2013

Is it just me, or does that number look entirely weird.  Seriously.  Just look at that sucker.    From what I've been able to tell, anything good that happens in a -13 year is a freak anomaly (after 513).  Check this out:

13: Strabo decides the Earth is round.  Seriously?  This guy totally just became one of my heroes.  Also, I downloaded three volumes of his book (which is definitely in the public domain now, meaning that's perfectly legal).

113: The Trojans Emperor Trajan picks a war with Rome without even attempting diplomacy. Okay, so there were a bunch of "Who cares?" things that happened this year, but I just wanted to highlight the sheer stupidity of this move.  Seriously?  You wanted to take on Rome without even saying "Boo?"  No wonder you were named after the Trojans... 

213: Nothing.  Seriously.  Wikipedia only uses 3 bullet points to record the whole thing, and they're even reachign for those.

313: Christian-killing stops being a sport.  Unfortunately, a TON of Chinese royals get killed in a rather gruesome mess and the country ends up with a 13-year-old emperor. 

413: Tax breaks galore and St. Augustine of Hippo gets writing (Dude was one seriously good writer).

513: The Jewish people get their own country (for 7 years) and taxes get lowered in Bithynia (wherever that is...).

And then it all goes downhill.

613: The Byzantine emperor Heraclius marries his niece Martina.  Ew.  Muhammad begins preaching Islam in public.  I'm tempted to just erase this and let it be, because I feel like I'm opening a big can of worms here, but I'm just going to throw it out there that I don't chalk this up to a good thing, because I don't believe that Muhammad was teaching accurately.  Do I respect the guy for jumping in there and doing that? Yes.  Do I think he was right? No.  So I don't count this as a good thing.

713: Giant.  Buddha. This great, big dude started being built in 713.  Personally, I think that's pretty cool, but, you know... when you stop and think about it... idols are idols, and then it's like... Oh...  Well... that's not really all that good, is it?

813: I'm skipping this one. Why?  Because it's boring.  I'm actually working my way backward from 1113 right now, and will probably pick back up when I reach the year 13 or something, but, let's be honest, the records really weren't that good in 3-digit years, so there's not much for me to comment on.

913: A heck of a lot of fighting happens in Africa.  Wikipedia sums it up very succinctly (two sentences, no less - a skimmer's paradise) right here.  Also, one of the shortest papacies began in 913.  Pope Lando ascended.  (Does anyone else picture Lando Calrissian when I talk about this?  Because I do.)

1013: The Jews are expelled from the caliphate of Córdoba. I'm going to go ahead and not remove that link that got pasted over from Wikipedia on this one.  Let's be honest: None of us know what a caliphate is or what Cordoba could potentially be.  Criticize it all you want, but we need Wikipedia on this one.  Why did I copy this over then?  Because  I think it's generally accepted that any time the Jews got expelled from some place, it turned out poorly.  Plus, I don't like the word expelled.  Please remember that I've still spent the vast majority of my life in school, where expulsion = death.

Aug 24, 1113: Geoffrey Plantagenet, France, conquered Normandy on this day in history.  I'm not actually sure this is bad.  I don't know much about the Middle Ages and their politics, but the word Normandy makes my stomach clench, so we're chalking this up to a bad thing.

1213: Genghis Khan.  Dude is pretty cool to think about, but insanely scary in reality.  Plus, he makes me think about Star Trek, and that's really not something I ever appreciate that much.
Aug 13, 1313: Aradia di Toscano, female messianic figure in Italian witchcraft born. Seriously?  She was born on August 13, 1313?  We couldn't have been more original than that?  Next, you're going to tell me it was a Friday, and she had a pet black cat.  (For the record, it was actually a Sunday.)

1413: Henry V becomes the King of England.  Enough said.

1513: Ponce de Leon sights Florida.  But hey, at least Machiavelli is thought to have started distributing The Prince in 1513.  Nevermind its content; I found it an interesting read.

1613: Okay, a lot of really cool stuff happened this year (click on the year to check it out), but I'm going to focus on one that I think everyone my age would easily site as being the most important one: Pocahontas enters the scene.  This sticks out to me because I'm a bit disappointed by the real story.  Apparently, she falls in love with neither of the John Smiths, but rather John Rolfe while she is being held captive (not John).  She converts to Christianity and gives up her princess-ship in favor of adopting the name "Rebecca."  Seriously?  Bummer.

Not this.

This.  Really.  It's disappointing.  I know.

1713: This year is all about Colonel James Moore and the Tuscarora War.  That rhymes.

