terror state

There are many things that I perceive to be very wrong with the country which I hold my citizenship. Some would say that puts me in line to buy a ticket out of here. But if you look at places like the Congo, Sudan, and Pakistan, the people who live there often see the horrible things done by their countrymen and leaders but wish to remain in their home of origin and find some pride that they are from there. I think the most disappointing thing about America is the wealth of potential that abounds here. Yet we are effectively a terror state. The citizens are terrorized through the media and the world at large is terrorized either directly through occupation, colonialism, hegemony and imperialism in the developing world or by our support of extremists, be it rebels or governments, as the country chooses different sides for the sake of financial gain or the assertion of global dominance.

Undermine

For a while now, I have been considering my high school period and the seminal moments therein, specifically, the period of time where I was attracted to punk rock. I loved punk rock and the idea of punk rock on multiple levels. The first and most obvious was the immediate counter cultural aesthetic I conveyed. It is not that I would have been unable to conform to normative fashion trends in the sense that I was poor or did not "get it," rather I simply found no interest in looking the same as others. The next was political in the sense that punk rock seemed to encourage a sense of civil unrest and an ostensible quest for questioning. It brought about my eventual and continued resistance to totalitarianism, authoritarianism, colonialism, imperialism and made me aware of activism, social justice, environmentalism, civil rights and advocacy of the "other." Third, it was the total purity of the music. It was angry at the complacency of society and it wanted to be heard. It was loud, fast and full of emotion. It gave me a connection to the few others who liked the same music and were in to some of the same things. However, the most important thing was that it gave me room to be me and to discover myself. There was no funnel of who I should be and what I should do. It let me create art constantly. It allowed me to patronize art. It allowed me to engage in politics and social issues from a young age, and encouraged me doing so. It pushed me to become independent of what society told me I should do and how I should act and think (this does not mean I disregarded all societal norms, merely that if I was in agreement with them, it was of my own volition). For all of this, punk rock, I salute you.

land of ports

Portland in two weekends. I might throw up.
SO EXCITED!

Itinerary:
Friday
-outlet stores
-hangs
-all day
-nerd stuff
Saturday
-downtown
-sizzle pie
-art museum
-shopping
-powells
-spencer
-sushi
-ice cream
Sunday
-voodoo
-church
-taco lunch w/ friends

Book list to come...

2012

Films. Not in order. Just in like.

-Jiro Dreams of Sushi

-Dark Knight Rises

-Sound of my Voice

-21 Jump Street

-The Avengers

-Skyfall

-Moonrise Kingdom

-Prometheus

-Hunger Games

-The Amazing Spiderman

-Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

-Goon

-Safety Not Guaranteed

There are more that will be added, the ones that I have yet to see.

However, for now, this will suffice.

Also, pop songs.

-"Niggas In Paris" Jay Z & Kanye
-"As Long As You Love Me" J. Bieber
-"Die Young" Kesha
-"Home" Phillip Phillips
-"We Are Never Getting Back Together" Taylor Swift
-"Thrift Shop" Mackelmore and Ryan Lewis
-"Thinkin Bout You" Frank Ocean
-"Birthday Song" 2 Chainz & Kanye

pious liberation

It seems to me that the fundamental difference between liberation theology and right wing Christian fundamentalism is activism vs. imposition. Both effectively have the same goal: homogeneous egalitarian utilitarian politicism (yes, I believe those two can be in the same accord in a sense). However, right wing fundamentalism seems to have collided with the GOP as of late, though not absolutely, which seems to have generated a tyrannical form of political-religious hermeneutic that wishes to enforce the will of God. However, I believe one of the keys to liberation theology is that it does not wish to bring about the kingdom of heaven on earth, rather, it wishes to live as the kingdom of heaven on earth. This does not include mandatory inclusivity, as this is never the case with Christ. He demands obedience but does not force it upon his people, as seen in the Genesis narrative and the whole of the Pentateuch and as shown through the sacrifice of Christ. The key is the choice of humanity. This is what is so frustrating to me about Christian fundamentalism; they feel so strongly about issues that they feel they need to act as God's rod and staff and they believe that the state is the strong arm of God. Thus, the hermeneutic of political imposition is utilized and not an eschatological pious ecclesiology. This is what I believe is wrong with the current relationship with the Church and the state in America.

