Everyone knows that a so-called vampire subculture exists in the US and around the world.
It ranges from overzealous Twilight worshipers, to slightly older kids just discovering Ann Rice, to full grown adults that think it's fun to play vampire and then to the ultimate in pathetic, people who believe they are vampires.
I say to each their own on a lot of things. If you want to dress up as Barney the Dinosaur and go to sex parties with other consenting adults in costume, go for it. If you want to pretend its the middle ages and talk funny at a Renaissance Fair, why not? If you wanna play Dracula and nibble on a consenting friend, that's your call too.
I'm sure you meet crazies in all of those crowds that believe they are Barney or that they are a Knight, but with the vampire subculture this seems to happen more often. At the least it is reported in the media.
I have actually known people that believed, or at least argued with me that they believed, that they were vampires. I knew a vampire and an alleged vampire hunting ninja of some kind who were friends. I knew a girl that said she was a Lykin.
All three of these people would claim to be serious most of the time. One of the guys would back down a little if pressed.
Still though, why? We all want to believe we are special or unique in some way and I guess if we could be a mythical being, that would do it.
But most of these people are just attention whores of one kind or another.
And I know about attention whore...I started a blog because I couldn't stand not having an audience read my stuff.
So here is few excerpts of a list I came across today to help you know if you are a vampire.
# 1. Do you have unusually pale skin? You don't have to be white to be pale. If yes then cook up one or two (depending on the size) medium rare steaks (the best way to do this) If, by the time you’re done enjoying the second one, you have a new pinkish color throughout your body that you haven’t had in a while, read no farther; you are a real vampire. Humans can’t digest blood let alone get color from it, real vampires do.
# Have you ever been told by professionals that you’re lucky you survived an accident with only a few scratches or cuts?
# Are you a naturally strong magic/energy user self-taught or self-realized?
# As a kid, were you the strongest, smartest, or quickest kid in the class, and at around 16 years of age maybe all 3?
# Is your bedroom the coldest and darkest room in the house?
And my personal favorite.......
# How often do you look at the person that almost bumped (or bumped) into you and think "you idiot” or “people are so stupid" because they didn't know you were only a couple feet away from them, because you always know when someone is that close to you? (Which, when you think about it, you only know because you can sense when someone is that close to you).
I mean come on. I'll give you a break if you are a 12-16 emo kid with crappy parents but by the time you're old enough to drive a car you should know you aren't freakin' immortal.
So if you know a "vampire" that is serious about it, ask how they go out in the sun without dying/sparkling or how come they got beat up in school despite their vampire powers?
Ask why, if you're an immortal powerful being, why not drop out of high school and wander the earth or If they believe they've been a vampire for thousands of years, why are they in high school again?
I don't know why this level of stupidity bothers me as much as it does. I don't mind cosplay or dressing goth if that's just your thing. But pretending you're a supernatural being with powers that you cannot demonstrate makes me want to call you an idiot.
So this entire blog post was leading up to one sentence.
If you think you are really and truly a vampire or vampire related supernatural being, you are an idiot.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Extremism, fundementalism and you
Part of me want to talk state of the union, part of me wants to talk more on religion and part of me wants to talk Carson Palmer but we're going the last political blog wasn't so hot, we've done enough on religion and few of you readers like sports.
Instead today we're talking extremism.
I'm become more of a moderate every day. Or I think I am. I always thought of myself as a central leaning conservative but more and more I'm drifting to the center, which is often a good thing. There are several reasons for this.
One is my friends. Most of my friends are liberals and when one is confronted with opposing ideas all the time from intelligent people it is only a matter of time until one sees merit in what they say.
Another reason was the job I had before this one. Yes I was a sports writer but still I was a journalist. That job requires you to take yourself out of the story as much as you can and try to look at things objectively.
From that position as someone in the crowd but not of the crowd, you get a unique look at things.
In sports, you see that fans of both teams are crazy and the the officials are usually right.
Whoa, we're getting off topic.
Extremism.
It's freaking everywhere. This isn't news and you don't need me to tell you it's usually bad. It is hard to combat for several reasons.
1. Extremists rarely think they're being extreme
2. We live in a society that (rightly) allows people to have crazy beliefs.
3. I submit that most extremism rises out of noble intentions.
And there is the problem.
Let's use hypothetical me for example. I'm Catholic and I believe that if you want to go to heaven, it behooves you greatly to also be Catholic. I want my friends to go to heaven so first I start badgering them about it. That just makes them angry so I start throwing books on the topic at them and they still don't care. So finally, faced with the prospect of my friends going to hell, I kidnap them, take them to the outskirts of Rome and beat them until they profess faith which of course is a lie to get me to stop beating them.
