21 posts tagged “blogging”
Hey guys.
I've really enjoyed using VOX for the past few years, and it's really awesome to have met so many cool people here. Unfortunately, it's kind of hard to cross-post everything I write on two blogs, and there aren't as many readers here as there are on Blogger. So, if you're a new reader and you'd like to read more of me, or if you're an old reader and you'd like to keep up with my adventures, I ask that you please continue to read at my Blogger blog: Adventures of a Christian Collegian.
There's more stuff there anyway. I'll leave a link to this blog on that blog just in case there was anything that I posted here that I didn't post there (but I don't think there is much). Anyone can comment on Blogger, and of course you can always e-mail me and keep up with me, so I hope to see you people over there!
In Christ,
Jay
I believe in my last post I mentioned how I was bored and at home. Well, I'm not really either anymore! I decided to take a few days and head back down to my college's town to visit all my friends who live here in the summer. Man, I love this town, and also the fact that I have high speed Internet down here! Yay! So I figure that since right now the friend I'm staying with is asleep (and probably will be till noon or so) I should go ahead and blog. So with that, here goes.
It's really interesting, and a little sad, to hear some conservative Christian commentary on the recent decision by the California Supreme Court remove the ban on same-sex marriages. Now, in general, I have to say I disagree with the court's decision. Even taking personal opinions out of the mix here, I feel there was little legal basis for their decision and it went against the will of the people of the state of California... not to mention that their decision to allow same-sex marriage, but not allow plural marriage, sounds more like a "because we say so" than anything else. There didn't seem to be any logical sense to how they could remove one of the prerequisites for marriage (opposite genders) but not another (two people), and they didn't take time to bridge that logical gap. They just said so. I'm not usually a fan of the slippery slope argument, but let's face it, the court left themselves pretty wide open here.
But anyway, that's not the point of the post anyway, so before any of you decide to throw chairs at me, hear me out (especially if they are nice chairs). I have been increasingly saddened by the seeming inability of many Christian commentators to talk about this issue with grace or concern for homosexuals. I think one podcast by James White brought it home for me. Yes, there were plenty of good points made about the sinfulness of the sins involved, and the missteps that the court took in order to reach its decision. But still, I'm just frustrated... is there no way to talk about those things without having to resort to idiotic statements? I can't tell you how many faulty statistics and assertions I've heard around the Internet (i.e. "gays don't want marriage," "they have multiple partners a month," etc.) And don't get me started on broad, over-reaching, and unflattering (not to mention largely untrue) statements like "gays are selfish" or "gays are trying to destroy America." Seriously, it just blows my mind that Christians are still talking like that. It makes the ignorant hiccups (like references to "deciding to be a homosexual") really pale in comparison (though they are no less annoying, I've found).
Is it really too hard to imagine that commentating on things like same-sex marriage might actually be a good opportunity to reach out to homosexuals? I mean, the two just seem to go hand-in-hand to me, because Lord only knows how many gay men and women read and/or listen to these commentaries. But how can you reach out to a group if you lie about them, and just assume that the worst statistic you've read about them is true? How can you reach out to a group if you haven't taken any time to know where that group has come from? Choosing to have homosexual sex is one thing, but no one decides to be a homosexual, and hearing that little nugget is enough to turn people off (even people like me, who are conservative), because it shows that we're just not being listened to. I mean, it really makes me wonder if they actually care. I can't think of any other sin (short of murder, perhaps) that so many Christians just don't seem to be able to be gracious about.
It's especially sad when a lot of this commentary is coming from writers, like James White, that I really respect and who are usually a breath of fresh air in terms of their thoughtfulness and intelligence (especially when compared to other Evangelical commentators). I was at least hoping for some effort to reach out to homosexuals in that podcast, but nope, nothing. Even if the effort had been wrapped in bad, NARTH-style jargon it would be better than nothing. It would at least show that they, you know, care about us. It's frustrating, I guess, but it also makes me reflect and wonder if there are any sins or struggles that I am callous about. Is there any group that I am unsympathetic to? Are there any people whose actions I rightly know as sin but who I nevertheless fail to reach out to out of my own prejudices? I can't be a total victim here, because usually the things we dislike in others are mirrored in ourselves. If I can see what doesn't help when witnessing to homosexuals, maybe I can use those things to see what doesn't help when witnessing to others.