Saints

Dorothy Day was a great devotee to Christ, his church and his love of humanity. She began the Catholic Worker Movement, a community of people dedicated to helping the poor and marginalized. She was a pacifist and an anarchist, following in the footsteps of the likes of Leo Tolstoy and sharing the company of Jacques Ellul. Recently, NPR briefly discussed her life. And most recently, she has been officially called to be canonized as a saint.

Subject: subject

Good point.

Thursday

I would say I am an egalitarian in my relationship. But really, she outclasses me.

I'm just a proud boyfriend.

Yogi Bear

This week the girlfriend and I are going to Portland.
I am elated.

Also, have you heard the new Kesha song? How is it so catchy?



Lastly, I have been doing this lately.
I try to do yoga 4 times a week. It feels pretty great.

Post Title

This week.

I will be grateful for everything. And love everyone.
And love my girlfriend the most.

Casting lots

I just don't see it turning out well either way.

David Lipscomb on Voting

Questions come up in the workings of society and before the voters of a country that involve
moral good to the community. Such are the questions regarding the restriction of the sale of
intoxicants, the licensing of race courses and gambling houses and places of licentiousness. It
is strongly denied in such cases that the government that restricts and prohibits sin can be of
the devil, and hence it is claimed a Christian should vote on all such questions of morality.
To the first, it is replied, the devil has always been quite willing to compromise with
Christians if he can induce them to divide their allegiance and to give the greater service to
the upbuilding of his kingdom. He offered this compromise to the Savior when here on earth.
Was quite willing the Savior should rule, and doubtless in his own way, and make things as
moral and respectable as he desired them, if it only devil himself into an angel of light." (2 Cor. xi: 13.)
There is no doubt the devil is willing to turn moral reformer and make the world moral and
respectable, if thereby his rule and authority are established and extended. And it may
be set down as a truth that all reformations that propose to stop short of a full surrender of the
soul, mind, and body up to God, are of the devil.
To the claim that a Christian is bound to vote, when he has the privilege, for that which
promotes morality, and to fail to vote for the restriction and suppression of evil is to vote for
it, we have determined that, to vote or use the civil power is to use force and carnal weapons.
Christians cannot use these. To do so is to do evil that good may come. This is specially
forbidden to Christians. To do so is to fight God's battles with the weapons of the evil one. To
do so is to distrust God. The effective way for Christians to promote morality in a
community, is, to stand aloof from the political strifes and conflicts, and maintain a pure and promoted the growth of his kingdom and extended and supported his rule and dominion. This very proffer that the Master rejected, his
disciples accept and act upon in supporting human government.
"The Holy Spirit warned Christians, that, false prophets would transform themselves into prophets of God and the true faith in God, which is the only basis of true morality, and is as a leaven in society, to
keep alive an active sense of right. To go into political strife is to admit the leaven of evil into
the church. For the church to remain in the world and yet keep itself free from the spirit of the
world, is to keep alive an active leaven of morality in the world. If that leaven loses its
leaven, wherewith shall the world be leavened? or if the salt lose its savor wherewith shall the
earth be salted or saved? God has told his children to use the spiritual weapons, has warned
them against appealing to the sword or force to maintain his kingdom or to promote the honor
of God and the good of man. When they do as he directs them, and use his appointments, he
is with them to fight their battles for them and to give them the victory. When they turn from
his appointments to the human kingdoms and their weapons, they turn from God, reject his
help, drive him out of the conflict and fight the battles for man's deliverance with their own
strength and by their own wisdom. Human government is the sum of human wisdom
and the aggregation of human strength. God's kingdom is the consummation of Divine
wisdom and in it dwells the power of God.
To use the human is to reject Divine wisdom and divest ourselves of Divine help. To use the
Divine is to follow Divine wisdom and to seek and rest upon Divine help. There can be no
doubt as to which is the Christian's duty. Then the Christian most effectually promotes public
morality by standing aloof from the corrupting influences of worldly institutions and maintaining a pure religious morality. The same difficulty was propounded in the early
churches, Neander says, 