The thing is extremism isn't just, crazy hypothetical me, terrorists and the Westboro Baptist Church.
It's Glenn Beck and Keith Olberman. It's your relative that can't abide to talk to you if you say you're not sure you agree with their beliefs. It's the friend that flips out when they find out who you voted for.
Extremism comes from within. I don't know if it is an intellectual weakness or a strength. To be able to hold fast and strong to beliefs can be admirable, but to cling to a belief you desperately want to be true is weak.
Before I go let me say I don't think we need to come to the middle in all things. There are absolutes. There is truth. Argument and debate are necessary and good and if you really believe something and you can say you've been intellectually honest with yourself about it and you find yourself believing what others call extreme, you've every right to stick with it.
But don't stick with something just because. Allow your beliefs, on all topics, to be challenged. You don't have to feel dumb to find out you were wrong about something. Rather it can be quite a good feeling.
Instead today we're talking extremism.
I'm become more of a moderate every day. Or I think I am. I always thought of myself as a central leaning conservative but more and more I'm drifting to the center, which is often a good thing. There are several reasons for this.
One is my friends. Most of my friends are liberals and when one is confronted with opposing ideas all the time from intelligent people it is only a matter of time until one sees merit in what they say.
Another reason was the job I had before this one. Yes I was a sports writer but still I was a journalist. That job requires you to take yourself out of the story as much as you can and try to look at things objectively.
From that position as someone in the crowd but not of the crowd, you get a unique look at things.
In sports, you see that fans of both teams are crazy and the the officials are usually right.
Whoa, we're getting off topic.
Extremism.
It's freaking everywhere. This isn't news and you don't need me to tell you it's usually bad. It is hard to combat for several reasons.
1. Extremists rarely think they're being extreme
2. We live in a society that (rightly) allows people to have crazy beliefs.
3. I submit that most extremism rises out of noble intentions.
And there is the problem.
Let's use hypothetical me for example. I'm Catholic and I believe that if you want to go to heaven, it behooves you greatly to also be Catholic. I want my friends to go to heaven so first I start badgering them about it. That just makes them angry so I start throwing books on the topic at them and they still don't care. So finally, faced with the prospect of my friends going to hell, I kidnap them, take them to the outskirts of Rome and beat them until they profess faith which of course is a lie to get me to stop beating them.
The thing is extremism isn't just, crazy hypothetical me, terrorists and the Westboro Baptist Church.
It's Glenn Beck and Keith Olberman. It's your relative that can't abide to talk to you if you say you're not sure you agree with their beliefs. It's the friend that flips out when they find out who you voted for.
Extremism comes from within. I don't know if it is an intellectual weakness or a strength. To be able to hold fast and strong to beliefs can be admirable, but to cling to a belief you desperately want to be true is weak.
Before I go let me say I don't think we need to come to the middle in all things. There are absolutes. There is truth. Argument and debate are necessary and good and if you really believe something and you can say you've been intellectually honest with yourself about it and you find yourself believing what others call extreme, you've every right to stick with it.
But don't stick with something just because. Allow your beliefs, on all topics, to be challenged. You don't have to feel dumb to find out you were wrong about something. Rather it can be quite a good feeling.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
My fellow Americans,
I want to thank, blogspot, Facebook and presumably the interweb founder Al Gore for the opportunity to address my readers and the by proxy the world.
We live in trying times. There is crime, hunger, political tension and civil dissent. Even with all these things, or perhaps because of them, I stand (ok I'm sitting) before you to say the state of our nation is strong.
Leaving behind the flowery speech, let me jump into a few political topics likely to be discussed in President Obama's State of the Union tonight at 9 p.m.
1. Jobs
Jobs are good. Me want jobs. Give jobs people make people get money. Money fix economy if people buy things from others who must find jobs. Also fire bad.
No doubt the president will rattle on about job creation and spout off a lot of numbers that don't mean anything to you or me. If we want to create jobs in this country, both sides of aisle need to conceed. Liberals, union employees just can't make 37 dollars an hour for changing light bulbs. Conservatives, we have to either penalize companies that send jobs overseas of at least give them incentives to stay.
And that idea won't even create jobs, but it would slow the loss of them.
2. Health Care
If you think the American health care system doesn't need some kind of over haul, you are very rich or living in a dream world. When working people with college degrees can't afford health care even before having kids, there is a problem. I'm not saying health care is a right, but it is something that should be affordable for those that work for it.
