Suzianity

Suzy, a beautiful young woman, has been moved by the church after one moving sermon, and she has decided that she does not want eternal punishment for her wrongs (the few that they are) and has decided to pick up her Bible and start reading.
But where to begin? Well how about from the beginning? She opens the perfectly well kept book from her living room coffee table, wipes the few inches of dust from the top, sneezes a couple successive times, and opens it to the first page.

"Genesis 1:1, In the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth."

Now wait a second...that can't be right, leading scientists have proven that the earth was formed by an accident. Aw well, she'll just brim over that. After all, God could have given the Big Bang a little nudge. She continues reading, and after a few more verses realizes how wrong this book is. It didn't take a handful of days to create the earth! It took millions of years...The Bible must have forgotten something! Clearly none of this can't be true! Monkeys weren't made on the sixth day and then man a day later! Everyone knows monkeys share 98% of their DNA with us.
Frustrated, she turns randomly to the end of the Bible, to the New Testament.

"1 Timothy 6:10; For the love of money is the root of all evil."
Now granted money can go to some peoples' heads, but money is good, it gives us food, and clean clothes, a warm house (and Comcar cable at the low price of  $29.99 a month.)

"Matt 5:21-22, You have heard that it was said to an older generation, ‘Do not murder,’ and ‘whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.’ But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother will be subjected to judgment. And whoever insults a brother will be brought before the council, and whoever says ‘Fool’ will be sent to fiery Hell"
That's a little harsh! Surely everyone gets mad. Goodness! Even Jesus got mad (somewhere) and he certainly didn't go to Hell. This Bible is clearly contradicting itself.

"Rom. 1:26-28; For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper."

What!? But Suzy best friend Johanna is a lesbian! God clearly cannot mean that it is wrong! The people who wrote this must not have really known who God is. Oh, but Suzy knows. God is tolerant.

Ah, this looks better: 2 Corinthians 9:8, "And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."

THAT'S the God she knows.



So many things can be said about this situation, and though fictional (the girl's name was actually Sherly) it is far too near the truth for the age that we live in in America today. It could be argued very easily the things Suzy believed were wrong. But ultimately, I want to focus on one main thing from this: Suzianity.

Suzy has decided which parts of the Bible she agrees with and those she doesn't, by the time she has taken her doctrine, it is no longer the word of God, it is the word of Suzy. She is not following Christ and therefore not a Christian, she's a Suzianitan.

Take this statement for example on a critique for the 2012 Avengers movie, (it is an entirely made up criticism and reflects no true personal opinions by the author, it is merely for rhetorical purposes): "Iron man (Robert Downey Jr.) played what is possibly the most...amazingly unbelievable character of his career. Gwyneth Paltrow, on the other hand...played a remarkably...pretty...character."
The real text reads: "Iron man (Robert Downey Jr.) played what is possibly the most lackluster and amazingly unbelievable character of his career. Gwyneth Paltrow, on the other hand, when overlooking her atrocious outfits, played a remarkably small, but pretty faced character."

What happened here is that someone took out bits an pieces from the true text and turned it into something else entirely. Someone decided they disagreed with certain words in the description of Mr. Jr's character and made them "truth."

This is EXACTLY what MANY MANY Americans do today. They take bits and pieces of the Bible but disprove others. This turns it into something else that is no longer the Bible. You can no longer be called Christians if you do this because you do not believe the sword of the spirit, source for truth, God's word itself. Remember, narrow is the path to righteousness (Matt 7:14.) Do you think it's really that easy? You can just pick and choose which parts you believe in? That's what most people do! If you're doing what most people do, then you probably read the verse, "The path to righteousness...is wide." You would be mistaken.

Christians are certainly guilty of this as well. If not mostly. I once met a fellow believer who said to me, "Well I believe that when God created the earth in seven days, they were not literal, they were theoretical." *Buzzer sound* Wrong! If God said historically seven days, He clearly meant seven days. God can count! Saying such things like this open doors for others to say things like, "Moses didn't really part the Red Sea, obviously God provided them with a fleet of steamers that they didn't understand the mechanics of so they called it parting of the Red Sea."

When you read the Bible, you have to read it literally, not "God meant this," that insinuates that God doesn't know how to articulate Himself. Now I don't want to hear any, "How can we take Revelation or Daniel literally?" Those are a different category of Bible altogether. It would be considered prophetic, not historic or literal parts such as commandments.

