Monday Morning Quarterback-ing

1-9

No, that's not one through eight. That's the record of wins and losses for the Saint Louis Rams. Blah.

I will say this for my Rams. Since trading our star middle linebacker, Will Witherspoon, to the Philadelphia Eagles, our defense has actually improved. So far, we've managed to hold two teams with excellent post season potential, the New Orleans Saints and the Arizona Cardinals, to just 21 points a piece. With the return of a healthy Marc Bulger, we've managed to at least start competing again. However, we still aren't winning. And with that, I plead again that we draft Sam Bradford. There are now only two other teams that are 1-9...the Tampa Bay Bucs and the Cleveland Browns. Tampa Bay has their future in a strong armed young player by the name of Josh Freeman from Kansas State, and I don't know about Cleveland's plans but they have someone who they believe can be their franchise player in Notre Dame's Brady Quinn. Oakland and Detroit, both 2-8, should finish with better records than St. Louis, and only Oakland will be in the market for a QB, provided that Toledo's Bruce Gradkowski doesn't continue winning.

Steven Jackson is a great running back. But at the most he's got 4 more good years in him. We need to start winning and start winning soon.

6 year drought

Dear, dear me. Mighty Michigan, the winnigist division - 1 football program in history, has now finished back-to-back losing season, and is in the midst of the worst losing streak to Ohio State in history. It's a pretty awful feeling. But like what I saw from Auburn this year, Michigan is in the midst of a transition to a spread offense, and some of the pieces are in place. There are flashes of brilliance in both teams, and moments when you really believe these teams are legitimate. The key difference between Michigan and Auburn is the decision to start the incoming freshmen stars.

Michigan, lacking a scholarship quarterback this season, had no choice but to play the star Freshmen Tate Forcier and DeNard Robinson. They have combined to throw nearly 20 interceptions this season and only 5 wins. They started 4-0, transitioning between the true spread run by Forcier and the Wildcat captained by Robinson. Thus, while the blame cannot solely be placed on one QB, the fragile mental state of these two young talents may have be compromised by starting their careers 5-7.

Tyrik Rollison, the hope of the Tiger Nation, on the other hand, has redshirted and spent an entire year learning a system and learning from the mistakes of players like Kodi Burns and Chris Todd. With another recruiting year to build the talent around him, and a lack of pressure to save a team from obscurity, Rollison appears to be in position to take over and lead this team to the promised land. One can only hope that Gus Mahlzon and The Chiz know what they're doing and can replace the terror of Ben Tate. Oh, and improving our defense would be GREAT.

The Bungles

Just when I thought the Bengals were ready to become a professional franchise, turnovers against the Raiders turn us back into a mere over-achieving team. The Steelers are having an off year again, which negates the value of our domination of our division. Not to mention Cedric Benson, the resurgent Texas Longhorn, is injured. Bah, I say, bah! My only hope is that the Tigers of Auburn can pull some miraculous upset over the Mighty Crimson Tide and save my second awful season in a row. You'd think with me being a fan of four different teams, I could eventually pick a winner. Bah.

A Letter to No One

Dear No One

Hello! It's been a while since you and I last had a chat. While I believe that it's probably for the best, you still seem to be making me part of your life. Now, I'm sure you'll disagree with that statement. However, take a step back and look: all that you've done since I decided to part ways is try to communicate with me both directly and indirectly. There was a moment where you and I almost resolved things, and in typical fashion I screwed it up. You and I had always had trouble communicating, and once you no longer believed I cared about you it was easy to take anything I said to the opposite extreme. I had a moment of selfish indulgence; You claimed that I hurt you, that every moment together was causing you pain, and yet I was not allowed to be hurt and need time to heal. To this day, I don't think you could admit how much you hurt me and how much pain I felt because of our parting. And I can understand this: someone has to be the bad guy. If there's no one to blame for what happened, it's harder to reconcile and make peace with yourself and the facts. And, of course, in everything you know about relationships and how dysfunctional they can be, it's always the man that walks out and ruins everything.