3. Spending
I don't know if we'll hear much about this but I hope so. This nation's debt will haunt us one day. We can't just pretend that billions and trillions of dollars don't mean anything. They do. I hope the president works with republicans to cut spending and come up with a deficit reduction plan that at least starts the ball rolling.
4. Defense
In less than two years, the United States has suffered more combat deaths in Afghanistan under President Obama than it did during the two-term presidency of George W. Bush. (You can do the math at icasualties.org).
While the president has kept his promise to start heading out of Iraq, Americans are dying fast in Afghanistan. I don't blame Obama for this fully. He inherited this war.
That said, he is the commander in chief. He knew when he began his campaign for election that if he won, this would be his war. I want to hear from him a plan for winning, stabilizing, and getting out.
5. Giffords
The congresswoman from Tuscon was shot. It was sad. Several died, several hurt. Sad. She's doing better, good. There were heroic acting people, good. Enough.
I really hope we don't waste more than 5 minutes on this. Maybe I'd allow 10 to talk about the political climate.
Other than that I suppose we'll hear a lot of vague talk about several programs. We'll be promised jobs and growth and unity and children will get puppies and it will be like any state of the union any president on either side has had.
Nevertheless, I encourage everyone to watch it tonight. You don't have to be a fan of the president to care what he says. This isn't hollywood. If you are a citizen of these United States, then Barrack Hussein Obama is your president.
Watch tonight. If you're a supporter, enjoy the pomp but try and hold him to specifics. If you don't like him, try to keep and open mind and respect the office, if not the man.
The state of the union is a great way to find out straight from the president what he plans to do in the next two years...of course he needs to be elected again in two years so he'll probably drop most of this right after the budget passes...
Yay America.
We live in trying times. There is crime, hunger, political tension and civil dissent. Even with all these things, or perhaps because of them, I stand (ok I'm sitting) before you to say the state of our nation is strong.
Leaving behind the flowery speech, let me jump into a few political topics likely to be discussed in President Obama's State of the Union tonight at 9 p.m.
1. Jobs
Jobs are good. Me want jobs. Give jobs people make people get money. Money fix economy if people buy things from others who must find jobs. Also fire bad.
No doubt the president will rattle on about job creation and spout off a lot of numbers that don't mean anything to you or me. If we want to create jobs in this country, both sides of aisle need to conceed. Liberals, union employees just can't make 37 dollars an hour for changing light bulbs. Conservatives, we have to either penalize companies that send jobs overseas of at least give them incentives to stay.
And that idea won't even create jobs, but it would slow the loss of them.
2. Health Care
If you think the American health care system doesn't need some kind of over haul, you are very rich or living in a dream world. When working people with college degrees can't afford health care even before having kids, there is a problem. I'm not saying health care is a right, but it is something that should be affordable for those that work for it.
3. Spending
I don't know if we'll hear much about this but I hope so. This nation's debt will haunt us one day. We can't just pretend that billions and trillions of dollars don't mean anything. They do. I hope the president works with republicans to cut spending and come up with a deficit reduction plan that at least starts the ball rolling.
4. Defense
In less than two years, the United States has suffered more combat deaths in Afghanistan under President Obama than it did during the two-term presidency of George W. Bush. (You can do the math at icasualties.org).
While the president has kept his promise to start heading out of Iraq, Americans are dying fast in Afghanistan. I don't blame Obama for this fully. He inherited this war.
That said, he is the commander in chief. He knew when he began his campaign for election that if he won, this would be his war. I want to hear from him a plan for winning, stabilizing, and getting out.
5. Giffords
The congresswoman from Tuscon was shot. It was sad. Several died, several hurt. Sad. She's doing better, good. There were heroic acting people, good. Enough.
I really hope we don't waste more than 5 minutes on this. Maybe I'd allow 10 to talk about the political climate.
Other than that I suppose we'll hear a lot of vague talk about several programs. We'll be promised jobs and growth and unity and children will get puppies and it will be like any state of the union any president on either side has had.
Nevertheless, I encourage everyone to watch it tonight. You don't have to be a fan of the president to care what he says. This isn't hollywood. If you are a citizen of these United States, then Barrack Hussein Obama is your president.
Watch tonight. If you're a supporter, enjoy the pomp but try and hold him to specifics. If you don't like him, try to keep and open mind and respect the office, if not the man.
The state of the union is a great way to find out straight from the president what he plans to do in the next two years...of course he needs to be elected again in two years so he'll probably drop most of this right after the budget passes...
Yay America.
Monday, January 24, 2011
They'll say I have no right to speak on this...
...but I disagree.
See when it comes to matters of right and wrong in a nation founded on freedom, I think I've got a right to this opinion. Moreover, my opponents have an equal right to theirs.
