Three Things

Three things you should always remember:

Where you've been, where you are, and where you are going.

Quote of the Week

"Most people don't plan to fail; they just fail to plan." - Anonymous

Steampunk

[Steampunk is] The combination of the future and past in an industrial, trashy clash.

Steam = industrial. Punk = trashy.


The intricate, clock-work creations are fascinating, but the corresponding gas-masks and girls that look like prostitutes from all worlds and ages are a bit of a push-away.

Quote of the Week

"Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." - William Jennings Bryan

Hell Part 2

Did God create Hell? Well, according to last week's suppositions, He didn't have to. But I think we need to dig into this. We already established the neutral ground of Hell, aside from justice, now let's look at the justice implications of hell

You have all probably heard this one. Say someone killed a member of your family and they are brought before a judge. They say, well, I have done a lot of good stuff, so that should cancel out this bad. Should a judge just let them go? Not a good judge. Why? Because justice doesn't work that way - and good does not cancel out bad. They are separate, measured on completely different scales. They don't even talk to each other, so to speak. (Yes, the story is from Courageous, in case you are wondering.)

Let's say the murderer said, well, ain't that arrogant of you to make me follow your laws? They made me mad, so according to my laws, I should kill them. We all know that is ridiculous, but people do that to God often enough. They get mad at him for implementing His laws, forgetting that 1)  He may know more, 2) He makes the rules, He has the rights. Sure, that sounds tough, but it's the truth, and isn't it great? He has our best in mind, so we ought to be grateful, especially since we humans have the tendency to screw everything up. (That was a side track just to show that it isn't arrogant to have one set of rules, briefly.)

Think about the thing that makes you angriest. Is it a child being abused? A brothel? Adultery? Divorce? Murder? Theft? Heart-break? God sees everything we do and everything it causes. He knows the affects of our tiniest deviation of His plan and He give us grace and loves us so much He sent His son down to die none the less. These things make Him furious, too, but He wants us to escape His fury. What right does anyone have to say, I don't care, I don't want Jesus, I want you to see all that I am, all my sins and flaws, and let me in anyway. God is a just God, and even as we get angry over the pains we see caused by others, God also gets angry and wants justice, yet, still He gives a way of mercy. It's an open door and everyone has the choice.

In conclusion, Hell at it's bases is the absence of God, made horrible by the lack of God's presence, a built in need for God's presence - something we always have on Earth no matter how little. Hell is also a place of justice without mercy where people who did not CHOOSE mercy - because they could have - are sent to carry the burden of justice alone, even though Jesus offered to carry it for them. Therefore, what is infuriating about Hell at all? It's sad, but not infuriating or a slander on God's character.

I do not know if God Himself created Hell or if it just the "anti-matter" of Heaven, but it isn't so offensive now.

Hell Part 1

Hell is a really uncomfortable topic, isn't it? Yes, it is. But for just a moment, let's forget about the burning fire and darkness. Let's just suppose that hell = No God presence and heaven = All God presence. There is a quote from an a man who said he hated God and that if heaven had God, it would be hell to him.

People get all angry when they think about non-Christians being sent to hell, but if you think about it, forgetting about punishment, if they didn't love God, why would they like heaven? If they didn't care enough about God on earth, why would they want to be in a heaven where God is everywhere and ruler? They had the choice between God and no God, so maybe hell and heaven - in this finite mind experiment! - is the choice between God and no God. So is it really infuriating to let people go to a place where God isn't if they never liked God or cared to pursue Him in the first place? No, not really.

Again! Don't think about the fire or whatever. That will be brought up later, let's just go down the the the fundamentals. People see beliefs as arbitrary, but I think that's a mistake. I think beliefs, at least in God, are more scientific. 5 + 5 = 10. Acceptance of Jesus = Eternal life. No one get's offended that 5+5 = 10. 5+ nothing else will = 10. People + nothing else except Jesus will = Eternal life. But that is a different topic.

So, what we have is that hell is simply a place that is void of God's presence. Doesn't sound so bad? Sorry to bust your bubble with a theory, but think about this. God made everything. He also made us in His image. I think that even in the darkest corners of the Earth, God's presence and workmanship is still there. I believe there is a subconscious need for God's presence at the very least. Because God is omnipresent, even the wickedest murderer is surrounded by God's presence and needs it. I don't think anyone ever experience utter separation from the existence of God until they reach hell, which is void of it. I don't think I can explain the pain and torture of that vacuum. Think about the loneliness of being "forever-alone" or that hole when someone you love dies and multiply that by who knows how much and even that, I believe, falls short of the tremendous need for God's presence whether we follow, believe, love, or hate Him.

