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?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
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.
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.
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