I don't own a motorcycle, but no one cares that I have an opinion on helmet laws. I can never be a pro football player, but no one cares that I have an opinion on the collective bargaining agreement and lastly, I'm not homeless, but I'm permitted by all to have opinions on welfare law.
Today won't be so easy because 37 years ago today the US Supreme Court handed down a controversial ruling by voting 7-2 in favor of a once anonymous woman known as Jane Roe. I don't have ovaries...but I have an opinion.
This case, and really more importantly the companion case of Doe vs. Dobson, legalized abortion in America.
This is not an easy issue. It is not a pretty issue. It is however an important issue.
I won't bother here with a drawn out argument of why I believe that life begins at conception. I won't go into the horrible horrible ways that babies are killed in the womb (or sometimes half out of it).
What I wanted to talk about is what this means for society. Instead I ran out of time during lunch.
The great crime here is the cold blooded killing, or termination to be PC, of fetuses.
Abortion isn't new. America didn't invent it. It probably even goes back longer than recorded history.
Long story short I believe abortion is wrong but I don't have time to tell you why right now.
One issue is the insane number of abortions that occur. Check out these stats from the Guttmacher Institute.
----
Nearly half of pregnancies among American women are unintended, and four in 10 of these are terminated by abortion. Twenty-two percent of all pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion.
Forty percent of pregnancies among white women, 69 among blacks and 54 among Hispanics are unintended. In 2008, 1.21 million abortions were performed, down from 1.31 million in 2000. However, between 2005 and 2008, the long-term decline in abortions stalled. From 1973 through 2008, nearly 50 million legal abortions occurred.
Women in their twenties account for more than half of all abortions; women aged 20–24 obtain 33 of all abortions, and women aged 25-29 obtain 24.
Among U.S. women having abortions in 2002, about one-half had already had a prior abortion.
----
We decided as a society and sex is more important than life. Separating the two was not just a mistake, but something that should be considered unthinkable.
I pray one day that the people of this country, not just the courts, see the error of their ways.
(Kudos to Karyn Stegeman for the blog idea and my apologies it doesn't do the topic justice.)
See when it comes to matters of right and wrong in a nation founded on freedom, I think I've got a right to this opinion. Moreover, my opponents have an equal right to theirs.
I don't own a motorcycle, but no one cares that I have an opinion on helmet laws. I can never be a pro football player, but no one cares that I have an opinion on the collective bargaining agreement and lastly, I'm not homeless, but I'm permitted by all to have opinions on welfare law.
Today won't be so easy because 37 years ago today the US Supreme Court handed down a controversial ruling by voting 7-2 in favor of a once anonymous woman known as Jane Roe. I don't have ovaries...but I have an opinion.
This case, and really more importantly the companion case of Doe vs. Dobson, legalized abortion in America.
This is not an easy issue. It is not a pretty issue. It is however an important issue.
I won't bother here with a drawn out argument of why I believe that life begins at conception. I won't go into the horrible horrible ways that babies are killed in the womb (or sometimes half out of it).
What I wanted to talk about is what this means for society. Instead I ran out of time during lunch.
The great crime here is the cold blooded killing, or termination to be PC, of fetuses.
Abortion isn't new. America didn't invent it. It probably even goes back longer than recorded history.
Long story short I believe abortion is wrong but I don't have time to tell you why right now.
One issue is the insane number of abortions that occur. Check out these stats from the Guttmacher Institute.
----
Nearly half of pregnancies among American women are unintended, and four in 10 of these are terminated by abortion. Twenty-two percent of all pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion.
Forty percent of pregnancies among white women, 69 among blacks and 54 among Hispanics are unintended. In 2008, 1.21 million abortions were performed, down from 1.31 million in 2000. However, between 2005 and 2008, the long-term decline in abortions stalled. From 1973 through 2008, nearly 50 million legal abortions occurred.
Women in their twenties account for more than half of all abortions; women aged 20–24 obtain 33 of all abortions, and women aged 25-29 obtain 24.
Among U.S. women having abortions in 2002, about one-half had already had a prior abortion.
----
We decided as a society and sex is more important than life. Separating the two was not just a mistake, but something that should be considered unthinkable.
I pray one day that the people of this country, not just the courts, see the error of their ways.
(Kudos to Karyn Stegeman for the blog idea and my apologies it doesn't do the topic justice.)
Friday, January 21, 2011
A towering Jesus-based rage
The title of this blog is from a quote from the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and while I really don't want to pigeon-hole this blog into specific genre of blogging, I've got another religion-based one for you today.
