The Role of Human Persuasion in Evangelism, Part 2
Posted by James MacDonald on July 2, 2007 08:53 AM | Comments (17)OK, let's cut to the chase on this discussion that seems to never end.
When you emphasize something, it's because you think it's important, even essential. If I keep telling my children to look before they cross the street, it's because I believe the consequences of failing to heed that counsel will be very grave. In the same way, those who constantly babble on about cultural awareness, contextualizing the message, relevancy and the postmodern mindset are doing so because they believe so much is at stake if they are not heard. They are wrong! Let's start with what they believe is at stake, then cover why they are wrong from the perspective of what God's Word actually says about how a person is saved.
Those who argue for a greater focus on relevance and contextualization of the message do so because they believe 5 things, all of which I agree with:
1) They believe that people are lost and without hope apart from Christ and they are right:
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:5)
2) They believe that the gospel is for all kinds of people in all kinds of places at all times and they are right:
And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)
3) They believe that God uses compassionate messengers to get out the message of salvation and they are right:
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:20)
4) They believe that Paul reflected upon the best way to communicate the gospel as he interacted with a varied audience and they are right:
To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men that I might by all means save some. (1 Corinthians 9:22 )
5) They believe that hiding behind the 'doctrines of grace' also known as Calvinism has become, for many, an excuse for not stepping up to the biblical mandate to reach the lost for Christ and they are right:
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. (2 Timothy 2:10)
What they somehow fail to see however is the degree to which #4 above has become a preoccupation and ultimately a distortion of the message in our time. It's time for the pendulum to swing away from cultural analysis, and contextualization of the message, back to a biblical focus on the supernatural nature of human conversion and the relative insignificance of the messenger and his method.
Let's consider the consequences of failing to do so, then in our next post we will review the biblical mandate for such a supernatural focus.
Consequences of an Overemphasis on Human Persuasion, etc.
1) Dilution of Biblical Content:
In the name of evangelism, churches across the country have jettisoned God's Word as the source for preaching in favor of felt need content and other points of relevancy aimed at interesting a person in coming to church. These 'talks' are designed to engage the curious in a positive exposure to Christianity in the hopes that over time they will begin to like church and ultimately choose to embrace the same Jesus these skilled entertainers claim to follow. Is there anyone who would argue that God's Word is not taking a back seat to cultural analysis and strategic consideration of messages that are more suitable and subtle in wooing people? Does anyone really believe that God favors this approach and is somehow aided by it?
2) Departure from the Biblical Gospel:
It is nearly impossible to have your focus upon your audience and not succumb to an adjustment of the message. As any used car salesman will tell you, "it's all about reading the customer." This shaping of the message to suit the 'customer' has clearly fallen upon evangelicalism. Biblical concepts like the wrath of God, repentance, atonement, blood, cross and hell, have been scrubbed from our vocabulary in favor of an exclusive focus on the more tolerable concepts of God's love, forgiveness, fulfillment, purpose and freedom. The gospel has been reduced to a formula that can be quickly absorbed in a brief exhilarating conversation. People can pass from death to life, we are led to believe, just by correctly answering a few leading questions. This is a distortion of the biblical gospel. It does not square with Scripture or church history and will either be the end times departure Paul warned Timothy about or the tearful distain of a future, more faithful generation.
3) Dependence upon Human Strategy
You achieve what you emphasize. The church today has lost its moral authority and is wallowing in a weak worldliness that could under no circumstances be called a move of God! We are steeped in a perverse effort to be relevant to a culture that finds our watered-down gospel less than compelling and hardly a departure from life as they already know it. Having failed to win our world, we are now pathetically trying to make friends with it and convince the skeptical that we really are not as 'other worldly' as they might have first thought. The vast majority of evangelistic books and conferences focus on methods and strategies toward a greater cultural awareness. They call us to study the particular generational mindset of the latest target audience. The cacophony of NOISE on this point of emphasis is deafening! And has become for those steeped in Scripture, "sickening."