Indirectly, you've been pretty courageous hiding behind your keyboard. When you don't have to face someone and you're free to slander my name and my character through your snide remarks, it's easy to talk about how your moving on and making things better for yourself. But let's get real: when you're still talking about me 5 months or however long it's been later, you clearly haven't moved on. And it makes me sad. In talking to some of your 'friends' it has become very clear to me that you've got some problems that aren't being addressed by either you or these friends. It makes me sad, because I am realizing more and more that I really did leave you high and dry, which still hurts. That was never my intention.

So, in your most recent attack, you've sent out a warning. And that upsets me. I'm ok with you talking about how awful I was to you; you're right, I didn't do everything right, I gave up on us, and I got tired of trying. But you need to shut your mouth when you're talking about the nature of my character. I'm in a great relationship with a girl that loves me and understands and knows everything about me and still wants to be with me. She has turned my life around and reminded me that I deserve to be loved and I deserve to feel happy and that I deserve to enjoy my life. I don't want to take this time to bash you, because I think there are a lot of good things about you, and if there was ever something you needed I would be there to help you. But I cannot let you say things like this from behind your little keyboard and get away with it. If you have a problem with me and want to fight it out, come challenge me face to face. Most of all, attack the relationship, but how dare you attack me like this and once say you loved me.

That's all I've really got to say. Get over me and leave me out of your life. Oh, and I would really like my #12 Auburn jersey back.

Sincerely,

Ben

Find Your Voice

So for the first time in a while, I think I want to approach a more philosophical topic. So much of what we say and do is influenced by other people, whether we admit it or not. There are the people who teach us, the people who inspire us, the people who we despise, and the people we love. They have all played a part in making us who we are. Take me for example.

My high school Track and Football coach, Kenny Simpson, taught me so much. He taught me how to keep trying, and how to deal with life when you know you've not reached your full potential. He taught me how to lead, not by the words I say but by my work ethic. And he taught me economics. That last one may not seem deep, but the skills I learned in his class helped me land my job last summer, and I'm sure will keep me from ever investing money in the stock market.

There are a lot of famous people who's careers I want, but a person who really inspires me is Johnny Depp. I watched his interview with 'Inside the Actor's studio' and learned a good bit about his life and how he got there. It certainly wasn't by what could be called conventional means, but he got their by being true to himself and doing the things he loved. If I can say that about my life at the end, it won't matter if I've won a Tony or spent my life living in a cardboard box. Whenever Nathan or Sawyer or any of my friends ask me how Auburn is going, I simply reply "Living the dream". Because amidst all the madness, self doubt, self pity, and fear, I am doing what I love and making a difference in the lives of my audiences, and that's all I could ever want.

There's not a long list of people I despise, but I have a list. However, everyone on that list has still taught me a great deal about myself. They've taught me how to soldier on when people start piling lies onto you. They've taught me that not everyone will believe in me or who I am, and that it is ok for someone somewhere to think I'm awful. I don't think I'm getting this out right, but I'm just trying to say what I feel. That old saying about fooling some of the people some of the time fits pretty well here, in its own way. Or one of my favorite sayings that I picked up from a commercial: 'No rain, no rainbows.' Even the people we wish weren't in our lives or that we had never met have taught us to survive, be strong in ourselves, and remember that sometimes you just can't make people believe.

Finally, there's the people we love. Love is an overused and misunderstood word in our culture. What exactly is love? Now, any 'christian' will start quoting Paul and his whole list of traits. But, let me take a line from Pirates here,

"What is a ship? It's not a sail, or a keel, or a hull; those are things a ship needs. But what a ship is, what a ship REALLY is....is freedom."

Love is NOT patient, love is NOT kind, love does NOT not boast; those are things love needs. But what love is, what love really is....is freedom. The freedom to be yourself with someone and know that you are safe. The freedom to be open to so much pain it might destroy you and going on. And, perhaps most important of all, it is improvisational. It is in the moment, just like good acting. You can talk the talk and prep all you want, but you still have to be active and present in the moment with your partner.

