Earthshattering Nonsense

2004-02-22T16:52:00.000-06:00

The enD

Well, it's been a good run, but I think it's about time to call it quits. I just don't have the time or the motivation to keep this up. Maybe I'm lazy. Maybe I'm busy. Maybe I have issues with "new media" that force your brain to work in new ways. In any case, thanks to everyone who checked this out preiodically and responded to my thoughts. This will be the last posting for a long long time...maybe, forever.... sniff

2003-11-11T20:45:00.000-06:00

UgH

Yes, I've been a little busy lately. One of my theses is due next week, and I'm still basically in the beginning stages. I've hit roadblock after roadblock in my methodology, and I'm about ready to throw this computer monitor out of the window. Prayers are appreciated :)

- SF

Earthshattering Nonsense

2003-10-01T22:46:00.000-05:00

Get busY

I finished watching The Shawshank Redemption again a few days ago. It has to be quite possibly one of the greatest movies out there.

Toward the end of the movie, "Red" (Morgan Freeman) is talking to Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), who is about at his breaking point. This danger is not of him losing his sanity but of him losing hope.

Andy begins talking about his dream of living in San Martineo and restoring an old boat when he escapes the hell of prison. Red quickly responds with a very practical and sound answer:

Red: Andy, stop doing this to yourself. Mexico is all the way down there and you're in here. That's just the way it is.

Andy: It's down there and I'm in here. That's just the way it is... I guess it comes down to one thing, then. Either get busy living or get busy dying.

Wow.

That's one of those Dead Poets Society moments when you want to take life and suck it down to the very marrow. Life is all about perspective.

The movie also speaks of something that I think we as Christians tend not to discuss much anymore: Hope. Is our lack of discussion evidence of its void in our lives?

To be sure, if someone is a true follower of Christ, then they do have a basic hope. But do we have The Hope that transcends all circumstances? The Hope of Christ that infuses our lives with joy and overflows into our relationships?

Do we dwell on this hope, or do we simply acknowledge it and move on, lest it arouse feelings of desire and longing that we know cannot be satisfied in this world?

Hope is clearly a subject which is growing in the consciousness of the public at large. It's poster child will release a third installment this December (Return of the King).

What is your hope? Who is your hope? Why do you hope?

2003-09-18T00:36:00.000-05:00

It's ok; it's Christian... or is it?

I heard a song yesterday in the car and began musing about the petty distinctions we make between "Christian" and "secular" music.

You see, I heard "Spirit in the Sky" by Norman Greenbaum on my local Christian radio station ('all Jesus, all the time'). Of course, it wasn't the rousing 60's version but a new rendition sung by some unnamed "Christian" artist.

Come to think of it, this isn't the first time this has happened.

If you listen to Christian radio, you may remember hearing some female artist singing "In Your Eyes" sometime last year. Of course, the DJ failed to mention that this was originally released on Peter Gabriel's groundbreaking 80's art-rock album So.

Side Note: I think it's funny that a socially/theologically conscious radio station would play a song written by Gabriel, who also composed the music to The Last Temptation of Christ.

So the question is, "What is Christian music?"

Is it determined by the radio station that plays it?

Is it determined by the heart/motivation of the songwriter?

Is it determined by the heart of the singer?

Can a song morph between categories?

Should there even be categories?

2003-09-16T22:45:00.000-05:00

Confessions of a dangerous minD

By popular request, here is the editorial that I wrote last week. Keep in mind that it is not a systematic defense of my position. The particular medium for which it was written imposes its on restrictions on length. Anyway, here it is:

My name is Scott Feldman, and I am a thief.

Or at least I was until roughly 10 pm September eighth. That is when I begrudgingly decided to delete every MP3 file off of my computer.

I can still hear the indignant “why?” ringing in my ears from all of my friends. Ashamedly I admit that the recent RIAA crackdown on peer-to-peer music sharing was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

It was, however, only the last straw.

In truth the weight of a hay stack had been mounting for some time. Some would call it an act of the conscience. As a Christian who believes in the work of the Holy Spirit, I call it conviction.

This is not to say that I was awash in a sea of gray for the past six years until coming to this decision. No, biblical truth tends to separate the black from the white.

My greatest shame is in admitting that it took me so long to obey an obvious command that I learned in preschool: “Thou shalt not steal.”

Before this time, I was so desperate to rationalize my decision that I would even revert to mutually exclusive arguments for my rationale.

“I’ll just sample the music to make sure I want to buy the CD.”

“CD’s only cost $1 to produce, and I know that record companies reap most of the profits. I’m just paying them back for all of the money they have stolen from me.”

Still, there was that pesky voice: “Thou shalt not steal.”

I tried to forget that the artist always lost according to my fuzzy logic.

The most troubling aspect of this entire issue was my obvious disobedience to Christ. Even more troubling is the fact that I see this scenario played out in endless variations across this campus every day.

