Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Socrates 1 - Facebook 0
Sound judgment goes by another name, reason. So, wisdom is really reason, or good reason.
Pick a Topic
Monday, December 28, 2009
Fame!
I wanna be famous.
Why? For me, I think being famous means you did something or were somebody.
We all want to have a legacy for this reason.
The desire for fame seems to be rooted in conceit. It is completely self-serving, even if the method to becoming famous is by helping others. Their true motive distorts any other motive.
The desire for fame is a beautiful poison.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
The Correlation Of Morality and Order: A Criticism of Postmodern Thought
Now, I've come upon this thought in numerous ways in my life. Every time, I discover the same thing: humans are living contradictions. We are built to desire order, yet we act chaotically. We want to be moral, yet we act immorally. Paul talks about this saying, " I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it." Again, interesting.
I see this fight for order best displayed in little children. Young children desire order but act chaotically. They long for structure, but struggle to fit into it. What a strange phenomenon! Like I said, humans are walking contradictions.
One might notice that I grouped order in with morality. This is not to say that chaos is a totally evil thing. Perhaps it is, but I don't feel that I'm someone who can rightfully make that call. I just want to make the seemingly obvious connection between morality and order. A lot of things in morality are set up to keep some sort of order. Killing, rape, and stealing goes against the order of our world because it harms others. The same could be said about adultery and coveting. This brings down the system of order. It harms.
The next part is the most difficult portion of the connection to understand: love and "venial sins." Venial sins, according to some doctrines, are the lesser sins. I must preface this by saying, I don't believe in venial sins. The Bible says "the wages of sin is death." It didn't specify that it was certain sins that lead to death. No, it just said "sin." My reasoning is that if all sins lead to death, then there really is no difference between different sins. All are deadly. That verse goes onto say, "that the gift of God is eternal life." After reading up on this saving gift of God, one will find that it was done purely out of love - God's love for humanity. Love is a big deal to God. It is God's quintessential attribute. And it was Jesus's greatest command: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
At this point, I must explain the link between "venial sins" and love. The postmodern church, along with a lot of other postmodern minds, disregard these "venial sins." For example, the postmodern church doesn't believe that swearing is really a sin. The more effective way of describing their view on this is that swearing isn't that big of a deal. It's a venial sin (though I doubt they would ever use that term.) Their reasoning seems very logical. It goes back to the correlation between morality and order. Swearing really doesn't disrupt the order. It doesn't harm. Therefore, they don't see it as immoral. This makes sense except for the first part of Jesus's greatest commandment "Love the Lord your God." Jesus says that "if you love me, you will obey me." This doesn't say anything about reasoning for sin. Jesus didn't say "if you love me, you will obey me if it makes sense."
I think the main problem of following God's commands without knowing the reasoning is that it seems to lean towards the behavior of a Pharisee. On the contrary, I believe that truly following Jeus's command goes against the previously explained postmodern thought and the Pharisees' dead religion. Both lack love in certain ways. The problem with the Pharisees was they were following a religion that they lacked love. If I was to give a description of a modern Pharisee, I would probably describe Christians who hate the sinner and the sin, instead of loving the sinner. These people see the Christian doctrine as God and rules can replace God. "If righteousness could be attained through the law, then Christ died for nothing!" Here is where we fail. We see people worshipping the rules so we start to look negatively at the rules. Rules are still important. The law is still important. But we see people misunderstanding the purpose of the rules and start to regect the rules. I think its funny that the problem with conservatives and liberals in Christianity is the same thing - mistreatment of God's rules.
The best way I've found to understand this is to look at God in a fatherly role. What does a father want for his children pertaining rules? A father wants his children to obey the rules out of love and respect for him. Well, it seems that one child obeys the rules just to look good to the father or to avoid punishment or to get something from the father or because they value rules more than the rulemaker. This is not what the father would want. Not one of those reasons involve obeying out of love. Now, it seems another child obeys the father's rules because he/she loves him. The only problem is that this child only obeys certain rules, one he/she agrees with. This is not what the father wants either. He wants the child's love, but part of that love is TOTAL obedience even when it doesn't make sense. For surely, this father has a reason to have each and every rule. Sometimes, a father's reasoning is far above the child's. He is older and much wiser. This is the way it is with God.
Pirate Shoes in Her Garden
Anyway, there is no point to this story, though it did remind me of Roy Lincoln. Since then, he has passed away. He was a really great, simple guy who loved Jesus and people. R.I.P. Roy. You are missed.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
New Love
Margot and the Nuclear So & So's
Grizzly Bear
Oh, Sleeper
Big Dreamer, pt. II
Lack of action has always been a huge character flaw of mine (which reminds me of Hamlet, who had a similar fault.) I need to get over this. It's pathetic. Sometimes, I think I go down the path of least resistance. This is contradictory to my affinity for big dreaming. I see worlds to conquer but I back down like a gutless Napoleon. Weak!
