This Is Me #2

Christianity Yea

 Something that a lot of Christians like to take solace in is Christianity's overarching nature. It explains everything we ever need to think about and this is quite nice because if we believe God is omnipotent, he should most likely want to have a hand in everything as well. This is something that cannot be said of evolutionist or atheists in general. I think even they will agree that they do not wholeheartedly devote their mind, strength, body, and soul to evolution or science, or even that they strive to do so. One of the closest historical examples I can think of humans trying to achieve this is the Nazis. Now this sounds hyperbolic but when you think about it, if you were very concerned about evolution and wanted the best evolutionary outcome for humans, you wouldn't want mentally retarded or the like to be in your gene pool. If you were concerned about furthering scientific exploration, you wouldn't mind doing some human testing or even animal testing. However, the case is that a lot of people seem to mind these things and many people hate that the Nazis did these things. Additionally, a lot of people also have compassion on those less fortunate than themselves. I'd say these are good things.

 One may argue that evolution or science or atheism does not need to pursued in a fashion similar to religion. That fanatical actions of any sort lead to these atrocities and fanatical religious actions have led to similar tragedies like what the Nazis did. Evolution or science or atheism does not need to be taken to that degree and probably shouldn't be pursued that heavily but is still a good explanation given the evidence we have. I think this is a reasonable stance to have but it also leaves a lot of empty worldview (and also devalues the argument itself to say that "well I don't really care about it that much"). If one does not devote themselves to evolution, science, or atheism, what do we devote ourselves to? Our self fulfillment, self progression, others? The funny thing is that this is ground that religion has a much bigger say in. Principles such as loving your enemy can go a long way to being that "good person" we all see ourselves as. At the end of the day, I think these are the things people really care about. Not that humans came from monkeys or fossils but how humans can help each other, how humans can persevere, and how humans can do amazing things. Religion surprisingly has great things to say about these things.

This Is Me #1

Life Inertia

 This is a race.
Started out fast.
I thirst,
Chasing the finish line
Head down, face first.
Gold medal here, blue ribbon there.
First place, post game interview
 I'll tell the world I'm great.

 But when my feet cross the line
They say another lap, "You're getting behind".
So I struggle.
Muscles ache and lungs wheeze,
Thoughts of giving up begin to tease.
The speed is gone,
I trudge as
I try to pick up my feet.

 The friction from the track catches my soul
I can't take another step
My motion has stopped
Is there something out there that wants my dead?
Or is it just all in my head?

Why does everyone try to be so funny all the time? Don't they get tired?

Maria

If you want a good time dancing on a Friday or Saturday night, I'd recommend Grand Central in Adams Morgan. I had a blast just dancing with my friends to good ol' Justin Bieber and the other top 40 company he keeps. And even in these moments where I just seem to lose my conscious thought to the bass and synth, I keep learning things about myself. Early on in the night, I met a girl named Maria. The first time I saw her was when I was trying to go downstairs to find the restroom. I found my way over to a balcony and when she saw me look over, she told me that "I wasn't going to get down that way". I laughed, made another joke, and proceeded to find the stairs. When I made my way back over to my friends, this girl is waiting for me. She puts her arms around me and tells me that she's in love. Now, I'm going to be forthright and say that this is the most physically attractive girl that has ever put her arms around me. When I think back on what happened, I cannot BELIEVE that I did not make any sort of move. But alas, after she relinquishes me from her initial grasp, I laugh and smile a bit more, and make my way back to my friends as if nothing happened. Why did I do that? I don't think it's because I have some insane self discipline and put my comfort in God enough to ward off all temptation. No, I think it's because I've historically been a manipulator and an opportunist. Even earlier in the night, I found myself briefly dancing with a girl who was wearing a leopard animal print dress, ugh. I had maybe twenty seconds of interaction with her before I bowed out and went back over to my friends. I wanted them to think, "wow, all these attractive girls want to dance with Albert". I used this brief twenty seconds of this girl's time to up my rep. And it was no different with Maria. I knew my friends were watching. All I needed to do was make it seem like she was more into me than I was into her and then walk away. In that moment, my pride peaks and I'm satisfied because I'm able to put my comfort in my idolatry. However, looking back on that night, I definitely should've gotten her number...

Bad Blogger Habits

Two writing style choices I see from most bloggers. 1. Frequent usage of parenthesis (in order to make a side comment for wit or humor that is often unnecessary and makes the sentence much more awkward to read). 2. Structuring their sentences in order to maximize emphasis on the subject but making the rest of the sentence afterward really hard to follow. Journalism is harder than it looks.

My Facebook is Wearing a Mask

I've noticed that my facebook's function is two fold. Trying to convince my friends that my life is fun through status updates or photo uploads; or contacting acquaintances I'd otherwise be to shy to or don't think I'd have enough to talk about with. Also, my grammar rocks for ending a sentence with a preposition.

God Is Merciful

It's the end of my undergraduate college career and I am just as weak as when I began. I did not have any moments of life changing victories. If anything, the impact of my weakness is more egregious now than when I started four years ago. This is not because my sin has become worse. No, I was always this person. This scum bag was always lurking beneath the surface. It is only because of grace that I can now see my sin. I can see the sin that is working in my life. I can see the sin that I must turn away from or it will destroy me. I'm still weak. I've been having more and more thoughts that say to me, "You would have had a lot of fun in those fraternities, drinking and partying and messing around with girls". And I think those thoughts are right. I would have enjoyed those things a lot. A lot. I don't know how I didn't end up in that walk of life. It seems like a natural thing that I'd want to be apart of. It is only because of grace that I was kept from my sin. I was kept from allowing that sin to work itself deeper in my life. I was kept from indulging in my sin and having it destroy me. I hope that God will keep me weak. I hope that he continues to show me my sin. It's deeper than I know. It's going to affect me in ways I never thought it could. But this weakness will not cause me to despair. In fact, if I was not weak, I would have no reason to rely on God. If I was strong, I'd live my life to the fullest, and without God, ultimately be destroyed. May I boast in my weakness. May I hope his strength, for it is made perfect in my weakness.