UnluckyClover57's Xanga

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 18:48:29 GMT

beatus vir qui non abiit in consilio impiorum et in via peccatorum non stetit in cathedra derisorum non sedit sed in lege Domini voluntas eius et in lege eius meditabitur die ac nocte

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Tue, 29 Aug 2006 12:55:18 GMT

"This kind of individual certainty as to God's tastes and opinions cannot, however, be made the basis of any institution. That has always been the difficulty with which Protestantism has had to contend: a new prophet could maintain that his revelation was more authentic than those of his predecessors, and there was nothing in the general outlook of Protestantism to show that this claim was invalid. Consequently Protestantism split into innumberable sects, which weakened one another; and there is a reason to suppose that a hundred yeras hence Catholicism will be the only effective representation of the Christian faith."

-Bertran Russell, atheist philosopher, Why I Am Not A Christian

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Tue, 15 Aug 2006 05:50:16 GMT

*Our understanding of karma is that which may be called inertia. Those actions which are put into motion will continue. The stoppage of the inertia of action may be called forgiveness.* RA

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 03:05:42 GMT

101,453 people die from smoking-related respiratory diseases each year.

137,979 people die from smoking-related cardiovascular diseases each year.

During 1997-2001, smoking-attributable health care costs and producitivity losses exceeded $167 billion per year.

***

Thank goodness for a concerned girlfriend.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 23:30:16 GMT

So, propoganda is fun, right kids?

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 08:53:32 GMT

I found three good Soren Kierkegaard quotes...

If I did not know that I am a genuine Dane, I could almost be tempted to explain my self-contradictions by supposing that I am an Irishman. For the Irish do not have the heart to immerse their children totally when they have them baptized; they want to keep a little paganism in reserve; generally the child is totally immersed under water but with the right arm free, so that he will be able to wield a sword with it, embrace the girls.

***

Just as in earthly life lovers long for the moment when they are able to breathe forth their love for each other, to let their souls blend in a soft whisper, so the mystic longs for the moment when in prayer he can, as it were, creep into God.

***

It is the duty of the human understanding to understand that there are things which it cannot understand, and what those things are. Human understanding has vulgarly occupied itself with nothing but understanding, but if it would only take the trouble to understand itself at the same time it would simply have to posit the paradox.

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Sun, 30 Jul 2006 13:35:39 GMT

"If God does not exist, everything is permitted."
- Ivan Karamazov of Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov

Monday, July 24, 2006

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 06:45:38 GMT

The depths of human depravity and selfishness are amazing,
Made manifest in my own existence by the cooling of love,
I look up for my salvation,
Guardian angel take pity on me,
How far I have fallen.

Human intellect is no saviour,
Human will shut off from grace too weak,
Human lust never having its fill,
Can I become consumed by self-forgetfulness,
To find my salvation in organic love.

I am the soldier who pierced your side,
When the thunder cries for her Master,
I am the one trembling,
Falling to my knees,
I look to the sky.

Soon it will be falling....

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Thu, 06 Jul 2006 22:22:54 GMT

I would post a comment or two about the "emergent church movement" headed by people such as Rob Bell and Donald Miller.... but I think this Buddhist review of Velvit Elvis (by Pastor Rob Bell, of Mars Hill Church which claims 10,000 members) is sufficient for my purposes.

A Buddhist's Opinion, July 27, 2005

Reviewer:

Grasshopper (Michigan) - See all my reviews

I'm a Buddhist. I've read many Christian books. I have many Christian friends. I'm familiar with Christian theology. I have a higher degree and I consider myself to be a fairly intelligent person.

So when I look at these debates about Rob Bell's book Velvet Elvis, I can't help but laugh. And I'll tell you why.

I've read the book. Cover to cover. Twice. (A friend gave it to me to read. So I did.)

Here's what I've concluded: I can't find any correlation between the content of the book and the rave reviews written by those who claim to have read it. Velvet Elvis contains enough inconsistencies of logic and violations of orthodox Christian theology to raise the hairs on the back of any well-read and deep-thinking Christian's neck.

And what makes it worse are the rave reviews that defend the book and attack those who have issues with it. (I love the review from the flight attendant who called those who disagree with Rob's book "idiots." If that doesn't cause people to think twice about those who support Rob Bell I don't know what would.)

