Rationale Redefined

My Leadership Abilities...

2007-03-09T13:17:00.000-06:00

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

I hate that which I am. Introduction

2007-02-25T16:09:00.000-06:00

In my opinion a mirror is the scariest thing in the world. Not because I am so ugly I scare myself, but because when I look into a mirror I am looking at myself and I've found that who I am scares me.

I guess I should start this little journey with where my desire for this series began, my hypocracy. I can not stand hypocracy. That is one thing that always makes me angry. When people claim a code and then act outside of that code yet think that they have done nothing wrong.

Here's the problem though, I'm a hypocrite. I came to this realization one day while driving down Valley Mills (if you're from Waco you will of probably experience this same sort of situation). I got stuck leaving Wendy's. I never turn left across Valley Mills at lunch rush hour because to do so would be to commit suicide, so there I am in the right turn lane out of Wendy's. I'm sitting there looking and waiting for an opening for me to turn right onto the Valley (as those of us native Wacoans call it) when this woman driving and F250 superduty pulls up next to me in the left turn exit. Now I can't see anything that's coming (since I drive a little '99 Accord) so I get ready to wait for her to turn out so I can once again resume my exiting status. I sit there for five minutes waiting, I've seen holes go by me that I know I could of gone through, yet since I had no idea that cars weren't coming I couldn't of gone. I'm starting to lose my patience when the lady finally starts to pull out, I look over the bed of the truck when the lady suddenly turn right into the lane directly in front of me. I got so angry. I had just wasted give minutes waiting for this lady to turn left when all she was wanting to do was turn right. So once again I am blocked in and still waiting in the Wendy's exit because of this stupid lady that obviously doesn't understand how to drive. And that's when it hit me, how I'm such a bad driver too. I hate it when people speed past me, ride my bumper, don't use turn signals, and are generally bad drivers, but I myself speed, tailgate, don't use turn signals, and am generally a bad driver. I realized how hypocritcal it was of me to judge her driving when my driving was no better.

That's the starting point for me for this series of posts. I want to recognize those things that I see in others, but that I myself have that I hate. But further than that, I want to scrap my hypocracy. All of things I plan to talk about in this series-greed, pride, ignorance, arrogance, etc..-I must first aknowledge in myself lest I continue being a hypocrite.

That's where this idea began. But the idea goes further than that. I go to the local community college and in my english class this semester, we had to write a critical essay in response to an essay written in favor or same-sex marriage. It surprised me how ignorant some of my classmates were. In our in-class discussions, people kept referring to homosexuals as "them gays". Ignorance. Also in my sociology class we somehow got to the subject of the war on terror. One class member decided to englighten us with, "all them terrorist muslims deserve to be wiped off the face of the earth". Ignorance.

In case you didn't know, ignorance is another quality that I hate. Ignorance isn't even a bad thing, it just means you don't know, but when people act on their not knowing -i.e. labeling "them gays"or all muslims as terrorists- ignorane becomes dangerous. So I decided to wage a war on my own ignorance. I read up on the reasons for and against same-sex marriage, and I went out and bought a copy of the Qur'an because I no longer with to be ignorant to these discussions. I want to be able to open my mouth and actually talk about the subject as an intelligent individual, and not some ignorant fool who just runs his mouth and his actions on his uninformed ideas.

This series of posts is also something along that line for me. I no longer wish to have those qualities that I despise. So this is my way of taking them on. This is my way of starting to change. With that said, I would like if if you would join me in this little journey into myself (and hopefully yourself as well). All of the topics I have lined up for this are in each and every one of us. Every single one of us has a little pride in us. Every single one of us has a little greed in us. That doesn't mean we have to like it though. I want to change. Let the journey begin.

On Christmas Music

2007-02-09T20:54:00.000-06:00

I think it may be that I am just getting older, but for some reason Christmas music just seems so cheesy and superficial to me this year. I guess I just don't understand the majority of Christmas music. That has to be the reason. I mean there must be a reason that it's important for us to sing a song about someone roasting chestnuts over an open fire. Maybe they just never told me why. But I personally have never dreampt of a white Christmas, much less felt the need to tell the world about such a dream through song. I just don't get it.

Another thing I don't get is how we have tried to create a romantic scene of Jesus' birth. We sing songs about how the cattle are loing (what does that mean)and how Jesus just laid down his sweet little head. Maybe the writers of these songs have never been around cattle. Maybe they've never been around when a child was birthed. I have no way of knowing, but they must be clueless as to what any of those experiences are really like to write such sweet, soothing, soft, gentle music.

Just imagine with me for a second. Your Joseph (I'll pick this role because I identify with him more being a man) and your wife is in her third trimester about to give birth. You've just had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem on foot. Now you've just gotten to bethlehem and what do you find out, there is no room in any of the inns for you and your wife to stay, but your desperate for a room. So you finally find a little cave where an inn-keeper has allowed you to spend the night with live-stock. So now your in a close-quarters environment with animals and all of their various smells (not many of which are very pleasant) and your wife starts to go into labor. So now here you are, tired from the long trip, sitting in a room with livestock, your wife's going through labor, and the last thing your going to think of is anything romantic.

I just don't see the romantic side of this. I do however recognize the power in the reality of the story. Jesus was human. He was birthed same as I was. He had to be bathed same as I was. He cried same as I did. He grew up same as I did. He experienced the same feelings I feel. He had the same emotions I had. He was just like me except for one aspect... He was also God.

That's the power of this story to me. The fact that He was almost no different from me. Why do we raise him up to such a level that we ignore the fact that he was just like we are? Why do we sing songs of how romantic his birth was when that wasn't how it happened at all? Why do we try so hard to create reasons why Jesus wasn't like us at all? That's where I see beauty in this story. I see the beauty in that I can relate to Jesus on a personal-everyday-real-life-He-knows-what-I've-experienced level. That's amazing. That's awesome. That's mind blowing.

So I'm back to where I started. Is it just me or does our Christmas music create this cheesy, weak, pale expression of what we have actually come to celebrate?

Leave your thoughts.

Atheist Christian?

2006-11-02T16:42:00.000-06:00

This is a quote from an interview with Brian Flemming, the director of a documentary debunking Jesus' very existence.

You refer to yourself as an "atheist Christian." What do you mean by that?

Brian Flemming: Once you're a Christian, I don't think you ever shake being a Christian, and personally I don't want to. When I realized that the first-century science that Christianity proclaims is basically completely wrong, that didn't mean Jesus was evil. It didn't mean Jesus was bad. Jesus is in many ways still a great character. As you see in the movie, when he calls for everybody who doesn't want him to reign over them to be killed, that's not the Jesus I'm talking about. But the Jesus that I hold in my mind as the Jesus who taught me my moral values in many ways, I don't want to lose that. I like Jesus. When I see a picture of Jesus that doesn't make me feel bad, it makes me feel good. I'm an atheist because I only believe those things that can be demonstrated and proved. I don't believe that faith is a good thing at all. But I'm a Christian in that I love Jesus

Now tell me if that makes any sense at all.

Theistic Determination

2006-10-18T09:02:00.000-05:00

Theistic Determination – If GOD knows “The Future” (what you will do), then how can you possibly do anything other than what you will do.

If you believe in GOD, then you believe that GOD is omniscient,omnipresent, and omnipotent. If you believe that GOD is omniscient then you believe that GOD knows everything. If GOD knows everything then GOD knows the future. If GOD knows the future then GOD knows what you will do. If GOD knows what you will do then how can you do anything other than what you will do. If you can do nothing other than what you will do then how can you have a choice?

