These are my thoughts lately due to current political hot topics and of course the war since '03 and I suppose just life in general...

Morality... how do you define it? Please think about this for at least 1 minute...

I can see no way of defining it outside of God...

Now this is where it gets crazy...

And this conversation is ridiculously long so here's a few off the wall examples:

"All men are created equal"... I think we all believe this to be at the foundation of morality but where in the Bible is this statement made (I'm not saying it's not there... just wondering if you have ever thought out something so unbelievably simple as this)? And once we find where the Bible says or implies this truth we hold so dear why are we not completely confused when the entire Bible is filled with the absolute annihilation of people groups and cultures? The preservation of one people? The existence of extreme nationalism? etc.? This whole idea of all men being created equal does not unfold in the Bible the way we interpret it in modern daywestern culture. I'm not making any point here other than WHAT?? These things confuse me and challenge me.

Take war... good or bad? If it's ever good, when? Most of us are familiar with the Bible... one example... Jericho... God caused the walls to crumble supernaturally intantaneously killing men, WOMEN, and CHILDREN whose sin was BASICALLY not being Jewish... Remember... God did this...

Murder... in BASICALLY all cultures, pretty much throughout all times there's a law or standard which only allows killing a person under circumstances. What should be weird in the Bible when interpreted through the eyes of "today" is all the killing due to simply people not being Jewish, or being opposed to God's plan for the Jews, or in the N.T. not being a Christian, not paying tithes/lying (maybe not the best example), or siding with the Anti-Christ (which by the way, by all implications in the Bible, it seems to me that it will make a whole lot of sense to side with the Anti-Christ)... weird right? this topic of murder or killing... this concept of morality...

How bout justice? tell me how this is just, if God is just... Saul is called to rid the land of the Philistines (explain that one in your Anthropology class) and he makes one little mistake and BAM!! God replaces Him with David WHO COMMITS ADULTERY AND MURDERS THE WOMAN'S HUSBAND and David is considered to be the one after God's own heart!! So what is justice? Is it eye for an eye? Tit for tat? An eternity in hell for a relatively minscule amount of time spent not following God? What about mercy? How is that just? Why mercy for some but not others? What about Job? There are so many points to be made here.

What about the constitution? The American Revolution? Ideas we have today that are held high as the most moral issues? Darfur? Global warming? Since when is "saving the planet" a moral high ground? Conservative or liberal? Moral relativity? War is immoral? Iraq is immoral? we're entitled to healthcare and it's immoral if someone is without it? BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH!!!

I know this... I am without many answers here... these are things that I roll around in my mind...

I enjoy reading American History stuff... like founding fathers, american revolution... historical accounts and biographies/auto-biographies. But I get extreme satisfaction from when I'm reading and I prove myself wrong. There's so much satisfaction when I'm like what?!! It can't be?!?! Read it again... minutes later... yep I was wrong. But then I'm so satisfied in admitting I was wrong, which was humbling, and then of course, now being right!! HA!

this morning I shot myself in the eye with my cologne... accidentally of course. You might think it would've stung but surprisingly it didn't. In fact the only side effect is that my eyeball smells pretty good.

just a quick thought

just a quick thought I had while reading just before I went to sleep...

Lately I've been frustrated as I think about culture encroaching in upon me seemingly screaming at me moral relativities. If the culture had a body, it would be clothed in white flowing robes. It would give off an aura of love and positive emotions. Your first thought would be "wow, what love!".

So here I am approached by culture and it's telling me to shut my mouth, to stop asking questions and thinking for myself, and to walk in tolerance and redefine morality in my mind.

Specifically I feel a social movement gone political telling me that homosexuality is really not that bad and that I'm the one in the wrong for being disgusted for it. This one tends to bug me alot.

Another one that bugs me is politically, the call for unity whether between libs and conservatives or in an even broader scope, unity amongst all religions (especially with the ever so popular Islam). This one gets to me 'cause I feel I'm expected to not stand up for what I really believe is right and to "love" all people by AVOIDING CONFRONTATION!... avoiding confrontation is another way of saying "tolerance" which is the ultimate in morality as defined by our culture (the second most important moral would be none other than global warming).

So I think about these issues. I'm not one to ignore all the legitimate arguments in my head in order to embrace the opposing legitimate arguments in my head in order to embrace what culture is pushing on me.

I said all that to write this verse that struck me. It specifically addresses the unity among all religions stuff but makes me think about all these things...

"If someone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don't invite him into your house or encourage him in any way. Anyone who encourages him becomes a partner in his evil work." 2 John 10-11

Seems to me the Bible always promotes the delivery of truth... truth is powerful... truth is liberating... truth is loving.

I'm not too sure how all this plays out.

All I know is I am so sick and tired of being quiet and going with the flow of culture. More and more I simply speak what I believe... this feels incredibly liberating coming from years of sheepishness trying to avoid confrontation to keep the peace. There is a dilemma I still have though and that is the issue of love. It's not easy to genuinely care for someone who you know well and to then confront them on something seriously personal. It's even harder to do that to someone you don't know at all and yet still appear to be loving. This whole thing is weird.

I live as though the Bible says,

"If someone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, keep quiet, smile, try not to look like the stereo-typical judgmental Christian, and then change the subject all the while staying upbeat and happy, acting as if nothing has happened. Encourage him to continue seeking truth (truth is broad and indirect) and ask him questions about who he is and where he is from."

But the Bible does not say that. It says to not even have him over to the house or encourage him in any way!!! WHOA!! UNLOVING!! And if I do encourage him it's like I'm speaking the same lies.

I hate the feeling of culture encroaching upon me with it's ideals based in moral relativism... it makes me want to lash out! I'm not one to go with the flow... nor am I one to not think!