Against Nothingness

Be Human I just listened to a Yoko Kanno song, from the Ghost in the Shell soundtrack, and it caught my attention. It's a good song in and of itself, but the lyrics hit me. Its about a robot who wants to be human, singing about all the things he would do if he were more human. But what struck me is that I wondered how many of us could sing this song, and many (or all) of the words would be true of us. How much of what it really is to be human do we ignore, delete, or replace for one of a million reasons. I'm to busy, it's not a good thing, it's not (insert appropriate religion, or other group, here. i.e. Christian), it doesn't fit the job, etc. Lyrics: I analyze and I verify and I quantify enough one hundred percentileno errors, no miss. I synchronize and I specialize and I classify so much don't worry 'bout dreaming because I don't sleep. I wish I could at least 30 percent, maybe 50 for pleasure then skip all the rest. If I only was...

Why I Like Anime Anime, its a wonderful thing. Let me explain why. My favorite hobby is reading: of all the ways I like to spend my time thats right at the top. But sometimes I just don't feel like reading; maybe I am feeling lazy, or tired, or just bored of whatever book I am reading. So, that leaves me two options really (barring activities with other people, which are not being counted right now). I can play videogames or watch something. Now, Anime comes the closest of all things I can watch/do to reading a book. I guess that needs to be explained to. Maybe some of you reading this have no experience with Anime. When I say anime you thing Sailor Moon, or Dragon Ball, or stupid drawings of people who make stupid unrealistic faces, and cartoons that are all about big robots or many episode long fight scenes. Such Anime exists. Such Anime, as I have no doubt you agree with, usually does suck. But, such Anime is not what I am talking about. I am talking about good Anim...

My Wasted Time Blogs are all about just writing what you want. So I am going to tell anyone who cares to read this what I do with my free time. Thats all this post is. Read at your own risk. 1. I read. Currently I am reading the following: N.T. Wright "The Ressurrection of the Son of God" Tad Williams "Mountain of Black Glass" (third book in the Otherland series) James Clavelle "Whirlwind" (final book in the Asian Saga) Erwin Rapheal McManus "Uprising" 1st book in the 38 book early church fathers series Dag Hammerskjold "Markings" 2. I write, here and on my comp. 3. I watch... my computer. Normall you say TV, but I haven't turned the Tv on since we got our laptop. Why bother when you can A: rent movies (haven't done that yet since we got our laptop either, but I anticipate we will) and, more importantly, B: download anything I want to see, most especially current TV shows, instead of watching old reru...

Marketting, Evangelism, Love and Money I have long lamented such popular christian items such as the prayer of Jabez, the purpose driven life, the left behind series (i know its fiction, doesn't really fit, I just had to throw it in there), and so on. I haven't always done so here on my blog, but if you have known me for any amount of time, I am sure it has come up. I wonder if anyone ever stops to notice that none of it seems to matter. I should clarify that. It does matter, in my opinion, but what I am talking about when I say it doesn't seem to matter is in regards to what these items themselves promise. How many churches are doing, or have done, or will do the 40 days of purpose? How much money have Christians spent on Prayer of Jabez books and accessories? Is there any noticeable difference? is there ever? I see a lot of statistics; thats nothing new. It doesn't seem to matter where you are, or what shrink wrapped, out of the box, no assembly require...

I found this link on another blog, TheHeresy , and I thought I would pass it on. Biased, but basically backed up (some dead links though.) George Bush's Resume

Ignatius, in the Epistle to the Ephesians: "And pray ye without ceasing in behalf of other men. For there is in them hope of repentance that they may attain to God. See, then, that they be instructed by your works, if in no other way. Be ye meek in response to their wrath, humble in opposition to their boasting: to their blasphemies return your prayers; in contrast to their error, be ye stedfast in the faith; and for their cruelty, manifest your gentleness. While we take care not to imitate their conduct, let us be found their brethren in all true kindness; and let us seek to be followers of the Lord (who ever more unjustly treated, more destitute, more condemned?), that so no plant of the devil may be found in you, but ye may remain in all holiness and sobriety in Jesus Christ, both with respect to the flesh and spirit. And pray ye without ceasing in behalf of other men; for there is hope of the repentance, that they may attain to God. For “cannot he that falls arise again, ...