So basically all Theistic Determination is saying is that GOD knows every action and every decision that you will ever make, and if GOD already knows every action and every decision that you will ever make, then how can you possibly choose to do any other action or any other decision that what GOD knows. Therefore you have no choice. Everything you will has already been decided for you.

My first problem with this view is that I see it as limiting GOD’s omniscience. This view says that GOD can only know of one future for my life. What if when I am born I am born with an infinite number of possible futures? What if when I am born there is an infinite number of possible paths my life can take?

If this is true then every decision I make shaves off any possible futures that depended upon me making that choice. For instance, when I was ten I chose to become a Christian. The moment before I made that decision I had an infinite number of possible futures that led both ways, down the Christian path and down the pagan path. But as soon as I made the decision to become a Christian all of the possible futures that I had that depended on me being pagan were shaved away.

So how much harder is it for GOD to know all of my possible decisions and actions before I do them? If GOD is omniscient then he already knows everything, and if I am a part of everything, and if my decisions are a part of everything, then all of my possible futures are a part of everything. Which GOD already knows.

My second major problem with Theistic Determination is this. Let’s just say that I buy into this concept that GOD already knows every decision and every action that I will ever make. Who decides what I will do? I’ll assume that it’s GOD who makes that decision (since GOD is omniscient and omnipotent he therefore has the knowledge and the power to make my decisions for me). So what about sin? If GOD is by definition “good” and sin is by definition “evil” then how can an all-good being force me to do evil?

Remembering

2006-09-11T18:20:00.000-05:00

Has it really already been five years? It feels like it was yesterday.

I remember that day so clearly.

Sitting in Mr. Garth's 1st period Pre AP U.S. History class. We were just talking waiting for him to get his stuff together to teach. All of a sudden Mrs. Ray ran into the room and asked Mr. G to come out into the hall. As soon as he had gone out of the hall, he jumped back in the room and turned on the t.v. I remember him telling us, "This is history in the making."

Dan Rather was sitting at his desk. In the top right corner of the screen they had a picture of the world trade center smoking. Dan Rather was saying something about a plane hitting the tower. That's when the second plane hit.

I saw it live. The room was stone-cold silent.

Then Rebekah Russek, I'll never forget her name, turned around to the girl sitting behind her and said, "Let's pray."

They immediately put their heads on their desks and prayed.

The rest of the day is really a blur. Just going to class and sitting there because none of the teachers wanted to teach. I didn't really know what to think of what happened, and none of my friends did either.

Here we are now, five years later. I hear people talking about how bad that day was for us. They say things like that was the worst day in American History. They say that was the worst loss of civilian life on American soil ever. They say that was the nastiest most cruel thing that could of happened.

I see it all so differently though.

On September 11,2001, I saw the good in man. I saw hundreds of brave men and women run into the towers to help those who were hurt. I saw people serving others through the ultimate form of love. I saw barriers of race and religion and financial status broken that day. On September 11, 2001, all men were viewed equal. We helped our neighbors to their feet with kindness. We truely loved one another that day.

I refuse to look back on that day and see the bad and evil of man. To do so is to say that God can't make it better. Instead I see how God took the worst that man can do, and used it to glorify himself. He took evil of man and instead showed the good of man.

I can't believe that it was five years ago today.

Jealousy & Envy

2006-09-01T10:26:00.000-05:00

"Jealousy is not categorically evil. Envy is evil, and when we equate jealousy with envy, then it is quite wrong. But 'jealousy' doesn't really mean 'envy.' Envy is craving what belongs to someone else; jealousy is craving what belongs to oneself. Envy is toxic, a destroyer of things. Jealousy is a protector of the sacred." - Micaela Fisher

Please leave comments on whether or not you agree with this quote. I'm interested in what you have to say.

-Please note you can leave a comment even if you don't have a blogger id. When you go to comments, click on other and type in your name. Thank you.

Choices

2006-08-26T22:52:00.000-05:00

Choices.

Life is a series of choices.

And our previous choices can limit our future ones.

We make choices every day from the mundane to the life-changing.

I chose to put my shoes on before my socks just as much as I chose to give my life to Christ.

Choices.

I’ve heard it argued that our choices define us.

I chose to believe in Christ, therefore I am a Christian.

I chose to play soccer; therefore I am a soccer player.

I chose to go to college; therefore I am a college student.

Choices.

The choices we make today affect tomorrow. I believe that with all of my heart.

So why do we make stupid choices?

Why do we choose to do stuff that can hurt us or put us in danger?

Why do we choose to take actions that can damage our witness and the way in which others view us?

Choices.

I know the luckiest girl in the world. She chose to sneak out of her parent’s house one night and go joyriding with a friend. She’s and her friend are both 13. Her friend was driving but lost control of the vehicle because she wasn’t trained in how to properly drive a car. The car crashed and the girl I know was thrown from the car. She got a concussion, two broken ribs, six broken vertebrae, a punctured lung, and she lost a part of one of her kidneys.

I say she’s lucky because today she can walk.

But she made a stupid choice.

Choices.
For the rest of her life she will have scars.

For the rest of her life she will not be able to play any sport that has contact.

For the rest of her life she will be missing a piece of one of her organs.

Choices.

The choices you make today affect your future.

Don’t make choices today that can hurt your future.

You may not be so lucky.

Choices.

The Problem of Evil

2006-08-23T21:59:00.000-05:00

“The Problem of Evil

“We have seen that the existence of an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good being seems to be incompatible with the existence of evil. If god possessed only two of these three attributes, however, there would be no problem. For example, if God were all-knowing and all-good but not all-powerful, we could account for the existence of evil by claiming that God is powerless to prevent it. If God were all-powerful and all-good but not all-knowing, we could account for the existence of evil by claiming God is ignorant of its existence. If God were all-powerful and all-knowing but not all-good, we could account for the existence of evil by claming that God isn’t opposed to it. To many, however, a being that is limited in any of these ways would not be God. So unless a solution to this problem can be found, the traditional conception of God must be revised.”

That is straight out of my philosophy book.

I have real issues with what it is saying though.

I believe that God is all-powerful. He created the world. He spoke and brought forth light. He shaped me and made me.

I believe that God is all-knowing. He knew me before he formed me. He knows what is past, what is present, and what is to come.

I believe that God is all-good. God loves us and would never do anything to harm us. He even sent his only son here as a sacrifice for our sins so that we may spend our eternity with him and not have to pay the price for our actions.

Yet I also believe there is evil in the world. There is a devil. Bad stuff really does happen.

So according to this book I can either believe that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good; therefore, there is no evil. Or I can believe that there is evil in the world; therefore, God is not all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good.

But I see a flaw in the basic assumptions this book uses to reach those conclusions.

I have the ability to yell. That doesn’t mean that I will yell every time I talk just because I can. I have and arm and a fist. That doesn’t mean that I will punch everyone I meet just because I can.

So why is there evil in a world where God is in control then? Because he loves us and he doesn’t make us do anything. We as a people have decided that we like evil. We have decided that we like to lie. We like to kill. We like to covet. We like to worship things other than him. And because he loves us, he respects us, and allows us to continue on this downward spiral into nothingness.

God is all-powerful.

God is all-knowing.

God is all-good.

God is all-love.

Light

2006-08-16T12:27:00.000-05:00

Light.

What is light really?

Light has no mass. Light has no smell. Light has no taste.

There is one thing light has though... energy.