The idea for this blog comes from my friend Amanda, who writes on her facebook status...
"And yet another "if you're not Christian, you are lost" 'friend' gets removed from Facebook. I respect people's beliefs (stop laughing, I do). What I don't respect are people that use whatever medium they can to try to push it onto others like they're on some personal holy crusade. Don't like it? Kindly remove yourself so I don't have to bother."
Amanda brings up something I think all of us deal with to some extent. The Facebook Evangelist. (Sadly after a Google search I see I didn't invent the term.)
The Facebook Evangelist comes in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes it is a younger person who has recently fallen in love with God, sometimes it's an older person that feels like God is involved in everything down to the frequency of their bowel movements and sometimes it's just you average Christian.
Before we go any further in the interest of full disclosure (not that any of you aren't aware) I am a Christian. I'm a God-fearing Roman Catholic who believes truly that salvation comes through Jesus Christ and that we are fortunate he gave us the Church as a vessel of salvation.
But you've never seen me type that on facebook have you? (If I have, sorry.) Sure my beliefs come through in my status from time to time, that's how it is for all of us. But I'm not trying to convert the world or show anyone how holy I can be via social media.
And last I sympathize with these evangelist. As a Christian I support conversion, but I just don't think it can be done with facebook. See my closing statement for more.
One person I recently hid on my list, and to be honest I can't recall how I even knew them, posts a bible verse about what they're thinking a couple times a day. Another is always relating God to their every move. For example if they were to go to the pool in summer the post would start "Thank God for the pool."
Another literally only posts God-related things.
From my experience on facebook I think we can catalog the Facebook Evangelist into 3 categories.
First with the worst...
1. Conversion Carl
Conversion Carls are the people Amanda was referencing I believe. This is the person who thinks that because they have 37 friends and facebook info tells them that 16 of them aren't Christians that it is their duty to beat them over the head with phrases like, "There is still time to come to God," "It's just so sad that not everyone comes to know the love of Jesus," or "Believe in God or go to hell, your choice."
Conversion Carls may have a heart in the right place, but they have no idea that they probably turn more people off to God than anything.
2. The Bible Thumper
This person literally posts bible statuses everyday. Some of them recycle the Good Book's greatest hits while others find more obscure ones but it serves the same purpose. Everyone on facebook gets to know that they read the bible, at least 140 characters at a time.
The Bible Thumper is under the impression that either A) They get brownie points in heaven for each scripture quote on facebook, B) That out of context scripture will somehow bring people to God, or C) that it's just fun to have bible statuses.
God love'em for trying....but they're still annoying.
3. Solomon's Army
I went with Solomon because he was a symbol of wisdom. Solomon's Army, to me, is the most tolerable of the Facebook Evangelists.
These well-meaning intellectuals of faith tend to at least be interesting. They say use wise-sounding sayings from the bible and other sources to get people interested.
I have a major interest in theology so these people don't annoy me that much, until I see their fifth status of the day on the same topic. Why can't they ever just type "Tired, want to sleep" instead of "In that sleep of death, what dreams may come? Ask Jesus?"
Now I admit I'm being a little mean to my brother and sister Christians here but call it tough love. I think we can agree that no facebook post have saved a sinner or damned a saint.
I'm not saying there is no place for faith in social media, there is. Create a fan page for you topic if you want. If you are really concerned about someone's soul, use facebook to make contact and deal with them directly.
Spamming people with God won't help.
I believe in the Great Commission (which comes from Matthew and says "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
It is our job as Christians to spread the faith but have we learned nothing from the past? Badgering doesn't work any better than forced conversion. Only those willing to listen can even begin to be swayed by scripture or theological argument, spamming everyone is just wasted energy.
More than that, if as Christians we hope to show others that our way is the way to go, we need to bear good fruit. We need to do it by showing that the faith isn't an archaic clinging to rules, that it isn't a system of belief as much as it should be a way of life, and a fun one at that.
Live your life as a Christian, help without gain, don't rush to judgment, be accepting, dine with the sinners and love unconditionally. These are the things you can do if you want people to come to God. And if and when they ASK you, then you can tell them the good news.
But you can do that on a private message, not on your status.
Your thoughts?
The idea for this blog comes from my friend Amanda, who writes on her facebook status...
"And yet another "if you're not Christian, you are lost" 'friend' gets removed from Facebook. I respect people's beliefs (stop laughing, I do). What I don't respect are people that use whatever medium they can to try to push it onto others like they're on some personal holy crusade. Don't like it? Kindly remove yourself so I don't have to bother."
