Paradox: Pernicious and Pesky? or Putative and Palatable?

Smile, God loves you!

Be happy, be optimistic, be positive!

The Christian community frequently asserts these traits in such a strong manner that I could almost construe them as necessary conditions for salvation.

but what if our lives were different...

I tend to believe that joy and suffering are so intertwined that we cannot have one without the other. Furthermore, to the degree we feel the one, we will certainly feel the other.

Imagine a pendulum swinging. Raise it high on one side, and when you let it go, it will swing equally high on the other.
Now imagine moving it slightly to one side; when released, it will only move slightly to the other side.

I like to think of our range of emotions in this manner - the more I suffer, the more I'll be joyful. The more joy I feel, the more I'll recognize my suffering.

I also like the analogy of seeing our emotions as varying colors on a painter's palette. If I only have a "slightly swinging pendulum" of limited and moderate emotions/colors, a picture could be painted of my life. But imagine a canvas covered in a myriad of intense, vibrant "colors."

With this, my life could be a masterpiece.

to be cont'd...

Jesus Video #1

The more I watch this, the funnier it gets...and there's a few more that I'll post later.



In case you're offended, it may help to know that the videos were created by a church to mock some common perceptions of Jesus.
So, after I laugh, I should go cry b/c of the fact that a video like this is even made as a result of our poor understanding and demonstration of the essence of the Gospel.

Down with Daylight Savings

What's the deal with daylight savings?

We save daylight during the time of year when the days are already longer!
Then, when days get shorter, we take an hour of daylight away.

This is ridiculous. Instead of having daylight until 10 pm in the summer and 5 pm in the winter, why don't we switch it around so that daylight always lasts until around 7 or 8:00. It seems more consistent to me.

Of course, this comes from a man who is never awake early enough to know how the morning hours are affected...

Public Apology to my brother-in-law

This post is an apology to my brother-in-law for the statements made in the previous post. This afternoon, I found myself arrogantly basking in the pleasure of OSU's currently undefeated season and enjoying the abnormal season for Notre Dame.

In the process, I forgot my commitment to respect the favorite teams of close friends or family members - if they're respectful of the Buckeyes. Some friends take every opportunity to trash the Bucks, and with them, I will readily tee-off when I get the chance. However, most people in my life, including Mike, respect my fragile temperament in regard to OSU, and I always hope to make that respect mutual.

So, Mike, I'm sorry for the insensitivity of my comments on Weis. I thought about removing the post after I read your comment, but that would only reinforce my fear that I already take this stuff wayyyy too seriously...!!!

Charlie Weis fan-club

I'm starting to love this guy. Recored: 1-8
His loss to Navy (their first since 1963) quickly elevated him to my second favorite coach in NCAA. I'm going to enjoy him while I can, because he may not be around long. But we can always hope...

Evil in Heaven???

In my Hermeneutics class the other night, an intriguing conversation began as a result of a seemingly random tangent. I don't know what our professor had planned, but he allowed the tangent to dominate the rest of the evening.

The main idea being discussed was this: the presence of evil in heaven.

Two things shocked me about this at first:
1) I had never heard this theory before - I was shocked b/c it seemed so scandalous.
2) I was astonished how many other students already presupposed this theory.

I am in no way attempting to answer or argue anything here. I thought I'd simply recall a few statements and let you have your own fun with them.

- Goodness can only be considered good in light of the presence of evil, just as black could not be known as black if it were not juxtaposed with white. Therefore, if God is to be known as good(even in heaven), how could evil not have a presence?

- The presence of evil was presupposed in the Garden of Eden, the first "heaven" or paradise of sorts. Why would the new heaven be any different?

- Evil will have a presence, but it will have no power.

- Sin is a gift in the sense that the possibility of sin and the reality of our own sin drives us back to God. If our ability to sin is taken away, would we then be God? What is our functional need of God then? Sin is not our enemy. It's there to lure us, to invite us to repentance and the love of Christ.

- As we now see but a poor reflection as through a mirror, then we shall see and know fully. Evil will be present, but because of our knowledge, it will have lost its seduction.

My main question: The possibility of temptation presupposes the freedom to choose sin. Theoretically, then, could I choose to sin?

I think I would have serious problems with this theory, but as of now, I'm pretty ignorant on the whole thing. But I guess we're all ignorant. As my Hermeneutics professor said, "The only thing I know for certain about my theology is that it's wrong."

Undefeated

Is anyone else speechless?