This is just a test to see if my new "comments" feature works. And if it does, then leave me some messages!
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Japanese Adventure II
Greetings fans!
Well, at this point I'm not sure how many of you even know this exists, but thanks for reading all the same. Here's what's been happening lately:
Wednesday
Nothing super-exciting this day. I'm riding my bike everywhere, and so the city is beginning to make more sense, but it still looks mostly the same to me. Oh well, there's a lot of little shops and places to see, so I really want to take a few days at some point to just explore and see what the city has to offer.
We spent this day going to the brand new, three story mall here. They even have a grocery store here (strange, yes). It was fun, but I didn't really want to buy much. Most of the clothing I don't want to buy (although I did get a shirt I really liked), most of the "stuff" is very "American" and consequently of little interest to us, and the music is totally unknown to me. I don't want to just buy random CDs in the hopes that I will like one of them. Well, at least I had fun bumming around the mall with our gakusei escorts. Ha, it was neat, they even played at the arcade with us!
That night, the International Club of the university had a welcoming party for us, which was really neat, although it was kinda strange that nearly all of the students who showed up were girls. In any case, it was fun getting to meet so many people, play more strange games, and make new friends, but I'm becoming more convinced of a mission here. A girl I talked to quite a bit there was wearing a cross, and I asked her if she was a Christian, but she said, no, she was a Buddhist. Lots of people wear crosses here, but it is jewelry probably 95% of the time. This makes me sad, but I need to be proactive in making opportunities to share Christ with these people.
Thursday
Well, we saw lots of museums today. Let me just say, it was pretty darn dull. Don't get me wrong, I love museums, but I should explain.
First, we saw the International Weaving and Dyeing museum. This was neat, as there was a lot of very old tapestries and pieces of clothing here. However, after a while, you have a hard time distinguishing one 15th century robe from another. And since all of the signs are in Japanese, all we could do was admire. Most everything could have been loin-cloths for all I would have known.
Next was the Snow Crystal Museum. You see, Asahikawa gets dozens of feet of snow during the winter season, so they have a museum dedicated to their snow. Strange. Some of the pictures/videos were really pretty, and I was fascinated by their "Ice Hall", and would have loved to read more, in English, about how the ice shape changes based on humidity and temperature, and the concert hall was absolutely beautiful. But let's face it: it's snow. We've all seen it, we all get it . . . let's move on.
Next was the Folk Art Museum. This was all modern weaving, and it was all very beatiful, but it was just one big advertisement for their expansive gift shop selling hand-woven clothing and accessories in the same patterns costing as much as several thousand dollars. Yikes.
After a quick lunch at a museum restaurant (I had some egg and rice thingy), we saw the city museum. It reminded me a lot of the museum under the Arch. Taxidermy, flora and fauna, historical dwellings . . . . it would have been much more interesting if I could have understood the signs.
Well, after this, we moved on to the Otokoyama Sake (pronounced sah-kay) Brewery Museum. This, again, would have been much better with a guided tour. As it was, there wasn't that much to see, and what we did see, I couldn't understand the signs. Do you notice a pattern here? If you don't understand the language, museums that don't have art are of limited use to a foreigner. We did get to try several kinds of sake, though. Not that I ever liked wine. They even had this super-sweet stuff, and it still was just not good to me. I guess it's something I should leave for my parents.
After all of this, we sat around in the computer lab talking with the Chinese students. This was awesome. We're friends now, and I really look forward to talking to them again. Hopefully, I will have a chance to share some Good News with them. They think I'm very shy. Heh, just wait until they let me talk about Jesus . . .
That night, we had another Hippo meeting. This one was smaller, with no food. Really, it was boring beyond imagination. I know parents love getting out of the house when they have small children, but the running, screaming children, all over the room, made an event that was already confusing and hard to understand even more frustrating for me (I can only imagine how the others handle it). Oh well.
I'm looking forward to this weekend. I have plans to be social with my fellow Americans and the Chinese girls, plus my host family is taking me to a winery in the area (Mom and Dad, here come your souvenirs!). This looks like it will be a good weekend. Just pray for me . . . it's typhoon season here.
Missing you all dearly! Send me email, and your address if you want a postcard!
Hal
Well, at this point I'm not sure how many of you even know this exists, but thanks for reading all the same. Here's what's been happening lately:
Wednesday
Nothing super-exciting this day. I'm riding my bike everywhere, and so the city is beginning to make more sense, but it still looks mostly the same to me. Oh well, there's a lot of little shops and places to see, so I really want to take a few days at some point to just explore and see what the city has to offer.
We spent this day going to the brand new, three story mall here. They even have a grocery store here (strange, yes). It was fun, but I didn't really want to buy much. Most of the clothing I don't want to buy (although I did get a shirt I really liked), most of the "stuff" is very "American" and consequently of little interest to us, and the music is totally unknown to me. I don't want to just buy random CDs in the hopes that I will like one of them. Well, at least I had fun bumming around the mall with our gakusei escorts. Ha, it was neat, they even played at the arcade with us!
That night, the International Club of the university had a welcoming party for us, which was really neat, although it was kinda strange that nearly all of the students who showed up were girls. In any case, it was fun getting to meet so many people, play more strange games, and make new friends, but I'm becoming more convinced of a mission here. A girl I talked to quite a bit there was wearing a cross, and I asked her if she was a Christian, but she said, no, she was a Buddhist. Lots of people wear crosses here, but it is jewelry probably 95% of the time. This makes me sad, but I need to be proactive in making opportunities to share Christ with these people.
Thursday
Well, we saw lots of museums today. Let me just say, it was pretty darn dull. Don't get me wrong, I love museums, but I should explain.
First, we saw the International Weaving and Dyeing museum. This was neat, as there was a lot of very old tapestries and pieces of clothing here. However, after a while, you have a hard time distinguishing one 15th century robe from another. And since all of the signs are in Japanese, all we could do was admire. Most everything could have been loin-cloths for all I would have known.
Next was the Snow Crystal Museum. You see, Asahikawa gets dozens of feet of snow during the winter season, so they have a museum dedicated to their snow. Strange. Some of the pictures/videos were really pretty, and I was fascinated by their "Ice Hall", and would have loved to read more, in English, about how the ice shape changes based on humidity and temperature, and the concert hall was absolutely beautiful. But let's face it: it's snow. We've all seen it, we all get it . . . let's move on.
Next was the Folk Art Museum. This was all modern weaving, and it was all very beatiful, but it was just one big advertisement for their expansive gift shop selling hand-woven clothing and accessories in the same patterns costing as much as several thousand dollars. Yikes.
After a quick lunch at a museum restaurant (I had some egg and rice thingy), we saw the city museum. It reminded me a lot of the museum under the Arch. Taxidermy, flora and fauna, historical dwellings . . . . it would have been much more interesting if I could have understood the signs.
Well, after this, we moved on to the Otokoyama Sake (pronounced sah-kay) Brewery Museum. This, again, would have been much better with a guided tour. As it was, there wasn't that much to see, and what we did see, I couldn't understand the signs. Do you notice a pattern here? If you don't understand the language, museums that don't have art are of limited use to a foreigner. We did get to try several kinds of sake, though. Not that I ever liked wine. They even had this super-sweet stuff, and it still was just not good to me. I guess it's something I should leave for my parents.
After all of this, we sat around in the computer lab talking with the Chinese students. This was awesome. We're friends now, and I really look forward to talking to them again. Hopefully, I will have a chance to share some Good News with them. They think I'm very shy. Heh, just wait until they let me talk about Jesus . . .
That night, we had another Hippo meeting. This one was smaller, with no food. Really, it was boring beyond imagination. I know parents love getting out of the house when they have small children, but the running, screaming children, all over the room, made an event that was already confusing and hard to understand even more frustrating for me (I can only imagine how the others handle it). Oh well.
I'm looking forward to this weekend. I have plans to be social with my fellow Americans and the Chinese girls, plus my host family is taking me to a winery in the area (Mom and Dad, here come your souvenirs!). This looks like it will be a good weekend. Just pray for me . . . it's typhoon season here.
Missing you all dearly! Send me email, and your address if you want a postcard!
Hal
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Japanese Adventure I
Hello from Japan everyone!
If you're reading this, then you must be interested in my exploits here in Asahikawa. I hope to be putting up regular posts regarding my happenings and going-ons. I've been here about 6 days so far, so I'll try to do a brief catch-up, but future postings should be more in-depth.
Thursday
Thursday was the departure day. I haven't flown in a few years, so I thought I was going to die on takeoff from St. Louis to Chicago. After that, I was fine. However, the 12 hour flight to Narita Airport in Tokyo was torturous. My head was pounding from the air pressure, I couldn't get comfortable (or tired) enough to sleep, and they played the same movies/television shows on the monitors over and over and over. Buying a gameboy would have been a marvelous idea (I read a lot, but lighting was rarely good).
Airport security and what not was not bad, but Japan is a strange place. I'm not used to not understanding the people and the language. Anyhow, there was the Busride to Haneda and the flight to Asahikawa, but I slept through nearly all of that. My host family picked me up, and it was rather awkward working through our language barriers, but we arrived at their apartment about 8PM Friday and I went to sleep almost immediately.
Saturday
Life is an adventure. My host father and his three children (two boys and a girl) rode bikes with me to the university, so that I would know the way. We then went to a science/nature center, which would have been very interesting if I could have understood any of the exhibits.
In the afternoon, I went with the "Hippo Family Club" (think Rotary Club) to the zoo here. St. Louis zoo is much better, but this was neat all the same. They have a roller coaster at their zoo. Weird. Even stranger, those of us americans became surrounded by a group of high school girls fascinated by us, trying to speak the very little english they knew with us. It was bizarre. I don't think westerners come around these parts very often. In the bigger cities on the main island, perhaps, but not here in Asahikawa.
And, I'm going to be around 8 and getting up around 5 or 6. My sleeping habits have not regulated yet, and I'm beginning to doubt whether they will anytime soon.
Sunday
Sunday I didn't get to go to church, but I was taken to the home of someone from the Hippo club, before being taken to the Hippo Club Welcome Party. It was bizarre, and they fed me all day long. I thought I would explode. Two notes: 1) The Japanese love games, and their games are bizarre. 2) Nato . . . pickled plums . . . super salty, super gross. If ever offered, I would recommend against trying this.