I raise this issue in this forum because Samford is a Christian university, which supposedly encourages Christian values. As a Christian, what can one value more than holiness?

Leviticus 11:45 says, “Be holy, because I am holy.”

A Christian is to pursue a life of holiness, purity, and devotion to Jesus Christ.

Disobedience is incompatible with that life.

Some would discount this entire issue because it is splitting hairs. I agree that it is to some extent, but the consequences are grave.

A failure to be obedient in the small matters of life constitutes a failure in all matters. How can a Christian expect a calling to greater obedience and fellowship with God when he or she refuses to yield to such a rudimentary request in the first place?

The precedent is evident in Jesus’ parable of the talents.

Jesus called his followers to take up their crosses daily and follow him. He knew that such obedience would not only be difficult, but that it would also lead to holiness.

To a great extent, American “Christianity” has lost this commitment to radical obedience.

What a difference there would be in this world if the lost could actually tell a difference between themselves and Christians as demonstrated by their actions.

This is the cost of discipleship.

This is the life of holiness.

2003-09-11T10:00:00.000-05:00

Inconvenient inspiratioN

Do you ever notice how inspiration always comes at the most inopportune times?

How many papers, poems, and ideas have never come to light because I decided to put them off until "later?"

Of course, later is rarely any more easily accessible than now.

Anyway, I deleted all of my MP3 files off of my computer a few nights ago. I say this not to my benefit, but to my shame.

Why did it take so long?

So the inspiration came upon me at 11pm last night to write an editorial to my university newspaper about the experience.

I didn't finish until close to 1am, but it was worth it. Maybe when I finish with the editing process, I'll figure out a way to post it so you guys/girls can read it.

Keep a look out for it within the next 24 hours.

2003-09-09T15:26:00.000-05:00

Quick thoughT

This is just a quick thought for discussion.

I was eating lunch with a friend yesterday when we started talking about faith and the bible/historicity/etc, and he asked me a question.

"Do you ever wonder if Jesus cut a piece of wood too long?"

Or similarly, do you ever wonder if he accidentally hit his thumb with a hammer? These things aren't sins, but they are human.

Which brings me to this point: it is often uncomfortable for us to consider the total ramifacations of Jesus' being not only completely divine but ALSO competely human. This is probably because our finite minds weren't designed to understand this, but it is interesting nonetheless.

Let me know what you guys think about the question.

2003-09-08T19:04:00.000-05:00

AshameD

Yes. I admit it. I am one of those people. As much as I vowed I would never become one, I have. In utter repentance, I ask for your forgiveness.

I am a blogger slacker.

Blame it on the fact that I lived in a Mayan village for three months or blame it on the Kennedy assassination; it doesn't matter. It's my fault.

What can I promise? Well, apparently not much... But what I do promise, I tend to deliver. I promise anew to deliver my thoughts to you - unadulturated... or maybe slightly adulturated depending on how my day has gone.

In any case, here I am. Take it or leave it (although I hope you will take it). Kudos to Adam @adamfeldman.blogspot.com for holding out and not deep-sixing me from his links list.

Cheers

2003-04-27T00:25:00.000-05:00

What are we waiting For?

The following data are from the 1980's, but modern statistics are probably proportionate.

There are over 2,700,000,000 people who have never heard the gospel and 7,000 missionaries worldwide working with these groups.

That's 1 missionary per 450,000 people.

There are 85,000 total missions workers in the field compared to 435,000 Avon sales reps in the US.

A small minority of the world's population speaks English, yet 94% of all ordained preachers minister to this population.

"He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.'" (Mark 16:15)

"Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." (Matt 28:19)

Maybe when we pray, we should first ask if it is God's will for us to stay instead of to go.

2003-04-24T14:06:00.000-05:00

"A little dose of Perspective"

It's very easy to become short-sighted and self-important; I do it all the time. That's why regaining perspective can deliver such a shock and render me useful again.

Do you ever notice how easy it is romanticize about anything other than the present - specifically your immediate circumstance? I think there is something to be said for art created "in the moment." It's too bad that "the moment" is rarely convenient...

This seems to be a universal problem, though. Robert Penske (I think that was his name), the poet laureate of the US, echoed a similar woe during a reading here in Birmingham earlier this year. So take heart all of you young poets out there!

2003-04-21T23:57:00.000-05:00

Je suis Idiot

I am now a second-semester junior in college. I have acrewed countless credit hours and have somehow maintained a respectable GPA (due in very large part to Divine Influece). You would think that I would have learned by now that procrastination just doesn't work.

I drove home last Thursday night for Easter and had the entire weekend, including today, to work on the four separate papers that will be due shortly. "Maybe if I just rest this weekend and forget all of that, then it will all magically take of itself," so I told myself.

Nope.

So what have I Iearned? Well, clearly not much. Learning is the ability to change behavior based on experience, a trait common to nearly all carbon-based lifeforms. Maybe I'm just a few benzine rings shy...

