The PieBlog

Bad Religion: an update

2007-06-21T13:03:00.001-07:00

So, after giving a few spins on the BR album (hey, a hard drive spins, doesn't it?) I can get a better grasp of what to say. Having heard pretty much all of their albums one way or another, New Maps of Hell is indeed something of a divergence and sounds something a bit more like late Pennywise or even (dare I say it) Sum 41 (ooo-er! That hurt!). The sound they have is "fuller" if that's a word. In albums like Suffer and Generator, they were clearly punk albums.Somewhat lo-fi (but still better than a lot of punk bands), and just... you know they didn't really try with the production side. NMOH, and the last two don't suffer (har!) from that. As I said, BR's time with Atlantic really helped them with their sound, despite all the hate that's been going around against their Atlantic records.

Onto the juicy part: the songs. Again, no song-by-song because that's not my thing.

My two favourite songs would be Grains of Wrath and New Dark Ages. Those two really exemplify THE BR sound. Lots of harmonies (aka the oozin' aahs), simple catchy melodies, and the topic material is the standard BR attitude towards religion and thinking. They'd sound awesome when stripped down to acoustic, because like many BR songs, they're folk-influenced and generally composed on acoustic. Easily the most memorable songs from this album.

Some of the songs are eerily similar to earlier BR songs. "Scrutiny" sounds like "Prove It" from Process of Belief, for example. Also, some songs' intros don't match the songs. The intro from "Prodigal Son" sounds a lot like some sort of depressing power metal intro, but the song is all poppy and happy-sounding.

In any case, I hope this gives you a better picture of the new album.

Finally, a true update! New Bad Religion album

2007-06-19T21:13:00.000-07:00

I'm finally updating! There's too much I want to update about, so I'll focus on one topic:

Bad Religion's new album, New Maps of Hell

Hell yeah. While their last two albums, Process of Belief and Empire Strikes First, could be a throwback to their golden age (Suffer, Against The Grain), this one has more of their Atlantic era. It's poppier, fist-pumpier, and has more vague interpretations. Also, unlike Empire, they aren't as focused on current affairs, as much as Graffin's style of making generalizatons and odd referemces (one song is about a book, rather than anything a punk band would write about).

I'm not a music reviewer, so I don't know what would be appropriate to write.

Now for those who have no idea what the hell I'm talking about, BR is a punk band that's been around since 1980. To put them in a nutshell, they're an issues-based, but semi-philosophical agnostic punk band whose music is more folk-based. Yep, try playing a number of BR songs in acoustic or piano and they all translate really well. They also use big words in their choruses making sing-alongers all tongue-tied.

Strangely, despite their agnostic views and despite the songwriters' beliefs (atheist), I've gotten more about God than most books I've read in the whole Christian book industry.

In any case, I won't do a song-by-song analysis since i have no clue what the hell I'm talking about. As a whole, the album flows better than many of their earlier stuff. True, much of their favourite songs come from 1989-1992, but the flow isn't as good. It's after they went over to Atlantic (1993-1994) that the flow started to pick up. By the time Process came around, it was good.

And finally, let no one say these guys are losing energy because of their age (40+). Age is not a factor at all.

Just decided to update. Nothing important, yet.

2006-12-12T23:46:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all. Just updating them blog for th' sake o' updatin', ayup.

Too tired to think of something meaningful or world-changing at the moment (HA!)

Summer was here, now gone.

2005-09-11T17:28:00.000-07:00

So y'all, miss me? No? Good, because I don't care either. I still love you all. I didn't disappear, or drop off from the face of the earth, or anything like that. I bet y'all'r wondering What did I do between my last real blog post and now. Lessee... school. A few hangouts and stuff... and movies.

This summer is weird in that more lesser-known (but excellent) movies are making it to large theatres. Crash, Murderball, It's All Gone Pete Tong, and The Constant Gardener were truly excellent movies. I can't say the same for this summer's action movies: ie. most were totally uninteresting, but some were ok.

And I wrecked my shoulder last month. Strained a tendon when I fell headfirst on my head and shoulders. I wsas wearingn a helmet, so my head was fine. My shoulder wasn't. A note to all: Wear the damn helmet. Your brain will thank you.