Monday
Day one. Showed up at school early in an attempt to find a phone I could use to call home. That turned into a circus.
We had a tour of the campus (it makes ISU look unearthly beautiful . . . at least their dining center has good food) and were taken to a bank to change our money. Then we had our first Japanese lessons. The teacher used very little english, which made it all very frustrating. THAT was when I was hit with home-sickness really badly.
Tuesday
Nothing in the morning, but class again in the afternoon. I'm still confused as all get out by the language, and my teacher. It might be too much to learn in such a short time, but oh well. We had ceramics in the afternoon, which was frustrating. I was bad at art in grade school, and I'm still bad at it now. We made bells, so we shall see (or hear) how mine turn out after firing in the kiln.
After class, the other Americans and I went to downtown to explore the shopping area. It was fun, but frustrating. I can't buy anything fun like video games or DVDs, because I either cannot understand them, or "regional encoding" prevents my home player from playing it. I could buy a DVD player here, but how much trouble would that be? Ridiculous!
Well, I'm sorry this is so short, but like I said, a lot has happened to simply type it all out at once. Future postings will contain more, I promise. If that's not enough, email me and you will get more. I'd love to hear from you!
Signing off for now. Stay tuned for more!
Your friend in Japan,
Hal
If you're reading this, then you must be interested in my exploits here in Asahikawa. I hope to be putting up regular posts regarding my happenings and going-ons. I've been here about 6 days so far, so I'll try to do a brief catch-up, but future postings should be more in-depth.
Thursday
Thursday was the departure day. I haven't flown in a few years, so I thought I was going to die on takeoff from St. Louis to Chicago. After that, I was fine. However, the 12 hour flight to Narita Airport in Tokyo was torturous. My head was pounding from the air pressure, I couldn't get comfortable (or tired) enough to sleep, and they played the same movies/television shows on the monitors over and over and over. Buying a gameboy would have been a marvelous idea (I read a lot, but lighting was rarely good).
Airport security and what not was not bad, but Japan is a strange place. I'm not used to not understanding the people and the language. Anyhow, there was the Busride to Haneda and the flight to Asahikawa, but I slept through nearly all of that. My host family picked me up, and it was rather awkward working through our language barriers, but we arrived at their apartment about 8PM Friday and I went to sleep almost immediately.
Saturday
Life is an adventure. My host father and his three children (two boys and a girl) rode bikes with me to the university, so that I would know the way. We then went to a science/nature center, which would have been very interesting if I could have understood any of the exhibits.
In the afternoon, I went with the "Hippo Family Club" (think Rotary Club) to the zoo here. St. Louis zoo is much better, but this was neat all the same. They have a roller coaster at their zoo. Weird. Even stranger, those of us americans became surrounded by a group of high school girls fascinated by us, trying to speak the very little english they knew with us. It was bizarre. I don't think westerners come around these parts very often. In the bigger cities on the main island, perhaps, but not here in Asahikawa.
And, I'm going to be around 8 and getting up around 5 or 6. My sleeping habits have not regulated yet, and I'm beginning to doubt whether they will anytime soon.
Sunday
Sunday I didn't get to go to church, but I was taken to the home of someone from the Hippo club, before being taken to the Hippo Club Welcome Party. It was bizarre, and they fed me all day long. I thought I would explode. Two notes: 1) The Japanese love games, and their games are bizarre. 2) Nato . . . pickled plums . . . super salty, super gross. If ever offered, I would recommend against trying this.
Monday
Day one. Showed up at school early in an attempt to find a phone I could use to call home. That turned into a circus.
We had a tour of the campus (it makes ISU look unearthly beautiful . . . at least their dining center has good food) and were taken to a bank to change our money. Then we had our first Japanese lessons. The teacher used very little english, which made it all very frustrating. THAT was when I was hit with home-sickness really badly.
Tuesday
Nothing in the morning, but class again in the afternoon. I'm still confused as all get out by the language, and my teacher. It might be too much to learn in such a short time, but oh well. We had ceramics in the afternoon, which was frustrating. I was bad at art in grade school, and I'm still bad at it now. We made bells, so we shall see (or hear) how mine turn out after firing in the kiln.
After class, the other Americans and I went to downtown to explore the shopping area. It was fun, but frustrating. I can't buy anything fun like video games or DVDs, because I either cannot understand them, or "regional encoding" prevents my home player from playing it. I could buy a DVD player here, but how much trouble would that be? Ridiculous!
Well, I'm sorry this is so short, but like I said, a lot has happened to simply type it all out at once. Future postings will contain more, I promise. If that's not enough, email me and you will get more. I'd love to hear from you!
Signing off for now. Stay tuned for more!
Your friend in Japan,
Hal
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Thursday, April 15, 2004
So long a time . . . so few a post. Loyal fans (all 5 of you), I apologize for the long hiatus. Life is busy, but procrastination is so sweet! Ah, the studying I should be doing now . . .
So, on the with ranting.
First, much in the world of politics has changed since I last posted. What to say? I'll make some brief observations:
1) Democratic Primaries: Ridiculous. I've never really cared for any of the candidates, but the way the media pretty much ran this one was absurd. First, Howard Dean was the media sweetheart who was such a shoe-in for the nomination that everyone else should step aside so as to give the most liberated front against Bush. Then, a slight change occurred and suddenly John Kerry is the new darling. And the convention hasn't even been held yet! It's as if everyone has completely forgotten that there are actually several other candidates!
2) President Bush: I don't understand things sometimes. There's a lot of people out there, in the mainstream media mainly, who demonize every word, phrase, and action President Bush takes. Sometimes its hard to distinguish when he does anything right simply because you've got people on both sides screaming their heads off when he so much as sneezes. To be honest, some of his actions in the past few months have frustrated me. His whole, "temporary work permit" or whatever for illegal aliens is just wrong. Let's reward criminals because they have a strong native voting base? That sounds dangerous.
3) 9-11 Commission: What a political joke. The entire point of this thing is to simply pin blame on someone, which is not the place to be right now. What if we had done the same with Pearl Harbor? History would not be very forgiving on that, I suspect.
Well, moving on.
So, I see hear that people are protesting at the University of Illinois about their mascot, Illiniwek, today.
*sigh*
I've said this before and I'll say it again: Until I see different, the activists who take part in this are hypocrites. Surprised? Let's look at what's being said . . .
One of the arguments made is that Illiniwek is a mockery, a discriminatory symbol of oppression and stereotypes. Stereotypes? Mockery? When was the last time any of these people complained about the Vikings? Or the Cowboys? Or what about the Fighting Irish? That last one is pretty bad, but nobody seems to care about that one. Or do they? I don't see their protests, so I hope someone proves me wrong on this point.
Along the same point, the University emphasizes over and over that they handle Illiniwek with the utmost care, concern, and respect, and make certain that whoever plays him each year learns everything so that it isn't a mockery.
But then again, maybe some people actually do find it insulting. I dunno. Do the Native Americans find it insulting? I wouldn't know. I've seen maybe one or two Native Americans speak out on this issue. Everyone else is just a white person complaining about oppression and mockery.
So, oppression? Discrimination? How does a mascot cause oppression and discrimination? I've heard a lot of people complain about the horrendous conditions on the reservations . . . the poverty, the hopelessness, the corruption and unfair dealings from govt. officials. So, wait, how does a mascot cause those? And, the million dollar question, how does getting rid of the mascot solve those problems?
I maintain that if people really cared about the native people, they'd work to solve those problems, not worry about some mascot. The entire thing just smacks of politically correct "white guilt." "Let's not solve any real problems, let's just chase down rabbit trails to ease our collective guilt for being ancestors of people who may have been involved in oppressing your ancestors." Yikes. If you pity them, if you care for them, then solve the problems that really matter. Just as James said, if you wish a man well but don't care for his earthly needs, then what good have you done him?
In other news, my family likes to watch "Joan of Arcadia." I haven't heard anyone comment on this show in the time it's been on. So, I'll share my thoughts.
For those who don't know, it's about this girl from a "Catholic" family that meets God in various human forms, who tells her to do certain things. As Joan does what God tells her to do, she learns various lessons about life and people around her are bettered for it. We also see the lives of her family and friends evolve as they go about their lives. It's fun, it's exciting . . . it's religious drivel.
See, while it's really neat that God appears to Joan and says some things that do hold true, the God portrayed here is certainly not the God of the Bible. The God of "Joan" seems to use a works based salvation: Those who do the will of God are loved by God. It's just about being a good person, not about having faith in Christ. There's the next problem: "God" never, ever mentions his son. I know they have to water down the religiosity for broadcast television, but the God of the Bible testifies to Himself and will not deny the Son. We don't see that here. The third big problem is God's purposes. I understand that we don't always know what God is doing or what He intends, but "God" in this instance is just a cosmic Dr. Phil. He wants to teach Joan all these great lessons of life and show her how to be a better person . . . blah. A very well known saying (though I don't know the original source) is, "Jesus didn't come to make bad people good . . . he came to make dead men live." Joan learns great lessons about being a swell girl, but it's almost meaningless.
So, those are my thoughts. On the show, on politics, and on many, many things. Perhaps this signals a return to normalcy. Or perhaps I'm just making a temporary hiatus BACK to the blog. Either way, enjoy it while it lasts :-)
Hal
So, on the with ranting.
First, much in the world of politics has changed since I last posted. What to say? I'll make some brief observations:
1) Democratic Primaries: Ridiculous. I've never really cared for any of the candidates, but the way the media pretty much ran this one was absurd. First, Howard Dean was the media sweetheart who was such a shoe-in for the nomination that everyone else should step aside so as to give the most liberated front against Bush. Then, a slight change occurred and suddenly John Kerry is the new darling. And the convention hasn't even been held yet! It's as if everyone has completely forgotten that there are actually several other candidates!
2) President Bush: I don't understand things sometimes. There's a lot of people out there, in the mainstream media mainly, who demonize every word, phrase, and action President Bush takes. Sometimes its hard to distinguish when he does anything right simply because you've got people on both sides screaming their heads off when he so much as sneezes. To be honest, some of his actions in the past few months have frustrated me. His whole, "temporary work permit" or whatever for illegal aliens is just wrong. Let's reward criminals because they have a strong native voting base? That sounds dangerous.