Why hell, besides punishment of course? I already explained that a little in the beginning, but think about this - I'm sure you've heard it before. What happens when perfection meets with imperfection? It becomes imperfect. Anything at all less than %100 or perfect is not perfect. God is perfect. Heaven is perfect. God's angels are perfect. God's original creation is perfect. If He accepts what is not perfect, perfection no longer exists, depriving everything else that is perfect from perfection. Seriously! Besides, why should God - who is PERFECT - go out of His convenience for that which is not? What obligation does He have? Really, honestly, none whatsoever. So, it would be ridiculous to spoil something perfect, but God loves us and wants us - who were originally created perfect - to enjoy His perfect Creation. What now? He wipes away our imperfections by sacrificing something perfect, His Son. He really did go out of His convenience for us, it seems very childish to complain that He is being unreasonable that He now wants everyone to accept His Son's sacrifice to go to Heaven. But that is what a lot of people do. It's unreasonable... and foolish.

Hell is not only the place void of God's presence, but it is the place of all imperfections. There is a fine line between perfection and imperfection. God has created a way to cross that gap. The choice is ours, and it's not arbitrary. It's as black and white as a math problem.

"In a hole in the ground there" began an adventure hundreds girls and boys, young and old, of the Earth will never forget.

Happy New Year

A day late, but Happy New Years everybody! A new year, a new quarter, a new month! Very exciting. There is something thrilling about knowing that the future is unknown, and anything can happen, and you have a hand in making whatever happens happen - though obviously not all. I can't wait to see what this year brings to all of us!

Quote of the Week:

Fairy tales are true not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us they can be defeated. - GK Chesterton (paraphrase.)

Significant Others

Spouse, Wife, Husband, Partner, Girlfriend, Boyfriend, Companion? What is this? What does it mean?

Here is a little summery of what I think they mean, whether they are accurate is a matter of opinion until some scholar decides to look into it and define.

They key to it is intentions, future plans, and commitment.

Spouse:

A spouse is either a wife or husband. They have made a commitment and now have "rights" so to speak over each other and obligations to their spouse. (Marriage is selfless) A married couple intends to stay together for as long as they live through hard times and good times, as said in vows. They have the right to assume the other will be faithful and remain committed to them and them alone. There is way more too it, but that is not the purpose of this post, so I won't go into it.

Partner:

A partner is more serious than a girlfriend and boyfriend and generally reserved for older people who are theoretically too mature for the ups and downs of a flimsy b/g-friend relationship.

It is associated with co-habitation. Some people consider it as good as a spouse, but it isn't. (Depending on what you believe in the Bible, it can also be considered wrong) The intention is to maybe stay together for as long as they live or just as long as they see fit. There is no commitment, like in marriage, and they have more personal rights and less obligations to the other, so, it's still "me"-focused.

For instance, it's a huge process to leave a spouse, but to leave a partner is as easy as anything.While marriage should be selfless, partnership is not so much. It is a stronger bond, though, than b/g-friend. People in partnerships don't generally move into spouse-hood. Why would they? In partnership, it is easy, there is not so much vulnerability or trust needed. But that is an entirely different topic that is way too big to talk about here.


Boyfriend/Girlfriend:

We all know what this is, right? The constant jumping from girl/boy to girl/boy. The heart breaks and infatuations. There is no future, there are no plans. The only commitment is - something. I guess a g/b-friend agreement is simply to be the other piece of that person and satisfy their emotional/sexual needs to the best of their ability for as long as the other meets theirs. It is generally selfish, "me"-focused, and based off of fun. Yes, it is possible to remain in such a relationship for the rest of ones life.

Boyfriend/Girlfriend relationships can move into marriage, usually not partnership, you'd stay boyfriend/girlfriend in that case, even in co-habitation. (That's where the definition gets a little weird and grey between the two). It can also be considered a form of courting, but I don't think so. Maybe it's the world's form of courting. I don't know, but I don't consider it a form of courting at all.

Companion:

Do you remember how it was when my grandparents were kids? Dating was a fun thing, not serious at all. You sorta just went out with random people?

