Confessions of a Shiftless Mind

I think this whole idea of cloning a mammoth from DNA remains is exceedingly cool.

I’d love to see it happen.  It would be like Jurassic Park but without people getting eaten.

Check it out.  A little bit of fun without overdosing on the “seasonal”.

Relient K - Sleigh Ride from gotee on Vimeo.

I was reading in Isaiah this morning.  This verse stuck out at me as needing consideration on this, a very important day for the whole world as the United States of America elects a new president.

For all of you out there who, like me, looks forward to a time when people aren’t left with a choice between the lesser of two evils, consider this hope to come, from Isaiah 32:1-5:

1Behold, a king will reign in righteousness,
and princes will rule in justice.
2 Each will be like a hiding place from the wind,
a shelter from the storm,
like streams of water in a dry place,
like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.
3 Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed,
and the ears of those who hear will give attention.
4The heart of the hasty will understand and know,
and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly.
5 The fool will no more be called noble,
nor the scoundrel said to be honorable.

It’s from the Discovery Channel, I saw it last night while watching the streaming feed of the Lions game. the kids love it too.

It took a team of scientists to determine that “religious” people act more kindly, generously, and honestly than atheists?

And the “catch”?  That they need to be reminded of their faith or they act no differently than atheists.

We knew that.  It kind of says that in the Bible.

That’s why the Bible encourages people to read it and meditate on it day and night.

That’s why it says not to neglect the fellowship of other believers.

That’s why there is this concept of “spiritual disciplines” which include developing the habit of daily prayer, Bible study and other activities designed to remind you of God and your relationship to him.

And not doing them leads to acting as if God does not exist - acting like an atheist.

So, now the logical question must be asked - if “religious” people make better citizens, why is it becoming more and more common to look with disfavour upon “religious” politicians?  Why is it considered a “bad thing” to wish to convince others that it is a good idea to follow my religion of choice?  Because ultimately, from a governance and a peace standpoint, it is better for society to have more “religious” people than not.

The man who stood up and claimed at a candidates’ debate that his statement, “homosexuals should be executed” is not any kind of Christian.

He is not an extreme Christian.

He is no Christ follower.

The most insidious strategy I have seen in a long time has been the efforts of people woth an axe to grind to take the most bizarre, insane people who claim the name of Christ and give them a boatload of media attention - thus tarring the millions of real Christians who work tirelessly in mission agencies, social agencies, and in their own neighbourhoods to do nothing but good for all men, with the blackest kind of filth.  It is not just in stories like this getting spun into an anti-Christian screed.  It is people like Bill Maher, putting out a “mockumentary” designed solely to make anyone who isn’t an atheist like him look like a moron.

Out.

< /rage>

Interesting.  Not bad.

You shall not put your blog before your integrity.

You shall not make an idol of your blog.

You shall not misuse your screen name by using your anonymity to sin.

Remember the Sabbath day by taking one day off a week from your blog.

Honour your fellow-bloggers above yourselves and do not give undue significance to their mistakes.

You shall not murder someone else’s honour, reputation or feelings.

You shall not use the web to commit or permit adultery in your mind.

You shall not steal another person’s content.

You shall not give false testimony against your fellow-blogger.

You shall not covet your neighbour’s blog ranking. Be content with your own content.

Here’s the thing.  There are people whose mountains that surround their homes we can see from ours, who live in rotting, condemned homes.  They live on a reserve at the end of Harrison Lake without connection to the provincial power grid, without connection to regular phone lines.  There are 2 million people that camp, play, and recreate all around them but never give them a second thought.  What is up with that?

One thing I have had a passion for since I first became a Christian at 16 has been actually reaching out and helping people who live near me.  I’ve always known that churches support missionaries to faraway places around the world.  I have seen churches and gone to churches that sent teams of students and teenagers to Mexico and even the USA to build homes for those who need them, as an act of love.  But the needy are right here.  Why aren’t we helping the needy right here?

I used to 4×4 extensively up in the Harrison Lake area, and have driven by their community many many times.  I have kept tabs on the band’s website for information on what is going on up there.  I just found their Windows Live Space, and read an article from the Vancouver Sun just this last June.  In that article it says,

I saw houses with their roofs draped with cheap blue tarps. That’s because the roofs leak and the houses are condemned. At least five are subject to seasonal flooding from the river. Peters last warned the government they need immediate replacement a year ago.