Now, before you write another review saying that I should "examine my motives," I can tell you this much: the book didn't make me "uncomfortable" (to use the last reviewer's word). It actually made me laugh. I thought to myself, "If that's what's passing for Christian theology these days then it's no wonder Buddhism has become one of the fastest growing religions (next to Wicca) on the planet!" I can also see very clearly why so many Christians flee the church. There's no substance to Rob Bell's book! It's all about Rob Bell! It's pure experiential fluff. It's a feel-good book that doesn't address any of the issues of life head-on. It cleverly side-steps them and pretends they don't exist. It's a smokescreen, people! Can't you see that? Rob's metaphor about the Velvet Elvis is a metaphor for the inconsequence of the book itself! The book IS a Velvet Elvis -- completely throw-away and lacking value.

All the other reviewers who noted that (using different words, of course) are right. Anybody who reads the book objectively can see that!

Incidentally, I don't understand the word "uncomfortable" in the context in which the last reviewer used it. It's as if he was trying to say if Rob Bell's book made me "uncomfortable" then it must be hitting home. Like I must be repressing something and Rob's book cracked me open like a walnut. How goofy. Mass murderers makes me "uncomfortable." Road rage makes me "uncomfortable." Sky-high gas prices make me "uncomfortable." Being "uncomfortable" is not a prima facie admission that something hit home. To be honest, these rave reviews made me "uncomfortable."

I don't think those who raved about the book and give it a four or five star review are actually reading the book objectively. And I can definitely see they're not reading the one star reviews at all. Not one single person who wrote a rave review has bothered to answer the extremely well worded review written by the "Long time Christian and marketing communications professional." Nor some of the other reviews that examine the book in detail, point by point.

What those who worship Rob Bell do is use ad hominem rhetoric in a feeble attempt to dodge the issues and divert the course of the debate to another area. Check it out. It's obvious what the reviewers have tried to do. Since they can't seem to address the points raised by the majority of the one star reviewers, they attaack the reviewer and discuss other issues or raise other questions.

By the way, DJBIS, Zondervan didn't design the cover of Velvet Elvis. Or the inside. Rob Bell says so himself in the credits of his book. Read it, man. Actually READ what the book says. It's all there in gray and white (and orange). The title page says, "Interior design by Flannel." The back cover says, "Cover design by Flannel." Flannel isn't Zondervan. So Zondervan isn't responsible for the design of this book.

What's beginning to make me the most "uncomfortable" is that I'm not reading intelligent debates about this book. I'm reading people who have read the book deeply (not taking anything out of context as DJBIS tried to insinuate) and have raised very serious, very intelligent questions about the book's content and possible ramifications for those who follow it's logic. NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON HAS ADDRESSED THOSE QUESTIONS! Why? Why can't someone who raves about this book answer a few clearly-written questions? The answer, as you might already expect, is obvious. Because those who rave about this book CAN'T answer the questions. So they restate the issues and attack the one who asks.

I know enough about Christianity to know this: It claims to be the one true religion. It claims Jesus Christ is the son of God. Rob Bell seems to hate such hard-and-fast claims. He calls them "bricks" and he says those who hold such objective claims "build walls" and are part of "brickianity."

Don't you Christians see what's going on here?!?!?! Can't you step back and see what's happening? If you hold ANY of your tenets near and dear to your heart you should be running as fast as you can from Rob Bell. He's tearing them down. Cleverly. Cutely. With plenty of cool. But he's shredding the very foundation of Christianity.

And you're raving about that? You're thinking that's a great thing?

I became a Buddhist for this very reason. I told myself that there's no way Christianity could be true because its foundational support structure was being chipped away more and more, year after year. And those doing the chipping were Christians like Rob Bell!

Christianity has become one of the most shallow, emotional religions on the face of the earth. It has lost its power and awe. Not because Christians are no longer "cool" like the flight attendents are saying; but because they don't seem to stand for anything any more. They follow charismatic leaders. They fall for the latest fads. They seek emotional highs and avoid the tough times in the lows.

Sadly, Rob Bell's book might sell a zillion copies. Why? Because it is perfect for the times you Christians live in. It feeds your self-centered souls. It provides yet another charismatic leader for you to follow. It, basically, tells you to believe whatever you want just so you can get along with everyone, not rock the boat. Be full of love, the book says. Share the love. Feel it.

