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Last night I watched the 1994 film Maverick, starring Mel Gibson, with our youngest son, 8-month-old Andrew. It had been a long time since I’d seen it – long enough to forget precisely how Maverick is not moral in the sense that fine, upstanding Christian folk expect and demand. Yet he is moral in an Old Testament book of Judges sort of way. He admits to being a coward, and is sexually loose. But then he does the brave and upstanding thing anyways, and gives the money back to the women and children waylaid and robbed on their way to start a mission.

Come to think of it, the only folks Maverick cheats are the ones without any boundaries – who either had just cheated or bullied someone, or were about to. And that is so downright chivalrous of him, it may remind me of what Jesus said about being wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

Naturally, one can be too careful in seeing this as a good example to follow, but there is a slippery slope to studying snakes. My point is not to recommend that we all emulate the card shark, but to talk about Jacob and Esau, and the kinds of men God has loved and established covenants with, as well as those He has hated and rejected.

Speaking of love and hate, yesterday was a slow enough day for an extended conversation with a friend of mine where I still work for just a little while longer. He describes himself as a kind of universalist, but I must apologize again to Rosie, who sits one office over from mine, as she was on a conference call in the afternoon, and had to come out and shush us for being too loud. 

But in my friend’s view, Hell is a kind of refining fire. And like Miracle Max might say, the damned are only mostly damned. And look at you who knows so much. ‘Such were some of you’ will be said to all mankind, on the other side of varying cook times, after which all the sin and rebellion against King Jesus is burned away. Even if they didn’t accept Jesus before the first death, these will get another chance, at some point, to pledge allegiance to Christ, and join the ranks of the heavenly host in Paradise.

This is admittedly a perspective which I am very troubled by. But my perceptive friend doubtless knows this from the look I was giving him when we talked about it. Unlike Brett Maverick, I am not a particularly good bluffer. Only with great concentration and effort do I keep my opinions off my face when someone is telling or showing me their ideas and sentiments, or when a situation is unfolding or better or worse.

I will borrow the book he is offering me, which promises to expand, I think, on how the early church prior to the domination of Rome by virtue of its wedding with imperial power held to all three views in various quarters. Origen, for instance, is said to have held to a kind of universalism in eternity. Yet Origen also, according to Eusebius, misread Matthew 19:12 and concluded he should make himself a eunuch for the kingdom of heaven. And we should take any man who would do that with a grain of salt on everything else they hold to as well.

Yesterday was also the last day of my second-to-last hitch of seven days as a contract Systems Integrator for Chevron, and it does not embarrass me to say that it was an emotional one. Several very great compliments, congratulations, and expressions of grief touched me deeply, and will make my final day of October 19th both sweeter and sadder for that fact, since all wished me well, and told me whatever company I join next is gaining a great asset, and is very fortunate.

Speaking of last days, let’s turn our attention to the back-and-forth between Elon Musk and Lindsey Graham over how best to bring peace in the Ukraine. Senator Graham made threats against electric vehicle tax credits, and that is bad form. But that is not to say Mr. Musk should go unanswered like Tony Bobulinski at the FBI.

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