Here's another thing about light. Light is the antithesis of dark. Whereever light is dark, by definition, cannot exist. Light pure and simply repells dark.

So are we doing our part as light?

In Matt 5:13-16 Jesus tells us we are the "salt of the earth" (refer to previous post) then he goes on to call us the "light of the world".

Light fundamentally represents good (God) and dark represents evil (Devil). You know how you can always tell who the villain will be in a western movie... he always has a black hat on.

Are we doing our best to represent our God and dispell the devil or are we just going through the motions?

Are we repelling the dark around us or are we putting a shade over our light to fit in with everyone else?

Let's be lights in the dark. Let's shine.

Salt

2006-08-08T13:52:00.000-05:00

Salt. It really is an amazing substance. All salt is is sodium and chlorine. Two substances when digested alone can be fatal, but when mixed have some amazing properties.

Salt was one of the world's first preservatives. As a preservative it was more valuable than gold. There were salt trade routes into Africa, which at the time had the richest civilizations due to the salt deposits there.

Salt is also a spice that we use even today in large amount in our food.

The chemical make-up of salt is such that it can change the physical properties of a substance when salt is added. If you add salt to water you not only raise it's boiling point but you also lower it's freezing point.

Salt.

You know, Jesus called us to be the Salt of the Earth (Matt 5:13-16). As Christians we are different from the rest of the world. We are dead to our old ways, the ways of the world, and are called to walk in a new way, the way of Christ.

Jesus didn't just use the term salt at random. We are to be like salt in that we are valuable and that we should change everything around us.

We are valuable not only to God, but to other Christians. We need to stick together to get the job done. We can't go about it alone, and no one is expendable. We all have worth whether it's leading the service on Sunday or it's simply sitting in the pew. We all have a place and our worth is priceless.

We are also like salt in that we should change our environment. Just as when salt is added to whether it can change the properties of that water, we as Christians, when sent into the world, should change the way in which that world thinks and behaves. Now me as a single salt crystal cannot achieve tons of change, but but I can achieve some change. Imagine what it would be like if the whole Church decided to be salty every day. Imagine the changes we could create in even a short amount of time.

This is my call to my fellow Christians to become salty. Stand out and make that change that is necessary.

Be bold. Be salty.

2006-07-28T12:34:00.000-05:00

In a post from a few days ago I mentioned courage. I got to thinking more about that and I remembered this experience.

Four years ago I went to Church Camp at Gulf Shores, Mississippi. On the third day they had us do this excersize.

We all met in the worship center and the camp pastor gave us these instructions. We would have 30 minutes to find the underground church. All of the youth leaders and sponsors would be outside. Some of them knew the location of the church, and others were spies. Some didn't know anything. The camp staff were to be the police. If they suspected you were a christian, you could be thrown in jail and then executed for your beliefs.

He told us that and then kicked us out of the building.

I remember that when we started, it seemed like more of a cheesy game. I was a freshman and thought I knew what everything was and how everything worked. I was sure I'd find the church.

So me and some of my youth group kind of teamed up. We went around asking sponsors if they knew where the "fish market" was, or if they could help us be "fishers of men".

We finally found someone who told us to look for a place to serve. Me in all my infinite wisdom decided the best place was where we checked in. Because we helped serve eachother by bringing in eachother's luggage. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

As we were walking up there, one of the guards brought out a prisoner. He made the prisoner kneel down. Then he asked the prisoner if he believed in God. The prisoner said yes. The guard "killed" him with his broom-stick gun.

That's when it became more real for me.

So I got my group to hurry up to the front.

When we got there, there was a man standing in the back of a truck quoting scriptures. I just knew I had found the church. We were all given a little mark (a black dot) on our hands and told that the police could no longer catch us. I was pumped. I led my group to go out and get as many people as we could to come join our church.

After awhile, the horn blew and we all went back to the sanctuary.

When we got in, the pastor asked if everyone who had a black dot on their hand to stand up. Out of about 1,000 people 600 people stood up. He looked at us and told us that we were all fools and had joined a cult church.

The guy in the back of that truck was quoting scripture, but out of context and he had changed it. I felt stupid. I had been in church my whole life, yet here I was joining a cult church at church camp.

Then he asked all of those who had found the real church to stand up. About 40 people stood up. He told us all that the real church was at the tennis courts. A good place to serve.

Then he asked all of those who had left the church to go tell others where the real church was to remain standing. No one sat down.

Then he asked how many were executed for trying to tell everyone about the church. Half of them remained standing.

Next he had a kid come on stage, the kid told us about how he was arrested first. He was brought out on the hill at broom-stick gun point. He was mad to kneel down in the grass. The camp councilor put the broom stick to his head and asked if he believed in christ.

The kid said no.

There were some people there at church camp who were afriad to admit they knew christ when a broomstick was pointed at their head.

It was a real wake-up call to me. I needed to know the scripture better. I wanted to be able to leave the safety of the church and face persecution to bring others to christ. I wanted to have the faith it took to look down the barrel of a gun and say, "I am a Christian."

Evangalism...

2006-07-26T14:21:00.000-05:00

Evangalism, I get chills every time I hear that word. I mean I just get this picture of old people wearing suits and telling you that 'Your a sinner and your gunna go to hell unless you repent of your sinful ways this instant!" But this isn't really what evangalism is about. Evangalism is just some fancy Christian lingo for witnessing. Now what exactly is witnessing? Simply put witnessing is sharing the good news of Christ. Now there are many ways of doing that that don't necessarily involve preaching at giant rallies for God or throwing Bible tracts in people faces. The easiest way to witness is just to live your life for God every day. Actions speak a thousand words. You can talk the Christian talk, but if you do not walk the Christian walk, your a lame duck. What impresses people most is your first reaction to a situation. Here's my little story.

I was in eighth grade in Mr. Garth's Pre Ap History class, first period. When all of a sudden Mrs. Ray came running down the hall (her hair was in this wimply bee-hive and it was flopping from side to side). She stuck her face in the room looked at Mr. Garth and said "Come out here now." He did. Next thing I know he cam trotting back in the room, turned on the TV and said "This is history in the making." I saw the second plane hit the World Trade Center live. I will never forget what happened next. Rebecca Rusek turned around to the girl behind her and said "Let's pray."

Now I was raised in a Christian home and went to church my whole life. I gave my life over to Christ when I was ten. I thought I was a pretty good christian kid. You know never stole, told big lies, or killed anybody. When Rebecca did that it was a wakeup call and it still is today. What is my reaction going to be next time I see something terrible? Will i react in a way that reflects my love of Christ in a way that will show Christ to those around me? My answer is that I hope so, but it's a struggle for me everyday.

School Prayer

2006-07-25T15:46:00.000-05:00

I was reading some blogs and a friend of mine was talking about school prayer. It got me thinking. Here are my thoughts.

Last year I had to write a research paper of school prayer (you can read it here). I had always assumed though, that all prayer was banned from schools. That's not the case. Manidated prayers, prayers people were forced to say, were banned. Not prayer in general.

But this got me thinking though. When we, as christians, say that we want prayer in school, are we saying we want prayer in general or just christian prayers to be allowed?

I say prayer in general.

I may not like it but if I want the right to pray to my God, then I must respect my Hindu friend's right to pray to her gods. I had never thought of it like that.

We as christians demand the right for us to pray, yet we condem other prayers. That's not love. To me, that's oppression.