So I say all that to say this. We live and learn. That's the beauty of being human, we have a chance to wake up and start anew everyday with everything you learned yesterday. As we age and mature, we are constantly seeking our own voice in the midst of all this. We yearn for the chance to be heard, for our opinion to matter, and to make a difference. We strive to make an impact in the lives of everyone; our teachers, our mentors, our enemies and our friends. Above all, we want that pat on the head. We want to be told that we are right and feel that we are right and now that we are right. And that is something that we seldom get. More often than not we are riddle with doubt, and curiously searching for that special something that will make our lives whole. Little did we know it's been there all along! Your voice, your heart, your life are all made up of the parts of the people who matter most, the people who you want (or want not) to be. Your voice is everything you want and nothing you don't. It is YOUR truth, and in this world that is the only thing you really have. There is so much we're not told, so much that we can't and won't know (if you want an example....think about Mongolia. How much do you know? How much will you ever know? But how much of it influences our world? Or think about how much our government doesn't tell us that we take for granted). In the wise words of the character Gregory House, "I choose to believe this life is not a test."

Believe in who you are and what you do...because the things people believe about you will change faster than the weather. You, however, will always be you. And someday, if you're lucky, you'll find someone to spend your life with for whom you is enough.

Monday Morning Quarterback-ing

Hats

I love them, if for no other reason than they cover up my frequently terrifying haircut. And, with Brighton Beach looming on the horizon, my hair cut is particularly frightening. It's a 1930s comb-over cut that requires a lot of gel....but, since I'm not that type of guy, I just cover up the entire upper half of my head. But I digress.

Chris, Joe, and I went to Nashville this weekend (which, if you're a devoted reader, you already know!) And we decided to hit up the galleria before we left Nashville. They had a cool NFL shop, and I was hoping that in such a Bastion of sports paraphanelia, I might finally find what I was looking for: A St. Louis Rams hat!

Sadly, I was again denied. But on the bottom shelf, I did find my back-up team: The Cincinnati Bengals! It was a great deal, I payed around $10 for a $25 hat. Chris got himself a Tennessee Titans hat, so everyone was happy. Well, almost. I really REALLY wanted to buy one of the Vick jerseys....sadly, my political sways don't cover $80 investments that might get covered in red paint by angry members of PETA....

BOWL GAMES!!!

As much as I HATE the BCS and all that it stands for, championship-wise and economically (but I won't get into that), some great things happened regarding post season play: Notre Dame lost, finally putting the nail in the coffin of their chances to get into the BCS and re-earn the prestige they just don't deserve. Auburn won their 7th game of the season, all but guaranteeing that we will be in some sort of bowl game. It may be the papa john's bell south army-navy charles schwabb insurance bowl, but after last year, a winning record is great. Finally, Oregon lost of Stanford, weaking Boise State's case, as well as insuring that the Pac-10 will only get one representative and USC will be enjoying the holiday bowl or something. I'm not usually one to cheer for people losing, but when teams with two losses are getting conversation about going to a BCS game without any marquee wins, or a strong schedule, it makes me cringe.

Unbeaten, but not unblemished

This is the proper time of the year to talk about unbeaten teams. Take Iowa, for example. This is the part of the year where the schedule, injuries, and length of the season separate the champs from the chumps. (Well, except Boise State, who always seems to handle their tough late WAC schedule). Texas, Florida, and Alabama have all managed to push through some tough tests (with a little help, but the game is never won or lost on a single play), but so has Cincinnati. Not to mention the Saints and the Colts have also pushed through (But both teams have shown weaknesses). However, thanks to some Key losses...the championship conversation is narrowing by the week. All I can hope is that if 'Bama and Florida reach the championship undefeated, the loser gets a crack at the bearcats and has a chance to prevent another two-undefeated bowl season. And, as we all know, it is almost impossible to go through the NFL season undefeated, but it would be great to see New Orleans win a championship and finished unblemished as champions. The great thing about sports is how far they reach off the field. There, that was my deep, cheesy part of the blog.

In conclusion

I just have on thing to say....my second team, the Cincinnati Bengals, have beaten the Ravens twice and are leading the NFC north! WHO DEY!!!!!

Wednesday Forum

Here's what is rocking my world this week.

