Okay, this one will be short. I promise.
There are a lot of people who state that all scripture is inspired by God. Where do they get this idea? well it comes from 2 Timothy 3:16 which states "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness".
Solid right?
Unfortunately not so much.
Paul was writing this to Timothy in the early first century. . .almost 200 years before the council of Carthage (which is what decided which books made it into the bible)
In other words, the 'scripture' that Paul is referring to is the Torah, Septuagint, etc. . . The Jewish Scriptures. He wasn't even referring to the Gospels, Acts or the Epistles. So in other words. Is the rest of the Holy Bible God-breathed? you decide. (But just remember that whether or not the New Testament is God inspired is not something adressed in the Bible so it is open for interpretation)
As a disclaimer, I still believe in Jesus, God and the Holy spirit. . . I just think that questioning our faith makes us stronger.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Midnight Musings (also Theological Thoughts)
So, just to forewarn you, this blog isn't going to be funny. If you are looking forward to a comedic relief from your drab existence, then go watch a brian regan video.
Tonight I was reading through Hebrews (one of my favorite books) and Hebrews 11:1 says "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (keep that one in your head for a moment) then as I went through the passage I came upon verse 6 which states "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Let's focus on that last part of the verse. . . no I'm not throwing out the first part, i'm narrowing my focus.. . "he rewards those who earnestly seek him." This got me thinking about the people who follow the teachings of men like Kenneth Copeland and Joel Osteen, in other words, The Prosperity Gospel. Now, I don't necessarily agree with this type of teaching, but are these preachers wrong? I mean. . .to be honest, they are pulling straight from the bible, and not just in Hebrews, but in other places as well (mountains being thrown into the sea, anyone?). These guys are just a rag-tag team of men touting cardboard signs and selling a get rich quick scheme, they are selling (for the sake of the metaphor I'm going to say selling), they are selling THE get rich quick scheme. God not only rewards believers on Earth (not necessarily in material posessions, mind you) but also in Heaven. So, tonight, I have turned somewhat of a 175 degree turn, I don't beleive that those who worship God will never face trouble, (that's unbiblical), but I do think that there is something to what these ministers are saying. SO PLEASE. . .stop decrying the work that these ministers are doing. Their hearts are in the right place, and lets be honest. They are fulfilling the great commission,(something many of us fail to do, if you think that you are doing a good job of it, let me ask you a question. . .have you converted thousands of people to christianity? No? oh i'm sorry, would you like a consolation prize? oh. . .you would? well too bad. . . untill you are the cause of thousands of people converting to christianity, I don't want to hear another word about "watered down preaching" or "weak doctrinal issues" or anything of the sort. Only God can read a man's heart, only God knows if someone is truly saved or not, and does it really matter how the individual reaches this point?
Speaking of points, I have another one. . .(I know, you all thought that I was done, well guess what? I'm not.. . sorry)
My final point is that of seeker services. . .some of you know exactly what these are. They are services geared towards people with little to no background in christianity, and they focus on saving people.. . .That sounds great right? well, there are people who disagree with these forms of worship because they don't believe that "the people know what they're getting in to" or that "They won't be very strong in their faith". Well, let's stop right there. Many of the people posing these arguments have been christians since childhood (my apologies to the rest of you) yes thats right. . .CHILDHOOD. These people who accepted Christ as their savior before they could read, before they could vote, and before they knew what the difference between Apostle and Epistle meant, These are the same people complaining that the progeny of seeker services don't know enough about christ, or that the services are watered down. Watered down? Jesus had to turn morality into fictional stories so that the people could grasp what was going on. . .Jesus didn't start spouting off the hundreds of Jewish laws that existed. . .NO, he watered down his teachings and when the man asked him "what must I do to be saved" Jesus didn't spout off Temple law, or even start quoting Leviticus, he simply gave him five.
Christianity isn't a -dive into the deep end of the pool without swimming lessons- kind of religion. It's a growing experience where you are expected to throw aside your old self so that you can make room for all of the new parts that you will be gaining as you walk daily with Christ. Rome wasn't built in a day, and I have yet to meet the man or woman who can read through the bible in an hour, or even adhere to half of what it says for more than a day. Because no matter how much we kid ourselves, the best of us are still dirty, rotten, no good slimeballs from the dregs of humanity. and yet we are Gods creation. God desires for each of us to know and love him. So who cares how we get to know him? If someone watching a televangelist is inspired to go pick up a bible for the first time then thanks be to God.
So in closing, I hope that my post at least made you think, and i'm dead serious. . .until you have saved a couple thousand souls from damnation**, I don't want any of you to speak ill of someone who holds the high position of teaching the Children of God about their father.
**In reference to damnation, I refuse to use the words eternal, and damnation together, because I'm still working that out, if you are curious to know my views on this subject, then I would be more than happy to discuss this with you, but until then, Adieu.