I have a wonderfully uneventful life, eh? That's what you think.

More stuff to come later (such as band recommendations, and other nice and deep stuff).

PS
Here's to America's colours, the colours that never run (cookie to which movie homage that is from).

New words.. recognized!!

2005-05-17T13:40:00.000-07:00

I'm alive, I'm alive. Don't worry folks, as bad as things may get at times (not that they get too bad), I won't leave you.

I sometimes have discussions about language and its dynamic properties... namely neologisms. They're things that some people cannot stand. People will act as if the sky going to fall, and humans will turn into slobbering sex-crazed animals that can't "get some." Well... I think they suck. A lot. And they're wrong.

To rub it in the face, here is a list of top-10 non-dictionary words. http://www.merriam-webster.com/info/favorite.htm

Finally, people from a dictionary company recognize that language is DYNAMIC!! (OK, so the OED has done this for years now) and not static.

I use a number of words on that list, as well as words that I made up on my own. I don't feel dumb, or sex-crazed, or whatever.

It even applies to low-vocabulary languages (average high-level vocab is no more than 10,000 spoken words, 4000-6000 written words) like Chinese, which, for all the supposed monolithicness of it, can change very rapidly without losing the Chinese-ness.

Language is not a monolithic idea. If it was, we'd be constantly decrying, depending on how far we go back, the:
a. Spliittng of Indo-European
b. Influx of Semitic influences
c. Further splitting of post-split Indo-European
d. Further influx of "autochthonous" languages, especially in Greece, Italy, India, and Northern Europe. (words like "keel" and "sheep.")
...
...
aa. Influx of Latin into Brythonic Gaelic
ab. Transformation of Latin
ac. Influx of Saxon and Angle into Latin and Celtic
...
bb. Influx of Norman into Anglo-Saxon
...
...
dd. Convergence of barious dialects of Middle English into a more uniform English
...
ff. New Internet-lingo.

and so on ad nauseam. It's endliess. Get a life.

Grammar nazis suck too. They love to change the topic by pointing out grammatical mistakes. But... I love them anyways. I want them to have my babies.

Of Shoes, Bands, Lesbians, Beer, Wrong Exam Times, and Mr. T

2005-04-10T15:54:00.000-07:00

This is gonna be a helluva assortment of topics, so get ready for a joyride!

Alrighty, so.. first item on the agenda is shoes, bands, and lesbians. I was at the Arts County Fair (ACF) with a bunch of friends or friends of friends. I agree with Mike's comments (read em here: http://mikeworth.blogspot.com/2005/04/acf-aka-throw-shoes-at-stage-festival.html), but I wanted to add a few things. Yes, Matt Good rocked. The sing-along factor was awesome, as well as the moshing factor (I was in the middle of it, getting pushed and pushing others). Stabilo really stuck out by being just a cool bunch of people. Their covers of Let It Be and No Woman No Cry really stuck out as being something cool to do. A few side notes, though.

Side note 1: When the beer sucks, drink the cider. For $3, I think it's a good deal. And it was cold, not warm. Sure it's a wussy-seeming drink but hey, bad tasting beer, or somewhat ok tasting cider? You pick.

Side Note 2 (pertaining to lesbians and drunk girls): Drunk girls are hilarious. From my high(ly,) drunken observations, they fall into 4 categories.
1. The girls come to and freak the hell out. Like, panicking. This was when I decided to lend a helping hand and yank them out of the mosh pit, because they were that badly freaked out.

2. They turn into lesbians. A good view is had by all.

3. They maul other girls and use em as poles for poledancing routines. Again, a good view is had by all.

4. They do stupid stunts and/or act like desperately in need of sex. This happened to me on New Year's, when this blonde girl grabs my head and starts making out with me. I managed to beat her back (figuratively). One girl kissed my friend's head at the ACF. Another one started stripping (as in, truly bottomless). I very VERY quickly turned around, because she wasn't all that to look at (as a very generous comment), and because of the "HOLY CRAP WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING??" factor. She also was drunk, or actually mentally handicapped.

