Sunday, August 21, 2011

Ever Wonder?

Compare Religions

I'm not going to lie this is pretty impressive little gadget.  I found this website Patheos through Kurt Willems's blog at Red Letter Christians website.  (that was a lot of shout outs)  Essentially what this search engine does is allows you to choose two religions and compare the basic's of them.  You can see when the religion was formed, who were its founders, some of their principal beliefs, where the religion originated, what influenced the religion to come about, etc.  It is very good for people who want a quick synopsis of what their religion stands for or has stood for in previous generations.  I know a few people who would really enjoy this device which is why i thought about throwing up a quick blog about it.

Also the blogs on the site are good too! 

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Jesus, Bombs, & Ice Cream




Intrigue is not a unfamiliar word to Shane Claiborne and with a  title like “Jesus, Bombs, & Ice Cream” it is certain that he will continue his trek of being incredibly intelligent and inspiring and also extremely entertaining (literally this guy can eat fire) Shane has more stories than your grandmother and his way with words let you relive the experience while he tells it (for reference, read his book Irresistible Revolution  or Jesus For President).  His time spent over in Baghdad and other numerous tumultuous areas give him much more credit than the next guy, which means listen up.  He has been to theses places, spent time with their people, their doctors, their dying, their needy, and has even spent time with our people who are stationed over there.  Shane’s ability to network never seems to grow weak.  He now has partnered with Ben of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and has created this amazing event named “Jesus, Bombs, & Ice Cream”.  If I did not have grad school and work then I would make the voyage to Philly and go to this event, but I cannot, but if there is anyway you can, I say go for it.  Here is a quick description of what will go down:
“A victim of 911 will share about why she has insisted that more violence will not cure the epidemic of hatred in the world.
A veteran from Iraq will speak about the collision he felt as a Christian trying to follow the nonviolent-enemy-love of Jesus on the cross… while carrying a gun.
A welder will tie an AK-47 in a knot and while a muralist paints something beautiful on stage.
We’re going to do a SKYPE call with Afghan youth working for peace, and hear their dreams for a world free of war and bombs and other ugly things.
I don’t want to give the whole thing away, but I will say we’ve got the world’s best juggler Josh Horton doing an original anti-violence routine… and we’ve got some of the finest musicians rocking out some old freedom songs.”
-Shane C

Overall, I think it is fascinating to see someone who goes at such a steady pace as Shane use all of his networks in such a positive way.  Its great to see him use all his means and mesh them into a public event that will give nonviolence a spotlight which is rare in America.  Plus who doesn’t want to see a AK-47 be welded into a knot in a artistic way.  Even if you do not go to the event, be brave and show the community you live within that we (whoever your we is, im meaning it in general, humans) have not loss our imagination.  As Shane says, interrupt injustice and build a world with fewer bombs and more ice cream.  Dream big and dream for others not yourself.  

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Wisdom from neighbors


“I am still pro-Israel, but I’ve also become pro-Palestine. Pro-peace. Pro-justice. Pro-equality for Jews and Arabs living as neighbors in the Holy Land. And bottom line, pro-Jesus.”  –Lynne Hybels “My Search for the Truth about the middle east”
“I can’t say I’m overly religious. I get satisfaction from many different types of religions and philosophies.”   -Jon Huntsman (previous ambassador to China/republican candidate)


We are taught to celebrate independence. But independence and individualism have come at a great price. In the wealthy and industrialized countries we have become the richest people in the world, but we also have some of the highest rates of loneliness, depression, and suicide. We are rich, sad, and lonely. We are living into patterns that not only leave much of the world hungry for bread and starved for justice but also leave us longing for the good life and for meaning and purpose beyond ourselves.”    ---shane Claiborne www.redletterchristians.org


 “And I don’t mean that he’s being hypocritical. I mean that if you live in a democratic society, it is a mix of what you think the voters want and what you think is doable.”
-       Representative Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat who is gay, speaking about Obama not being lucid during the 2008 elections on gay marriage.  (Pretty much its sad but true, good quote though!)

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Nothing is more seductive for man than his freedom of conscience, but nothing is a greater cause of suffering.....Dostoevsky Quotes!


