My wife and I have been working our way through the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel series on DVD through Blockbuster online. Its been a lot of fun, and much more enjoyable than waiting week to week to watch the next episode. We're nearing the end of Angel and we'll need to find a new series to follow. One of the really enjoyable aspects of watching TV like this is that it enables us to have more critical discussions--as we watch in one continuous flow the story is easier to encompass and the storyline is easier to see and think about. All in all, I'd say they were very well done mini-movies.
That being said, one of the more recent episodes, at the end of the 4th season of Angel dealt with an interesting question, revolving around free will and peace on earth, which made me wonder; at what price will we accept paradise? In terms of lives...would we sacrifice someone to afford others peace? What if the world would know peace but 12 preople would have to be sacrificed? Is it worth it?
And when it comes to our will...do we need to retain it for paradise to be paradise? In the show, Angel and his co-heroes end a higher being's attempt at global domination through love, peace, and good feelings...because this higher being removed "free will", and ate about a dozen people a day to sustain itself. Now, clearly, this being wasn't good...but it did bring happiness with it, or so it seemed. The price was some people to feed it, and our collective free will...weighed against the thousands that die around the world every moment, subject to our free will.
How important is free will? Without it, love cannot be real...but with it, men kill each other. We believe in its necessity, yet pray that our wills will be conformed to God's will. Why do I need a free will so much? One day, I will not have a will to hold onto sinful desires...the battle between the dueling wills within me will end...yet I cannot help but wonder...dear God why is my will important enough to die for?
I think in the end, the show got it right. No peace can be peace under those circumstances. If God's own son would die to give me my will, then the price cannot be weighed with simple numbers. We need to be free...even though our freedom affords too many merely fresh versions of hell on earth. We that have seen what a righteous Man may do with His will perfected should use our lives towards correcting the flaw two people once created when they allowed their free wills to divide humanity from our Creator.
Father, forgive me, a sinner, for clinging to sinful wickedness instead of your redeeming hope.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Money Money Everywhere...
But not a cent for me.
Sigh.
So I am working three jobs. This seemed like such a great thing. Unfortunately, they only seem to make me more busy, but no richer. Its discouraging.
On another note, I figured out how to get control of my class today. I threatened to make them stand in the corner. I actually put one kid in it. Its amazing the amount of silence you can get by threatening to slightly embarrass kids these days. Standing in the corner. Who'd a thunk it?
We've also reached two of my favorite periods, so teaching has become much more enjoyable. We're going over the Civil War in US History, and the Crusades and the Medieval period in World History. Its a lot of fun. I was explaining to the highschoolers just how destructive the Civil War was for our nation. THey weren't getting it. SO I asked them what the problem was when a person breaks up with them. They were silent. I told them that when a person breaks up with you, the problem is they don't want to be with you...obviously. And this was the same problem with the states. So then I asked them what the Union had to do to fix the problem...they made jokes until I told them that the Union had to utterly devastate the South to win the war. Then they got quiet. It was really cool. And then I got to talk about what that has done to our country. How in over a hundred years those wounds haven't healed. How there are people today who mean it when they say the South shall rise again. It was one of the few times I've felt like they were really listening. And how even today, the rift that was torn into our nation is one that divides us and will probably continue to divide us for years to come.
Then in world history, I had a real challenge. They added a new student to my class today. This is perfectly fine...except I am talking about the crusades and the new student is a muslim in a predominately Christian group of middle school kids. So I had to explain the reasons for the crusades...how there was a real threat presented by the Muslim hordes before the West launched its Holy war...and I then had to explain my opinion that while tactically it was important for the West attack the Muslims and save Constantinople, that philosophically saying that "God Wills it" with regard to war is ultimately disasterous. It was a very interesting class. Next week I am going to divide them up and let them debate about it. We'll see what happens.
Good classes this week. Now I have some Primerica meetings and Starbucks to look forward too...I just wish that included a decent paycheck.
Sigh.
So I am working three jobs. This seemed like such a great thing. Unfortunately, they only seem to make me more busy, but no richer. Its discouraging.
On another note, I figured out how to get control of my class today. I threatened to make them stand in the corner. I actually put one kid in it. Its amazing the amount of silence you can get by threatening to slightly embarrass kids these days. Standing in the corner. Who'd a thunk it?
We've also reached two of my favorite periods, so teaching has become much more enjoyable. We're going over the Civil War in US History, and the Crusades and the Medieval period in World History. Its a lot of fun. I was explaining to the highschoolers just how destructive the Civil War was for our nation. THey weren't getting it. SO I asked them what the problem was when a person breaks up with them. They were silent. I told them that when a person breaks up with you, the problem is they don't want to be with you...obviously. And this was the same problem with the states. So then I asked them what the Union had to do to fix the problem...they made jokes until I told them that the Union had to utterly devastate the South to win the war. Then they got quiet. It was really cool. And then I got to talk about what that has done to our country. How in over a hundred years those wounds haven't healed. How there are people today who mean it when they say the South shall rise again. It was one of the few times I've felt like they were really listening. And how even today, the rift that was torn into our nation is one that divides us and will probably continue to divide us for years to come.
Then in world history, I had a real challenge. They added a new student to my class today. This is perfectly fine...except I am talking about the crusades and the new student is a muslim in a predominately Christian group of middle school kids. So I had to explain the reasons for the crusades...how there was a real threat presented by the Muslim hordes before the West launched its Holy war...and I then had to explain my opinion that while tactically it was important for the West attack the Muslims and save Constantinople, that philosophically saying that "God Wills it" with regard to war is ultimately disasterous. It was a very interesting class. Next week I am going to divide them up and let them debate about it. We'll see what happens.
Good classes this week. Now I have some Primerica meetings and Starbucks to look forward too...I just wish that included a decent paycheck.
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