Companionship is a term I have just invented to describe someone who agrees to go somewhere with someone and be their "partner" or significant other for that night - but I use the word companion because partner is already taken.There is even less commitment than b/g-friend relationships. It is generally among friends of opposite gender who are possibly friend-zoned or "brother-in-Christ zoned."

Companionship can lead into any of the above relationships.


Courting? Why haven't I mentioned courting? Companionship is actually the closest thing to pre-courting I can think of. The reason I don't mention courting is because courting is a stage, all the above are status-quo that can remain forever. Nobody courts forever. People court with the intention of moving into marriage. That is why it does not qualify for this list.

The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug

I went to see the midnight showing of The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug. There were of course deviations from the book, but in all, Peter Jackson once again did a fantastic job, and I'll be the first to admit that I wholly doubted him and was proved mostly - only mostly - wrong. I think it is worth the watch. And a helpful tip, reading the book, trilogy, appendixes make understanding everything that is going on much easier. The actors do a great job in showing their deepest emotions in their acting, but reading the book makes it even better! :D That's all I'll say, because I don't want to spoil it for you, but I will say this: If you think they are going to give us a satisfactory ending to allow us to wait patiently for the next movie, don't hold your breath. Also, if you don't have access to a clock, then there will be several times throughout the movie you might think it is going to end, but it doesn't... it's long. That said, go see it! Have a great time! And read the books!

-Lynsi Keye

Quote of the Week:

If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time. - Unknown

Conjecture: Toddlers and Tiaras

Earlier this year my sister, I'll call her Christine, told me about a show called Toddlers and Tiaras. We don't have cable, so we usually find things out through the internet or friends. I had heard about it before them. Christine told me it was a horrible show and that I should never watch it. A couple months later, I had run out of episodes on all the shows I liked, so I began to peek around for more. I thought of Toddlers and Tiaras. Was it really as bad as Christine had told me it was? Probably... but would I regret watching it? I decided to see, but I never got around to it. Obviously, I wasn't too interested. But it just so happened that when we went on vacation this summer and our grandfather had TV. More often than not there was nothing but junk on. Once or twice we got on around MythBusters time (a show we like to watch occasionally on YouTube) and Say Yes To the Dress or I Found the Dress. We were hoping for CakeBoss, a favorite in our house. Then, it happened, no other interesting show we could find or risk was on except Toddlers and Tiaras. Why not? So we did. My two sisters, my little brother, and I.

Christine was right! It was horrible. I was horrified that I found it oddly and disturbingly intriguing. Here are a few reasons I do not like the show.

One, many of those children are brats. The entire world is about them and being beautiful and crushing those other little girls who think they are beautiful. Why do I have an issue with that? Not only does it make no decent person - and INFLUENCE - want to be around them, but they are missing a big life point that is crucial for them to learn while they're young; life is not all about them and people won't tolerate brats. Young people don't learn it enough these days, these young people are being taught the opposite. What's going to happen to them when they get older? I cringe to think.
Two, all about beauty. When I was a little girl, yes I enjoyed playing with make-up. I usually made myself look like a clown, it was great! I enjoyed playing dress-up, too. Yes, I enjoyed competing with the boys, climbing so high that the trunk of the tree swayed under my weight or no one could see me, or play Little House on the Prairie or something. But beauty was one of the last things on my mind. My mom picked out my clothes and it is only because of her I look good in my childhood pictures. It has been hard to become a young adult and struggle with image. You have to weigh a certain amount. You have to wear make-up a certain way. You have to have the right fashion. Etc... this is hard to deal with knowing these values aren't even true. Why are these little girls being taught so young about these troubles and not only that but being taught that it does matter. Can one imagine what losing feels like for a little girl? Many of these girls are in fact too young to fully understand. That's the hope. But when they get older they might understand and on top of that, this is what their mom and dad are teaching them.
Three, the exploiting. Okay, this might seem a bit exaggerated, but I can't tell you how much my heart dropped when I saw a three year old dancing as a belly dancer on the stage. Really? Really? That is when I turned it off. I didn't want my brother seeing that. What sort of paths are being set for these little people? What are they being taught? Sure, many of them, luckily, don't understand, and hopefully real life will teach any bad habits out of them really quickly, but who knows, it may solidify them. It just doesn't seem healthy to expose little minds so ready to learn and be influenced about things they will no doubt struggle with when they are older and teaching them the wrong side of it, too. 
It may not be doomsday for these little girls, but it sure is opening doors to wrong paths for their futures and lies to take hold that may haunt them their entire lives or cause at least a great struggle to be freed from. While watching parts of the show, a verse kept on coming to mind: "If anyone causes one of these little ones--those who believe in me--to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." - Matthew 18:6
"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward." - Matthew 10:42

Quote of the Week

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." - Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Conjecture: Western Harems?

