Racism: The Art of Making Excuses

Hello, you huddling masses yearning to break free!

Okay, so since you ingrates refused to cooperate with my Q&A idea, the whole thing bombed. (I kid; only some of you are ingrates. Teehee) So instead, I think I'll actually do what was previously required of our class: to do a post about something we talked about in class. My choice? If you're not as cynical as me (ra, ra, Jessica), you will have totally missed the significance of the title; in which case, allow me to clarify: today's post is about racism.

I know, you're shocked. Hoo-raaaaaa.

"But Kyle," you exclaim, "we're racists! Why does this matter to us?"

Weeeeel, it kinda does. You see, we "Christians" pride ourselves in loving God, being like Jesus, and all that good schtuff. Yet in the same breath, most of us can say that we'd get kind of concerned if we saw a dude in a turban in the airport. But Jesus was not the sparkly-toothed blindingly white male model that we think of Him as today. No, sir. Jesus (Savior of the human race, mind you) was a middle-brown, sun-tanned, robe-wearing, weird-language speaking Arab. Yes, he was a criminal, since it was indeed a crime to proclaim yourself the Son of God in those days. In fact, I think that today it would still be frowned upon.

Point being, Jesus wasn't "perfect" in our eyes. Sure, He never sinned, was totally righteous, and blessed by God. But what does that matter? He'd been neglecting his Crest Whitening Strips! He never showered...ever! His diet consisted of non-FDA-approved salmon! He cursed out the Pharisees instead of kindly rebuking them (is anyone else remembering, 'what in the name of Me is going on here?')! Oh, the horror! Such unspeakable travesty upon the justice of Hollywood!

No offence, but please shut up.

That's right. Quit whining. If Jesus Christ, the Risen Savior, can put up with a little dirt in his sandals, then I guess you, the middle-class American, can as well. The proverbial 'dirt in sandals' being a slightly different skin color than another person.

But now, let's get back to our main topic: racism. If we Christians pride ourselves for being like Christ, then we can't let ourselves be prejudiced in any way against ANYONE else for ANY reason. Christ didn't come for those who everyone loves, right? He came for the ones that no one loves. Hence why he dined with tax collectors rather than Pharisees.

Mrs. Bennet is rolling in her non-existent grave, I'm sure.

James 2:5 says, "Listen, my beloved brothers: has God not chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which He has promised to those who love him?" Another verse, Matthew 19:24 "I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Pride, obviously, is impermissible in the kingdom of God.

Since we all technically come from Adam, can we even be racist? No, not really. If you want to be technical, the only racist people are those who discriminate against a certain type of animal. So--for instance--if you really hate pigeons...I'm sorry, but God doesn't love you.

...................
................
........................
..........jk, man, jeez...

As a last thought, I think it's kind of funny how Darwin's Evolution of Man poster (you know, the one with the six figures of an evolving man) shows the last three figures in this order: a black man, an Asian man, and a white man. Listen, Chuck, if you're going to put down a people group, make sure to do it to someone who you DON'T rely on for comfort. I mean, since you (Darwin) live in the nineteenth century, please keep in mind that you rely mainly on the black man to farm things for you, and the Asian man to make things that significantly increase your living style over that of the black man.

And now that I've fully stereotypified your innocent little minds, let's end on a happy note:

Thank you for not calling me bad names and accusing me of things that I haven't done.

Truly yours (until someone better shows up{namely Jesus}),

--JesusFreak

Something Old, Something New

God Bless America, and how the blarney is everyone doing today?


To start off, here's a funny picture:

Now that you're all bellowing with laughter, let's talk about something quite serious:

Social conservatives on the Texas State Board of Education are wishing to limit the mention of Islam in schoolbooks, warning against "a creeping Middle-Eastern influence in the nation's publishing industry". Apparently, a few anti-extraneous someones were slightly perturbed that earlier world history textbooks had mentioned and described Islam beliefs and practices more than Christian beliefs and practices. While this may be a problem of religious prejudice in textbooks, I think it's more likely because Islam actually requires more text to understand than Christianity.