3) 9-11 Commission: What a political joke. The entire point of this thing is to simply pin blame on someone, which is not the place to be right now. What if we had done the same with Pearl Harbor? History would not be very forgiving on that, I suspect.
Well, moving on.
So, I see hear that people are protesting at the University of Illinois about their mascot, Illiniwek, today.
*sigh*
I've said this before and I'll say it again: Until I see different, the activists who take part in this are hypocrites. Surprised? Let's look at what's being said . . .
One of the arguments made is that Illiniwek is a mockery, a discriminatory symbol of oppression and stereotypes. Stereotypes? Mockery? When was the last time any of these people complained about the Vikings? Or the Cowboys? Or what about the Fighting Irish? That last one is pretty bad, but nobody seems to care about that one. Or do they? I don't see their protests, so I hope someone proves me wrong on this point.
Along the same point, the University emphasizes over and over that they handle Illiniwek with the utmost care, concern, and respect, and make certain that whoever plays him each year learns everything so that it isn't a mockery.
But then again, maybe some people actually do find it insulting. I dunno. Do the Native Americans find it insulting? I wouldn't know. I've seen maybe one or two Native Americans speak out on this issue. Everyone else is just a white person complaining about oppression and mockery.
So, oppression? Discrimination? How does a mascot cause oppression and discrimination? I've heard a lot of people complain about the horrendous conditions on the reservations . . . the poverty, the hopelessness, the corruption and unfair dealings from govt. officials. So, wait, how does a mascot cause those? And, the million dollar question, how does getting rid of the mascot solve those problems?
I maintain that if people really cared about the native people, they'd work to solve those problems, not worry about some mascot. The entire thing just smacks of politically correct "white guilt." "Let's not solve any real problems, let's just chase down rabbit trails to ease our collective guilt for being ancestors of people who may have been involved in oppressing your ancestors." Yikes. If you pity them, if you care for them, then solve the problems that really matter. Just as James said, if you wish a man well but don't care for his earthly needs, then what good have you done him?
In other news, my family likes to watch "Joan of Arcadia." I haven't heard anyone comment on this show in the time it's been on. So, I'll share my thoughts.
For those who don't know, it's about this girl from a "Catholic" family that meets God in various human forms, who tells her to do certain things. As Joan does what God tells her to do, she learns various lessons about life and people around her are bettered for it. We also see the lives of her family and friends evolve as they go about their lives. It's fun, it's exciting . . . it's religious drivel.
See, while it's really neat that God appears to Joan and says some things that do hold true, the God portrayed here is certainly not the God of the Bible. The God of "Joan" seems to use a works based salvation: Those who do the will of God are loved by God. It's just about being a good person, not about having faith in Christ. There's the next problem: "God" never, ever mentions his son. I know they have to water down the religiosity for broadcast television, but the God of the Bible testifies to Himself and will not deny the Son. We don't see that here. The third big problem is God's purposes. I understand that we don't always know what God is doing or what He intends, but "God" in this instance is just a cosmic Dr. Phil. He wants to teach Joan all these great lessons of life and show her how to be a better person . . . blah. A very well known saying (though I don't know the original source) is, "Jesus didn't come to make bad people good . . . he came to make dead men live." Joan learns great lessons about being a swell girl, but it's almost meaningless.
So, those are my thoughts. On the show, on politics, and on many, many things. Perhaps this signals a return to normalcy. Or perhaps I'm just making a temporary hiatus BACK to the blog. Either way, enjoy it while it lasts :-)
Hal
Thursday, December 25, 2003
Merry Christmas everyone!
I hope you are all having a blessed day, celebrating the birth of Christ, because of whom we can stand before God. Not much political going on right now, so the rants will have different focus this time, but that's okay, it's all still good stuff.
First, a little personal stuff. I've been having it rough the last couple of days. I hate being sick. The flu is no fun. I'm better now (a little bit of gross stuff in my lungs yet, but it's all right), so calm your fears. Being sick is not easy. It's not just the aching and the nausea and the dizziness, it's the helplessness. My sister and I were sick at the same time, and it doesn't help that my father is still recovering from foot surgery. We were quite a burden on our parents, needing food and medicine and such brought to us constantly. Perhaps it is pride which is the root of the problem. To feel sorrow for requesting help with a necessary need? To regret being a burden on family? We let our pride rise up in silly forms sometimes. Granted, my father could have done without being on his feet so much for my sake, but his selfless help should not make me shameful. It should make me grateful.
Ah well. I haven't done much productive with my day. Mostly, I've watched TV, and I really have to say, I love the History Channel. It's great. Except at Christmas.
At Christmas, they like to play all these shows that are, essentially, "Let's see how acceptable and reasonable we can make crack-pot quasi-Christian theories and blatant heresies look" shows. Let me just cover some of the examples. One of the programs I was watching earlier questioned who wrote the Torah. They eventually talked about the quasi-Jewish heresy known as Kabbalah. The group is . . . interesting. Apparently, they see the Hebrew alphabet as "magical runes" with mystical powers. God's revelation on Mt. Sinai, when looked at properly according to Kabbalah principles, gives people the power to fill the void of chaos in their soul and lead lives of fulfillment. Something like that. Right. They also use numerology. For example, when you give the Hebrew alphabet numeric values, the sum of "God" is equal to the sum of "nature." That must mean they're very similar, right? Pfft. Another program talked about the "Bible Code." This one really gets me riled up, just because of how ridiculous it is. Basically, they play crossword puzzles with the text and discover words, phrases, and dates near each other, which means that there is hidden prophecy in the Bible.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not ever going to say that there might not be some deeper meaning or hidden power or whatever in the Bible. God is bigger than my imagination. But there is a fundamental problem inherent in both of these views: When you get the Bible to say something that is not said in the text, especially when it runs counter to the text, you are doing dangerous things. God's revelation was never meant to be a gift to mankind to make our lives more enriching and fulfilling. God's revelation was meant to show us who he is, who we are, and how we should be. In other words, "I am God, I am holy, you are sinful, be holy like me." As for the "Bible Code," it works just fine when you get to dictate the size and shape of your crossword puzzle. You can find stuff eventually that way. It's just, as they theorized, a "parlor trick." Besides, to say that God "hid" prophecy in the Bible is to akin to blasphemy. Why would God hide something from us that could only be found by complex computer programs and crossword puzzles? Why would God hide something from us at all? The real meaning of scriptures have always been hidden by something: Faith. This is why many people had no idea Jesus was the Messiah until after the fact. This is why most atheists and cultists look at scriptures and cannot grasp why God does what he does or what certain verses mean. The Holy Spirit is the real interpreter of scripture, not an equation. And if you're going to claim God is hiding prophecy in the Bible, you'd better have a very good explanation of why God is hiding messages in the first place.
Best part is, that's not even the last program that I watched. They played another one of those "Rejected Bible Book" programs. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. They discuss the "dangerous" books of the Bible, that the church rejected because the books threatened power and the status quo, weren't popular enough, blah blah blah. Pfft. They usually only give lip service to the ideas that these books were heretical, written far too late from their events to be reliable, historically inaccurate, or so on. Usually, they try to make some attempt at neutral objectivity (which the History Channel actually does much better than the major networks, to its credit), but you can always feel like they're coming out on the side of the heretical. When last I watched, they were talking about Mary Magdalene again. Yeesh. So many problems, so little time.
Well, that's that, folks. Before I go, I'd like to make a personal request, and ask that you pray for my uncle and his family. They are experiencing rough waters right now.
Merry Christmas to you all, and a blessed season!
Hal
P.S. Be on the look out. I'm currently experimenting with certain ideas, and this blog is either going to get a new look or the whole shindig is going to move on over to another server. If so, I'll post a link. Be watchful.
I hope you are all having a blessed day, celebrating the birth of Christ, because of whom we can stand before God. Not much political going on right now, so the rants will have different focus this time, but that's okay, it's all still good stuff.
First, a little personal stuff. I've been having it rough the last couple of days. I hate being sick. The flu is no fun. I'm better now (a little bit of gross stuff in my lungs yet, but it's all right), so calm your fears. Being sick is not easy. It's not just the aching and the nausea and the dizziness, it's the helplessness. My sister and I were sick at the same time, and it doesn't help that my father is still recovering from foot surgery. We were quite a burden on our parents, needing food and medicine and such brought to us constantly. Perhaps it is pride which is the root of the problem. To feel sorrow for requesting help with a necessary need? To regret being a burden on family? We let our pride rise up in silly forms sometimes. Granted, my father could have done without being on his feet so much for my sake, but his selfless help should not make me shameful. It should make me grateful.
Ah well. I haven't done much productive with my day. Mostly, I've watched TV, and I really have to say, I love the History Channel. It's great. Except at Christmas.
At Christmas, they like to play all these shows that are, essentially, "Let's see how acceptable and reasonable we can make crack-pot quasi-Christian theories and blatant heresies look" shows. Let me just cover some of the examples. One of the programs I was watching earlier questioned who wrote the Torah. They eventually talked about the quasi-Jewish heresy known as Kabbalah. The group is . . . interesting. Apparently, they see the Hebrew alphabet as "magical runes" with mystical powers. God's revelation on Mt. Sinai, when looked at properly according to Kabbalah principles, gives people the power to fill the void of chaos in their soul and lead lives of fulfillment. Something like that. Right. They also use numerology. For example, when you give the Hebrew alphabet numeric values, the sum of "God" is equal to the sum of "nature." That must mean they're very similar, right? Pfft. Another program talked about the "Bible Code." This one really gets me riled up, just because of how ridiculous it is. Basically, they play crossword puzzles with the text and discover words, phrases, and dates near each other, which means that there is hidden prophecy in the Bible.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not ever going to say that there might not be some deeper meaning or hidden power or whatever in the Bible. God is bigger than my imagination. But there is a fundamental problem inherent in both of these views: When you get the Bible to say something that is not said in the text, especially when it runs counter to the text, you are doing dangerous things. God's revelation was never meant to be a gift to mankind to make our lives more enriching and fulfilling. God's revelation was meant to show us who he is, who we are, and how we should be. In other words, "I am God, I am holy, you are sinful, be holy like me." As for the "Bible Code," it works just fine when you get to dictate the size and shape of your crossword puzzle. You can find stuff eventually that way. It's just, as they theorized, a "parlor trick." Besides, to say that God "hid" prophecy in the Bible is to akin to blasphemy. Why would God hide something from us that could only be found by complex computer programs and crossword puzzles? Why would God hide something from us at all? The real meaning of scriptures have always been hidden by something: Faith. This is why many people had no idea Jesus was the Messiah until after the fact. This is why most atheists and cultists look at scriptures and cannot grasp why God does what he does or what certain verses mean. The Holy Spirit is the real interpreter of scripture, not an equation. And if you're going to claim God is hiding prophecy in the Bible, you'd better have a very good explanation of why God is hiding messages in the first place.