In fact, he tells me, he told the government that the In-SHUCK-ch are now four generations behind in meeting infrastructure and service needs.

I want to find out what the holdup is in getting them new homes.  Is it funding?  Red tape?  Manpower?

I want to find out if this is a project that Habitat for Humanity can get in on.

I want to see if I can organize a team to go and build a house for these people.  They need someone to show them the love.  More, I believe that this community was affected by the residential schools problems, and these people may feel like God has abandoned them or hates them or something.  They have an ancient (historic) gothic-style Catholic church in the little village, but if that is all they have known about Jesus, then we need to go show them the real deal.

Everythings so blurry
And everyones so fake
And everybodys so empty
And everything is so messed up
Pre-occupied without you
I cannot live at all
My whole world surrounds you
I stumble then I crawl

You could be my someone
You could be my scene
You know that I’ll protect you
From all of the obscene
I wonder what your doing
Imagine where you are
Theres oceans in between us
But thats not very far - “Blurry” - Puddle of Mudd, 2001.

I don’t get it.  Everyone knows the truth of these lyrics.  We see it every day.  The disorder of hate, the disorder of killings, abuse, ignorance, apathy.  These disorders all come from within - from the heart of each human on this earth.

The only people who think there is nothing wrong are people who are so wounded that they have normalized the disorder.  They have fooled themselves, inoculated themselves, callused their hearts so much that they accept this now.

But this is not what life was meant to be like.

The song lyrics speak of a man desperate for meaning, and trying to find it in his love for a woman.  He is so close to the truth but can’t grasp it because his eyes won’t see past his own desires.  He doesn’t know why he thinks he will find meaning in another person, though he questions her ability to take away his sense of disorder in the world.

Her love won’t change the world.

But love can.

Throughout history, man has made his own gods.  There have been gods for everything - from harvest gods to war gods to death gods to love gods to sea gods.  Humanity sees something beyond its control and assumes that something must be controlling it - something that can be bribed.  Because sometimes the bribes “work” and sometimes they don’t, they assume that their god must be capricious.

But there is a God in heaven.  People hunt around for a God who will be appeased, because it is easier to deal with than a God who loves.

That God - not a god of love, but a God who IS love - has already told us about himself.  He has already explained the depth of his love for us and desire for good for us, but we turn away, we ignore him.  And then we write songs like this, bemoaning the hideousness of a life lived without this God who loves us.

Sin is insidious.  It has infected even those who do know and love God.  And because of that, there are those who have been hurt by them, and assign the blame to the God of those who sin.  But if they got past the human beings who really are no better than themselves, they would see who God really is and see that what he taught us - the way of life described by Jesus in his time on earth - is the only way for humanity to get past the fakeness, the emptiness, and the messed up parts of our lives.

It really is the only way.

Islam?  Appeasement of a capricious Allah.

Buddhism?  Turning inwards to attain a state of nirvana, and shutting out the pain of the world.  In the meantime, leaving the world suffering alone.

Judaism?  Trying desperately to follow rules that are impossible to follow (and ignoring the real message of their own writings - that one would come to save them and would be preceded by signs that show he is who he says he is.  That one has already come.

Animism?  Appeasement of capricious spirits.

Taoism/Shintoism?  Appeasement of dead people who have no power.

Atheism?  Living without meaning.

Christism?  A God of love, loves you, and wants you to love him back.  You already know what true love looks like.  You know in your heart how it works.  If you start doing it, then love for your fellow man, for your neighbour, for your enemy flows from that.  Respect for the world that God made for you flows from that.  Putting others before yourself flows from that.  Not needing “things” to make one happy flows from that.  Contentment and joy flows from that.  It all begins with love.  Why is it so hard to understand?

I am not sure if he is making fun of atheists or Christians but who cares?  He’s darn funny.  I miss Monty Python - too bad there’s nobody doing such intelligent humour anymore.  It’s like comedy has been reduced to mean-spirited personal attacks and varying combinations of foul language - usually a combination of both.