These thoughts lead me to my problem with the story of Cinderella. I know - random. So, all Cinderella does is dream and she gets a "happily ever after." No work, just gets handed a magical opportunity and she takes it. A Cinderella story is ideal, but is completely stupid as a mentality. Do I have that mentality? Perhaps. I see a great path and like what I see. I plan to walk it wholeheartedly. When it comes time to act, I don't follow through or do briefly but eventually just give up or forget about it. Pathetic.
I'm beginning to change. My switch to becoming a vegetarian and sticking with it is my first step to a much-needed transformation. So, is this blog. :)
Big Dreamer
I always feel like I'm searching for a dream, some big dream, and I never quite find it. Before today, I never really totally realized that this was the situation. I plan on praying about this. I need to not just dream, but see it through. It seems simple enough: I just need to find a dream and sink my teeth into it.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Getting My Hands Dirty
My friend suggested that I don't just support Freedom Firm with money, but somehow see if I can give my time to help out the organization or something like that. I like that idea. I also like the idea of using my education degree, when I graduate, in someway to help out.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
The Musician's Code
Here is my Musician's Code:
1) Be Original
2) My Music Should be an Expression of Myself
3) Make What I Like, Not What Others Like
4) My Music Should Be Passionate
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
FIGHT THE POWER!!!!!!!!
I have a bit of rebel streak to me. Is rebellion a bad thing? I've found that the only things I rebel against are systems that I believe are baseless, more so the latter. Then again, the pseudo-nihilist that seems to reside in me tells me most systems are baseless. "'Meaningless! Meaningless!' says the teacher. 'Everything is meaningless!'"
What I learned from Islam
I got the chance to talk to a Muslim friend of mine about Islam and Christianity. We debated religion, which was thrilling to me. Our talk made me realize something that I've taken too lightly in my Christian lifestyle. That something is sin. As a Christian, we really shouldn't be lenient with ourselves about our sin. Muslims aren't. Of course, Muslims are more devout then Christians. If you are a Christian and don't believe this, ask yourself "when is the last time I've taken 5 different times in a day and set them aside for prayer?" Most people, including myself, would answer "never."
I'm not saying a certain amount of prayers or a certain number of good deeds gets you into Heaven. After all, the Apostle Paul wrote that "if righteousness could be attained through the law, than Christ died for nothing!" I believe that. I also believe that trying harder as opposed to making excuses for myself seems like the right thing to do. I'm sick of half-hearted Christianity. It's got me no where. Complacency, like so many other things, is a choice.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Relevant Truth
Truths become more real and more important to us if we've had a personal experience with them. I recently have decided to become involved in supporting an anti-sex trafficking organization called "Freedom Firm." A lady came an talked about Freedom Firm in a church service I was attending at Solomon's Porch. Something really hit me and made it real. One thing that I can't seem to forget is how she related the lives of these sex traffic victims to John 10:10.
John 10:10 reads, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
I wanna apply Jesus's mission to my life. Job 29:17 - "I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth."
Sunday, December 20, 2009
The Bird
saying "eff off," but still offensive enough to get a good "look of horror" from the receiver.
The Obvious Beauties
My Uncle Jimmy is retarded. Everyday, he goes and looks out at the stoplights on his street. Everyday! It never gets old for him. We have to be amused by things that are new and exciting (it's almost like we are hedonists.) We have become victims of entertainment, chained to an ugly and distorted version of experience. Enjoy the simple pleasures of this wondrous creation.
House of the Salamander
Spoiled embers of a mystery divine cast into shadows
Forsaken lizard burning up the ground
With dirty claw, snake tongue, bloodshot eyes
Spiraling out of control into fortified mazes
Life-altering leviathans stood in roads
Making love to darkness, embracing the void
Emptiness of humanity portrayed by a meek life form
Slowly carves its motions on desert lands
Subtle homemade valuable in sights so small
Below eagles a marching desolation reeks despair
Hope spills no rain upon you, sand crawler
Still thrusting rigidly in dirt, no trace left
Empty heights exposing a power greater than what you know
Any good fortune overlooking the creature
Scan the world around, seeking basic needs
Awakened truth knocks dominating caverns without walls
Unforgiving sun will suffocate all
Here in the house of the salamander
Splitting time from itself to reconnect some lost image