Sunday, January 24, 2010

Conan vs. Haiti

The two big news items this week in America are the devastation in Haiti, and the feud between Conan O'Brien and NBC. Like many Americans, I started watching Conan with a renewed interest this last week (nothing like a little controversy to drive up ratings, huh NBC?). I think that Conan has actually handled the situation with a fair dose of class, in the midst of all of his inane, juvenile comedy. His closing monologue urging young Americans to resist cynicism was a nice touch and actually fairly inspiring.

All week long, Conan repeatedly spoke of the tragedy that's still taking place in Haiti, urging his viewers to give to various charities, and reminding them that the feud between him and NBC was "nothing, just entertainment." I like that he put it into perspective like that. But...I have to admit...every time he brought up Haiti, I found myself thinking about the sadness of the situation, then instantly wanting him to move on with the show, doing things like burning piles of NBC money on stage. I gave a token emotional nod to the serious issue, then instantly desired my entertainment and pleasure.

Isn't that kind of an interesting metaphor for the current state of our American culture? Let's face it: we love our entertainment! I do not for one minute doubt the sincerity of Conan when he spoke of the need to focus on the more important things in life; I also do not doubt the sincerity of millions of Americans when they say that they are deeply saddened by Haiti. It's just that our culture has the most convenience, entertainment, and pleasure of any society in the history of the world. We slip into "selfish" mode all to easily....

(Before any of you accuse me of judging, let me state clearly that I stand first in line with the offenders!)

Friday night, I got to perform music in front of nearly 2,000 people. What a rush! I have gotten to perform to 1,000+ crowds about 7 or 8 times in my life. Let me tell you, I hope that feeling never gets old. But, right before our last song, my friend Jesse stormed the stage and asked my friend Kristal (our bass player) to marry him. I can't help but think about how many tens of thousands of dollars were spent on the concert: promotion, lighting, band performance fee (not for me, dangit! haha), room rental, security, etc. Yet, when all is said and done, the truly important thing that happened at that event was two people making a declaration of their desire to commit to a lifelong relationship. Relationship is of more value than any concert or entertainment.

I encourage you to remember that as you approach each day. Sometimes, just turn off the TV and hold your kids. Turn off the iPod and call a friend and tell them how much you value them and your friendship. Log off of Facebook and meet your mom in person for coffee. Find someone who you can be a big brother or sister to and talk to them about their future. Remember to thank God for all of the truly meaningful things in this life, the most important being the gift of His son, Jesus Christ.

But most of all, remember to NOT watch the new/old Leno show, 'cause that guys sucks!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Interactive: How Certain Are You Of Your Beliefs?

This should be fun. Below, I have listed 30 "truth statements." For each statement, I want you to answer 3 questions:
1) How certain am I that this statement is true? Please rate from 1-10, with 10 being absolutely certain, and 1 being I don't believe at all. A 5 might represent the "I could go both directions" point of view.
2) Would I be willing to die for this belief? Or, would I be willing to divide from other Christians over this belief? Or, would I be willing to merely discuss and disagree with others? I'm going to call this question the 3D: Die, Divide, or Discuss.
3) Is belief an essential belief, by which I mean essential for salvation?

Remember, if you answer a "10/die/essential" for every question, you might be a fundamentalist. If you answer a "5/discuss/what's essential?" to every question, you might be a liberal. :)

Have fun!

1. There is a God. (Remember: number, 3D, essential)
2. Christ rose from the dead.
3. God loves you
4. God is Trinity.
5. Christ is going to "rapture" the church before the "great tribulation."
6. Christ will return.
7. Christ is coming back to reign on earth for a literal 1000 years.
8. God wants you to trust that he will protect you from all physical harm.
9. God wants you to trust that he will protect you from all emotional harm.
10. God wants you to trust Him in every circumstance.
11. The Bible has no historical errors.
12. Adam and Eve were real, historical people.
13. There really was a talking snake in the garden.
14. God created the earth.
15. God created the earth in 7 literal, 24-hour days.
16. Christ's death effectively paid for all the sin of mankind.
17. Christ's death was for you personally.
18. I have a "free will" and chose to accept God's salvation.
19. The Apocrypha (extra books in Hebrew literature, as well as Catholic) should not be a part of our scriptures.
20. The book of 3rd John should be a part of our scriptures.
21. God still speaks to people today.
22. God still performs miracles today.
23. Smoking is always sinful.
24. Eating unhealthy food is always sinful.
25. Having your mind altered by recreational drugs is always sinful.
26. Having your mind altered by medicinal drugs (pain-killers, anti-depressants) is not sinful.
27. Listening to music where the lyrics are about Jesus is better than listening to any other music.
28. The Bible should always be read literally.
29. The church members must give 10% of their income to the local church that they are a part of.
30. We should always have music and singing as part of our church gatherings.

Fun stuff, huh? Final thought for you. Where do you get your opinions/thoughts/beliefs/convictions about the above questions? Here are some of the main ways that we formulate our truths:
- scripture
- general revelation (God revealed through nature)
- tradition (family or church)
- logic & reason
- experiences (your own and other people's)
- emotions (how you feel about experiences)
- special revelation (prophecy, word of knowledge)

I will try to post my numbers, etc. as a comment on this blog. I also plan on doing a blog post on how much we should lean on each of these sources of truth, what are the pros and cons of each.

Thanks! Aaron

Monday, January 4, 2010

C. Michael Patton on Homosexuality

For a while now, I have wanted to write on the subject of homosexuality from a Christian perspective. One of the blogs that I frequent is called Parchment and Pen, and the founder and primary contributor is Michael Patton (no, NOT the singer from Faith No More!). This is probably one of the most balanced and well-informed articles that I've read on the subject of homosexuality. I would encourage you to read it here:

http://bit.ly/8Ki3rT

If I could sum it up, here's what it says:

A) Homosexuality is sinful, despite the pressure from our culture to declare otherwise.
B) Every single follower of Christ is a sinner
C) Even if someone is not having perpetual victory over a sin, they can still be a follower of Christ
1) Peter still struggled with Jewish pride/racism for twelve years after Christ's resurrection
D) Christ views us in the light of His grace, not our sinful behavior, so we are to do the same

I know this could be potentially controversial for some of us, but I believe that the arguments put forth on this blog reflect pretty accurately my viewpoint on the issue of homosexuality. If anything, I would want to maybe be a little bit more clear on the Bible's take on ALL issues of sexual sin (anything outside of chastity or monogamous, committed, heterosexual marriage.) The fact that homosexuals seem to get picked on more than other people makes me sad.

Re-Posting C Michael Patton