"Fragility"

The world shatters like glass a thousand times 
But somehow manages to be made whole.
Philosophies speak pureness of her soul,
But words are nothing but empty rhymes.
Post-modernity has made us like mimes,
Putting truth and lies into the same bowl. 
Making a prison that prevents the soul
From healing. Loveless and annoying chimes.   

Why are we surprised when people break down
Or turn to mind numbing meds such as meth.
Even memory foam forgets after being beaten to death.
The human mind is beautiful and vile
Above all, it is terribly fragile;
Running and running until out of breath...


A Poem By Stephen D. Green II

Christian What?

Today I was on FaceBook and I saw where someone had forwarded photo from group called "Christian Republicans". If you have been following my blog then you will already be aware of fact that I and grieviously dislike politics. I remember when I first went to first went to my college and discovered that not all Christians are Republicans haha. I'm not here to debate whether Christians can  be Democrats or Republicans (or vise versa). I'm not here to tell you how unbiblical and ungodly it is to separate your religious beliefs from your politics stands, and I'm definitely not writing this to inform you of the fact you are going to Hell for doing so. Purgatory...yes. Hell...no (For the record I do not hold to a Catholic view of purgatory. I hold the Protestant one that is often not called "purgatory" for fear that one might be labeled a heretic for believing what they actually do believe...).

What I'm focusing on here is much more a long the lines of American culture and a shifting of the grammatical use of the word "Christian". Ok...so when, in the course of 200 years, did the word "Christian" become an adjective??? Last time I checked it was a...NOUN! For those who do not know...

"noun-any member of a class of words that can function as the main or only elements of subjects of verbs, as “A dog  just barked,” or of objects of verbs or prepositions, as “to send money  from home, ”and that in English can take plural forms and possessive endings,as “Three of his buddies  want to borrow John's  laptop.” nouns are often described as referring to persons, places, things, states, or qualities, and the word noun  is itself often used as an attributive modifier, as noun compound; noun group . See also noun adjunct,noun clause, noun phrase. Synonyms: substantive, name." This definition is taken from Dictionary.com

Somehow, the word Christian took up a role of being an adjective as well. In fact id you look up The definition of "Christian" on Dictionary.com, you will see that it first and for most lists the word as an adjective. Why?

Aren't we supposed to be "Christians" first, and anything else second? So how did "Christian" become the modifier? It is is the core of what and who we are, and everything else in our lives is touched by or and extension of our faith in Christ...then how is it that we find ourselves being "Christian Artists", "Christian Republicans", "Christian Mechanics", "Christian Businessmen" or "Christian Missionaries"? It should not be the adjective because then we are watering it down...or simply making it the clothing that body wears rather than something that is deeply intertwined with our being. I don't dress Christian...I AM Christian. It is not like a coat of paint on a house...it is the house. Republican, Democrat  Artist, etc are the the coats of paint that go on the house.

So let's stop living in a way that "Christianity" is a mere adjective to our lives, but is instead a noun that tells people what we actually are.

Peace be upon you,

Stephen

A House Divided

"The truth resolves somethings, and adds difficulty to others."                                              -A.W.Tozer

The last couple of days has been quite the emotional trip, but this morning I read this quote and was given a measure of hope. It seemed like it was just the thing i needed to hear to help my troubled mind. You see, a great number of people within my overall community structure have been at war over "getting out the truth" and engaging in (sometimes heated) debates over what should or should not be exposed. At first I wanted to name this post "Give me Justice or Give Me Journalism!", but then I decided that that is not the route I wanted to take with my post. Besides...what was done in the name of journalism can hardly be labeled as such. That's beside the point.

The point is that there has been a line drawn and people have taken sides. Who's right? Who's wrong? Well, if we looked at it honestly and without bias (not an easy task mind you), and tried to look at the whole situation holistically...the answer to both questions is...well..."both" haha. Both parties are right...and both are wrong.

Now before someone leaves a comment saying this is a cop out answer or yells "What the *bleep*?" at me, let me explain.

Granted, I think that one party is more "right" than the other, but if we all would just shut up for just a moment and let down our barriers of pride and self-righteousness...then we could begin to see a little more clearly what the other group is saying.  Both sides have at least one valid point to make and something that can be learned from the other.

I think that key things for us to learn here are:

• Respect for those we have put ourselves under/God has put over us. 
• Respect for those who have a differing opinion and the decency to listen well before making a rebuttal. 
• Realization that just because someone has the right to do something, doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. 
• Sin breeds sin.
• Grace breeds grace. 
• Christians are supposed to live in a 200% reality in which they are 100% about grace and 100% about justice. 
• We don't always see everything, so we shouldn't ever act like we do. 
• and that Jesus clearly said "blessed are the peace makers" 

When do something for the sake of doing it, then we aren't doing it with purpose. We should be people who think things through before acting and ask questions like "What will this accomplish?", "Are there consequences and do they affect more than just me?", "Is it beneficial?", "Does my not doing this have repercussions or benefits?", and ultimately  "Does it glorify God?" 

I think that if these questions had been asked by BOTH parties...a lot of strife could have been avoided this week. I love you all and I pray that God will do a work in all our hearts and that things like this will bring about unity in the end (as my Arabic friends say Enshallah). 

Peace be upon you all, 

Stephen 

Thoughtless...

