I.Introduction paragraph
-I like trees.
II. First Point.
-Trees are awesome.
III. Second Point.
-Trees have leaves.
IV. Third Point
-Trees make oxygen.
V. Conclusion
-Trees are awesome and I like them.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The best thing I can compare being home to, is that it is like plunging into frigid waters barely above freezing. You loose your breath, you feel numb, shocked, confused and most importantly...cold.
I don't mean to be so brutal in that thought it is just...I can't hide the truth. I miss being around warm fellowship, the kind of welcoming attitude where you know you are wanted and accepted for who you are.
I don't mean to be so brutal in that thought it is just...I can't hide the truth. I miss being around warm fellowship, the kind of welcoming attitude where you know you are wanted and accepted for who you are.
Four Revelations of Novel Writing
1.Enlightenment is overrated
-No need to wait for the idea to fall from heaven before we start to write.
-It's okay to start with a very loose set of ideas.
2.When you have a million things what a million and one?
-Setting yourself apart from real life while writing is not the best of ideas.
-It is easier to do when you are restricted in time because you are forced to work to get anything done and utilize your time.
3.Plot Happens
-Two schools of thought:
1.Planning out noveling
2.Seat of your pants noveling
4.Writing For it's Own Sake Has Many Surprising Rewards
-It stretches and pokes your imagination and creativity in many ways
-No need to wait for the idea to fall from heaven before we start to write.
-It's okay to start with a very loose set of ideas.
2.When you have a million things what a million and one?
-Setting yourself apart from real life while writing is not the best of ideas.
-It is easier to do when you are restricted in time because you are forced to work to get anything done and utilize your time.
3.Plot Happens
-Two schools of thought:
1.Planning out noveling
2.Seat of your pants noveling
4.Writing For it's Own Sake Has Many Surprising Rewards
-It stretches and pokes your imagination and creativity in many ways
Monday, October 27, 2008
It is this dry spell that I'm afraid will kill me.
In between the beautiful days of life
you have these desperate moments of reality.
Realizations that you are a frail and fragile
finite life with only so much of a life expectancy.
Here today and gone tomorrow
everything in between will be reduced to nothingness.
The anticipation of what will inevitably come
is worse then what is.
Knowing the difficulty and the pain of today is just a foretaste
a near mockery of you today,
it is hard to know real
from the stress and pure feelings.
Sure pain may be limited to just here for the just now
but the just here and just now are all that I have
right now and know and feel.
It is problematic to assume and assure everything is alright
when you have neither clue nor hope it is.
The idea of saving grace come in by realizing
it is okay to be finite.
To be human.
To live, to die
and to try and be you.
The feelings and passions burning me will thankfully die
one day.
Until then it is a curse mixed with blessings,
being human is just all that it is
nothing more
nothing less.
I wish I could be freed to run away,
freed from this oppressive weight.
Freed from the desires and burning pain of this body.
Faulty and broken,
there merest hope of life feeling lost.
Help me to find You,
before the day ends.
Before all my blood spills out,
please love me.
Hold me to Your chest so I might hear your heart.
Let me know the end is coming
but I'll be found in Your love.
In between the beautiful days of life
you have these desperate moments of reality.
Realizations that you are a frail and fragile
finite life with only so much of a life expectancy.
Here today and gone tomorrow
everything in between will be reduced to nothingness.
The anticipation of what will inevitably come
is worse then what is.
Knowing the difficulty and the pain of today is just a foretaste
a near mockery of you today,
it is hard to know real
from the stress and pure feelings.
Sure pain may be limited to just here for the just now
but the just here and just now are all that I have
right now and know and feel.
It is problematic to assume and assure everything is alright
when you have neither clue nor hope it is.
The idea of saving grace come in by realizing
it is okay to be finite.
To be human.
To live, to die
and to try and be you.
The feelings and passions burning me will thankfully die
one day.
Until then it is a curse mixed with blessings,
being human is just all that it is
nothing more
nothing less.
I wish I could be freed to run away,
freed from this oppressive weight.
Freed from the desires and burning pain of this body.
Faulty and broken,
there merest hope of life feeling lost.
Help me to find You,
before the day ends.
Before all my blood spills out,
please love me.
Hold me to Your chest so I might hear your heart.
Let me know the end is coming
but I'll be found in Your love.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
You know I'm trying to read it right now but I can't. I have all of these stress factors piling up right now.