Right.

Buddhism isn't like this. You don't find schisms and inconsistencies of logic. You don't find people dashing off here or there to follow the next charistmatic leader. The Dalai Lama is very cool, indeed. But I don't know a single Buddhist who follows him just because he's cool and popular. Buddhism is all about logic. And facing one's inner demons. And accepting reality for what it is.

I can tell you this: Rob Bell's book seems to have more in common with my religion than it does yours. (Especially the great part about being environmentally wise. We're all about hugging trees.) Velvet Elvis seems to have no objective standards. It stands for nothing. It breaks down barriers and walls. It unites religions by diluting the Christian one.

Man, I feel sorry for you people. You're going to let a book like Rob Bell's be considered "cool" and "fresh" and "creative" and "new"...and you're going to lose everything that your religion has stood for over the past two thousand years.

I'll continue to read these debates. But I'm not going to be swayed in my opinion until someone can answer at least a few of the questions raised by "Long time" or the others who obviously took the time and cared enough about the subject matter to write at such length and with such attention to detail. Their reviews merit reviews in-kind. They don't deserve such ridicule and contempt from people who have obviously put their emotions ahead of their minds. (Which is another reason why Buddhism is so appealling to so many people. In Buddhism, the mind takes precedence over the emotions. It's how we Buddhists can keep ourselves in check when others fly off the handle so easily.)

My advice to you Christians who praise this book and its author, Rob Bell? Take a few steps back. Really examine what Rob Bell has written. Then compare it to orthodox Christianity. If you really and truly are ready to pitch everything that has gone before in favor of the flavor of the week, go ahead. But at least be honest with yourselves about it.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Sun, 04 Jun 2006 17:54:59 GMT

Liturgy was good today. I rode my bike and arrived just a few minutes into orthros. The catholicity of my parish began to be existentially evident as the chanting, prayers, and the reading of the Gospel brought us out of chronos and into kairos. Chronos is the Greek word for the time that we measure by the clock and calender. It is quantitative and sequential. Kairos, on the other hand, is God's time. It is where the eternal meets the temporal, it is where heaven and earth join.
It is in the divine liturgy that the saints on earth join the saints in heaven in intimate prayer and worship with the Trinity, culminated in the reading of the Gospel and in the receiving of the Holy Mysteries.
In the Gospel, we hear the words of Christ spoken to us as they were spoken to the apostles two millenia ago, and our hearts cry out speak Lord, thy servants are listening (1 Samuel 3:10). The word of God is read aloud for the edification of all, and it is water to our dry and thirsty spirits (Romans 14:19, 2 Timothy 3:16, Amos 8:11).
It is in the eucharist that the Transcendent One again reaches out to us in Incarnate form, where we the Church get to empirically taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8). For we do believe and do confess that the cup of blessing which we bless, it is the communion of the blood of Christ, and the bread which we break is the communion of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 10:16). This communion is for the forgiveness of sin, and the healing of soul and body. It is an intimate mystery where we are sacramentally joined to God.
The deepest desire of man is to know his God intimately, and to see Him face to face. We were created to be in communion with God, and it is misery to our souls to be apart from Him. The sin of Adam has brought upon us all a fallen nature, but it is in the safety of the Church that God provides healing. It is there that He gives us the medicine of immortality, and begins to restore the likeness of Christ in us.
Christianity is not a solo exercise, but rather it is a communal faith. Every Sunday we confess "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church" and the "communion of the saints." These are not mere abstract concepts, but they are truths. So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another (Romans 12:5). Anyone who says they do not need the Church is deluding themselves! St. Paul is clear, For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12).
To love God is to also love our fellow man, and we cannot have one without the other. When we love the Church, we are loving Christ, for the Church is His body. Sunday liturgy is a beautiful thing, and how I wish I could find words eloquent enough to express how wonderful it is! All over the world, the body of Christ comes together to recite the same creed and to drink of the same cup. What a day for joy and celebration!

On a side note, today we celebrated the Council of Nicea! I won't even get into the Arian controversy or modern groups who hold to Arian views while masquerading as Christians. Instead, I offer this icon in celebration.