Side note 3: Stupid people suck. A lot. Throwing shoes at the lead singer is a great way to show love, ain't it? Especially when that love is reciprocated with a threat to up and leave. Then we can REALLY feel the love tonight, eh? Stupid lame-ass retards.

Side note 4: Pot is bad. Don't do it. Second-hand pot in large amounts WILL get you unwillingly stoned. Couple that with beer and cider and you're a candidate for a good hangover.

My second item is beer. Hoegaarden rocks. That is all.
Seriously, as a wannabe beer snob, if there ain't no good beer, don't drink the beer. Drink the alternative. Even if the alternative is some fruity-ass drink that only a girl, or a flamboyantly gay/effeminate guy would dare to drink.

Third Item: Wrong Exam Times suck. Almost like getting screwed in the wrong hole (I'm straiight, so there wouldn't really be an entry point anyways).

So I got my exam times wrong. Instead of spposedly being on the 11th and 18th, they're actually on the 11th and 12th. One exam I think I can blow by easily and get at least a decent mark. The other one, the one on the 11th... well... If I pass, it'll be a frickign miracle. Seriously. This test is gonna be hard. The material is hard. I am so screwed.

Fourth Item: Mr. T rocks even more now. Before, his stint on the A-Team was cool enough, now... check this link out:
Link here

Click the link on the first post, and read the rest of the posts. Absolute Comedy Gold. Mr. T, we love you. You and your too-short camo shorts. You and your non-singing chanting. The MILFs. Ah yes, the 80s suck even more now. The department store ads were bad enough.

Sleep Deprivation, Closet (BD)S&M Habits, and Essays

2005-04-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

So.. after a week's worth of force-writing, brainstorming, literate hackery, and much more thigns, I finally have finished not only a 15-page social science research proposal (excluding appendices and bibliography, I also revised my Bipartisanship paper. Goes to show how much willpower I have, and although none of you may know this, that willpower was dredged up from the deepest reaches of my soul. In the end? Finished on time, but I'm suffering from sleep deprivation now. I have now logged >40 hours without sleep. The reward? I'm frickigjn done. Until May. I do not wish to be reminded of this, so shut up peoples if you don't want a good curbstomping.

As promised, I have posted the Bipartisanship paper, and as a bonus, the proposal is also now online. DO NOT FRICKING PLAGIARIZE. DO NOT FRICKING USE SENTENCES. YOU, Mr. Jackass Thief, will be the one that will suffer; not me. No, I do not have to intervene for a metaphysical curbstomping to occur. Your prof will gladly do so on my behalf.

Without further ado, here they are.
1. How Language Can Encourage Extreme Bipartisanship - Don't mind the actual title, or the Draft part.

2. Proposal For Research Regarding The Effect of Media Portrayal of Religion In Media on People - This one is a real monster, and a hard read to boot. Not your standard paper format, so Arts students may find this a challenge at first.

So, enjoy. Have fun. Criticize if you want, for all the good that will do (they've been handed in).

An Inkling; nay, a grain of a plan on what is planned ahead

2005-04-03T23:10:00.000-07:00

*gasp* yet another post`by me... this has GOT to be the highest post/month ratio, ever! I'm just giving you guys that care about me a picture of what I plan to write about. Spring break (~1.5 weeks! hooah!) is close, and with that comes free time. As such, without further ado, I present to you a plan.

1. Stuff about love, but it ain't the stuff you might expect.
2. More Church stuff. Institutional and otherwise.
3. A certain problem often mistaken for love, and the problems it causes.
4. Fear. Yes, folks, fear is fun. Once again, expectations might be ruined.
5. Language and Bipartisanship - a paper I wrote a while back, but now revised and re-edited. Possibly the first and last political thing I'll do. Policy may change without notice.

And there you have it. If you don't see my posts by May 15th-ish, you're welcome to kick me and get me to start working.

Anyways, back to my cave for papers. Isn't school fun?

So.. My English Sucks.