I'm torn with so many feeling of anger and despair...it feels like I am just floating in this pool of apathy and selfishness. That the tension is going to keep building until it explodes and I just go over the edge again. Words just cannot correctly convey all of this hopelessness and rage bubbling under my skin.
I wish everything could simply be fixed, I could get a meaningless and menial job and turn my mind off. I wish I didn't have to think deeply and never find satisfaction and rest. I wish I could just be another stupid sheep and not have any sense of my place in the world.
I get so freaking tired of seeing peoples smug smiles and their leers at my 'failures', I get so sick of the eyes burning as they stare at me as I walk by. Inever asked for life and as far as I'm concerned they can just go die for all I care at this moment.
I'm sick of feeling judged and made to feel like I am nothing but a waste of space, this disgusting mass of organic matter that has no reason to life. I am tired of feeling so sick and guilty for even being alive. I am tired of it all. I want to scream, I want to lash out I want to do something destructive but there is nothing I can do that would have any larger meaning.
You know I am praying, I'm crying, I am trying to find some sort of outlet and this is all I currently have and I am tired of it. It would be stupid to say no one cares but it would be accurate to say no one understands or can see what is going on.
It helps to say I am angry and tired of it all. It is like getting a fresh breath of air after living in this sulfur filled Hell hole for all of my life. Knowing you care enough to listen means something.
I'm torn with so many feeling of anger and despair...it feels like I am just floating in this pool of apathy and selfishness. That the tension is going to keep building until it explodes and I just go over the edge again. Words just cannot correctly convey all of this hopelessness and rage bubbling under my skin.
I wish everything could simply be fixed, I could get a meaningless and menial job and turn my mind off. I wish I didn't have to think deeply and never find satisfaction and rest. I wish I could just be another stupid sheep and not have any sense of my place in the world.
I get so freaking tired of seeing peoples smug smiles and their leers at my 'failures', I get so sick of the eyes burning as they stare at me as I walk by. Inever asked for life and as far as I'm concerned they can just go die for all I care at this moment.
I'm sick of feeling judged and made to feel like I am nothing but a waste of space, this disgusting mass of organic matter that has no reason to life. I am tired of feeling so sick and guilty for even being alive. I am tired of it all. I want to scream, I want to lash out I want to do something destructive but there is nothing I can do that would have any larger meaning.
You know I am praying, I'm crying, I am trying to find some sort of outlet and this is all I currently have and I am tired of it. It would be stupid to say no one cares but it would be accurate to say no one understands or can see what is going on.
It helps to say I am angry and tired of it all. It is like getting a fresh breath of air after living in this sulfur filled Hell hole for all of my life. Knowing you care enough to listen means something.
Of all these simple words you spoke
that is the one to make me stop
and watch the time become like smoke,
filling this desolate land.
But I still look to see you
beyond your selfish ego,
the failing attempt
at reconciliation
and I have to smile.
Despite my bruised self esteem
I see me.
I see you and deep down you are me.
We can divide the difference
but all we have is the fact
we represent each other before
we knew each other.
Cracked mirrors.
that is the one to make me stop
and watch the time become like smoke,
filling this desolate land.
But I still look to see you
beyond your selfish ego,
the failing attempt
at reconciliation
and I have to smile.
Despite my bruised self esteem
I see me.
I see you and deep down you are me.
We can divide the difference
but all we have is the fact
we represent each other before
we knew each other.
Cracked mirrors.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Drunk Chicken (Full Version)
So the other night was one of those odd nights.
By a process of events I am still too tired to fully comprehend I ended up going to my first concert in a few years as well as the bar in which the concert took place. I really wasn't sure what I was getting into, all I heard was "Free concert ticket and get in the car" and I was like "Sure, why not?"
Overall it was an odd experince.
Up until tonight I had never been to a concert that wasn't somehow supposed to be 'Christian', maybe it had something to do with playing in Christian bands or mostly listening to the junk while growing up (in actuality I think it most likely had to do with the lack of money for tickets) but I just never said "Self, let us go see the world!"
But I did see a bit of the world in which I have mostly only seen at home before. Stuff like really loud music that ranged from enjoyable to less than enjoyable, lots of stray beer bottles and intoxication floating about and lastly a lot of girls and guys interchangeable grinding themselves against one another.
