It's been a while since I've written a blog post...so here is a smattering of stuff. You can call it what you want to.
I finished a sorta biography [Come Be My Light] about Mother Teresa today. When I picked out the book I was not expecting a book full of letters from her to her confessor & bishop about a variety of things--but that being said it was an alright book. Reading this book really motivates me to pick up my copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church again. Not that I enjoy reading the CCC--its the doctrines that intrigue me (such as the guiding capabilities of the virgin Mary and the infallibility of some man titled 'the pope'--no disrespect intended)
I also picked up to books from the library today, Lord of the Flies and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I developed interest in the first mentioned through Stephen Christian (if you aren't familiar with him--fix that) and the second was recommended to me by a dear friend (you know who you are).
Musically speaking, I'm listening to Coldplay right now. Because, to be completely honest I do have a soft spot in my heart for their song "Fix You". Other than that....I'll stick to U2. Speaking of U2, I just bought quite a few songs by them from Amazon.com the other day. I'm still ticked that the only way to get my hands on "Window in the Skies" is to buy an entire hits album or other artists karaoke versions of U2 songs. Seriously, that's so dumb.
If this was an incredibly boring blog post....I'm sorry....I will try to fix you. (heh heh)
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
oh, how i would loathe to be a leader
Americans are truly a fickle group of people. We elect a man to be our president, some of us insisting that said man is a "savior" and then everyone decides to hate him when he doesn't do everything he promised during his campaign within the first month of being in office.
But then, there were the people who hated him before he was even elected. Yeah, the Republicans. (And just so you all know, the above illustration is a screencap of a Facebook app that I found while on one of my friend's profiles.) I've also heard rumors of a private method of brightening up your day. Try creating a folder on your computer, label it "Barack Obama" and then proceed to place said folder in the trash can. Oh, and most importantly, for long term results, do this everyday--it'll make you feel so much better! I feel giddy already [sarcasm].
I remember the night before the 2008 election, my family received a forwarded email from some influential pastor (I could be wrong on the exact occupation of the emailer) who disclosed that he had spent ___ number of hours on his knees praying that somehow Obama would not win the election. He felt that God had given him his request so he proceeded to email everyone on his contact list telling them the great news of how righteousness shall prevail, in the end McCain shall win. Obviously, McCain lost, Obama won. Ironic eh? I really wonder what happened to the man who felt so sure that God had answered his prayer? What was his reaction the next day when he was told/heard/read that Barack Obama was now the President of the United States....and McCain was defeated?
I shall be forever amazed at vehement words and degradation President Obama has received from fundamental Christians. It's as if the bearer's of the name of a peaceful yet shocking man who lived a very long time ago have completely forgotten everything He ever said about treating one's enemies. No, I won't quote the exact chapter and verse for you because I want you to think about going and finding said passages. Please, dust off the book you tell the world you follow and acquire a practice of forgiveness.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
you enjoy violence?
A good deal of the people I know are enraptured with movies. Movies of all kinds--chick flicks, comedy, horror, musicals, etc. In the circles of fundamental Christians that I used to frequently associate with I encountered the attitude of disdain for movies which exhibited strong sexual overtones (basically, many sex scenes and the like) but at the same time there was much talk of gory details of violence. Sex was not to be discussed--it was looked down upon as immoral, not to mention an awkward conversation topic--but violence was fair game. So much so, that it has even been proclaimed: "Whether you should see R rated movies depends on why they are rated R. If they are rated R because of sex--don't see them. If they are rated R for violence or crude language--no big deal."
The reason sex in movies is seen as "wrong" by many a group of Christians in completely understandable! In fact I would for the most part readily agree. To watch two actors engage in sexual relations on camera awakens desires, and most of the time (if not all the time) portrays an unrealistic outlook on sex and love in general.
But how is violence any different? With all the special effects (such as cars flying through the air, actors performing stunts, etc) put in to pump adrenaline and other emotional responses does it not portray an unrealistic outlook on violence? Car chases, duels, near death escapes, torture, execution--yes these are real life subjects, but I highly doubt they exist as they are portrayed in films!