You see, for me, it's all about choice. In John 3:16 it says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

It says whoever (or whosoever). It didn't say, "Allen Arrington will believe in me and have eternal life." I had to make that choice. Here's the kicker though... God loves everyone. Even those who do not choose him. I am supposed to be like God, so therefore I must love everyone even if I do not agree with their choices.

It's not tolerance I'm talking about, it's love.

So next time you get in a tizzy over school prayer, I just want you to think. Are you campeigning for prayer or christian prayer.

So when my friend is talking about, "why can we not pray over the loud speaker?" that's why. We can't expect the right for us, and not expect the right for them.

That's why I am personally against a planned public school prayer. But I am all for praying at school, whether it's on your own or in a group.

Pray on!

C-C-C-C-Courage...

2006-07-24T16:52:00.000-05:00

Last night for our youth worship service, instead of having the normal sermon-ish type setting, we had a discussion. What we really ended up focusing on was courage to talk about Christ in school and why it's so hard to do that.

It was a really neat discussion, and I was surprised at how we approached it. This morning when I was headin' over to Leal's (if you live in Waco then you know that that is the best place in the world to get a breakfast burrito) a song came on...

What are we sneaking around for?
Who are we trying to please?

Shrugging off sin, apologizing

like we're spreading some kind of disease.

That really got me thinking. I know that through my own personal highschool experience, I did almost try to hide the fact that I was a christian. I was proud to be a christian, but I was scared to bring the subject up around my friends. I didn't hang out with the "partiers", the "druggies",and the "drinkers" because of the fact that I was a christian. But I was afraid to bring up that subject around my real friends, the people that I cared about.

Why did I do that? Why was it so hard for me to bring up the subject of My God and My Savior?

I honestly can't answer that question, and I know that I missed some great opportunities to share Christ with people because of my lack of courage.

The song continues on like this (you may recognize this part if you didn't remember that last section)...

I'm saying, "No way. No way."

I'm not ashamed to let you know

I want this light in me to show.

I'm not ashamed to speak the name of Jesus Christ.

I like how it says that "I'm saying, 'No Way!'"

I am not going to be afraid any more. I have nothing to fear anyways. Fear is mortal, but God is immortal. Fear is physical, but God isn't physical. I have nothing to fear because I have God on my side, and I know that everything that happens, happens to glorify his name.

For those of you who are still in highschool, this could possibly be your single biggest ministry opportunity. Don't have regrets because you were just a little to timid to share Christ with your friends. Say "No way. Not anymore. I'm not ashamed to speak the name of my Jesus Christ."

What are we thinking?

2006-07-23T14:01:00.000-05:00

Today in church we had two couples decide to join our congregation. After they were introduced to the church, our Minister of Music asked someone to pray for us. A lady in the back shouted out, "We forgot to vote on them!"

What are we thinking?

What are we doing voting on members of our church?

Since when can we decide who gets to be a part of our church?

Are we not supposed to be a church of God?

Didn't God tell us to love all people (Lev 19:18)?

Wasn't Jesus all about sharing with everybody?

What are we thinking?

I know that it's in our church's bi-laws that we are to vote on new members... but again I ask why?

Why can't we just affirm them in their decision, or better yet, welcome them into our family?

What are we thinking?

My Jesus

2006-07-22T20:57:00.000-05:00

I'm so sick of the whimpy pictures of Jesus standing on a hill with his arms wide open and the children skipping around him and singing and playing tag.

That's not who or what Jesus was. And to portay him like that is a fantasy we have engrossed ourselves in because the real Jesus was scary.

Let me tell you about my Jesus.

My Jesus doesn't wear a clean white robe, his robes were dirty and torn from walking down hard dirty roads.

My Jesus doesn't have clean brushed hair, his hair is nappy and has lice and hasn't been washed in weeks.

My Jesus doesn't hang around on hill tops with his arms wide open, he walks down the ally's helping the blind, touching the lepers, talking with the sinners and prostitutes.

My Jesus doesn't have a nice beard, his beard is nappy and has old stale bread crumbs in it.

My Jesus doesn't have deep dark loving cute brown eyes, he has hard blue eyes that are crazy and defiant of the old teachings and the hypocratic teachers of law and religion.

My Jesus doesn't preach at people, he talks with them.

My Jesus wasn't sent to die for my sins, he chose to.

Lady in the Water...

2006-07-21T18:50:00.000-05:00

When you consider a modern day fairy tale, no matter how twisted, ideal descriptions include "enchanting," "engaging," and "magical." They do not include "silly," "ridiculous," and "laughable." Unfortunately, in the case of Lady in the Water, the latter group of adjectives is the one that applies. This is the biggest misfire of M. Night Shyamalan's career, including his pre-Sixth Sense movies. In addition to being dull and uninvolving, the film fails to draw in the viewer sufficiently to facilitate suspension of disbelief, which allows the plot to resemble a rejected Ed Wood screenplay. For those who though Shyamalan was stretching and not playing fair in The Village, you ain't seen nothing yet.
-A Film Review by James Berardinelli

I say poop on you Mr. James Berardinelli!

Lady in the Water was a great movie.

The movie was not about some silly fairy tale though. LIke every single M. Night Shyamalan movie, there was much more to the plot that just the action. His movies involve deep twists and themes. Lady in the Water was no exception.

I don't want to ruin the movie for those of you who haven't seen it yet, but don't just look at the surface movie. Go in to that theater searching for meaning behind the story, look for parallels and symbols to every day life. If all you see is some silly story, then you only saw a movie, you didn't watch it.

Shymalan is a creative genius, and as is the case with most other geniuses, generally misunderstood.

This is my new list of favorate M. Night Shymalan movies in order, with the reasons that I like them...
1) The Sixth Sense - what a awesome twist at the end
2)Unbreakable - The theme of deep balance in the universe
3)The Village - Yet another great twist
4)Lady in the Water - The themes of everybodies purpose and of healing
5)Signs - yet again, the theme of no coincidences

If you don't like any of M. Night's movies, I strongly suggest that you go back and re-watch the movies again, but this time actually think about it as you watch it.

On turning 18

2006-07-20T15:09:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my 18th birthday (applause here). Thank you, thank you. But I must say that it really wasn't all that different from any other day.

I don't really know what I was expecting really, I mean I didn't think that on my 18th birthday I would all of a sudden by endowed with great wisdom. I didn't expect a card in the mail from the government saying "Congratulations, you have reached adulthood!". But I guess that I was expecting something, even though I'm not sure what it was.

Maybe I was expecting more respect, but then I realized everyone whom I care about respecting me already does. Or maybe I was expecting to be treated more like an adult, but again, everyone whom I care about treating me like an adult already does (for the most part).

But as of yesterday I can vote, buy lottery tickets, and use tobacco, but there is no election right now, I don't wanna waste my money on the lotto, and I simply deplore tobacco. So as of yesterday I can do nothing remarkable that I couldn't do two days ago.

I don't mean to sound pessimistic, I mean I really did have an awesome day. I got to spend all day at church with my friends and some family. I got to play around with a ton of little kids at VBS. I got to go to Mr. Snow (the best snow-cones in Waco). I got see my girlfriend. It really was a great birthday.

So here I am, three days older than two days ago, but now I'm 18.

Christian Creed

2006-07-18T17:21:00.000-05:00

Today in my car I was listening to K-LOVE and the song "Creed" came on. It really is an awesome song and it is just so deep in meaning. As I was listening to the words I just couldn't help but think that this really should be our creed...