Quite personally none of that (except the music) has held a lot of interest for me. I mean, I'm sure everyone has one of those days where they thought it would be funny to see a lot of intoxicated people trip over one another but it sort of grows old after awhile.
Being the product of a household of alcoholism I've never had any desire to drink. From my understanding the typical result of growing up around alcoholism is to become stunted emotionally and to copy the offending parent. I openly profess I am baffled by peoples insistence of repeating the past mistakes of others...but then again this isn't a question of logic. It is a deeper question of perspective and destination...not saying drinking is in and of itself evil, just that making oneself a slave of any desire is a ridiculously stupid idea and I say all this just to say that drinking just has absolutely no appeal to me.
I try not to be a judgmental jerk and look down on those who choose to partake and if I am of a reasonably stable mind I don't mind being around those drinking in moderation but all the same I would much prefer for people to do other things around me. Maybe like play marbles or hopscotch perhaps? No one has ever died of a hopscotch car related accidents have they?
I guess bars or clubs or whatever are basically all the same. Lot's of strange people drinking strange looking drinks while doing equally strange things on the dance floor. I stood in the corner with my faithful companions and looked over the crowd and listened to the music.
Without meaning to, I think I may have been a jerk to the rest of the group. All of them tried to engage me in conversation at one point or another but I kept zoning out and getting lost in thought. I kept getting this rather odd feeling in my stomach area. After first checking to make sure I wasn't spilling any blood out of my body I did some deep thinking for a while. I'll never understand why but my preferred music for deep thinking tends to revolve around loud, abrasive and slightly repetitive music.
Eventually I made some headway and after ducking out of the way of a few lumbering masses of happy go lucky party goers I sort of remembered what it was I was feeling. The last time I really felt like this, I was in the middle of some city in China at a Buddhist temple watching adherents perform rituals.
One of the many similarities every human being has in common with any other is that we all worship. Some people offer their love and adoration to statues, some to altars and still some offer it to other people.
A person may refuse to acknowledge the existence of any given deity but all the same we pander to something. It is just part of who we are, we acknowledge something bigger and what we perceive as being more important to us. Something(s) or someone(s) that brings us together in groups for a common reason and common purpose. It doesn't have to be fancy, it just has to be an outlet to help someone keep their sanity.
From what I can tell there is a very common element between the Buddhist temple, the dance floor at a bar and the service at a theologically sound Christian church.
One of my biggest problems with American Christianity is this huge chip that we all seem to wear on our collective shoulder. I think it must come from a misunderstanding of Scripture and Jesus' teachings.
If at any point a Christian has the arrogant stupidity to say they are somehow better off morally and spiritually then a brothel worker, a drug pedaler or even in fact a child rapist then they have completely missed the boat.
One of the basic ideas behind Christianity is how every human is a fallen and broken individual that has offended an infinite holy being and have to deal with the consequences of being born into a broken world. At best we can hope for and maybe establish a sort of half life of sorts, where we try to act as if everything is okay but deep down we know it is not.
The beauty of Christ is that he offers a free love and a free acceptance. It goes beyond our own broken nature and offers to begin the life long process of healing a corrupted heart that was born out of selfishness.
And the horrifyingly beautiful part is that the only part we play is in accepting it. If at any point we could actually do ANYTHING to be worthy of or to earn the grace and favor of God then we have manged to implode the entire salvation process. Considering the fabric of space and time are still flowing along it is safe to say Yahweh did not explode into a puff of logic generated by a human mind.
The thing is, I love to talk about grace as much as the next Christian. Just like them I only like to talk about it and I do not like to actually live as if I am already loved and accepted. It is much easier to continue living as if every choice I made would make my life somehow closer or further from that love.
Personal responsibility is a must and ultimately no one enjoys a 'know it all' but when it comes down to it we all have to throw what we have on the table. It is much easier to talk about theories regarding creation and salvation then it is to actually accept that God loves his creation. That in His eyes we are all equal, we are either on the path towards Him or away from Him.
There is a divide between us and God called sin and Jesus is that bridge needed to get back.
"In Christ's family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ."
-Galatians 3:28
I mentioned earlier about an element that keeps all of these different groups in common is that it is full of desperate human beings searching for some kind of meaning and purpose beyond the insanity of this world.
As dear old Uncle Ben of 'Spider Man' fame once said "With great power comes great responsibility." I suppose the same can be true of knowledge. The great tragedy of Americanized Christianity is that our arrogance prevents us from realizing we are living in a broken world. We are absolutely obsessed with the sound of our own voice and manage to speak loud enough to not just drown out the cries of those dying but the gentle whisper of Christ.