Tonight I was reading through Hebrews (one of my favorite books) and Hebrews 11:1 says "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (keep that one in your head for a moment) then as I went through the passage I came upon verse 6 which states "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Let's focus on that last part of the verse. . . no I'm not throwing out the first part, i'm narrowing my focus.. . "he rewards those who earnestly seek him." This got me thinking about the people who follow the teachings of men like Kenneth Copeland and Joel Osteen, in other words, The Prosperity Gospel. Now, I don't necessarily agree with this type of teaching, but are these preachers wrong? I mean. . .to be honest, they are pulling straight from the bible, and not just in Hebrews, but in other places as well (mountains being thrown into the sea, anyone?). These guys are just a rag-tag team of men touting cardboard signs and selling a get rich quick scheme, they are selling (for the sake of the metaphor I'm going to say selling), they are selling THE get rich quick scheme. God not only rewards believers on Earth (not necessarily in material posessions, mind you) but also in Heaven. So, tonight, I have turned somewhat of a 175 degree turn, I don't beleive that those who worship God will never face trouble, (that's unbiblical), but I do think that there is something to what these ministers are saying. SO PLEASE. . .stop decrying the work that these ministers are doing. Their hearts are in the right place, and lets be honest. They are fulfilling the great commission,(something many of us fail to do, if you think that you are doing a good job of it, let me ask you a question. . .have you converted thousands of people to christianity? No? oh i'm sorry, would you like a consolation prize? oh. . .you would? well too bad. . . untill you are the cause of thousands of people converting to christianity, I don't want to hear another word about "watered down preaching" or "weak doctrinal issues" or anything of the sort. Only God can read a man's heart, only God knows if someone is truly saved or not, and does it really matter how the individual reaches this point?
Speaking of points, I have another one. . .(I know, you all thought that I was done, well guess what? I'm not.. . sorry)
My final point is that of seeker services. . .some of you know exactly what these are. They are services geared towards people with little to no background in christianity, and they focus on saving people.. . .That sounds great right? well, there are people who disagree with these forms of worship because they don't believe that "the people know what they're getting in to" or that "They won't be very strong in their faith". Well, let's stop right there. Many of the people posing these arguments have been christians since childhood (my apologies to the rest of you) yes thats right. . .CHILDHOOD. These people who accepted Christ as their savior before they could read, before they could vote, and before they knew what the difference between Apostle and Epistle meant, These are the same people complaining that the progeny of seeker services don't know enough about christ, or that the services are watered down. Watered down? Jesus had to turn morality into fictional stories so that the people could grasp what was going on. . .Jesus didn't start spouting off the hundreds of Jewish laws that existed. . .NO, he watered down his teachings and when the man asked him "what must I do to be saved" Jesus didn't spout off Temple law, or even start quoting Leviticus, he simply gave him five.
Christianity isn't a -dive into the deep end of the pool without swimming lessons- kind of religion. It's a growing experience where you are expected to throw aside your old self so that you can make room for all of the new parts that you will be gaining as you walk daily with Christ. Rome wasn't built in a day, and I have yet to meet the man or woman who can read through the bible in an hour, or even adhere to half of what it says for more than a day. Because no matter how much we kid ourselves, the best of us are still dirty, rotten, no good slimeballs from the dregs of humanity. and yet we are Gods creation. God desires for each of us to know and love him. So who cares how we get to know him? If someone watching a televangelist is inspired to go pick up a bible for the first time then thanks be to God.
So in closing, I hope that my post at least made you think, and i'm dead serious. . .until you have saved a couple thousand souls from damnation**, I don't want any of you to speak ill of someone who holds the high position of teaching the Children of God about their father.
**In reference to damnation, I refuse to use the words eternal, and damnation together, because I'm still working that out, if you are curious to know my views on this subject, then I would be more than happy to discuss this with you, but until then, Adieu.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Why School is at Odds With Christian Belief
Matthew 6:34 says "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own".
According to this passage I shouldn't worry about the next day. Let me ask, how many of us have worried about an upcoming test, or a paper that we've procrastinated on, or a teacher assigning 50 pages of reading in some obscure book like Thomas Kuhn's "Structure of Scientific Revolutions" due by tomorrow? In accordance with this, homework is a source for a lot of stress and worry, therefore it goes against my religion. If something like homework causes me to start sweating from pores that I didn't even know I had.
Another example of why school is against Christian belief is because of the separation of Church and state that is imposed upon the public school system. Mark 16:15 says "Go into all the world and preach the good word to all creation". Teachers are not allowed to preach the gospel to their students, which makes the public school system unbiblical. Because of this, I don't think that I should have been required to attend all those years. And besides, I think that we can all agree that middle school was a living Hell, and since Hell is separation from God, I think that we can all draw the conclusion that Middle School is the anti-christ.