I believe in God the Father
Almighty Maker of Heaven and Maker of Earth
And in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, our Lord
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
Born of the virgin Mary
Suffered under Pontius Pilate
He was crucified and dead and buried

And I believe what I believe is what makes me what I am
I did not make it, no it is making me
It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man

Wow! "I believe that what I believe is what makes me what I am" that is such a powerful statement. I believe in Christ and that is what makes me what I am, a Christian, a little Christ, a Follower of the Way.

I believe that He who suffered was crucified, buried, and dead
He descended into hell and on the third day, rose again
He ascended into Heaven where He sits at God's mighty right hand
I believe that He's returning
To judge the quick and the dead of the sons of men

"I did not make it, not is is making me" Another awesome statement. This belief is continuing to make me. It is constantly changing me and molding me into an even better Christian.

I believe in God the Father
Almighty Maker of Heaven and Maker of Earth
And in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, our Lord
I believe in the Holy Spirit
One Holy Church
The communion of Saints
The forgiveness of sin
I believe in the resurrection
I believe in a life that never ends

"It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man" This was not something made by men to control men... no. It is God-breathed. It is heavenly inspired. It is the TRUTH.

What an awesome song!

The Cross

2006-07-17T16:03:00.000-05:00

Today in my car I was listening to the local christian radio station and this lady came on and said, "I just love it when people wear the cross around their neck. It's like they should be wearing a guillotine or a gas-chamber around their neck instead because the cross was the ultimate form of torture."

I was shocked. I guess I had never really thought about the actual meaning behind the cross. I mean I've always known that the cross was a mode of execution used by the Romans. It's just that since Christ died on the cross for us; we as christians have taken the cross and changed it's meaning to freedom and salvation through christ.

But what did the cross actually symbolize?

The gas-chamber comment really brought it home for me. I live in Texas where we send the most peolple out of any other state to the gas-chamber. It's the ultimate punishment for any crime. It's death. When you get sent to the gas-chamber, you have done something so haneous, so brutal, that we as society think we are better off with you dead.

We've all sinned. We've all committed haneous acts when we deliberately disobey God. We earn death. We earn the worst possible punishment. Yet Christ said, "No". He stepped in front of me and took my place in the gas-chamber. He payed my debt to God.

That's what the cross means. It's not just this structure in your churches sanctuary. It's not just this token on your necklace. The cross means we've been judged guilty, but Jesus payed it all for me.

That's my cross.

Time to Brag

2006-07-15T15:46:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my family and I went to go pick up my brother from String Camp.

For those of you who didn’t know it, my little brother plays the viola (a bigger, beefier violin instrument). He had chosen to go to String Camp so he could be with his buds and also get some more exposure to the strings.

The whole week they practice alone and together as an orchestra, they take lessons on theory and conducting and lit, and they get to have good old fashioned fun. Every year though, they have a concert on the last night.

I love the concert. It’s the only part of orchestra that a musically ignorant soul, such as I, can truly enjoy. Orchestral music is beautiful. I love it. (If you are curious about classical music but don’t know what to listen to I recommend listening to the Phantom of the Opera soundtrack.)

This will be Mikey’s 5th year in Orchestra. I remember when he first started… all he played was”Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”. Oh I got so sick of that stinkin’ song! But now he’s gotten so good. It’s really a joy to listen to him play now.

For the concert, the last piece his orchestra played was “Symphony No. 8-Finale” by Dvorak. That is one of Mikey’s favorite pieces to play, and he was so scared that they were going to mess it up because they had rushed it every time they practiced it all week long.

They nailed it! It was amazing. Definitely one of the best performances he’s ever done.

So Mikey, I tip my hat to you.

Good job little bro!

Time for a Change

2006-07-13T13:43:00.000-05:00

I was talking with my dad earlier today about our bathroom. He's been repainting it and I told him that it looked good.

He responded, "The thing about paint though is that you can put as much plaster, you can put as much paint over it, and there can still be rotten wood underneath."

That really hit me. This last week at camp our speaker, James Darby, emphasized that we need a change of heart.

One of the verses that he referenced was Matthew 15:18-19, "But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander."

Our church needs a change of heart. For those of you who don't go to my church there have been some very real problems. No one person is to blame. Yet because of these problems our church is now divided, our church is now without a pastor, our church is now without a Minister of Education, our church is sick and dieing.

I'm afraid that now, as we have a shift in leadership, instead of trying to resolve those problems; we'll just slap a new coat of paint over it and call it done. That's not going to fix it though. If we don't try to fix the rot in our hearts, we'll decay and die as a church.

In Matthew 21:18-22 Jesus is hungry. He approaches a fig tree for food, but it was barren. He cursed the tree and it withered and it died.

Our church is that tree. We are called to bear fruit, to live for Christ. How can we do that if our hearts aren't right? How can we even attempt to imitate Christ in all that we do, if we don't reside in him?

Our tree isn't producing, and it's because we've allowed hate into our hearts. It's because we've become obsessed with power. It's because we've lost sight of God.

It's time for a change. We can't slap any more paint over it. Now is the time for us to change.

My question to you is this, are you willing to change?

Coincidence, I think not

2006-07-12T13:25:00.000-05:00

“A coincidence is when God performs a miracle and chooses to remain anonymous.” -Anonymous

I want to share a little secret with you… there is no such thing as a coincidence. They simply don’t exist.

Every person I meet, every place I go, every action I take impacts other people.

Imagine this blob of clay. Now imagine that you are this blob lf clay. Now as you’re floating along, God is molding you. He’s shaping you into what he wants you to be. Now imagine that as your floating along and being formed, you bump into another blob of clay. When you collide, you leave an impression on that blob. You make an impact on that blob. And when you collide, you also change course, if ever so slightly. Now God is still molding you, but you’re left with this little impression from your collision. That’s because that blob has impacted your life in some way.

After 18 years of me floating around and being formed by God, I’m left with tons of little impressions from those people whom I’ve met. They’ve impacted my life. Some more than others, but each has left a distinct mark. Also with every little impression, my course changed just a tad. These impacts have helped determine the course of my life.

That’s how God works. He planned for me to impact somebody just as he planned for them to impact me.

The question becomes though, what kind of an impression are you leaving? Is it Godly? Is it worldly? Is it loving? Is it hatred?

God planned for me to meet every person that I’ve met. I can only hope that they can see God in me. I know I’ve left bad impressions before, I’m not perfect. But now that I can see that this is one way in which God uses me, I try to make a Godly impression every time.

There’s no such thing as coincidence.

It’s not a coincidence that you’re reading this right now. It’s not a coincidence that you are where you are. God wants you there.

From now on though, I challenge you to think of this every time you meet someone. You’re meeting them for a reason. Leave a Godly impact.

Pace Yourself

2006-07-11T13:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I decided I wanted to go running. I hadn't just gone running in awhile and I figured I might as well since I had time. So I went out to the mountain Bike course at MCC.

Now I've walked the Black Diamond one before, but this time I decided I'd jog it out. It's about 2 miles, and I can run two miles. I thought it'd be a piece of cake.

So I started out at a nice jog. Just kind of cruisin'. I had gone probably a tenth of a mile when I got to the first big hill.

Now this hill is incredibly steep. You know in cartoon when they have the mountain, and the path zig-zags up it at like a 45 degree angle, that's what this hill is like. So I started up the hill. I'm pumpin' my legs, keepin' on my toes. Pretty soon my legs start to burn; I mean fire. I had made it up the second little incline (there are four) and I had to stop. My legs just couldn't take it.

So I decided I'd give it up and go home.

