God Is Never Silent

Beauty in beauty is nothing but a tautology, but beauty in suffering must needs fly to God and God alone. It is an amazing revelation indeed when one sees how out of terrible suffering the greatest act of love was performed. How much more hope can we have if and when we suffer a little in this lifetime?

Tonight I saw a man of God suffering, but I also saw a beauty never before seen--beauty in his love for his wife, in our love for him, and most of all, in His love for us, from which we were first taught to love. And how were we so privileged? Because a brother was broken. But God was certainly there, for where there is beauty there is love, and where there is love, God. God was there, and He was not silent, and may the love He thundered stir and move us all.

Tomorrow's Triathlon

the water can't touch me
i'm too smooth
then i sprout wings
and fly above the grooves
last i alight
to begin the last fight
and in the end
the better man i prove

haha, that was fun. but hopefully not as fun as tomorrow's real thing!

May everyone present marvel at the gifts possessed and joyfully used, and in so doing, marvel at Him who gave them.

Ophelia

She needed to escape the city. Throngs of wooden men crowding the broad and winding streets suffocated her. Metallic air forced her to take short, stunted breaths. The glassy eyes of everyone around her reflected no humanity, only herself. She was alone and wanted to be more alone, so she took off her shoes and stockings and started towards the setting sun, the last chance at light.

It was the roar of the sea that finally beckoned her to stop, and so she did. She stood facing the water, looking into the empty richness of the horizon, and the knot in her soul began to unravel. The loving wind caressed her face and gently loosened the yellow scarf around her neck; the tired sun reaching for repose still tenderly warmed her skin; and the sea, the friendly sea, began to speak to her. But, before long, realizing her guard was drawing down, she had to make sure.

She asked the sea, "Do you have an opinion of me?"
The sea answered, "I crash here and ripple there but you, I love you as you are, and will let you be."
She asked the sea, "Will you disappoint me?"
The sea answered, "I am what I am, wild and free, beautiful as can be, and will always be."

Satisfied with his answers, she spoke with him for a while longer, enjoying a warmth of company she had long forgotten. When she returned to her flat that night, she began speaking to the chair, and found the same comfort.

a smile

entering the community center i feel a salient breeze and almost close my eyes to enjoy it before i notice a clustering crowd of round tables facing the stage. this makes me slightly uneasy because i have to choose a table, a table that may or may not populate, all depending on what i look like and where i sit. i'm pretty early so most of the tables are empty, making the choice even more anxious, and the people i do see have their backs to me so all i can judge is the colors of their hair and clothing, and maybe their posture. welling up with a sudden pseudo-boldness i choose to sit down at a blank table directly center of the place. it's also close to the front so as people stroll in i have to turn around to make my silly silent pronouncements. i notice they're predominantly rich white folks in their golden years, which makes me think i'll end up sitting alone. seven o'clock rolls around and i'm right; everyone seems to have sat at all the tables except mine, making me like the center of a starfish. i feel special. i also feel nervous because if we have to form groups i'll have to get up and announce my isolation. yet, a couple minutes later, i'm saved. a pleasant elderly couple sits down next to me. they're a beautiful pair and i muse that they were high school sweethearts. their silver hair and deep wrinkles try to tell me more of the story but something stops me. it's their smiles--her smile. i forget the story and steal into the smile, and for a while i'm at peace. then the seminar starts.

We should respect grass!

No potheads, I'm not talking about weed. At least not yet. Read on and see!

Imagine that a universe existed which was made up only of liquids and solids, and no free gases. A fish was swimming in this universe. This fish, quite naturally, was conformed to its environment, so that it was able to go on living. But let us suppose that by blind chance, as the evolutionists would have us believe, this fish developed lungs as it continued swimming in this universe without any gases. Now this fish would no longer be able to function and fulfill its position as a fish. Would it then be higher or lower in its new state with lungs? It would be lower, for it would drown. In the same way, if man has been kicked up by chance out of what is only impersonal, then those things that make him man—hope of purpose and significance, love, motions of morality and rationality, beauty and verbal communication—are ultimately unfulfillable and are thus meaningless. In such a situation, is man higher or lower? He would then be the lowest creature on the scale. The green moss on the rock is higher than he, for it can be fulfilled in the universe which exists. But if the world is that these men say it is, then man (not only individually but as a race), being unfulfillable, is dead. In this situation man should not walk on the grass, but respect it—for it is higher than he!

Now, of course the evolutionists wouldn't have us believe that the fish would develop lungs. Natural selection is a far cry from "blind chance." Nevertheless, I think this is a good illustration of some kinks in the evolutionary theory. We consider ourselves the most evolved creatures on the planet, and yet those things that separate us from the animals are precisely those things that are ultimately unfulfillable and without meaning. Why would Nature have us evolve in such a way? Why would Nature evolve in me a desire to regress? Because if those things that make me man really are meaningless, I'd truly rather be a mary jane. At least then I'd have multiple purposes instead of none.

Superman Returns

"Even though you've been raised as a human being you're not one of them. They can be a great people, Kal-El. They wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all -- their capacity for good -- I have sent them you, my only son."