Peter Berger, the father of modern sociology, said this: "Ages of faith are always marked by the sudden appearance of people with firm and unapologetic convictions . . . that is, by ones who are the very opposite of those currently involved in the various relevance operations." DING!
Next time we will conclude this discussion with a posting about neglected Scriptures which mandate the "how" of sharing the gospel so that these very distortions can be avoided. If we had obeyed these Scriptures we would not be in the awful place we are. Only as we return to these mandates from God's Word can we expect God to return to us, to our churches, and to the true conversion of mass numbers of people.
james
Comments
Posted by: Matt | July 2, 2007 01:56 PM
Pastor,
I'm sure I speak for the majority of us who have been at the very least tuned into this conversation when I say, Thank you for clarifying your intentions and convictions regarding this subject. I share your anxiety over the preponderance of authors, speakers, articles and conferences whose emphases are insatiably fixated upon the issue of relevance. My soul tears itself apart when I see and hear men and women placing people at the center of the Gospel and displacing Christ. This is idolatry of the worst kind, and it grieves me more than words can express. I share the sickening feeling you get when you are in the midst of a church or ministry conference where it is obvious that the leaders have gone to the utmost extreme to make me feel comfortable. It's patronising, for one. But more than that, as you said, the whole idea of the Gospel (or the Christian life, for that matter) being comfortable is one of the concepts most foreign to the Bible that I have ever heard proceeding from a Christian's mouth (...pen, keyboard). May God purge this heresy from the Western Church once and for all.
Again, I'm thankful that you have clarified that you are not totally anti-contextualization, insofar as it follows the Biblical example and keeps the Gospel pure, clear, bold, and unhindered. And I agree with your diagnosis that much of the evangelical conversation of late has widely missed the mark of both what matters and what is true. However, if I could do so humbly, I should appreciate the opportunity to express another diagnosis that I believe has plagued a nearly equal number of evangelicals over the last fifty years.
Many, many evangelicals--and I'm referring here more to laypersons than to clergy--have retired their minds and hearts on the shelf when it comes to both communing with God and communicating His message to the world. In the name of the Gospel, they have ferociously bombarded their lost acquaintances with facts and (as you mentioned) preformulated strings of leading questions. They have approached the lost as conquistadors rather than servants bringing good tidings. This is, in my estimation, not a lack of strategic evangelistic training, but a lack of sensitivity and surrender to the Holy Spirit. They have offended people not with the Good News, but with their own brash, disingenuous, insensitive attitudes. Perhaps (very likely, I think) this is the result of the systematization (and cocurrent depersonalization) of evangelism that has taken place over the last few decades. I am delighted that you hinted at this above.
The postmodern person's repulsion at the Western Gospel is largely due to these more recent attempts to commodify and standardize the presentation of the True Gospel. True relationship has been offended. The "I-thou" relationship has been supplanted by an "I-it" relationship in which we have objectified "the other" as a means to an end--in this case, a star on our soul-winning chart. It's very sad, but American society has brought us to the point where we no longer know how to engage one another as human beings (This point is of incalculable importance to the Church and to the individual Christian). Thus we have reserved that all we can do is manipulate one another (and manipulate the hearers of the Gospel) by a plethora of means, whether they be elaborate presentations from a platform, questions in the form of, "So, what do you do for a living?", or big houses, fancy cars, and fine clothing. Every attempt to objectify people and manipulate them to do our bidding is evil and utterly contrary to the Gospel. And far more than just the perpetuators of the relevance conversation are guilty of this. We are all guilty at one point or another, and unfortunately, all too frequently. May we all have the humility to recognize and repent of our own tendencies to categorize, size up, and manipulate others into respecting us, liking us, praising us, and carrying out our wishes. God knows I'm first in line of those who need repentance.