While it is understandable that someone would get a little annoyed at the fact that Islam is mentioned more in an American textbook than Christianity, we have to be wary of people whose only goal is to make everything in our lives have political connotation to it. Then again, we also have to remember that there are some people who live off of the reactions people have to them yelling, "Everybody's out to get us!". These people are called conspiracy theorists. Some of them may have good motives, and what they say may be true...but since I'm leaving this dump we call Earth when I die to live in Heaven for an eternity, I really don't care too much.

My favorite part of this story was this statement in the Texas Board of Education's resolution: "State Board of Education will look to reject future prejudicial social studies submissions that continue to offend Texas law with respect to treatment of the world's major religious groups by significant inequalities of coverage space-wise and by demonizing or lionizing one or more of them over others."

Oh, the Texans...*chuckles*

Does this not directly contradict what the main purpose of this resolution is?

And now for the "something new" part of this post: I think that I will start doing official "Q&A Posts", where I take philosophical questions from my last post and give my best answer. I think I will start doing this tomorrow, so if you have any questions about God, life, or philosophy in general, please comment below and ask!

With kind regards to my fellow inmates in the House of Hormones,

--JesusFreak

P.S. Some more nerdy humor for you all:

Fatal Error 2035 just so happens to involve corrupted files. So, by this logic, Bill Gates died of brain problems. Go figure.

By the way, if you wanted to read the actual article that I sniped to get this post...

too bad.

Just kidding. CLICK ME!!!

Just Some Thoughts. Laugh If You Can.

Felicitations, Earthlings!

Today's post is just about something that I was thinking about today:

If you've ever had Mrs. Scott's Pre AP English class, you will be able to share my enthusiasm on this subject. (sarcasm was intended, if you were so blind as to miss it go screaming over your head) Today I was thinking about the myth of Castor and Pollux. For those of you who are so lucky UNlucky to have never picked up that cursed mythology book, let me explain: Castor and Pollux were two brothers in Ancient Greece who were loved by the gods. They loved each other like nothing else (a good example of philia, or brotherly love, to anyone who cares), but there was a huge problem. While they shared a mother, their fathers were different (wonderful job, Zeus. Despite being "omniscient", you still manage to botch everything). Thus, Pollux was immortal, yet Castor was not.

Now what's interesting is that according to legend, when Castor died, Pollux asked Zeus if he could share his immortality with his brother, sparing him from Hades and allowing them to be together again. This is another example of philia (again, I doubt anyone cares, I'm just throwing that in there), which is kind of important since in Greek mythology, family ties among immortals are known to be kind of thin.

I guess in this case WATER runs thicker than BLOOD, instead of...the...normal.....way...cuz, you see...

*awkward cricked chirping*

..*sigh* okay, fine...

Anyway, as I was thinking about this, I realized that here, in Greek mythology (of all places!) was a great example of how Christians should treat one another! How bizarre!

Then I got to thinking: if this is how far we could go to help our brothers in Christ, then how far should we (as guys) go to help our girlfriends/significant others? 

1 John 4:18 (KJV) says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." By the logic of this verse, we guys must be always ready to protect those we love.

Hosea 3:1 (KJV) says, "Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of [her] friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine." Hosea was greatly dishonored by his wife being an adulteress, yet God told him to love her nonetheless. Just like God continued to show love to the Israelites after they regularly flipped Him off, He calls us guys to show the same devotion to our girls, even if they don't show the same devotion to us. I know, it's not what the world teaches, but remember: "If the world followed the philosophy, 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth', then everybody would soon be eyeless and toothless.' " 


That didn't come from me. That was a quote from a fellow named Ghandi, who (by the way) turned away from Christianity because he was disrespected at the European church because he was Indian.


Just some food for thought...


Peace, love, and Yoshi Eggs!


--JesusFreak

Lyrical Study

Salutations, fellow barn animals!

Today's assignment from the enigmatic Mr. M is to do a lyrical study about our favorite song. My favorite song (at the moment) is Cornelius by the Newsboys. If you want the lyrics, you can find them !!HERE!!