I was walkin' down when I thought, "I can make it up that hill." So when I got to the bottom I tried it again. This time though, I didn't do it at a sprint. I took my time. I paced myself. I got to the top.

It was beautiful.

I just stood there listening to the silence and looking around at the trees. That's when it hit me.

This is what it's always like the week after camp. We get so pumped up for God, we get to passionate; that when we get back home we take everything at a sprint. We just charge the world like we're ready to take on hell with a water pistol. Then we get burnt out. Whether its our friends makin' fun of us, or ignoring us. Whether its family issues. It just doesn't seem to matter, we always lose steam and get burnt out before we get to the top, before we crest the hill.

This is my word of encouragement for you. Don't let yourself get burnt out these next few weeks, don't lose all the ground you made with God in your life last week. Take your time. Take little steps. Start a 5 minutes quiet time in the morning. Start a little prayer list of your own to help you keep track of what you need to be praying for. Get a friend who you can trust, and create an accountability partner.

Don't lose your passion for Christ just because you burn yourself out this week. Pace yourself. Nurture that passion, and watch it grow. These first few weeks will be hard, but the reward will be amazing.

After I crested that hill, I just walked the rest of the path. It was so beautiful. It was hard for me to believe that I almost missed out on all of that just because I tried to sprint up that hill instead of pacing myself.

Don't miss out.

Racquetball

2006-07-10T13:12:00.000-05:00

So today was the first day for the Summer II semester at MCC. Since it is the summer and I don't feel like doing a massive amount of work, I decided I'd take Racquetball.

Racquetball really looks like a neat sport. I mean your in a giant room with two small tennis racquets, and your hitting this hard rubber ball all over the place. The balls zooming around bouncing off the ceiling, walls, and floor. The odds of you getting hit by the ball at least a dozen times a game is huge. What could be more fun right?

But anyways, so I showed up at the racquetball courts and only two other students were there, and I of course was the only one who was dressed ready to play. So it turns out that there are only six people enrolled and there need to be ten people for the class to make. So my racquetball class might not make.

Sad day, I know.

Well I really hope the class makes because racquetball does look fun. But odds are this kid won't be learning racquetball this summer...

God Camp

2006-07-08T18:20:00.000-05:00

Wow!

That's all I really have to say. This past week was A-mazing. There is no doubt in my mind that God planned for me to be there this past week. Even though the leadership at the camp was horrible, and the weather was less than perfect... God worked miracles. We took 16 youths to camp and had a total of 7 decisions to follow Christ and 2 calls to the Ministry.

Wow!

I was one of those called. I have been searching for God's direction for my life for a little over a year now, and I came to this camp wanting to find God's will for my life. God answers prayers. Thursday night, the Justin Cofield Band (Wow!) sand one song called "Send Me". The chorus goes like this...

Send me

I will go

I will give everything to make You known

My joy, You complete

In all I do may You be seen

Send me

Wow!

When those words came on the screen, I just couldn't help it; I knelt down and prayed for God's guidance and will. I prayed that he would affirm a call to the ministry that I had been feeling for some time. The nest song we sang was "You Explode" (see quote of the week).

Wow!

All day friday that was all I could think about. "Send me, I will go.... You explode across the sky... I will give everything to make you known... You explode across my mind... In all I do may You be seen... You explode across my life... Send me."

Wow!

Friday night when James Darby asked all of those who had felt God's call to the ministry this past week to stand; I was humbled to stand not only with one of friends and brothers in Christ, but with 30-40 other young adults whom God is planning awesome things for.

Wow!

What a week! Thank you so much for your prayers. God is good!

Church Camp

2006-07-02T18:15:00.000-05:00

Church Camp. What an amazing time. Not just the fun and the friends, but the passion and the joy and the love. That is what it is all about. I pray for God’s leadership and guidance at camp. I pray that He can take those chosen persons whom He has picked, and can let His message funnel through them and into us. I pray that this message becomes a passion for us, and that God can take this Passion and turn it into a desire. I pray that God can take this desire and turn it into a discipleship. And I pray that God can turn this discipleship into a life-long witness for us. Please pray for us.

I can’t wait for Church Camp.

The Bible as a Book

2006-06-30T21:12:00.000-05:00

All through high school I took Advanced Placement (AP) English classes, not necessarily because I was best suited for the class, but because I enjoyed the discussions. You see in the advanced (AP) classes, we got to discuss the meaning behind literary works instead of simply pushing vocab and grammar and being spoon-fed Hamlet. To understand meaning though, you must first understand the how or writing. How do you get your point across? How do you take the thoughts that are circling in your head, and put them in an arrangement so that others can understand your meaning in a crystal clear sense?

We had to extensively study figurative language; that is the art of writing.

Have you ever heard of metaphors? How about similes? Symbolism is a biggy. Irony, paradox, and diction are other good examples.

You can use these tools, and many others, to study any book you wish to. I mean it; you can apply these tools to any piece of literature.

Then why are we so afraid to apply these tools to the Bible? Are we afraid that if we treat the Bible as a work of literature we are betraying the sacred divinity of its contents? Is taking this tangible piece of art and trying to actually analyze it a desecration?

I say no. The Bible is a compilation of letters, biographies, songs, proverbs, and history. The Bible was written by people. The people who wrote the Bible didn’t go into a trance and lose control of the bodies as the Holy Spirit seized control and forced their hands to write out those precious words.

This is where I’m treading in dangerous waters. Is the Bible infallible, divinely-inspired, man-made, or inerrant?

My personal belief, as you may have already guessed, is divinely-inspired. “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” – 2 Timothy 3:16 ESV.

That for me says it. The Bible was divinely-inspired and written down by us mere mortals. Therefore why are we so afraid to take this very real book and analyze it so?

Leave a comment, you know how.

Savage Lesson

2006-06-29T13:49:00.000-05:00

Some of my more recent posts have been from a book called Brave New World. This is a novel by Aldous Huxley in which he looks at the lifestyle of the 1930’s and tries to condemn them for what they are doing. It’s a social satire, but its implications can still be used today.

I want you to think of the world as it is now. Where shampoo commercials use sex to sell their products. Where people try to lose weight by doing the minimal amount of work and eating the maximum amount of food. Where pleasure is misunderstood as correctness.

It’s the same as what Aldous Huxley wrote about. In his book he created a world where desire automatically led to pleasure, people were engineered and conditioned to only be happy. They sacrificed individuality for stability.

In it though, the lone voice of reason was The Savage. He understood that behind all of their freedoms, their free sex attitudes, their soma holidays, their conditioning to consume the maximum amount… behind it all, they were really enslaved. They were enslaved by desire. They were enslaved by society. They were enslaved by society.

The Savaged stood out among the crowd because he saw that entrapment, and avoided it. He was exiled for his belief in freedom.

How does this apply to us Christians?

Look at the world around you. We live in a world driven by desire and pleasure. That is not the world that God wanted for us, and he tells us not to conform to this world. “Do not be conformed to this world.” – Romans 12:2.

We are to stand out in this world as The Savage did. We are to stand out for God in this secular world, even if it brings upon us persecution and tribulation. That is our Christian call and credo. That is a radical discipleship.

Unorthodoxy of Behavior

2006-06-27T22:00:00.000-05:00

"I know. But that's all the more reason for severity. His intellectual eminence carries with it corresponding moral responsibilities. The greater a man's talents, the greater his power to lead astray. It is better that one should suffer than that many should be corrupted. Consider the matter dispassionately, Mr. Foster, and you will see that no offence is so heinous as unorthodoxy of behavior. Murder kills only the individual - and, after all, what is an individual?" With a sweeping gesture he indicated the rows of microscopes, test-tubes, and incubators. "We can make a new one with the greatest ease - as many as we like. Unorthodoxy threatens more than the life of a mere individual, it strikes at Society itself. Yes, at Society itself," he repeated. "Ah, but here he comes."