For His Renown,
Posted by: Dale | July 2, 2007 03:07 PM
Pastor James,
I appreciate the even-handed way you are interacting with this 'hot topic.' You made an interesting distinction between those who reflect upon the best way to communicate the gospel with a varied audience and those who make contextualization a 'preoccupation.' My question is ... where is the line between analyzing your audience and becoming preoccupied with contextualization? At what point can we know we are going too far?
Perhaps this is a topic you will address in a future post, but I would very much value your insight if you get a chance to answer.
Posted by: Don | July 3, 2007 08:27 AM
For those of you who would like to read a fair treatment of James point number 5, pick up a book by J.I.Packer, Evangelism & The Sovereignty of God, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1961.
Posted by: Don | July 3, 2007 04:29 PM
Sub-biblical Transformation
Organization-speak threatens to blind us to the church's unique glory.
A Christianity Today editorial | posted 6/12/2007
By: Mark Galli
Transformation is urged or promised wherever we turn these days—transformation of the church, of the culture, and of the world. But the literature of transformation—abundant in print and on the Web—is mostly evidence that American evangelicalism is being paganized.
One example came through our offices recently. The book, published by a leading evangelical house, comes with endorsements from no fewer than nine nationally recognized evangelical leaders. It is "about churches that have the courage to embrace change and to confront adaptive issues head on," called "transforming churches." The book is "firmly rooted in solid research" and introduces readers to the "Healthy Church Index," which tells them about "the five key indicators of church health."
The book is noticeably deficient in Scripture, especially the New Testament, as if the divinely inspired writings are not something we should be rooted in when we think about transformation.
And the five key indicators? (1) Church members should be "experiencing real life change." (2) The church should have "a clear sense of mission" and a "compelling vision." (3) The church must "embrace change" to fulfill its mission. (4) Leaders should be "effectively … mentoring and mobilizing" members for ministry. (5) The church should be "effective in transforming" the local area.
Such vague, trendy organization-speak is not unbiblical: a lot of the advice is sound, as far as it goes. But it is sub-biblical. The book—like so many others in its genre—is rooted more in modern social psychology than in the Bible's spiritual realities: "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27).
Transformation is, in fact, a word used sparingly in the New Testament—only three times (in the English Standard Version). None of the verses have to do with changing the culture or the world. Though speaking to the church, they address it as a spiritual institution. One verse says our bodies will be transformed into glorious bodies someday (Phil. 3:21). Another is the well-known injunction of Paul to "be transformed by the renewal of your minds" (Rom. 12:2).
In the third, Paul describes the specific means and nature of our change: "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another" (2 Cor. 3:18).
Biblical transformation of the church focuses not on social dynamics of corporate life—on mission statements, adaptive change, or mobilizing members. Such organizational principles can help any social organism, Christian or not. But to focus on them is to major in minors.
In our managerial age, we instinctively look to "leadership principles" and "keys to effectiveness" to "master" dysfunctional congregations. Some of this arises from a sincere desire to help the church be the church. Yet some of it is pure hubris and vain imagination, thinking that with organization-speak we can transform the church. Worse still, organization-speak has a way of deafening our ears to the unique language of Scripture. Only that language can open our eyes to see "the glory of the Lord," the one reality that transforms us into Christ's image "from one degree of glory to another."
As long as our movement remains fascinated with social psychology, our churches will remain little more than clanging cymbals. The world is not longing to see more people conformed to the image of organizational man, but to see people transformed into the image of "the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5).
Posted by: Cornelius | July 3, 2007 05:48 PM
I am not a theologian or even qualified to render an opinion, but I wanted to say that I am so thankful someone in my life took the time out to tell me who Jesus Christ is.
I am so thankful that they told me where I learn more about him, the Bible.
Regardless of the delivery or how clever the message was; I found Jesus to be true and his words to be comforting, challenging, and inspiring.
Posted by: Matt | July 3, 2007 08:57 PM
I remember reading that article. Craziness. Noise... pure noise.
