Tag: Elon Musk

An Open Letter To Elon Musk

Has Twitter changed? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Dear Mr. Musk.

When you bought Twitter, I saw a breath of fresh air come in. Finally, conservatives could be just as free as anyone else to share their thoughts. No more would we see anything about hate speech. I found I could actually enjoy Twitter again. The first day, I came on saying statements such as if you were born a man you would die a man and vice-versa, that marriage is between a man and a woman, that Elaine Page was and always would be a woman, etc.

It felt good again to have a place to interact with some of my favorite conservative influencers. I was especially pleased to see when you freed the Babylon Bee. However, last night, I got disappointed.

As a conservative, I regularly go to the Biden Twitter page to see what is being said there. Last night, I saw he had posted something about mental health hotlines. The people on them were trained to especially handle Veteran’s issues and LGBTQ issues.

Now with Veterans, many of us can understand. PTSD is not uncommon in the world of those who serve. Also, many of them do struggle with suicide if they have that. LGBT was an interesting inclusion so I just asked “Funny you seem to imply that a lot of LGBTQ people have mental health issues.”

Within seconds, BAM! I get hit with my account being restricted. Why? I had said something hateful.

Excuse me? How do you know the state of my own heart? What is this great power that Twitter has that they think they can read that?

You see, I am on the Autism spectrum. If you asked me if myself and my fellow human beings on this spectrum have a mental health problem, I would say yes. That’s not being hateful. That’s being honest.

Now if I say the same about the LGBTQ community, does that mean that I hate them? Not at all. I don’t hate them any more than I hate myself and my own community, which is not at all. If anything, I am an advocate for people in my own mental health community. If I meet someone who is absolutely convinced that they are a girl when they are really a boy, my thought is not hatred. It’s sadness. I want them to see themselves as they truly are, a boy. I want them to embrace their identity that they have by virtue of being born male. I want them to avoid what I think is a dangerous and horrible mistake.

You can disagree with me all you want. That’s cool. If there is disagreement, then we discuss it.

But if that is not allowed, then why should I think Twitter is any different from what it was in the past? The Babylon Bee got banned for making a statement that was deemed anti-LGBTQ. I was thankful when you brought them back, regardless of what anyone thinks of the Bee. The old adage is that it’s better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.

As I write this, of course, I am sure that you, Mr. Musk, were not personally involved with the decision. You could see this and read it and immediately agree 100% with what I have said. If anything, you might actually disagree with my belief, but agree that I have the right to express it. I have in no way said anything that implies hatred towards a group or that we should bring violence to them.

I did appeal, naturally, but what good does that do? No one discusses my case with me. I have a small area in which to state my reasons why I did not violate any rules. I am not allowed to hear why they think I am wrong. Your staff becomes judge, jury, and executioner. If anything, you are making me guilty of fault crimes, which is very Orwellian.

I encounter beliefs every day that I disagree with. Some of them I think are quite stupid. I also encounter people who say things that are quite vicious about my Christian community. I have no wish to ban them from areas I am in charge of. When I was married, about the only way I dropped a banhammer on my Facebook was if someone insulted my wife. That was it.

Why do I do this? Because I really value disagreement. That leads to debates and that leads to discussing the issues that are important to us as Americans. Part of freedom means that even if I don’t like what you say, I will fully agree you have the right to say it.

Now I would agree if someone were threatening actual violence against someone, yes, something needs to be done. Even in that case though, I say bring in the police. Let them handle it. If someone says something completely ignorant against my belief system, I don’t ban them. If anything, I want them on display. I want people to see the other side for what it is.

When the LGBT community acts in this way, it becomes apparent that they are the sacred group of the day that you dare not speak against. How far does it extend? If we are going to start banning people from expressing opinions, we are going down a very dangerous slope.

I urge you Mr. Musk, if you read this someday, to make sure Twitter doesn’t become what it used to be. As far as I am concerned, right now, it is.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

Hope For Today

What hope do we have for today? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Not too long ago, I wrote about something Elon Musk tweeted out and stated we don’t need a new philosophy, but we need to return to the old. Of course, I use the term philosophy as I think Musk intended it, a system of living. I am not saying Christianity is a philosophy, but I can say there is a Christian worldview.