Amanda brings up something I think all of us deal with to some extent. The Facebook Evangelist. (Sadly after a Google search I see I didn't invent the term.)
The Facebook Evangelist comes in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes it is a younger person who has recently fallen in love with God, sometimes it's an older person that feels like God is involved in everything down to the frequency of their bowel movements and sometimes it's just you average Christian.
Before we go any further in the interest of full disclosure (not that any of you aren't aware) I am a Christian. I'm a God-fearing Roman Catholic who believes truly that salvation comes through Jesus Christ and that we are fortunate he gave us the Church as a vessel of salvation.
But you've never seen me type that on facebook have you? (If I have, sorry.) Sure my beliefs come through in my status from time to time, that's how it is for all of us. But I'm not trying to convert the world or show anyone how holy I can be via social media.
And last I sympathize with these evangelist. As a Christian I support conversion, but I just don't think it can be done with facebook. See my closing statement for more.
One person I recently hid on my list, and to be honest I can't recall how I even knew them, posts a bible verse about what they're thinking a couple times a day. Another is always relating God to their every move. For example if they were to go to the pool in summer the post would start "Thank God for the pool."
Another literally only posts God-related things.
From my experience on facebook I think we can catalog the Facebook Evangelist into 3 categories.
First with the worst...
1. Conversion Carl
Conversion Carls are the people Amanda was referencing I believe. This is the person who thinks that because they have 37 friends and facebook info tells them that 16 of them aren't Christians that it is their duty to beat them over the head with phrases like, "There is still time to come to God," "It's just so sad that not everyone comes to know the love of Jesus," or "Believe in God or go to hell, your choice."
Conversion Carls may have a heart in the right place, but they have no idea that they probably turn more people off to God than anything.
2. The Bible Thumper
This person literally posts bible statuses everyday. Some of them recycle the Good Book's greatest hits while others find more obscure ones but it serves the same purpose. Everyone on facebook gets to know that they read the bible, at least 140 characters at a time.
The Bible Thumper is under the impression that either A) They get brownie points in heaven for each scripture quote on facebook, B) That out of context scripture will somehow bring people to God, or C) that it's just fun to have bible statuses.
God love'em for trying....but they're still annoying.
3. Solomon's Army
I went with Solomon because he was a symbol of wisdom. Solomon's Army, to me, is the most tolerable of the Facebook Evangelists.
These well-meaning intellectuals of faith tend to at least be interesting. They say use wise-sounding sayings from the bible and other sources to get people interested.
I have a major interest in theology so these people don't annoy me that much, until I see their fifth status of the day on the same topic. Why can't they ever just type "Tired, want to sleep" instead of "In that sleep of death, what dreams may come? Ask Jesus?"
Closing Thoughts
Now I admit I'm being a little mean to my brother and sister Christians here but call it tough love. I think we can agree that no facebook post have saved a sinner or damned a saint.
I'm not saying there is no place for faith in social media, there is. Create a fan page for you topic if you want. If you are really concerned about someone's soul, use facebook to make contact and deal with them directly.
Spamming people with God won't help.
I believe in the Great Commission (which comes from Matthew and says "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
It is our job as Christians to spread the faith but have we learned nothing from the past? Badgering doesn't work any better than forced conversion. Only those willing to listen can even begin to be swayed by scripture or theological argument, spamming everyone is just wasted energy.
More than that, if as Christians we hope to show others that our way is the way to go, we need to bear good fruit. We need to do it by showing that the faith isn't an archaic clinging to rules, that it isn't a system of belief as much as it should be a way of life, and a fun one at that.
Live your life as a Christian, help without gain, don't rush to judgment, be accepting, dine with the sinners and love unconditionally. These are the things you can do if you want people to come to God. And if and when they ASK you, then you can tell them the good news.
But you can do that on a private message, not on your status.
Your thoughts?
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Nothing epic, nothing gained
Ok so I want to thank those of you that gave me blog ideas over on facebook but I've decided not to go with any of them. Sorry. I will however share a link in honor of Matt Payton who showed it to me.
If you ever needed more justification for believing that athletes today deserve every bit of horrible fate that can happen, just read this. Warning, bad language.
http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/2011/1/19/1943956/the-happy-football-life-of-will-hill
And before we get into it, happy 50th birthday to Dan Kuenneke.
As for today's blog , I'm going to make it up as I go.
I recently finished reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe since I never read it in school. Not a bad book. On top of that I've been thinking a lot about Edgar Allen Poe and today I was reminded of author Neil Gaiman.
All great authors no doubt but it is not a normal thing to have those three dancing around in your head.
