This is one of those gray areas that can cause decisions that are neither good nor bad. Imagine being in a film class where you have to watch films. One week, the film is a movie with loads of language and nudity. You are a believer who does not need nude images in your mind for the rest of your life. What do you do?
I remember having to read graphic books in AP English my junior year. I was only 16. I read them so I could get the grade I needed. Looking back, I realize that reading Woman Hollering Creek really did molest my mind. I still remember "Never Marry a Mexican" like I read it today. If I saw the 16-year-old me entering AP English, I'd simply have to ask what educational value there is in graphic sexual images and juvenile vocabulary. For example, is there a book about women losing their innocence but using enough words that you know what happened, not giving unnecessary details? I actually thought Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston did a good job of that. You know what the main character did but it was tasteful. I wasn't watching it happen. To a nerdier extent, I got only 5 or 6 books into the Wheel of Time series. I knew when the characters "came of age" and needed no more than enough words to let me know what they did.
Even if a film or a book is a landmark in the history of films and books, that does not mean that it is worth reading or watching. You can have a film about racism without filling it with immature riots, foul speech, and body parts. West Side Story is such a film. Remember the Titans is such a film. Do the Right Thing may be considered "culturally relevant" but it's directed by a guy who did not mature past the age of 12.
I hope one day schools do assign books and films that have educational value. They don't have to be clean of all impurities, but they don't have to be lewd either.
What say you?
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Government backed: beginning of HRE
The good news is that I found my church history book and can blog about it again. The bad news is that I'll write more about issues in the Church in general.
In this chapter, we see the beginning of one of the biggest mistakes, asking the government to back your church. In about 590, the Eastern Orthodox church obeyed whatever their governments told them while the Roman Church wanted to keep Christian theology pure. However, they also desired a unified government for protection. At that time, the Franks had the most unity. The pope made an alliance with them.
The Frankish empire became baptized under Clovis. His wife persuaded him to become a Christian, and his little empire backed up Rome in all political endeavors. Clovis's sons could not rule like he could, so the Merovingian dynasty soon gave way to their servants, the major domos, or mayors of the palace.
Pepin of Heristal, their mayor of the palace, organized their household when Clovis's descendants failed to rule the empire, and he made his position hereditary; his sons would succeed into his position as mayor of the palace.
Pepin's son, Charles Martel took this position in 714. He defeated the Muslims at Tours, saving the Rhineland from Islamization. Therefore, the papacy owed allegiance to him. He unified the Teutons into his empire and baptized them.
His son, Pepin the Short, was the first to declare himself king of the Franks, the first Carolingian king. He conquered the Lombards who wanted to take over Rome, and he won the current lands of the Vatican, which has been theirs until Italy's unification. Pope Stephen II re-kinged him in thanks. This is called the Donation of Pepin, and through the years, it became the Donation of Constantine through what the Franks added to it.
His son, Charlemagne, continued to rule the lands and help the pope. He went to church as a tradition, but he also had mistresses and concubines along with his wife. However, he knew how to lead and held the kingdom together. One time, Pope Leo III was going to be executed, so he sought refuge under Charlemagne. The king came back to Rome and cleared Leo of his charges. On Christmas in 800, as Charlemagne knelt at the altar, Leo crowned him as emperor of the new Roman Empire. The universal Church was now united to a universal government, at least in word. They were not united spiritually. Charlemagne considered the church to be the soul and the state to be the body, and thought that they should be separated.
They soon bickered over who had ultimate power: did God assign the emperor to the people, or did the Church appoint him? They eventually decided that the rulers were under the authority of the Pope. Charlemagne died in 814, and his sons could not keep the empire together. The Treaty of Verdun officially separated France and Germany in 843, but the Holy Roman Empire was a recognized entity until 1804.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Church held back the Muslims while Rome tried to rebuild its empire. Charlemagne wanted to reunited with him, even by marrying their empress Irene. She said no, and the Eastern church debated over icons. The Pope and the King both opposed icon worship, but the Second Council of Nicaea approved of their veneration in 787. However, the eastern rulers could not prevent the Muslims from conquering the Mediterranean lands on the south, creating three distinct groups within the former Roman empire: Roman, Eastern, and Muslim.
