The New Mattitude

So Blogger has frustrated me one time too many and I have decided to relocate to Wordpress. This blog will still be here but any new posts will be published on the new blog. You can read the new one at themattitude.wordpress.com.

Not that long ago I went with my sister and her friend Jake to see Donald Miller. It was at this church out in Hoover. We made sure to get there early enough to get good seats, and we did. We got seats in the second or third row, right up front. Before the show started, Stephanie wanted to go get something out of my truck. So she and Jake eased out of the pew and I told them I would save their seats.

After I said it, I heard the woman behind me turn to her husband and say, "Saving seats in church? Hmm... that's interesting." Wondering why this lady said that, it didn't take very long for me to gather that she deemed my action not very Christ-like. Being at a Don Miller event, it's not surprising that some of the people in the audience were a little critical, perhaps cynical, of church or other Christians. But that comment made me mad. I thought about it, tried to be open-minded, tried to see how reasonable her point actually was, but in the end I couldn't see it. Who in the world cares if I saved a seat for the people who came with me?

It made me wonder if that lady was one of those people who can't go into a church without finding something she doesn't like about it. Or if she is somebody who watches carefully what other Christians do, judging - waiting for them to make a mistake so she can catch them and make a sly comment about it.

It made me wonder if this lady is exactly like me.

I know I can be critical of Christians. In fact, I think my whole perspective towards the church is now one of watchful skepticism. Even the pastors and authors I like, I still read or listen to with hesitance; because it's hard for me to really trust anybody who talks about God like they really know what exactly is going on.

I think a lot of the criticism is justified, though. I'm really tough on Christian radio, but I think they deserve it. I think a lot of churches and people are absolutely absurd, and I won't back off on that.

But I don't want to be one of those people who just goes around looking for things to criticize. I don't want to judge people for saving seats in a church, and I don't want to take cheap shots at Christian institutions just because I'm bitter. I'd rather be more constructive than that.

I really just think that I do this because I have serious issues with my faith. God has traits and does things that really puzzle me. The other day a guy I work with was telling me about the TV show 'Lost' and he said, "Every time they answer one question, it just raises four or five more." 'Lost' sounds a whole lot like God to me.

There are things about God that really disturb me too - things that make me wonder if this God is really the true God at all. For instance, I can't at all reconcile these two statements:

1. God is good.

2. God kills people.

I can't do it. I have no idea how to explain why a good and loving God resorts to violence so many times in the Bible. Any time I see a person or a nation use violence as a solution to a problem I wonder, I hope, that there is a better way. But the great flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, the many times God sends Hebrews into battle to slaughter others - that tells me there's not. Because you would think that if there was an all-knowing and all-powerful God, then that God would know a better way. If people get in your way, then they have to be annihilated. I don't understand that.

I guess I'm at the point where if I am going to continue to grow, I need to get over my disgust with some of the Christians out there. Just like anybody else, Christians (for the most part) have always been messed up. There's nothing I can do to change that. Now it's time to start to deal with this God character and leave the rest to handle itself.

A message to people who freak out about stupid stuff

I've had a little something on my mind lately that's been annoying me a little bit. I saw Avatar like a month ago and I loved it. I thought the movie was great all around. People always talk about how great it is visually, and it is, but what I liked even more than that was the actual story. If you want to liken it to a historical situation it would be closest to the Native Americans when the Europeans came and over the process of several years, forced them off their land and took it. Of course, the outcome is different in the movie, but it would be hard for anyone with any kind of historical knowledge of the "discovery" of America to not see the parallels.

What's been bothering me is a comment that somebody made when I was trying to tell them how good the movie was. It goes along the lines of the people who freak out because Harry Potter has magic in it. Essentially, this person said that they are not going to see the movie because it promotes Pantheism. Since the people or aliens on Pandora have such a strong connection with the nature on their planet, and that force helps them ultimately defeat the humans, this is apparently a bad movie for Christians to see.

My message to people who think this is DON'T GET YOUR PANTIES IN A WAD. No, this movie is not the Passion of the Christ. Jesus is not going to come through the clouds of Pandora at the sound of a trumpet and rapture every alien who has accepted him as their personal savior. If that's what you're looking for, then you should look elsewhere. But does that make the movie entirely bad? Or perhaps, can we interpret Ehwa (the Pandora god) as a metaphor for the actual God that we believe in?

While I don't think that worshiping nature is the correct way to practice religion, I think that a worse thing to do is to completely disregard nature and have no sort of reverence for it whatsoever. God created the world. God made the world beautiful, and I believe he did that for the people who live in it. If this is true, then why do we just want to make a parking lot out of the place? Why do we get so arrogant as to think that nature is there just for us to mine for resources so that we can make money? (This, of course, is exactly what the humans in Avatar want to do).

Also, I think that for people of faith, instead of feeling like this movie is attacking your personal belief, you should instead feel like it is supporting your belief in a powerful deity and attacking the notion that no God exists whatsoever. In the movie, the humans (the bad guys) mock the idea of the aliens' god. They arrogantly assume that their power, weapons of war, and machinery are going leave them to exhort their will over the creatures on Pandora. What happens is the opposite. The aliens, who put their faith and their hope into their god, ultimately come out on top. They are rescued.

Avatar is a great movie. I think it was 2009's Dark Knight. I am probably speaking to a small segment of the population who actually wouldn't see this movie because of Pantheism. There is a lot of good stuff about this movie, and a lot of good lessons that can be learned. (Plus, you get sweet glasses!) But all I am saying is that people, and particularly Christians because they are bad about this, need to take a chill pill. Not everything is an attack on your personal beliefs. Quit being so defensive.

