Back to the real world.

So I have been talking a lot of theology, philosophy with a little metaphysics to spice things up, but now it is time to put in a solid chunk of reality.

This is how I see it. Civilization as we know it is hooped. We have filthy greedy leaders, with filthy greedy masters, who have decided to think only of themselves and their short term gain. They don't even think off thier own children let alone us, and our children.

We, as in the masses, are too many. We can't agree enough to step up and demand anything. We whine and complain in fits and starts, but never enough to scare the masters. We change to high efficiency light bulbs and washing machines, and drive our SUVs to the store across the street.

Meanwhile oil spills into the ocean, killing indiscriminately. The shrimpers whine about their livelihoods. What about the countless living creatures dieing because of of a couple cost cutting corner cutters? Yup. I said it.

This is the slow decent my friends. I look forward to watching and participating. I want to do my part, make my dent. My children will be toughened, hardened by the life of the future. Food will be harder to get, water will taste a little funny. Life will go on. The earth will spin. Perhaps we need a little fall. A little lesson in reality. Humanity will adapt, culture will change. We will be taught a lesson, and a few generations from now perhaps, humanity will be all the better for it.

Wisdom

A person who truly thirsts for knowledge and wisdom, should be able to recognize that they are lacking something. Just as you cannot fill a cup with water when it is already full.

I am reading a lot of philosophy and theology these days and realizing how much has already been thought. I am also realizing that in order to think about these ideas I have to understand that I don't know everything already.

At one point in time I was searching for nothing but meaning. I wanted to know that my life had a meaning or a purpose. The more I searched the less I could claim a random universe could have meaning. So I started a search for myself, needless to say what I found did not impress me. I came to a realization that relationships are somehow important. Not just any relationship either, I had this need for a 'true' , 'deep' or 'real' relationship. Something I could not get from myself. It had to be from other people.

I have over the years searched in vain for god. This elusive old man in the sky. He would throw people into a fire and turn his back on them if he was mad. He would drown them in rain. He would turn them to salt. This god was a caricature. A little child's god. If I wanted or needed I would pray and sometimes I would get my childish wish. One point god. Sometimes I was ignored. One point for the little kid pity party. God lost.

As an adult I noticed a trend in society at large. I didn't know what it was called at the time, but know I call it the destruction of the sacred. Nothing is sacred in western culture. Everything can be bought. Everything is a commodity. The west prides itself on how morally superior, how post modern, how separated from God it is. Good for you west.

I hear how the Bible is bad because it has slavery in it. It instructs people how to care for thier slaves. How horrible! How 300 years ago. We are so past that now, right? I bet there are more slaves now than ever in the history of humanity. Oops, I mean sweat shop laborers, child prostitutes and underpaid, overworked 'employees'.

Nothing is sacred. Sin is dead, right? We have evolved past that stage, no worries about sin.

You and I have something in common. The capacity for sin. You, me, your Mom, all have the capacity in us to be a killer, a thief a sinner. The thin veneer of culture can be whiped off any one of us, under the right conditions Hitler did what he did.

As an adult I was introduced to Jesus. It was not an instant match, no love at first sight. Christians had given me too many reasons to be leery of Christ. To this day I do not take my faith sitting down. I am constantly thinking about and questioning God. I have come to a place where I don't care about rational scientific thought (it interests me, but I no longer worry about it in the God aspect of my life).

I have come to accept the non-rational, because there is a part of me that does not want everything to the explained. I have come to accept that people (including myself) are never going to be what I would like them to be, because we can't be. We are not capable of being God. I have no choice but to accept that there is something bigger, better and perfect in existence, because if there isn't life would be too sad and painful. I no longer have a child's understanding of god. I totally understand how much I don't understand, how much mystery there is. To tell you the truth I am fine with that. It overjoys me to know how little I know. Like a little sponge I hope to be wrung out by God, and filled back up with Gods wisdom.