In this chapter, we see the beginning of one of the biggest mistakes, asking the government to back your church. In about 590, the Eastern Orthodox church obeyed whatever their governments told them while the Roman Church wanted to keep Christian theology pure. However, they also desired a unified government for protection. At that time, the Franks had the most unity. The pope made an alliance with them.
The Frankish empire became baptized under Clovis. His wife persuaded him to become a Christian, and his little empire backed up Rome in all political endeavors. Clovis's sons could not rule like he could, so the Merovingian dynasty soon gave way to their servants, the major domos, or mayors of the palace.
Pepin of Heristal, their mayor of the palace, organized their household when Clovis's descendants failed to rule the empire, and he made his position hereditary; his sons would succeed into his position as mayor of the palace.
Pepin's son, Charles Martel took this position in 714. He defeated the Muslims at Tours, saving the Rhineland from Islamization. Therefore, the papacy owed allegiance to him. He unified the Teutons into his empire and baptized them.
His son, Pepin the Short, was the first to declare himself king of the Franks, the first Carolingian king. He conquered the Lombards who wanted to take over Rome, and he won the current lands of the Vatican, which has been theirs until Italy's unification. Pope Stephen II re-kinged him in thanks. This is called the Donation of Pepin, and through the years, it became the Donation of Constantine through what the Franks added to it.
His son, Charlemagne, continued to rule the lands and help the pope. He went to church as a tradition, but he also had mistresses and concubines along with his wife. However, he knew how to lead and held the kingdom together. One time, Pope Leo III was going to be executed, so he sought refuge under Charlemagne. The king came back to Rome and cleared Leo of his charges. On Christmas in 800, as Charlemagne knelt at the altar, Leo crowned him as emperor of the new Roman Empire. The universal Church was now united to a universal government, at least in word. They were not united spiritually. Charlemagne considered the church to be the soul and the state to be the body, and thought that they should be separated.
They soon bickered over who had ultimate power: did God assign the emperor to the people, or did the Church appoint him? They eventually decided that the rulers were under the authority of the Pope. Charlemagne died in 814, and his sons could not keep the empire together. The Treaty of Verdun officially separated France and Germany in 843, but the Holy Roman Empire was a recognized entity until 1804.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Church held back the Muslims while Rome tried to rebuild its empire. Charlemagne wanted to reunited with him, even by marrying their empress Irene. She said no, and the Eastern church debated over icons. The Pope and the King both opposed icon worship, but the Second Council of Nicaea approved of their veneration in 787. However, the eastern rulers could not prevent the Muslims from conquering the Mediterranean lands on the south, creating three distinct groups within the former Roman empire: Roman, Eastern, and Muslim.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Cartesian Psychology
As many people have noticed, I'm trying to sit from my arm-chair and rethink all the psychological issues that I have encountered my whole life: ADD, Tourette's, Autism, Aspberger's, etc.
At first I started in July deciding that none of them really exist. If we treated people as if they were alright, then, life would be so much better. I personally was feeling so free knowing that there's actually nothing wrong with my obsessions or lack of attention.
Then I started the class on professionalism in the law office. And I read a hypothetical about a man who could not sit still at a meeting. He tapped his pen, his fingers, and could not make eye contact. My first thought: what if he has ADHD and can't help that? So, there are differences in people. Not all people learn the same way, not all people listen the same way. After reading the professionalism chapter, it's a miracle I can work for a law office.
But I also traced all my quirks and anxieties over the summer to sources that had nothing to do with me, but they built up psychosomatically through tics and fidgets that I have to take blood pressure medicine for or I won't sleep. I have anxieties that can be lessened with Prozac. Hallelujah. Even so, I still think the man with ADHD at the law meeting could prepare ahead of time for such a situation by possibly praying in the morning, taking time to just sit and be still, read something, eat breakfast, and then when he finally starts to notice that his hand just can't stay out of his nose, perhaps he can figure out some alternative. Or even discuss it with his attorney. How can I not tic so much in court?
