New World Man

Harold Camping

2011-05-26T17:02:00.000-04:00

So everyone is probably sick of hearing me talk about this, but I don't apologize because it truly bothers me. Harold Camping. Instead of reaching out to help all the families his "rapture" prediction ruined, he states that the world is still going to end on October 21st. Luckily, he won't advertise it like the last one, which he is now claiming it to be some sort of "spiritual rapture" that he did not fully understand. It just upsets me all the lives he ruined with his false prophecy. He should instead commit the few years he has left to rebuilding all the lives he destroyed with his gospel of fear.

I mean I'm not even going to go into detail on how Jesus himself, the son of God as stated in the bible (which Camping claims to believe), stated seven times that no man could know when the end would come. I've actually been quite annoyed that Christians are defending their faith (and rebuking Camping) with this but, I won't get into that because that is irrelevant to the point I am trying to get across.

The point has nothing to do with the end of the world. The problem here is much bigger than Camping. People need to stop living like the end of the world is right around the corner. Christians especially have been living this way for far too long. It needs to stop. Jesus Christ spoke time and time again of what the kingdom of God looked like. He gave parables and taught lessons to many so that we, his followers, could live in a manner that can bring the kingdom of God to earth. We all want life to be easier. We all want things to get better. Part of us wants to be selfish, but that isn't what is meant to be. We are meant to work together in a culture of love, cooperation, sacrifice, and reconciliation. This will never be achieved if we continue to wait around to be carried away on the clouds or some similar nonsense. We need to STOP trying to get out of this world to a better place and start making this place into the place we want to go to. I feel most Christians will disagree with me on this point here but I'm going to say it anyway. We need to live like Jesus is never coming back. We need to live like what we do here in this life matters, REALLY MATTERS, a great deal and do as much good in as many places as we can. We were not meant to live in a secluded Christian culture where we reach out only to hand out a bible tract. We were meant for SO MUCH MORE than that. We are meant to get out in the dirty uncomfortable terrible situations that we want nothing to do with, and do our good THERE. That is what we are called to do as human beings created in the image of God.

If I could meet Harold Camping I think that I would just want to know one simple thing. I want to know if he honestly believes his tens of millions of dollars that were poured into all the advertising made more of a difference than if he poured it into feeding the hungry, healing the sick, caring for the lonely, and giving shelter to the homeless. In fact, I would challenge him that his money drove more people away from his Christ (I say that because that is NOT the Christ I know) because of his prediction being false. I just hope that somehow, some of the damage that has been done can be repaired. It would be foolish of me to assume the happy fantasy that all will be restored by our attempts with all the people this affected, but I hope that we do our best. I hope that all those who believed this prediction do lose faith in Harold Camping as he continues to believe in his fantasy god. I hope at the same time that they will gain faith in the true God. Jesus Christ.

Bath High School

2010-08-27T23:03:00.002-04:00

After I graduated High School, I went to Mount Vernon for a year to college. I came home that summer of Sarah's graduating year in 2008 and went to a few grad parties with her. It was here that I met many people she graduated with from Bath. I even went out with 3 of them (Bill, Ross, Matt, Ben, and Joe) I instantly liked these guys and we hung out a little here and there the rest of the summer. But it wasn't until after my last semester in the fall of '08 at MVNU that I truly began to become friends with the Bath group, and over the course of the Spring and Summer I felt like one of them. I was thinking about this a lot tonight. I was thinking about how you guys have made me feel almost like I went to Bath High School with you. I drifted far apart from everyone I graduated with, and that's not so bad. Cause you guys are awesome. I am so very glad you guys are in my life. I love you all and just wanted to write this as a thanks for accepting me into your group :)

-Dan

LOST

2010-08-24T23:33:00.002-04:00

Well, well, well. Lost Season 6, the final season of the show, went on sale today. This brought back to me so many memories of the show. Watching it unfold, and discussing so many wild theories with other fans. So many memories. It was hard to see it go. And go it did with a bang. If you didn't know, the ending of Lost was very controversial indeed. Fans all over were divided. This was not unlike the division in thought of the characters on the show, but more on that later. I decided today would be a good a time as any to share my thoughts on Lost; discussing the final season, "The End", and the series as a whole. Oh and before I forget, there are spoilers ahead so please do not read until you finish watching the series yourself(unless of course you are someone who unfortunately does not care about having the plot/themes ruined for you). You have been warned.