I'm not saying that when other members of the Church disagree on certain things (for instance baptism) makes it unchristian. There is a difference between trying to discern something that is not clearly put in the word of God (or rather unspecified for a reason) and changing what is clearly meant.
In other words, choosing what you agree with in the Bible turns Christianity into
 ____________ianity. And _________ianity, does NOT get one to Heaven, and you become a servant
^Insert name                     ^Insert name
not of God, but of self, which is the absolute opposite of what God wants.


Oh, and by the way, the human DNA is also 55% to that of a bannana. So if we came from monkeys, and monkeys came from bananas....OH MY GOODNESS! We're cannibals!

The Primary Strongholds

             3, a number that is used far more often than you might care to know. For instance, is it a coincidence that Jesus Christ died when he was 33 and rose from the dead 3 days later? That he is part of the trinity? What about the primary colors? They come in three as well.  I have been greatly fascinated by the number for some undistinguishable reason, and I tend to notice it fairly often. I'm sure if anyone pays a certain amount of attention to something, they begin to notice patterns. Most everything random, when paid attention to long enough is realized to be perfectly routine.
    Well, regarding this number, I was reflecting on sins. Namely the spiritual warfare behind sins such as core strongholds etc. As well as the many sins that are in the world today, drunkeness, foolishness of the tongue, etc. And I noticed a trend, when traced entirely back to their orgins, all of these things appeared to root from 3 specific, and large, sins. They are:

               
       Now all of these things, as well as causing other sins, they can cause each other. Anger and fear can be caused by selfishness, fear and selfishness by anger etc.
     Think about it, Getting drunk? If you are not being mindful of how it will affect those around you you are being selfish, if you are being mindful but do it any way...you're in a lot of trouble and you're still being selfish. Coveting is selfish. Not moving forward in your walk with Christ it is a result of fear or anger.  
      I can't help but think of 1 Cor 13:13, where it tells us of 3 spiritual benefactors: "faith, hope and love," but goes on to explian that "the greatest of these is love."
    If anyone has seen the powerpuff girls, you might think of these counterparts:

    I love the powerpuff girls, and again, they come in 3;) The ones, on the left, the Rowdeyruff boys were in some of my favorite episodes.
    In return, it might be said, "There are three main strongholds that are anger, fear, and selfishness, but the greatest of these is selfishness."
    In giving freely, and not questioning things in the perspective of, "will this hinder my life?" You can follow Jesus's command to love your neighbor almost fully. I think, what to get out of this is, that when you are praying during the day, when praying against strongholds etc, you could pray against these three, and replace them, or ask in turn for faith, hope, and love.

This is not law, it was just one of the many things I was curious about and was reflecting on. If you notice anything flawed with this, or have something you might like to add, please write them in the comment box, I would love to hear what you have to say on this, and/or edit this (for lack of a better word) "philosophy."

A Problem with the Public schools?

      I know what you're thinking: WHAT!? How on earth could there possibly be something wrong with a governemnt run, created by communists (seriously, Howard Mann, a Marxist, issued required public school attendance. As well as Hitler and Benito Marcellini, a facist, who made them required in Italy,) system!
   First off, in case you can't tell already, I have been a diehard homeschool fan for many years for many philisophical and logical reasons. For instance, homeschoolers always take it to the next level: Pajama day? Nah, try wear street clothes day. School inside when it's nice out? Nah, we crazy ones like to get stuff done outside. Socialization? Who needs people!? People are the ones who started WWII, WWI, The Peloponesian War, and...well all the others too, except perhaps those in the Redwall series. Anyways, I can't help but be a little biased when I talk the comparisons of these, so keep that in mind.
          One thing that has been brought to my attention, is the public school's constant "Encouragement Policy." Kids must be told that every thing they do regarding school is going to be worth something someday. They will probably all become president too in fact. A good policy at first glance, after all, we need to be encouraged. But like everything government, or human for that matter (believe it or not, Obama is a sinner too,) it is taken a bit too far. Kids grow up without facing the harsh reality that they are in fact sinners. And as Christians, this is something we need to not hide from kids. It is a harsh reality, but a necessary one.
     Now I'm not saying you need to tell your child anything vaguely along the lines of:
Child: Look Mommy! I made a picture of you
Mom: I'm afraid that's a but out of proportion, you see I don't have sticks for arms, and my nose has a bit more of an oval shape rather than a triangle. I'm sorry dear, but I'm afraid you'll just never be good enough.

or:

Child: Look Mommy! Mrs. Dekker gave me a star on my picture!
Mother: *Sighs* That's nice, but what does it matter? Without Jesus you are going to Hell. What Mrs. Dekker thinks is good isn't really important now is it?