2005-03-28T16:19:00.000-08:00

Dammit, my English sucks! 92, 100, 100, 76 ain't good at all! Curse those stupid elementary school teachers for slacking off! I be a redneck now, y'all. Whut 'n tarnation is that them universitee folks a-teachin' me?? DEY TRRK ERRR JRRRRBS!!!

English Genius
You scored 92% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 76% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even I
can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon
intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You
have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly!
Way to go!

Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it!

For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 38% on Beginner
You scored higher than 74% on Intermediate
You scored higher than 89% on Advanced
You scored higher than 70% on Expert

Link: The Commonly Confused Words Test written by shortredhead78 on Ok Cupid

By the way, the chick is cute.

The Interview Game, for Me!!

2005-03-05T12:45:00.000-08:00

So... I went to The Grace Pages and played the Interview Game. It's where the guy asks me 5 questions and I answer them. Yay! Sooo..... without further ado, here they are.

1. You have only twenty-four hours to give a visiting friend the Vancouver experience. How do you spend the day?

I'd take them out to coffee first thing in the morning. Nothing like a good coffee to start the day, in a more public place. Most independent stores have decent coffee. Then I'd take them to Gastown, Hastings, Chinatown, the various university campuses, and the 'burbs. This would all be on bicycles and public transit, since I don't drive and I assume the other party cannot do so either. Unfortunately, Vancouver does not have many real tourist attractions (non-touristy places). I say Hastings becxuse that's where many druggies, prostitutes, and "seedy" people are. The government can easily give you the bright side. I'll provide the dark. The 'burbs emphasize how much cities all look alike, in the end. I'd also probably take them to Richmond-Beta (the Asian one) to show how people are able to grow their own culture within another predominant one. This shows the good and bad of multiculturalism (which I'm hesitant to gush all over). I'm not a good official tour guide, I guess.

2. I believe God meets people in all kinds of ways. How does God communicate with you?

Insights. Thoughts. I get these sometimes, and I don't feel that the thoughts come from me. So.. I guess they're from God (or someone else, depending on the thought). A hard thing to prove, of course, since I don't know how (sub)consciousness works. God can also use people to show me the way. People are important. People have opinions. God can use scriptures and my own interpretation of them to speak to me. I may read something and interpret it in a way that may not be interpreted the same way by others. Finally, God sometimes uses that small voice to speak to me, so it seems that I can audibly hear Him. This is rare, but it happens.

3. Which Star Wars character are you, and why?

I’d be Chewie. He’s big, he’s hairy, he’s naked, and he sounds like he’s constantly moaning. Just like me. Minus the hairy, naked and big part. And nobody gives a crap about the guy. Seriously. Chewie, fix the discombobulator. Chewie, get out of the way. Poor guy. All he did was try to help Han. I’ll bet you Chewie’s the smartest of them all! That arrogant broad Leia, that prick Han, that whiny nancy-boy Luke, and those two sexually-indeterminate droids don’t stand a chance. Just like Chewie, I’ll dole out the comeuppance someday!

As an addendum:
This comic will give the ultimate power.

Greatest SW comic with wookies ever.

4. Describe the last time you cried.

Last time I cried was when I left summer camp for the very last time 3 years ago. Yes. Amazing. I seriously get really emotional when I leave summer camp, and that year was the last time I could do that. I bawled at that time. I sobbed. I must say, when I cry, it’s pretty spectacular in a quiet way. Looking back on it, I guess I was saddened that I had to leave a place where I was away from family and friends and school and pretty much all the cares of life.. No one really knew me at camp, and I could do pretty much that wasn’t against the scant rules they set up, or against the law. I guess it’s the feeling/illusion of freedom that I didn’t want to leave. It’s also the feeling of being a kid again, just fooling around, that I loved. Embarrassing yourself was the name of the game. The people at camp were pretty unspectacular, but the experience was awesome.

5. If you could relive one day from your life so far, which would it be, and why?

I don’t know. I don’t want to relive any day of my life. I’d be horrified with the possibility of re-experiencing my stress about the future (OMG I HAVE EXAMS IN 2 DAYS/3 MONTHS/5 YEARS!!). I guess I’d have to pick … August 3rd, 1985, since that’s a random date and one that I cannot remember. If that is too far back or if it is considered cheating, too bad. Each day has its defeats and victories. I guess I’d rather not re-experience any of them.