And for those who profess the Christian faith, do we truly think we are doing ourselves a favor by watching such behavior? Do you really think you are building an attitude of love as you cheer your favorite protagonist on as he/she shoots down the "bad guys"? Is it not probable that what you take into yourself from the media you are exposed to will influence the thoughts you think and the way you live your life? Paul tells the Philippians: "whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things" (4:8). Can we rightly call such glamorous violence virtuous or praiseworthy?
In his book The Sacred Art of Questioning Everything, David Dark points out that when we are more offended at the "perversion" of Hollywood because of nude scenes and movies about gay people than we are about "people being blown up, starved to death, deprived of life-saving medicine, or tortured" we do not fully understand perversion. You like violence? I suggest moving to Darfur and living in a refugee camp. There, and many other places in the world, you will experience true violence that has been stripped of any Hollywood glamor.
The reason sex in movies is seen as "wrong" by many a group of Christians in completely understandable! In fact I would for the most part readily agree. To watch two actors engage in sexual relations on camera awakens desires, and most of the time (if not all the time) portrays an unrealistic outlook on sex and love in general.
But how is violence any different? With all the special effects (such as cars flying through the air, actors performing stunts, etc) put in to pump adrenaline and other emotional responses does it not portray an unrealistic outlook on violence? Car chases, duels, near death escapes, torture, execution--yes these are real life subjects, but I highly doubt they exist as they are portrayed in films!
And for those who profess the Christian faith, do we truly think we are doing ourselves a favor by watching such behavior? Do you really think you are building an attitude of love as you cheer your favorite protagonist on as he/she shoots down the "bad guys"? Is it not probable that what you take into yourself from the media you are exposed to will influence the thoughts you think and the way you live your life? Paul tells the Philippians: "whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things" (4:8). Can we rightly call such glamorous violence virtuous or praiseworthy?
In his book The Sacred Art of Questioning Everything, David Dark points out that when we are more offended at the "perversion" of Hollywood because of nude scenes and movies about gay people than we are about "people being blown up, starved to death, deprived of life-saving medicine, or tortured" we do not fully understand perversion. You like violence? I suggest moving to Darfur and living in a refugee camp. There, and many other places in the world, you will experience true violence that has been stripped of any Hollywood glamor.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
I Using a Minotaur To Gore Detainees a Form of Torture?
Is Using A Minotaur To Gore Detainees A Form Of Torture?
this is possibly the funniest thing I've seen in a really long time.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Never Take Friendship Personal
No friendship is permanent. Perhaps, friendship is in some ways futile. Friends never last forever. Remember the small child who insisted that another child was his/her's BEST FRIEND and that they would be BEST FRIENDS forever? You probably also remember...how that didn't happen. The friends of your youth grow up and leave. You loose contact. Your feelings get stomped on and you leave sometimes. You are rejected for the "cooler" people. You betray a friendship and are too ashamed to try to mend it. Tragedy happens. You move on.
No man (or woman) was meant to be alone, purposely alienating yourself is selfish--but no human relationship can fully satisfy you. There is always the clashing sparks of difference and the repetitiousness of personal annoyance; making it crucial to possess both the characteristic of being willing and open to investing a huge amount of time into all relationships and yet be able to realize that everything will come to an end. Solomon's seasons. It is but a vapor. "Forever friends" is a cruel ideology, impossible, and a joke so ironic its fame is completely unreasonable.
To be personable, friendly, compassionate, interested and yet be willing to say goodbye to every possible kindred spirit--for indeed, the Lord gives and takes away.
No man (or woman) was meant to be alone, purposely alienating yourself is selfish--but no human relationship can fully satisfy you. There is always the clashing sparks of difference and the repetitiousness of personal annoyance; making it crucial to possess both the characteristic of being willing and open to investing a huge amount of time into all relationships and yet be able to realize that everything will come to an end. Solomon's seasons. It is but a vapor. "Forever friends" is a cruel ideology, impossible, and a joke so ironic its fame is completely unreasonable.
To be personable, friendly, compassionate, interested and yet be willing to say goodbye to every possible kindred spirit--for indeed, the Lord gives and takes away.