But I digress, I still want to think about personality differences as if they are gifts from God and not anything that makes you less of a person. They just make you different. And they are all used for God's glory and constantly remind us that we cannot live independently. We must depend on others to do what we cannot do.
Well, it's late and I shall log off and await the hate mail. Good night.
At first I started in July deciding that none of them really exist. If we treated people as if they were alright, then, life would be so much better. I personally was feeling so free knowing that there's actually nothing wrong with my obsessions or lack of attention.
Then I started the class on professionalism in the law office. And I read a hypothetical about a man who could not sit still at a meeting. He tapped his pen, his fingers, and could not make eye contact. My first thought: what if he has ADHD and can't help that? So, there are differences in people. Not all people learn the same way, not all people listen the same way. After reading the professionalism chapter, it's a miracle I can work for a law office.
But I also traced all my quirks and anxieties over the summer to sources that had nothing to do with me, but they built up psychosomatically through tics and fidgets that I have to take blood pressure medicine for or I won't sleep. I have anxieties that can be lessened with Prozac. Hallelujah. Even so, I still think the man with ADHD at the law meeting could prepare ahead of time for such a situation by possibly praying in the morning, taking time to just sit and be still, read something, eat breakfast, and then when he finally starts to notice that his hand just can't stay out of his nose, perhaps he can figure out some alternative. Or even discuss it with his attorney. How can I not tic so much in court?
But I digress, I still want to think about personality differences as if they are gifts from God and not anything that makes you less of a person. They just make you different. And they are all used for God's glory and constantly remind us that we cannot live independently. We must depend on others to do what we cannot do.
Well, it's late and I shall log off and await the hate mail. Good night.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
12 Highlights from my trip to North Georgia
1. Tim and I read out loud from the entire first half of the Two Towers in 6 days.
2. Ticket to Ride is not just a Beatles song, it's a great board game.
3. I still can't believe I watched all of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. When I heard he music I was not shocked that Danny Elfman did the music.
4. I fell asleep through Last Samurai, but I'm pretty sure it was an alright movie. If it helps any, I feel asleep at the Hobbit, too, and that's just becoming my thing no matter how good the movie is.
5. Tim really takes care of my brother, often thinking of his needs before Dad or I think of them.
6. I love doing word puzzles from Penny Press even more now.
7. I still love the Anne of Green Gables series. I'm on the sixth book and she's still my friend.
8. Matt Chandler's Explicit Gospel is a really good book, even if the chapters are long. He says exactly what the public needs to hear, but will they hear it?
9. We did three puzzles. No, four.
10. Doing the last puzzle, a show ran on PBS about Jewish entertainers and Broadway shows. I'm still not sure if I should be offended that they still pay attention to race or not, but it was interesting.
11. Starting Sunday morning with a Bojangle's chicken biscuit and a fully-loaded Cheerwine just completes my trips across the North Carolina state line.
12. We totally intended to go to church Sunday. Really. I think my car just took a Freudian slip and I somehow ended up in the Highlands and not in Murphy. An hour trip took three. It's still my favorite part of the trip.
2. Ticket to Ride is not just a Beatles song, it's a great board game.
3. I still can't believe I watched all of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. When I heard he music I was not shocked that Danny Elfman did the music.
4. I fell asleep through Last Samurai, but I'm pretty sure it was an alright movie. If it helps any, I feel asleep at the Hobbit, too, and that's just becoming my thing no matter how good the movie is.
5. Tim really takes care of my brother, often thinking of his needs before Dad or I think of them.
6. I love doing word puzzles from Penny Press even more now.
7. I still love the Anne of Green Gables series. I'm on the sixth book and she's still my friend.
8. Matt Chandler's Explicit Gospel is a really good book, even if the chapters are long. He says exactly what the public needs to hear, but will they hear it?
9. We did three puzzles. No, four.
10. Doing the last puzzle, a show ran on PBS about Jewish entertainers and Broadway shows. I'm still not sure if I should be offended that they still pay attention to race or not, but it was interesting.
11. Starting Sunday morning with a Bojangle's chicken biscuit and a fully-loaded Cheerwine just completes my trips across the North Carolina state line.