You can play too. I'm not good at asking questions, so I'll link you to The Grace Pages and you can figure it out on your own.

God, Part II

2005-02-27T16:21:00.000-08:00

Yeah... I know.. a blatant ripoff of U2 song titles. Hey, the RIAA can kiss my butt! So anyways, Dave Robinson of Fraserview Church has made me realize that I'm not the only one feeling ambiguous about faith. This, of course, happened only after the non-causal relationship of a snowball finally flying through hell, and me emailing him and Dan, my pastor.

And there I was, all alone, thinking I was the only one... yeah.. it kinda makes me feel bad that there are others feeling the same thing, because I still believe that I can do better. I also feel bad about the way I was feeling because I thought I was the only one (I think I was being selfish with my feelings, in other words). Essentially, I agree with both Dan’s sermon and Dave’s email. One of Dan’s points about spiritual growth was about suffering, and how it helps us grow a lot.

Suffering in this case would be the problem with the fact that God and I haven’t been connecting. I’ve finally gotten around to asking the question of “Where are you, God?” No direct response, but I suspect He’s still around somewhere, but not directly intervening yet. This is due to a few insights I’ve gotten when calling out to God, and asking Him where He is. So, I guess He’s still there. These insights will be part of later posts.

Why am I not doing more to find God? I don’t know. I think God wants me to be alone from Him for a while, just to make me realize that without Him, things can get awful. I’ve been missing God (like… when someone misses a person when he/she is gone for a while). You can wonder why I’m not seeking God via the Holy Spirit, and all its manifestations as well. You see, I’m not into the Pentecostal thing of Spirit healings, tongues, etc. I’m not saying any of these things are bad, and in fact, I believe these are all cool things. Tongues is cool, since you’re speaking to God in a language that only you and God understand. Spirit healings are flippin’ cool because that’s God in action. How much cooler can it get?

However, I believe that we are living in a world that, for most of the time, forgets that there ever was a God, and once we’re out of the Pentecostal/Charismatic services, we’re in a desert-world. My friend calls this the “mundane” and I think it’s a pretty good descriptor of what the world is like: a mundane place. Most people get freaked out when they see some Christian babbling in tongues, or see TV preachers laying hands on people and having people get knocked down. It used to freak me out too. Therefore, I chose to live in the mundane world as well, seeing that it might help me connect with God in a way that non-believers, or people that are just curious as to what we’re about, can accept more easily (not that faith is an easy thing to do).

So far.. I’m pretty sure God’s out there, and I’m sure He’s still watching my six, and working in the background without informing me. Thanks, God, and I guess I have to look harder for You.

For Kevin ONLY

2005-02-03T16:11:00.000-08:00

*NOTE*
This is a temporary writing pad because Kevin cannot use Notepad, Word, or whatever else to keep notes.

SA 255 Q 3-4

1. Lugo, Luis E., ed., Religion, Public Life, and the American Polity. Knoxville: U. Tenessee Press, 1993.

2. Prentiss, Craig R., ed., Religion And The Creation of Race and Ethnicity: An Introduction. New York: NYU Press, 2003

3. McMurrin, Sterling M. Religion And Truth: Historical Essays in The Philosophy of Religion. SLC: U. of Utah, 1982

4. Wilcox, Melissa M., Of Markets and Missions: The Early History of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. Religion & American Culture. 11 (1)m(2001): p. 83, 83-109.

5. Weigel, George. Christian Conviction & Democratic Etiquette. First Things. 41, (1994). 28-35.

A Real Live Preacher, Faith, and Skepticism

2004-11-20T03:08:00.000-08:00

I came across this site recently and it struck me as an amazingly well-thought out, well written, deeply-rooted blog about Christianity. It never gives me a bad tingly feeling that some skeptic blogs do, but there's a healthy dose of skepticism in there to make me think.