-Aldous Huxley
Brave New World

On Words

2006-06-25T14:41:00.000-05:00

"Oh, as far as they go." Hemholtz shrugged his shoulders. "But they go such a little way. They aren't important enough, somehow. I feel I could do something much more important. Yes, and more intense, more violent. But what? What is there more important to say? And how can one be violent about the sort of things one's expected to write about? Words can be like X-rays, if you use them properly - they'll go through anything. You read and you're pierced. That's one of the things I try to teach my students - how to write piercingly. But what on earth's the good of being pierced by an article about a Community Sing, or the latest improvement in scent organs? Besides, can you make words really piercing - you know, like the very hardest X-rays - when you're writing about that sort of thing? Can you say something about nothing? That's what it finally boils down to. I try and I try..."
- Aldous Huxley
Brave New World

Eat Me!

2006-06-24T12:07:00.000-05:00

“Then Jesus said to them, ’Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life… For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.’”
-John 6:53-55

Have you ever noticed how on Sundays, the sample tables at Sam’s are the only things being looked at? People show up and pretend to peruse the aisles, when in fact their eyes are on the Free-Food Tables.

My friends, Jesus is no Free Food Table!

When Jesus fed the five-thousand (scholars actually believe the number is closer to 15,000 due to the fact that only men were counted, excluding women and children), He wasn’t saying “Free food! Come and get it!” That is exactly what the people whom He fed thought though. They even followed him around the lake looking for more free handouts.

When they finally caught up to Jesus they tried to be nice, but He saw right through them and said, “You just want to fill your stomach with a food that provides a temporary solution, I offer food that will always satisfy you.”

They asked how they could get this food, and Jesus replied, “Believe in me.”

The crowd must have been a few french fries short of a happy meal because they still didn’t get what He was trying to say. They asked for some sign to figure out if He was indeed the one sent by God (but I guess they had forgotten about the previous day when He fed nearly 15,000 people with a few loaves of bread and some fish), they said that Moses had given them manna (which is bread from Heaven that God gave His people when they were going to The Promised Land). Jesus was starting to get frustrated because they still weren’t getting what He was saying, so he told them, “Moses didn’t give you bread, God did… and oh yeah, He sent me, His son, so listen to me!”

Now this is where the crowd really proves its mental power. They say, “Um, Sir, could we have the bread anyways?”

So Jesus replied, “Okay guys. Let me spell it out in crayons for you. I am the bread of life. Whoever listens to me, that person won’t be hungry. And oh yeah, I’m the one God sent. If you listen to me, if you truly listen to me, then you will live forever.”

So the crowd talks and they are go, “Hey, wait a second. Aren’t you Joseph’s kid? That carpenter guy? Then why are you saying that you have come down from Heaven?”

Jesus replies, “My Eternal Father, that’s God, sent me down here so that I can save you. Listen to me. I am the bread that God sent here. If you eat my bread, you won’t be hungry. This is not complicated. Listen to me.”

The crowd replied, “How can you give us food to eat, how can we eat your bread if you are the bread?”

Jesus finally just says it. “Eat Me! Eat My flesh! Drink My blood! If you don’t you will die! If you do eat My flesh and if you do drink My blood, then you will live! Listen and eat!”

You see, the crowd got too caught up on the physical world; they failed to realize that Jesus was talking using symbols. He didn’t mean that they should actually turn cannibal and eat him. He meant that we are supposed to crave Him, that we as his people are supposed to need him in the same way that we need sustenance to survive. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6) Long for Christ with all of your being (another Bible verse reference).

Jesus didn’t use terms associated with basic human needs by accident. You’re supposed to have a deep life-or-death need for Christ, because without Christ you will die. It’s not a physical death though, but rather a spiritual death.

What you see, what you taste, what you touch, what you hear… it’s all temporary. Don’t let the temporary illusions distract you from the Ever-Lasting truth. While our time here on earth is real, it’s not reality. While life here on earth is A reality, it’s not The Reality. That belongs to God and God alone.

I urge you not to get confused like the crowd did. Don’t miss out on the Ever-After because all you see is the Here-and-Now.

The quotes aren’t exact quotes; they are more along the lines of a paraphrase. I used John 6:22-59 with a particular emphasis on verses 53-55 with reference to Matthew 5:6 and Deuteronomy 6:5.

Evolution, a Discussion

2006-06-21T18:56:00.000-05:00

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” – Genesis 1:1

I spent a couple of days at my grandparent’s house this week. Tuesday morning me and my grandpa went to a little breakfast that this one church hosts. It’s a great time to get together and fellowship with friends, but also to do a little Bible study during the week. This morning we watched a video though. Christian apologetic Ken Ham discussed about how Genesis is the foundation of all Christian doctrine and theology. It was kind of interesting, but I disagreed with his opinions on evolution and homosexuality (I’d rather discuss evolution right now, but we can most assuredly discuss homosexuality at a later date).

Ken Ham said that he believed in a very strict word-for-word interpretation of the book of Genesis. He believes that Adam was the first man, Eve the first woman. He believes that there really was a snake that tempted Eve and Adam into eating the fruit from The Tree of Knowledge. He believes that God created every living creature. He believes that God really did flood the entire earth.

And I completely agree with that.

But he stated that since those are correct, that God really did create the world in seven days and that evolution did not and does not occur.

I disagree.

Firstly, symbolism is used throughout the entire Bible. The number ‘seven’ is seen as the number of perfection, of completion. The use of ‘seven days’ might just be a symbol of how when God created the world it was perfect. Also, God’s time is not measured the same as our time. God promised his chosen people that he would send them a savior soon, Jesus didn’t show up on the scene for another 2,000+ years. So the use of ‘days’ may just be a symbol for a period of time; the first period of time being when God created the day and night, the second period of time being when God created the earth and the seas, etc.

Secondly, I do believe that evolution has and continues to occur. Example: watch any nature show about birds 15 years ago. The birds hop to get around when they aren’t in flight. Now go outside and watch the birds move around on the ground. They walk. That’s an evolutionary effect that has taken place in the just last 10 to 20 years. Birds have adapted so that they now have the control over their legs to walk instead of having to hop around. Another example, look at bacterium. When penicillin was first discovered it was over prescribed because it effectively wiped nearly every known harmful bacterium. Now we’re seeing a rise in ‘super-bacterium’ that are immune to penicillin and other antibiotics. These are just two everyday examples that evolution does occur.

Now let me make this clear for you. I am a Christian and I am a Creationist. You will never hear me say that we as humans have evolved from monkeys into the creatures we are today. But in my opinion it is absolutely silly to say that evolution is a myth. By acknowledging that evolution happens is not the same as saying that Creationism is bunk.

I’m not saying, and will never say, that my views are the end-all-be-all final answers to the theory and problems of evolution. I would love to hear your views so that my understanding of this issue can grow and mature. Remember, you don’t have to have a Blogger ID to leave a comment. Thank you for your input.

Scriptures referenced are Genesis 1:1, 1:3-6, 1:26, 2:22, 6:9-9:17.

Preparation...