I recently read Fatema Mernissi's article called Size 6: The Western Women's Harem. It really bothered me. I was hoping to find a link to a free copy on the internet, but apparently it is copyrighted. So, the gist is, Mernissi was born and raised in a Muslim Harem in Morocco. She has since left the country and lived abroad. She is a feminist and a sociologist, I think. I am more certain on the first one. She is certain that the Western women is kept in a harem, too, just like some Muslim women, so she seeks to find it and concludes with a largely flawed article. I would say that it inspired me to write an essay in response, but actually it was a college assignment, and this is what I came up with in evaluation.
I hope you find it interesting and maybe even enlightening. Remember college students, don't take everything you read or are told for granted. That actually ought to go for everybody. We still need to think for ourselves!

Holey Thesis

It is a good tactic to use a new perspective to introduce a startling topic; however, to convolute the truth is a major fault that can cause a thesis to falter. Fatema Mernissi states in her article “Size 6: The Western Women’s Harem” that “the image of beauty in the West can hurt and humiliate women as much as the veil does when enforced by state police in extremist nations” (282) equating the Western image of beauty with the Middle-Eastern Muslim harem. Her Western audience is attracted by her use of a familiar social paradigm and her correlation of it to the Islamic harem she earlier defined as a place where “Muslim men and women both acknowledge the inequality of the harem and women resist men in any way they can.” After this, she attempts to prove her points with examples, parallels, and conclusions. She does not seem to realize she has blown them out of proportion. While Mernissi brings up an interesting position from a culturally different angle, her down-right skewing of facts, contrasting incompatible social aspects, and reflecting inaccurate reality of true issues causes her article to collapse inexcusably for lack of credibility.

Mernissi makes many errant broad assertions in her article. She ironically claims that she is oblivious to all fashion designers right before she identifies the exact fashion designers of a saleswoman’s clothing. She proceeds to say that Western men, like Islam, control what women wear, although women designers are a significant force in the fashion industry. Readers are perforced to conclude that she is either excessively ignorant of American culture or deliberately leaving out the data that includes the extensive list of female designers. Either way, neither the facts nor her own statements support her allegation.

A common theme throughout her essay is a heavy blame upon men. It is her idea that men are the reason women put themselves through the loops to measure up. Using a personal example, Mernissi recalls an experience in a department store with a clerk. The clerk practically calls her fat before admitting to be under a beauty harem. This interchange leaves the audience stunned and skeptical. Anyone familiar with American culture knows that a clerk who desires to keep her job wouldn’t dare treat a customer so rudely. True, if one were to ask a group of girls why they dress the way they dress, a number would answer, “for all the cute guys.” After some exploration on the topic, though, they would all admit it is also because girls judge and determine how they treat people based on appearance. The confirming head nods and admissions of this latter truth will be nearly uniform (English 101 & City Central girls, 2013). Mernissi seems to take for granted her belief that it is all man’s fault and not even consider that a judgmental culture of both men and woman might be the issue. She reveals a bias against the male gender and an inability to provide the reader valid evidence in regard to her support.

Mernissi references Chinese foot bindings for her evidential support. The originality of the tradition is unknown. According to her, “Chinese men did not force women to bandage their feet… all they did was to define the beauty ideal… a beautiful woman was one who voluntarily sacrificed” (285) her comfort to please a man. This is a popular theory among feminists as well as the least supported story. Another of the many legends says that the daughter of the empress had club feet so the queen declared that the deformity was beautiful and all women should have club feet. Another legend claims that is was for social standing. If a family could afford to keep a member at home, the family must have been wealthy, and the daughters would marry well. According to Harvard’s research on the subject, though, the idea that bound feet would give girls a better chance at wealthier marriages is an illusion. The data the researchers gathered revealed that bound feet had no impact on the social status of a marriage. In regard to the originality, it appears to them that the “practice was directly linked to the use of young girls and women in the hand-labor force” (Walsh, 2011, 1). Handwork was more lucrative for women than the labor men and boys did. At present, there is no fully verifiable story and Mernissi’s reference to her theory of the Chinese foot binding as though it were fact is misleading.