Yet it’s easy to think for many that the hope Christianity gives is only for the future of when we die. It is not hope for today. It’s understandable that people think this today since we are so heavily future-oriented in Christianity. Why should you become a Christian? Isn’t it obviously so you can go to Heaven when you die? With this, Christianity becomes all about getting to Heaven and avoiding Hell. I can picture N.T. Wright saying that it is not less than that, but it is more.

For one thing, Christianity gives us hope of forgiveness. This is something that can be difficult to grasp. We are loved as we are and we are cherished as we are and forgiveness is free for the asking. All of us I am sure would like to erase some actions we have done from our past. That will not happen, but we can be forgiven for what we have done wrong.

The amazing truth also is we are loved. As a gamer, I like to watch various gaming channels and I like how one of the hosts at WhatCulture gaming ends each video he does with a positive message encouraging people on mental health. I understand what he means when he says that you deserve love and the best things in life, but to a certain degree, I disagree. What makes God’s love incredible is not that we deserve it. We certainly don’t. We are not owed love. What makes it incredible is we DON’T deserve it.

Christianity also tells us that what we do makes a difference and we have an example. Jesus is the greatest example of love the world has ever seen. His life has inspired morality, art, literature, science, medicine, etc. The world is a better place because of Christianity.

Hope for eternity does matter and the people who have had the effect in this life have had their eyes on eternity. We know no weapon formed against us will prosper. We know evil today does not have the final word. We know that suffering will come to an end. It means every bit of suffering we go through will be redeemed. This is not the end.

We also get to play a part. We can go forward knowing that like most any good story, the good guys win in the end. All will work out somehow and if we are on the side of God, all will also work out in our favor. All things will work together for good. The future does matter because if you know the future is good, you can push through the present today.

For today’s debates also, Christianity gives us a foundation outside of ourselves that we can hook on to. There is a foundation for truth, goodness, and beauty. There are answers to those questions and those three things we all desire are real.

Christianity is hope. Christianity is the only hope we have left for the world. Death does not have the final say. Eternal life begins right now.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

We Don’t Need No Stinking New Philosophy

Do we need something new? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Over the weekend, I saw somewhere on Twitter that Elon Musk had said that people are losing hope in the future and we need a new philosophy. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find that tweet again. I agree with Musk on the first part, that people are losing hope. I disagree with the second part that we need a new philosophy.

By philosophy, I suspect Musk means a new way of living and a new way of seeing the world. It’s understandable, but it’s unlikely we’re going to uncover a grand new truth of reason that hasn’t been discovered already. The main foundations have already been laid and we are simply building on them.

I do question that we need something new based on the maxim of C.S. Lewis. If you find yourself traveling the wrong direction, the way of progress is to turn around. If we look at where our “progress” is taking us, it really doesn’t look good. The humanist dream has always said that Utopia is just around the corner, when Utopia usually turns out to be a nightmare.

What we need is not a new philosophy but a new embrace of the old philosophy and that is to return to Christianity. It is in Christianity that we have an embrace of the family, the essential building block of our society. It is in this system that we have an emphasis on morality and the good and love of your fellow man.

As for hope, Christianity gives us hope, and this is hope not just in the future, but hope for the present. We have a real message of forgiveness and that justice will be done for all. That can be both good and frightening as well. Justice sounds good when we think about evil people and we think about people who have wronged us. It doesn’t sound as good when we realize we have to sit at the same seat.

Christianity does give us hope that death has been defeated. It means that no weapon formed against us will prosper. It tells us that we should do our best, but that everything doesn’t depend on us. This is our Father’s world and He is watching over it. This message gives us something to live for. It’s not just about collecting the most stuff or having the most pleasure. It’s about seeking a greater kingdom and the best way to bring it about.

Christianity is a message of hope to people. It was something that changed the world of its time and whenever it is preached and lived, that same change begins again. Christianity tells us that everyone is worthwhile and everyone is in the image of God. Christianity tells us that God cares enough about us that He Himself lived among us and He is a security that we can put our hope in.

The way to change society around us today is not by anything new. It is to undo the damage that has been done, I contend principally by the sexual revolution, and return to the truth of Christianity, an ethic not dependent on circumstances or feelings, but on eternal truth. Some could think that hope is just for the future, but I will contend another time, perhaps tomorrow, that this hope is for the present life as well.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)