1813:  We got the Royal Philharmonic Society and Pride and Prejudice.  There were also dragoons (which, sadly, are not to be confused with dragons - I linked it, just in case you live under a rock.) and a bunch more war.

1913: The United States gives itself the right to collect income taxes.  Nevermind that Tasmania had an election or the the Mexican Revolution surges to its climax.  This one really kind of overshadows it all in my mind.

Okay.  I honestly think I deserve some sort of World History credit for that or something.  But, since I'm not in school anymore, I have to tie it in to some sort of moral or something to give meaning to the hour or so I just spent on this, so, here we go:

Can we please do something GOOD with 2013? 

I really feel like these years have gotten a bad reputation.

Who is this man?

This morning's passage in church came from Luke 8.  We actually had a service based around the Parable of the Sower this morning, and it was too good to not share some quotes with you, so here's your dose of Pastor Yoon for today:

"If you're busy and are going through a hard time, you need to pray more... This is how we come out of the thorns... We all have a lot of drama in our lives these days. This kind of drama will become poison." 

‎"We need to wash away the poison in our bodies and in our souls. If we do not, they will become bad things in us... Prayer is the only way to soothe our trauma and poison." 

‎"Satan does not like for believers to pray. The most strong [demon] is the one who stands [outside] the prayer room."

It was like John Wesley came to him in a dream and said, "Pastor Yoon, I want you to talk to the people."  It was definitely hard-hitting, and something I need to do more.


BUT, that's not all.  You see, I decided I wanted to read on past verse 8, and I eventually came to the passage where Jesus meets Legion.  I was astounded by two old truths, that I've known, but it was as if I was reading them for the first time today.

Luke 8:30-37 NIV

The first this that I immediately thought was that Hell must be a horrible place, if even the demons don't want to be there.  I think it's easy for us to downplay Hell.  A lot of us have it rough on Earth, and we think, "It can't get worse than this."  I mean, I have a measuring rod.  I assess each bad situation this way: "Is this worse than that one time?  No.  Then this isn't so bad."  In my head, there is nothing worse than that semester a couple years back when we lost Kyle.  But there were demons there -willingly there.  According to this passage, therefore, Hell must be worse than that, unfathomable as it may be.

The second thought that ran through my head is as follows, verbatim: Who is this man that he even has mercy on demons?  Honestly, what is this?  Moreover, what does this say about us and our actions?  We, who can't even find it in ourselves to be nice on a bad day to the people we love most, are supposed to be modeling ourselves after a man who shows mercy on demons.

Oh G-d, "You are so high among the highest, and I am low among the lowest, a mean thing.  You never go away from us.  Yet we have difficulty in returning to You." (Augustine)

He who has ear, let him hear.

The highest

Blimey Cow photo-a-day 27. A favorite quote

Since I first read this quote in Nate Kerr's Christian Tradition class (the class that is responsible for the destruction of my faith), I have not been able to shake it.  Morning, noon, or night, it will creep into my head, and I will find myself meditating on it.  No matter where I am when it hits, a quick prayer, even uttered by my heart in the spirit of the quote, will never fail to bring me back to the feet of Christ.

I don't know if it's because I'm finally fulfilling my purpose as a creation to praise the Creator...

I don't know if it's because, in praying this, I must fully turn my attention to G-d...

I don't know if it's just because I resonate so deeply with Augustine here...

But I do know that I never feel more right than when I'm acting with this quote at the forefront of my plans.

I would strongly, strongly recommend that you read a copy of Augustine's Confessions, which happens to be my favorite book.  I've linked an online preview of it for you, to make my point for me.  This book has entirely shaped the way that I write about faith and G-d (if you read it and read some of my such writings, I promise you, the influence will be unmistakable).  Seriously, check it out.  You won't be sorry you did.

Beyond that, I would encourage you to start praying this, as Augustine (and, to an extent, Paul) prayed.  I guarantee you, it will change your life.

Keep loving.

Restraint and the preference against it

I love my students so stinking much.  I just thought you should know that.  It's really been hitting me the past couple of weeks, ever since I started thinking more about them and less about me.  Yes, there are times that I raise my voice.  Yes, there are times that I yell at them (because that seems to be all they respond to).  Yes, there are times that I make them feel ashamed of themselves.  But it's occurred to me that I would fight to the death for these kids.

This instinct has become so strong in me that I'm often having to check myself: "'Venegeance is mine; I will repay,' saith the L-RD."  It's hard for me, because one of my strongest desires in this world is to do to child abusers exactly what they do to their victims.  I honestly and truly think I could tear someone limb-from-limb if I saw them lay a hand on a child, especially one of my students (Luckily, this has not yet been put to the test.  I'm a little scared of it, because I don't know for sure that I could control myself.), but that is not right; that is not holy.  Sometimes it's so so hard to do the right thing.