Obviously, that's Superman's dad speaking in the trailer for the new Superman Returns movie. When I first heard it the other day, I was shocked. At least in The Matrix or Spiderman, the Christian allusion was more subtle, but this is pretty conspicuous. Regardless, I'm beginning to realize the amazing consistency of Christian elements appearing in all classic stories, from Homer's all the way to the Wachowski Brothers'. It certainly makes you wonder why the Greatest Story Ever Told, even if only bits and pieces of it, appeal to all people at all times, including those who've never heard of Him. Perhaps the answer is because it's true. It reminds me of C.S. Lewis' own joyful "surprise" that the greatest myth -- the myth of God becoming man to save mankind -- is actually true; that it happened on Christmas Day in the small town of Bethlehem during the reign of King Herod.

And with that, I'll leave you with some more thoughts by Francis Schaeffer on why Christianity, among all the world views out there, seems the most realistic and rationally satisfying:

Christianity is realistic because it says that if there is no truth, there is also no hope; and there can be no truth if there is no adequate base. It is prepared to face the consequences of being proved false and say with Paul: If you find the body of Christ, the discussion is finished; let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. It leaves absolutely no room for a romantic answer. For example, in the realm of morals, Christianity does not look over this tired and burdened world and say that it is slightly flawed, a little chipped, but easily mended. Christianity is realistic and says the world is marked with evil and man is truly guilty all along the line. Christianity refuses to say that you can be hopeful for the future if you are basing your hope on evidence of change for the better in mankind. The Christian agrees with the people in genuine despair that the world must be looked at realistically, whether in the area of Being or in morals.

Christianity is poles apart from any form of optimistic humanism. But it also differs from nihilism, for nihilism, though it is correctly realistic, nevertheless can give neither a proper diagnosis nor the proper treatment for its own ills. Christianity has a diagnosis and then a solid foundation for an answer. The difference between Christian realism and nihilism is not that the Christian worldview is romantic. We should be pleased that the romanticism of yesterday has been destroyed. In many ways this makes our task of presenting Christianity to modern man easier than it was for our forefathers.

Paradise Lost

For anyone who's never read Paradise Lost, read it! It's an epic poem (already sounds cool right?) with all the ingredients for entertainment and edification: the gallant Devil rebelling against all-mighty God; colossal battles in heaven among the angels (they start throwing mountains at each other); sublime story-telling in the creation of Adam and Eve; unfallen romance and love between the first husband and wife; and of course the tragic temptation and Fall of mankind. (Don't worry, there's a happy ending in his sequel Paradise Regained).

Here be some quotes to whet your appetite:

God praising Abdiel for standing up to the Devil...

Servant of God, well done, well hast thou fought
The better fight, who single hast maintaind
Against revolted multitudes the Cause
Of Truth, in word mightier then they in Armes;
And for the testimonie of Truth hast born
Universal reproach, far worse to beare
Then violence: for this was all thy care
To stand approv'd in sight of God, though Worlds
Judg'd thee perverse:
(VI.29)

And one of Satan's many laments...

While they adore me on the Throne of Hell,
With Diadem and Scepter high advanc'd
The lower still I fall, onely Supream
In miserie; such joy Ambition findes.
(IV.90)

How cool is that? You've just heard God and the Devil speak. You know you want more...

Parachutes

I would've fallen from the sky
Til you
Parachutes have opened now

Pearl Jam on July 7th! I really hope Eddie sings this song at the concert...

Can we get along?

People use certain tactics to see if they'll get along with certain other people. For example, they'll talk about their hobbies or passions or tastes in literature; if they match, it's a lock, and they'll get all excited having found someone to share their core with. In fact, the other morning, I had carpooled with a recent acquaintance to the library. The minute she stepped into my car, she began leafing through my music collection to "see if we could get along." Sad to say I failed her test; I put in some hip-hop (courtesy of Benheezy's hip-hop mix) and her response was quick: "ewww!"

Haha. I actually think the most accurate test involves humor. If he/she can laugh at your jokes, and vice versa, you guys will get along just fine, laughing all the way to the grave. So all you peeps out there, if you don't laugh at the following joke, I guess it wasn't meant to be.

There were two muffins sitting in an oven.
One muffin says, "Hey man, we're really bakin' in here."
The other muffin, a little stunned, says, "What the crap! A talking muffin!"

Beginnings

Wow, never thought this day would come, but here's my first blog to...whomever stumbles across. Anyway, so I thought the quote below would be fitting for my initiation.

There is no logical impossibility in the hypothesis that the world sprang into being five minutes ago, exactly as it then was, with a population that "remembered" a wholly unreal past. There is no logically necessary connection between events at different times; therefore nothing that is happening now or will happen in the future can disprove the hypothesis that the world began five minutes ago.
— Bertrand Russell

Even though Bert is spewing craziness, it's still kinda neat thinking that each present minute really could be a new beginning with an irrelevant past. Wishful thinking, I know, but a good way to look at the world--at least sometimes. So for whatever reasons I had to not blog, see ya! And let's see what craziness the 5-minute-old Albert brings.

Craziness #1: I have finals next week. Why did I choose to start blogging now?