Spring Semester Preview

So I just finished signing up for my last class of the Spring semester. It's a little late, yeah, but I got it done. I wrote down on an index card the schedule, the times and days of when I have to be where and I've been staring at it for several minutes wondering if I've gotten in over my head.

It's not really the schedule that awful. There are just a few things that I can already tell are going to be a challenge for me. First of all, the earliness. Three days a week I have classes that start at 9 am. That doesn't sound so bad, but I have to drive nearly an hour just to get there. Since I am a night person and not at all an early bird, this is going to be tough.

The observation hours are going to be a pain as well. One of my education classes requires that I do 25 observation hours in a classroom at some point during this semester. This won't be all that bad if it's handled the right way. In other words, if I don't procrastinate and put it off until the end.

The driving is going to suck. I'm looking at around 2 hours in my S-10 each day. I've been thinking about how I can make use of all that time. Audiobooks is one idea. My iPod is definitely going to keep me company, and that will leave plenty of time for Podcasts (Rob Bell, now I can listen to your long sermons in one sitting!)

I can see the various pitfalls that might come up. The long drive will tempt me to skip class. Burnout will be inevitable. I will try to take short cuts. My truck might break down. And of course there is always the unexpected.

In spite of all this, I'm looking forward to the challenge. I know that I am going to get more out of this experience, and that it will mean a lot more when I finish, if it's hard. The first thought that popped into my mind when I looked at that schedule was that I am going to have to have more discipline than ever before. I can't be the student I was in the fall, I have to be something new.

And that's what this is all about, preparing me for a career that is going to be difficult and demanding. The question is if I am going to rise up to the occasion.

My Favorite Albums of 2009

So I know it's been a while since I've posted anything. Tradition called for me to post this and when tradition calls, I answer. Here ya go.

5. Thrice - Beggars

It seems like anytime Thrice puts a new album out they are guaranteed a spot on this list. Beggars didn't release with the fanfare that The Alchemy Index did, but it turned out to be a pretty great album. Thrice moved away from the more electronic elements found in TAI and Vheissu. Still, all the songs are well written both musically and lyrically.

Best songs:

In Exile

Circles

The Weight

Wood and Wire

4. The Fray - The Fray

Yeah, I know, it's The Fray. I didn't become a fan until this year. I didn't listen to much of their previous album, but I picked up the new self-titled and I gotta say it's a good listen.

Best songs:

Absolute

Say When

Ungodly Hour

3. Relient K - Forget and Not Slow Down

This is shaping up to be one of my favorite Relient K albums they've released. It definitely strays away from their punk rock sound, but you can still listen to it and tell it's Relient K. It's a more creative and mature album than they have ever released, which compares more to Mmhmm than any other. Also, there are no cheesy, made-for-radio style songs that ought to be skipped on a regular playthrough.

Best songs:

I Don't Need a Soul

Therapy

Over It

2. Derek Webb - Stockholm Syndrome

Two albums stood out above all others this year. Stockholm Syndrome is one of them. It's great to see an artist out there really taking a stand for the things that he believes, especially when it might not be a popular stand, and Derek Webb does exactly that. He even had to release two separate copies of the album (one "edited" copy leaves out a controversial track called What Matters More). The real genius of this music is in its message. With compelling lyrics and cool, techno-style beats, this is definitely one of Derek Webb's best.

Best songs:

Cobra Con

What Matters More

The State/The Proverbial Gun

Jena and Jimmy

1. Brand New - Daisy

Ever since The Devil and God are Raging Inside of Me, Brand New has been one of my favorite bands. I was glad to see that they continued with their darker, more mature sound with Daisy. Still one of the most intense and dynamic bands I know, Brand New's music has become more compelling and interesting than any other. And the religious references in Jesse's lyrics are really cool:

"There's too many saviors on my cross again, I know I'll never be a perfect man."

"I don't think that you've got to pretend, I see God in birds and Satan in long words."

"If everyone's a structure where their own savior sits, then I'm a little red house and no one's living in it."

So many good lines. I love this album. Love it.

Best songs:

At the Bottom

Sink

Bought a Bridet

Beggars

by Thrice

All you great men of power, you who boast of your feats -
Politicians and entrepreneurs.
Can you safeguard your breath in the night while you sleep?
Keep your heart beating steady and sure?
As you lie in your bed, does the thought haunt your head
That you’re really, rather small?
If there’s one thing I know in this life: we are beggars all.

All you champions of science and rulers of men,
Can you summon the sun from its sleep?
Does the earth seek your counsel on how fast to spin?
Can you shut up the gates of the deep?
Don’t you know that all things hang, as if by a string,
O’er the darkness - poised to fall?
If there’s one thing I know in this life: we are beggars all.

All you big shots that swagger and stride with conceit,
Did you devise how your frame would be formed?
If you’d be raised in a palace, or live out in the streets,
Did you choose the place or the hour you’d be born?
Tell me what can you claim? Not a thing - not your name!
Tell me if you can recall just one thing,
That’s not a gift in this life?

Can you hear what’s been said?
Can you see now that everything’s grace after all?
If there’s one thing I know in this life: we are beggars all.

I just love this band.

Asimo takes a tumble

Here's a little good old Japanese hubris for you.



These videos never get old to me. My astronomy professor said the other day that in 20 years, robots will be able to out-think human beings. I don't believe that. Sure, they may be able to do math problems better and quicker. But I don't believe any robot will ever create for instance, a beautiful painting or song. I don't think a robot could write a poem or inspire an audience with a speech.

But of course, they won't need any of that when they rise up and enslave the human race. So I guess this is not important.