I started watching Lost in February of 2009. The first 4 seasons had been around for quite some time, and lucky for me, every single last episode was online at ABC.com for my viewing pleasure. So I embarked on a journey with these characters who found themselves stranded on an island, far off course with no foreseeable hope at all. The first season of the show was so intriguing to me. Every episode centered around a character, which is a pattern many shows like to follow. But Lost did something unique. Every episode not only centered on a person on the island, but also gave us a peek into that individuals past, and this is what truly hooked me. I distinctly remember watching the episode Walkabout when you discover John Locke was crippled before he arrived on the island. The flashback and the imagery was tied in with the music so well it brought me to tears. From that moment on, I was wired to my computer watching episode after episode. The first 3 seasons especially flew by, and I was committed to seeing these people through to the end of their journey, whatever that might be. I was aware of season 5 being on television as I was catching up and eventually I did before the 100th episode. The last leg of season 5 was brilliant, and once it was over I got others hooked on the show and re-watched most of it myself. I came closer to the characters I loved and eagerly awaited to see where they could go in the final season.

Season 6 was criticized by most I think for one very sad reason. It did not provide very many answers. It revealed some things, but many things were left open-ended, and that made a lot of fans unhappy. They wanted to know where the island itself came from and what the specific "rules' of the island were, and why it healed people or seemed to choose some as special, and other such things. They wanted concrete answers. I think this where the true divide came for the fans. In the end, I feel like the show had two different kinds of viewers. You had people watching the show MAINLY because it was mysterious and they wanted to know what was behind it all, and you had another group that MAINLY watched it because they wanted to see what happened to the characters and how everything turned out for them. Both groups watched for the other group's reason, but I divide it by the MAIN reason. The people who hated it in the end hated it because there was no resolution to the mysteries of the island. The people who loved it did so because it gave, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful and touching endings any show could give to its cast. They all lived happily ever after in what can assume is eternity. All together. This is what touched me. The show touched me on many levels, Locke/Jack relationship high on the list, but above all I think it touched me in how it showed this group of strangers come together and become more than a group of survivors. They became a family. For me, I watched this show to see how it all turned out for Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and the whole gang. I wanted them to find escape from the island and be happy. And they did. So we didn't find out where the island came from or how it can travel through time exactly. There are mysteries in THIS LIFE that we don't have figured out, and it's OKAY. I always felt like Lost was a show that portrayed real people in the a very realistic world (aside from time travel and smoke monsters and what not). It felt real to me, and real life has mysteries we will never know. That's okay everyone. I guess I just wanted to write this so all those that were disappointed with the finale could see why I loved it. It's taken me a while to get all these thoughts out, but here they are. Lost is a great show, because it shows us people just like us. These people could be real. It shows them go through crazy things and come out fighting together, as a family. That is what life is about. Life is about working together, against each other to better ourselves and our world. We are born with a family, but I think everyone can agree once your life is lived, your family is so much larger than it was the day you were born. I hope you enjoyed Lost, and if you didn't like the ending, I challenge you to think back and look at it a different way. You might find that the answers don't matter as much as you thought they did.

Lonliness

2010-07-30T02:34:00.002-04:00

My heart feels empty tonight. I long for the company of those I love. I wish I could hug my dear friends again that I have not seen in months. I remember all the good times we spent together, and it feels like I will never experience that level of camaraderie ever again. I feel distant from all of them and their lives now. I don't feel like a part of their lives at all anymore. I feel forgotten. Even by God sometimes. I know one should not trust feelings though. But logic is not to be trusted either. Like all things in life, balance is key. But I digress. I feel alone. But this too shall pass, or so they say. Who "they" are, I have no idea. Hopefully "they" know what they're talking about. I sit here listening to some soothing music from Sigur Ros, and it reminds me of listening to that music on my small little mp3 player in Oakwood Hall. It reminds me of spending time with my friends. I miss them. If anyone reads this I'm sure it just looks like rambling, but I just need to write it down. I need to let it out. I cling to the thought of one day seeing all my dear friends again at once in my father's glorious kingdom. On that day I will cry more tears than I have ever shed. Tears of happiness will flow for those I thought I had lost long ago, and we will embrace in love, and be surrounded by the love of our God, our savior. I will not await that day here on earth in agony. I will live life here to the fullest. But on a night like tonight, I will delve into my memories, and I will long for that day. I pray everyone I love will be there on that glorious day.