"The Christians stood aloof and distinct
from the state, as a priestly and spiritual race, and
Christianity seemed able to influence civil life only in
that manner which, it must be confessed, is the purest,
by practically endeavoring to instil more and more of
the holy feeling into the citizens of the state."
And Origen said, "The Christians render greater
assistance to their country than other men, inasmuch as
they instruct the citizens, and teach them to become
pious toward God, on whom the welfare of cities depends,
and who receives those whose conduct in a poor and miserable city has been good, into a divine and heavenly
city."
The same objections were made to the positions of the early Christians, that are made to-day
to this position. They then beyond doubt held the same position we advocate. We make the
same reply these early Christians made. We occupy the same position they did. Let us serve
God with all our mind and strength and soul in his kingdom, and he will be our strength and
our shield.
And true faith in God will lead us to trust him do his will, use his appointments diligently and
faithfully and leave results with him; knowing that when we obey him and so "work out our
salvation with fear and trembling, it is God which worketh in us to will and to do of his good
pleasure." And when Gods works in and through us, all good results must follow.

"President Obama keeps saying his formal duty is to protect the American people, but the protection a growing number of Americans want is from our own government. This president thinks the federal government should be able to kidnap any of us and imprison us for the rest of our lives without charges, trial, legal assistance, or the right to habeas corpus. It’s astounding. It’s the most un-American, subversive act ever by a president. And yet, Democrats who would be raising holy hell if this were done during a Republican administration seem to just blindly fall in line and support this man who has taken on the role of a tyrant.You know, you hear the slogan, We’ve got to take our government back." It’s never needed to be applied with more force than right now. The American people have to unify around these issues: corruption, the expanding imperial presidency, the shredding of our constitution, our  illegal wars of aggression, and all the toadying to Wall Street and the financial industry. We need to stand up against all of that and say we will not put up for it anymore. If we don’t, it’s all going to get worse.

I see where you are coming from. But is Obama that bad?
Are you kidding? We have a president who targets US citizens for assassination. Through his killing program, at least three American citizens have been assassinated in drone strikes, including a 16-year-old boy from Denver, Colorado. Obama showed his true colors when he was in the Senate and voted to grant telecommunications companies retroactive criminal immunity for their federal felonies for cooperating with the Bush administration’s illegal surveillance program. They could be tracking you. They could find out from the library what books you’re checking out, they could go to you web provider and find out to whom you’re sending emails, what websites you're accessing. It's like the KGB in the Soviet Union, but so much worse because of advances in technology. "

Weekend

So apparently I super love yoga. Who would have guessed?
And I get to do the yoga with a group of moms.
Well, that is, the video is for moms.

Also, we are taking Hannah and Levi to the zoo saturday.

It is going to be awesome. Pictures to come.



Lastly, I found out my birth mother was a twin...so...there is that...

Poems and Comics

I really dig this poem.

The Man We Wanted God to Be

September 19, 2012 By Rupert Loydell

The man we wanted God to be
is divorced and drinks on his own.
He watches too much television
and is never far from the settee.

The man we wanted God to be
has no motive or reason.
He doesn’t turn up for interviews,
if he did wouldn’t get the job.

The man we wanted God to be
can hardly find his own way home
or remember the way into town,
let alone manage to walk on water.

The man we wanted God to be
turned out to be somebody else.
His stories only confused us,
we didn’t much like his friends.

The man we wanted God to be
is still insistent that he is.
We had such high hopes for him
but heaven was not on his mind.

It comes from this site I frequent, Jesus Radicals. It was actually shown to me by a professor I greatly appreciated and admired, Dr. Chip Kooi.

Also, I find this comic to be hilarious and true.


 

Pros and Cons

I do not think money is bad. I think it is good. It helps me survive. I do think money causes many problems, something especially evident in developing and third world countries. I also think life is important and valuable. I think it should be cherished and no one has the right to impede upon another's life in any way with a direct, conscious decision to do so.
And so we find ourselves at that sticky place with abortion. Sifting through all the political rhetoric is very difficult and is often a trying task. So, it is hard for me to believe someone like Romney is pro-life when he is in favor of further military spending and expansion. Inherently, an innocent child will die. If just that one life is snuffed out due to a drone strike, I do not think Romney can say he is pro-life. Rather, he is anti-abortion and pro-American life and to me, that is a big difference than truly being pro-life. Romney was just an example. This is rhetoric I hear from conservatives all the time, including many conservatives that I am very close to and love, yet I find their view unreconcilable.
Conservatives would also like to do as they wish with their money, stating "how can the government think it knows what to do with my money better than I do?" This is valid. All tithing statistics aside though, obviously people don't really know what to do with their money. Conversely, should we allow the government to know what is best for our bodies and minds? Specifically women, can the government know what is right for women in the case of abortion? It seems to me that it cannot if it cannot know what is the right way to spend our money.

