August 2006

On Friday, August 4, 2006, Laura Bush, the First Lady of the United States, visited the University of Denver to deliver remarks at the second regional conference on http://www.helpingamericasyouth.gov)" target="_blank">Helping America’s Youth.

SharperIron was honored to receive full media access to the event as part of the White House Press Pool for the day.
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Of all the discussions in which we engage, the bickering between some Calvinists and some Arminians tends to be among the least edifying. Not that I’m against discussion: far from it! These are issues worth deliberating, and I have my own views about what is biblical. I’ve grown enormously through hearing and reading the intelligent and charitable exchange of opinions. The problem is that, too often, the exchange is neither intelligent nor charitable.

Both Calvinism and Arminianism have their reasonable and balanced defenders. I find myself challenged whether reading John Wesley or François Turretin. I find myself edified through the writings of both A. A. Hodge and A. W. Tozer. Both Reformed theology and Arminianism can be defended charitably. Alas, not all defenders are so thoughtful.

There are Crusading Calvinists, and there are Aggressive Arminians. They feed off each other. One of them begins with a bit of sniping, and then we are confronted with the spectacle of caricature, misrepresentation, vituperation, extreme reaction.

I know, I know. Plenty of people are going to say, “I’m neither a Calvinist nor an Arminian.” Sometimes they mean that they simply aren’t purebreds who hold all five points of either system. Sometimes they want to claim a supposedly‐superior third position (often, and affectedly, labeled “biblicism”) that, in fact, almost always turns out to be some version of anti‐Calvinism.

Whatever.

I am not half so concerned about what you call yourself as I am about how you behave yourself. And some have been behaving badly.
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Whatever. Our culture today uses this word frequently. Its breadth of meaning within its pronominal usage spans from meaning anything or everything (“Take whatever you want.”) to a statement of surprise (“Whatever made you think that?”). The word’s adjectival meaning is similar as well (“He ate whatever food he could find.”). Perhaps the semantic range of whatever shines most brightly, however, in its use as an interjection. More recent dictionary editions include this use of whatever and describe it as indicating “indifference to or scorn for something, such as a remark or suggestion.” [1] This definition is more representative of today’s use of the word. Still, others have attempted to catalogue other nuances of the interjectory use of whatever. One author humorously lists over 10 uses for whatever used by modern speakers. Among them are the following: The Apathetic Whatever (“Oh, I’m immature? Whatever.”), The Pseudo-Impartial Whatever (“She’s dating the boss? Whatever.”), Self-pitying Whatever (“Never mind, I did all the work but whatever.”), The Sulking Whatever (Him: “I’m sorry, honey, let’s have dinner.” Her: “Whatever.”), The Get-over-it Whatever (“Dad, whatever, it’s just a tattoo.”), The Jealous Whatever (“His uncle got him the job but whatever.”), The Faltering Cliché Whatever (“Perhaps then you can get some closure or whatever.”), The Bashful Whatever (“Could we go steady or whatever?”), and The Doubting Thomas Whatever (“He said he sent the check last week, and I am like whatever.”).[2]
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