Best part is, that's not even the last program that I watched. They played another one of those "Rejected Bible Book" programs. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. They discuss the "dangerous" books of the Bible, that the church rejected because the books threatened power and the status quo, weren't popular enough, blah blah blah. Pfft. They usually only give lip service to the ideas that these books were heretical, written far too late from their events to be reliable, historically inaccurate, or so on. Usually, they try to make some attempt at neutral objectivity (which the History Channel actually does much better than the major networks, to its credit), but you can always feel like they're coming out on the side of the heretical. When last I watched, they were talking about Mary Magdalene again. Yeesh. So many problems, so little time.
Well, that's that, folks. Before I go, I'd like to make a personal request, and ask that you pray for my uncle and his family. They are experiencing rough waters right now.
Merry Christmas to you all, and a blessed season!
Hal
P.S. Be on the look out. I'm currently experimenting with certain ideas, and this blog is either going to get a new look or the whole shindig is going to move on over to another server. If so, I'll post a link. Be watchful.
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
Merry Christmas, friends!
Well, first, the big news for me: My time in the corporate gulag is over! Oh, free at last . . . free at last . . . thank God Almighty, I'm free at last!
All righty, down to business. So, the biggest news in politics right now is the capture of Saddam Hussein. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that he's behind bars now (so to speak), but I must say that I'd rather him dead than captured. Perhaps I should explain.
With Saddam now a prisoner, the entire issue of Iraq is going to become far more complicated. The question I'm surprised nobody has asked yet is, how do we know it's him and not one of his many look-alikes? I mean, it was my first question. In any case, let's assume it is him. The first thing we'll get settled is, how shall we try him? Whose courts? The Iraqi courts? A UN tribunal (which is a scary enough prospect alone)? I keep hearing pundits ask whether he will get a fair trial, but what I wonder is, what would a fair trial be for a man of such reputation? He very brazenly admits to violating human rights we didn't even know we have. It's well documented that he's a monster, and he's proud for it. What would be a fair trial? And then what? Will we make a martyr of him and execute him? Will we just let him sit in a prison cell for the rest of his life? Would he still be dangerous as a prisoner? Even if he couldn't get messages out, he'd still be a very powerful symbol to those who saw him as a "glorious Arab leader." Ugh.
And even better, will we see him become a liberal poster child? Will an execution be condemned as barbaric and cruel? Will his imprisonment be seen as bullying from the US? "Poor Saddam, all of his rights taken away, such a misunderstood Arab leader. The bad, bad Bushes just wanted his oil. What did he ever do to anyone?" Already, some hollywood knuckleheads have said that Bush should be on trial instead of Saddam. I can't wait for the Democratic candidates to start spinning this one. At least they had the courtesy to say something nice about it, even if some of the comments were double-edged compliments. John Kerry even kept it clean!
Yah, Kerry . . . hoo boy. Is he pandering to the younger crowd, or is he just not thinking? Using the naughty words about your opponent does not look good to the public. I gotta be honest, these guys scare me. Let's take Dean for an example. He has been saying on countless occasions that he wants to "take back America" from radical conservatives and religious nuts (a paraphrase, but on target). If anyone who claims that they're a Christian votes for him, they either deny their own faith or show their own ignorance. Why would you vote for someone who openly disdains your beliefs?
Well, enough politics. Here's an interesting question. Let's say you know a man who is the major breadwinner for his family. He receives an unexpected injury in the form of several fingers being lost in an accident at work. While worker compensation does something to help, this family now has a crisis on its hands. At first you want to help, but then you find out he's a white supremicist. We're talkin' full package here, with KKK membership card and swastika tattoo. Do you still help him?
This is the situation my mother's employer faces. One of their employees, though an ideological outcast, is experiencing a great need. Personally, I say the company should help them all the same. Yes, some of the black and jewish employees are fuming at the possibility of this man receiving aid, but this isn't just about him. The aid is to come in the form of money for the family, and clothing and toys for his children. It shows a greater spirit of compassion, charity, and love to help those who would hate you (or whom you hate, I guess). Jesus did say, "Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you." Besides, those children should be helped, whether or not their father holds disdainful views.
But then, that's me. The issue isn't so black and white. The company may receive some nasty public backlash for helping out a man with such a perspective. What do you think? What would you do?
Well, that's all for this update. Just remember folks, the world may not like to talk about it, but there's a reason we celebrate this time of year. Even if it's not the real date, even if it's roots are impure, even if it's transformed into something vulgar and obscene, Christmas should still be about celebrating the greatest act of love ever. Let us take captive every thought and make it subject to Christ. Remember that when it all starts to seem overwhelming.
Merry Christmas!
Hal
Well, first, the big news for me: My time in the corporate gulag is over! Oh, free at last . . . free at last . . . thank God Almighty, I'm free at last!
All righty, down to business. So, the biggest news in politics right now is the capture of Saddam Hussein. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that he's behind bars now (so to speak), but I must say that I'd rather him dead than captured. Perhaps I should explain.
With Saddam now a prisoner, the entire issue of Iraq is going to become far more complicated. The question I'm surprised nobody has asked yet is, how do we know it's him and not one of his many look-alikes? I mean, it was my first question. In any case, let's assume it is him. The first thing we'll get settled is, how shall we try him? Whose courts? The Iraqi courts? A UN tribunal (which is a scary enough prospect alone)? I keep hearing pundits ask whether he will get a fair trial, but what I wonder is, what would a fair trial be for a man of such reputation? He very brazenly admits to violating human rights we didn't even know we have. It's well documented that he's a monster, and he's proud for it. What would be a fair trial? And then what? Will we make a martyr of him and execute him? Will we just let him sit in a prison cell for the rest of his life? Would he still be dangerous as a prisoner? Even if he couldn't get messages out, he'd still be a very powerful symbol to those who saw him as a "glorious Arab leader." Ugh.
And even better, will we see him become a liberal poster child? Will an execution be condemned as barbaric and cruel? Will his imprisonment be seen as bullying from the US? "Poor Saddam, all of his rights taken away, such a misunderstood Arab leader. The bad, bad Bushes just wanted his oil. What did he ever do to anyone?" Already, some hollywood knuckleheads have said that Bush should be on trial instead of Saddam. I can't wait for the Democratic candidates to start spinning this one. At least they had the courtesy to say something nice about it, even if some of the comments were double-edged compliments. John Kerry even kept it clean!
Yah, Kerry . . . hoo boy. Is he pandering to the younger crowd, or is he just not thinking? Using the naughty words about your opponent does not look good to the public. I gotta be honest, these guys scare me. Let's take Dean for an example. He has been saying on countless occasions that he wants to "take back America" from radical conservatives and religious nuts (a paraphrase, but on target). If anyone who claims that they're a Christian votes for him, they either deny their own faith or show their own ignorance. Why would you vote for someone who openly disdains your beliefs?
Well, enough politics. Here's an interesting question. Let's say you know a man who is the major breadwinner for his family. He receives an unexpected injury in the form of several fingers being lost in an accident at work. While worker compensation does something to help, this family now has a crisis on its hands. At first you want to help, but then you find out he's a white supremicist. We're talkin' full package here, with KKK membership card and swastika tattoo. Do you still help him?
This is the situation my mother's employer faces. One of their employees, though an ideological outcast, is experiencing a great need. Personally, I say the company should help them all the same. Yes, some of the black and jewish employees are fuming at the possibility of this man receiving aid, but this isn't just about him. The aid is to come in the form of money for the family, and clothing and toys for his children. It shows a greater spirit of compassion, charity, and love to help those who would hate you (or whom you hate, I guess). Jesus did say, "Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you." Besides, those children should be helped, whether or not their father holds disdainful views.
But then, that's me. The issue isn't so black and white. The company may receive some nasty public backlash for helping out a man with such a perspective. What do you think? What would you do?
Well, that's all for this update. Just remember folks, the world may not like to talk about it, but there's a reason we celebrate this time of year. Even if it's not the real date, even if it's roots are impure, even if it's transformed into something vulgar and obscene, Christmas should still be about celebrating the greatest act of love ever. Let us take captive every thought and make it subject to Christ. Remember that when it all starts to seem overwhelming.
Merry Christmas!
Hal
Thursday, December 04, 2003
Wow! I'm very surprised! I have a confirmed readership of . . . 5 people! I had no idea I was so popular!
Ha ha, seriously though, there's plenty to rant about.
Ah, it's finally here. Christmas, that wonderful time of the year when we joyously celebrate the birth of our savior with an orgy of materialism, shopping, and consumerism. How lovely. This season never ceases to amaze me. What should be a joy has turned into a nightmare. I try hard not to participate, but immersion in culture is hard to overcome, especially when it is so prevalent.
But what amazes me is what this elicits from people. Did anyone else hear about the woman trampled at a Wal-Mart in the wee hours Friday after Thanksgiving over $30 DVD players? People sicken me so much. I'm not sure what turns my stomach more, the fact that people actually knocked her over and walked over her to get to the display of DVD players, or that they left her there. You see, store personnel found her later. This means people continued to walk over her and just leave her there long after she originally fell. What have we become as a people?
Actually, this brings up another incident. I found out today about a woman who ran over another woman in the parking lot of a fastfood restaurant. Why did she do this? Because the woman put the wrong toppings on her burger. That's right folks, this lady broke another woman's pelvis because her burger was screwed up. Again, I'm confused about what to be more amazed about. Should it be that she ran down this woman with her car over burger toppings? Or should I be amazed that, in order to run her down with her car, she had to go wait in the parking lot for the woman? This means that minutes, even hours after her burger was wrong in the first place, she waited for this woman. How distorted must your view of reality be to think that running her over with your car was just desserts? How seriously ticked off must you be to wait in a parking lot for hours to run someone over because of a burger? Lord Jesus, come quickly.