Bonus Mosh Pt. 2

2009-10-25T01:07:00.002-04:00

So last night I attended a concert in Columbus and it was one of the wildest, most fun times I have experienced in a while. But at the same time, it's one of the first things in a long time to make me want to blog because it made me think so much. You may think to yourself, "So this is going to be a blog about how the lyrics spoke to him and God was at the concert and spoke to him blah blah blah." I hope that you did not already stop reading thinking this would be one of those posts. It is not. God was certainly there. I'm not making fun of that fact cause he is everywhere, but it was not a "spiritual" experience by any means. But yeah. Anyway, I will now finally get on to what I'm going to say. I apologize for the long preface.

The concert I attended had the bands Anberlin and Taking Back Sunday. Anberlin is, as you may know, a band of Christian individuals, while Taking Back Sunday(or TBS) is not. If you know me at all, you know that I love music of all kinds and I care not one bit if they are Christians or not. So yeah. I love both bands. Anberlin preceeded TBS and they were great but when TBS came out the crowd went wild. They were obviously here to enjoy some great music from a band we all loved. As soon as they broke out into song the moshing began. It was violent, painful, scary, and it was spectacular. It was beautiful and It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

It's one thing to listen to a band on your ipod. It's another thing to blast that band on your stereo. It's another thing to see videos of the band playing. It's yet another thing to see the band live. But let me tell you this. You will never experience that music in such a way than when you are in the middle of a mob of men and women all pushing, dancing, jumping, and flailing wildly; all of them are singing the lyrics to the sky, floor, each other, the stage, and the list goes on. There is a unique bond formed between all the people when such an event occurs. It is absolute bedlam created for great pleasure.

I could see so many people united to hear this band play. We were total strangers. But this didn't mean anything. There was an instant love there. An instant bond created by love for the music. When someone would fall in the mosh pit everyone would stop to help pick them back up again. Everyone would work together to lift one person up and drift them across the sea of people. There was pushing and shoving and it was strangely painful, but enjoyable at the same time. So much about this experience brought me to think about my Christian life hours after the concert. It made me think about the church and about the body of Christ.

I thought to myself and expressed it to my friend Ben, "You will never see that much unconditional love in a church." I couldn't help thinking about how it was so easy to love these people and feel bonded to them and how hard I find it to bond with "Church folk" Then I realized after thinking about it why it was so much easier. Well the biggest thing was probably all of us figured none of us could see each other again. So if that is the only reason than it's obvious. But then I thought that it couldn't be it. So then I realized that I also didn't feel like I had anything to prove to these people. I didn't feel like I had to fit in or make them like me. I wasn't worried about their judgement at all. I wasn't judging them. They weren't judging me. We were just there, total strangers, enjoying music we loved and were passionate about.

WHY? Why can the church not behave this way? They should. They were taught to live this way by Jesus. No judgement. No condemnation. We are to turn our backs on no one. But rather, respect everyone and show love to every individual. We have a cause to rally under. A passion and a love that we can stand behind is Christ. I am only one person. I can choose to not judge and to love, but when it really starts to make a difference is when we all start to love unconditionally and keep our thoughts before we know a person at bay. We can and we should do everything we can to break down barriers we have built and to treat every person like it's the last time we will see them. We need to love them today in this hour. If we don't, the amount of damage you can do is not measurable because you will never know what would have become og someone if you had not neglected them.

Hope I didn't bother anyone with this longer read. Thank you if you read it all. So yeah. To sum things us, yt is our calling as Christians to live a life like we did at that concert. Community. Love. Faith. We need to establish these ideas NOW and start to reverse the horrible state our church is in today. The judging must stop. The love must pour out. Love is everything,

Behind Blue Eyes

2009-06-04T03:42:00.002-04:00

No one knows what it's like

To be the bad man

To be the sad man

Behind blue eyes

No one knows what it's like

To be hated

To be fated

To telling only lies

But my dreams

They aren't as empty

As my conscience seems to be

I have hours, only lonely

My love is vengeance

That's never free

No one knows what it's like

To feel these feelings

Like I do

And I blame you

No one bites back as hard

On their anger

None of my pain and woe

Can show through

But my dreams

They aren't as empty

As my conscience seems to be

I have hours, only lonely

My love is vengeance

That's never free

When my fist clenches, crack it open

Before I use it and lose my cool

When I smile, tell me some bad news

Before I laugh and act like a fool

If I swallow anything evil

Put your finger down my throat

If I shiver, please give me a blanket

Keep me warm, let me wear your coat

No one knows what it's like

To be the bad man

To be the sad man

Behind blue eyes

-Pete Townshend

Life in Technicolor

2009-02-25T17:38:00.002-05:00

I have been listening to a good amount of Coldplay lately. I find their music to be very soothing and at the same time mentally stimulating. What is most interesting is that tt is not the lyrics that stimulate me, but the sound and musical intricacies are what send me into a frenzy of thought. I love it. Anyway, this is just a prelude to my thoughts. I just wanted to establish from where the thought was coming.