You know, I'm realizing that I seem to have been sheltered from this type of phenomenon (Guess that's what happens when you grow up on a farm in a town of 2,000 in rural Missouri). My only real experience with "cutting edge" worship services has been Passion conferences (Louie Giglio, Andy Stanley, John Piper, Erwin McManus, Beth Moore, Redman, Tomlin, Crowder, Hall, Knockels), so when people talk about 'relevance', I think of them. But they're SO obsessed with magnifying God's glory on earth that the message is loud and clear: God alone is worthy of glory and honor and praise and absolute obedience, and nothing is more satisfying than embracing this reality with all of our being.
I've caught very small glimpses of the "noise" through magazine articles and a little bit of exposure to organizations (ministries?) like Catalyst, who tout big name speakers like the "Likeability Factor" guy (I hear Youth Specialties isn't much better). I've read their conference promo stuff and listened to a few of their podcasts, and it's all about coolness and relevance... very little about taking up our crosses.
Other than this (and my one visit to Willow Creek), I have to say that I've been pretty isolated from most of the talk. Most of my study and experience has been in the areas of radical discipleship, intentional community, missional living, and so forth. Once again, I guess that's the difference between 'pragmatic' and 'emerging'. I sort of skipped from traditional to emerging, and missed the 'noise' stage. Thank goodness.
Thanks for the article, Don. (If you want to learn how to hyperlink something rather than copying and pasting entire articles, I'll be happy to email you the HTML tag.)
;-)
Posted by: Gabriel | July 3, 2007 11:14 PM
I had never gone evangilising in my whole life, but when I attended a new youth group which was going to go out on the streets and preach, I felt compelled to do so.
Let me say, they cloaked the true message of Jesus Christ so much with their strategy and "supposed" evangelism intellect it was ridiculous! No mention of hell, repentance, nothing. One of them with us told the person to pray "the prayer" and was telling them pretty much 'look just pray this prayer. It wont hurt you or change your life. Just pray it.'
No wonder we face thousands of Christians who give the name of God a bad name because of how they act. They tell the world their born again but their actions clearly dont show it. So then over and over their praying to be born again and again and again and again and again but they were never born again!
God...make the dry bones come to life!(Ezekiel 37:1-10) Raise up a generation, an army with passion for your heart. Passion for the heart of heaven.
Posted by: Don | July 4, 2007 09:31 PM
Acts 4:13
Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.
Cornelius and Gabriel together your blogs brings out the essence of "how to share the Gospel."
Cornelius - all we need to share the Gospel are those things which God has spoken to us from His Word. Paul tells Timothy, "Preach the Word." Even though Timothy is young, and probably wants to contexualize the message so that he can fit in and try to win acceptance of his pears and those older than himself. Paul is trying to tell Timothy, true transformation in the hearts and lives of men come from spending time with Jesus in the Word and prayer, then boldly going out proclaiming His Word. Thus it is written, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." True transformation comes from Preaching the Word. God's instument of supernatural power lies with the Gospel. Cursed is the man that trusts in his flesh and makes his arm his strength.
Our text in Acts 4 indicates that Peter and John were uneducated and untrained...Thank God for that, because they didn't have to rely on their training in social psychology, organizational methodology, their marketing degree, philosophy, or any other wisdom taught by men. Those high priests recognized them as having been with Jesus. I find it kind of funny that a man is healed and 5000 men came to believe the message about Jesus Christ, yet in verse 7 the high priests ask, "By what power, or in what name have you done this?" DING?
Note: I value education and training, but its our reliance on these things in proclaiming the Gospel is where I have difficulty.
Our source of power is the Gospel itself. "I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the Power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16) Let us Preach the full counsel of God without apology. I (Paul) planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth (1 Cor.3:6,7)
Gabriel - With Boldness, and without Apology we proclaim the Gospel.As Pastor James has said on a previous occasion, "Boldness is the Spirit-directed conviction that one must share the good news of Jesus Christ and not fear the response or reproach of the listener. Spirit-led boldness has been replaced in our day by "the fear of man which brings a snare" (Proverbs 29:25)."