In other news, Thanksgiving was an exciting time. Especially for the troops in Iraq. I know a lot of people are quick to condemn it as just a silly publicity stunt, but I don't think so. Sure, President Bush probably realized that he would look good in the public's eye for doing such a thing, but does that automatically mean that his good deed was done purely for selfish reasons? Or can the President do no good deeds without such a charge being made? Personally, I think it was probably more for the troops (and himself), considering the great risk he took by going to Iraq. I mean, if I were an Iraqi soldier and I knew that Bush was coming to town, I'd be making every possible attempt to take a good shot at him. He went to Iraq at great risk to himself, but talk about moralizing to the troops. I think he showed great leadership in doing so, which is more than we can say for how some Presidents have led our military.
So, what else has been going on? Did you hear that Abercrombie & Fitch pulled their winter catalogues from their stores? Some people want to attribute it to the boycott from conservative groups, but A&F is saying it's to make room for perfume displays. Either way, A&F is resolute in continuing to peddle their crappy merchandise through the overused medium that is sex. I'm not sure who to believe, but I definitely support the boycott. For some reason, some people see no problem with using sex (orgies, in the case of the winter A&F catalogue) to advertise to young teens. Is nothing sacred anymore? Is there ever a "too far"? This is a company that was making thongs for 9 year olds. I don't understand why people just sit back and say "Eh, whatever, doesn't affect me, sex sells, blah blah blah . . ."
Yeesh. If you can't see what's wrong with using naked models to sell clothing, much less to people who are barely past childhood, then you have bigger problems than over-tolerance of advertising. In any case, I need to end this rant. Until next time, people!
Hal
Ha ha, seriously though, there's plenty to rant about.
Ah, it's finally here. Christmas, that wonderful time of the year when we joyously celebrate the birth of our savior with an orgy of materialism, shopping, and consumerism. How lovely. This season never ceases to amaze me. What should be a joy has turned into a nightmare. I try hard not to participate, but immersion in culture is hard to overcome, especially when it is so prevalent.
But what amazes me is what this elicits from people. Did anyone else hear about the woman trampled at a Wal-Mart in the wee hours Friday after Thanksgiving over $30 DVD players? People sicken me so much. I'm not sure what turns my stomach more, the fact that people actually knocked her over and walked over her to get to the display of DVD players, or that they left her there. You see, store personnel found her later. This means people continued to walk over her and just leave her there long after she originally fell. What have we become as a people?
Actually, this brings up another incident. I found out today about a woman who ran over another woman in the parking lot of a fastfood restaurant. Why did she do this? Because the woman put the wrong toppings on her burger. That's right folks, this lady broke another woman's pelvis because her burger was screwed up. Again, I'm confused about what to be more amazed about. Should it be that she ran down this woman with her car over burger toppings? Or should I be amazed that, in order to run her down with her car, she had to go wait in the parking lot for the woman? This means that minutes, even hours after her burger was wrong in the first place, she waited for this woman. How distorted must your view of reality be to think that running her over with your car was just desserts? How seriously ticked off must you be to wait in a parking lot for hours to run someone over because of a burger? Lord Jesus, come quickly.
In other news, Thanksgiving was an exciting time. Especially for the troops in Iraq. I know a lot of people are quick to condemn it as just a silly publicity stunt, but I don't think so. Sure, President Bush probably realized that he would look good in the public's eye for doing such a thing, but does that automatically mean that his good deed was done purely for selfish reasons? Or can the President do no good deeds without such a charge being made? Personally, I think it was probably more for the troops (and himself), considering the great risk he took by going to Iraq. I mean, if I were an Iraqi soldier and I knew that Bush was coming to town, I'd be making every possible attempt to take a good shot at him. He went to Iraq at great risk to himself, but talk about moralizing to the troops. I think he showed great leadership in doing so, which is more than we can say for how some Presidents have led our military.
So, what else has been going on? Did you hear that Abercrombie & Fitch pulled their winter catalogues from their stores? Some people want to attribute it to the boycott from conservative groups, but A&F is saying it's to make room for perfume displays. Either way, A&F is resolute in continuing to peddle their crappy merchandise through the overused medium that is sex. I'm not sure who to believe, but I definitely support the boycott. For some reason, some people see no problem with using sex (orgies, in the case of the winter A&F catalogue) to advertise to young teens. Is nothing sacred anymore? Is there ever a "too far"? This is a company that was making thongs for 9 year olds. I don't understand why people just sit back and say "Eh, whatever, doesn't affect me, sex sells, blah blah blah . . ."
Yeesh. If you can't see what's wrong with using naked models to sell clothing, much less to people who are barely past childhood, then you have bigger problems than over-tolerance of advertising. In any case, I need to end this rant. Until next time, people!
Hal
Monday, November 24, 2003
Hello friends!
Heh, yeah, it's been a while since the last post, I know. What, don't you have anything better to do than sit around and wait for me to update this thing? Well, even if you don't, it's okay. It's not like I'm putting this thing off in favor of saving the world or anything . . .
So, it's been almost two months. Lots of things have happened. Where to begin?
Let's start with Terri Schiavo. The entire debacle just makes me ill. The woman is obviously not in a continuous vegetative state, which would be "grounds" (i.e. excuse) for putting her to death, so why would her estranged husband want this? How selfish and cold-hearted. And starving her to death, much less. You go to jail in this country for doing as much to a dog, yet we would devalue the life of this woman? That's the mentality of this country. You're not perfect, therefore you don't deserve life.
Which brings me to this new show, "Average Joe." Pfft. What a load of garbage. Oh, let's pity these poor, homely schlubs because they're not all built like greek gods, and throw them at this spoiled "goddess" who deserves so much better. Please. As an "average joe," I take great offense to such a concept.
So, let's talk politics. We've had even more judicial nominees fall under the axe of democrat fillibuster. Childish. Then we had the partial-birth abortion ban challenged in less than an hour of the signing. Evil. And don't forget our wonderful democratic presidential hopefuls, making many television appearances. I watched a debate between them a few weeks ago. Boring. Seriously, these people are no different from each other. One just emphasizes one special interest group over another. It's ridiculous.
In more recent news, Michael Jackson is once again facing charges of pedophilia. I don't know who's dumber, him for continuing his bizarre "lifestyle" after the first lawsuit, or the parents who put their kids in his path. Honestly, why do people get this idea that just because someone is a celebrity, they're trustworthy? If he wasn't a celebrity, look at what we have here: An eccentric loner with several failed marriages who wants to invite your children over to his secluded, high security home to play and share a bed with him because he "loves" children. Um, right, if you still think sending little Johnny over for the sleep-over is a good idea, you have bigger problems than a lack of reasoning.
Ah, let's not forget Massachusetts, or at least their Supreme Court. Their judicial legislators (is there a better way to put it?) decided that gay marriage is something that can't be denied the people. Wonderful. While we're at it, let's just put the "okay" on drugs, suicide, and incest. Afterall, if "intelligent, consenting" adults can do those things, why should we discriminate against such "lifestyle choices?" I mean, it's not my fault my sister and I want to make 3-headed babies together . . . we were born that way! (And please, please recognize that for the sarcasm that it is)
Well, I'm out of things to talk about. Perhaps later I'll remember more. If this update doesn't suit you, then contact me and complain. You can then ask me to rant about whatever you want (or whatever I want, heh heh) and I'll go on a tirade worthy of a Pulitzer. Good? Good. Later peoples!
Hal
Heh, yeah, it's been a while since the last post, I know. What, don't you have anything better to do than sit around and wait for me to update this thing? Well, even if you don't, it's okay. It's not like I'm putting this thing off in favor of saving the world or anything . . .
So, it's been almost two months. Lots of things have happened. Where to begin?
Let's start with Terri Schiavo. The entire debacle just makes me ill. The woman is obviously not in a continuous vegetative state, which would be "grounds" (i.e. excuse) for putting her to death, so why would her estranged husband want this? How selfish and cold-hearted. And starving her to death, much less. You go to jail in this country for doing as much to a dog, yet we would devalue the life of this woman? That's the mentality of this country. You're not perfect, therefore you don't deserve life.
Which brings me to this new show, "Average Joe." Pfft. What a load of garbage. Oh, let's pity these poor, homely schlubs because they're not all built like greek gods, and throw them at this spoiled "goddess" who deserves so much better. Please. As an "average joe," I take great offense to such a concept.
So, let's talk politics. We've had even more judicial nominees fall under the axe of democrat fillibuster. Childish. Then we had the partial-birth abortion ban challenged in less than an hour of the signing. Evil. And don't forget our wonderful democratic presidential hopefuls, making many television appearances. I watched a debate between them a few weeks ago. Boring. Seriously, these people are no different from each other. One just emphasizes one special interest group over another. It's ridiculous.
In more recent news, Michael Jackson is once again facing charges of pedophilia. I don't know who's dumber, him for continuing his bizarre "lifestyle" after the first lawsuit, or the parents who put their kids in his path. Honestly, why do people get this idea that just because someone is a celebrity, they're trustworthy? If he wasn't a celebrity, look at what we have here: An eccentric loner with several failed marriages who wants to invite your children over to his secluded, high security home to play and share a bed with him because he "loves" children. Um, right, if you still think sending little Johnny over for the sleep-over is a good idea, you have bigger problems than a lack of reasoning.
Ah, let's not forget Massachusetts, or at least their Supreme Court. Their judicial legislators (is there a better way to put it?) decided that gay marriage is something that can't be denied the people. Wonderful. While we're at it, let's just put the "okay" on drugs, suicide, and incest. Afterall, if "intelligent, consenting" adults can do those things, why should we discriminate against such "lifestyle choices?" I mean, it's not my fault my sister and I want to make 3-headed babies together . . . we were born that way! (And please, please recognize that for the sarcasm that it is)
Well, I'm out of things to talk about. Perhaps later I'll remember more. If this update doesn't suit you, then contact me and complain. You can then ask me to rant about whatever you want (or whatever I want, heh heh) and I'll go on a tirade worthy of a Pulitzer. Good? Good. Later peoples!
