Take Two

Monday, December 29, 2008

A few days ago, I began my second wave of break reading, having finished the previously mentioned The Power of Myth, but also Brennan Manning's masterpiece, The Ragamuffin Gospel. Simply put, Manning opens his heart in the book, revealing the true essence of Christ: Love and Grace. The book really can't be summed up in thoughts, like Myth, but it is a magnificent piece of work that gives glory to the Lord. I highly recommend it.

I have begun the second wave with two books that I look forward to reading. The first book is one that is not necessarily spiritually relevant, but one that I believe to be important for my political life. Barack Obama's autobiography, Dreams from My Father, has thus far been an easy read, and an interesting one. It's nice to know that the future Commander in Chief grew up no different then I did, to be honest.

The second book that I am working through is Rob Bell's new book, Jesus Wants to Save Christians. Rob Bell, author of Velvet Elvis and Sex God, gives a "manifesto to the church in exile". From the first chapter, what I can gather is that we are back in bondage, due to our ignorance to what God's Will is... More on this later

Now, to football, something I've neglected in this blog.

To start, the ACC has had some crappy luck in bowl games thus far. The 3 games we have lost, have been by 1, 6, and 7. The final two games, Rutgers - NC State and Miami - California, were lost in the final quarter, with backup quarterbacks playing. Utterly disappointing game by UNC, they should have won. So, this bowl season is shaping up to do the ACC no better then last year.

NFL: A few notes from this weekends actions.

I do not blame Tomlin for Rothelisberger's injury, he did what was best for the team: keeping them fresh due to a bye week.

Next, Bill Cowher's fate. I can't imagine him on another sideline, but I have to except it will happen. However, I do not believe it's going to be in the AFC North, for the Browns OR the Bengals (Sorry, Chad). Jets seem to be a good fit, but I don't know if it is going to be this year.

Lions: I'm proud of you, you've done what no other team has ever done, even my own blunder steelers during the 80's and pre 70's era. I wish you the best. I do love you, so get your act together and make sure that Millen doesn't come withing 30 miles of city limits.

That's all I've got for tonight folks... Tomorrow, I'll be doing the same thing as every other day: Wake, QT, Read, Lunch, Read, Dinner, Fun Time, Sleep.

Man...I need a job

The pain of being truly alive...

Friday, December 26, 2008

Moyers: So joy and pain are in love.

Campbell: Yes. Love is the burning point of life, and since all life is sorrowful, so is love. The stronger the love, the more the pain.

Moyers: But love bears all things.

Campbell: Love itself is a pain, you might say - the pain of being truly alive.

The Power of Myth finishes up with Campbell's discussion of Love, and this section is possibly the most interesting of the book. You could say that Love is the one thing that he can't truly describe, with reference to mythology. He discusses love in the four terms given in the New Testament: Eros, Agape, Phileo, and Amor (The same Four Loves of C.S. Lewis)

I think Campbell knows the Lord, but he has wrapped himself on what the Lord has given to him as his path, perhaps too much. He speaks as if "all life is sorrowful", but he himself agrees that Love is the purpose of life, and it is pain, so... I guess what he gets to is that it is by faith we know Love? I can't speak for him

His work overall, though, gives a great look into the meaning of mythology. He states that mythology isn't given as fact, but rather as poetry; that is, as a metaphor. When he looks at Zeus and the Mother Goddess of old, he only sees alagories of his Christ, in broken forms. What a wonderful way to look at it.

Christ's call is for us to "Love One Another", and love involves compassion. Compassion, if taken literally from it's words, means "with suffering", as Passion means "suffering." How often do we lose sight of what it truly means to have passion? It means to suffer, so compassion must mean to suffer with others, or to with others, suffer.

That's great, kid... Don't get cocky

Campbell: A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.

