Hey all,
so I haven't written in awhile, but I am setting up another blog for the famous Soap Opera, Port Caron... ok so it's famous to my friends and I, because we created it. Anyhow I started it, a link should show up soon over on the side there... although the cast was originally created to be a parody of people I know and at one point had the name of who the character was supposed to be based upon, I've omitted those names for the online posting...
And besides it creates an extra challenge, see if you can figure out who the character is supposed to be a parody of!
Anyhow enjoy!
Sunday, June 20, 2004
Saturday, June 05, 2004
The Almighty 'R' Word
That's right I said it, I said the R word, Religion. The word that has (in our society) become a word that resounds of stuffiness; not to mention it draws an image of people (Religious people) who are uptight and holier-than-thou. A word created by humans to be able to put boxes around our differing beliefs, not only to separate one opinion from another, but also to separate all that church (or monastery, or temple, etc.) stuff from real life.
Religion as defined by the visual thesaurus (www.visualthesuarus.com) is "a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny." Oxford Dictionary describes it as "A state of life bound by monastic (meaning simple or basic) vows; the condition of one who is a member of a religious order or rule." Or "Action or conduct indicating a belief in, reverence for, and a desire to please, a divine ruling power" So why look into the definition of a word that humans attempt to use to define what happens in our lives? Hopefully to realize that Christians really shouldn't live in the textbox, or column, that we have defined ourselves into.
What is religion? The definitions above speak nothing of the stuffiness that surrounds the word today; today it resembles an institution filled with people holding onto nothing but tradition. People who go there because it's the right thing to do, because it's what they've always done, or maybe as part of their social agenda to keep up an appearance of having the proper amount of religion in their lives; I pray that those people are not as empty as their reasons to be there, or the buildings they occupy. Religion, according to its root definitions above, is a belief that ties a life to living out what it knows to be true. Religion is described as a life changing experience. Now religion is a word with so much bad karma (bad joke I know) that some Christians refuse to use it or let others use in connection to what they believe.
So where did religion change from life encompassing to Sunday and special occasions? How did the described action and conduct disappear leaving behind traditional rituals and written doctrine? Why did we lose the heart of the law? I don't know exactly, that would involve research and deep thought; this is merely a blog rant. However, something I can see is it that it's happened before, it's happening now, and maybe it's never stopped happening in some senses, but if we aren't afraid to admit that we're on the wrong track than maybe we can make a change for the better.
Now please don't presuppose things that I haven't said, traditional rituals and written doctrines are not things that have replaced a Christ centered life, they are things that have come along with it to keep the passionate heart somewhat structured. We need the stability of those things to keep ourselves from following every heart-felt fancy that may be permissible (then again maybe not) but not necessarily beneficial. We need the structure of the law just as much as we need the heart behind it. (when I say this I don't mean that we all need to abide to a legalistic set of rules...that is a rant for another post)
But lets not get sidetracked; the point of pointing out a problem is in hopes of pointing to a solution. Some may think that it is too difficult to try and change what a majority of people may think (such as attempting to convince the world to consider a Bible College as a high standing educational institution that rivals with universities) and so have just dropped using the word instead of restoring a proper meaning to it. They give up without giving a fight, allowing the world to believe what it considers to be truth and also to pass on its misunderstood knowledge to generations to come. I don't think we should go up in arms every time someone uses the word religion in a negative sense, but we should live a life that fits the description, maybe then others will think twice about scoffing when they use the word. We need to live the religion that points to God, such as James explained, "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight reign on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself form being polluted by the world." (James 1:26-27 NIV)
That's right I said it, I said the R word, Religion. The word that has (in our society) become a word that resounds of stuffiness; not to mention it draws an image of people (Religious people) who are uptight and holier-than-thou. A word created by humans to be able to put boxes around our differing beliefs, not only to separate one opinion from another, but also to separate all that church (or monastery, or temple, etc.) stuff from real life.
Religion as defined by the visual thesaurus (www.visualthesuarus.com) is "a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny." Oxford Dictionary describes it as "A state of life bound by monastic (meaning simple or basic) vows; the condition of one who is a member of a religious order or rule." Or "Action or conduct indicating a belief in, reverence for, and a desire to please, a divine ruling power" So why look into the definition of a word that humans attempt to use to define what happens in our lives? Hopefully to realize that Christians really shouldn't live in the textbox, or column, that we have defined ourselves into.
What is religion? The definitions above speak nothing of the stuffiness that surrounds the word today; today it resembles an institution filled with people holding onto nothing but tradition. People who go there because it's the right thing to do, because it's what they've always done, or maybe as part of their social agenda to keep up an appearance of having the proper amount of religion in their lives; I pray that those people are not as empty as their reasons to be there, or the buildings they occupy. Religion, according to its root definitions above, is a belief that ties a life to living out what it knows to be true. Religion is described as a life changing experience. Now religion is a word with so much bad karma (bad joke I know) that some Christians refuse to use it or let others use in connection to what they believe.
So where did religion change from life encompassing to Sunday and special occasions? How did the described action and conduct disappear leaving behind traditional rituals and written doctrine? Why did we lose the heart of the law? I don't know exactly, that would involve research and deep thought; this is merely a blog rant. However, something I can see is it that it's happened before, it's happening now, and maybe it's never stopped happening in some senses, but if we aren't afraid to admit that we're on the wrong track than maybe we can make a change for the better.
Now please don't presuppose things that I haven't said, traditional rituals and written doctrines are not things that have replaced a Christ centered life, they are things that have come along with it to keep the passionate heart somewhat structured. We need the stability of those things to keep ourselves from following every heart-felt fancy that may be permissible (then again maybe not) but not necessarily beneficial. We need the structure of the law just as much as we need the heart behind it. (when I say this I don't mean that we all need to abide to a legalistic set of rules...that is a rant for another post)
But lets not get sidetracked; the point of pointing out a problem is in hopes of pointing to a solution. Some may think that it is too difficult to try and change what a majority of people may think (such as attempting to convince the world to consider a Bible College as a high standing educational institution that rivals with universities) and so have just dropped using the word instead of restoring a proper meaning to it. They give up without giving a fight, allowing the world to believe what it considers to be truth and also to pass on its misunderstood knowledge to generations to come. I don't think we should go up in arms every time someone uses the word religion in a negative sense, but we should live a life that fits the description, maybe then others will think twice about scoffing when they use the word. We need to live the religion that points to God, such as James explained, "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight reign on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself form being polluted by the world." (James 1:26-27 NIV)
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
ok it's summer, and I start my second job in a weekish (like working both at the same time) so I have little time left to be bored... this is me being bored... I am Morpheus... yay summertime
Morpheus
?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??
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Morpheus
?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??
brought to you by Quizilla
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