So, this song is about there are, every now and again, some really righteous people in the world who don't stop for anything to do what's right. It references the Roman centurion Cornelius (obviously) that became a Christian and converted his whole family, which is really awesome.

Okay, so this song is cool because its lyrics remind me that we as Christians have to be ready to carry our cross, and even sometimes help others carry theirs.

My favorite line is the first verse:

"And every generation's got

The fearless few who can't be bought

They don't take polls, or look around

They act on truth, and then they stand their ground"

To me, that says that a really righteous person doesn't rely on the opinions of others to be their moral compass. A really righteous person is someone who listens to the Holy Spirit telling them what to do, then does it with the greatest of joy.

This isn't necessarily my favorite song. It always changes, but it usually comes back to this album, Thrive, from the Newsboys. 

Peace, love, and the courage to do what's right.

--JesusFreak

What I Look For in a Spouse

Greetings, citizens of madness!

Today's assignment from the enigmatic Mr. M was to explain the major characteristic that we look for in a spouse. It's kind of hard for me to narrow down to just one characteristic, because that feels kind of mean. So, even though I plan on remaining single, here's my best estimate.

(note: the order of these may not have any correspondence to their importance)

1. A deep and foremost relationship with Jesus Christ
2. The ability to form her own opinions and stand up for them accordingly
3. Wisdom
4. Intelligence
5. Purity
6. Love that sees through all faults (without this, she's probably not going to even date me)
7. A sense of humor
8. Wit
9. An interest in music
10. Courage
11. Self-lessness
12. Responsibility
13. An understanding of the Bible
14. Honor
15. Dignity
16. The ability to forgive
17. An appreciation for nerds (definitely a must)
18. And she would have to be God-Fearing

My basis for this comes from the examples that Jesus laid down for us (o.k., the nerd bit and the music part were my idea. but let's face it: without those added pieces, I'm sunk). While He was on earth, Jesus showed us how a true Christian person should behavior, both in word and action. It is from this standpoint that I try to base my expectations on a future spouse, though my judgment may be flawed.

Peace, love, and a Cupid with good aim,

--JesusFreak

Jews and Muslims COLLIDE!

Greetings from the great beyond, my friends!

Yes, the nature of the title would lead one to believe that there has been yet another fight between those of Jewish faith and/or descent and Muslim extremists. However, the story is quite different:

In Berwyn, Pennsylvania, the local Muslim community decided to build a mosque in the town. The only thing I would find overly interesting about this is the fact that they decided to build it very closely to a Jewish Synagogue and a Baptist church.*

If you're hearing a little voice in your head screaming, "THE END OF THE WORLD IS AT HAND!", don't worry; I do as well. Actually, that may mean it's cause for worry after all.

Moving on...

Despite what logic would dictate (the Muslim-Jew relationship has been reported to be on a rather...shaky standpoint), the community has not gotten all up-in-arms, tar-and-feather-the-tories kind of angry about this. In fact, the rabbi of the synagogue right next door stated that there is no bad blood between the Muslims and Jews. According to him, the Muslim community is kind and considerate to the Jews, even helping the Jewish people do things that they cannot normally do on the Sabbath.

Imagine that, Rev. Terry Jones! These heartless, cruel, savage, soul-lacking spawn-of-satan can be nice, considerate, and thoughtful. I hate to say it (actually, wait: I'm ecstatic about it), but that kind of makes a hole in your "Muslims-are-from-satan" theory.

Actually, if you think about it, any religion that is not Christianity is of the devil, so Rev. Jones is right on that part. But Jesus also says that we should " Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19)

Just a hunch from a high-school sophomore, but I doubt burning the holy book of a religious faith with which we are currently at war is the best way to make disciples of all the nations.

Reading this article made me think: if these "anti-Semitic, infidel-slaughtering terrorists" can be so nice as to help out their greatest enemy, then why are we, the all-loving Christians, constantly causing everyone trouble because of it?

Please, make an effort today to not be a troll, or a hater. Make an effort to be kind and considerate to anyone who needs it. Jesus says for us to "love your neighbor as yourself". Your neighbor is whoever you happen to meet today, not just the people you want to be nice to.