On a bit of a whim, The Power of Myth, orginially a PBS special, was filmed on George Lucas' famed Skywalker Ranch. His work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, is one of Lucas' credited influences, and there are numerous mentions of the 'modern myth' in the transcript. As many people know, I love Star Wars. Did Han become a hero out of his own guilt for abandoaning Luke, or did he truly do it "for the money?" (Of course, you have to ignore Empire and Jedi to ask this question)

So, if you are looking for a read that is decently short (280~ pages, in transcript form), and one that will give you the view of not only mythology, but also of other world religions on this world's function, then you will love this.

That last sentence felt like I am selling the book to you...really cheesy like...

Transcendence

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

This is a continuation of the last post, with quotes from Campbell. 

Campbell: ...We want to think about God. God is a thought. God is a name. God is an idea. But its reference is to something that transcends all thinking.

Campbell:  The word "God" properly refers to what transcends all thinking, but the word "God" itself is something thought about.

Such a simple thought... What we think of God, is nothing compared to what he actually is. But, as hard as we try, we cannot know something that is infinite. It is only by His revelation to us that we can know him.

Campbell: In the Old Testament story, God points out the one forbidden thing. Now, God must have known very well that man was going to eat the forbidden fruit. But is was by doing that that man became the initiator of his own life. Life really began with that act of disobedience.

What does Campbell mean by this? What I think is meant is that our God-given free will wasn't shown until we did that; until we took the forbidden fruit. That was when we became the 'initiator' of our lives. 

Campbell: Ramakrishna once said that if all you think of are your sins, then you are a sinner.

To rephrase: If all you think of is your sin and failings, then where is Christ going to enter? While we must understand our sin and what it has done to us, it pales in comparison to what Christ did on the Cross, freeing us of it. Our sin can no longer hold us down, BUT, it can if you focus on it and not on Christ.

Campbell: Religions are addressing social problems and ethics instead of the mystical experience.

What is this world's actions to you if you do not have Christ? You can be a 'good person' and fight for the things that are Godly, but for the wrong reason; to satisfy yourself. I stuggle with this all the time. Our relationship with Christ isn't about what we should oppress the world with: dogmatic rules, slander to atheists, homosexuals, pro-choice supporters. What our relationship, our 'religion', with Christ should be is focusing on our relationship with him, and doing what he tells us. "This is my command: Love one another" -John 15:17

Campbell: So Jesus says, "Judge not that you may not be judged." That is to say, put yourself back in the position of Paradise (Eden) before you thought in terms of good and evil. You don't hear this much from the pulpits. But one of the great challenges of life is to say "yea" to that person or that act or that condition which in your mind is most abominable.

Seriously...how hard is this? How often do we see a friend do something that isn't 'good', and we judge them. I don't know how to do this, and I guess that is the Power of the Spirit. 

Campbell: Eternity isn't some later time. Eternity isn't even a long time. Eternity has nothing to do with time. Eternity is that dimension of here and now that all thinking in temporal terms cuts off... The problem with heaven is that you will be having such a good time there, you won't even think of eternity. You'll just have this unending delight in the beatific vision of God. But the experience of eternity right here and now, in all things, whether thought of as good or as evil, is the function of life.

Hmm... Eternity can't be grasped, but I believe this to be true. When we aren't worried or concerned with the happenings of this world, which is trapped in space and time, then that is what Eternity is: No Time. But this is a hard teaching, as Christ would say. I will not achieve perfect harmony with Christ in this world, but those moments where it is possible to get a 'clear' glimpse it is amazing.

My first session of summer staff at Saranac, the speaker, Gary Wilmer us a term to describe the times and places where we feel most attuned to God. These 'thin places', are they the same as eternity? Who knows.

The Power of Myth

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Moyers: Perfection would be a bore, wouldn't it?

Campbell: It would have to be. It would be inhuman. The umbilical point, the humanity, the thing that makes you human and not supernatural and immortal-that's what's lovable. That is why some people have a very hard time loving God, because there's no imperfection there. You can be in awe, but that would not be real love. It's Christ on the cross that becomes lovable.