Now, I'm not good at being skeptic, however. In my darkest nights, faith is still present. Present being the key word. I ask myself now, what kind of faith are we talking about? Am I truly faithful to God? Am I truly faithful to what He has done and said?

Now: This is not a "is there a God" type post. I've never doubted God's existence for longer than a few minutes at a time. Har har har. Funny. The mediocrity of that is quite disgusting, but it's truer than some people think. The utter thought of me sayign that would have made me puke a few months back. Yet, here I am, saying it.

What's going on? Why am I questioning my own faith? I'm not questioning God. I'm questioning myself.

Is the belief/knowledge of the existence of God the most important thing? Or is the faithfuil adherence to a Christian life more important? Or are they equals? Or have I gotten everything messed up and I don't know what the hell I'm saying?

To tell the truth, I've been wandering away from God's hand for the last few months. I know that God exists, I know that He's there, but I'm not really thinking, feeling, and in short, showing a piss-poor epidermical-level type of faith. A skin-deep kind. Is this the type of faith the Bible wants? Obviously not, or else why would I be even asking questions? But where are the answers? What must I do? Frankly, I suck at praying consistently. I've tried it for years. Yet, each time I end up forgetting.

I don't know. I don't have any answers. *sigh*. Don't you hate it when you don't know shit, and you can't do shit either?

2004-11-10T21:46:00.000-08:00

So.. According to some website, I'm a GNOMISH RANGER with SECONDARY WARRIOR skills. Cool. Fits too! Yay!
I Am A: Chaotic Good GnomeRanger Fighter

Alignment:
Chaotic Good characters are independent types with a strong belief in the value of goodness. They have little use for governments and other forces of order, and will generally do their own things, without heed to such groups.

Race:
Gnomes are also short, like dwarves, but much skinnier. They have no beards, and are very inclined towards technology, although they have been known to dabble in magic, too. They tend to be fun-loving and fond of jokes and humor. Some gnomes live underground, and some live in cities and villages. They are very tolerant of other races, and are generally well-liked, though occasionally considered frivolous.

Primary Class:
Rangers are the defenders of nature and the elements. They are in tune with the Earth, and work to keep it safe and healthy.

Secondary Class:
Fighters are the warriors. They use weapons to accomplish their goals. This isn't to say that they aren't intelligent, but that they do, in fact, believe that violence is frequently the answer.

Deity:
Baervan Wildwanderer is the Neutral Good gnomish god of forests, travel, and nature. He is also known as the Masked Leaf. His avatar is always accompanied by an intelligent, giant raccoon, named Chiktikka Fastpaws. His followers, like him, enjoy the outdoors and work to protect it and guard those who also enjoy it. Their preferred weapon is the halfspear.

Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy ofNeppyMan (e-mail)

Manners, Authority, and Respect

2004-10-22T22:20:00.000-07:00

I've recently come across this-here thread regarding manners and why a lot of people lack them. This is a generalization of course, but I find it to be more factual in the States. Canada (Canadians in general) is still a bit better off, although the lack of manners is increading. I was thinking about what could cause this. Is this, as one poster from the thread states, a direct confrontation towards PC-ness? Or is this a general "zeitgeist" that allows people to piss each other off? This quote sums up this kind of thinking:

“…[T]he Golden Rule has turned into The Golden Possibility That I May Be Respectful To You If It Doesn't In Any Way Inconvenience Me or Make Me Less of a Beautiful Butterfly.” Another quote sums up another facet of manner-less behaviour: “Well, that just the way I am and you have to deal with it.”

Is there a deeper cause to this? In my opinion, yes, there can be, especially in light of the second quote.

Personally, I believe that a lack of manners is a symptom. I believe that the cause lies within a general lack respect for authority (aka gradual anarchy). To push it further, a general lack of respect for fellow humans, period. Now, I'm not saying that we should not question authority. We should and must do so, especially when human authority is involved (because of human imperfection). What I am saying is that if we don’t respect it in that we acknowledge Authority’s role in our lives, how will we know what to do when we don’t have stuff figured out? Manners tie into this because we are lacking respect towards other people, but without some Authority to chain it to, we can do damn-all we want and get away with “well, that’s what I believe, so screw you.”

