Blown by the Wind

I spent an evening recently reading The Great Evangelical Disaster by Francis Schaeffer. The following quote gives you a fairly good idea of what the book is about.

"And if we hold this world view [a world view based upon the idea that the final reality is impersonal matter or energy shaped into its present form by impersonal chance] we live in a universe that is ultimately silent, with no meaning and purpose, with no basis for law and morality, with no concept of what it means to be human and of the value of human life. All is relative and arbitrary. And so modern man is left with nothing to fill the void but hedonism or materialism or whatever other "ism" may be blowing in the wind."
(Francis A. Schaeffer, The Great Evangelical Disaster, Ch. 1)

More quotes from the book: here

One quote especially has stuck in my mind.

"Truth demands confrontation. It must be loving confrontation, but there must be confrontation nonetheless."

This one has been sitting in my head for a few days now. I'm wrestling with it as I try to formulate what I really think about it. These days it seems as if I'm constantly trying to balance on a small tightrope between two extremes: Truth without Love(characterized by self-righteousness, which I can't stand) and Love without Truth(characterized by accommodation, which is many times motivated by my fear of confrontation and offending). Embracing either extreme brings forth neither Love or Truth. My tendency is to wish Jesus would have just accommodated once and a while. But I really don't think he did.

Tight Calves, Loose Glutes, and a Weak Lower Back

After a year at the Idaho Athletic Club I recently received a call from Melissa, a personal trainer, informing me that I'm still eligible for a free physical consultation as part of my gym membership.

Of course I went. I stood on a scale, measured my body fat percentage, and did a squat with my arms raised above my heads while she walked around looking at my form. Which I felt like a total bafoon doing. The results: 15.5 % Body Fat. 185 lbs. My lower back has a very poor arch and I have very tight calves and hamstrings as well as lats. Since these muscles aren't relaxed, they're compensating and creating poor posture. Which means that my glutes are simply looking pretty instead of doing anything to really support my body like they should be.

Oh yeah, and I was offered four personal training sessions to help me achieve my physical goals for a very reasonable rate of $299. And I was told that it is extremely important to have a multi-vitamin. Those cost $20 for 50 vitamins that you take twice a day. "Uhm, yeah...I'll pass on those."

I think a guy like me kind of befuddles a personal trainer when I say I'm simply interested in going to the gym 3-5 times a week, and I just want to have a simple workout routine that will help me stay in shape. I don't want to record calories. Instead, I just want to know generally how much to eat. I don't want to record my weight. Instead, I just want to jump up and down naked in front of the mirror and make sure most of my body doesn't move.

Don't bring Rick Warren with you when you go to prison

If you ever go to prison, don't bring Rick Warren with you. You might be a threat to the United States. I read these two articles recently about how the Government is screening books on faith in US prisons because they do not want them to become breeding grounds for terrorism.

Associated Press Article 8/22/07
New York Times Article 9/10/07

Here's a couple of sections of the article:

“Government does have a legitimate interest to screen out things that tend to incite violence in prisons,” Mr. Laycock said. “But once they say, ‘We’re going to pick 150 good books for your religion, and that’s all you get,’ the criteria has become more than just inciting violence. They’re picking out what is accessible religious teaching for prisoners, and the government can’t do that without a compelling justification. Here the justification is, the government is too busy to look at all the books, so they’re going to make their own preferred list to save a little time, a little money.”

Among the books banned at their prison were "When Bad Things Happen to Good People" by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, and "The Purpose-Driven Life" by the Rev. Rick Warren, the lawsuit said.

Dobbson and "Focus" reject album cover for new Christan Band

In recent news,Dobbson and "Focus" have rejected an album cover for an up and coming Christan band....stating that "it may cause people, especially young Christian woman to go astray". Apparently if the album does go to press it will bear the new "Explicit Hotness" rating. A label reserved only for the truly beautiful in society.

High Tide, the lead singer of the band, responded to the dilemma by saying, "I was thinking we should switch to wearing square frame glasses while looking contemplatively to the sky. That way we can still be so hot but less suggestive. This way we might at least capture the "Plain White Tees" audience and still remain uplifting."

.....this post is a sin an entirely fictitious.

Extroverted Intiuition & Introverted Thinking...Is Myers Briggs God?

I've been inspired. I've had an aha moment. Miss Wingett has compelled me to begin a blog. So now being therefore compelled, I must start somewhere. And what better place to start then here.

I've been reading my personality test recently and I've identified strongly with the ENTP type. If you're interested in reading it you can find it at personalitypage.com just look for the ENTP type. You'll find that I am motivated by possibilities, full of ideas, frustrated by routine, and can have trouble in relationships once I get bored with people. Oh yeah, and I don't pay good attention to peoples feelings and I can exhibit infectious enthusiasm. For example, I've been mulling over this personality profile during the day and a friend of mine, who has never had interest what so ever in personality tests, said tonight that she now has a desire to see what her personality test reveals. Funny since earlier today she said that the last time she did one of these things she started skipping questions and lost interest less than halfway through. I shouldn't be surprised. The test said this would happen.

In reality, all I'm trying to say is that today my mind has been absorbed by the intricacies of the Extroverted Intuitive Thinking Perceiver. I guess it should come as no surprise since that's what the test says would happen anyways.

Which brings up a very important questions. If Myers Briggs has had enough insight to intricately produce a portrait of the inner workings of my personality, predict what kind of person my love life will be best lived with, and give me recommendations on fulfilling career choices; I'm left with only one question. Is Myers Briggs God?