Ok so the title isn't talking about me. Otherwise...I would not be typing.

Here is the question I pose today:

"What on Earth posses people to make decisions and/or to speak without thinking?" I think the answer is summed up by the Greek word idios which gives us the modern day English word idiot. No I'm not saying that people are stupid (though a couple of friends of mine would argue it true), but instead I'm saying that people are "living in their own world" as the meaning of idios actually implies. This living in a state of idios leads people to be self-centered and undisciplined in thought, word, and deed.

I think that perhaps I experienced some of this today.

As I was walking downtown I saw this guy on a bicycle riding down a short length of street from the city's nearby walking bridge. While he was still a good distance away I witnessed an elderly woman (70's by guesstimation) get into her nice SUV and get ready to pull out. The biker was approaching at quite the speed and incredibly close to the vehicles, so it was no surprise that the woman pulled out and he nearly ran into her. He braked and let out a yell or surprise. After he collected himself he suddenly became enraged and started yelling after her! There was a stop sign not far ahead so he rode up next to her yelling through the glass and she stared at him in utter confusion. He knocked on her window while yelling and I was shocked that she had the guts to roll down her window at such incident. He then proceeded to put his finger in her face and yell "watch the *bleep* where you're driving!" and this entire time I'm wanting to yell and scream at the guy to leave her alone and move on. Needless to say the poor woman went off with a look of fear and confusion draped on her face like veil. The time had passed and all was said and done...and I was left angry, wishing that I had done something.

In my defense, I refrained from doing anything because I was in company uniform. I later talked to my manager and asked about possible problems I might face if I would have engaged with the guy. My manager assured me that if i had engaged I would not have suffered and that for future reference I'd be fine. In my "offense", it was somewhat selfish and I failed to act when the moment demanded that a peace maker step in; when someone needed aid, even when she was truly in the wrong for not paying better attention.

The biker, however, also failed to pay attention to the women, and in his pride and lack of self discipline he lashed out against the poor woman who just made an honest mistake and did not deserve such a verbal assault. The man was an "idiot", failing to recognize his own error, and then secondly acting out from pure emotion and rage without thinking of the consequences or what he was accomplishing (or not accomplishing in this case).

In the end, we have a woman who a) is terrified and b) still doesn't know what she did wrong (both due to mindless yelling instead of calm explanation). And we have a biker who will go on to live in his "idiotic" state, losing relationships, living stressed, and ultimately earning purgatory points.

Lets all learn to be a little more mindful or our actions and whats going on around us...and maybe the world will be a little bit better place.

Peace be with you all,

Stephen

"Humans and the understanding of the gods"

There are very few people I know who hasn't at one point or another found Greek mythology fascinating, or at least some of the creatures that have come out of the imagination of old Greek bards. Sometimes I find myself amazed by how much our culture is influenced by ancient cultures that have all but died, but that is trailing from my point.

Tonight I was thinking about how so many stories in Greek mythology that involve interaction between humanity and the gods are totally bizarre. In said stories, the deities crave worship from humans, but ultimately do not understand humans. They toy with them, trick them, fall in love with them, seek to do good for them and screw things up, or just choose to kill them. Whats interesting is that it is the fault of the "gods" that man advanced in knowledge at all. A single deity comes forth and give man the knowledge of fire, and the rest is "history" (lol).

As a Christian, I have a very different perspective on the interaction between God (note singularity) and humanity, or at least...I should.

I think it's fascinating how many times worship leaders take the time to make sure people know that "Jesus understands all of [their] pain. He's been through it all!", and yet it seems like it never really gets through to anyone. There minds and hearts are split saying that God understands, but in practicality living and praying as if He doesn't.

How is it exactly that God understands everything that we are going through? I mean, last time I checked, Jesus wasn't exactly suffering from AIDS and he didn't ever get His arm chopped off; He never had Multiple Personality Disorder. So does that statement that worship leaders make so often really hold water? For most...yes. For the shallow or spiritually immature...yes. For the normal person who grew up in church...yes. For the new believer...yes. For the "christian" that wants God to bless Him/Her and to "bring forth their harvest and just let the river of blessings flow" right into their bank account...absolutely. But for the over analytical and critical Christian like myself...not really.

Many like me would probably think "how could Jesus possibly relate to me...a young adult in the 21 century (that is what century it is right?!?!?!) in America? Well there is a simple answer to that...He's God. Duh right? We have a tendency to forget what that means I think. It means...

1. He's all-knowing
2. He's all-powerful
3. He's all-present
4. He created us.

All these are huge! But lets just focus on a couple. God knows everything, everywhere, at all times....even if it hasn't happened yet. He didn't have to be incarnated now to understand "now", but instead He understood "now" before He ever was incarnated into humanity. Why? He's God. He CREATED us. There is not a single shred of DNA, psychology, or spirituality that He does not understand because He designed it! He knows what pain is because He designed our bodies that way. He know what does what to us and how each thing affects us. He knows what we can handle and what we can't. He created us. God understands...and in His love He able to sympathize with our pain. He is not surprised by it or shocked when we cry out to Him about it, because He is fully present with us in it.

He is a God who sees. He is a God that allows us to experience darkness and pain, knowing that in the end greater things will come about. It's comforting to know that we serve a God that doesn't interact with us or relate to us as those of the Greek thought.