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Why I joined and unjoined the group "Do NOT support the Golden Compass"

Dear Friends,
First, I would ask that those of you reading this that do not share my faith to know that I love my brothers and sisters very much.

CNN says that some Christians are calling out against the soon to be released "The Golden Compass". Here is why some Christians will stay away from the movie:
1) The work from which it is derived is written by an atheist.
2) The money you spend on the movie will benefit that atheist effort.
3) Your beliefs are being challenged.
4) Your children will be influenced towards a worldview that you do not share.
5) You can't talk about it at Sunday school without being ridiculed.

The only one of these that I can accept without qualification is #2. Spend your money wisely. Also, don't pirate it, that is wrong and bad.

I am sympathetic to #4. Parents need to be careful about how their children see the world.

BUT, how much better would it be if Billy goes to the movie, sees some sweet polar bear wars, and then returns how to talk about the battle for the cosmos with his parents, and his parents ask him questions about how the Bible was similar or different from the movie?

My point is this: Don't write off art because the artist is trying to ruin our faith. Paul's polemics often cited pagan sayings and rituals, and understanding some one else's opinion does not mean that you agree.

My other point is this: this movie would be a great discussion starter for our friends outside the Church. It would be worth my $7.50 to be able to explain my God to someone who needed it.

One more point: Go get more friends who are outside the Church.

2 Quotes:
"To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection." Jules Henri Poincare

"He who will not reason is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares not is a slave." ~William Drummond, Academical Questions

Thank You Señor, May I Have Another?

It is time to report the Lord's goodness from the past year: I am thankful that / for:

Carol became my girlfriend. The Lord blessed us as we prayed for each other while we were in separate countries for the summer. She also said YES and is wearing my ring!

I learned what it meant to be a victim of racial profiling.
The Mexican policeman didn't arrest me for my attitude when I refused to "pay the ticket then".
Not all Mexican police are corrupt- in fact most were helpful and spoke blessings to us.

I was fed a steak dinner by a family who didn't have the means to feed themselves consistently.

My semester was hard because I as broken for the world.
I still am.

My education and its benefits despite my attitude.
I will be done in May.

My family and the continued work the God is doing in it.

The men I live with. They are inspiring.

That discipline produces restoration.

I have people in my life who pray for me.

God understands what I mean even when I do not.

I got a free MacBookPro.

Sevier doing so well on the MCAT and that he took 4 hours out of his year to enjoy life.
I am not pre-med.

Ryan finally got to go to PBA although I didn't go with him.

The Office had some decent episodes before the strike.

Scott and Allie got an apartment.

Justin and Hannah, and Pete and Krista are having sons soon.
I am not.

I can only hope for next year to be as blessed as this. Gracias por todo mi buen Jesus.

I once knew a Xhosa. Thats a comedian, right?

Tonight a friend who is studying Political Science picked up my copy of Long Walk to Freedom and said that the person on the cover looked familiar. The man on the cover is the author, Nelson Mandela.

The conversation that followed revealed that this person either didn't know or couldn't recall what apartheid was.

I don't want to be arrogant, but I am shocked.

I am hopeful that this man just hasn't had the right classes yet, but how does someone looking to go into politics not know about this?

Please leave feedback. I want to know if I am justified in being shocked.

Airports Serving Technicolor Dreams

I finally had the chance to dig into Long Walk to Freedom over Fall Break when I forgot all of my academic work in Indiana. I was about a hundred pages in when I arrived in Atlanta, which was just far enough to be against the Crown's shenanigans. The feeling was similar to what I felt during the first part of Michael Collins.

As I felt animosity towards racist motives of apartheid, I noticed that all of the ground crew in Atlanta was black unlike it was in Indy. As I entered the terminal the large black population caught my attention. The people I was seeing had the same citizenship I did, yet it took me a while to understand what they were saying when I eavesdropped in conversations.

I got in line at Pachabell's Carrousel, which is I thought looked like my best bet to get some good sweet tea- a precious commodity in Yankeeville. The line was long and the restaurant busier. Then the woman behind me asked if I would share a table with her and I agreed.

She was peculiar to me because she wore a purple dress with matching hat and complementing scarf. She had sizable ring on both hands that went well with her tennis bracelet and pearls. We both had the chicken, although I had dark meat. I'm sure that our flavor preferences had nothing to do with our ethnicities, but it was ironic nonetheless.

We learned that we are both in ministry. She also congratulated me on my recent engagement. I asked her about traveling and the list of places she had been took about a minute to get through. Given the book of choice, I asked her about her about South Africa. The man beside us chimed in. I became a spell-bound spectator and the two seemed to forget I was there.

My new found and never-seen again pastor friend paid for boths meals on the basis that he Lord had blessed her and now she was blessing me. That was fine by me - rings are exactly inexpensive. The person wearing mine is worth it.

That airport terminal provided a perfect setting for what some in this world cannot think of-- a pleasant meal between strangers who belong to different ethnicities and SESs. I hope that this kind of freedom only continues to grow.

Empires Fall

Two weeks ago a chapel speaker from the UK reminded us of how empires have fallen in history. It seems almost inevitable that the United States will one day either deflate or collapse.

What is it about politics that interests me? C-SPAN is often more thrilling than ESPN. I don't even know that much, but somehow my attention is grasped by the jockeying for attention hidden in the intensity that is hidden agendas and misnomers.

Is there one upright person in office? What keeps Americans from integrity, truth, and justice? Is it fear, ennui, boredom? Fat, Dumb, Happy, Asleep, Insomniacs? The issues seem to complex for any common people to know enough about the details to care.

Why do I care about politics at all? I am of a Kingdom that will exist even after the Earth is made new. Should not my primary concern be to get the Church ready for those days?

Even so, I can't decide what to make of Sicko. I don't care about parties. I just want to do what is right.

Bed Sheets

As I got into bed tonight, I thanked God for my comforter. It seems like a small thing, but I love being wrapped up like burrito in it. Then I remembered to pray for those don't have bedding and need it.

Over the summer I read something that said something to the effect of, "As long as there are empty mouths in the Body of Christ, the eucharist is incomplete." While I think that Christ's death was enough to buy me into being able to be in God's family, I see the point.

As I write, I can see the faces of Christians that I have taken communion with that did without basic necessities today. I am compelled to write that I am ashamed that my truest brothers and sisters do not have enough.

I have two comforters on my bed. Most of the time the smaller of the two is pushed to the side against the wall.

The Lord is clear that nothing I have I have because I have earned it, or by some way am entitled to it. Job's cry for mercy was met with a threatening truth. "I made you from dust, you will be dust again" and "Where were you when I hung the stars?"

How about this for haunting: "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?."

I have pity, but I know how quickly it will be gone by the time I finish my breakfast tomorrow and am worried with not being late to class (again).

I understand why it seems no one does anything. We have never thought seriously about our own survival. Gross, Sick, Untrue.

May God grant us the mercy of being moved to care for our fellow believers. OUR FLESH AND BLOOD IN CHRIST.
Come quickly Lord.