While fashion in the US is a major influence of the social norm, it is not forced. In extreme Islamic countries, a girl can be detained, interrogated, and punished for not dressing appropriately. Punishments include “up to two months in prison or even [a] lashing.” (as cited in Bolton, 2013, para. 4 ) In countries like Afghanistan, unlike Morrocco where Mernissi is from, “roving police physically punish any woman who calls attention to herself even by wearing shoes that squeak or click on the pavement.” (Cooper, 1) There are videos posted on YouTube of modesty police in the capital of Iran stopping women and lecturing them about their clothes (infolive, YouTube). One girl was coaxed into a police van when they told her they, “just wanted to talk to her.” (as cited in Bolton, para. 19) Once inside, they reprimanded her so harshly she began to cry. After being released she expressed to her father, “as soon as I finish high school, I’m leaving this country forever.” (as cited in Bolton, para. 20) In 2008, a secret cell phone video was taken and posted on YouTube and was unfortunately recently removed about a young woman who’s head scarf did not satisfy the modesty police resulting in an arrest. Infuriated and frightened, the young woman fought back. A nearby crowd became angry and surrounded the officers causing all but one to flee. The ill-weighed comparison of Muslim’s approach to fashion and America’s attitude is disproportioned.

In the US, people can choose what they want to wear or weigh. The US government spends thousands of dollars attempting to support the healing of those who might be in situations where they are condemned for their appearance. Even in the media “there have been some signs of a backlash against the prevailing body image… so-called full-figured models like the popular Emme are increasingly showing up on magazine covers. ‘I stand for accepting your body size, whether you are a size 2 or a size 14,’” Emme says (as cited in Masci, Body Image). There are places for victims of eating disorders ranging from anorexia to compulsive eating disorders to find encouragement and people to rally behind their journey to healthy living. Unlike under Muslim law, in the United States there is a choice and there are no penal consequences.

In Mernissi’s article, she falsely claims that the majority of women are the size of her “fourteen year old niece” or an “adolescent girl”. According to statistics, “more than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013, Adult Obesity Facts). Additionally, “women have been getting heavier. Today the average adult American woman weighs 152 pounds, up from 144 pounds in the 1970s” (Masci, Body Image). “This is already causing a lot of problems for women, and all indicators are that it's going to get worse in the future, not better,” the University of Cincinnati's Gass informs (as cited in Masci, New Threats). It is evident according to statistics that the majority of woman in the United States are not the size of an “adolescent girl.”

Mernissi quotes the clerk as saying, “Many women working highly paid fashion-related jobs could lose their positions if they didn’t keep to a strict diet” (284) as though all careers are similarly affected. There is only one major career affected by size on face-value. That is the fashion career, which has the singular focus on appearances. There are thousands of careers with people who couldn’t care less  about what a person looks like as long as she can get the job done professionally. Despite the evidence otherwise, Mernissi describes dieting as a “fast” that lasts twelve months in order for a woman to fit into what she call the beauty expectations (286). Again the reality does not align with Mernissi’s perception. For most Americans, dieting is an attempt to lose unhealthy fat, not a way to keep a job or to measure up to a physical standard.

The essay is not without its merits, but its lack of consistency leaves the reader frustrated and offended. Mernissi does not portray the West culture accurately. She does not value the reader enough to give accurate facts. In addition she contradicts herself throughout the essay. In the end, the reader begins to feel Mernissi is an emotional, insecure woman with a bone to pick with men and the West leading her to write an unsupportable article. It is very disappointing because she had the potential to write a very profound and inspiring article, but instead allowed her own clouded experience to get in the way.

Works Cited:

Bolton, Kent. “Struggle Over What to Wear in Iran.” Hydrablog. Hydrablog. 22 July 2012. Web.             24 Oct. 2013

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013.) Adult Obesity Facts. CDC. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

Cooper, Mary H. (1999, April 30). Women and Human Rights. CQ Researcher, 9, 353-376.

English 101 & City Central girls. (2013) Personal interview. September and October.        

Infolive, Youtube. “Modesty Police Cracks Down on Women.”

Masci, David. (2003, November 7). Women's health. CQ Researcher, 13, 941-964.           

