Posted on by Abe Austin

The Danger of Growth

Predetermined Expectations)

I grew up in an active Christian household. Every Sunday, I attended church with my family. There was never any consideration of not going, and through my childhood I it never even dawned on me that that would even be an option.

Of course, at a certain point, I became a young adult and stopped living in my parents’ home. I started taking care of myself, making my own plans, my own decisions for the day. I remember it dawned on me that I didn’t have to go to church. I could just sleep in, or get chores down, or play. I could go once in a while, whenever I started to feel guilty about being away for too long. Or, I could keep going every Sunday, maintaining the same pattern I had been raised with.

I had a choice, and having realized such, my relationship with my faith would no longer be taken for granted. If I was going to remain a Churchgoer, it would not be by accident. It would be because I had actively chosen it for myself. And if I was going to become tepid in my faith, or backslide entirely, that would also not be by accident. It would be because I had actively chosen it.

I have heard that young adulthood is the point where many churches lose large swathes of their congregation, and given my own experiences at that time, I am not surprised. This is the age in which we give full autonomy in our culture, and for many Christians this the first time that they start considering other options. I have heard a lot of Church leaders asking how we can change this trend, how we can ensure we don’t lose members of our flock at this pivotal moment. Frankly, I think that ambition is largely vain. It is not a flaw in the system that there comes an inflection point where many people will leave. That is simply a necessary byproduct of choice.

Stronger Ties)

Having a choice means having the ability to choose the worse option. And there will always be some that choose it. If the ability to choose the worse option is removed, then there isn’t really any choice. And maybe that seems like a good thing. It prevents the bad outcomes. However, it also prevents all of the best outcomes. It prevents the possibility for growth.

Growth requires a choice. Character development requires deciding to do what is right even when there are other tempting offers. Church attendance is just one example of this, but there are countless others. No one is truly courageous until he has chosen it over a fearful retreat. No one is truly virtuous until he has turned down the option to act out his lusts. No one is truly good until he has faced the desire to be bad.

To have growth, you must have genuine choices, and genuine choices are dangerous things. It creates the possibility of falling away and failure, but it also creates the possibility of entering a new level of discipleship.

I have seen those who recognized that they had the option to stop attending church and chose to keep going anyway. I have seen those who first decided to step away from church, but later on decided to come back. And for these people, their status in the church is now real, whereas before it was only theoretical. Having made an actual choice, they are actually invested, they are there because they want to be, they are giving up something to make this a priority. They are attending church on purpose. They are successful, because they had the real possibility of failure.

There is no getting around this. Growth will always come with danger. The only way to remove danger is to deny growth, and that is an even worse outcome than failure.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Purpose for Faith

For what purpose do you have your faith?
Those that have found a sincere belief in God must ask themselves what He now expects them to do with it.
With every gift there comes an obligation.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Justification for Evil

If you believe that your opponent is evil,
And you believe that it is acceptable to play as dirty as your opponent,
Then you have justified yourself in being evil.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Us vs Them- Uncompromised Principles

Unsafe Discipleship)

In my last post I pointed out the inherent imbalance between those who engage in broad “us vs them” thinking, and those who treat everyone as individuals. Those who will persecute, abuse, and kill on the basis of identity alone will always be able to attack sooner than those who wait to see the true colors of another. The bigot can assume the offensive, while the just must begin on the defense.

It is the classic dilemma in Old Westerns. The unprincipled scoundrel has no problem shooting a man in the back, whereas the lawman requires evidence of lethal intent before returning in kind. Thus, the villain always gets to draw first, and the hero must catch up from behind.

This is but one example of a truth that we would all do well to remember. Virtuous and principled living is not safe. It is, and always has been, inherently dangerous. Perhaps we were raised in a special window of time where much of our society was virtuous, and so the imbalance of so living was not so clear. But this was the exception, and now we are seeing the rule restored. It is the pattern of history that those who act honestly and in congruence with their better nature are living with a handicap. This is not a flaw in the system, it is a simple reality, one that weeds out the fair-weather disciple from the one who holds true in all seasons.