Wonderful things about Korea (in no particular order): 1. People are generally very friendly and helpful. 2. Chicken is not popular over here, so it is quite cheap at the supermarket. 3. The kids are kids just like everywhere, and therefore fun. 4. Hi-Speed internet really means what it says. I can download 3 movies at over 200kbps, and browse the internet with no lag. I have yet to use up enough bandwidth to slow it down. 5. Sauna's... they are just great. You gotta try one to know. The whole naked thing takes some getting used to though. 6. Pizza - it comes with corn and green peppers and is much cheaper than at home. 7. Movies are cheap, to rent or in the theatres (though they come out later than at home, and we miss some). 8. Our apartment - its our apartment... you have to understand our relationship. Long distance for over 2 years, after we got married we travelled and stayed with family and friends for 2 months. 9. Some of the food is really good. Bulgogi beef, p...

The hits just keep on coming: Two more friends with blogs. Bobby and Arnold.

A New World I think I have discovered a new world, or at least I feel like I do. I recently found out, thanks to an email from him, that Jon Decker , a friend of mine back at home, has started a blog. Through his blog I found links to Mindy's Blog , who is the wife of my best friend. Commenting and links from there have led me to a few more more: Stefanie's Epiphanies , a friend from Toronto project (where I met my wife). Justin for the Experience , another friend from Toronto. (sadly, neither of home I have kept in touch with). Now, reading their blogs, and commenting and such, I feel like I have somehow stumbled into a room at the back of my house, that was always there, but I never knew about. Thanks for posting all you guys, emailing, commenting, and the like :) God Bless you all, and maybe blogging will keep us better connected.

U.S. Elections: Moral Issues? As we all know, unless you have been living in a cave in the antarctic somewhere for the last year or so, the U.S. elections are quickly approaching. Its been a while since I posted anything about politics, so I figured it was about time. That and I am sick of hearing how it is somehow moral for a Christian to vote republican. Why is this? Supposedly it is becuase Bush and his group have moral stances on Abortion and Stem cell research. Sounds good.... until you think about it. Has anyone actually looked at abortion statistics? Depending on where you look, it has either been on a steady decline for over 14 years, or else it actually rose slightly during the last two republican presidencies. And what of Stem cell research? Its all very well and good for the bush party to hold the stance it does, when they know very well all the difference it makes. Science is hardly a national endeavour, and though I am sure that the united states being against it slo...

Certainty I wonder if certainty in our beliefs ever gets in the way of belief. An odd question, but stay with me. This is a bit of a ramble, thinking as I go, so lets see. I mean, we don't know if our beliefs our true with absolute certainty, not in the regular sense of the word anyway. That is why we need faith. Our faith can be absolutely certain, but that is a different thing. Wright put it something like this: you are aren't justified by faith by believing in justification by faith, you are justified by faith by believing in Jesus. So maybe what I am asking is if I have ever believed in my beliefs to much, and not in the person who is the basis and foundation of those beliefs. To have the humility to admit that I could be wrong, not neccessarily about the larger things, but even about the smaller intricacies of my Christian faith, creates problems. I often hear about preachers who boldly declare that we must be certain of our salvation. The famous, worn o...

Wierd things in Korea (in no particular order): 1. This guy who rides around on a red bike with red flashing lights on the back, dressed all in red, with a red helmet that also has red flashing lights on it, speakers softly playing a patriotic korean song while he belts the words out along with it. 2. The 'paper cups' you get at water coolers are not cups, they are little pockets, like two pieces of paper stuck together. 3. the complete lack of toilet paper in 75% of public facilities. 4. our apartment repair man who considers himself my uncle, as he is 40 years older than me, and who makes sure that I understand he can fix anything. 5. The children who go out of their way to talk to, meet, and touch strangers. This is especialy true when said stranger is english (Hello, hello, hello x 50) and unshaved (5 year old child tries to feel my face... a little bit freaky the first time). 6. Taxi drivers: Crazy. Bus Drivers: Crazy. There is a saying here, that "Korea is the ...