What type of Warrior do you see as God?
100%- A warrior who will die for the world.
0%- A warrior who will kill for the world.
_____________________________________________________
When I was a kid my best friend loved to watch WWF wrestling. So every time I would go to his house to play after school we would play wrestling. My favorite wrestler to be was the Ultimate Warrior. He had long hair and a painted face. He was so cool and mysterious.
As I read the stories of God and Israel in my Old Testament class I am getting an image of God as the Ultimate Warrior, going before Joshua and the Israelites, ensuring a military victory. I have been having a hard time reconciling this image of God with the image of the Triune God that I get from Jesus as the loving creator, redeemer and sustainer of the world, a God who wants the entire Cosmos to be redeemed.
A few nights ago I watched the movie Hero with my roommates. It is a movie about a nameless warrior who has reached the utmost level in his training and enlightenment. In the end the nameless warrior realizes what it means to be a true warrior. He identifies three levels. The first being able move your body so well the sword becomes an extension of your anatomy. The next level is being able to use your mind so well that anything, even a blade of grass becomes a weapon. But the last level of a true warrior is using your mind, body and soul in such unity that you will no longer fight. The unity inside you has caused you to have a love for peace and you will sacrifice yourself in order to keep that precious idea of peace alive.
This is the ultimate warrior, one who lives in such unity with self and nature that they sacrifice their own life to preserve the life of others.
For God so loved the world…
Friday, February 03, 2006
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Dead Certain Faith
Is yours a certain faith?
15%- Yes, absolutely unchangeable
85%- No, open to development
_______________________________________________________
“Certainty about the next life is simply incompatible with tolerance in this one."
- Sam Harris, author "The End of Faith"
It is slightly scary to think about but if you want to be completely certain about something that you believe in (like who goes to heaven when they die) then you must necessarily be intolerant of anyone else views.
This is in fact what leads to the violence that we see between different religions and ideologies.
The desire to be certain.
I would propose and I have said this before in a Blairism, “In order to know everything you must be willing to be wrong.”
Faith does not and cannot equal certainty. Faith is alive and growing. Faith develops.
In order for faith to be allowed to develop it will change when you encounter new people and new ideas.
In my estimation that is what Christian witnessing should be, one person testifying about how God has encountered them in their life and listening to someone else testifying to how God has encountered them in their life. Thus each person’s faith changes, develops and grows deeper by listening to the other’s story.
There is no certainty in faith.
Therefore there is no need for violence.
Violence comes from a desire for certainty, which excludes faith.
A certain faith is dead…
But more then that it is deadly…
15%- Yes, absolutely unchangeable
85%- No, open to development
_______________________________________________________
“Certainty about the next life is simply incompatible with tolerance in this one."
- Sam Harris, author "The End of Faith"
It is slightly scary to think about but if you want to be completely certain about something that you believe in (like who goes to heaven when they die) then you must necessarily be intolerant of anyone else views.
This is in fact what leads to the violence that we see between different religions and ideologies.
The desire to be certain.
I would propose and I have said this before in a Blairism, “In order to know everything you must be willing to be wrong.”
Faith does not and cannot equal certainty. Faith is alive and growing. Faith develops.
In order for faith to be allowed to develop it will change when you encounter new people and new ideas.
In my estimation that is what Christian witnessing should be, one person testifying about how God has encountered them in their life and listening to someone else testifying to how God has encountered them in their life. Thus each person’s faith changes, develops and grows deeper by listening to the other’s story.
There is no certainty in faith.
Therefore there is no need for violence.
Violence comes from a desire for certainty, which excludes faith.
A certain faith is dead…
But more then that it is deadly…
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Safe for the whole family?
Results of last weeks poll:
Are you ready to be a part of the revolution?
80% Yes, sign me up today!
20% No, I prefer to be safe at home.
---------------------------------------
Is the way of Jesus safe for the whole family?
I think not…
The way of Jesus is difficult…
The road is narrow and few find it…
Christianity is not a safe way to raise your kids…
It is a revolutionary movement that seeks to subvert the powerful and help the helpless…
Are you ready to be a part of the revolution?
80% Yes, sign me up today!
20% No, I prefer to be safe at home.
---------------------------------------
Is the way of Jesus safe for the whole family?
I think not…
The way of Jesus is difficult…
The road is narrow and few find it…
Christianity is not a safe way to raise your kids…
It is a revolutionary movement that seeks to subvert the powerful and help the helpless…
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Social Networking
I am on a Facebook kick lately. I am adding friends from all the stages of my life. It is kind of weird because I have not talked to some of these people in years. Some I have never talked to in my life but I know them from High School.
In High School I was shy and not at all as confident in myself as I am now but I was snobbish too. I had my own clique. But now I am trying some new ideas for 2006 in which I realize the importance of all relationships.
If you are not on Facebook I would encourage you to do so. It is a lot of fun and a good way to say connected with people. All you need is a college email address.
In High School I was shy and not at all as confident in myself as I am now but I was snobbish too. I had my own clique. But now I am trying some new ideas for 2006 in which I realize the importance of all relationships.
If you are not on Facebook I would encourage you to do so. It is a lot of fun and a good way to say connected with people. All you need is a college email address.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Thoughts to guide a new year
You do not have because you do not ask.
Seek and you will find.
Knock and the door will open.
Ask and you will receive.
Do for others what you wish they would do for you.
Be the change you want to see in the world.
Seek and you will find.
Knock and the door will open.
Ask and you will receive.
Do for others what you wish they would do for you.
Be the change you want to see in the world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
About Me
- blairology
- Blair is a graduate of Mercer University in Macon, GA. Where he earned a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Communication and Theatre Arts and a minor in Christianity. Blair earned his M. Div. from the McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta. Blair is currently pursuing the Blairology Global Project. Blair is an Eagle Scout.