Political Economy

Yes, I said it. Last week, our normal TA Brian was missing, so Theo, the other TA from Greece came in and lead our discussion. Aside from his awesome accent, he did a lot of things that made me really enjoy the class. For starters, he joined us in taking the mickey out on our Canadian teacher, Murray Jardine (jar-deen). Secondly, he fought to have two questions from our test that we did not go over in the lectures thrown out. Yahoo for bonus points! In conclusion, when the number 300 came up in our discussion, he totally refrenced Leonidas and the Brave Spartans. BANG-A-RANG

Hexa Elemental

For those of you with no idea what that is, I am in the process of writing a fantasy story about 6 heroes who happen upon one another and save the world. Typical fantasy-epic material. However, I really think this story is starting to have a lot of merit. Rather than continue drafting and redrafting the story over and over again, I have spent the last few month really trying to organize all my notes and get down as much specific information about the world these characters are living in as possible. This means languages, dialects, economics, complete histories, geneologies, and all sort of hoopla! It's a lot of fun to create your own world and write the history from scratch....it was Tolkien's favorite part about writing Lord of the Rings, and is fast becoming one of my favorite activities. Escaping from heavy art, ex-girlfriends, and personal troubles is easiest when you leave this world and dive into one of your own. I expect to finish a re-write of the first third of the story over thanksgiving, so ask me about it!

Guys and Dolls

So maybe it's not the best musical in the world, but I am going to see my friend Sawyer in a production of it up in Nashville this weekend. I will be getting out of the state for the first time in quite a while with this trip, and I'm really looking forward to seeing my best friend Nathan Douglas McCarty again. It's been too long. (which I define as a month or two. Back off). It's also a road trip with two of my closest friends, Chris Kelly and Joe Woddail. These guys rock out loud, and it's going to be an awesome trip to Music City. In unrelated news, the Titans and Rams both got their first wins of the season this weekend. Things are trying their hardest to look up, and if the next two weeks go according to plan, they just might turn out alright!

Monday Morning Quarterback-ing

So, in despite my attempts to turn this into a blog about philosophy and deep thoughts, I can't resist the urge to share my views about the sports world. In keeping with the statement "Hind sight is 20/20", I have decided to engage in a little Monday Morning Quarterbacking (A.K.A. diagnosing mistakes after the fact. what fun!)

Jevon Snead

By this point in the football season, everyone in the whole country knows that Ole Miss quarterback #4 Jevon Snead was completely and utterly overrated. I love Auburn. But I am also realistic, as I was at the beginning of the year. We have an over achieving team with middle-of-conference talent and a lot of heart. And we made Snead look silly. Well, in actuality, the game-plan of Houston Nutt looked silly. Down the field passing has exposed us all year long, and Nutt was content to attack the sideline and flat routes. Heisman Darkhorse? Don't make me laugh. Or, in the words of my wise father, 'Yeah, REAL dark!"

The Tigers

Bowl-eligable. Man it feels good to say those words. This time last year we were still sweating it out for a winning season (which we did not achieve). But with an all but guaranteed win over Furman, we are looking at no less that 7-5 and post-season play. The sad part is, if we had simply beaten Kentucky, we would still have an outside shot at an SEC west crown if everything fell into place and we could defeat the might Crimson Tide (Who is certainly beatable....just probably not by us). Georgia is not looking very strong, so we could finish 8-4 or even 9-3 and play spoiler for the Tide's national title hopes.

My last note...we finally saw Chris Todd play like the Chris Todd who threw 5 TD passes in one game. But, most importantly of all, our coaching staff showed the ability to adjust on the fly and match a decent team blow for blow. I've got confidence in this coaching staff and our ability to recruit good players and compete for and SEC title as early as next year.

The Rams!!!