Some could say that the private school system avoids this, and it does, but it still gives homework. So there fancy private christian schools.
**I'm sure that someone somewhere who is much smarter than me could easily turn my argument into swiss cheese, but those people should just shut up. I mean come on, do they really want homework?
Well, If anyone wants to use this argument on their teacher, then you will have to pay me a royalty fee of 10 dollars, or take me out for pizza. (I'd prefer the pizza).
Adios!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Fake Forum
Forum: a place, meeting, or medium where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged. To those of you who read this, or just happened upon it, you might be wondering why i started off with a definition of a word, especially given my distate for the human language, i mean seriously forum. it sounds like a UPS worker can't make up his mind.
Worker: Hi I have a package FOR. . .UM. . .UH. . . nevermind.
See?!?!
Anyways, I gave the definition because my college has a place known as "The Forum" it's simply a nice area that is semi-closed off from the rest of campus and sits right in front of the bible building. Oddly enough, it is not a place where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged. Unless of course you count the exchange of communicable diseases by way of saliva. I mean seriously, this is like couple's central 340 days out of the year. It reminds me more of a High School Hallway than a forum. Thankfully I am the only person sitting here right now and if anything happens to change that I will promptly leave and go vomit into my hat. Actually probably not....I kinda like my hat. Anyways. For all of it's faults, the forum is a great place to sit and think, do homework, or just escape the world for a while. . .Especially since the internet reception is spotty at best. It's like a leprechaun is holding the router just out of range of my computer and then suddenly decides to run by really fast giving me about 5.6 seconds of internet. Thankfully that is enough time for me to post this.
well, it's getting dark now, but i'm kinda enjoying it. The sound of the water trickling down the fountains, combined with the narnia-esque lamposts makes me feel like i'm in my own world, which currently, consists of procrastinating and doing everything I can to avoid homework. Well, That's the end of my stream of conciousness writing. Hmmmm.....wait.....nope that's it. or is it? who knows.
Time for a quote
""
Profound isn't it? I thought so...the empty space represents whatever the heck you want it too cause I don't feel like searching for a quote.
Until we meet again!
Worker: Hi I have a package FOR. . .UM. . .UH. . . nevermind.
See?!?!
Anyways, I gave the definition because my college has a place known as "The Forum" it's simply a nice area that is semi-closed off from the rest of campus and sits right in front of the bible building. Oddly enough, it is not a place where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged. Unless of course you count the exchange of communicable diseases by way of saliva. I mean seriously, this is like couple's central 340 days out of the year. It reminds me more of a High School Hallway than a forum. Thankfully I am the only person sitting here right now and if anything happens to change that I will promptly leave and go vomit into my hat. Actually probably not....I kinda like my hat. Anyways. For all of it's faults, the forum is a great place to sit and think, do homework, or just escape the world for a while. . .Especially since the internet reception is spotty at best. It's like a leprechaun is holding the router just out of range of my computer and then suddenly decides to run by really fast giving me about 5.6 seconds of internet. Thankfully that is enough time for me to post this.
well, it's getting dark now, but i'm kinda enjoying it. The sound of the water trickling down the fountains, combined with the narnia-esque lamposts makes me feel like i'm in my own world, which currently, consists of procrastinating and doing everything I can to avoid homework. Well, That's the end of my stream of conciousness writing. Hmmmm.....wait.....nope that's it. or is it? who knows.
Time for a quote
""
Profound isn't it? I thought so...the empty space represents whatever the heck you want it too cause I don't feel like searching for a quote.
Until we meet again!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Language and Learning
Once again I'm sitting in class, it's like totally super fantastic and exciting and stuff. Okay so that was sarcasm, but at least I understand what is going on a little better. . .Understand. . .Under--Stand. How the heck does understand mean "to know"? it sounds like I'm standing under a bridge or something. once again let me express my distate for the english language, and the word again. again--"to repeat" a gain "to obtain more".....anyone else see a problem here? no? okay well maybe i'm just imagining that I speak a flawed language. Besides, everything sounds better when spoken in a foreign language. For example, let's say something in French. . . L'ectriture est pour les ecrivains. For those of you mortals who don't speak french, I just said that writing is for writers, but it sounded cooler. And let's just all agree that everything sounds better in Latin. Hodie diu. (This day is long) not only did it sound cool, but it was shorter, so I didn't end up with finger cramps from typing too much.
On a different note. Today I had to sit and listen to a fellow student give a presentation on some type of fancy Chemistry stuff. All I remember is something about copper combining with CO3.- to make symplex 3. . .In other words I had NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING ON!!! Although I'm sure it was very interesting to 3 people. 1.) the speaker 2.) my professor and 3.) people who knew what was going on. . . I was not in any of these categories. While the student was speaking I was off in la la land thinking about which route back to my dorm would get me back fastest so that I could avoid the 75 mph gusts of wind. and no I'm not exaggerating. And when I wasn't thinking about that I was trying to not fall asleep. So overall it was a very productive class.