12. We totally intended to go to church Sunday. Really. I think my car just took a Freudian slip and I somehow ended up in the Highlands and not in Murphy. An hour trip took three. It's still my favorite part of the trip.
Monday, December 24, 2012
Right Church, Wrong Rock
As the Muslims took over everything south of Europe, the Roman Catholic church sent missionaries to Ireland, Britain, Germany, Spain, other parts of Italy and other Nordic countries. Patrick went to Ireland, Columbanus went to Switzerland, Columba to Scotland.
Boniface, aka, Winfrid, evangelized the Teutons in Germany, Wilfrid, went to Friesland (Netherlands), Gregory I converted the Lombards away from Arian "Christianity," and Christ came to Spain although the Spanish also suffered confusion from the Muslims.
What I find interesting about the Catholicism that spread to Ireland, is that it was not necessarily Roman. Monks married, they did not always follow the pope, they had different haircuts, and these confusions bothered the Islands. Germany converted when its leaders accepted Christianity. Most of them based their belief on their leaders. The Lombards came to the real faith, and the Spanish were taunted by Islam. All of these eventually accepted unity under the Roman bishop.
People will deny it, but Christianity has always been divided into denominations. Some have serious differences, some are just matters of interpretation. Paul noticed them in writing to the Corinthians. The world was divided among 5 major bishops and the Roman bishop grew in power while the Eastern bishops sunk into heresy. It seems also the countries touched by Rome had differences among each other that eventually became cemented when they took the leadership of the Pope who claimed that his Church alone has the keys to the kingdom.
To an extent, men like Gregory the Great were right. There is no salvation outside of Christ's Church. You need to belong to a visible church body and all the church bodies must agree on all the important doctrines. These bodies are ruled by men who interpret Scripture and teach it to the people. At this time, however, not many people could read the Scriptures, and they had to rely on the leaders for their spiritual nourishment. The leaders, being human, sometimes interpreted Scripture wrong.
Jesus did give Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 16. He said on this Rock he'll build his church. The problem comes in when people misinterpret said Rock. Jesus gave Peter access to heaven because he openly professed Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus is the Rock on which he builds his Church. He is the leader, the chief priest, and our ultimate authority for life which people can read in the Bible. Somehow, people interpreted this passage to mean that Jesus based his Church not on what Peter said, but on Peter. Then, Rome claimed to have its bishops in succession from Peter.
However, the Church was not built to follow one man's interpretation. Jesus appointed many apostles who are succeeded by preachers today who are supposed to keep each other accountable to what Jesus teaches in his Word. Somehow, this accountability became concentrated on Rome until they believed that only their theology was the right one, even when it began to contradict Scripture and impose rules never intended by God, such as priests having to be celibate.
Then again, this is just a repeating picture of what always happens in Christendom. Rivals show up both outside and inside the church, and people do not verify their facts with Scripture, or as in this time, an accountability system of many men who preached Scripture. And this is when the Church focuses its allegiance to one man, his ideas, and follows this man without questioning whether he agrees with Christ or not. And this happens in all divisions of the Church. We have to remember that Christ is the head of the Church. He is Adam, the Church is Eve, and he leads us. While the wife is on the earth keeping house, she should never forget her husband and that he leads the family.
Boniface, aka, Winfrid, evangelized the Teutons in Germany, Wilfrid, went to Friesland (Netherlands), Gregory I converted the Lombards away from Arian "Christianity," and Christ came to Spain although the Spanish also suffered confusion from the Muslims.
What I find interesting about the Catholicism that spread to Ireland, is that it was not necessarily Roman. Monks married, they did not always follow the pope, they had different haircuts, and these confusions bothered the Islands. Germany converted when its leaders accepted Christianity. Most of them based their belief on their leaders. The Lombards came to the real faith, and the Spanish were taunted by Islam. All of these eventually accepted unity under the Roman bishop.
People will deny it, but Christianity has always been divided into denominations. Some have serious differences, some are just matters of interpretation. Paul noticed them in writing to the Corinthians. The world was divided among 5 major bishops and the Roman bishop grew in power while the Eastern bishops sunk into heresy. It seems also the countries touched by Rome had differences among each other that eventually became cemented when they took the leadership of the Pope who claimed that his Church alone has the keys to the kingdom.