I want a t-shirt that says 'Steven Jackson is my Home Boy' ! One of the best backs in the league, and dragged down by inconsistent QB play and poor defensive organization, Steven had yet to score a rushing touchdown on the year. But then they rolled into Detroit. After the Lions snapped their losing streak, the Rams took up the banner, with 17 losses in a row. But, with less than two minutes on the clock, #39 broke free for the go-ahead touchdown to win on the road. Now, once again....Sam Bradford has had successful surgery on his shoulder and will be a hot commidity in the draft...Seattle, Washington, Carolina, and the Raiders will all be early in the draft and looking for Quarterbacks. Tim Teabow, Colt McCoy, that guy from Houston, Dan LeFevour, Tony Pike, and possibly Jimmy Clauson will all be availible. Bradford seems to me to be the most compatible, either him or Tony Pike, with a pro-style system, as LeFevour, McCoy, Teabow, and the guy from Houston are all spread players. So...let's pick up a good defensive tackle, and good center, and Sam Bradford and see if we can't at least compete in every game we play. Any way you slice it, it's nice to finally be done with our losing ways!

Wednesday Forum

Here's what's going down in the mad world of Ben this week...

The Poor Tigers...

After starting off 5-0, there was no place for the Tigers to go but an SEC Championship...or down. And boy did they go down. It's amazing how quickly people will turn on a team. But I will say this for this Auburn team....they CAN score. A lot. In a short amount of time. And they can fight back from a half time deficit. We'll be lucky to make a bowl game. But you never know when the Chris Todd who threw 5 TD passes will come back. Now, if our defense could just control that A-Gap...However, there is always one bright side to any game. And her name is Abby Loren Culberson. Pending Cubby (her dad) 's permission, she'll be here for this so called "Navy Nightmare", and we'll have a blast.

Brighton Beach Memoirs

This is without a doubt my most difficult acting challenge to date. I'm used to musicals, where you sing your feelings....or playing an 11 year-old Mozart in an imaginary world called Nocturno. As you can imagine...getting in touch with the 18 1/2 year old Stanley Jerome is proving to be quite the challenge. But this is really my favorite type of show. These characters are a real family, with real down to earth problems that everyone can relate to and learn from, which is what theatre's all about. Now, at this point in my career I'm trying to figure out how to effectively partner and bring truth and intention to the stage...but I'm still struggling to remember lines like I did in high school. Go figure.

Doing the Gosh-Darn Dishes.

I really like my roommates. Every now and then we have great moments and great laughs (usually revolving around x-box live) and I don't have to worry about them coming home smashed or bringing home a nasty hooch. However, a certain Goon Poon who shall remain nameless is continuing to neglect doing the dishes...meaning I am left to clean up his mess in the sink. And I have too....It's nasty, it's moldy, and I need the silverwear and cups. So, here I sit on my bed having done his dishes for something like the third week in a row. But I am content with my honor and the knowledge that the thankless jobs are the ones that we get rewarded for (Though I think according to God's standards if I complain in a blog I defer my reward to the present.)

Just how many can they lose?

My NFL team...The St. Louis Rams....continue to be consistent in their losing ways, have still barely managed to score in each game, let alone compete. I would say they can't possible lose them all...However, they are on something like a 15 game losing streak, and the Detriot Lions have already proved that losing your way through an entire season is a total possibility. The one plus side to all this...Sam Bradford, heisman trophy winner and record setting QB for Oklahoma, has had a successful shoulder surgery and should be ready for the draft.

Dear St. Louis,

Thanks for not allowing Rush Limbaugh anywhere near our team. Now, if in this upcoming draft, you could realize that Marc Bulger is not a real quarterback and draft our mutal friend Mr. Bradford, we might actually have a franchise. That is all.

-Ben

The Jester's Tale

Once upon a time, in a far away kingdom, there was a fool who entertained in the King's court. He could sing, he could dance, and most important of all, he had a funny hat with dangling balls! This Jester was a great friend of the King and the Minstrel, and his performances gained renown across the land....

He was a happy Jester. Poor, but not in spirit, and rich in mirth. The Jester had his court, and the love of his King, and he was content. But one day, there came a visitor to his performance. As he took his bows, he noticed from the corner of his eye a beauty the likes of which he had never seen. Pushing his way through the crowd, he met with the young maiden. To his great surprise, the maiden gave him a courtesy, and proclaimed that she was a great admirer of the Jester. But to his greater surprise, he learned that she was a young princess, and one who's hand was quite out of his reach. As she road away into the sunset, his heart broke for her loveliness. In his despair, the Jester set off on a quest to become a great performer, one who might win the hand of so fair a princess.