I have noted the changing tides of society today, and the return of this hard truth. If we are going to be virtuous and principled and just, let us be so with a clear understanding of the dangers that are increasing day-by-day with that. Refusing to engage in the “us vs them” way of thinking is the right way to live, but also it is the dangerous way to live. we must accept both of those together, or not at all.

The Way of the Peacemaker)

Here at the end, I want to make one thing clear. I am not saying that the just man cannot use violence, that he cannot neutralize a threat once he is aware of it, that he cannot strike out against those who have already made their position clear.

It is not immoral to protect ourselves, even unto bloodshed (Alma 43:47), but it is immoral to be the first aggressor simply because we think someone might be violent towards us if given the chance. In dangerous times, this is what it means to be a peacemaker. It means that you do not ever initiate the violence, but that when the violence has begun, you overcome it quickly and efficiently.

I know that I am acknowledging dark ideas in this post. But presenting the real dangers and the real fears that will lead some to abandon their principles is not meant to cause discouragement or cynicism. It is meant to allow for true courage, which is only possible when we understand the real dangers before us, the real sacrifice that may come of maintaining our conscience, and with that full knowledge still do what is right anyway. The way of virtue is not an easy one, but may we all embrace that path.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Us vs Them- The Danger of Virtue

An Unbalanced Scale)

In my last post I described my shock at the gleeful, public praise for the murders of Brian Thompson and Charlie Kirk, as well as the support for continuing assassination attempts against Donald Trump, as well as the deriding of members of the LDS church after the shooting of their congregation in Grand Blanc, Michigan. I was particularly shocked by the cases of Brian Thompson and the LDS church massacre, where the victims seemed to have not been chosen because of any personal offense they had committed, but because of their appearance, association, or presumed beliefs.

I have realized the very real possibility that I might be crossing paths with people who have unashamed murderous intent against me, even though they don’t know me on a personal level, simply because I have some characteristic that they have determined is worthy of death. Perhaps because I am White, or male, or Christian, or traditionally conservative. They might be able to look at me and immediately identify me as their sworn enemy, but I will have no idea that they are mine.

And that is the terrifying imbalance that the virtuous and the principled have to contend with. Those of us that still believe that people are innocent until proven guilty, that believe that individuals are individually good or bad, and that you do not know which are which until they show you, we are put at a disadvantage where we cannot pick out our enemies so quickly as they can pick out us. They can kill us before we even know that we need to defend ourselves from them.

The Temptation)

If the threats and the killings continue in our society, there will be many of the virtuous and principled who begin to waver. They will look for patterns in those who are targeting them, and they will not be content to live at a disadvantage to them. They will start to adopt the same sort of “us vs them” thinking where they paint an entire swathe of people “bad,” and they will go to war with them. There will no longer be any regard for the individual, only for the collective.

There is a reason why wars tend to divide on simplistic lines. It is hard and it is dangerous to treat everyone as an individual. It is easier to condemn an entire nationality, race, or religion. To point at them as a whole and say, “that is my enemy, all of them are my enemy, and I can kill any of them and know that I am furthering my cause.”

That is the easier path. The pre-emptive path. But I think anyone who still has an inkling of conscience, knows that it is also the wrong path. We know it is unjust to assume evil in others, even if it seems more strategic. Tomorrow, I would like to use my last post in this series to talk about how to be faithful in dangerous times such as these. How do we keep our souls, even when it might cost us our lives?

Posted on by Abe Austin

Us vs Them- The Breaking Point

A Shocking Realization)

One of the most horrifying things of the past few years has been to witness the open enthusiasm and support for symbolic murders. In December of 2024, when Brian Thompson was killed in the streets by Luigi Mangione, it was not in response to any particular action or policy that the CEO of United Healthcare had enacted. Certainly, people had their criticisms of the company and the broader industry as a whole, but there was nothing particularly anti-consumer about Brian Thompson. Indeed, he had only been CEO for four years, and critiques of his company long predated his tenure and will continue long afterward. He was killed simply because of what he represented: the entire healthcare system.