Peace, love, and common sense,

--JesusFreak

*www.news.yahoo.com/mosque_in_penn

Censorship: Feel Free to Say What We Want You to Say.

Felicitations, fellow ingrates!

Today I would like to talk about a concerning trend that seems to be sweeping the nation: censorship. People are getting up in arms about taking books out of public and school libraries for numerous reasons. Take for instance, "James and the Giant Peach", by Roald Dahl. According to these guys: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/29/the-11-most-surprising-ba_n_515381.html#s76413
the reasoning behind it is, quote, "obscenity and violence". Okay, I agree: there was some promoted aggressive feelings in the book. But quite frankly, my favorite part of that book was when the aunts were crushed by the runaway peach.

*sighs dramatically* Yet another piece of my childhood snatched away into the furnace...

Seriously, though: I can understand why parents would get quite distressed by this book: right off the bat, James' parents are mauled by a rampaging rhinoceros! You don't want your child to read garbage like that, do you? Pah! The nerve! Imagine that Dahl fellow, using his blasted creativity to write about a child in need! We can't let our children think that anything bad will happen in the world! Oh, the horror!

Face it, Mrs. McOverbearing, your kid is going to learn eventually that life isn't all cake and ice-cream. If it were, there wouldd be no creative need to include things like that in books!

And that's not even the worst of it...

If you haven't already heard of it in an English or History class, The Diary of a Young Girl, better known as the Diary of Anne Frank, was the diary of a young girl who lived in Amsterdam, right in the midst of the Holocaust. It is one of the greatest reminders of a time when (ironically) censorship extended beyond books, but to an entire people.

And now, it's being banned.

Please join me now in exclaiming to the heavens, "WHAT?????"

The Washington Post reported that a Virginian school system will no longer assign the book to their reading lists because of "sexually explicit material" and "homosexual themes". Other excerpts include, "details of her emerging sexual desires, and unflattering descriptions of her mother and other people living together." In actuality, they are only banning one version of the book, the edition published 50 years after her death in a Nazi death camp. The reason they are censoring it is for the same reasons listed here: the sexually explicit parts.


*bangs head against desk*


Come ON, people! Get it through your heads that this stuff ACTUALLY HAPPENS, and it needs to be taught to our kids. Unlike Dahl's book, which is pure fiction (yet delightfully entertaining for a young whippersnapper, might I add), the Diary of Anne Frank is real, hardcore, no-kidding fact. People actually went through that stuff. I think it's really incredible that in the midst of being persecuted like this, a 13-year-old  girl could find the time to keep a diary about all the little things, including "her emerging sexual desires". Imagine that: the normal things of life that any teenage girl would write about included in a memoir of a horrible atrocity. Banning The Diary of a Young Girl for being harsh about reality would be like banning Huckleberry Finn for...


...oh, yeah...


Peace, love, and a Communism-free farm,


--JesusFreak


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/28/AR2010012804001.html?hpid=sec-education

4 September

Salutations, fellow barn animals!

I woke up today to an absolutely GORGEOUS morning, one that I ruined for myself by mowing and getting all sweaty & grassy. But hey, at least it's not a billion degrees like it's been all summer long. I remember when summers used to be cool like today; when one could just go outside and bask in the awesomeness of it all, letting the beauty of God's creation just soak into one's skin...now it's all hot and dry during the summer, ruining everything.

But anyway, as I was contemplating the beauty of the morning, I realized just how lucky I am, to know that God decided to put me in THIS BODY at THIS TIME in THIS PLACE on THIS WORLD, and that all the rain and clouds and other atmospheric conditions that could have potentially ruined the day worked out so well that THIS MORNING felt TOTALLY AWESOME!!!

Just thought I'd share that with you guys. That is, if anyone's actually reading this. If you are, please give yourself a round of applause for being so cool.

May the (mass x acceleration) be with you,

--JesusFreak

"String Theory" Explained

Okay, so I can't even begin to understand this, but apparently, Stephen Hawking has (for the nth time) attempted to disprove the existence of God by scientific theory. Unfortunately for many people, the following text may be to big-worded and sciency for you to understand, so just bear with me please.