Mernissi, Fatema. “Size 6: The Western Women’s Harem.” The Bedford Reader. 11^th Edition.       X.J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Jane Aaron, eds. Bedford/St. Martin’s Press.     Boston. 2012. Print 226-229. Pages 282-287

Walsh, Colleen. “Unraveling a Brutal Custom.” Harvard Gazette. Arts and Culture. History,         Language, & Culture. 2013, Dec 9.

Quote of the Week

"Do not merely quote scripture. Live it." - Pinterest*

"So fill your heart with what's important & be done with the rest." - Pinterest*


*Meaning found on Pinterest

Quote of the Week

"To change and to change for the better are two different things." - German Proverb

Quote of the Week

"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil; God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Counteracting College Lies

Two weeks ago I began my first quarter in college. Wow! What a big step. It's definitely exciting, not only because it is a step into adult-hood but also because of everything I've heard about it, the challenges, the Christian challenges, the moral challenges, the thinking challenges. Challenges everywhere!... Challenge is right. I have been blessed to have good professors, or so they seem so far, who aren't all about what they believe and that everyone should believe so, too. They seem pretty tolerant of what the students believe.
Still, some of the text books still have propaganda you might say. Everything has a message. Everything! From Disney Princess stories to Star Trek to Jane Austen's to Lord of the Rings to Action to everything else whether it's obvious or not. Ever have that feeling that "Something is not right" and you just don't know why? It feels great when you find out that your intuition was right, but what if you find out you were having bad feelings about something good? That's because the messages in school, movies, media, and just general life - culture - has tuned your intuition a little. Even if you didn't pick up on it, that little pattern finding radar in you did and maybe it converted it into a paradigm of life or truth. This doesn't always happen, but it isn't far enough from common. Ever watch a movie and feel "Something is wrong" too? That's probably because of the same thing influenced by something else.
Everything has a message and each message tries to shape our paradigm, our perspective, on life. It is impossible to shield off every single false message or perspective planting circumstance but it is good to be aware. It is important when you do realize you might be believing something you didn't think you did or you get that bad feeling about whatever you are learning/watching/reading to find out why to have an answer.
That is why I am hoping to create this series about countering acting college lies. It won't all be things I learn in college that is counter what I believe, it will be other things like media. So many young people go to college - which is a good thing - and get flabbergasted by a whole bunch of perspectives and opinions masqueraded as truths - not a good thing - or if they aren't, they still look pretty convincingly like truths. Some of them are, but some of them aren't. Whenever we are about to believe something, we should cross-check it with our standards of belief - that is the principles we have set for ourselves to believe if something is true or not and if it contradicts or coincides with what we have already set as the foundation of our belief and what we already to believe. Maybe it's time to rethink, but maybe it's time for them to rethink.
A lot of lies are underrated, not thought of as very important to cover or even confront. I am not going to turn a mole hill into a mountain, but I don't like mountains being turned into mole hills. And isn't every lie worthy of being replaced with a truth? Too many times in history tiny lies have eventually undermined an entire nation. Besides, when a lie comes along masquerading as a truth, it is very hard to simply say 'no' and not replace it with a truth and a reason.
Belief isn't blind, sometimes indirect, but never blind. Believing in PeterPan is blind, believing in the good girl turn bad boy to good Disney Princess paradigm is blind, believing in fairies and pixie-dust is blind, because there is substantial evidence to prove otherwise and none or very little to prove it so. Believing in atoms though no one has ever seen one is not blind, it is indirect. Believing in dogs are not blind, we seem them a lot. Two live next door and another two in the house behind mine. Believing in gases and chemistry and history is not blind, it is either direct or indirect.
I would even debate that faith isn't blind. Faith is seeing a pattern and trusting that whatever happens won't break the pattern. The most trustworthy thing we can put our faith into is God. We've felt God, we've experienced God, we've seen His handiwork - and only a small piece. God made promises, He's kept all of them. God has been faithful, He has seen people through time and time again. Sometimes is is not obvious, but if we look at the long run, we can be confident in God. When times of trouble come, we don't have to have blind faith that God will look after us, a foundationless hope. We can KNOW He will through the foundation of faith, through confidence that God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, so He'll be faithful today like was yesterday and will be tomorrow.
With that introduction to lies, blind-belief vs. belief, and faith that is not blind, I guess that will close this post up. Hopefully in the near future - usually on Mondays - another blog post will show up, but college is a lot of work with a lot of homework. I'll do my best!
Blessings!
-Lynsi Keye

Quote of the Week

"The way to get started is to quit talking and start doing." - Walt Disney