It is safe to say that virtually no one in America had even heard of his name before his death. None of us knew his politics. None of us knew his morals. None of us knew what sort of husband or father he was. None of knew whom he had helped or hurt in his personal life. None of us knew if he was ultimately a good man or a bad. And yet, thousands of voices came out on social media to praise and celebrate his killing. Nothing about the actual man mattered, all that mattered was his job title.

This was when the mask came off and I was horrified to see the monsters that lurk in our daily society. The murder itself was terrible, made even worse by masses who approved of it, made worse by the fact that those masses felt absolutely no inhibition in crowing about it in public. There was absolutely no fear of social ostracization, of real-world consequences, of meaningful rejection. People saw absolutely no downside to cheering on a murderer like they were cheering on a football team.

Then came the assassination attempts against Donald Trump. Mainstream celebrities made light of them and even called for further attempts. Then there was the successful assassination of Charlie Kirk. People publicly called for the rest of his family to be slaughtered next.

It hasn’t just been violence against political or public figures, either. On a more personal note, members of my own church were slaughtered during their services last year in Michigan by a man who openly professed his hatred of the LDS faith. While there has not been large social support for what he did, many so-called Christians used the opportunity to ensure others knew we didn’t believe in the “correct Jesus.” Once again, there was no hesitation for public derision of murdered innocents. It is this open and blatant disregard for propriety that has so shocked me.

Scary New World)

Of course, we have always known that there were monsters hiding in the closets. But they were supposed to be exceedingly rare. Only the clearly and seriously broken in the world would be so depraved, and I guess I never realized how many people there are today that fit that category. And also, the monsters were supposed to be in hiding, constrained by social pressure from stepping into the light in their hideous forms. Now they march out boldly and without apology. When what is said in the public square is already inexcusable, what does it say for society’s darker secrets?

One clear takeaway is that “us vs them” thinking is alive and well in our culture, and that it is deadly serious, too. There are people who are willing to kill others just because of select characteristics, and others that are willing to publicly support it.

It is nothing new to think that you know what the problem in today’s world is. To think you know what ideas are causing harm. To think you know which people are driving the detriment of society. But it is an extra leap to then decide, “and everyone of that group is culpable and worthy of death.” To not deal with people as individuals, to not see them as potentially redeemable. To see the world as only able to improve with the violent removal of that category.

Of course, these developments put immense fear into the hearts of those who most often hear themselves vilified in the public square. We become weighed down with the knowledge that anyone around us might be a potential killer. We start to view everyone, especially those different from us, as a potential threat. And this, of course, leads to “us vs them” thinking in the opposite direction.

I want to delve into that shift tomorrow. How a population that is willing to talk out their problems becomes radicalized towards violence instead, and the dangers that loom ahead of us if we do not have a powerful course correction now.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Us vs Them- Trends of Today

The State of Things)

It is impossible to be properly judged without being known. At different times, different categories of people have had broad generalizations made about them because of the category, not because of who they actually were. They have been accused as a whole for the problems in the world, each member guilty simply by association. Of late, being a White, Christian, male with traditional conservative views has lumped me into such categories of disdain and ridicule, with no regard for who I actually am and why I believe the things that I do.

Over the past couple years, it has become apparent that the wholesale disparagement of White, Christian, conservative, masculinity will not go unchallenged in the West. For a long while, it did. I watched as the prior generation, and many of my own peers, and even I, myself, simply shook our heads and went about our day quietly, trying not to think about the hostility growing against us. But with the assassination attempts on Donald Trump and his second election into office, something clearly changed.

And that is not all good news.

Worse, Not Better)

It is one thing to no longer agree to being walked on, it is another to start retaliating with sweeping generalizations against the other side. Sadly, the latter trend is growing alongside the former. I am seeing more and more defenses against blanket criticisms of White, conservative, men, but then also blanket criticisms where someone “knows” what a woman speaking really means, because all women are a certain way. Or how one is “fatigued” with Black people, as a rule. Or how every liberal is morally compromised. Not just that there are problems with certain individuals, but with all of a certain category.

