What If Dracula Was A Pro-Vaccine Campaign

Dracula is our most famous vampire. Created in 1897, at the turn of the century, his legacy is the most famous Victorian monster of our time.

In the past 100 years, Dracula has been analyzed with Freudianism, feminism, post-colonialism, racism, and Marxism. While some have written about its commentary on asylum medicine, I’ve only seen one author make a connection to vaccination. Continue reading

1 Peter 3:15 and Loving Apologetics (Part 4: Application)

In high school,  I made it my mission (or at least a hobby) to “prove God” to people, provided those people were my friends and I had control of the conversation. When the social media consisted of email and AOL IM, I learned how easy it was to insult and cajole someone for not thinking the way that I do. At times, my conversation was a kind of bullying in order to assert how right I was.

For example, when someone once suggested the Bible was just a bunch of stories to help children sleep at night, I insinuated that what would help me sleep at night was something violent happening to them. I felt I had the right to be so arrogant and careless. If they didn’t see the obvious truths as I’d presented them, they weren’t worth respecting in a debate. My mission was about my right-ness. It took a long time to change my attitude. Continue reading

1 Peter 3:15 and Loving Apologetics (Part 3)

Previously I wrote about how 1 Peter 3:15 “call to apologetics” should be read in context of its immediate passage to inform us about what apologetics is. In a passage that anticipates persecution from without, making a defense is seen as a holy necessity that must be done with gentleness and reverence.

I decided to read through the entire letter of 1 Peter, trying to imagine myself as his audience, and allowing the entirety of the letter to inform my understanding of “defending the faith.” Continue reading

1 Peter 3:15 and a Loving Apologetics (Part 2)

Previously I wrote about how 1 Peter 3:15, often the flagship Bible verse about Christian apologetics, should be read closely to inform us about what apologetics is about, particularly the end of the passage, “yet with gentleness and reverence.”

In this post, we will examine the verse as part of a broader passage on hope. Let us consider 1 singular verse, 1 Peter 3:15, in the context of the broader passage (chapter 3). Continue reading