For further reading, here are some links to author, theologian and preacher Greg Boyd's blog on abortion and one on homosexuality that discusses the inadequacies of the Church's relationship with the LGBT community.

World

I keep listening to this song over and over. I can't get enough. It is so good. It was on the season opener of The Walking Dead.

Today I woke up at 5:30. To go to 6am breakfast call. Random, yes. But good. Savannah and I shared this giant plate of a scramble covered with gravy. We shared, which was definitely the best plan because it was huge.

Lastly, I just love Vice. They always have such great documentaries about stuff that normal news doesn't cover. It is great.
Well they had recently posted a video of a trailer for a new series they are going to put out about this dude Eddie Huang. They first showcased him in an episode of their series entitled "Munchies." Now he is up to no good traveling around and this first episode is about him going to the Bay area and doing his food thing there.

And here is the one I am really looking forward to. Not in a "wow this is going to be fun" but in a holy cow this is awesomely tragic way. Behold.

Pika Pi

I think I am going to be Pikachu for halloween. That will be awesome. I am 25 and I still love me some pokemon.

Also, I am going to attempt to introduce three new words into my regular conversation. Pedantic, ineptitude, and compunction. It just seems like the right thing to do.

High and Low

I have spoken about art before, my affinity for it. One thing I love is the absurd. Eccentric things. Black Metal being one of them. It is so alone. So still. Yet at the same time being a concussive wall of brilliant lo-fi hatred.
Another thing I love is Andy. Warhol that is. In grade four I did a report on him for my G.A.T.E. after school program (That stands for "gifted and talented education." Yeah, I was pretentious from the get go.) My parents even took me to the SFMOMA because they had a special exhibit on him. Come to think of it, I think that was when my love affair with modern art, especially abstract expressionism began. I distinctly remember a brilliantly oversized canvas that was entirely black save a thin red line near the bottom. I digress. I really want this shirt so much. SO MUCH. Yet it has been discontinued and is now being sold at an exorbitant price. Alas, I fear it was not meant to be. So instead, I think I shall just settle for a framed print one day.

Everything

It has long occurred to me that many times we take very simple things for granted. Specifically, we take basic functions for granted. Bertrand Russell and Alfred North Whitehead's foundational mathematical exploration the Principia Mathematica proves at length that one plus one does, in fact, equal two. Thus, it is entirely too important to understand very small things so we are able to cogently articulate larger things. I title this "That Which is the Nature of Non-Existence."

It is altogether impossible for anything to exist in non-existence. Not even non-existence can exist in non-existence as this admits an existence of that which would occupy nothing, as nothing is still a thing in the sense that it is that which is the absence of all things. Thus, the universe and even existence itself cannot be thought of in static terms as space in any sense does not exist outside of the universe. As such, our universe cannot be thought of as confined in a finite space, rather our universe is a possible infinite space and anything existing outside of our universe would then become a non-sequiter. Many times we view our universe as a ball of light in a sea of darkness that houses our universe. This cannot be if that space that holds our universe is non-existence. This is also opposed to the notion of something that does not exist, as that which does not exist holds within it the possibility for existence as it has already existed or could exist in the future. Thus, non-existence is the absence of all things, the absence of nothing, removing all forms from it, the existent probability, possibility, qualitative, quantitive self.

I wrote this a long time ago.
I still like it.

