Five Proofs of Christianity: A Circuit Court Judge Looks at His Life

By Judge Bill Swann

This is a serious book, but it is full of whimsy. A veteran trial-court judge writes about his faith life, which ought to be boring, right? Far from it. You are in for a joyous ride.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512727241

Judge Bill Swann

Bill Swann graduated from Harvard College in 1964, was a Fulbright scholar to Austria the following year, and received his PhD from Yale in 1971 in Germanic Languages and Literatures. He received his law degree from the University of Tennessee in 1975, clerked for the Tennessee Court of Appeals, and was in private practice until 1982. In that year he was elected Circuit Court Judge for the Sixth Judicial District of Tennessee, an office he held for thirty-two years. He currently works as a mediator helping litigants avoid the expense and delay of trial. Swann has written two weekly newspaper columns and many articles for legal publications. His poetry has been published in English and German.

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Copyright © 2016 Judge Bill Swann.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-2725-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2724-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016900766

WestBow Press rev. date: 01/21/2016

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter One: Five Proofs Of Christianity

Chapter Two: Robert Leo Dunlap

Chapter Three: Being Given To Tears

Chapter Four: Peter

Chapter Five: Oklahoma 31, Tennessee 24

Chapter Six: Boston

Chapter Seven: YMCA Camp Montvale

Chapter Eight: Robert Bly

Chapter Nine: Living Underground

Chapter Ten: The Beech Forest

Chapter Eleven: Thoughts On The Beech Forest And Other Things

Chapter Twelve: Peace And The Forces Of Evil

Chapter Thirteen: Epiphany

Chapter Fourteen: Going Home

Chapter Fifteen: The Boy Scout Syndrome

Chapter Sixteen: First Anniversary

Chapter Seventeen: Fourteen Years Married

Chapter Eighteen: 11 September 2001

Chapter Nineteen: More Thoughts On The Beech Forest

Chapter Twenty: Parsifal

Chapter Twenty-One: Oak Ridge

Chapter Twenty-Two: Christmas And Continuing Legal Education

Chapter Twenty-Three: One, Two, Three Aorta

Chapter Twenty-Four: Valentine's Day 2011

Chapter Twenty-Five: President Summers Must Go

Chapter Twenty-Six: Holcomb Pass

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Fall, Christmas, And Easter

Acknowledgements

INTRODUCTION

I hate pompous introductions. Let me just say a quick word here. The five proofs of Christianity offered here are my own. They are the product of slow reflection on where we are in this world. Is God with us? Are we alone? I did not borrow from other writers; I did not even read other writers until my five proofs were down on paper. And I did not alter or expand them then. When I began reading, I learned that St. Augustine (Quinquae Viae) had gnawed the same nut, as had John Stott (Basic Christianity).

I confess I mention this with pride--my work in a vacuum. I am proud that I got there on my own.

But of course I didn't get there on my own. I was led. There was a moment of change when God took over--a fine, life-changing morning. I did not know what was to happen, but I knew God had plans for me. I believe this book is part of those plans. I am giddy with anticipation as to what else is coming.

CHAPTER ONE

FIVE PROOFS OF CHRISTIANITY

You and I, dear reader, are going to have a friendly argument. I am bold to say that Christianity is inescapably valid. For you and for me. Not that I wish it to be so, or that I think it is so, but that I know it is so. I know it from these five proofs and from personal experience--a sixth proof, a personal one, and so not immediately relevant to you.

The five basic things I want to tell you about are completely accessible and relevant to you. Do with these five proofs what you want. The five proofs will come in an order, because prose is linear, but the order means nothing. There is no ranking.

Opinions are the product of intelligence guided by reality. These five proofs are grounded in my experiences, and are consonant with reality as I know it at age seventy-three.

This is a topic which can put you off. I accept that and undertake it anyway. It is for my good to set these critical matters out plainly, and for your good, whether you agree with me or not. At the very least, you will have some things for future contemplation. Perhaps I will plant a seed in your garden.

The way I will handle the proofs of Christianity can be off-putting as well, because I will not be pious and polite. I may offend you by being jocular, colloquial, even crude about a matter so important. I figure you've heard enough radio preachers. This is the straight skinny. I hope to change those of you living without faith to an enthusiastic adoption of Christianity.

In 1984 I went to Reno for four weeks alone, a student at the National Judicial College, the place where baby state judges go to learn the trade. It seemed to me a good time for solitary reading, contemplation, a time to figure out where I stood with Christianity. So I read the three synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which are the story of the life of Christ, and then the gospel of John. It was my goal to figure out what was going on with this guy Jesus.

I had been raised in the church, sort of. Like the Geico Insurance commercial says: If you're in the Bible Belt, it's what you do. But I got little out of