It is frustrating but I perceive the turning point can be that when we realize that are the problem and that what we believe is the solution but that we are not needed to save the world. We are just privileged that an infinite Love has an infinite desire to love such a finitely fickle and stupid group of people called The Church.
And oddly enough I think it would do both the world and the Church a world of good for the Church to show up for worship, I mean where the world congregates. The pubs, the casinos, the clubs, the brothels, the strip joints, the hospitals, the crack houses, the clubs and whatever else it is people gather. We are eager enough to berate people for not coming to us when we were told point blank to go to them.
Going not to judge but to simply see and learn. To realize that the people we brush off as being beneath us are worth loving and sharing love with. To realize that we are all more alike then we would care to know, that the love that flows in our veins is enough to wash away our stains and could do wonders for this broken planet.
Once again the problem is that I am a hypocrite and that I do not want to do anything except hide in my shell. I want to run screaming from real and honest relationships with people because it requires me to be human and to show the fact I am weak and can bleed.
I need this just as much as any other Christian and it sucks to admit this. It really upsets me that I have to admit I am just as screwed up as anyone else but the only difference is that I have an invisible and physically unprovable God supporting me and changing my life. It is not ideal by any human standards but it is the truth.
As Paul best put it:
"What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a 'law man' so that i could be GOD's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine" but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.
Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily."
-Galatians 2:19-21
By a process of events I am still too tired to fully comprehend I ended up going to my first concert in a few years as well as the bar in which the concert took place. I really wasn't sure what I was getting into, all I heard was "Free concert ticket and get in the car" and I was like "Sure, why not?"
Overall it was an odd experince.
Up until tonight I had never been to a concert that wasn't somehow supposed to be 'Christian', maybe it had something to do with playing in Christian bands or mostly listening to the junk while growing up (in actuality I think it most likely had to do with the lack of money for tickets) but I just never said "Self, let us go see the world!"
But I did see a bit of the world in which I have mostly only seen at home before. Stuff like really loud music that ranged from enjoyable to less than enjoyable, lots of stray beer bottles and intoxication floating about and lastly a lot of girls and guys interchangeable grinding themselves against one another.
Quite personally none of that (except the music) has held a lot of interest for me. I mean, I'm sure everyone has one of those days where they thought it would be funny to see a lot of intoxicated people trip over one another but it sort of grows old after awhile.
Being the product of a household of alcoholism I've never had any desire to drink. From my understanding the typical result of growing up around alcoholism is to become stunted emotionally and to copy the offending parent. I openly profess I am baffled by peoples insistence of repeating the past mistakes of others...but then again this isn't a question of logic. It is a deeper question of perspective and destination...not saying drinking is in and of itself evil, just that making oneself a slave of any desire is a ridiculously stupid idea and I say all this just to say that drinking just has absolutely no appeal to me.
I try not to be a judgmental jerk and look down on those who choose to partake and if I am of a reasonably stable mind I don't mind being around those drinking in moderation but all the same I would much prefer for people to do other things around me. Maybe like play marbles or hopscotch perhaps? No one has ever died of a hopscotch car related accidents have they?
I guess bars or clubs or whatever are basically all the same. Lot's of strange people drinking strange looking drinks while doing equally strange things on the dance floor. I stood in the corner with my faithful companions and looked over the crowd and listened to the music.
Without meaning to, I think I may have been a jerk to the rest of the group. All of them tried to engage me in conversation at one point or another but I kept zoning out and getting lost in thought. I kept getting this rather odd feeling in my stomach area. After first checking to make sure I wasn't spilling any blood out of my body I did some deep thinking for a while. I'll never understand why but my preferred music for deep thinking tends to revolve around loud, abrasive and slightly repetitive music.
Eventually I made some headway and after ducking out of the way of a few lumbering masses of happy go lucky party goers I sort of remembered what it was I was feeling. The last time I really felt like this, I was in the middle of some city in China at a Buddhist temple watching adherents perform rituals.
One of the many similarities every human being has in common with any other is that we all worship. Some people offer their love and adoration to statues, some to altars and still some offer it to other people.