We are trading one mistake for another. We are right to stop being overly passive. To stop pretending that being walked on is a virtue. We should not be afraid to openly disagree with the trends that we’ve been seeing, and to advocate for the principles we hold dear. We need to restore fairness and equal treatment on both the legal and societal level. But in doing all of that, we must not leap all the way painting everyone on “the other side” with the same brush.

Of course, not every White, Christian, conservative will do this. But as their views becomes more popular, the basest and most easily influenced among them will reduce things down to “this side good, that side bad.” Sadly, the basest and most easily influenced cohort seems to be increasing every year.

So, when I say “us vs them” thinking, that I believe retaliation for the past is about to increase, I am not saying that I am happy about it. I think the injustices of the past decades were tragic, and I think those of the coming decades will be also. I am not happy that White, Christian, conservative men were so unfairly treated, but neither am I happy for the reckoning that is coming back in turn. I do believe that reckoning is inevitable, though. It will happen, whether I like it or not.

And I think there is a very simple reason why this reckoning is inevitable, and a reason why it is just starting to begin now but will soon be fully upon us. I will endeavor to explain with my next post what lines were crossed that went too far, and what will happen now in retaliation.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Us vs Them- Shifting Towards Tribalism

It is commonly understood that “us vs them” thinking only brings out the worst in people. It frustrates efforts for peace and even becomes a justification for terrible atrocities. All my life I have been told that we must reject this sort of thinking. I have been told that knowing one part of who someone is does not give me the entire picture of them. That I must appreciate the nuance in people. That I should seek to understand people as individuals.

I find this to be excellent advice. All throughout my life I have had the opportunity to associate with people who believe very strongly and very differently from me. People with contrary religious beliefs, inverted politics, and opposing social agendas. And in each and every case, I have always found it worthwhile to shelve my assumptions and actually get to know these people. I have had open and frank conversations about our strongly different views, with an emphasis on understanding the good reasoning that led us to such different outcomes. In every instance, I have discovered an individual. A sensible person. A rational and coherent brother or sister. I often still disagree with them, but I can appreciate where they are coming from. I have learned that even someone who I think is “wrong” still has that spark of divinity within them. Even those that feel differently from me are still children of God.

So I agree with those sayings that we’ve all heard countless times. “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” “Walk a mile in their shoes.” “90% of an iceberg lays beneath the surface.” We’ve all heard these nuggets of wisdom since our childhood. We’ve all repeated them when someone was making unfair assumptions.

But then…why is “us vs them” thinking still so common? In fact, why does it seem to be growing stronger every year? Perhaps it was always this way. Perhaps it is our default way of being, only overcome by deliberate choice. If that is the case, then more and more, we do not seem to be making that choice as a society.

As I have recognized this worrying trend, I have had thoughts about what it means for the future, the imbalance that it will create in society, and the obligation of the faithful in the face of the trials ahead. I will spend the next couple days discussing those thoughts, and hopefully we will be able to find an ark in the midst of the rising flood.

Posted on by Abe Austin

May You Never be Content


May you never be content.
May you embrace the spirit of the chase.
May you always be improving on your character.
May you be content with forever journeying.
May you always progress.

It is in accepting the eternity of growth, improvement, and progression that we surrender the need to be perfect, and that we gain joy in achieving each new portion of it.

Posted on by Abe Austin

If You Can Change One

If you can clean up your house, you can clean up your bad habits and build good ones instead.
If you can build good habits, you can build new friendships and cure your loneliness.
If you can cure your loneliness, you can cure your boredom and find something good to do.
If you can find something good to do, you can find something good to help others.
If you can help others, you can help your home have more peace and bring order to it.
If you can bring order to your home, you can bring order to your mind and calm it down.
If you can calm your mind down, you can calm your lusts and free your spirit.
If you can free your spirit, you can free the downtrodden and given them hope.
If you can give hope, you can give attention to what really matters.
If you can give attention to what really matters, you can give attention to God and praise Him.
If you can praise God, you can praise what is good in you and let Him purify your soul.
If you can let Him purify your soul, you can let Him purify your family and clean up your house.

If you can change but one, you can change them all.