The main theory that Hawking is promoting is one called "string theory". The reality of it is extremely complex and irritating, but I will attempt to dumb it down for all of us:

1.All objects in our universe are composed of vibrating filaments (strings) and membranes (branes) of energy.

2.String theory attempts to reconcile general relativity (gravity) with quantum physics.

3.A new connection (called supersymmetry) exists between two fundamentally different types of particles, bosons and fermions.

4.Several extra (usually unobservable) dimensions to the universe must exist.

5. There are also other possible string theory features, depending on what theories prove to have merit in the future. Possibilities include:

A landscape of string theory solutions, allowing for possible parallel universes.

The holographic principle, which states how information in a space can relate to information on the surface of that space.

The anthropic principle, which states that scientists can use the fact that humanity exists as an explanation for certain physical properties of our universe.

Our universe could be “stuck” on a brane, allowing for new interpretations of string theory.

Notice how, on point 3, "supersymmetry" involves, as the name implies, symmetry. However, it says that this connection exists between two FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT things. Symmetry (and anything of the like) involves a pair in which one is the mirror image of the other.

Also, point 4: note the "several extra (usually unobservable) dimensions" quote. Wonder why it's called string THEORY? It's because they can't prove it. String theory counters the scientific method by openly stating that it cannot be tested; ergo, at least this particular part of string theory is already as faith-based as Christianity itself!

Furthermore, please direct yourself to the use of words such as 'could, might," ... apparently, these string theorists aren't as confident as they would appear...

In general, string theory is regarded as kind of out there by many scientists. It's a relatively new concept, very unusual to the scientific field. Ironically, it's known as the "theory of everything", since it's supposed to explain how everything came about. In other words, string theory (and M-Theory, which includes the string theory) are the scientific "New Age" attempt at making God more insubstantial than these "strings and branes".

When we read this in Bible, my first thought was that this sounds like something a desperate scientist would throw out as a final resort, a last-ditch effort in an argument he can't win. Hawking, being the absolute genius he is (no sarcasm intended), has probably gone his whole life without losing a scientific argument. But this one argument, this one of whether or not a God exists, has baffled him, so much so that he is relying on shaky science to support his claims.

Even though Hawking is an extremely smart person, he is putting his faith in flawed science here. I only hope that he finally realizes God's saving grace before his pride fully overtakes him.

Peace, love, and spayed/neutered pets,
--JesusFreak

2 of Sept.

Salutations, all you animals at the Funny Farm!

Today I picked up a copy of the National Geographic Magazine, whereupon I began reading an article on the destruction of the Madagascarian (yes, that's a word. I made it up) forests due to man's desire for wealth. A quote from the front page of the article: "The island's geographic isolation created a wonderland of biological richness. Now population pressures and political turmoil speed the plunder of its rosewood, minerals, and gems."

*gag*

Honestly, every time I read, hear, or watch something about "humans are bad, we should stop destroying the earth!", it makes me want to yell unkind words and harsh expletives.

A quote from Fox News, covering the hostage situation at the Discovery Channel building: "Lee is believed to have distributed a manifesto outside the Discovery building several weeks ago that called on the network to 'broadcast to the world their commitment to save the planet.''All programs on Discovery Health-TLC must stop encouraging the birth of any more parasitic human infants and the false heroics behind those actions,' the list of demands read."

You ingrates! Don't you realize that God GAVE us this world, and says in Genesis 1:26 "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness. AND LET THEM HAVE DOMINION OVER THE FISH OF THE SEA AND OVER THE BIRDS OF THE HEAVENS AND OVER THE LIVESTOCK AND OVER ALL THE EARTH AND OVER EVERY CREEPING THING THAT CREEPS ON THE EARTH.'"

Apparently, God WANTS us to use the earth, not let the animals rule over us. We as race have begun to place animals as more important than us. The scary thing is that if we do it enough, they eventually WILL be more important than us in society.

I close with a question: according to God, which is more important; the fetus of a bald eagle, or the fetus of a human?

Now, according to PETA, which is more important: a bald eagle egg, or a human fetus?

--JesusFreak