Some of you may wonder why I haven't posted lately. Well, my answer is simple: I haven't had anything to post of significance, and my cathargic, thought-filled writing efforts have been emptied elsewhere. So, unless you have been receiving letters from me, which most of you are not, then you probably are not aware of what's going on in my life.
But do not fret. I am not giving up this blog for any occasion. I will return. This temporary blog-vacationing shall end... at least after February or March. :D
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
tHe ThiNgS wE SaY
Language is the medium of poets and writers. It is, in my opinion, the most powerful and effective way to communicate to others. It has the power to destroy and edify. Unfortunately, few people understand this, especially Christians.
Why is this?
I think it's because Christians are the most postmodern people I know. I know non-believers that are less postmodern than Christians. Now, I'm not saying that postmodernism is bad; on the contrary, postmodernism contains some good stuff in it for us to learn from. An example would be understanding that there is more than one perspective and many different ways Christians come to know Christ. Also, postmodernism should teach us that there is relative truth in this world and we all have different experiences to justify that regardless if we interpreted them as right or wrong.
However, many Christians are so subjective about the small, unnecessary things like traditional versus contemporary, biblical studies versus theology, Calvinism versus Arminianism, etc, that we place things in binaries and become our worst enemy. I'm not saying that theology, biblical studies, and those things are wrong, but you can't place everything in a dichotomy all the time. It's not biblical and it's wrong.
Now, I'm not trying to fix some gap between Christians and make everything right; I can't do that. But Jesus can. However, if we are supposed to be people of the Word, we need to start living like people of the Word. I think the reason why most non-believers attack or argue against Christianity (especially in the West) is because they were hurt by Christians at some point or another. If the Word of Christ is so powerful to change them and bring them to Him, why do we not let it change us and go to Him?
Why is this?
I think it's because Christians are the most postmodern people I know. I know non-believers that are less postmodern than Christians. Now, I'm not saying that postmodernism is bad; on the contrary, postmodernism contains some good stuff in it for us to learn from. An example would be understanding that there is more than one perspective and many different ways Christians come to know Christ. Also, postmodernism should teach us that there is relative truth in this world and we all have different experiences to justify that regardless if we interpreted them as right or wrong.
However, many Christians are so subjective about the small, unnecessary things like traditional versus contemporary, biblical studies versus theology, Calvinism versus Arminianism, etc, that we place things in binaries and become our worst enemy. I'm not saying that theology, biblical studies, and those things are wrong, but you can't place everything in a dichotomy all the time. It's not biblical and it's wrong.
Now, I'm not trying to fix some gap between Christians and make everything right; I can't do that. But Jesus can. However, if we are supposed to be people of the Word, we need to start living like people of the Word. I think the reason why most non-believers attack or argue against Christianity (especially in the West) is because they were hurt by Christians at some point or another. If the Word of Christ is so powerful to change them and bring them to Him, why do we not let it change us and go to Him?
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
LeTTinG gO
For those of you who don't know me well, I am a big Tolkien fan. You can ask me almost anything about Tolkien's universe and I can give an answer. I'm just that way.
Anyways, in Tolkien's universe, Illuvatar, the God of Tolkien's mythos, made his children. His children are the Eldest and the Youngest. The Eldest are the Elves, and the Youngest are the Men. While Elves and Men look alike, they are different. Elves are immortal and Men are not. Elves and Men can die; however, if a Elf dies he can be reborn, but if a Man dies he goes to the Halls of Mandos to wait till a specific day when Elves and Men will be reunited in a perfect world. Elves are wise and seek to perserve things. Men, on the other hand, seek evil usually. Many bad things happen in The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings that reveal the situation of Elves and Men. Because everything dies, Elves seek to perserve because they want to maintain the status quo. They see Men as the antithesis of this to some degree. In both books, both Dark Lords use this desire to perserve to their advantage. Why?
Because in order to perserve you must control.
There's no other way around it.
In some ways I understand the Elves position. Being the oldest in my family, I have a tendecy to be a bit of a perfectionist and I have more experience than my younger brothers. I also remember things well. My worst habit is trying to perserve things and live in perfect nostalgia. I try to relive the best moments in my life only by ruining them. And what's worse is that I even try to perserve the people around me. Though I haven't done this much anymore, it's something that I bad at. I feel like I need to control everything around me in order to feel safe. I would love living in The Shire or Lothlorien to be honest, because that's exactly what the hobbits and Elves try to do in some way.
Yet, I know I am not safe. Nothing in this world is safe. You can try and protect it, but you can't save it. Jesus said not to store up our treasures on earth, but store up heavenly things. This I forgot. Not only do I need to let go of others, but also I must let go of myself. I can't save myself. I think that's why having faith is so important, because the only person who can save your life is Jesus Christ.
It's definitely a struggle for me, but that's why I'm a Christian. If I wasn't struggling I would be dead.
Anyways, in Tolkien's universe, Illuvatar, the God of Tolkien's mythos, made his children. His children are the Eldest and the Youngest. The Eldest are the Elves, and the Youngest are the Men. While Elves and Men look alike, they are different. Elves are immortal and Men are not. Elves and Men can die; however, if a Elf dies he can be reborn, but if a Man dies he goes to the Halls of Mandos to wait till a specific day when Elves and Men will be reunited in a perfect world. Elves are wise and seek to perserve things. Men, on the other hand, seek evil usually. Many bad things happen in The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings that reveal the situation of Elves and Men. Because everything dies, Elves seek to perserve because they want to maintain the status quo. They see Men as the antithesis of this to some degree. In both books, both Dark Lords use this desire to perserve to their advantage. Why?