Nevertheless there they are. My ego always has me thinking that maybe one day I could be a great and well known author but then there is a common thread among authors such as the ones I mentioned that I lack.
They all knew some of the other greats of their time. Now I love all of you my friends but those of you I know best aren't much into writing. My mom can write, my cousin Katie can write. I know Matt Kilmer and Jacob Thompson can write and who knows maybe between us one of us will one day be published.
Poe knew Washington Irving (Sleepy Hollow), Lewis knew Tolkien (Lord of the Rings) and Gaiman, though harder to judge because he's still arguably in his prime, knows countless other authors. (By the way read Gaiman's "American Gods")
Of course as soon as I typed that I realized that I know Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme and Jennfier Reed. Both talented folk by any definition and both being published for very different works.
I don't know. Maybe in the moment of the present it's hard for one to see greatness around them or in themselves.
I doubt as Lewis and Tolkien sat around talking about their works they thought, "I bet one day someone makes huge moving pictures about our stories that make millions."
When Poe went to Irving for advice he was just another young writer looking for help from a contemporary, not the legend of literature we know.
Still, it's interesting to think that these literary giants were somewhat like us. People with friends working on books that seem to never end...of course they finished and published theirs.
I don't know what the real point of that blog was...sorry. But I do know that I'm lucky to have a group of friends that support my dreams of being a real writer one day as well as those who don't.
Besides even if it isn't me or one of my friends that write The Great American Novel, someone will. With Twilight and the like stuffing bookstore shelves, I just hope someone notices it.
If you ever needed more justification for believing that athletes today deserve every bit of horrible fate that can happen, just read this. Warning, bad language.
http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/2011/1/19/1943956/the-happy-football-life-of-will-hill
And before we get into it, happy 50th birthday to Dan Kuenneke.
As for today's blog , I'm going to make it up as I go.
I recently finished reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe since I never read it in school. Not a bad book. On top of that I've been thinking a lot about Edgar Allen Poe and today I was reminded of author Neil Gaiman.
All great authors no doubt but it is not a normal thing to have those three dancing around in your head.
Nevertheless there they are. My ego always has me thinking that maybe one day I could be a great and well known author but then there is a common thread among authors such as the ones I mentioned that I lack.
They all knew some of the other greats of their time. Now I love all of you my friends but those of you I know best aren't much into writing. My mom can write, my cousin Katie can write. I know Matt Kilmer and Jacob Thompson can write and who knows maybe between us one of us will one day be published.
Poe knew Washington Irving (Sleepy Hollow), Lewis knew Tolkien (Lord of the Rings) and Gaiman, though harder to judge because he's still arguably in his prime, knows countless other authors. (By the way read Gaiman's "American Gods")
Of course as soon as I typed that I realized that I know Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme and Jennfier Reed. Both talented folk by any definition and both being published for very different works.
I don't know. Maybe in the moment of the present it's hard for one to see greatness around them or in themselves.
I doubt as Lewis and Tolkien sat around talking about their works they thought, "I bet one day someone makes huge moving pictures about our stories that make millions."
When Poe went to Irving for advice he was just another young writer looking for help from a contemporary, not the legend of literature we know.
Still, it's interesting to think that these literary giants were somewhat like us. People with friends working on books that seem to never end...of course they finished and published theirs.
I don't know what the real point of that blog was...sorry. But I do know that I'm lucky to have a group of friends that support my dreams of being a real writer one day as well as those who don't.
Besides even if it isn't me or one of my friends that write The Great American Novel, someone will. With Twilight and the like stuffing bookstore shelves, I just hope someone notices it.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?
Often times over the last 50 years the skies were shrouded in clouds and other times the stars shone brightly at 519 West Fayette Street in Baltimore, Maryland when one of the more unique events in grave veneration would occur on Jan. 19. Sometimes the weather was nice and other times it was dark and dreary.
All the while once a year a man clad in black walked past the graves of the first mayor of Baltimore, past the grave of Francis Scott Key’s son and straight to the grave of poet Edgar Allen Poe.
The “Poe Toaster” as he became known always left a half-drunk bottle of fine French cognac and three roses. He came and left secretly, and to this day no one knows his name or why he came.
2009 marked his last appearance as he hasn’t come the last two years on Poe’s birthday, Jan. 19.
I am no scholar of Poe though I have read the Raven, the Tell-Tale Heart and one or two other titles that escape me now but the apparent ending of this tradition is what has me blogging.
Four imposters showed up. Maybe they were looking for fame, maybe they were just trying to take up the mantle for the man who no longer came, who knows. I think, however, that it is best Poe Fans, to let this tradition go if in fact the original man or his appointed successors have stopped.
