Friday, November 10, 2006

So long sweet 148.

It's a sad sad sad sad melancholy day.  I closed the door to apartment 148 at 5151 Richmond for the last time this morning, and I have to admit that a (very masculine J) drip or two fell upon the threshold.


I know that it might seem a bit fruity for a dude to be so sentimental over something so inane as an apartment, but that superb apartment represents one of the best periods of my life. So much has happened during the past four years: the best jobs of my life, the beginning of my favorite hobby: dancing; which led to many things like rekindling my relationship with our Lord, and, most notably, I met some extraordinary people.


One in particular was very special and letting the memories of her slip into oblivion isn't something I want to do.  Leaving a place allows you an opportunity to, for a fleeting moment, relive those memories in extraordinary detail, but once you are out of the vicinity of the reminders, the memories fade away.  And it's sad.  You lose a part of yourself.


But such is life.  One must move on.  New chapters must be written.  New scenes played out.  New experiences lived.  New friends made. New goals accomplished. I will do my best to hold onto the memories made during these last four years, but I must also welcome the opportunities for new memories, so it's time to make room.  I only pray that the memories made during these next years will be as fantastic as the memories made during the last.

 

Praise God for everything He has done and continues to do for me and the people that I love.  I don't deserve His blessings.  I'm so happy that He continues to smile in my direction.

I Love You God.  Thank you soo much. MWHA

Monday, November 6, 2006

I have defined morality.

Well, I did it. For thousands of years man has searched for the meaning of morality. Well you all can stop looking. I found it. LOL

Morality is that which maximizes the sum total of free will in the world.
Not at any given time, but over the lifetime of the world.

The goal for morality is to allow maximum free will, both from within ourselves and from without. It’s important to consider everything though. You can’t just look at the immediate level of free will. A judgement call must be made. When calculating the free-will, one must consider the entire lifespan of each choice in the decision, all of its consequences, and the decisions that must come from that initial decision.

Making a decision that maximizes free will at the beginning (like taking drugs) can severely limit free will over the long run. I don't even mean getting arrested. I mean if you abuse drugs, it can affect how your brain works. That might not matter to you, but consider the people who will have to take care of you. Their level of free will has been reduced. Even if your handicap due to drug use is minor, say if your memory has been affected, other people will have to pull up the slack to make up for your diminished memory. Your selfish abuse of drugs has caused (over the long run) other people to focus on you when they could be doing other more productive things.

I truly believe that all of life's decisions can be distilled to free will. If you consider the long term affect on the global level of free will, then that should help to make the decision better. When you do make a decision though, always be optimistic. If your loved one is on life support and you are considering taking them off, don't let "the odds" sway you. Odds are contrary to God. Miracles can happen, but not if you don't allow for them. Watch the movie "Creator." Mediocre plot. Bad acting. But it's a sweet gem of a movie and it illustrates the miracle and power of faith and love beautifully. If that movie doesn't make you tear up, you are a robot.

Monday, April 3, 2006

My take on Christianity

(with a grain of salt)

I see a recent trend in Christian beliefs and practices.  Well, there are several new trends, including one that I find increasingly alarming: charismatics.  But the trend that I am recognizing and hoping to encourage and adopt is one that I believe has been at the heart of humanity since the beginning of time, so you can't entirely say that it is new.  But the popularity is new.  At least from my vantage point.  I am very excited that the trend is becoming more popular. There is entirely too little Love in this world.  And that is what the trend is about: Love.  This trend is the healthy way in which people relate to one another.  The last year and a half I have payed special attention to this trend.  And I think it's time I start to write down some of my observations.  I hope to make this ongoing.  So I'm changing the scope of my inaccurately pessimistic and ignored blog to one more focused on my faith and musings on life and how it relates to God and the world.

As I am a work in progress, so too will this be.  If I post a theory one day, I might decide it's crap the next.  So take my thoughts and posts with a grain of salt.  If I offend you, please accept my apologies ahead of time.  I mean no disrespect to anyone.  This is largely personal at the moment so anything I might say is preliminary and should only be taken for a theory.  If what I find encourages and blesses you, please don't be shy.  Pat me on the back.    Let's discuss it.  I'd like to encourage anyone to give me any thoughts or responses you have to the things I ponder.  If what I say discourages you or pisses you off, then please, by all means, be as shy as you want.   I bite.  Hard sometimes.  Just kidding.  Seriously.  If you disagree with something I have said, let me have it. 

My take on the world and Christianity is at odds to this modern world we find ourselves having to live in.  So I am hoping to bring some sense of order to the people that read this.  Everything that I have read or seen or thought about the Bible, Jesus, and how the rules and requests in the Bible relate to human relationships just seems to work!  But think about how the world works and you can quickly see that THAT does NOT work.  The world is becoming increasingly less cooperative and more individualistic.  The world's way just does not work.  It fragments humanity, reduces the need for love and affection, encourages meaningless relationships, weakens us, stagnates us, and essentially destroys the heart of mankind.  And it's bad for our economy. It also seperates us from God.  But the way we are taught to behave according to the Bible just WORKS.  It binds people. It encourages cooperation. It gives us purpose. It heals us. It challenges us and keeps us strong. And with it, we grow. And we grow closer to God. Plus it's better for our economy.

I'm sure that (if you find this interesting) you want me to explain.  Well I hope to elaborate over time.  For now I will begin with a question for you to think about:

If you are alone (say on a deserted island) is it possible for you to sin?  What constitutes sin? Does it require a relationship with other people? Or can you piss God without pissing off someone else?

I will post my answer later on.