Because in order to perserve you must control.
There's no other way around it.
In some ways I understand the Elves position. Being the oldest in my family, I have a tendecy to be a bit of a perfectionist and I have more experience than my younger brothers. I also remember things well. My worst habit is trying to perserve things and live in perfect nostalgia. I try to relive the best moments in my life only by ruining them. And what's worse is that I even try to perserve the people around me. Though I haven't done this much anymore, it's something that I bad at. I feel like I need to control everything around me in order to feel safe. I would love living in The Shire or Lothlorien to be honest, because that's exactly what the hobbits and Elves try to do in some way.
Yet, I know I am not safe. Nothing in this world is safe. You can try and protect it, but you can't save it. Jesus said not to store up our treasures on earth, but store up heavenly things. This I forgot. Not only do I need to let go of others, but also I must let go of myself. I can't save myself. I think that's why having faith is so important, because the only person who can save your life is Jesus Christ.
It's definitely a struggle for me, but that's why I'm a Christian. If I wasn't struggling I would be dead.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
a sTraNgE RaBBiT tRaiL
Recently, I came across a list of things I promised myself I would never do.
1) I will never talk about things I don't know.
2) I will never wish for anything.
3) I will never share my deep feelings with anyone.
4) I will never let people do unnecessary things for me.
5) I will never let anyone get close to me.
Those are just a few of some of things I promised myself a couple years ago. I don't really know if I was completely successful in keeping that list, but it's hard for me to want to break it. Promises are interesting though. When you think about how far a person is willing to hold a promise can be terrifying. Some people don't think promises are important, and break them easily. Some people, like myself, keep them as much as possible. Though I have become relaxed with some of them, I have only let a few go because I realized how vain some of them were.
I think what scares me the most about being human and slowly learning about the condition of my soul is how readily eager I am to destroy everything. I think it's because I want people to feel guilty for hurting me instead of feeling guilty myself. It's just protection. I like to protect myself in any conceivable way possible. But it's a contradiction too.
While I want to hide and protect myself, I really want others to know what's going on inside. Pride is definitely the main factor, but so is fear. Fear is what keeps my pride going. Not many things make me afraid (except falling), but what I'm most afraid of is myself. It scares me to think what God and others think about me. I'd rather not know to be honest.
I'm not sure how I went from talking about promises to talking about my own issues, but sometimes confessing things is difficult. You can't change the world until you change yourself. And the only way you can change yourself is by letting things go. Though that's another blog post waiting to happen, I think this is my big problem right now. I don't want to let what's in my heart out. I know that God knows, but with people you can never know what's going to happen. Just pray for me.
1) I will never talk about things I don't know.
2) I will never wish for anything.
3) I will never share my deep feelings with anyone.
4) I will never let people do unnecessary things for me.
5) I will never let anyone get close to me.
Those are just a few of some of things I promised myself a couple years ago. I don't really know if I was completely successful in keeping that list, but it's hard for me to want to break it. Promises are interesting though. When you think about how far a person is willing to hold a promise can be terrifying. Some people don't think promises are important, and break them easily. Some people, like myself, keep them as much as possible. Though I have become relaxed with some of them, I have only let a few go because I realized how vain some of them were.
I think what scares me the most about being human and slowly learning about the condition of my soul is how readily eager I am to destroy everything. I think it's because I want people to feel guilty for hurting me instead of feeling guilty myself. It's just protection. I like to protect myself in any conceivable way possible. But it's a contradiction too.
While I want to hide and protect myself, I really want others to know what's going on inside. Pride is definitely the main factor, but so is fear. Fear is what keeps my pride going. Not many things make me afraid (except falling), but what I'm most afraid of is myself. It scares me to think what God and others think about me. I'd rather not know to be honest.
I'm not sure how I went from talking about promises to talking about my own issues, but sometimes confessing things is difficult. You can't change the world until you change yourself. And the only way you can change yourself is by letting things go. Though that's another blog post waiting to happen, I think this is my big problem right now. I don't want to let what's in my heart out. I know that God knows, but with people you can never know what's going to happen. Just pray for me.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
nEw YeaR's DaY
I spent my New Year's Eve and Day out in the wilderness. To be more specific, I spend my holiday out along the Chattooga River. It was cold, but not terribly cold. The low was roughly in the 20s and the high in the 40s. Not bad.
I had a great time! I enjoyed spending it with three great friends, and we enjoyed each others company. Though I did get a little cold while I was sleeping, it was a good trip. However, what I really got out of this trip are the decisions I made on it.
This is a new year, so I want to do what I can to bring God more glory than I have in the past. It has been tough for me making Him my top priority, but I must make the change if I'm going to change. This year is going to be different for me. For those of you around me, I'm not going to be the same like I was before. I want to be His. It's going to be tough, but I know that He will help me as long as I'm willing. And Lord willing, it will happen.
I had a great time! I enjoyed spending it with three great friends, and we enjoyed each others company. Though I did get a little cold while I was sleeping, it was a good trip. However, what I really got out of this trip are the decisions I made on it.
This is a new year, so I want to do what I can to bring God more glory than I have in the past. It has been tough for me making Him my top priority, but I must make the change if I'm going to change. This year is going to be different for me. For those of you around me, I'm not going to be the same like I was before. I want to be His. It's going to be tough, but I know that He will help me as long as I'm willing. And Lord willing, it will happen.
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