What keeps you faithful?

In the face of an opposing view, what keeps you faithful? There are many arguments for and against. Some are pointless. Some are persuasive. Toss out those that make purely emotional appeals and you're left with personal reasons for taking one side or the other.

So what keeps you faithful?

Comment moderation on...

You know what happens when you take an extended vacation from your blog? It becomes inundated with spam comments. So now we have comment moderation turned on to stem that ever-widening tide. Worry not! I will not censor comments beyond the elimination of junk and spam. Human beings making posts relevant to the discussions here that don't include links to irrelevant content will be let through without modification or delay.

Now I need to get posting again, eh? :)

In an effort to edumicate yerself...

They say it's a good idea to learn about other cultures. If for no other reason, you can then understand where other people are coming from. In the spirit of that effort, I present you an easily-digestible version of the Ramayana:

http://ramayana.tigercoder.com/index.php

For those of you who prefer their religious information is musical & animated form, here's a wonderful modern interpretation of the same text (free to download):

http://sitasingstheblues.com/

Enjoy and respond,

- T.C.

Atheists, Fundamentalists, and Tolerance. Oh My!

This video contains dramatic readings of message-board posts about atheism from christian fundamentalist message boards. Before you watch it, I want to say a few things...

Firstly, this video is Not even remotely Safe For Work!!! (NSFW)

Secondly, I have to ask: Is this how atheists view all christians?

Thirdly, I have to ask: Is this how all fundamentalists think?



Fourthly, how often do people use the term "fourthly"?

LOLcats for Christ

Who hasn't felt this way from time to time...

Whack a god

Okay. Stick with me here... In Japan, someone has set up a modest temple for the god of poverty. Why? So people can come by and.. well... see for yourself:

Japanese beat poverty Video - Yahoo! News UK

This would get so completely out of hand in the US. This is something that could probably only really work in Japan, but I have to wonder if everyone wouldn't benefit from a quick trip to this temple.

How techno-savvy is YOUR church?

We're not quite ready to embrace technology to this extent... yet.

'Twittering' encouraged at Seattle church

I'm not sure how reverent you can be while Twittering, but I'm sure someone will measure it someday.

Sometimes you gotta go with the external pic link...

Couldn't have said it better...

It seems to me that this sums up so much about the source of modern frustration in America:

Principles of the American Cargo Cult

What do you think?

So wrong... but funny

Is it just a coincidence that the Pope has his tiara in a knot about false apparitions about the same time I run across this video?

I think not.

But, hanging on to anger is so much easier.

So think of one person who really yanked your chain since the beginning of 2009. You know, the person you shouted a few nasty things to in your car or grumbled at as you walked around your office/school/church or thought less-than-wonderful things about when you thought about them/talked to them on the phone. Yeah, that person.

Forgive that person.

He/she needs it and so do you. Yeah, I know he said that insensitive thing or she made that uncourteous move, or they disrespected you in front of your friends/co-workers. Let it go. Yeah, it's somewhat soothing to hold on to that upset, righteous feeling, but it just makes you look like a punk and doesn't really help anyone. What about that time you unintentionally (or intentionally) said the insensitive thing or made the uncourteous move or disrespected someone... even if they kinda deserved it? You would want to be cut some slack, right. Time to take the first step by being bigger than all the egos involved and forgive.

If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm writing this to myself. If it helps you, BONUS! Let me know.

Retro Christmas Music (Important Update)

The guy responsible for the amazingly free 8-Bit Jesus EP has expanded the release and kept the price the same (free). I mention this for two reasons:

1) It's awesome to get it free, but a $15 donation gets you a fully produced CD.

2) His puppy Ein had some medical problems that are making it tough to pay bills and he could really use the donations.

What better way to help someone who really needs the help? You also get some fun music and a CD for your donation! Everyone wins and the world is a better place. What more could anyone ask for these days?


8-Bit Jesus: Full Album

Merry Christmas!

Old Testament Christmas

If this doesn't help us all figure out what Christmas is all about, I don't know what will:

An Old Testament Christmas

Why do we Christians seem fixated on the most gruesome stories of the Bible and worry constantly about salvation we're all promised?

Retro Christmas Music (Free)

Yes, this is free. Yes it's legal. Yes, it's cool. What are you waiting for?


8-Bit Jesus

Oh, and Merry Retro Christmas!

Just in Time for Christmas

If you order one, remember that I'd like one too. :)

http://www.thedinosaurjesus.com/

What's New?

I've been so distracted with politics and living that I haven't posted here recently. So it's time to move forward, but maybe it would be good to bring up a few things that have happened since my last post:

1) The Catholic Church has decided to pronounce their public fear of technology again. Yeah. It's all the fault of technology. :/

2) During the recent election, three states decided to restrict freedoms for a portion of the populace for some unjustifiable and completely UN-Christlike reason. Interesting how so many of those promoting these new laws claim to be Christians and still have trouble embracing the call to treat others as they would like to be treated.

3) The economy of the United States and others worldwide have been experiencing what some refer to as a prolonged mental recession. It would be nice if we would take some of the energy spent worrying about the future and get busy feeding the hungry and housing the homeless. I suppose I'm just whining, though.

4) All in all, things are about the same as they were before. The volume is turned up on some issues and down on others. People are suffering and people are getting relief. So far, however, it seems that the Large Hadron Collider hasn't destroyed the world yet.

There has been much more going on, but I'll stop now and ask what you think about these issues.

Oh, and thanks for popping in to see if I've died. ;)

Been a while...

I've not died. I'm just preoccupied with technology, work, and politics... things that I probably shouldn't be cluttering a religiously-focused blog with. So here's a funny "thanks for sticking around" post:

Conventional Logic Vs. Religious Logic
(found on The Best Article Every Day)

Faith-Based Initiatives

What exactly are "Faith-Based Initiatives"? I'm told that the US government office using that title has historically been a politically-focused office. I'm not sure it's the best representative of this concept. Lots of talk has been generated recently about Obama's resurrection of the idea, so I thought it might be a good thing to discuss.

Who should qualify for funds allocated by such a department? What should it strive to achieve? Is this a good idea? What about the separation of church and state?

Most importantly, what exactly is "Faith"?

JWSTSOOY #007: Faith Healing Instead of Medicine

Prayer is wonderful. Faith is a good thing. I have it, but I don't impose it on others. It's a very personal thing. I wouldn't want someone to judge me on mine and I try my best not to judge others, but it's hard not to find fault on this kind of awful abuse of someone's own children:

Teen from faith healing family dies at Ore. home

This couple were members of the Followers of Christ group in Oregon, and this horrible, easily preventable outcome is consistent with previous deaths associated with members of this group.

Jesus was modern in his own time. So was every prophet who ticked off the authorities or said anything radical for his time. What's wrong with accepting the idea that modern medicine could be a gift from God too? The talents of scientists and doctors I see as such a gift. You shouldn't trust anything (including science or medicine) blindly. I would ask anyone who relies on prayer instead of medical care to read that last sentence again and then post a thoughtful response.

Gay Marriage

Why do people get their proverbial panties in a wad when a homosexual couple gets married? I simply don't understand. Can someone please explain this to me?

If you have no idea why I mention this now, check this out.