So the Jester began his perilous quest. He settled in a new land, far from his friend the minstrel and the King. In time, he grew to forget that fair young face, much to his misfortune. The Jester sought to fill that hole in his heart with hard work, hard play, and the faces of other fair maidens. But in time, he would remember the young maiden who looked on him with a smile, and his heart reached out to her once more. It had been years since his eyes had rested on the young maiden, but her face was just as lovely as he remembered. But the maiden too had forgotten the face of Jester, and was pledged to a knight of stately bearing. Despite a nearly broken heart, the Jester did not leave the maiden's side. When the maiden's hour of need came, it was the Jester who stood by her side and kept her safe from harm. She now saw the Jester for who he was: someone that would stand by her side through many dangers and bring a smile to even the most tear-wrung eyes. She now pledged herself to the Jester, and the Jester to his maiden, and they rode off into the sunset to live happily ever after.

I'm rubber, you are glue, and this is a terrible metaphor.

Anybody else not a big fan of analogies and metaphors? This is something I learned about myself over the last year or so....I hate them. Metaphors always seem to detract from the reality of what's going on. My dad used to tell me 'Life is like a pile of leaves, it looks indimidating at first, but when you bag it all up it was mostly air.' Sure, that makes sense, you might even say it's true, but life is not a pile of leaves. And I don't mean that metaphorically, I mean that literally!

But I'm going to step down of that soap box. Metaphors and analogies work for some people, so I won't say they're stupid. They just don't work for me and make me angry. What I really want to talk about is something that has been on my mind for the last week or so: the idea of a Super Villian. Not necessarily even the ones from the comics, but even guys like Hitler or Fidel Castro. I mean let's think about it for a minute. What are Super Villians? Extremely powerful people who take control of the world. And ordinary people can't stop them (unless you count Die Hard), it usually takes a super hero. Super Villians are always extrodinary people, they are people with drive, commitment, and an incredible amount of talent and skill. Were it not for superman, Lex Luthor would rule the world. Think about the things the Joker was able to pull off in 'The Dark Knight'. Were it not for the Autobots, the Decpticons would have trashed our whole planet.

For those of you religious folks, look at someone like Saul. Saul was single-handedly destorying the church, one believer at a time. I mean this guy didn't even bother refuting the gospel logically, he began a systematic destruction of the church. Then he got turned around, and became an equally powerful force for christianity. This, beyond anything else, proves my theory that the only way to be anything great at all is to shake your fist at the world and go 100% all the time. Because if you do, you just might be lucky enough to hear heaven open up and the voice of God say "Hey, great effort, but try doing it the other way around...".

So to try and bring this short post full circle, let me say this: the greatest mistakes one can make as an artist, athlete, and person is to overanalyize the situation. The ability to take in information and make informed decisions is what sets us apart from lower animals, but if there is anything I've learned in my measely 19 years on this planet, it's that our instincts about people and situations are rarely wrong. It's time we stop trying to protect ourselves so much and just start living. It's time to quit using standards and estimations to figure things out, it's time we start looking at the situation at hand and solving the problems in front of our face. Because that's the funny thing about life: it's just one damn thing after another. And here's the kicker, even if I'm wrong, the grace of God is sufficent for me. So I'm going to live. What about you?

Hide your sins, He's learned to open doors.

So I started this blog under the guise of Raptor Jesus for a few reasons, not the least of which is the idea mere thought of Jesus as a Velociraptor could be considered blasphemous by many. I hope, with this blog, to lay bare a lot of the thoughts I would ordinarily keep inside for fear of being ridiculed or bashed. The name Raptor Jesus, and the blog title 'Words of a Witless Worm' should also help people realize that while I will write exactly what I feel, it helps to remember that I am no ones enemy. Long ago in ancient Sumerian culture kings kept court aides called 'Naysmiths', who's sole job was to find hole in every theory and plan the king put forward. They were not beheaded for insolence, but rather valued for forcing the King to be accountable for each of his actions by being fully informed by both sides. So anyway, that's what this is all about.

