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