But G-d loves all people.  Yes, He especially loves children, but that does not take away from His love for their abusers, neglecters, and destroyers.  G-d is amazing, unfathomable, and perfect.  I, clearly, am not, and I praise Him for that.  "You are so high among the highest, and I am low among the lowest, a mean thing."

Blimey Cow photo-a-day 09. Make it a milkshake, baby.
I'm a freak.  I hate milkshakes.  So, I walked into the 7-11 downstairs, and shook some milk.  I had a rabbit in the bag on my shoulder to distract anyone who noticed.


No... I'm not crazy...

Lent: The Teacher

***Don't forget to sign the petition (and this one too!) to save refugees from North Korea!***

Blessing #18 - Dr. Nathan R. Kerr

There is not a day that goes by without Nate Kerr having some influence on my life.  It's not like I'm thinking every day, "Oh, Nate Kerr taught me that," but, every now and then I stop to reflect, and I realize how much he has shaped my world view.  Today, it was twice that I had that moment - where I realized that I never would have been saying that things that I was saying if it wasn't for my four years of tutelage under him.

Philosophy for Theology I, October 2009

I want to share some of the parameters of my world view, as shaped by Nate Kerr:

1. "[G-d] is so high among the highest, and I am low among the lowest, a mean thing." (Augustine)  G-d is beyond our intellectual capacity.  Understanding of Him can only be brought by divine revelation, but there will always be mystery (and lots of it) surrounding Him.  It takes extreme amounts of faith in our science-driven world to accept that.
2. We are much more connected to those other than ourselves than we can possibly know.  The human experience is one of joined-ness, and, as such, all human life is sacred.  It is not our place to take it.  Those who do so must first be ordained by G-d.  
3. The world doesn't like those who think outside the presented norms.  The world especially doesn't like those who are correct in thinking outside the presented norms.  This doesn't mean that you should conform; it simply means that you need to re-enter The Cave in the full awareness of what you are doing.
4. It's harder to receive a good thing when you were expecting a bad one than it is to receive a bad thing when you were expecting a good one.
5. Love never fails.

I certainly have more, but I think those are my Top Five.  What are yours?

Superheroes (Part 3b) - You can't fix bad hearts.

What a lesson.  One of my kids really got "IT" this time around.  The call of "Teacher, Teacher!  Help me!  Is this right?" Is a typical sound in my classroom, especially when critical thinking time rolls around, so it didn't shock me to hear it come out of his mouth, but what did catch me off guard was the answer waiting for me.  His number one con to being a superhero: "You can't fix bad hearts."

How many times have I tried to do this?  Not even just with "bad" hearts, but I try to "fix" any heart that I think is on a path different from what I would choose for them.  Let me tell you this... my efforts to fix almost always end in destruction.  No matter what I'd like to have be the case in my life, the fact remains that I am a flawed human.  No matter how close I am to G-d at any given moment, I can bring salvation to no one.  It's in moments like this that I can't help wanting to reference all of St. Augustine's Confessions, but, since I can't (well... at least not on here directly, click the link to reach a full electronic copy of the book), I'm going to quote it a bit:

My own stiff neck took me further and further away from you.  I loved my own ways, not yours.  The liberty I loved was merely that of a runaway... The blindness of humanity is so great that people are actually proud of their blindness.

 Who will enable me to find rest in you?  Who will grant me that you come to my heart and intoxicate it, so that I forget my evils and embrace my one and only good, yourself?  What are you to me?  Have mercy so that I may find words.  What am I to you that you command me to love you, and that, if I fail to love you, you are angry with me and threaten me with vast miseries?  If I do not love you, is that but a little misery?  What a wretch I am!  In your mercies, [L-rd G-d], tell me what you are to me.  'Say to my soul, I am your salvation' (Ps. 34:3).  Speak to me so that I may hear.  See the ears of my heart are before you, [L-rd].  Open them and 'say to my soul, I am your salvation.'  After that utterance I will run and lay hold on you.  Do not hide your face form me (cf. Ps. 26:9).  Lest I die, let me die so that I may see it.

 It is only G-d who can bring people to Him.  He uses us and our loves to act as an example, but, in the end, it is He who opens hearts.  This is an important lesson that I must never forget.  I am called to love G-d.  Beyond that, there is nothing more important, nothing I can ever do better.  If I focus on that, everything else will fall into place.