Friday, August 21, 2009
The Art of Being Offended
"The feeling of offendedness is invigorating. It might even be an effective way to bend a population toward a tyrant's will. But we must never settle for it. We must not confuse an accelerated pulse rate for the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. We must interrogate our offendedness, hold it open for question. Complaining about Harry Potter or getting worked up over The Golden Compass (Philip Pullman's literary response to the damage done to people's imaginations in the name of religion) or pitting ticket sales of the Narnia films against Brokeback Mountain is a much less complicated call than that whole business about loving neighbors, to say nothing about loving enemies. If we're more opposed, for instance, to what we take to be "bad language" and nude scenes and films about gay people than we are to people being blown up, starved to death, deprived of life-saving medicine, or tortured, our offendedness is out of whack. We have yet to understand the nature of real perversion. We aren't as deeply acquainted with our religion we might think.
To keep it all simple and safe, we often become selective fundamentalists. We know where to go to have our prejudices explained as just and sensible, our convictions strengthened, our group or political party reaffirmed. We process whatever already fits the grid that is hardwired (or re-hardwired) in our heads. It's difficult for anything else to get through. We're easily offended. Maybe we're looking to feel offended, which can make us feel better about ourselves. Feeling offended summons a sense of being in the right, a certain strength, a kind of power, an espresso shot of righteous indignation. And if the image of God hardwired into our nervous system is easily offended and put off by certain people and their offensive behavior, there's a feeling of being that much closer to the winning side, that much more likely to be numbered among the elect, the saved, the documented." - David Dark
The Bible does indeed tell us to "be in the world but not of it", it would be petty foolishness to act as if it is the sole duty of Christians to speak against the secular works. What gain is putting Harry Potter or anything else on the black list and branding those who do not agree with your judgments? Is it not the heart from which the choices come from? One cannot change the heart by making rules of what is and isn't allowed. The "rules" come from a changed heart.
What glory is there in being offended by perverted media? You being offended will not make it disappear. If anything you will gain your religious beliefs the title of a snob--and to what benefit is that? It can't be wrong to be offended for the sake of God--but can't He take care of His own offendedness? Does He not say that vengeance is His?
"Jesus' gospel is never at our command, under our copyright, or contained within an -ism, an ideology, or any well-intentioned human construct. The question is always whether Jesus' rare ethos has gotten hold of us in any discernible way. To answer the question we must stop defining ourselves by all the things we're against. We might also ask what, other than getting saved in the shallowest sense, we actually stand for." - David Dark (The Sacred Art of Questioning Everything)
To keep it all simple and safe, we often become selective fundamentalists. We know where to go to have our prejudices explained as just and sensible, our convictions strengthened, our group or political party reaffirmed. We process whatever already fits the grid that is hardwired (or re-hardwired) in our heads. It's difficult for anything else to get through. We're easily offended. Maybe we're looking to feel offended, which can make us feel better about ourselves. Feeling offended summons a sense of being in the right, a certain strength, a kind of power, an espresso shot of righteous indignation. And if the image of God hardwired into our nervous system is easily offended and put off by certain people and their offensive behavior, there's a feeling of being that much closer to the winning side, that much more likely to be numbered among the elect, the saved, the documented." - David Dark
The Bible does indeed tell us to "be in the world but not of it", it would be petty foolishness to act as if it is the sole duty of Christians to speak against the secular works. What gain is putting Harry Potter or anything else on the black list and branding those who do not agree with your judgments? Is it not the heart from which the choices come from? One cannot change the heart by making rules of what is and isn't allowed. The "rules" come from a changed heart.
What glory is there in being offended by perverted media? You being offended will not make it disappear. If anything you will gain your religious beliefs the title of a snob--and to what benefit is that? It can't be wrong to be offended for the sake of God--but can't He take care of His own offendedness? Does He not say that vengeance is His?
"Jesus' gospel is never at our command, under our copyright, or contained within an -ism, an ideology, or any well-intentioned human construct. The question is always whether Jesus' rare ethos has gotten hold of us in any discernible way. To answer the question we must stop defining ourselves by all the things we're against. We might also ask what, other than getting saved in the shallowest sense, we actually stand for." - David Dark (The Sacred Art of Questioning Everything)
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