Four Pillars of How to Share the Gospel:
1. Preaching the authority of God's Word without apology. 2 Timothy 2:4
2. Lifting high the name of Jesus Christ in worship. Jn. 4:24
3. Believing firmly in the power of prayer. Eph. 6:18
4. Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with boldness. Eph. 6:19
Posted by: Joseph | July 6, 2007 06:42 PM
This mornings teaching really challenged me. Christ first in all things. I am so busted. I pray Jesus for your help to move me from my pride into your way.
Joe Geraci Olympia, Washington.
Posted by: Lillie | July 8, 2007 06:14 PM
Dear Pastor James,
Praise God our Father and His Son Jesus Christ for your uncompromising stand in and for truth of His Word! (Is 40:8.) From the beginning of our time on this earth we are fallen, and it is only by the power of the blood of Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God that we are redeemed, and by the power of His Holy Spirit that our minds are transformed and renewed!
Living in this Post-Modern era is no different than when Cain slew his brother Abel; the prophet Eli's son's perverted the their privilege of the sacred priesthood; or when the descendents of King David did evil in the sight of their God. It was their choice... what felt good... what looked good... what was convenient...
The "emergence-movement" purposely avoids Jesus' own words: "And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell." [Gehenna] Matt 10:28 NAS. This verse, (I was told one time); although spoken by our Lord, is just too crass, too harsh...
The Apostle Paul warned Timothy "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires." 2 Tim 4:3 NAS.
In His High Priestly Prayer to the Father, Jesus said: "I have given them Thy word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." John 17:14 NAS
Are we being harsh when we enforce rules and regulations, in a hospital, school, business, church, home? As a responsible member of society, the obvious answer is no! But the emerging church, in its haste to "heal all that ails us", is quickly sending many to to their deaths. I pray that the Lord will continue empowering other young men and women to rise up and speak the uncompromising Word of God to those who are wallowing in a sea of misinformation, and ultimately the hell of separation from Jesus Christ.
Pastor James, I look forward to meeting you on the day when we will all give an account to the King of Kings
Posted by: Amy | July 9, 2007 02:38 PM
Pastor James:
Praise God for your unwavering stand for Truth. Too few people do that these days - instead, they "tickle the ears," as in the Scripture that Lillie so aptly quoted.
I honestly find such ear tickling very depressing. It perverts or totally ignores the Truth, offering its hearers nothing more than cotton candy "christianity" - fluff that cannot sustain or grow them. Give me the meat of God's Word any day.
Posted by: Matt | July 9, 2007 08:11 PM
I don't know, Pastor... From the sound of the majority of the responses, seems like you're tickling the ears of most of the commenters here. ;-)
Posted by: David | July 12, 2007 12:01 PM
James,
I also wanted to say thank you for your uncompromising presentation of God's word. There is absolutely NO "tickle factor" here! In fact I would liken your teaching to a sledge hammer in my life. I've been listening to Walk in the Word practically every day of the week for almost two years now on 106.9 Black Mountain.
God has used so many of your messages in my life, like a sledge hammer upside my thick head. As a result I have been convicted of sin and brought to repentance on numerous occasions. Each time I listen I continue to be challenged in my walk with God.
I realize that it is ultimately Gods Word that has done, and is doing these things in my life through your teaching. Thanks again, and may God richly bless you and your family.
By the way I noticed that the "Summer Bus Tour 07" isn't coming to North Carolina. What’s up with that! Please consider heading down south sometime! We would love to have you.
God Bless,
David Graham
Posted by: Antonio | July 12, 2007 06:30 PM
Some seem to deny that there is any soul winning or persuading men as to the gospel. Why do it when they are unable to hear and respond apart from sovereign regeneration and Irresistable Grace imposed?
