Bandwagon

 

Come on, everyone is doing it!

Church Under The Bridge

I’ve heard of this several times and each time I want to visit more and more. This place excites me because it reminds me that the Church is really alive and well in the poor parts of the world and that God is using it to reach out to a world in need of rescue. Amazing. Here’s an exerpt and a link.

“We are all trolls and we are all the sinners. So we got our warts and ugliness, and people are scared sometimes of the old troll under the bridge,” Dorrell says. “By society’s standards, we are misfits. We don’t have buildings, we don’t have pretty people—we have these people who are somewhat rejected in culture but when you really get to know the trolls, with all the warts and the ugly side of their past experiences, there really is a genuineness and a lot to learn from them. So we are trolls, nobody gets excluded. You can even be a Pharisee, and rich and be a troll.”

Amen.

Facebook Update

Facebook said that 9 of my friends became fans… who am I not to jump on the bandwagon?

There aren't words...

Why I Can’t Get A Girlfriend

Reason #435: My sense of humor.

 

I'm just kidding...

[Reflecting on...] Differences

If people really understood my beliefs the way I mean them, would they be offended?

Should this matter?

If my beliefs are offensive, does that mean they are wrong as per God?

Is God’s truth offensive to anyone when understood properly?

What is it that actually offends people?

Is it really a difference of opinion or is it the hostility and hatred that so often accompany differences of opinion?

Can two people with major differences in beliefs still relationship with eachother?

Can a person Love another person with whom they disagree?

Can God love people who don’t agree wtih Him?

Can God love sinners?

Can God love homosexuals, liberals and/or Muslims?

Can God love people who don’t follow his rules as much as He loves those who do?

Does God’s heart bleed as much for Al Queda as it does for the victims of 9/11?

Does my heart bleed as much for Al Queda as it does for the victims of 9/11?

Should it?

[your thoughts here...]

Edit: Speaking of offensiveness in Jesus’ teachings, I came across this tidbit over at WorD:

“Some people are always going to be offended when you actually teach them what’s in the Bible as opposed to what they assume is in the Bible.” – NT Wright

I don’t know exactly how that ties into this post (because I’m not making a point, really, but asking reflective questions as they come to mind) but I feel like it’s true and applicable.

ReLife: OneLife

Kate posted this video under the precursor “Why I’m going to Africa” on her Facebook profile.

After hearing of all of the mission trips my friends have went on I’m starting to think this mission trip thing isn’t necessarily an excuse for Christian college students to sight-see in exotic places. I’m starting to think that the local Church scene is alive with passion about reaching a dying world. It makes me think that it’s possible for me–that it’s a dream not-so-far-off. And not necessarily Africa, but it makes me aware that I can go to places in Waterloo–15 minutes away–and make a difference. I just really hope I don’t do it because it’s trendy or because of obligation but I hope I do it because it is how I want to spend my OneLife.

/Thanks @ Kate for the inspiration.

Zoo Humor

I thought this was really, really funny albeit a little risque if not crude for a Sunday morning. Meh. I got a laugh. Enjoy!

Click Here

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ProLife

*Sigh*

Abortion… I’m so sick of hearing about it, yet my mathematically-inclined mind is driven to believe that this problem has a solution. And like all solutions to profound problems, I doubt it will be as simple a solution as some would lead us to believe.

Like so many other hot-button issues in the Christian world, I’m almost afraid to ask these tough questions for fear of judgment and criticism from my Christian peers. But I know God wants me to reason through this life with Him so those who have a problem can take it up with Him I suppose. So here it goes:

1) Does life really begin at conception, according to God? Is the abortion issue even relevant to our spiritual journey? I honestly don’t mean to suggest that it isn’t–this isn’t a rhetorical question. I genuinely don’t know the answer. I do strongly believe that the issue is used and abused as cannon-fodder for our political hate game. I do find fault with Christians (and non-Christians, but I tend to hold those who “speak for God” at a higher standard) for taking an issue that truly affects people in a real and emotional way and use it with false sincerity as a means of attacking an opponent. Before we can do good, I think we have to want to do good. Change really does begin within us. We really need to grow up.

2) Should the government meddle in the matter? (Or: can I oppose abortion as a moral choice like I can oppose lying, and oppose government involvement in the matter?) I can see this question as having many different answers. I’m inclined to believe that abortion is murder (not in a judgmental way derived from Christian dogmaticism, but from my own personal thought processes). Because of this, I would say that a government should have as much right to forbid abortion as it does any other kind of intentional killing, for the most part. However, I’m also increasingly inclined to believe that (from a spiritual perspective) Government should really have very limited control over anything. I think that our desire for order via laws and government speaks volumes about our legalistic nature–our desire for rules and laws over freedom–in a way that is directly comparable to our preference for rules from God over a free relationship with Him. The important issue here, I think, is that we question exactly what our government should do, control us with many laws or free us with few. It appears to be a continuum on which we sacrifice something no matter what we choose (except unless we choose to accept the idea that selflessly loving people will change them thereby building the kingdom of God and making government unnecessary, but let’s ignore that and be realists. /sarcasm). I think this thought process has a lot of implications outside of abortion and is actually very profound in nature so both as a result and because of this, I’m not going to go too in depth with it here.

Honestly, I don’t know… I can’t sincerely tell you that I feel strongly about the abortion issue in terms of national policy. Much like homosexuality, I’m against it morally, but I don’t think it’s the government’s job to enforce the “laws” of the Church (that is to say, I don’t think the government should ban it on spiritual grounds any more than I think they should ban homosexuality “because the Church says to”). After writing this little diddy, I can’t help but feel like the real problem isn’t abortion, it’s an America who pretends to give a damn about the issue so as to hurt the other team. A dogmatic and divided nation of equally ignorant, opposing beliefs. This is why I (and probably Rick Warren and millions of other Americans) like Obama–we may disagree with his policy, but we find value in our beliefs that he is honestly seeking righteousness and not just supporting his team dogmatically. But then again, that’s just our opinions of him.

What do you think? (about the whole issue, not specifically Obama).

Relationshipping

Some nights are just made for a warm cup of tea, a good conversation with a good friend, reading and/or writing, and Death Cab in the background.

Tonight was just such a night. I spoke with one of my friends and she had to tell me a simple truth that was honest, inoffensive, but “impolite” by society’s terms. And for such an impolite person, that cost her a little bit to do so, but it was worth it to her, I think. And I really enjoy mature, well-intended, constructive criticism.

I really think honest communication enriches relationships, even if especially when that honesty isn’t easy.

Good night and peace.

Flock Web Browser

So I am a pretty big fan of FireFox and pretty much any browser that isn’t Internet Explorer. Firefox offers a host of add-ons that allow you to customize your browsing experience, but it would seem that the folks from Flock have outdone them.

Flock seems to be the culmination of everything useful for social networking. The browser offers a host of tools including a blog editor (on which I’m typing this now), a Youtube utility, Facebook and other social networking integration, as well as a useful feed-reader. All of which is displayed in an organized, uncluttered fashion. Moreover, it all seems to be really simple.

I’ve had it for roughly twenty-four hours so I haven’t had much time to research it, but it seems to be relatively compliant and I haven’t had too much trouble with it. So far I recommend it and this could be the browser that replaces FireFox on my computer. Stay tuned for updates as I tinker.

Flock Home

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