Hmmm, well It has come to my attention that this blog has no real substance, it is pure rambling. so....for your academic enjoyment, I give you. . . . . *drum roll* *applause* cheering* A quote of the day. (cliche? yes. but who cares)
crede quod habes, et habes. (Believe that you have it, and you do)
Not only was that insightful and biblically accurate (Mark 11:24), but it was also in Latin
Sayonarra!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Perception and Pokemon
Rationalized perception is my basic view of the world (and it's also a great way to annoy my roommate). If I simply disagree with him by saying that I percieve the world differently than he does, then he is immediatley annoyed. It's great!
This brings up an interesting point.
Perception.
How do blind people percieve the world? Do they dream in feelings and sounds?
Do deaf people dream people speaking in hand signals?
Why can I never have the same dream about flying twice, but the sludge monster that suffocates me seems to be in weekly installments? Hmmm, okay, so I kinda made that one up, but who cares. Maybe now that i'm writing my perception of the past has changed. In fact if I think long enough I could probably construct a dream about a sludge monster and punctuate it with witty commentary and outline how I defeated it by using a combination of telekinesis and Ju Jitsu. And on the subject of superpowers, there has been a recent infatuation with pokemon among my circle of friends. My roommate has been playing for almost 16 hours, stopping only to sleep. I'm pretty sure that he was humming the theme song in his sleep and periodically yelling pika....CHU! Ohwell. who needs sleep anyways.
Seriously, who needs sleep. Napolean conquered the world and he only slept 4-5 hours a night. of course he was short so his metabolism was probably independant of sleep. Coincidentally, the people in the pokemon game are really short too. in the opening monologue, your character gets zapped by a laser straight out of "Honey I shrunk the Kids" and voila, you are now the size of a hobbit.
Well, that's all that my mind is capable of spewing out for now. well. so long, farewell, aufweidersein goodnight, I hate to go and leave this pretty sight. doo doo da doo doo doo doo doo. doo doo da doo da doo.
This brings up an interesting point.
Perception.
How do blind people percieve the world? Do they dream in feelings and sounds?
Do deaf people dream people speaking in hand signals?
Why can I never have the same dream about flying twice, but the sludge monster that suffocates me seems to be in weekly installments? Hmmm, okay, so I kinda made that one up, but who cares. Maybe now that i'm writing my perception of the past has changed. In fact if I think long enough I could probably construct a dream about a sludge monster and punctuate it with witty commentary and outline how I defeated it by using a combination of telekinesis and Ju Jitsu. And on the subject of superpowers, there has been a recent infatuation with pokemon among my circle of friends. My roommate has been playing for almost 16 hours, stopping only to sleep. I'm pretty sure that he was humming the theme song in his sleep and periodically yelling pika....CHU! Ohwell. who needs sleep anyways.
Seriously, who needs sleep. Napolean conquered the world and he only slept 4-5 hours a night. of course he was short so his metabolism was probably independant of sleep. Coincidentally, the people in the pokemon game are really short too. in the opening monologue, your character gets zapped by a laser straight out of "Honey I shrunk the Kids" and voila, you are now the size of a hobbit.
Well, that's all that my mind is capable of spewing out for now. well. so long, farewell, aufweidersein goodnight, I hate to go and leave this pretty sight. doo doo da doo doo doo doo doo. doo doo da doo da doo.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Redemptive Reflections
I had a thought today. Scary right? well I know what you're probably thinking, this blog is going to be a serious of random thoughts going through this guys head. Sorry, but if that's what you are hoping for then you will be sadly disappointed mi amis. My thought was this, where would we be if the Messiah hadn't come back yet. What if the world was still waiting for the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah and the others to come true. What religion would I follow, if any? would I simply be living according to whatever set of rules I applied to my own life, or would the world be engulfed in another mainstream religion such as Islam or Buddhism. What would the U.S., a country founded by christians, look like today without its original guiding principles as they were derived from Christianity. What type of a person would I be. What type of person would all of us who call ourselves Christians be? Would we be the same? Would we be lesser versions of ourselves? What would our morals entail?
I guess what I'm getting at is this. We don't appreciate, at least not as much as we should, how much our world is impacted by Christianity. Those who think that we live in a totally secular society should stop and look back at how History has been impacted. I think that we should never forget what has gotten us to the place we are now at.
that's all folks, TTFN. (ta ta for now) (Tigger was a boss)
I guess what I'm getting at is this. We don't appreciate, at least not as much as we should, how much our world is impacted by Christianity. Those who think that we live in a totally secular society should stop and look back at how History has been impacted. I think that we should never forget what has gotten us to the place we are now at.
that's all folks, TTFN. (ta ta for now) (Tigger was a boss)
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