Editor:
When I got back from vacation I deleted this VERY lengthy entry. I think the guy makes some points worthy of consideration, but he goes SO FAR beyond commenting on what is written here and uses our site as a place to dispense his own theological bias. Astounding he says that there is not a single passage in all of scripture that describes God's action in capturing a human heart???? Ehpesians 1:4, Romans 8:29. Various forms of the word elect alone make that statement 27X wrong. While certain emphasis of Calvinism are certainly way off track, it's not ALL wrong.
Get your own site man, :) this is a place to discuss what is written here.
thanks
james
Posted by: Daniel | July 14, 2007 09:30 PM
Hi James,
I absolutely love your boldness in the way you teach the Word. You're teachings have brought me under convictions and understandings like never before. If only I lived in your area, I'd attend your church :).
But, if I may be so bold to some-what expand on this subject:
It is my belief that, along with the human persuation that some churches are using, there are other areas that are deeply impacted by these consuming worldly views. The church is made of families; regardless of marrital status or children, the church consists of husbands, wives, sons, daughters, dads, moms, etc. So, it would seem, that when the role of human persuation is applied, it is targeted, not only to the modern day world as a whole, but directly to individuals and families (point in case - the home). This is where I believe it all starts.
We as christians need take this same concept in regards to this matter and apply it to the home. Why is it that some find it "inappropriate" within a church but permit it in the home? If such steps are taken in effort to "win" others to Christ is wrong (and I think it certainly is) then why in the world are we allowing this same garbage in our homes?? And even in the churches with direct bible principle teachings; still, many of us leave (including me at times) go home and often times put God in the back seat from mon. thru sat. (but that's another topic in itself).
This may have been way off topic but I felt that the need to address the "root" of where I think alot of this starts. It's that "root" that forms the church body. Some churches are trying this approach and it's wrong, no doubt. But what I think we also need to realize is that we, as the body, bring it into the church as well.
Thank you James for all you do with your ministries. It is my prayer that the Lord blesses you and your whole family for your example and your leadership.
Daniel
Posted by: Don | July 15, 2007 04:54 PM
A Final Comment!
In a homiletics class they would say that every persuasive message has three parts:
1. Logos - The verbal context spoken clearly. We don't need to make the Word of God work. We only need to make the Word of God clear.
HOW ARE WE TO PREACH?
Col. 4:4 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
WHAT ARE WE TO PREACH?
2 tim 4:1-2 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His Kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word..
HOW SHALL WE PREPARE?
2 tim 2:15 do your best to present yourselves to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the Word of Truth.
2. Pathos - The emotion or passion of the one communicating the message.
PREACH AS ONES WHO HAVE BEEN TRANSFORMED BY THE WORD
1 Thess 1:4 For we know, brother loved by God, that He has chosen you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.
3. Ethos - The perceived character of the one giving the message.
PREACH AS ONE WITH CHARACTER
1 Thess 2:3-8 For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed - God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else....vs.8 We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the Gospel of God but our lives as well.
Brethren, if we are to be persuasive let it be with Transforming power of Christ through the Spirit and by the Word. The power is never in us its in the Word.
Lastly, listen to the persuasive calls of Christ, which need no help...
Matt. 11:28-29 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
I was wondering, who among us can persuade the human heart, either negatively or positively, better then the Word of God?
Posted by: Brian E. | July 19, 2007 02:08 PM
It is important in this issue to remember that although the 'postmodern' mindset is a reactionary swing that goes too far in some cases, that this does not make the alternative view correct.
Modernism is as inherently flawed a view as postmodernism, and it is high time that we recognize that these are false alternatives.
Just as Republican/Democrat presents us with a false dichotomization of what it means to be politically active and care about the status of your community, so too does Modernity/Postmodernity ask us to make a choice between two malformed human systems.
It is time that we as Christians stop trying to squeeze the holistic nature of God's person, mission and mystery into these maladjusted mortal constructs.