The Problem With the Christo-hyper-masculine Mythos

There is a sentiment being displayed currently in many non-denominational, reformed, evangelical streams of Christianity, that is, pervasive in Christendom in general. It is the growing tendency to display Christ as an individual who is not afraid of conflict or to get in your face. A Christ that will get in the octagon and "kick some ass."Those who support this Christological caricature posit that feminism has created a Christ deficient of masculinity and traditional male virtues. That Christ has become effeminate and that this is a terrible blow to the work of Christ. There is some truth in this, but only in that men are unwilling to sacrifice their lives for their wives and be the man Christ demands them to be in kindness, gentleness and love. However, there are also two horrible truths about this Christological sentiment. The first is that it forces men into a singularity of aggressive behaviors as the most virtuous behavior. This aggression does not have to manifest itself purely through physical violence but it does insist that the actions of men must be forceful in a seemingly tyrannical sort of way. This leaves little or no room for any behavior of men that does not include hunting or fighting as virtuous (or anything that could bring causational goodness to the work of Christ). In the very least, all other behaviors are a bastardized version of true masculinity. Things such as academia would be less virtuous than warfare. Playing Dungeons and Dragons less virtuous than playing football. All non-aggressive actions become mutually exclusive with virtue. The second truth is that this Christology ostracizes women almost entirely. It merely reestablishes a patriarchy that is only friendly toward male cisgender constitutions. It finds no virtue in the female form or voice and demonizes all ostensible feminine roles of liturgical practices and any orthopraxic gynocentric values of the Church. YHWH is no longer the pantocreator who is intimately and deeply in love with his creation and Christ is no longer the man who openly wept and bitterly cried out in advocation for creation upon his death. No, this is a Christology that wishes to re-imagine Christ as one who jumped off the cross, pulled it out of the ground and beat to death all the Centurions in attendance. Mark Driscoll famously said that Christ is "a pride fighter with a tattoo down His leg, a sword in His hand and the commitment to make someone bleed. That is a guy I can worship. I cannot worship the hippie, diaper, halo Christ because I cannot worship a guy I can beat up." It is proper, though not in totality, to esteem YHWH with feminine attributes and being connected with the feminine, as is seen directly within the hebraic canon in the use of Eloheim, a word that is both masculine and feminine. It is indicative in the nature of YHWH as he is the giver of life. It is also in Christ's life that we see his inclusion toward women, when they were scarcely more than chattel. It is again pervasive in the language of Pauline theology that demands an egalitarian acknowledgement of all humanity within the greater narrative of justification.
In conclusion, the aggression sought out by Driscoll and others in this camp seems to be wholly out of place with the ethos of a Christ who willingly died on the cross. He met violence with peace. He showed no aggression toward those who killed him. He begged YHWH to forgive them. These are the tenants of Christ and the life that we strive so desperately to follow. Christ should then not be viewed as wholly male and idolized as such, but rather, more specifically and properly, as the Logos, as God manifested in humanity as the perfection of humanity. Once our anthropological perception of Christ is shifted as such, we no longer see what it is to be a man, but we see what it is to be Christ like, the sole purveyor of wholly goodness in the world. A Christ that has broken all barriers and has reached out to all people not through any form of aggression or violence but through a scandalous birth, an impoverished life and an unwarranted criminal death. These are not the behaviors of a comic book super hero. These are the actions of one who would reach down into the darkness and love humanity, actions that do not establish that masculinity is important, rather, that people are important. To be sure, Mark Driscoll and others who support this type of hyper-masculine Christology are heartfelt Christians who are trying as much as I am to follow Christ. But it is also certain that this view of Christ is ignorant and demonstrably wrong.

Matt. 7:14

This is something I have been reflecting upon for some time. What actually is the narrow gate and the difficult road? I wonder if it is mutual exclusivity of that which is commonplace in the world. If it really does mean we give all our belongings away. If it means we get to know and somehow come to love not only our enemies but those who annoy us. There is a vast difference between love and hate, but there is also a vast difference between not proactively loving and proactively loving someone. Perhaps the hard road is to love those around you, especially those who try your patience with every word they speak. Further, I think it also means not acting in violence. It is easy to become angry and defend yourself and make pointed accusations at the other person. It is easy to retaliate when someone hurts you physically, emotionally, etc. It is not easy to say nothing and then tell them you love them afterwords. This is something I fail so horribly at.

Also, I have stumbled across a great blog by a fellow CoCer! Thats Church of Christ for all of you out there who are not in the know. He seems to struggle with the same things I do, so it is good to know I am not alone in these things.