Saturday, July 23, 2005

The Academy

One week down, one left to go. Its better this year than last.

For those of you that don't know, the Academy is (presently) a summer conference that I have had the joy of working for two summers now. Presently its geared towards high school students headed towards college who will be faced with the challenge of maintaining their faith in the midst of a secular world that awaits, even in Christian Universities like Biola. An alarming number of Christian teens fall into apthay or leave the faith altogether upon leaving home, and we feel it has a great to do with the fact that they have never learned to think hard. For more info you should really visit the Academy site which is on the right of your screen even as you read this. Or follow this link. Now you can't even use the excuse of being too lazy to find my link.

So, I spent a week with amazing kids and very good friends and incredible professors talking about living a virtuous life, seeking truth, and finding courage.

My take away question, which I did ask the kids but have been thinking about myself is this: can there be courage in heaven? I think its not far off to suggest that courage requires the presence of fear...and it seems unlikely that there would be fear in heaven, so is there courage in heaven? If not...that too seems wrong, since courage is a virtue and it seems unlikely that it should pass away.

My theory? I think that there is courage in Heaven. Lets say that often sin lies in chosing one lesser good thing over a better good that has been shown to us to replace the lesser good. We become attached to the thing itself instead of simply wanting whatever good God offers us. This is because we know and love what we have and cannot be sure that the new good will actually be better for us...we doubt God or believe another good is better than what He is offering, and that is sinful and wrong. Well, in heaven, we will forever be seeing a newer and greater good, eternally replacing our previous ideal with the new that God has revealed in Himself. I believe this because, as Lewis says, there will forever be further up and further in for us to travel, always finding more and more of our great Lord.

Well, we remain ourselves--creatures of free-choice--and so while we are perfected and WILL choose the greater good rather than the lesser good, the choice remains ours, and everytime we trust that the unknown will be better than the known, that God will not disappoint us and in Christ there is ever more for us to know and love, everytime we forsake the old for the new that God reveals we are being courageous.

That's my theory. Courage in Heaven. I am very excited about one more week of this.

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

The Truth About Hammas

They're a bunch of terrorists who have no interest in peace. See for yourself.

I say we make unqualified war on them and do not relent until they have been wiped from the earth...since apparently that is the viable nature of warfare as far as they are concerned.

I haven't posted anything on the bombings in Britain...but I'll take this opportunity to give my thoughts...first, the terrorists don't seem to understand that the British and the Americans are not the French or the Italians or the Spanish. We don't get scared when you bloody us--we get mad as hell and hit back harder than you thought possible. I love that every Brit interviewed about the bombings has closed every one of their responses by saying "But, well, we're British and we don't stop functioning just because someone bombed us." Hmph. And here the terrorists were expecting you to cower like a bunch of Frenchmen at war...how quickly Sir Winston is forgotten...but obviously not entirely by his countrymen.

Ok...now, the other thought that I have is that the terrorists have gotten progressively less effective. Which means we ARE winning--if we weren't there would be more of these types of attacks in our own homeland, and they'd be even worse. As it is, in the three major terrorist attacks the terrorists have conducted, the first being 9/11, the second in Spain, and the third in Britain, the death toll continues to get smaller and smaller. For the unbeatable enemy that the Left portrays them as, they seem to me to be getting pretty desperate. And while all life is sacred, if we have to live with small attacks like this for years it seems worth the price that has been paid to limit them to this extent.

And finally...all the Democrats can talk about is Karl Rove. They are ignoring the attack because it says too much against the constant doom and gloom mantra they have chantedsince before our election. How sad--they don't even spend time to think about the international affects that this is having, because they aren't negative. Spain got plenty of attention--after all, Spain cowed to the terror. Britain only reaffirmed its pride...so they're ignoring it. Typical.

Friday, July 08, 2005

Write a Book

I think I would love to actually write a book. I've tried before...everyone who loves books has probably. My fatal flaw was detail...I would get so worried about trying to give a detailed description of what I saw in my mind that the book was incredibly dull...or overly complicated. Of course, I was writing my great novel at the right old age of 10 years, but I was certain I could get something out that would be worth reading. After all, I made all the stories for all the games that we played as kids. Between my brother and I, we owned something like 200 GI Joes (not those large, Barbie-type dolls, but the actual GI Joes that were, I guess, small but in my opinion SOOO much better...but I digress) and the left-overs of the Star Wars figures, superheroes, even action figures from the movie Hook. We played with them for hours...and usually the majority of my time was spent setting them up in my imaginary scenarios--they had countries, kingdoms, governments, backstories, families, everything. I was reading Tolkien and Lewis, so I borrowed a great deal from those masters to sculpt my stories--mostly the names of the different lands. But there were entirely original epic wars and stories too. In fact, I was so wrapped up in it all, I didn't let my brother really play with me--and half of the toys were his. Sigh. Big brothers can be jerks...what else can be said?