To an extent, men like Gregory the Great were right. There is no salvation outside of Christ's Church. You need to belong to a visible church body and all the church bodies must agree on all the important doctrines. These bodies are ruled by men who interpret Scripture and teach it to the people. At this time, however, not many people could read the Scriptures, and they had to rely on the leaders for their spiritual nourishment. The leaders, being human, sometimes interpreted Scripture wrong.
Jesus did give Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 16. He said on this Rock he'll build his church. The problem comes in when people misinterpret said Rock. Jesus gave Peter access to heaven because he openly professed Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus is the Rock on which he builds his Church. He is the leader, the chief priest, and our ultimate authority for life which people can read in the Bible. Somehow, people interpreted this passage to mean that Jesus based his Church not on what Peter said, but on Peter. Then, Rome claimed to have its bishops in succession from Peter.
However, the Church was not built to follow one man's interpretation. Jesus appointed many apostles who are succeeded by preachers today who are supposed to keep each other accountable to what Jesus teaches in his Word. Somehow, this accountability became concentrated on Rome until they believed that only their theology was the right one, even when it began to contradict Scripture and impose rules never intended by God, such as priests having to be celibate.
Then again, this is just a repeating picture of what always happens in Christendom. Rivals show up both outside and inside the church, and people do not verify their facts with Scripture, or as in this time, an accountability system of many men who preached Scripture. And this is when the Church focuses its allegiance to one man, his ideas, and follows this man without questioning whether he agrees with Christ or not. And this happens in all divisions of the Church. We have to remember that Christ is the head of the Church. He is Adam, the Church is Eve, and he leads us. While the wife is on the earth keeping house, she should never forget her husband and that he leads the family.
The Rivals of Christ
In the 500s, the Roman church successfully evangelized Europe. They were united, although their flaw is that they did nor cooperate very well with the patriarchs of other regions. In the East, the church kept arguing over icons and theology that they could not get along.
Around that time, Arabian tribesmen congregated to Mecca and Medina for commerce. One of them, Mohammad, met some Christians and Jews while traveling Palestine. He later married a rich widow, and had time to meditate. He then began to preach monotheism, and taught against idolatry. These teachings were why the Eastern church began to argue over icons and graven images. They were pressured by Mohammad. He started in Mecca and then fled to Medina, and he converted followers to his faith.
These people of Islam, who believe in complete submission to Allah, eventually conquered Egypt, Jerusalem, and even Persia. While Christianity thrived in Europe, everybody else was threatened by the Muslims led by Mohammad. They soon built a center in Baghdad and became acquainted with the classic Greek writings of Aristotle. In this "Twelfth Century Renaissance," inventions, science, and literature thrived in the Arabic world. These were the intelligent people with the cool ideas. These were the Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. And like most intelligent people who have great ideas, they also want their ideas to conquer the world. And when this happens, the Church becomes intimidated and tries to either compromise with them or adjust their message to make it more palatable to the population, or they reexamine their beliefs and practices like they did with icons. Sometimes this works, but often they compromise so much that they lose their ground in the Word of God and in trusting the Holy Spirit and start to accept ideas that should not be accepted.
With Islam, all this happened, plus they wanted to conquer every corner of the known world. So, they lured the Church with their bright new ideas and then began to take advantage of them, and finally used force to conquer their lands. The Western tried to negotiate with them first with missionaries, then with the Crusades, but the Muslims would not budge.
It makes me wonder about missionaries today. There are so many brilliant people with great ideas and personalities who we want to impress for Christ. We want it so bad that we will do anything to get them in Church, even if it means using unbiblical means. They're tired of waiting on the Holy Spirit to do his work and try to get faster methods, and in this way they weaken their base in Scripture and the non-believers soon conquer them.
The good news is that there is still Europe. There is still a remnant Church. Our job is to reeducate our people on what we actually believe, the good, bad, and uncomfortable, and then resist non-believers while still loving them as people. You can love people without accepting their beliefs. Really, Christians should just witness to people by living in the world. Not with tracts or evange-cubes, but with just meeting people and living life. Perhaps it will spark a conversation that will lead someone to church. It's God that saves them anyway, not our schemes.
