Against Nothingness

I just read this article , and I am not to sure what to say. It scares me. I always knew that the 'Left Behind' series was popular, I have read the first 6 books myself. But that it is being associated so directly with such a major political power? The Christians who speak in this interview seem entirely to ready to damn, and entirely to representative of the state of evangelical Christianity. Speaking of the rapture, one man said "I have to accept that and believe it. Or I begin to reject it, then it begins to work on my faith in the wrong direction … It would lead to doubt. Doubt is not even an option.” How has the rapture become so closely tied to this man's faith that to doubt it would cause him to 'doubt' in general? I don't believe we should doubt Jesus Christ, if we can avoid it, but I also don't think that is so wrong. On the side of doctrine, I think a good healthy dose of humbling doubt is exactly what many of us need. And what about...

My first, and last, midterm is tomorrow night. Its great to only have one. After that we get reading break for all of next week and Chapter is coming down, so I am very excited. I will have to get work done over the holidays (bleggghhh) but thats school for ya. It also means I probably won't post much between thurs the 12th and monday the 23rd. As soon as I get back, I have an appointment with the surgeon too. Its not the surgery, just the preliminary thing. What I want is for that meeting to go quick and for my surgery to be scheduled quickly afterwards, instead of having to wait 6-8 weeks, but I suspec that is what I will have to do.

You purchase Pain with all that Joy can give, and die of nothing but a Rage to live. Alexander Pope

When I die, freeze me...? Yesterday I was pointed to a very odd sight. Dark Passage which is a site about these guys who go around and explore old abandoned asylums and stuff, taking pictures and writing about it. I read the account of the Hospital of Seven Teeth which is very wierd. This place is being used as a shooting range by some unknown people, has a bowling alley in it, was home to at least one brutal murder, and they found an Alcor logo, or the old Alcor logo. Alcor is a real company, working on cryonics and life extension. They have a section in their library devoted to religion and cryonics, explaining why its ok for people of various religions to go with it. They have a whole lot of other stuff to. Here are some quotes from their website: Although it is widely believed that all cryonics cases are "post mortem," this is biologically not correct. When the heart of an Alcor member stops with a fully-equipped cryonics team standing by, the brain ca...

The Rainbow Never Came Yesterday a friend, the same one who I talked about responsible use of power with (who will henceforth be known here as Rimau) sent me a song to listen to. "The Rainbow Never Came" by Artisan. Artisan is a British trio who do most of there work a capella. I have only heard one song by them, but it is excellent, and I am pretty sure that I am going to buy one of their CD's if I get the chance. (the lyrics are at the bottom of this post if your interested) "The Rainbow Never Came" interweaves two main themes, and adds some very strong symbolic links to the flood account in Genesis, though it is never explicit. The two main themes are man's arrogance/selfishness/power hungriness, and how the earth is taking a beating by man (in this case as a direct result of the first issue). I would say this is a mythopoetic retelling with modern themes and ideas mixed in, and with many details removed. In Genesis God sends the deluge ...