Christ's peace to you,
Jay
Wow... I finished my last exam today. Now all I have to do is finish up a few little things and pack my belongings, and I'm done with my second year in college. It's very possible that my undergraduate career is half over (of course, it's equally possible that I might become a fifth-year senior; it's pretty common nowadays). Either way, I simply can't understand how time has passed by so quickly.
At the same time, I don't think time has passed so quickly at all. It's weird how two years can see fast and slow at the same time. I think people really over-emphasize the speed at which life passes. Sure, I remember my first day of college like it was yesterday. That, however, was a landmark event in my life, so it's natural it would be etched into my memory a bit more. The same goes with any landmark event, really. I remember lots of things like they just happened.
When I think back on these past two years, and I mean really think about them, they honestly don't seem that fast at all. So much has happened, only a fraction of which has been chronicled in this blog (or in my own handwritten journal, for that matter). It actually kind of amazes me how much stuff has been crammed into these two years. I have learned so much, met so many people, and grown so much that I don't really feel like the same person that I was two years ago.
I've often heard people use the cliche expression "appreciate your time" when talking to me (or people my age) about college. It's a true enough expression, yet at the same time I don't feel that I could do anything other than appreciate my time. I'm here, and this is what's happening, and I have no choice but to appreciate it by simply living. Maybe some people live without appreciating their situation, but for me, it almost comes naturally.
Maybe what they mean is to spend time doing things that you won't regret. I can certainly understand that, but regrets are a tricky business. There are probably many situations that were not good for me over the past two years, yet at the same time they have all helped me grow into the person that I am today, and I like that person a lot. Even though my college experience so far hasn't been completely perfect (nothing ever is), I still am glad for it.
Anyway, all of this is basically just to say that I have been in college for two years. Wow. I have also been maintaining this blog for about that same amount of time as well, and am equally grateful and appreciative for all of you people who (for one reason or another) have been reading. Thank you for everything. I'll be going back home soon, which means I'll be back on a dial-up connection. I still will try to blog, though, and I hope you all have a great summer!
And with a new theme, to boot! What do you guys think? Did you miss me?
I have to say my Lenten fast went rather well... Granted, I cheated several times, but the point of the fast wasn't some legalistic endeavor to stay away from cyberspace. It was more or less a chance for me to let go of some things that were tying me down to a certain extent. I had become so wrapped up in an online social world that I forgot about the one that was right next to me! The Internet will always be there. College won't, so I figured I had to try and live a little more.
I had a wonderful time and a great Spring and Easter Break. I spent time with my family and friends, and in general the past 40 days have felt very good. Like any other season, there have been trials and struggles and sins and mistakes... and it's been kind of liberating for me, not feeling obligated to write about them all here! That being said, I'm glad to be back now, and I have plenty of things to write about.
I just have to figure out what I'm going to say now. Over Lent, I had several nice meditations about family, loneliness, calling, marriage, the Church, and the creative process (by the way, I'm starting a new novel. Asher of the Desert, love it though I do, is on indefinite hiatus). I can't wait to start putting my pen down some more and speaking my mind. A little silence was good for me, but that's only because I can now contrast it with my voice.
Hope you all are well, and still realize that I'm around despite the break. Comment and say hi, and tell me what (if anything) interesting happened over the past 40 days!
Just a quick post before I head out to class. I knew I couldn't say "no" to the blog for too long. :)
I was looking at Warren Throckmorton's blog earlier this week and noticed his links to these pieces by both Peter LaBarbera and Matt Barber. I've written about Barber before, and I don't much care for him. I don't know much about LaBarbera, but I doubt I'd be too much a fan of his, either. Both of the men seem to be so virulently opposed to homosexual people that any possible logical arguments they have are overshadowed by polemical statements and sheer ignorance of what it means to be gay (i.e. It's not about sex!)