Hide Your Sins....those words ring true in today's society. It's all about appearances, and that is especially true in the theatre world. Just out of sight, it's a race to get everything in place to look beautiful. But behind the scenery, you can see the flies lines, the actors ready to go on, and the patches holding the scenery together. I wonder sometimes if Christianity has become the same way. It's all about showing up and doing the right things and making sure you repent and follow the correct path and get the right job and keep your virginity 'til your married and don't smoke and don't drink and blah blah blah. I realize I am not the first person to call Christianity out for it's pew-hugging nature, nor am I the most qualified to criticize an organization after God's own heart. But let me present my views of my life, and why I am living it the way I do.

Jesus was born. He lived, he died. Even the most prominent atheist agree to this, based on historical evidence. Based on the Bible, and the evidence that supports it as a factual piece of literature, I believe that this Jesus was the Messiah, God's son sent to show us a Pious life and then to die to redeem us from all of the mistakes we make, intentional and unintentional. I believe that from the moment he left, things began to get out of hand. His beliefs and teaches were placed into the hands of a people who valued rules, order, and status above nearly everything else, and that has effected the way the christian religion has grown. I say all that to say this: Christianity was meant to be a religion without rules.

Now Ben, you might be thinking, that doesn't make sense at all! But wait! There's more. Jesus actually did leave behind rules, two rules that mean more than anything. So much more, that when someone asked the greatest commandment, He pulled a Billy Mays and threw in the second with no additional charge (God Rest your soul, Billy. You will be missed). Love the Lord YOUR YOUR YOUR God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might. And the second is like it; Love your neighbor as yourself. These two commands, He said, summed up the whole law and everything in it. A more beautiful phrase has never been uttered. I believe that Jesus only took 30-33 years on this earth to speak and teach, and within that time he could have given us all the answers. He could have burned homosexuals, given infallible proof that Islam and all other religions were false. He could have shown the destructive power of alcohol or spent his whole ministry combating drug abuse. But rarely if ever do you see examples of any of that in the Bible. The Christ spent his time preaching love, tolerance, and forgiveness. And those of you who say "Well, what if we're so tolerant that we don't convince people?" REMEMBER THIS: Jesus was crucified. Spit upon. Lashed. And every damn minute of it was unfair, even by Roman legal standards. A handful of people who saw the crucifixion were changed, but Jesus himself died while delivering a message of love. JUST BECAUSE PEOPLE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF CHARITY DOES NT MAKE IT WRONG. How efficient was the crucifixion? I mean I'm glad it happened, and dont get me wrong it got the job done, but even Jesus was like "C'mon, this is not the best idea!"

I say all of that to say this; It amazes me how people try to complicated life and Christianity. People spend their whole lives struggling to find 'a deeper, more personal relationship' with God, and often I think they are disappointed because our western ideas of relationships are screwed up anyway. Remember the book 'All I need to know I learned in Kindergarten"? Well, faith and life are the same way. Love, and realize that you don't have or need all the answers. That's what life is all about, ya know? The journey, not the destination. Everyone wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die and all that. So stop with the denominational bickering. Stop trying to be right all the time. Don't be afraid to be wrong about stuff; I'm pretty sure that whole resurreciton thing will cover you. Just love. Love people, and love yourself. Because if Elton John has gotten anything right in his writing, it's this: HE LIVES IN YOU.

Blogging in General

I used to not be a fan of the idea of blogging. It's a chance for people to state their opinion without any real consequences or reviews by more learned individuals. Like imagine if national geographic could be published with nothing more than hearsay....

Needless to say, it makes no sense for me to join in this tradition of sharing information if I have such views, but I have an idea that I hope will work out and hopefully change the world: contraverisal blogging. But wait, you say, this doesnt sound like a new idea at all...people constantly blog about about contraverisal issues. However, I am not going to do so under the delusion that I am spout infallible truth. I intend to use this as a means of learning from the people around me, and hopefully teaching a small bit. After all, the greeks and romans used public forums as powerful means of developing logic and reason. I think blogging should be the same way. I want to use this as a forum to spout freely the ideas and beliefs that I have, not in the hopes of proving to the world that I have it figured out, but instead as a chance to divine gold out of the mud that is my mind. So, my first blog is a short one, but I hope it is informative to whoever decides to read it!