A person may refuse to acknowledge the existence of any given deity but all the same we pander to something. It is just part of who we are, we acknowledge something bigger and what we perceive as being more important to us. Something(s) or someone(s) that brings us together in groups for a common reason and common purpose. It doesn't have to be fancy, it just has to be an outlet to help someone keep their sanity.
From what I can tell there is a very common element between the Buddhist temple, the dance floor at a bar and the service at a theologically sound Christian church.
One of my biggest problems with American Christianity is this huge chip that we all seem to wear on our collective shoulder. I think it must come from a misunderstanding of Scripture and Jesus' teachings.
If at any point a Christian has the arrogant stupidity to say they are somehow better off morally and spiritually then a brothel worker, a drug pedaler or even in fact a child rapist then they have completely missed the boat.
One of the basic ideas behind Christianity is how every human is a fallen and broken individual that has offended an infinite holy being and have to deal with the consequences of being born into a broken world. At best we can hope for and maybe establish a sort of half life of sorts, where we try to act as if everything is okay but deep down we know it is not.
The beauty of Christ is that he offers a free love and a free acceptance. It goes beyond our own broken nature and offers to begin the life long process of healing a corrupted heart that was born out of selfishness.
And the horrifyingly beautiful part is that the only part we play is in accepting it. If at any point we could actually do ANYTHING to be worthy of or to earn the grace and favor of God then we have manged to implode the entire salvation process. Considering the fabric of space and time are still flowing along it is safe to say Yahweh did not explode into a puff of logic generated by a human mind.
The thing is, I love to talk about grace as much as the next Christian. Just like them I only like to talk about it and I do not like to actually live as if I am already loved and accepted. It is much easier to continue living as if every choice I made would make my life somehow closer or further from that love.
Personal responsibility is a must and ultimately no one enjoys a 'know it all' but when it comes down to it we all have to throw what we have on the table. It is much easier to talk about theories regarding creation and salvation then it is to actually accept that God loves his creation. That in His eyes we are all equal, we are either on the path towards Him or away from Him.
There is a divide between us and God called sin and Jesus is that bridge needed to get back.
"In Christ's family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ."
-Galatians 3:28
I mentioned earlier about an element that keeps all of these different groups in common is that it is full of desperate human beings searching for some kind of meaning and purpose beyond the insanity of this world.
As dear old Uncle Ben of 'Spider Man' fame once said "With great power comes great responsibility." I suppose the same can be true of knowledge. The great tragedy of Americanized Christianity is that our arrogance prevents us from realizing we are living in a broken world. We are absolutely obsessed with the sound of our own voice and manage to speak loud enough to not just drown out the cries of those dying but the gentle whisper of Christ.
It is frustrating but I perceive the turning point can be that when we realize that are the problem and that what we believe is the solution but that we are not needed to save the world. We are just privileged that an infinite Love has an infinite desire to love such a finitely fickle and stupid group of people called The Church.
And oddly enough I think it would do both the world and the Church a world of good for the Church to show up for worship, I mean where the world congregates. The pubs, the casinos, the clubs, the brothels, the strip joints, the hospitals, the crack houses, the clubs and whatever else it is people gather. We are eager enough to berate people for not coming to us when we were told point blank to go to them.
Going not to judge but to simply see and learn. To realize that the people we brush off as being beneath us are worth loving and sharing love with. To realize that we are all more alike then we would care to know, that the love that flows in our veins is enough to wash away our stains and could do wonders for this broken planet.
Once again the problem is that I am a hypocrite and that I do not want to do anything except hide in my shell. I want to run screaming from real and honest relationships with people because it requires me to be human and to show the fact I am weak and can bleed.
I need this just as much as any other Christian and it sucks to admit this. It really upsets me that I have to admit I am just as screwed up as anyone else but the only difference is that I have an invisible and physically unprovable God supporting me and changing my life. It is not ideal by any human standards but it is the truth.
As Paul best put it:
"What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a 'law man' so that i could be GOD's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine" but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.
Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily."
-Galatians 2:19-21
Monday, October 20, 2008
Inky pools of despair seem to collect whenever I happen to stop and think. As much as I would enjoy being able to rest here, I cannot. It behooves me to move forward and not remain...yet still, fear seeks to chain me here. So I cannot move.
I dearly wish I could afford the price of peace and love but such things require dramatic stacks of money and time and most importantly honesty. Luxuries I used to carelessly throw away but not I clutch to quite desperately.