However, I think there might be a reason behind their negativity that goes much farther simple adherence to Scripture. Here was a quote by Barber late in his piece that caught my attention:
"The sheer mechanics of homosexual conduct very naturally elicits revulsion in most rational folk."
That seems simple and unsurprising, but it got me thinking. For one, he pretty much implies that if you don't have "revulsion" towards gay sex, then you most likely aren't "rational." I guess that means he thinks if one is actually attracted (or maybe simply tempted) by gay sex, and certainly if one participates in it, then that person is inherently irrational. Seeing your opponents as inherently irrational is nothing new, and both sides of the political arena do it. However, I don't think it's really Christ-like. More than that, I don't think one should hold up their "knee-jerk" reaction to something as the starting point for their belief that it is wrong.
It's not hard to see something as wrong when you naturally are grossed-out by it. But to build a variety of political, Scriptural, and ethical arguments around that "knee-jerk" is irresponsible. I've happened to notice that pundits who admit to being repulsed by homosexuality tend not to be the most tempered or nuanced about the subject. Whereas people like the folks at Exodus -- like them or not -- do seem to guard their words a bit more, despite the fact that both groups disagree with homosexual behavior for the supposed same religious reasons.
Like I said, just a thought. I don't think we should disqualify folks with a "knee-jerk" reactions towards homosexuality from commenting on GLBT issues, but we don't need to be holding up those reactions as the basis for good political or religious argument. People, at best, need to be calm, cool, respectful, and objective. Maybe I'm just hoping for too much here. :)
Recently, the subject of testimony has gotten my attention. I have been wondering about writing my own testimony. I don't know if it's a good idea or not, but I think it might be useful. Ideally, this blog is kind of like one big, ongoing testimony, but I realize that I've been going at it for over a year now, and I have several readers who I'm just getting to know who didn't know me back when this first started.
A testimony might be useful for them, because it will provide all the back story that's needed if one wants to really get to know the real me. It might also be another tool that I can use to reflect back on my Christian faith--how I became a Christian, what struggles I have faced in the past, and how I'm viewing Christ and my future in the present day. It sounds simple in theory, but it's really a hard topic when you get down to it. How could I possibly boil down all the wacky, wild, and weird events of my life, not to mention the infinite love and grace that God has shown me, into a couple of paragraphs?
Maybe those of you who've ever had to write or share testimonies can give me some advice here. Is there anything in particular you'd want to know about me? I'll warn you--any testimony of mine is not likely to be a very exciting read. I have been blessed to have not had a lot of "drama" in my life, but as Mark Twain once wrote: There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside of the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy and a tragedy.
Hey everybody! So, I'm back from camp, I've moved into my apartment (it's tiny...I mean really tiny), and I'm getting ready for school to start back. I know I've been a very bad blogger recently, but then again this thing is about my adventures at college, and since I haven't been at college all summer, I think it's fair for my blogging to be a little slow.
I really enjoy going back to school. I have every year since I've started school, I think. Summer always got a little boring and there was nothing like new textbooks, new teachers, and another chance to start over, so to speak. That's why I like New Year's Eve, I suppose. There's just that sense of a new beginning, of hope, that resonates with me. I mean, things really don't change all that much. Even though you've learned from the previous year's mistakes you are bound to make brand new ones (and probably some of the olds ones, too).
But there are a lot of things about starting back to school that I love. Seeing old friends, getting new things, setting up a new room. I guess I just like when things are "new" sometimes. I guess the blog is kind of new, too. I just realized that I've had it for a year, and things have certainly changed in that time. I've grown a lot, and I've made a lot of mistakes. I've also learned a lot of things, and (hopefully) have taught some things, too. I'm looking forward to all the new things that this year has to offer, and I hope I can blog about them. I'm looking forward to it.