Moyers: What do you mean?

Campbell: Suffering. Suffering is imperfection, is it not?

That is a quote from one of the books that I am currently reading, The Power of Myth. Joseph Campbell, the author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces, a book on the congruent lines that run through all myth, and part of George Lucas' inspiration for Star Wars. 

While Christ's suffering is far from imperfect, Campbell makes the point that his suffering is what made him human. He makes the one point that is needed to understand Christ's humanity. He suffered, and not just on the Cross, but in life in general. Not believing this simple truth, for me, is extremely easy.

Though the book is on comparing world myths with one another, Myth has offered me great insight into Christ so far, and how Christ protrudes into other religions, though not by name. I look forward to more from this book as I continue into it.

Campbell: So the generalist-and that's a derogatory term, by the way, for academics-gets into a range of other problems that are genuinely human, you might say, than specifically cultural.

Derogatory or not, a Generalist I subscribe to be.

Missing the Rains

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Currently, I am listening to Toto's hit single "Africa", my current ringtone, and one of my favorite songs of all time. A ministry goal with this song is to use it as an entrance song for a run-on...

I went up to New Laundry right before the rain began, and dropped off some towels from Entertainment Night, and had some good conversations with Diana and Lindsey. And then, it started...

As Toto sings, so do I miss the rains, though not in Africa...even as it rains as I write(so cheesy). I miss the 18 hour downpour at Lake Champion this summer. I miss hanging out with Allison, Jim, Chocklett, B Rose, and the rest of the lifeguards, watching the Lion King in the club room while the 16th hole of the Bear Frisbee golf course began overflow with water from the lake.

I miss waking up the next morning, and staring in awe of the sheer amount of water flowing below the Swing with Beard-o. At breakfast, raincoats dominate the backs of chairs, and we all laugh about the sheer amount of water that has fallen overnight. As we converse, Allison, Sara, and Chocklett stroll in, freezing cold. They had just gotten back from canoe breakfast.

This single storm, during the last few days of our time together, dominates my memories of the month. It's amazing how God can remind you of some of your greatest memories, through the worst of a situation.

I really don't have much else outside of this thought... "We Wish You a Merry Willard" Christmas Party is tonight... and Narnia is currently on...

Commencement

Thursday, December 11, 2008

What is going to come of this blog that I just created? 

What monster have I created? 

I come to cyberspace to present what little I truly have to offer, thought sequences. I, as my fellow Willardites will attest to, am a thinker. I ponder things, ask questions, and generally am not satisfied unless I find an answer. But, by the Grace given by Jesus Christ, I have been given a gift of knowledge, and with it what I call thought sequences.

A thought sequence is a sort of revelation that Christ gives me into his Glory, and something that I feel His presence in. As my friend Kyle says, and I agree with: "There's no such thing as coincidence." Every thought sequence is there on purpose, and I want a place to dialogue them, and perhaps share them with a few friends. These thought sequences generally deal with how to live a life worthy of the Lord, something that I long for.

Also, the other thing I come to offer are witty remarks regarding the world of football, collegiate and professional. Currently a student at Virginia Tech, and a life-long Steelers fan, I have a deep fondness of America's Game, something that everyone who knows me can tell you. 

Here is where I am at right now:

I am currently struggling with living in the sin (pride in my gifts) that Christ has already cast off. Though I might be dead to it, I still wish to live in it. I beg for Christ to help me break this veil of self-reliance, and I beg for prayers from friends as well. 

I have a discipleship kid(one of my Wyldlife guys), who has blossomed this semester, but still struggles doing things that he is also dead to. I love this kid very much, and need the Lord to guide me in how to approach him in a loving way. Once again, prayer for this would be fantastic.

So, ladies(?) and gentlemen(Chad?), I conclude my first post with a quote that has been posted above my desk all semester.

"Just Men depend on the grace of God rather than on their own wisdom in keeping their resolutions." - Thomas A' Kempis 

I pray that He will be the reason