Around that time, Arabian tribesmen congregated to Mecca and Medina for commerce. One of them, Mohammad, met some Christians and Jews while traveling Palestine. He later married a rich widow, and had time to meditate. He then began to preach monotheism, and taught against idolatry. These teachings were why the Eastern church began to argue over icons and graven images. They were pressured by Mohammad. He started in Mecca and then fled to Medina, and he converted followers to his faith.
These people of Islam, who believe in complete submission to Allah, eventually conquered Egypt, Jerusalem, and even Persia. While Christianity thrived in Europe, everybody else was threatened by the Muslims led by Mohammad. They soon built a center in Baghdad and became acquainted with the classic Greek writings of Aristotle. In this "Twelfth Century Renaissance," inventions, science, and literature thrived in the Arabic world. These were the intelligent people with the cool ideas. These were the Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. And like most intelligent people who have great ideas, they also want their ideas to conquer the world. And when this happens, the Church becomes intimidated and tries to either compromise with them or adjust their message to make it more palatable to the population, or they reexamine their beliefs and practices like they did with icons. Sometimes this works, but often they compromise so much that they lose their ground in the Word of God and in trusting the Holy Spirit and start to accept ideas that should not be accepted.
With Islam, all this happened, plus they wanted to conquer every corner of the known world. So, they lured the Church with their bright new ideas and then began to take advantage of them, and finally used force to conquer their lands. The Western tried to negotiate with them first with missionaries, then with the Crusades, but the Muslims would not budge.
It makes me wonder about missionaries today. There are so many brilliant people with great ideas and personalities who we want to impress for Christ. We want it so bad that we will do anything to get them in Church, even if it means using unbiblical means. They're tired of waiting on the Holy Spirit to do his work and try to get faster methods, and in this way they weaken their base in Scripture and the non-believers soon conquer them.
The good news is that there is still Europe. There is still a remnant Church. Our job is to reeducate our people on what we actually believe, the good, bad, and uncomfortable, and then resist non-believers while still loving them as people. You can love people without accepting their beliefs. Really, Christians should just witness to people by living in the world. Not with tracts or evange-cubes, but with just meeting people and living life. Perhaps it will spark a conversation that will lead someone to church. It's God that saves them anyway, not our schemes.
Christmas thanks
1. I don't have to do anything in church next week. Yay!
2. I'm thankful for a yard Nativity scene that's accurate. Not a Magi to be seen, but there are two Josephs.
3. I'm only spending one night at home this week.
4. I'm looking forward to a nice, quiet New Year.
5. I think we should introduce a nativity scene where Mary and Joseph live in a house, Jesus is two, and more than three Magi give him gifts. I think Creation Museum has tried real hard to do that.
6. Despite inaccurate facts, "We Three Kings" is one of my favorite songs.
7. I got to go to four Christmas parties. 3 of them were 3 days in a row. I look to one more this week.
8. You know that song by Mariah Carey? "All I Want for Christmas is You"? I have someone to sing it to this year!
9. Thankful that my boyfriend and I are both involved in our respective churches b/c, hey, I have a boyfriend who is involved in church! We can't go to church together tonight, but he's involved and so am I.
2. I'm thankful for a yard Nativity scene that's accurate. Not a Magi to be seen, but there are two Josephs.
3. I'm only spending one night at home this week.
4. I'm looking forward to a nice, quiet New Year.
5. I think we should introduce a nativity scene where Mary and Joseph live in a house, Jesus is two, and more than three Magi give him gifts. I think Creation Museum has tried real hard to do that.
6. Despite inaccurate facts, "We Three Kings" is one of my favorite songs.
7. I got to go to four Christmas parties. 3 of them were 3 days in a row. I look to one more this week.
8. You know that song by Mariah Carey? "All I Want for Christmas is You"? I have someone to sing it to this year!
9. Thankful that my boyfriend and I are both involved in our respective churches b/c, hey, I have a boyfriend who is involved in church! We can't go to church together tonight, but he's involved and so am I.
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