Hal
Sunday, October 05, 2003
Hey there peoples! I apologize that it's been so long since my last posting. I typically only have time to do this on the weekends, and things have been absolute insanity this past month. But I'm back, I'm posting, and I should have plenty of rantings to make up this month to you guys.
Well, I can't rant and not talk about Iraq. Let's get down to business. There's so much to talk about. First things first, I must say I'm a little frustrated. Why are politicians treating this $87 billion like a political football, as if Bush were asking for this money just to tick off Democrats? Granted, that is a lot of money, but let's not ignore what it's for. Two-thirds of that is going towards defense. That means we need that money to buy more weapons for our troops, pay their reimbursements, and buy body armor and shielded hum-vees. In other words, delaying this money is only hurting our troops (the ones those yahoos care so much about). The remaining third goes towards rebuilding Iraq. That is, creating economic revival, restoring more of the public services (such as fire protection), and helping the people work towards standing on their own feet (in other words, showing the world that we really are liberators, and not conquerors or occupiers). And that money can't be used to pay off any of the debts Saddam accumulated while in office (to Europe and Russia, no less . . . I wonder if they'll show their compassion for the Iraqi people and let those debts slide . . .). Short of rebuilding their economy, if Iraq is to repay any debts, their oil money is going to go towards it. That's right, this war, which was all about the oil apparently, will yield NO oil for the US. Do you think the press is going to be sharing that fact with us any time soon? But the bottom line is, if we don't use that money in Iraq, our troops will be in even more danger, and we will be doing a great injustice to the Iraqi people.
Now I know that some people have some objections to this. Yes, it's a lot of money, and yes, I'm sure we could find some very good uses for it at home. But what kind of people would we be if we said, "Nuts to our commitments and obligations abroad. Let's spend that money on ourselves and to hell with the rest of the world!" Besides, that money is very needed. And at least the Bush administration is upfront about it all with us. When this thing started, they said, "We will pay what this costs and be in there until it is finished." Such a high price? Let's look at Bosnia. Clinton said that troops would be there for about a year, and that costs would be relatively low. We still have troops in Bosnia, and the accumulated cost of that entire episode has so far reached $60 billion. Does anyone mention that? Do many people realize that? If we're going to make something work, we can't just put a modicum of effor and funding into it. We have to give it everything it needs to work.
So, I suppose at this point I should also mention that WMD report that David Kay just released. People are trumpeting it as the "proof" that Bush was "lying" about WMDs, that there never were any in Iraq, and that we launched an unjustified war.
Hogwash.
First, David Kay made it clear in his report that it was just a "snapshot", in his own words, of what had happened so far. He has been looking into this for barely three months (my, we are such an impatient people). Anybody who uses what he said in that report as the end all of this entire thing is just ignoring reality. And what did he say in the report? No, he didn't discover any warheads or missles or bombs or anything of that nature. What he did find, though, was that Iraq had obtained strains of a deadly botulinum to be weaponized, and that it had been running a weapons program past the beginning of the US invasion. Now, for those without good recall, the terms of the UN resolutions had always been not just that Saddam not have any weapons, but also that any program designed towards pursuing such weapons was a violation. Like it or not, Saddam Hussein did not have clean hands on this WMD issue, no matter what the scoffers say.
So where are the weapons? A good question to be sure, but just to be clear, not having found them so far does not mean they did not exist. Anyone who claims that we rushed into war is being ridiculous. For more than a year, we made it clear we were readying the hammer to bring down upon Saddam if he didn't comply with the UN. Bush went before the UN several times, he went before the Congress, he went before the people, saying for so long that action needed to be taken, lest Saddam be allowed to just ignore his crimes without consequence. We gave ample time for Saddam to realize that conflict was coming, and Saddam of all people would realize this, since he knew better than anyone that inspectors were not going to see his stashes. So, given all of that time, is it unreasonable to assume that he maybe, just maybe, hid the weapons for a time when he would return after the US troops were gone? I mean, Syria, right over the border, was friendly with Iraq. It all could have gone there. We found Saddam's troops burying MiGs (not an easy task, mind you). Is it not possible that the weapons are sitting under the sand somewhere in Iraq, just waiting to be dug up by Saddam loyalists when the time is right? We haven't found the weapons yet? Doesn't matter. We've found enough, and until it is proved the weapons never existed, we need to continue the search.
Well, that's it for Iraq. In other news, it seems that once again Rush Limbaugh is being labeled a racist. That charge just irritates me. Let me be clear: What I don't know about football could fill a stadium. I don't care whether Donovan McNabb is really that great of a quarterback or not. The issue is, Rush accused the NFL spinmeisters of making more of McNabb than he really was because they wanted to see a black player in the limelight. What was racist about that? He said nothing disparaging about McNabb short of him being overrated (and his skills were in no way connected to his race, that would be racist). Limbaugh, if anything, was accusing the NFL media of being racist, and in classic PC-age showmanship, they turned the tables right back on Limbaugh. Ever insinuating that racism helped a non-white person is equivalent to being racist yourself. Yeesh.
And, in non-political news, I have just been very frustrated lately. I will not question a fellow Christian's salvation so long as they hold to the essentials of the faith and their lives show the fruit of the Spirit. But I find doctrine to be very important, even if it isn't an essential. Why? The doctrines we hold have far reaching implications in the way we think about and live out our faith . . . ideas have consequences.
So what's the deal? My mind is just boggled by this idea that those who are not Christians, who have never heard the Gospel, will be saved. I just don't get it. First off, the Bible says we are saved by faith, and that no one is saved except through Jesus' sacrifice, and the atoning work of that sacrifice is imparted to us only by that faith. How can someone who does not have faith in Christ be saved? Such a concept goes completely against the Biblical model of salvation. I've heard people say that if someone sincerely seeks after God to the best of their knowledge, God will save them. I'm sorry, but that doesn't work either. The Bible explicitly says that no one seeks God, that all have turned their back on Him. In other words, if someone is not a Christian, they can't be said to be seeking God sincerely. I've also heard people say that the Gospel will be presented to people after they die, so they may have one last chance to either accept or reject Christ. That is very unbiblical, and removes all traces of free will. Imagine standing in front of the pearly gates, and the glorified Lord Jesus comes before you and says that you must put faith in Him. Even the most hardened, God-hating atheist could not turn down such an offer, staring right into the face of either eternal communion with the sovereign Lord or eternal damnation and complete separation from Him.
Aside from that, look at the consequences. Let's say that those who never have a chance to decide on faith in Jesus are saved. Why would Christ make such a big deal of taking the Good News to the world? Why would the apostles, and Paul especially, make such a big deal of sharing the name of Christ to people who had never heard the name if they were already saved? Would we not be giving an automatic death sentence to people who end up not believing by bringing the Gospel to those who haven't heard it? Would it not serve the kingdom more to just cease all evangelism and preaching of God's name all together? I'm sorry, but ideas have consequences, and the salvation of those who have never heard the Gospel, who have no faith in Christ, just has too many bad implications to it.
Well, I hope that's enough ranting for one day. Stay tuned for more exciting rambling from me, same bat-time, same bat-website. :-)
Hal
Well, I can't rant and not talk about Iraq. Let's get down to business. There's so much to talk about. First things first, I must say I'm a little frustrated. Why are politicians treating this $87 billion like a political football, as if Bush were asking for this money just to tick off Democrats? Granted, that is a lot of money, but let's not ignore what it's for. Two-thirds of that is going towards defense. That means we need that money to buy more weapons for our troops, pay their reimbursements, and buy body armor and shielded hum-vees. In other words, delaying this money is only hurting our troops (the ones those yahoos care so much about). The remaining third goes towards rebuilding Iraq. That is, creating economic revival, restoring more of the public services (such as fire protection), and helping the people work towards standing on their own feet (in other words, showing the world that we really are liberators, and not conquerors or occupiers). And that money can't be used to pay off any of the debts Saddam accumulated while in office (to Europe and Russia, no less . . . I wonder if they'll show their compassion for the Iraqi people and let those debts slide . . .). Short of rebuilding their economy, if Iraq is to repay any debts, their oil money is going to go towards it. That's right, this war, which was all about the oil apparently, will yield NO oil for the US. Do you think the press is going to be sharing that fact with us any time soon? But the bottom line is, if we don't use that money in Iraq, our troops will be in even more danger, and we will be doing a great injustice to the Iraqi people.
Now I know that some people have some objections to this. Yes, it's a lot of money, and yes, I'm sure we could find some very good uses for it at home. But what kind of people would we be if we said, "Nuts to our commitments and obligations abroad. Let's spend that money on ourselves and to hell with the rest of the world!" Besides, that money is very needed. And at least the Bush administration is upfront about it all with us. When this thing started, they said, "We will pay what this costs and be in there until it is finished." Such a high price? Let's look at Bosnia. Clinton said that troops would be there for about a year, and that costs would be relatively low. We still have troops in Bosnia, and the accumulated cost of that entire episode has so far reached $60 billion. Does anyone mention that? Do many people realize that? If we're going to make something work, we can't just put a modicum of effor and funding into it. We have to give it everything it needs to work.
So, I suppose at this point I should also mention that WMD report that David Kay just released. People are trumpeting it as the "proof" that Bush was "lying" about WMDs, that there never were any in Iraq, and that we launched an unjustified war.
Hogwash.
First, David Kay made it clear in his report that it was just a "snapshot", in his own words, of what had happened so far. He has been looking into this for barely three months (my, we are such an impatient people). Anybody who uses what he said in that report as the end all of this entire thing is just ignoring reality. And what did he say in the report? No, he didn't discover any warheads or missles or bombs or anything of that nature. What he did find, though, was that Iraq had obtained strains of a deadly botulinum to be weaponized, and that it had been running a weapons program past the beginning of the US invasion. Now, for those without good recall, the terms of the UN resolutions had always been not just that Saddam not have any weapons, but also that any program designed towards pursuing such weapons was a violation. Like it or not, Saddam Hussein did not have clean hands on this WMD issue, no matter what the scoffers say.
