ARC-News: February 2026

Friday, February 27, 2026

A Time For Dispassion And a Time For Compassion

dispassion and compassion Much in the media today is designed to stir up our emotions, usually the negative emotions of rage, hate, or pride. At times, the media serves up a scene that tugs at our feelings of "fairness" and "tolerance" but the underlying situation is fundamentally immoral or destructive of society. A current issue is illegal immigration which is framed by mass media as "undocumented immigrants" fleeing persecution, rampant crime and/or economic chaos in their home countries, seeking asylum in the West.

The underlying situation, however, might be that they simply want a higher standard of living and social benefits, or they may actually be bad characters who want to commit crimes, sow discord, or force their religion or ideology on us. Before yielding to a feeling of sympathy, we need to first think clearly and dispassionately about what would likely be the consequences of acting on those feelings. That is what "background screening" is all about.

When God led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and into the Promised Land, He commanded them through Moses – "You shall surely destroy all the places in which the nations that you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains, and on the hills, and under every green tree: and you shall break down their altars, and smash in pieces their pillars, and burn their Asherim with fire; and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods; and you shall destroy their name out of that place.... You shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatever is right in his own eyes" (Deuteronomy 12:2-3 & 8).

The U.S. and the West in general has basically a Judeo-Christian worldview, which has more recently been diluted with ideas of freedom, democracy, and tolerance. But many of the U.S. founding fathers and later leading figures clearly stated that the U.S. is a "Christian nation." We must return to those fundamental values, and halt the inroads of other religions and ideologies that are trying to supplant our value system. As repeatedly stated in the Old Testament, ancient Israel insisted that foreigners living in Israel must observe Israel's laws. When that did not happen, the consequence was that Israel began adopting the pagan practices of surrounding nations.

This doesn't mean, though, that we should adopt anti-immigrant or racist attitudes. We are a nation of immigrants and we need more legal immigants. But they must obey our laws. We also shouldn't discriminate against people who are poor, distressed, or disabled, especially those who are of the family of faith – "The eye can't say to the hand, 'I have no need for you,' or again the head to the feet, 'I have no need for you.' No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. Those parts of the body which we think to be less honorable, on those we bestow more abundant honor; and our unpresentable parts have more abundant propriety; whereas our presentable parts have no such need. But God composed the body together, giving more abundant honor to the inferior part, that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. When one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. Or when one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually" (1 Corinthians 12:21-27)..

There's a proper time for dispassion, thinking through the consequences of our actions before we yield to our emotions. This is called delayed gratification. But there's also a time within that framework for acting compassionately toward those who truly need it. And that includes just about everybody, because we all need each other. "It is not good for man (or woman) to be alone." Community and compassion is what makes us truly human!

You can read our whole newsletter at https://agape-restoration-society.org/ARC-News/a-n_2026-02-28.htm, and share it!

Friday, February 13, 2026

BE A LIGHTHOUSE, NOT AN OSTRICH!

Earlier this week, I wrote a response to Paul Kingnorth's manifesto "Writers Against AI" that he posted that same day. Click the photo to read my response and his original article. To really be a writer and at the same time to fully be against AI would put oneself back in the days of quill pen and inkwell, writing by candle light after a long day of hunting in the woods for meat and working in the fields for vegetables.

But the truth is that AI is already fully embedded in most aspects of modern society. This began decades ago: we used to call it "DP – Data Processing," then renamed it "IT – Information Technology," and now we call it "AI – Artificial Intelligence." It's everywhere: in our cars, traffic signals, shopping, banking, TVs, smartphones, social media, politics.... We get the feeling – "Resistance Is Futile! Just Give In!" Or as Kingnorth proposes, stick our heads in the sand like an ostrich and retreat into Luddism – but in reality, he can't retreat, nor can we. So, we must learn to use it wisely – "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:15-16).

What does "circumspectly" mean? To be circumspect is to be wary; the word comes from a Latin word literally meaning “look around.” Be careful not to be deceived. There are plenty of grifters and loafers in the world and even in churches who want to deceive you and take advantage of you. Scripture calls them "wolves in sheep's clothing," "thieves and robbers," and "ravenous wolves." There are many in the world who misuse charitable-sounding words and phrases to draw you into one or another very uncharitable, dictatorial worldview.

One hundred years ago, in 1926, G.K. Chesterton wrote a short story entitled The Outline of Sanity (This links to an "epub" e-book version, but you can find it in many formats on the Internet.) His humorous and satirical writing style brightly illuminates the two evils of Socialism and Capitalism, and describes a middle way, the "golden mean" between the two, which he and others call Distributionism. He is not opposed to private property, but instead opposed to the concentration of property in the hands of either the super-rich capitalists or the super-rich socialist state and their bureaucrats. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Distributists believe in the equal distribution of private property to all people, so that there will be neither rich nor poor, fat capitalists or fat bureaucrats. Distributists advocate for small businesses and small farms owned by individuals, families and small co-operatives. This is very similar to the stewardship-ownership of land in ancient Israel and our concept of Agape Restoration Communities. Small groups of people should be able to become mostly self-sufficient with a few acres of land, and take care of one another. When problems arise – which will always happen – they can be resolved face-to-face instead of taking issues to court.

Communitarians are very similar, emphasizing the human need for genuine community, not the fake "friends" on social media or even in large churches. The idea of meeting together in the town square, or in a coffee shop, or at a church picnic, or a playground, or gardening – this is almost lost in today's world. People need other people, real people, not just distant faces on a screen or voices on a smartphone.

This is what our Agape Restoration Communities are all about. so please take a few minutes to read my "Building the ARC" article... and share it!

You can read our whole newsletter at https://agape-restoration-society.org/ARC-News/a-n_2026-02-14.htm, and share it!