Not everything is lost but little is found on this excruciating jaunt across metaphysical realms of loathing and doubt. Whatever it means to be me is something beyond what I know and understand.
Which is good and bad, all together and wrapped up.
I dearly wish I could afford the price of peace and love but such things require dramatic stacks of money and time and most importantly honesty. Luxuries I used to carelessly throw away but not I clutch to quite desperately.
Not everything is lost but little is found on this excruciating jaunt across metaphysical realms of loathing and doubt. Whatever it means to be me is something beyond what I know and understand.
Which is good and bad, all together and wrapped up.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Drunk Chicken - Part Two
One of the many similarities every human being has in common with any other is that we all worship. Some people offer their love and adoration to statues, some to altars and still some offer it to other people.
A person may refuse to acknowledge the existence of any given deity but all the same we pander to something. It is just part of who we are, we acknowledge something bigger and what we perceive as being more important to us. Something(s) or someone(s) that brings us together in groups for a common reason and common purpose. It doesn't have to be fancy, it just has to be an outlet to help someone keep their sanity.
From what I can tell there is a very common element between the Buddhist temple, the dance floor at a bar and the service at a theologically sound Christian church.
One of my biggest problems with American Christianity is this huge chip that we all seem to wear on our collective shoulder. I think it must come from a misunderstanding of Scripture and Jesus' teachings.
If at any point a Christian has the arrogant stupidity to say they are somehow better off morally and spiritually then a brothel worker, a drug pedaler or even in fact a child rapist then they have completely missed the boat.
One of the basic ideas behind Christianity is how every human is a fallen and broken individual that has offended an infinite holy being and have to deal with the consequences of being born into a broken world. At best we can hope for and maybe establish a sort of half life of sorts, where we try to act as if everything is okay but deep down we know it is not.
The beauty of Christ is that he offers a free love and a free acceptance. It goes beyond our own broken nature and offers to begin the life long process of healing a corrupted heart that was born out of selfishness.
And the horrifyingly beautiful part is that the only part we play is in accepting it. If at any point we could actually do ANYTHING to be worthy of or to earn the grace and favor of God then we have manged to implode the entire salvation process. Considering the fabric of space and time are still flowing along it is safe to say Yahweh did not explode into a puff of logic generated by a human mind.
The thing is, I love to talk about grace as much as the next Christian. Just like them I only like to talk about it and I do not like to actually live as if I am already loved and accepted. It is much easier to continue living as if every choice I made would make my life somehow closer or further from that love.
Personal responsibility is a must and ultimately no one enjoys a 'know it all' but when it comes down to it we all have to throw what we have on the table. It is much easier to talk about theories regarding creation and salvation then it is to actually accept that God loves his creation. That in His eyes we are all equal, we are either on the path towards Him or away from Him.
There is a divide between us and God called sin and Jesus is that bridge needed to get back.
"In Christ's family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ."
-Galatians 3:28
I mentioned earlier about an element that keeps all of these different groups in common is that it is full of desperate human beings searching for some kind of meaning and purpose beyond the insanity of this world.
As dear old Uncle Ben of 'Spider Man' fame once said "With great power comes great responsibility." I suppose the same can be true of knowledge. The great tragedy of Americanized Christianity is that our arrogance prevents us from realizing we are living in a broken world. We are absolutely obsessed with the sound of our own voice and manage to speak loud enough to not just drown out the cries of those dying but the gentle whisper of Christ.
It is frustrating but I perceive the turning point can be that when we realize that are the problem and that what we believe is the solution but that we are not needed to save the world. We are just privileged that an infinite Love has an infinite desire to love such a finitely fickle and stupid group of people called The Church.
And oddly enough I think it would do both the world and the Church a world of good for the Church to show up for worship, I mean where the world congregates. The pubs, the casinos, the clubs, the brothels, the strip joints, the hospitals, the crack houses, the clubs and whatever else it is people gather. We are eager enough to berate people for not coming to us when we were told point blank to go to them.
Going not to judge but to simply see and learn. To realize that the people we brush off as being beneath us are worth loving and sharing love with. To realize that we are all more alike then we would care to know, that the love that flows in our veins is enough to wash away our stains and could do wonders for this broken planet.
Once again the problem is that I am a hypocrite and that I do not want to do anything except hide in my shell. I want to run screaming from real and honest relationships with people because it requires me to be human and to show the fact I am weak and can bleed.