2003-04-20T14:32:00.000-05:00

What's in a Name?

I was walking to class the other day, and I was struck by how beautiful everything was. The sky was a deep blue framed by cotton clouds above the terraced landscape, which the rain had recently infused with all hues of green. I was just walking around and praying when I saw a woman walking a dog on a leash.

Of course the owner was completely oblivious to my presence, but the dog looked up at me with his big black eyes and started to pant happily. His tongue was flopping around, as if to say "friend."

I started to thank God for dogs because I think that they are the greatest animals ever created. Then I started to think about the name.. dog... What does it spell backwards? Coincidence? Both are man's best friends...

I started to wonder if God calls dogs by the same name that we do. "As His ways are higher than our ways, so His thoughts are higher than our thoughts," but what does he call them? Then I rememberd that it was Adam who gave animals their names.

What a privelage!

Names are so powerful. They encapsulate the characteristics or even essence of there owners. God referred to Himself as "I Am." Receiving a new name can be like receiving a new life... To think that the God of the universe bestowed this privelage upon man - a privelage He excercised first:God created man... and it was good.

I sometimes wonder what He calls me, or what He will call me when I my time in this world has evaporated. I like to think that He was singing when He created me. I love the picture that CS Lewis paints of Aslan, the Lion of Narnia, bringing a storybook world into existence through the joy of his songs.

2003-04-16T20:50:00.000-05:00

That's one creative Imagination!

I'm supposed to be writing the introduction to my psychology research methods paper right now, but I figured that I would take a break (a better name for procrastination). Oh, if anyone has experience working with multivariate analyses of variance, then please drop me a line. I need some help...

So I was working on some assignments two nights ago and really wanted some coffee. Since freshman year, I've tried to curb my habit, but I decided to go ahead and give in just this one time. So I made a sizeable pot of regular coffee at around 9:30 pm. Three hours later, I began to try to go to bed.

Well, I woke up the next morning after having one of the weirdest experiences of my life. You know how sometimes you experience many dreams in the same night with the same overarching theme? Well, I kept dreaming that I had turned into some kind of alien (like from the Aliens movies) and was running around a city, breaking into peoples' houses, and violently tearing them to shreads or biting their heads off.

Pretty weird...

I'm not really sure what it means, if anything at all. I'm sure that a psychodynamic psychologist (who believes in dreams as the portal to the unconscious) would have a lot to say. Personally, I've decied to hold off on the coffee late at night from now on.

What do you think?

2003-04-15T23:52:00.000-05:00

But He Hasn't Got Any Arms!

I just wanted to let you all in on a little something that has made me laugh more than I have in a long time. www.Homestarrunner.com is worth checking out.

The website may seem a little odd or random at first, but don't let that scare you. Dig around until you find the method in the madness!

I suggest going to "Toons:Features:Strongbad Emails." Once there, watch the ones titled Techno, Japanese Cartoon, and Dragon. I also think that all guys will enjoy "teen girl squad 1 and 2" under "Toons:Shorts"

2003-04-11T19:46:00.000-05:00

The power of a Story

I recently read the book Ceremony by Leslie Silko. The tale centers around a Native American named Tayo who is dealing with all sorts of existential questions after returning from WWII. Dealig with what western medicine would deem Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, Tayo embarks on a spiritual journey to reclaim his identity in his personal narrative and his role in the greater story of his people. In effect, this story acts as the vehicle of change and restoration of his identity.

Modern approaches to psychotherapy actually employ aspects of this idea. A mulitcultural therapist works within a framework that establishes the uniqueness of each individual client. Therefore, regardless of whether the therapist and client actually share the same "cultural"" background (caucasian and caucasian), s/he will pursue the course of therapy that best fits each client based on his or her own history of experience.

Such therpists often employ Narrative Therapy, which involves helping clients write their own stories of their life experiences. In this manner, they can more accurately perceive causes/effects and trends throughout their lives. It can also help them to see how they can actively participate in writing each new chapter. Therefore, it is not a purely deterministic theory.
So... what's your story?

2003-04-09T20:39:00.000-05:00

Have you ever met someone with such a pure, honest heart that you almost shied away in sight of your own? It is truly humbling if they even look up to you as a role model or authority. The experience is almost painful but at the same time somewhat restorative and encouraging... They do exist... I am truly amazed when I consider the reality that not even their hearts are completely pure in motive and/or behavior. What life would have been like before the fall... Still, the hope of Heaven and restoration hangs on the horizon (or is it proximally/temporally closer than we think?)

2003-04-08T18:10:00.000-05:00

So this is my first blog... ever.

That being said, I do not purport this to be anything spectucular or earthshattering (ok, I lied). Actually, I do not purport this to be anything at all. Ok... I just wanted to use the word "purport" a couple of times. Anyway, we'll see what I come up with. This could be somewhat exciting given the enormity of random thoughts that race through my brain every day. Until then... ...