It is truly amazing the difference one day makes. Yesterday was horrible. I woke up very sick with about all the symptoms you can imagine. It was colder than it had been in weeks and worst of all, I had to be at work by ten. I simply said to myself, "I can do this. I can make it through this day and get something good out of it." I made it thorugh the day and it was pretty rough.

Today, I woke up feeling much better and I looked outside to see it was sunny and about 50 degrees. I also did not have to work. I was just thinking about how much difference one day makes. It's nothing profound or new. I am just happy to be feeling better and grateful to God for every day he gives me, both the bad and the good days. We all need to appreciate every day, no matter what happens. Every day is a gift from God. Sometimes days are painful. Sometimes days are full of joy. But no matter what, we can learn something from it all. I hope everyone can learn to take each day as a new opportunity to learn something and become a better person. It does not work that way for me every day, but I sure am trying.

Raindrops

2009-02-11T02:51:00.000-05:00

Outside I hear the raindrops. It is a simple early spring (well I can keep telling myself it is) rain that most people are not hearing right now. Granted, most people are not awake at three o'clock in the morning. It really is funny to listen to the silence of the night, and then all at once to hear thousands upon thousands of raindrops hitting pavement, grass, shingles, puddles, and metal all at once. One moment it is quiet, and the next a noisy rain is bombarding everything.

We can sometimes go weeks without rain. It comes and goes as it pleases. This does not please farmers in the summertime. Other times rain is all day every day. Sometimes it comes one day and is done the next, only to return a day later. If anything can be certain, rain is certainly unpredictable. I find it interesting the feelings that rain brings out in us. If we are deprived of it for a long period of time, we are relieved to see it. Often we might charge out into it to fully enjoy it and experience it. It feels so good when we have been given nothing but dry cloudless days. But then there are other times when it just keeps raining, and we just get sick of it. We stay inside the house all day. When we do go outside, we unveil our trusty umbrella to shield us from the wet drops. We complain about it and forget all about how it felt when the days were dry and hot from the sun.

We see this gift that we once enjoyed as now a curse. We see it as a burden or an annoying relative. We do not want this rain anymore. It can go bother someone else. Rain is always interpreted differently depending on the circumstances upon which we receive it.

It just stopped raining now. It was here and gone in a matter of maybe fifteen minutes. Sometimes that is all we get. Sometimes that is just enough for the plants to get by. Sometimes the plants do not quite make it. But the rain comes and goes in its random cycle just as it always has done. Rain washes away the dirt and grime left behind by nasty dry days and sweaty humid nights. It reminds us all that this world gets dirty and needs to be cleaned. It reminds us that we must remain clean as well. It does not mean we will always be clean. We will get dirty, but that is why there is always more rain.

When I see it raining now, my mind always, for whatever reason, goes to the song "Love Reign O'er Me" by The Who. If you have not heard the song, I encourage you to look it up and listen to it any way you can, whether that be through YouTube or iTunes or whatever you may use. It is a fantastic song that is truly sung with passion. I think if you hear this song, and think about it, you will see that:
Rain is like Love.
Rain is like Grace.
Rain is a gift from God.

The Boy

2009-02-03T01:50:00.000-05:00

I decided to be a little less traditional in my memories of MVNU.

The Boy

The boy let out a long sigh as he stepped out of the low lit classroom that had become his home from eleven thirty to two thirty every weekday for the last month. He did not know what to think about the time he had spent in the various buildings across the small campus. He had invested so many hours to the study of books for the purpose of learning for his own benefit. Numerous hours talking to irreplaceable friends and hearing their stories while sharing his own had been well spent. As he took one step at a time down the stairs, his shoes squeaked and it reminded him of childish days when he had come in from the rain to bother his mother with obnoxious sounds. He remembered being a child; how it felt to not have a care in the world of which to speak.