I need this just as much as any other Christian and it sucks to admit this. It really upsets me that I have to admit I am just as screwed up as anyone else but the only difference is that I have an invisible and physically unprovable God supporting me and changing my life. It is not ideal by any human standards but it is the truth.
As Paul best put it:
"What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a 'law man' so that i could be GOD's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine" but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.
Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily."
-Galatians 2:19-21
A person may refuse to acknowledge the existence of any given deity but all the same we pander to something. It is just part of who we are, we acknowledge something bigger and what we perceive as being more important to us. Something(s) or someone(s) that brings us together in groups for a common reason and common purpose. It doesn't have to be fancy, it just has to be an outlet to help someone keep their sanity.
From what I can tell there is a very common element between the Buddhist temple, the dance floor at a bar and the service at a theologically sound Christian church.
One of my biggest problems with American Christianity is this huge chip that we all seem to wear on our collective shoulder. I think it must come from a misunderstanding of Scripture and Jesus' teachings.
If at any point a Christian has the arrogant stupidity to say they are somehow better off morally and spiritually then a brothel worker, a drug pedaler or even in fact a child rapist then they have completely missed the boat.
One of the basic ideas behind Christianity is how every human is a fallen and broken individual that has offended an infinite holy being and have to deal with the consequences of being born into a broken world. At best we can hope for and maybe establish a sort of half life of sorts, where we try to act as if everything is okay but deep down we know it is not.
The beauty of Christ is that he offers a free love and a free acceptance. It goes beyond our own broken nature and offers to begin the life long process of healing a corrupted heart that was born out of selfishness.
And the horrifyingly beautiful part is that the only part we play is in accepting it. If at any point we could actually do ANYTHING to be worthy of or to earn the grace and favor of God then we have manged to implode the entire salvation process. Considering the fabric of space and time are still flowing along it is safe to say Yahweh did not explode into a puff of logic generated by a human mind.
The thing is, I love to talk about grace as much as the next Christian. Just like them I only like to talk about it and I do not like to actually live as if I am already loved and accepted. It is much easier to continue living as if every choice I made would make my life somehow closer or further from that love.
Personal responsibility is a must and ultimately no one enjoys a 'know it all' but when it comes down to it we all have to throw what we have on the table. It is much easier to talk about theories regarding creation and salvation then it is to actually accept that God loves his creation. That in His eyes we are all equal, we are either on the path towards Him or away from Him.
There is a divide between us and God called sin and Jesus is that bridge needed to get back.
"In Christ's family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ."
-Galatians 3:28
I mentioned earlier about an element that keeps all of these different groups in common is that it is full of desperate human beings searching for some kind of meaning and purpose beyond the insanity of this world.
As dear old Uncle Ben of 'Spider Man' fame once said "With great power comes great responsibility." I suppose the same can be true of knowledge. The great tragedy of Americanized Christianity is that our arrogance prevents us from realizing we are living in a broken world. We are absolutely obsessed with the sound of our own voice and manage to speak loud enough to not just drown out the cries of those dying but the gentle whisper of Christ.
It is frustrating but I perceive the turning point can be that when we realize that are the problem and that what we believe is the solution but that we are not needed to save the world. We are just privileged that an infinite Love has an infinite desire to love such a finitely fickle and stupid group of people called The Church.
And oddly enough I think it would do both the world and the Church a world of good for the Church to show up for worship, I mean where the world congregates. The pubs, the casinos, the clubs, the brothels, the strip joints, the hospitals, the crack houses, the clubs and whatever else it is people gather. We are eager enough to berate people for not coming to us when we were told point blank to go to them.
Going not to judge but to simply see and learn. To realize that the people we brush off as being beneath us are worth loving and sharing love with. To realize that we are all more alike then we would care to know, that the love that flows in our veins is enough to wash away our stains and could do wonders for this broken planet.
Once again the problem is that I am a hypocrite and that I do not want to do anything except hide in my shell. I want to run screaming from real and honest relationships with people because it requires me to be human and to show the fact I am weak and can bleed.
I need this just as much as any other Christian and it sucks to admit this. It really upsets me that I have to admit I am just as screwed up as anyone else but the only difference is that I have an invisible and physically unprovable God supporting me and changing my life. It is not ideal by any human standards but it is the truth.
As Paul best put it:
"What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a 'law man' so that i could be GOD's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine" but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.
Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily."
-Galatians 2:19-21
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