Anyways, I'm thinking it shouldn't be impossible to write a good story. I've read enough...watched enough...and I am always taking in more...eventually, once you've consumed enough, if you DON'T start producing something yourself, it starts to fester, you know? We'll see. Maybe I'll never be a good story teller. More importantly, perhaps I'll never be a good writer...but it seems like it would be a worthwhile goal to try.

Monday, July 04, 2005

Poverty Revisited...and an Ode to my Home

I talked with my wife and she suggested that I could express it more clearly. Plus, I watched some more news recently and found out more of what was actually going on...so I figured I would add an adendum to my first post.

Here is the problem, as I see it: Mandella and crew are saying they will remove the face of poverty from the world. As if that is the problem today with the world. As if that is even possible. The poor we will always have with us. The only man never to lie stated that plainly. I think there are higher goals to keep in mind.

While releasing poor nations from their obligations of debt does sound like a good idea if it is possible, that is not going to stop the dying. Because Poverty doesn't kill anyone. What kills people is the lack of Justice in those nations. Without freedom and justice, prosperity only means the widening of the gap between the wealthy and the poor. What the nations of Africa need is justice, not freedom from debt or financial aid.

I cannot help but think of the old adage--give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day--teach a man to fish and he'll never go hungry again. The problem in Africa is not the lack of money--plenty of people have survived that to become incredibly prosperous. The problem is, if we could send $100 Billion to them this very instant, all that would end up happening is there would be one man, or ten men with enormous fortunes and the rest of the country would still be dying. Think I'm way off? Look at the third world nations of the world. They aren't third world nations because they don't have resources--or even because they haven't received aid from more prosperous nations--they are third world nations because there is no justice present.

A prime example would be the Philippines. They've received plenty of money over decades of relations with the US. Have the people prospered from this, or have the rich got richer, the poor poorer? Sadly, its the latter, not the former.

So--things like the "Live 8" concerts...they're obviously motivated by a desire to help. But they are really naive when it comes to understanding the problem. Lyndon Johnson also said we would end poverty. Some 35 years later, I am sorry to say he was completely wrong. Poverty isn't the problem so long as unjust men continue to go free. Poverty isn't the problem when the innocent and the helpless remain defenseless and uncared for. So I think long before we address the problems of the financial world...we need to address the problems of the moral and social world that really are killing people in Africa in an endless stream.

My solution? Its time to stop beating around the bush when it comes to comparing governments. If poverty kills, certain types of government surely have their hands soaked in blood. I'm not saying we make a government cookie cutter--but the fact is there are good governments and there are bad governments--and bad government has a lot more to do with what is killing Africa than poverty.

I shouldn't boil the problem down to bad government--there are moral issues killing Africa too. Aids is an entirely defeatable disease in a moral society--yet it is running rampant in Africa. This has nothing to do with the ecconomic stability or health of the continent.

Freedom. Liberty. Justice for All. They are central to a nation that thrives and prospers. The people of this nation have had the good fortune, even providential guidance, to have an incredibly bountiful land as their home. It is these virtues that have made a great nation. If we could bestow on gift on Africa, these are what they need--not our money.

That's not to say I don't understand the desire to give money. But they are telling people that this will finally fix the problem. They're wrong.

As for the celebrities that are doing it...yes--its better that they do this rather than doing nothing. I just think it was truly ironic, from their dress to their attitude, that they were explaining the needs of the truly poor. Nothing wrong with them being involved...I just couldn't help but reflect on the irony.

Happy Fourth all! 229 years and going strong. God Bless America!

Sunday, July 03, 2005

Death...by Poverty?

I can see the news report now..."Yesterday, a man was walking down the street and suddenly collapsed, dying instantly. Witnesses say he reached into his pockets and turned them out, let out a loud gasp and fell roughly to the ground, never to move again. Officials are looking into further leads, but it seems clear that this was just another in a long steady stream of recent sudden deaths on our streets. It is believed that upon discovering that his pockets were empty, the man fell victim to Extreme Poverty--the fourth known case this week alone. We would like to urge all our viewers to keep at least a $10 bill on them at all times. You never know when Extreme Poverty may strike, and being prepared with even the smallest amount of cash on hand may be the only hope of stalling what many officials are already calling an epidemic. Back to you Jen."