Discuss?

The Unknown, Fear, God, and ID4/Alien/Aliens/Other-Sci-Fi-Movies

2004-09-01T19:08:00.000-07:00

"Humans tend to fear that which they do not understand, and destroy that which they fear." I found this quote while, browsing the HiveMind at Arstechnica again. It was on some dude's tribus, and it really hit me. Quick Backgrounder: Over the last few years, I've often pondered about the nature of the God I believe in. Now, the Bible states that God is of many natures (from which some people extrapolate and say that the Bible actually mentions several Gods, a thinking which IMO is flawed, as the Bible clearly states that God is One). Sometimes He is wrathful (Sodom & Gomorrah, Egypt, Eden, etc.), sometimes He is forgiving and loving (Jesus, Abraham, Noah, etc.), and sometimes, the Bible gives an awe-inspiring view of God (miracles, Jacob vs. God: FIGHT!!, Job, etc.). To summarize, there are examples of God's nature throughout the Bible, each one different and reflective of a different aspect. What I am not saying is that everything is God, or that God has many incarnations (Hindu beliefs), or that all gods are God (New-agey beliefs, ie. Allah, Vishnu, Brahma, Ameratsu are all God). Yet, God seems to be completely separate at times and seems plural.

Now, for the quote. As much as we try to understand God, our thinking is just too limited for a complete understanding that only God can attain. This seems like a deus ex machina scenario, but somehow, it's the only one that I accept and am able to live with, ATM. The thing is, I'm fairly intellectual at times, so I'm supposed to not be able to sit well with such an argument. Makes this kinda contradictive, eh? The quote first states that we fear what we do not know. To put it into the context of the story, it's something like, "because we cannot fully understand God, we fear God." Fair enough I suppose. We fear God. But the quote has a second part. We destroy what we fear. The Bible says something about fear of God being a good thing. Is this fear the same fear as the one we think of when we face off with a cougar, or getting jitters before we do something incredible/incredibly stupid? I don’t think so. The fear that’s talked about in the Bible has a sense of respect, IMO. Or else who would dare say no to God? Who would dare question God? Plenty of people have done so.

Now, this type of fear-respect does not apply to everyone. Some people do not understand God, and not necessarily fear him as if He were some kind of monster, but fear him because they simply cannot wrap their heads around Him or His nature. Thus, some people may seek to destroy God. This also has been attempted before. We are still doing it, but through science and logic, two things God already gave us. The “theory” of evolution, the “Big Bang” theory, and such are examples of how humans try to understand Creation, and at the same time try to supplant God with something perceived to be self-running.

In short, because we fear God, we also try to understand God. However, since God cannot be fully understood by anyone, we try to destroy Him because we fear Him. We fear that somehow, we may get supplanted. How the hell does this tie in with Aliens and other sci-fi movies/books?

In many movies and books, aliens are portrayed as biologically superior, and possibly technologically superior. Humans are portrayed as biologically weak, but “tenacious” is often the word used when describing humans. We destroy what we perceive to be superior just because of their existence and because of some inherent flaw in their way of operating. We may not think that what we are doing is wrong. Just food for thought, y’know. This ties in with our attitude towards God. God is so much more than us it’s impossible for us to fathom Him. And thus, we will try to destroy what is superior to us because of fear.

Tune in next week, same Pie channel, same Pie TIME!!!

On Religiosity & Legalism

2004-08-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

So.. I was browsing through the Soap Box at the Arstechnica Openforum when I turned onto this thread. In the thread, it discusses the story about how some girl was denied Communion (a VERY big deal with Catholics) because she could not eat gluten-based products (wheat, essentially). Communion bread, apparently, MUST be made out of wheat.

This strikes me as incredibly hypocritical of what the Church (as defined by the Nicene Creed) is about.
1. Where does it say in the Bible that bread is made out of wheat? Israel used barley as well as wheat for bread.
2. The interesting thing is, the Roman Catholic Church (as defined by the pope and its traditons) allows an exception by saying that the girl was allowed to drink wine ONLY and not have to eat the bread. She isn't the first gluten-intolerant person to be in the Catholic Church.