And yes, that entire post could be summed up in just too words: I'm back!
As I sit here at the front desk of my dorm, procrastinating my butt off (I should be working on a final project for an EDN class...but I'm not), a lot of very random thoughts cross my mind. Since I'm so resigned to not work on anything important, I thought I'd at least work on the blog. So, here goes.
I was thinking about the concepts of ambition and dreams, and how the two interact. I see ambition as something hard and concrete, while dreams are much less corporeal. Dreams are the desired "end product," while ambition entails everything else (i.e. the hard work, the connections, and the talent involved to make dreams come true). You can have dreams without ambition (though that would usually doom them to failure), but you can't have ambition without dreams.
I thought what my life would be like if all my dreams came true. I know this may sound silly, but I actually wrote my own fake Wikipedia article about myself. I set it seven years down the road and wrote about the the things I had "done" between now and 2014. I don't know about you, but I love Wikipedia. I can spend hours just reading through random articles. It's especially funny when people I somewhat know (like the chancellor of my college) have their own articles on there. So I pretty much started my own article. Here's a small, edited excerpt:
"Jay (born 1988 in North Carolina) is an American musician, writer, actor, model, blogger, and social critic. He is known for his multiple talents, outspoken style, and humanitarian work. He has won the Newberry Medal for his 2009 novel Whaler and was nominated for an Emmy in 2010 for his guest appearance on House."
Yeah, I know. Far-fetched (at least time-wise). But it's really just fun to cut loose and dream sometimes. I went so far as to imagine the future "controversies" that my conservative religious stances, not to mention my sexuality views, would cause me should I ever become famous like I want to be. So I suppose I'm still a realist when I dream, but that's okay with me. What hit was the fact that when it came to "Personal Life," I had no dreams. That, I feel, is up to God no matter what else happens.
So, it seems very likely that I have delusions of grandeur. There is ambition attached to some of these (such as writing, and possibly even being famous, since that can happen because of writing), but the rest of these dreams kind of hinge on my being "discovered." Hey, it could happen, though I doubt it. Either way, it's fun to think about when you're bored. What are (or were) some of your most far-fetched dreams? Don't be shy. I want to hear them!
I noticed that my reading habits had kind of died down in college, but recently they've been on their way back up. This is good, and not only because reading is stereotypically "good for you," but because I think if one reads a lot, they will eventually start writing a lot. This is because reading stirs your imagination and opinions, and thus makes you want to add more to the fray (if you have the self-confidence to do it, that is.
Of course, reading nowadays takes on several forms. I've only read two novels this year: Wicked by Gregory Maguire, and The Neverending Story by Michael Ende (which I should be done with in a few days). But I've read a lot of other things: blog posts, essays, Townhall columns, and some oh-so-boring textbooks. Still, reading's reading, and you have to take it in all its forms sometimes.
Now let's move on to some blog posts that have caught my eye recently:
Randy Thomas, Warren Throckmorton, and La Shawn Barber have all written excellent responses to the Virginia Tech tragedy. I hope you all join them (and myself) in praying for those families and that community.
Both David at Resolving Realities and Amanda at Imago Dei have written posts about Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church. David's post is especially interesting, taking a very human approach to people who barely seem human sometimes, and finding some very uncomfortable similarities between their psychology and the psychology of more mainstream fundamentalist Christians. It's a good reminder that, generally, there is always a bit of ourselves in who we perceive to be our "enemies." That's probably why they're so scary to begin with.
Also, Disputed Mutability has written an excellent review of Peterson Toscano's "Doin' Time in the Homo No Mo' Halfway House" performance. Obviously, since DM is an ex-gay and Peterson is an "ex-gay survivor," it's a very interesting post, and like with all things DM, I was impressed after reading it. Oh, and Peterson himself has also made a good post recently.
Well, that's what I've been reading. Hope you all take some time to read these posts. Oh, and if you want to comment on some of my recent ramblings, feel free. Not that I'm desperate or anything... ;)