While in the midst of settling in for a (hopefully) restful Fourth of July Weekend, I had the TV on tonight to give me some background noise as I made dinner. Sheri was spending some time with Aiden, so I could listen to whatever I wanted too...and I came across some sort of public charity event being MC'd by Will Smith. I paused to figured out what was going on...and he was talking about the "Declaration of Inter-Dependence"...that the people supporting this charity were making a statement regarding a need. He said that in the poorest nations in the world (Africa) a baby dies every three seconds of "Extreme Poverty". Then they flashed an Ad with Brad Pitt, Justin Timberlake, Jamie Foxx, George Clooney, etc, snapping every three seconds, while they flashed the statistic once again. Every three Seconds. A Baby dies. Of Extreme Poverty. And of course, all the celebrities were dressed in very simple jeans and white t-shirts.

Now...a couple of things crossed my mind watching this ad and listening to Will Smith. I realize they may sound a little callous...but hear me out.

First, nobody ever died from being poor. That's not what's killing these people. Its a way of life that's killing them. Its starvation. Its disease. Its endless wars. But its not the amount of money they do or do not have. So, that was my first reaction--its just a ridiculous claim to say "Poverty" killed anyone. It may have made their situation more dire--but it didn't kill anyone.

Then, as I was digesting this, another thought crossed my mind; these celebrities who are blaming the ills of the world on the lack of available funds have a great deal of gall. Now please understand--I have no problem with anyone making money--I myself am a great fan of money and the things it can offer. However...before you start blaming the problems in the world on money and asking for a hand out to solve them...perhaps you should pause and reflect on buying diamonds the size of my fist for your third wife...or toying with your three or four different multi-million dollar houses. The reason this struck me as sadly ironic is because nearly everyone that appeared on this Ad have had their share of publicity all about how extravegantly they have enjoyed the fruits of their fame--something I have no problem with--but the irony was too much for me to accept without SOME reaction. "Extreme Poverty" may be killing people...but its not slowing the spending of our concerned celebrities. Notice--these also tend to be the same people who suggest to everyone that the "simple, obvious" reason America is presently mobilized for war is ecconomic factors. Yet, for people who claim to understand the needs of the rest of the world and the greed that drives all international affairs, they remain unphased in their own spending habits and contractual demands.

As I say, I have no problem with a man who has millions deciding to build a house four times, or buying ridiculously huge stones for his lady of the month. Its may seem extravagant, but they worked for it, its theirs, so whatever--they answer for it, not me. But don't dress up in jeans and a t-shirt and try to lecture the world on the needs of the common man and the dangers of poverty. If you're really wanting to help, take a moment and consider exactly what is really contributing and maintaining the squallor of the poorest nations in the world. Try investing in something that will establish stability in the turbulent world of the third world nations instead of throwing money at the problem.

Saturday, July 02, 2005

The Batman

Really late, but a wonderful movie. Others have said this very well, of course. Blows all the other Batman movies away in my opinion--makes them truly forgetable actually. I've heard somewhere that they are doing a Superman movie too, and if this is any indication of how much better they can do these movies now, it'll be one of the only times I can remember relishing a remake over the original. Batman Begins is one the of first--it was excellent, and I left the theatre very grateful that there will be more on the way.

The look of the movie was fantastic--you could tell that the director appreciates comic books. The image of Bruce and his dead parents most vividly stands out in my mind. I am no comic enthusiast, but I have read a few and appreciated the look of this movie in light of comic book art.

The biggest element that sold this movie was character. It was driven by character--with action to keep it interesting, but unlike so many bad Comic-book movies (i.e. DareDevil) this movie spent the time to make you care. It didn't become overly dramatic--there were still lines that sounded as if they were literally lifted from the pages of a comic and put in the script ("Nice Coat" for example)--but there was depth here that we just haven't been treated too before. The best Superhero movies prior to this would be Spiderman 2 and the X-Men movies (but more X2 over the first one). This one left them far and away behind. Why? Because it dealt with character. And movies that care about the character--that respect the audience by giving them a story--a real story and not just an excuse to tie one action sequence to another--will always rise about the average "blockbusters" out there.

But most of all...this was the first time that they really dealt with the philosophy behind Batman. Its a rich idea in and of itself--best seen in a graphic novel by...the guy who did Sin City I believe...like I said, I am not a comic book guy, just a light-hearted fan...but the whole question of whether or not society needs a Dark Knight to ever have justice or if a Superman can give humanity the chance it needs to be its naturally good-self? A great question--and when its done right (which it was in the comic books I read) there are reasons on both sides. Good reasons...which is what makes for great story-telling.

Thanks to Nate Marshall, one time room-mate, for my meager comic-book education. I went out and bought a graphic novel that he lent me once--it was possibly the best one that I had read and I wanted to give it another look after watching this movie--"The Long Halloween"--a very good story. Anyways, not much else to say--I loved the movie and am eagerly looking forward to news of the next Batman.