 3:16), so it is as free from error as God himself is." (emphasis mine)

Let me preface my questions with the statement that I am not an expert on Biblical inerrancy, nor have I read extensively on the subject. I have a basic understanding of textual criticism, along with a some understanding of the challenges of the translation process. I don't approach the Scriptures with the intent of finding falsehood in them. In fact, I approach them with a heart full of confidence.  I consider the Scriptures to be God's words to man and the authoritative guide of my life, thought, and faith. Yet will all that said, I find Godfrey's statement confusing rather than helpful.  I understand his point, which is that we view the Bible as the Word of God, accepting its authority over our lives rather than trying to discount it or explain it away.  With that point I am in full agreement.  It is the unqualified statement he ends with which leaves me with a host of questions.

Let me illustrate the first of my questions, if you will, with a hypothetical one.  Early in my Christian life, I used to like to write out entire books of the Bible by hand.  Somewhere around here is a copy of Romans in a pretty spiral notebook.  In another is all the writings of the Apostle John in my own cursive. I don't remember if I have any others or not, but suppose I did.  Suppose I had copied the whole Bible in this manner and then tucked it away somewhere.  Suppose also that I was not the only nut on the planet writing out entire books of Scripture for personal devotion, that in fact there were quite a few.  Then suppose there was a sudden and cataclysmic persecution of Christianity, which led to Scriptures all over the world being destroyed, except these handwritten texts, overlooked simply because they looked like ordinary notebooks or journals and nothing at all like Bibles.

In such circumstances Christians, in desperate hunger for the Scriptures would furtively seek out gather, copy, and redistribute whatever they could get their hands on.  But here is a problem, I know that when I hand-copied books of the Bible, I made a few errors - missed words/phrases, duplicated words/phrases, possibly some misspellings, you get the idea.  I think I was able to catch and correct most of them, but it's likely some errors remained. I'm not even certain all my copies were from the same version of the Bible.  I did not use any paraphrases, to be sure, but some of the other copies floating around, handwritten by others may have come from these sources, or may not have been so carefully copied.

The scenario I've just painted is hypothetical (except for my handwritten books of the Bible - those exist), yet it really is the story of the Bible.  It is through similar circumstances over the course of thousands of years that the Bible has endured.  So, my question is this: at what point is a Bible a Bible, or not a Bible? Does the hand-copied compilation of books, even though it contains some errors, count?  What if no "genuine" or "original" Bible can be found for comparison and correction - does what has been copied cease to be the Word of God? If we manage to compile a purportedly complete collection of all the books of the Bible, is it wrong to check its accuracy?  Would Godfrey call this "sinners standing in judgment" or "prisoners running the prison"?  I don't think he would; but what does he mean?

Can you understand my quandary here?  I grew up with the RSV Bible, and still do a lot of my reading from it.  I know, however, that it had a couple of problematic word translations which other versions, like the ESV, have since sought to improve upon. My ESV and NIV both bracket off the last bit of the Gospel of Mark (16:9-19) and note it as a likely later addition.  They do the same with a favorite of many - the story of the woman caught in adultery.  These are the kinds of discrepancies, that can cause even well-meaning people to question the trustworthiness of Scripture.  These are the kinds of things scholars, whose life calling over the ages has been to preserve the integrity of the Bible, have worked all that time to clear up.  They are trying to get us as close to the actual original text as possible, but they would likely be the first to admit that what we have now is not "perfect".  It is extremely close, closer than likely any other historic document to its original, and all key doctrines are preserved throughout; yet there is clear evidence that it has passed through the hands of thousands of imperfect men.  That is one of the great wonders of Scripture - that it is so clearly handled by filthy men, and yet so clearly preserved the Holy and pure word of God. 

And so, what am I to do with a statement as simplistic as this: "it is as free from error as God himself is"?

I welcome your thoughts.