People have gathered for years to silently observe the mysterious man and his ritual without interfering, and I think that’s a better tradition. Go ahead and keep the vigil, even though it’s unlikely the true toaster will ever return.
Those of you who know me know that I often have grand ideas that never go anywhere. Maybe it’s life getting in the way and maybe I’m just a big talker, I don’t know. What I do know is that I am unlikely to ever do anything so great as to have my future grave venerated in such a way.
I’ve never been obsessed with death or dying but the idea of a final earthly resting place has always been important to me and here’s why.
They say none of us are immortal, which is true personally. I will die, you will die etc. However, what I perceive you to be continues to exist even after you die and that is the same with how you perceive me.
My grandpa, Bill Weber, died recently, but the man I knew is still in my memory. In that small way, he still exists, even if only in a subjective non-corporeal way.
So long as we’re remembered, we never really die. Joe Schmo who worked as a farmer in Georgia and lived from 1824 to 1885 and had no wife or kids is truly dead.
But Edgar Allen Poe, who billions know of and about, is not. He not only wrote things of note but after he died, people could say, “I can’t show you his life or what he did but here is where it ended.”
A grave marker is like proof to future generations that whoever lies beneath is not an intellectual abstraction but was in fact a person who lived and died just as they will. It makes them real. I hope one day when I tell my kids about my grandparents that when they’re older they’ll come with me to the grave sites at least once.
And when I’m gone, whether I’ve done anything of note or not, I hope my grandkids will extend the same courtesy to me and bring their children or so that I can be real to them in some way.
Call me sentimental or delusional or whatever, but I think that’s a cool thing to do.
You can visit a place where ashes were scattered or visit the coordinates where a body was buried at sea but there is nothing there to make it real. It’s just another story about a dead person. At a burial site however, one can make the physical connection.
For the record, I’d prefer Maker’s Mark whiskey to cognac, but roses are just fine.
All the while once a year a man clad in black walked past the graves of the first mayor of Baltimore, past the grave of Francis Scott Key’s son and straight to the grave of poet Edgar Allen Poe.
The “Poe Toaster” as he became known always left a half-drunk bottle of fine French cognac and three roses. He came and left secretly, and to this day no one knows his name or why he came.
2009 marked his last appearance as he hasn’t come the last two years on Poe’s birthday, Jan. 19.
I am no scholar of Poe though I have read the Raven, the Tell-Tale Heart and one or two other titles that escape me now but the apparent ending of this tradition is what has me blogging.
Four imposters showed up. Maybe they were looking for fame, maybe they were just trying to take up the mantle for the man who no longer came, who knows. I think, however, that it is best Poe Fans, to let this tradition go if in fact the original man or his appointed successors have stopped.
People have gathered for years to silently observe the mysterious man and his ritual without interfering, and I think that’s a better tradition. Go ahead and keep the vigil, even though it’s unlikely the true toaster will ever return.
Those of you who know me know that I often have grand ideas that never go anywhere. Maybe it’s life getting in the way and maybe I’m just a big talker, I don’t know. What I do know is that I am unlikely to ever do anything so great as to have my future grave venerated in such a way.
I’ve never been obsessed with death or dying but the idea of a final earthly resting place has always been important to me and here’s why.
They say none of us are immortal, which is true personally. I will die, you will die etc. However, what I perceive you to be continues to exist even after you die and that is the same with how you perceive me.
My grandpa, Bill Weber, died recently, but the man I knew is still in my memory. In that small way, he still exists, even if only in a subjective non-corporeal way.
So long as we’re remembered, we never really die. Joe Schmo who worked as a farmer in Georgia and lived from 1824 to 1885 and had no wife or kids is truly dead.
But Edgar Allen Poe, who billions know of and about, is not. He not only wrote things of note but after he died, people could say, “I can’t show you his life or what he did but here is where it ended.”
A grave marker is like proof to future generations that whoever lies beneath is not an intellectual abstraction but was in fact a person who lived and died just as they will. It makes them real. I hope one day when I tell my kids about my grandparents that when they’re older they’ll come with me to the grave sites at least once.
And when I’m gone, whether I’ve done anything of note or not, I hope my grandkids will extend the same courtesy to me and bring their children or so that I can be real to them in some way.
Call me sentimental or delusional or whatever, but I think that’s a cool thing to do.
You can visit a place where ashes were scattered or visit the coordinates where a body was buried at sea but there is nothing there to make it real. It’s just another story about a dead person. At a burial site however, one can make the physical connection.
For the record, I’d prefer Maker’s Mark whiskey to cognac, but roses are just fine.
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