So where are the weapons? A good question to be sure, but just to be clear, not having found them so far does not mean they did not exist. Anyone who claims that we rushed into war is being ridiculous. For more than a year, we made it clear we were readying the hammer to bring down upon Saddam if he didn't comply with the UN. Bush went before the UN several times, he went before the Congress, he went before the people, saying for so long that action needed to be taken, lest Saddam be allowed to just ignore his crimes without consequence. We gave ample time for Saddam to realize that conflict was coming, and Saddam of all people would realize this, since he knew better than anyone that inspectors were not going to see his stashes. So, given all of that time, is it unreasonable to assume that he maybe, just maybe, hid the weapons for a time when he would return after the US troops were gone? I mean, Syria, right over the border, was friendly with Iraq. It all could have gone there. We found Saddam's troops burying MiGs (not an easy task, mind you). Is it not possible that the weapons are sitting under the sand somewhere in Iraq, just waiting to be dug up by Saddam loyalists when the time is right? We haven't found the weapons yet? Doesn't matter. We've found enough, and until it is proved the weapons never existed, we need to continue the search.
Well, that's it for Iraq. In other news, it seems that once again Rush Limbaugh is being labeled a racist. That charge just irritates me. Let me be clear: What I don't know about football could fill a stadium. I don't care whether Donovan McNabb is really that great of a quarterback or not. The issue is, Rush accused the NFL spinmeisters of making more of McNabb than he really was because they wanted to see a black player in the limelight. What was racist about that? He said nothing disparaging about McNabb short of him being overrated (and his skills were in no way connected to his race, that would be racist). Limbaugh, if anything, was accusing the NFL media of being racist, and in classic PC-age showmanship, they turned the tables right back on Limbaugh. Ever insinuating that racism helped a non-white person is equivalent to being racist yourself. Yeesh.
And, in non-political news, I have just been very frustrated lately. I will not question a fellow Christian's salvation so long as they hold to the essentials of the faith and their lives show the fruit of the Spirit. But I find doctrine to be very important, even if it isn't an essential. Why? The doctrines we hold have far reaching implications in the way we think about and live out our faith . . . ideas have consequences.
So what's the deal? My mind is just boggled by this idea that those who are not Christians, who have never heard the Gospel, will be saved. I just don't get it. First off, the Bible says we are saved by faith, and that no one is saved except through Jesus' sacrifice, and the atoning work of that sacrifice is imparted to us only by that faith. How can someone who does not have faith in Christ be saved? Such a concept goes completely against the Biblical model of salvation. I've heard people say that if someone sincerely seeks after God to the best of their knowledge, God will save them. I'm sorry, but that doesn't work either. The Bible explicitly says that no one seeks God, that all have turned their back on Him. In other words, if someone is not a Christian, they can't be said to be seeking God sincerely. I've also heard people say that the Gospel will be presented to people after they die, so they may have one last chance to either accept or reject Christ. That is very unbiblical, and removes all traces of free will. Imagine standing in front of the pearly gates, and the glorified Lord Jesus comes before you and says that you must put faith in Him. Even the most hardened, God-hating atheist could not turn down such an offer, staring right into the face of either eternal communion with the sovereign Lord or eternal damnation and complete separation from Him.
Aside from that, look at the consequences. Let's say that those who never have a chance to decide on faith in Jesus are saved. Why would Christ make such a big deal of taking the Good News to the world? Why would the apostles, and Paul especially, make such a big deal of sharing the name of Christ to people who had never heard the name if they were already saved? Would we not be giving an automatic death sentence to people who end up not believing by bringing the Gospel to those who haven't heard it? Would it not serve the kingdom more to just cease all evangelism and preaching of God's name all together? I'm sorry, but ideas have consequences, and the salvation of those who have never heard the Gospel, who have no faith in Christ, just has too many bad implications to it.
Well, I hope that's enough ranting for one day. Stay tuned for more exciting rambling from me, same bat-time, same bat-website. :-)
Hal
Sunday, September 07, 2003
Well, I had a half-written post/rant saved, but it looks like it's gone, so you guys get what I remember from it. Shame, it was pretty good too.
On August 28, I watched this ABC special about Martin Luther King Jr., and his famous "I have a dream" speech. It was pretty cool, except I was annoyed that they didn't play the speech straight through. They kept interrupting it with commentary.
But one thing struck me about everything. The civil rights movement . . . it all began in the churches, with Christians. And after a while, they became a dynamic, world changing force. To nearly everyone, and especially Rev. King, it was all about Christ, and answering his call. It was humbling, to say the least. What has happened to the Christian church today? Not only are we so divided on things that we can't fight a concentrated battle, but we seem to lack faith and resilience. So many Christians would rather just sit back, hunker down in the churches, and think, "It's all going to go downhill anyhow, so why fight it?" "I can't help in any of this," "I'm not interested in these kinds of things." Oh, that God would light the churches on fire with the Spirit, not just for saving lost souls, but for restoring a lost society and culture. Really, the two rather go hand in hand. In large part, we'll change the culture and society one heart and mind at a time.
Well, that's about all I can remember of that post.
In other news, Miguel Estrada has withdrawn from becoming a federal judge. This really angers me. I did Model UN, and I hated with a passion the people who used the protocol to exert the will of the few on the many, rather than letting the will of the people speak. It's exactly what these Senators are doing. They're essentially saying, "Since we know you won't play the game by our rules, we won't even let you take the ball onto the field." It's sickening. You know what's rich? I forget who, but one of the "filibuster" senators said of all of this, essentially, "This is what happens when the White House won't work with the Congress." Excuse me?! Who isn't working with who here? Do your job and just let the people speak, either these people are wanted as judges or not! Don't let your minority views be shackles to the majority. (This is how I feel about a lot of stuff, like homosexuality or atheism).
But this brings me to an interesting point. Did you know it's illegal for religious groups to meet in homes in Switzerland? In fact, every non-mainline Protestant denomination has been labeled a cult by that State. Craziness. The church in Europe has almost reached the point of the church in the Middle East! We need to pray for the few, true Christians who remain Europe.
Well, there's more, but I'm tired. I hope this will do for now. Until next time, party people!
Hal
On August 28, I watched this ABC special about Martin Luther King Jr., and his famous "I have a dream" speech. It was pretty cool, except I was annoyed that they didn't play the speech straight through. They kept interrupting it with commentary.
But one thing struck me about everything. The civil rights movement . . . it all began in the churches, with Christians. And after a while, they became a dynamic, world changing force. To nearly everyone, and especially Rev. King, it was all about Christ, and answering his call. It was humbling, to say the least. What has happened to the Christian church today? Not only are we so divided on things that we can't fight a concentrated battle, but we seem to lack faith and resilience. So many Christians would rather just sit back, hunker down in the churches, and think, "It's all going to go downhill anyhow, so why fight it?" "I can't help in any of this," "I'm not interested in these kinds of things." Oh, that God would light the churches on fire with the Spirit, not just for saving lost souls, but for restoring a lost society and culture. Really, the two rather go hand in hand. In large part, we'll change the culture and society one heart and mind at a time.
Well, that's about all I can remember of that post.
In other news, Miguel Estrada has withdrawn from becoming a federal judge. This really angers me. I did Model UN, and I hated with a passion the people who used the protocol to exert the will of the few on the many, rather than letting the will of the people speak. It's exactly what these Senators are doing. They're essentially saying, "Since we know you won't play the game by our rules, we won't even let you take the ball onto the field." It's sickening. You know what's rich? I forget who, but one of the "filibuster" senators said of all of this, essentially, "This is what happens when the White House won't work with the Congress." Excuse me?! Who isn't working with who here? Do your job and just let the people speak, either these people are wanted as judges or not! Don't let your minority views be shackles to the majority. (This is how I feel about a lot of stuff, like homosexuality or atheism).
But this brings me to an interesting point. Did you know it's illegal for religious groups to meet in homes in Switzerland? In fact, every non-mainline Protestant denomination has been labeled a cult by that State. Craziness. The church in Europe has almost reached the point of the church in the Middle East! We need to pray for the few, true Christians who remain Europe.
Well, there's more, but I'm tired. I hope this will do for now. Until next time, party people!
Hal
Friday, August 22, 2003
Hey ya'll. I told you I'd be back. On a personal note before I start, let me just say this: I've heard of "Let's just be friends" talks, but I didn't even know you could have a "Let's just be acquaintances" talk. Ex-girlfriends . . . go figure.
Anyhow. I must say, I am really disappointed with popular entertainment right now, in a variety of ways. Let's start with movies. This summer's picks have been, well, less than satisfactory. We've had your standard fare of action movies with zero value in terms of writing or acting. Except for League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. It was bad, but Sean Connery is a good actor, even in awful movies. We've also been given the "Romantic Comedy" selection, which always turn out to be funny in no way, but emphasize a kind of romance that makes me wonder what sewer the writers crawled out of. Heck, even for kids movies, it wasn't a blockbuster summer. Finding Nemo was good, but certainly not of the same caliber as some of Pixar's previous films (at least in terms of writing). As for the next SpyKid's movie, even I would have found this bad when I was 12. And do we really need another version of Freaky Friday? Yeesh.
Television isn't getting much better. I'll admit that I like watching some of the cartoons on WB, like Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, and X-Men Evolution. Yeah, they're sappy and silly, but that's what makes them fun. But Fox cartoons? Do they think kids have the IQs of balsa wood? Seriously, the shows they have are just plain bad. And what's with all of the cartoons that try to emulate the success of Pokemon or any other anime cartoon, yet come from American artists and writers? Monster Rancher was pretty dumb. Fighting Foodons? Jeez, that show scrapes the bottom of the barrel in terms of quality. This is why I love Cartoon Network. They have the best cartoons, especially the anime. I really love the shows that can successfully combine character development and breathtaking action, while keeping their priorities straight, and yet using both to strengthen one another. Action is fun, but watching characters grow and change is what makes most anime so very satisfying. This is why most of the crappy American cartoons that the networks put out fail; because their characters remain static and never change from episode to episode. Eventually, all of the possibilities are played out and it's just time to put them to rest.