The most interesting thing is, the story says that wine can be drunk without bread and it's A-OK, but then it states that gluten-based foods must be eaten as well. Can you say contradiction?

Anyways, it's unknown whether or not the mother made a big deal out of something that wasn't a big deal, or if the parish/diocese forgot about the exception. In my mind, the parish made a mistake.

My contention is that the Church is a bloated object, while not malevolent as its portrayed to be by the media and academia alike, should really sit back and re-examine itself. Some denominations do this better than others, and even within denominations, some churches are better than others at following what really matters. It really makes the concept of "organized religion" seem like a joke. Legalism, unfortunately, is too easy not to avoid.

Of Charity and The Christian Outlook

2004-08-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

OK.. So we all know that a Christian ought to show compassion to the poor. And we know that many people either don't, or do this in a poor fashion.

OK... today, this poor dude walks up to me and my co-worker after we get off work, and starts begging us for $31. My co-worker gives him some money, listens to his plight, and drives away. I cannot do so, as I have to walk one block to the bus stop.

He talks to me, and to make it brief, essentially he had an operation in the past and the doctors FUBAR'd his back, and his foot. He claimed to be a fellow Christian, talked the talk, and seemed to walk the walk (ie. prayer). I emphasize SEEMED TO.

Now, I felt sorry for the dude, and ended up giving him all my coinage, but was adamant against giving him the contents of my wallet (coins weren't in my wallet). This dude claimed he did no drugs, or drank alcohol.

Now, I listened, and I talked in a fairly genuine way. My questions are:

How do you know whether a panhandler is lying? How would you treat someone like that? Would/could you act sympathetic, or would/couldx you actually be sympathetic? Or would you not be sympathetic at all? Is it a situational basis, where the person may tug at you, or is it random, or is it ALL cases?

To me, I'm leaning towards having a random thing, where some panhandlers may tug at me more than others, and some just don 't affect me whatsoever. I may not feel any sympathy at times, and I may feel an overwhelming sense at times (this is not just limited to panhandlers but also people less advantaged than me). As for the lying issue, I honestly cannot tell, and I tend to assume truth, unless there is something obviously "wrong" about someone (ie. seeing a rolex or watching the person drive away in a car is a sign).

On a larger scale, can a Christian be a Christian just because he or she says they are Christian? Same idea as the above, I suppose. However, this, to me, has larger consequences than being charitable to a phony. I believe in a "spiritual dimension" that is at war, and I believe that there are forces whiuch will want to lead us astray. Now, I'm not pushing the responsibility of human sin on Satan, but I am saying that those forces act like catalysts and inhibitors (damn Chem 12, still in my head after 2 years). The Crusades certainly proved that Christians are not always Christians, and the God Hates Fags site is just as bad. The panhandler claimed he was Christian, and I could not ascertain anything beyond his claim.

Third related topic

Welfare: what is its goals? Why does it STILL allow homeless people to exist? Shouldn't it cover the basic CoL?

Personally, I'm pro-welfare in general. I've benefitted from government programs before, and may still do in the coming years. I'm happy to pay x amount of taxes so that other people can benefit in their own way (hey, not everyone has cerebral palsy *wink*). If someone with a broken leg gets a room because $1 of my tax money went to that hospital, I'm happy. Same with welfare.

BUT: What the hell do people think they're doing, exploiting each other? People exploit the system, the system screws the people. It's sickening at times. I dunno. Complicated issue.

Discuss.

EDIT!!!:

The guy somehow knew I was Christian, but I never said a word about my beliefs. And I don't wear anything that marks me as Christian either. No WWJD bracelet, no cross chain, zilch.

Weird.....

Hi! I'm Pie!

2004-08-17T15:03:00.000-07:00

So... new blog for me. I want to see how this goes, and see what's up with this. I usually post crap on Arstechnica Forums, so .. starting a discussion is new.

Anyhoo: I'll get back to you once I'm off work and stuff. Don't expect frequent updates for now, until probably September or so.