food for thought

I saw a bumper sticker on the way to the train last night that read, "Don't delay joy."

"Why would anyone do that?" I thought,

"that's stupid..."

Repugnant Rationale

I believe in evolution. It is undeniable. Things evolve, or adapt. I do not believe that evolution can explain the origin of life, nor can it explain many other phenomena.

What really pisses me off is when an atheist writes off a creationist as unsophisticated and illogical because they have faith in God. What an incredibly ignorant, hypocritical thing to say.

Terminology. This is at the crux of the matter.

Many Christians I know claim they do not believe in evolution, mostly, I believe, because of the many cultural implication that go along with it. So in making this statement, they ‘throw out the baby with the bathwater'. The word evolution conjures up all kinds of separate references that shouldn’t define the word, but do.

The word, faith, is the same.

Richard Dawkins, a marketing genius, spares no words in denouncing anyone with faith. He has positioned himself as the protagonist for Darwin’s theory of natural selection and agnostic origins of life. You probably know who he is, that’s why I’m using him as an example.

Mr. Dawkins casts the aforementioned criticisms toward anyone with a faith in a creator, yet he is certain that, in time, science and the triumph of quantitative processes will prove the reality of things not yet known and statistically impossible. Is it a stretch to say that he has faith; that in time what is now unknown will be known? Does he believe that science will explain the unexplainable in much the same way as I believe God will clarify the same things?

Mr. Dawkins would say that all things are explainable and quantifiable, but if asked to explain them now, I would bet his rhetoric would include something smacking of faith in a later revelation.

Don’t get me wrong, Mr. Dawkins is more than welcome to hold whatever view he would like, as is anyone else, but do so with some dignity! I can respect you believing in whomever or whatever you want, but don’t attack my intellect for exercising the same right. Your theory is foiled by the same criticisms you cast at mine.

I do take this personally. Fact.

My beliefs cannot always be explained and quantified. Fact.

Neither can yours.

“Every man alone is sincere. At the entrance of a second person, hypocrisy begins.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

pics of the day

All pictures taken from:

ffffound.com

shoes

For the past year, I have a pair of boat shoes that I've worn about 5 days a week. They're awesome and comfortable. They can be dressed up or down, to church or the beach. I've gone climbing and running in them. They're great with or without socks, and they just slip on. Unfortunately, with all this wear, they are starting to get holes in the bottoms.
For those who don't know, I live in Seattle now. It rains a lot in Seattle, so the tradeoff to wearing my awesome boat shoes is wet feet.
I have this things about my belt and my shoes matching. I put on a brown belt yesterday, so that meant... brown shoes. It was raining outside as usual and I didn't feel like changing my belt, so it was either wet feet, or dress shoes.
My dress shoes are really nice. They're kindof heavy, nice leather... blah blah blah. They're dry. That's why I chose them.
It's been a while since I've worn 'nice' shoes. I never realized how different they make you feel and act. They're hard to run in. They make me walk funny, and they seem so serious. They were even getting in the way of my end of day ping pong match with Nate.
This story should have been summed up in one statement:
I feel like a retard in dress shoes.

Synergy

God has saved -
you,
me,
us.
We,
you
and I,
are saved!
By faith,
for
works.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Actively Empathize

Empathy doesn't come naturally to everyone. I am one of those people.

When someone is in pain, or has suffered a loss, or has something great happen to them, I can't say that I really feel it. I understand that something 'good' or 'bad' has happened, but I'm not giddy with excitement nor wrought with pain.

These feelings (or lack thereof) are from my interactions with friends and family. I am even more desensitized to intangible disasters or fortunes. Out of sight, out of mind...

Conflict. Not necessarily out of mind, completely. I know that I should feel bad, or be happy for these real events that happen to real people, but it just doesn't come naturally. I want to hurt for them, and to celebrate with them. I do sometimes, but it takes an effort.

I don't believe that my lack of natural empathy is reason not to feel other people's feelings. It is reason to work harder toward understand, to care, to love. Empathy is about sharing. It's about getting out of our own little world, looking past our own interests and concerns, and making an effort to know someone else.

Love is empathetic. Love doesn't invest, love gives.

Actively caring for someone else, and sharing someone else's life is perhaps the most important things we can do. Jesus called it 'being a neighbor'.

Sunny in Seattle

This morning, I woke up to a day enshrouded in a thick fog. It was really hard to get myself out of bed. It seems so impossible sometimes, to get up and start the day when it is so gloomy outside.

Well I did finally get up, a little over an hour after my alarm went off. Every time I get up this late, it’s really a rush to make it to the bus on time, and breakfast is not an option. (Which sucks… I really like breakfast) I end up making it outside a few minutes earlier than I thought.

It’s about a ten-minute walk to the bus, down this big hill I live on. Everything was really wet when I left the apartment, but after a few minutes, I was under the cloud layer in this sort of eerie grey world where all the colors are super saturated. The air was very heavy and very cool, a very typical Seattle morning, as I’m finding out.

The bus came right on time, and dropped me off at the train station about ten minutes ahead of its arrival. Brrr. Probably should have worn a jacket…

Train ride = Bible time. It’s quite convenient. I am forced to sit with no other distractions. Lately I’ve been reading Luke with a renewed sense of purpose.

James (my roommate) preached a couple weeks ago about knowing God. Recognizing Him like you would recognize a friend. For example, I know how Bjorn walks, how he talks, how he laughs, and what kind of things he might say. I could pick him out of a crowd without ever seeing him. I should know God this way too.

So anyway, I’ve been reading Luke, and feel like I’m actually meeting Jesus and discovering His personality. I’m not reading it to discover some amazing truth, but just to know how Jesus acts. It has become a lot more tangible for me this way…

About five minutes out of town, the clouds break all the way to the Olympics to the West and the Cascades to the East. It’s a beautiful morning. It is sunny and beautiful in Seattle, and I didn’t even expect it. 

I don’t know when my relationship with God will explode, or when I will become illuminated, but I’m enjoying getting to know a new friend.