As he exited the double doors of the first floor he was greeted by a chilling breeze. He stepped out onto the snow that lay over a thin sheet of ice. He loved stepping on the untainted snowfall and cracking the ice below. It took him back to the days of childhood yet again. He looked out to see so many people walking alone, heads buried in their hoods or scarves or ski masks. There were so many good people here. There were so many people he was going to miss dearly. There were so many memories that snow alone brought to his mind. The first snow of freshaman year, sledding in eighteen inch weather, and snow ball fights all came to the forefront of his mind. He wanted to stay. He wanted to remain. But inside he knew his life lay on another path. He knew his calling was elsewhere. This did not mean he would never see these blessed souls again. It simply meant he may not see them in the body to which he had become so accustomed.

As he reached his apartment, he looked around inside and recalled evenings of fun playing games, crying because of women, and frustration from disagreements. So much emotion had been felt in such small square footage. So much love. Love between brothers, and even sisters. This love was something the boy had never known before he came to this place. He knew what love was supposed to be like from books he had read and movies that he had seen. But never until this place, had he encountered the powerful brotherly love that was anything but ordinary. Here, love felt like a free gift.
Here, love felt like a refreshing rain.
Here, love felt like a comforting hand.
Here, love felt as he knew it should.
Here, love compelled him to love in return.
Before, he knew the rules. Now, he knew the actions.

The boy wanted so badly to keep what he knew. He wanted to keep still and be comfortable, but the life of comfort was never for him. It would never be for him. He would find what he was truly meant to do, and he would do it. That was the plan anyway.

As he said his goodbyes to all his friends, he did not feel any pain. But then, after the last two bid him farewell, when he got in the car he started crying. He knew in an instant that it was not simply because of those two. It had finally hit him that all these people would be left behind. But then he was struck with great joy. He knew that he would see them again. He knew in his heart that this was not the end of the story, and he had no reason to let sadness overcome him. He would find joy. His joy came from somewhere no one else could touch. He held on to that joy. He was a man now, but no matter how old he got, he would always feel like a boy.

Enjoy the Silence

2008-12-30T02:03:00.000-05:00

When I was very young I used to be afraid all the time. I don't know why that is. I don't remember much of anything from my childhood, for whatever reason, but my memories of fear in my younger years have never left me. I had many night terrors. I was afraid of the dark. I was afraid of the silent creaking house. I was always afraid of being alone. I always felt alone. I had horrible dreams of terrible things from endings of the world to demons terrorizing me. Now at my older age I wonder if it was in fact demons terrorizing me in the spiritual realm. I may never know. But the reason is irrelevant. What matters is the lesson I see now. You see, things have changed.

I have changed.

Or maybe it's better if I say that I have been changed. God has taken away my sins and forgiven them, and with them he has taken the fear I once harbored. Maybe not the simple fears, but the deep terrible ones. I am no longer afraid. I think about this often. I try to think of what I fear now, and i think the only thing I fear presently is rejection, and who has no fear of rejection? I don't know what brought all these thoughts on. Maybe it was a all too familiar chill I got last night. It was like a shadow of the fear that once plagued me. It was like my demon was still lurking there but had hit a brick wall. My only conclusion is that that wall was the blood of Jesus. Now don't take me for one who is all crazy about the spiritual realm. I don't profess to know much of anything, if anything at all about it, but I do believe there is a battle going on. One thing I am sure of now is that I am no longer afraid of the dark. I'm not afraid of the silence.
Now... I enjoy it.
Now... I welcome it.
Now... I feel God in it.

I love silence. I love to hear nothing when I stop the typing of this little letter. I want more. I suppose the only reason I wrote this is because of how peculiar I found that I now enjoy the thing I once feared. I guess I will encourage everyone to cease fearing the silence and the darkness of the night. Simply because they have the appearance of evil does not make them so. They are God's, and God is in them. God is in us. I pray we do not forget that.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

2008-04-14T02:39:00.000-04:00

Now that you know your ABC's, you can put those letters into loads of combonations to make up words and finally an infinite number of sentences. I guess that's what I am doing right now. It's funny to think that there may have been nor never be anyone who uses quite these same words in this order ever again. Words are powerful. Most of my thoughts will be mindless, but I may insert something worthwhile every 6 months or so. You won't know unless you read it, which you would not be doing at all if not for the harassment of Bennett. Go read his blog. I'm sure he would appreciate that.

Well, I guess I'll get to bed now. Peace and Love everyone.