These are quotes from the brothers karamazov by fydor dostoevsky.  If you do not know much about the book id say do a little research on the book before reading the quotes.  If you really want a fun challenge then go get the 800 page book and read it!  :)  It really was a fantastic book.  The characters are developed very well!  Well on with the quotes....


“As a general rule, people, even the wicked, are much more naïve and simple-hearted than we suppose.  And we are too.”

 “No animal could ever be so cruel as a man, so artfully, so artistically cruel.” Pg238

“I think that if the devil does not exist, and man has therefore created him, he has created him in his own image and likeness.” 239

“There is, of course, a beast hidden in every man, a beast of rage, a beast of sensual inflammability at the cries of the tormented victim, an unrestrained beast let off the chain, a beast of diseases acquired in debauchery” 242

"A socialist christian is more dangerous than a socialist atheist."

"But didst thou not know he would at last reject even thy image and thy truth, if he is weighed down with the fearful burden of free choice?"

Speaking about having power over all earth and nations when tempted the old man says...."Why didst thou reject the last gift....Thou wouldst have accomplished all that man seeks on earth--that is, Someone to worship, someone to keep his conscience, and some means of uniting all in one unanimous and harmonious anthill."

"Try to love your neighbors actively and tirelessly.  The more you succeed in loving, the more you'll be convinced of the existence of God and the immortality of your soul."

"Above all do not lie to yourself.  A man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point where he does not discern any truth either in himself or anywhere around him, and thus falls into disrespect towards himself and others."

"But let me tell thee that now, today people are more persuaded than ever that they have perfect freedom, yet they have brought their freedom to us.."

"Those who live in her (The Universal Church) are not those who come and go but those who persevere in rooted stability of their spirit."

"In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet, and say to us 'make us your slaves, but feed us.'"

"Thou didst promise them the bread of Heaven, but, I repeat again, can it compare with earthly bread in the eyes of the weak, ever sinful and ignoble race of man?  And if for the sake of the bread of Heaven thousands and tens of thousands shall follow Thee, what is to become of the millions and tens of thousands of millions of creatures who will not have the strength to forego the earthly bread for the sake of the heavenly."

"For the secret of man's being is not only to live but to have something to live for."

"Nothing is more seductive for man than his freedom of conscience, but nothing is a greater cause of suffering."


"Entering upon a new, completely unknown path, again quite as lonely as before, having much hope, but not knowing for what, expecting much, too much, from life, but unable himself to define anything either in his expectations or even in his desires.”

Life will bring you many misfortunes, but through them you will be happy, and you will bless life and cause others to bless it—which is the most important thing” -285

“There was so much of God’s glory around me: birds, trees, meadows, sky, and I alone lived in shame, I alone dishonored everything, and did not notice the beauty and glory of it all.”  -289

“But from a very bad family, too, one can keep precious memories, if only one’s soul knows how to seek out what is precious.” 290

“In order to make the world over anew, people themselves must turn onto a different path psychically.  Until one has indeed become the brother of all, there will be no brotherhood.” 303

“Everywhere now the human mind has begun laughably not to understand that a man’s true security lies not in his own solitary effort, but in the general wholeness of humanity.” 304

“He is isolated, and what does he care about the whole?  They have succeeded in amassing more and more things, but have less and less joy.”  -314

“For every hour and every moment thousands of people leave their life on this earth, and their souls come before the Lord—and os many of them part with the earth in isolation, unknown to anyone, in sadness and sorrow that no one will mourn for them, or even know whether they have lived or not.” -318

“Work tirelessly.  If, as you are going to sleep at night, you remember: “I did not do what I ought to have done,” arise at once and do it.” 321

“the time will come for an intelligent man to be reasonable, but if at such an exceptional moment there is no love to be found in a young man’s heart, then when will it come?” -340

“I believed, I believe, and I want to believe, and I will believe, and what more do you want,”  -341

“I do not rebel against my God, I simply do not accept his world,” -341

"Capable of containing all possible opposites and of contemplating both abysses at once, the abyss above us, an abyss of lofty ideals, and the abyss beneath us, an abyss of the lowest and foulest degradation."