    If you have a normal 6th grade and under child, they will probably not respond with some philisophical, biblically based remark. They will most likely, either, stare blankly at you and then walk off. Or cry, realize nothing will ever be good enough for you, grow a complete and utter loathing for you and/or Christ and runaway at about 14. Not exactly what you want to happen.
     Instead, a better approach may be just to let your kid know, when they perhaps hurt someone, or show signs of rebellion, let them know they are not being nice in a gentler manner. Slowly introduce the fact that no one is perfect, and that Jesus will always love them.
    Because they do not do this in the public schools, where kids get most of their influence if they go, when they hit junior high and face the cruel realization that they aren't perfect and there are people better than they are at art etc, they don't handle it as well. They go into a bit of a shock and can begin to hate themselves, the not perfect versions.
   They only encouragement approach I have also seen in churches as well. I have only ever seen it result in conceited, better than you children.
   The Bible greatly emphasizes humility. Humility is really just the understanding that without Christ, you could never be good enough. That you killed an innocent man that you can go to Heaven. It's not condemnation either (there is a fine line between condemnation and conceit that marks humility.) Just letting kids (and even yourself) know that you make mistakes, but it doesn't matter, because Jesus loves you and forgives you.

    In the end then, the public schools try to emphasize something good, and in their attempts on keeping kids from becoming depressed and such, they really cause it. Because everyone comes to the realization (some better at ignoring it than others....some WAAY better) that they are "sinners." Or in some cases, not good enough.

Video of the Weekish

This one I just had to put as my video of the weekish, being a NIntendo fanatic and a (less talented less devoted) domino stacker myself. This had to have taken forever, so take the time to appreciate it:

Video of the Weekish

I say "Weekish" because I have a life that does not revolve only around blogging, (that way I have things to write about) so I may not always post it precisely one week later.

Anyways, this was extremely enjoyable. Especially if you know your directors. Pay close attention and you'll get it:
J.J. Abrams did Star Trek,
Michael Bay did Transformers. I figured this was relevant with all the Titanic rage going on as of late:

Check this out: Mech Mice

The Miller brothers have done it again. Another great book for all you Christian kids, pre-teens, and teens. Check out a free online version Here. I have had the opportunity  to meet the brothers, and they are truly inspiring Christian people. Help support them and check it out, if you like it, donate, or buy your own copy:D It really helps them. After all, it's free, so check it out, and reccomend it to as many people as you can.

Also, another great series that I have grown to love and is one of my top ten favorite book series ever is their "Codebearer's" series. It's pure adventure from beginning to end. I had to keep reminding myself that it was just a book and that the characters were going to be fine. It was truly intringuing and they expertly address many issues kids today struggle with with a Christian outlook on life.

Also, by them, you may find on iTunes a game called, "Bounder." It is also free, and it is extremely cute/sweet. Check these out! I'm sure you'll fall in love with them if you give it a chance. Ask me more about them if you like, I'd love to answer!

One last thing, check out www.codebearers.com by them as well. It's a fun, safe environment for Christian teenagers to hang out. I should know, I'm a moderator on the site. Everything by the brothers is great, you have to check it out!

That's Cliche

Ah, how many of you in your school years have heard your teacher critique one of your papers saying, "That's cliche"?
   "Apple of my eye, Don't throw the baby out with the bath water, Bringing home the bacon, wake up on the wrong side of the bed, The best of both worlds, Bite the bullet, Throw me a bone, Break a leg, Drinking the Kool-Aid, and quite frankly: Cut the Cheese. Yes, all these terms and more are considered cliche, and you will never hear the end of it if you so much as think of putting it in any form of assignment.
 But I have the solution! I have found the perfect response to such a thing. Has not, "That's cliche," become a cliche term itself?
  Cliche by merriam webster's dictionary means: something that has become overly familiar or commonplace. And I'm sure you hear "That's cliche" enough to where it is all too familiar. We must demand that these people stop this! The proletariat must overcome the bourgeoisie! Oh woops, wrong speech:/
   Anyways, if you are one who uses that term, say something that no one else uses, pull a Shakespeare and just make up a word that seems to make sense, "That's Flargeninen." But DON'T be cliche and say, "That's cliche."