But it doesn't just stop at cartoons. What's up with this "Queer Eye" show? Jeez, I don't know what's more offensive, the in-your-face way they're promoting homosexuality, the stereotypical gay male they're throwing out there, or the way they portray straight men as being unable to face such "earth-shattering" issues as fashion, gourmet cousine, or basic hygiene. Yeesh. Myself and plenty of other straight, single men out there can cook just fine, have very acceptable wardrobes, and can certainly clean up after ourselves. We don't need overly effeminate weirdos watching us shower (seriously, they did this on an episode my sister was watching . . . gross!!!) in order to impress the opposite sex and feel good about ourselves.
I'll stop now before I start going on again about homosexuality. I already did that recently enough, eh? Hope you enjoyed the ranting, and I'll bring you something else to chew on soon enough.
Hal
Anyhow. I must say, I am really disappointed with popular entertainment right now, in a variety of ways. Let's start with movies. This summer's picks have been, well, less than satisfactory. We've had your standard fare of action movies with zero value in terms of writing or acting. Except for League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. It was bad, but Sean Connery is a good actor, even in awful movies. We've also been given the "Romantic Comedy" selection, which always turn out to be funny in no way, but emphasize a kind of romance that makes me wonder what sewer the writers crawled out of. Heck, even for kids movies, it wasn't a blockbuster summer. Finding Nemo was good, but certainly not of the same caliber as some of Pixar's previous films (at least in terms of writing). As for the next SpyKid's movie, even I would have found this bad when I was 12. And do we really need another version of Freaky Friday? Yeesh.
Television isn't getting much better. I'll admit that I like watching some of the cartoons on WB, like Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, and X-Men Evolution. Yeah, they're sappy and silly, but that's what makes them fun. But Fox cartoons? Do they think kids have the IQs of balsa wood? Seriously, the shows they have are just plain bad. And what's with all of the cartoons that try to emulate the success of Pokemon or any other anime cartoon, yet come from American artists and writers? Monster Rancher was pretty dumb. Fighting Foodons? Jeez, that show scrapes the bottom of the barrel in terms of quality. This is why I love Cartoon Network. They have the best cartoons, especially the anime. I really love the shows that can successfully combine character development and breathtaking action, while keeping their priorities straight, and yet using both to strengthen one another. Action is fun, but watching characters grow and change is what makes most anime so very satisfying. This is why most of the crappy American cartoons that the networks put out fail; because their characters remain static and never change from episode to episode. Eventually, all of the possibilities are played out and it's just time to put them to rest.
But it doesn't just stop at cartoons. What's up with this "Queer Eye" show? Jeez, I don't know what's more offensive, the in-your-face way they're promoting homosexuality, the stereotypical gay male they're throwing out there, or the way they portray straight men as being unable to face such "earth-shattering" issues as fashion, gourmet cousine, or basic hygiene. Yeesh. Myself and plenty of other straight, single men out there can cook just fine, have very acceptable wardrobes, and can certainly clean up after ourselves. We don't need overly effeminate weirdos watching us shower (seriously, they did this on an episode my sister was watching . . . gross!!!) in order to impress the opposite sex and feel good about ourselves.
I'll stop now before I start going on again about homosexuality. I already did that recently enough, eh? Hope you enjoyed the ranting, and I'll bring you something else to chew on soon enough.
Hal
Wednesday, August 20, 2003
Oy. I know it's been about 2 weeks since the last entry, but life has been pretty darn full lately. Hopefully, your unsatiable thirst for mindless ranting will be somehow appeased by this.
Quite honestly, I'm having major issues at church. I've spent most of the summer trying to become a part of the college/young adult "ministry", but it's just been a mess. The thing is, the core little group of people there have been friends since high school, all live in the area, and so the line between "social event" and "ministry event" tends to be lost on them. I tried to be patient and to just be a part of things, but . . . there is a distinct difference between being along for the ride and being included. Being included means people appreciating your presence, and wanting to interact with you. But those folk . . . not so much. I feel like I'm intruding on a gathering of friends, which I arguably am, the way the "ministry" is set up. I say "ministry" because, well, there's not much ministering going on. It's mostly just a social group for 20-somethings. Whatever happened to the church being all about changing the world around it, rather than just being a support group for whiny people who have trouble fitting into society? ('Course, I say this as an American. God knows the Church is vibrant and alive in other parts of the world)
My problem just is, what do I do? I've always believed that the purpose of being part of a local body of believers (e.g. church) was for Christian fellowship, corporate worship, and organized ministry. When I barely get one out of the three, why bother? I know I can't change it over night by myself. So, what do I do in the meantime? Does God call me to be an agent of change in a church that just doesn't seem to get it? Finding another church doesn't seem to be a choice for the time being. Not that that's a suitable option, but it's not an option all the same.
Heh, well, that was a little more personal than most of my rants so far. I'll probably be back in a few days with something less "Me" oriented. In the meantime, go to www.carm.org for whatever other rants you'd like to see. Trust me, it'll be good fun.
Hal
Quite honestly, I'm having major issues at church. I've spent most of the summer trying to become a part of the college/young adult "ministry", but it's just been a mess. The thing is, the core little group of people there have been friends since high school, all live in the area, and so the line between "social event" and "ministry event" tends to be lost on them. I tried to be patient and to just be a part of things, but . . . there is a distinct difference between being along for the ride and being included. Being included means people appreciating your presence, and wanting to interact with you. But those folk . . . not so much. I feel like I'm intruding on a gathering of friends, which I arguably am, the way the "ministry" is set up. I say "ministry" because, well, there's not much ministering going on. It's mostly just a social group for 20-somethings. Whatever happened to the church being all about changing the world around it, rather than just being a support group for whiny people who have trouble fitting into society? ('Course, I say this as an American. God knows the Church is vibrant and alive in other parts of the world)
My problem just is, what do I do? I've always believed that the purpose of being part of a local body of believers (e.g. church) was for Christian fellowship, corporate worship, and organized ministry. When I barely get one out of the three, why bother? I know I can't change it over night by myself. So, what do I do in the meantime? Does God call me to be an agent of change in a church that just doesn't seem to get it? Finding another church doesn't seem to be a choice for the time being. Not that that's a suitable option, but it's not an option all the same.
Heh, well, that was a little more personal than most of my rants so far. I'll probably be back in a few days with something less "Me" oriented. In the meantime, go to www.carm.org for whatever other rants you'd like to see. Trust me, it'll be good fun.
Hal
Wednesday, August 06, 2003
Howdy folks. I'm a little late this week, but we've got lots to talk about.
*Sigh*. I'm sure everyone's heard about the "incident" in the Episcopalian church. They've elected their first gay bishop. This is such a tragedy. It really wasn't enough that so many "Homosexual churches" were popping up everywhere. It wasn't even enough that many mainline denominations were marrying homosexual couples. Now a mainline denomination is electing a gay man to a very high level of leadership. What is it with Christians who take this "Me too!" kind of attitude with the world. They want so badly to look good in the eyes of the world, to look "enlightened" and "tolerant" and "accepting" that they'll accept everything the world says is appropriate (which is everything), and the Bible be damned. Jeez. A few biblical phrases seem to come to mind. "Wise in their own minds," "having a form of Godliness without any power," and so on.
People just don't get it. The Bible explicitly condemns homosexuality. Anyone who says otherwise is either ignoring the text or simply making it say what they want it to say. Paul made it clear that leaders in the church should be beyond reproach. Perfect? Sinless? No, but openly embracing and celebrating sin? That's a big problem.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying homosexuality is any worse than any other sin. But when one openly embraces a sin, that is a huge problem for a professing "Christian." When a sin so defines an entire persona that it is an inextricable part of who they are, that is a big problem.
I don't know what's going to happen in the Episcopal church. The Archbishop sounds like he's trying to smooth things over, telling everyone not to act rashly. But since he's approved of gay ordinations and marriages in the Episcopal church in the past, I doubt he's going to squelch the election of this guy. Ideally, that's what would happen. Plan B would simply be the leadership threatening to excommunicate (or however it works in the Anglican church) the diocese that elected this guy (Is diocese the proper word? I don't know how they district things). But more likely, the Archbishop is going to totter back and forth on this, trying to keep things together, followed by the conservative Anglicans of the world schisming out of frustration with their leadership and their denomination as a whole. I'll fully support them when they do it, but it'd be a terrible thing if it does happen.
Well, my sister is dying for the internet. Stupid dial-up. I guess you'll just have to wait for more angry ranting another time.
Hal
*Sigh*. I'm sure everyone's heard about the "incident" in the Episcopalian church. They've elected their first gay bishop. This is such a tragedy. It really wasn't enough that so many "Homosexual churches" were popping up everywhere. It wasn't even enough that many mainline denominations were marrying homosexual couples. Now a mainline denomination is electing a gay man to a very high level of leadership. What is it with Christians who take this "Me too!" kind of attitude with the world. They want so badly to look good in the eyes of the world, to look "enlightened" and "tolerant" and "accepting" that they'll accept everything the world says is appropriate (which is everything), and the Bible be damned. Jeez. A few biblical phrases seem to come to mind. "Wise in their own minds," "having a form of Godliness without any power," and so on.
People just don't get it. The Bible explicitly condemns homosexuality. Anyone who says otherwise is either ignoring the text or simply making it say what they want it to say. Paul made it clear that leaders in the church should be beyond reproach. Perfect? Sinless? No, but openly embracing and celebrating sin? That's a big problem.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying homosexuality is any worse than any other sin. But when one openly embraces a sin, that is a huge problem for a professing "Christian." When a sin so defines an entire persona that it is an inextricable part of who they are, that is a big problem.
I don't know what's going to happen in the Episcopal church. The Archbishop sounds like he's trying to smooth things over, telling everyone not to act rashly. But since he's approved of gay ordinations and marriages in the Episcopal church in the past, I doubt he's going to squelch the election of this guy. Ideally, that's what would happen. Plan B would simply be the leadership threatening to excommunicate (or however it works in the Anglican church) the diocese that elected this guy (Is diocese the proper word? I don't know how they district things). But more likely, the Archbishop is going to totter back and forth on this, trying to keep things together, followed by the conservative Anglicans of the world schisming out of frustration with their leadership and their denomination as a whole. I'll fully support them when they do it, but it'd be a terrible thing if it does happen.
Well, my sister is dying for the internet. Stupid dial-up. I guess you'll just have to wait for more angry ranting another time.
Hal
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)