2006-06-20T15:52:00.000-05:00

I have ane excellent post ready for whenever I get back to Waco. For those of you who didn't know, I'm spending the week at my grandparents house, but I sadly cannot get connected to the internet on my laptop. So isntead I will take this time to tweek my evolution post. I would like everyone who happens to stumble across my site to leave a comment or two about the evolution post. I would love to hear your thoughts and get feedback so that I may grow in my understanding and knowledge, but also so that you may perhaps grow as well. Thank you. The post should be on here Thursday afternoon. I hope ya'll will have some amazing stuff ready for me!

What if Jesus came back today?

2006-06-17T21:38:00.000-05:00

”Generally, I don’t think Christians would like Jesus if he showed up today as he did 2,000 years ago. In fact, we’d call him a heretic and plot to kill him, too.”
– Brian McLaren

What would we do if Jesus showed up today? How we would react if the one person whom we claim to try to emulate came up to us and said, “Here I am. Follow me.”

The Jews were the chosen people of God. They were promised that the son of man would come and deliver them. They just misinterpreted it to me a great king would come to emancipate them from the Romans. I wonder though, is our vision of Jesus any closer?

The famous picture of Jesus that we all know today, is a picture of a handsome young man with a well-kept beard standing on a hill with his arms spread open. His robe is blindingly white. His teeth are straight and perfect. He has dark brown puppy-dog eyes.

That isn’t the Jesus that created such a scene 2,000 years ago though. That Jesus was a radical! That Jesus told his followers to forget about what this world thought of them and to care only about what their God thought of them. That Jesus told his followers to give away all of their earthly possessions and follow him. That Jesus told his followers to show mercy and grace where it was underserved. That Jesus called his followers to a radical discipleship.

That was a tough message to swallow then, and it’s an even tougher one to swallow today.

I’m afraid that we as a collective Christian community have marginalized that part of Jesus’ message. We focus too much on his birth and burial (yes those are important), but we tend to gloss over his time between that. Jesus wasn’t just sent to seek and save the lost; He was sent to show the lost how to live.

How would we receive Jesus Christ today? Would we throw away our worldly possessions and follow him, or would we instead ridicule this radical and send him to a die on a tree…

Blessed be Your name!

2006-06-11T21:57:00.000-05:00

Blessed be Your name in the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

I’ve always loved that song. It’s just so powerful, so moving. But I don’t think I ever really listened to the words until tonight.

I mean I’ve known the words for a long time, but I’ve never listened to them with my heart. I’ve just sung the words on the screen never realizing the magnitude of the words I was speaking.

And Blessed be Your name when I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be Your name

The verse that inspired this song is Job 1:21. If you aren’t familiar with the story of Job, I’ll give you a quick summary.

Job, simply put, was a man of God. He had the perfect life; wife, kids, camels, sheep, tents, servants, and loads of money. So the devil thought he could make Job lose his faith in God, but God said that no matter what the devil did Job would never waver in his faith. So the devil could do anything to Job except kill him.

So the devil took killed Job’s wife. The devil killed Job’s children. The devil took away Job’s servants, his camels, his sheep, his tents, and his money. The devil made Job covered in sores and live in pain.

Every blessing You pour out I’ll turn back to praise
And when the darkness closes in Lord still I will say
Blessed by the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Even through all of this Job never shook in his faith.

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!” – Job 1:21

Wow! How strong and deep Job’s faith was. I can only hope that I could achieve that intimate of a relationship with God. Where even though my life is falling down around me I can stand up and say, “Thank you Lord for what you’ve done for me! Blessed be Your name!”

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord blessed be Your name!

Spelling Solution - Shorten the Alphabet

2006-06-08T02:20:00.000-05:00

What if we decided that the letter ‘c’ should be dropped from the alphabet and should be replased by either the letter ‘k’ or ‘s’, and also that the letter ‘x’ should be removed? The only kase in which ‘c’ would be retained would be in the ‘ch’ formation.

Then you might deside to reform the use of the letter ‘w’, so that ‘which’ and ‘one’ take the same consonant, and you might replase ‘y’ with ‘i’ and fiks the ‘g/j’ anomaly wonse and for all.

Jenerally, then, the improvement would continue iear bi iear bi doing awai with useless double konsonants, and modifying vowlz and rimeing voist and unvoist konsonants.

It wud finali be posibl tu meik use ov the ridandant letez ‘c’,’y’ and ‘x’;- bi now jast a memori in the mindz ov uold doderez- tu riplais ‘ch’,’sh’ and ‘th’ rispektivli.

Finali, xen, afta sum 20 iears ov orxogrefkl reform, wi wud hev a lojikl, kohirent speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld.

-Eats, Shites & Leaves

A. Parody

thank you marc and shari

On Volunteering...

2006-06-03T22:39:00.000-05:00

So today I got the chance to go volunteer to serve a group of volunteers. I got the chance today to go and help with the appreciation luncheon for the RSVP. The RSVP is a group of retired seniors who do volunteer work.

Now I helped set up for the luncheon last year, but I didn’t help with the actual banquet. This year though I was able to attend the luncheon.

Wow. That’s really all I have to say. Those people were so amazing. They were funny and nice and kind. They truly were some of the nicest people that I think I have ever met.
They worked over 125,000 volunteer hours last year. If they had gotten paid minimum wage, they would have earned 2.2 million dollars! How crazy is that?

Now the rest of the luncheon was a different story. For awhile it just turned into political campaign with Chet Edwards giving a 20 minute speech about a bunch of political BS. I mean really, just thank the people who worked so hard, don’t try to campaign. But then again he is a politician…

The music they had this year was pretty nifty too. They had the Texas Country Gentlemen which is like a 15 member barbershop quartet. They were pretty decent and sang some good songs.

My favorite part of the whole thing though was when the TCG sang their last song. They sang God Bless America. For the last verse all of the RSVP members stood up and sang the last verse together. I got the chills. It was so powerful to see 700 retired seniors stand up, unprompted, to sing God Bless America. There was one vet who was near me who almost cried.

All in all it was an amazing time. I really am looking forward to it next year. I never thought that serving food to a bunch of elderly folks would be so great. Plus I got this nifty vest thing I’m so wearing to church tomorrow.

The future...

2006-05-31T22:04:00.000-05:00

I saw my future today and I am appalled.

There I was sitting and enjoying a Roast-Beef-with-Cheddar-Cheese-on-Regular-Bread-hold-the-onions sandwich from Schmaltz’s when I saw my future walk right in front of my face.

There they were, seven men eating lunch. All of them apparently professional. All of them apparently successful. But it wasn’t the men themselves that so mortified me… they were all wearing white starched shirts with dark suit pants and a tie. All of them! It was as if someone stamped them out of play-dough at the local Business Man Factory and sent them on their merry way.

I mean is this really what I’ve been conditioned to strive to achieve. All through school they tell, “If you make good grades you’ll succeed in life.” How is it a success to be identical to the rest of the world?

In school they say that, “If you try really hard you’ll achieve your highest goal.” How is it my highest goal to have to pretend to enjoy eating with a bunch of people who look like me during my 45 minute lunch hour?

I mean this really can’t be all there is to life. I can’t of breezed through 12 years of public-payed-for-education so that one day I might, just might, get to wear a starched white shirt with dark suit pants and a tie.

There they were, seven men eating lunch. All of them professional. All of them successful. All of them no indistinguishable from the millions of other successful, professional men across the world.

Hello

2006-05-28T11:13:00.000-05:00

Hello and welcome to my new blog. I'll still have my xanga for comments on there, but this will become my primary blog. Hope you enjoy!