Friday, December 30, 2005

more philosophy

I think it was Socrates or Plato that decided the following: If we know we know nothing, then we are especially wise.

What if that could be applied to Christianity? I was thinking on this on my way back from shopping today. When we come to God, we say that we can't do anything without Him and that we know nothing about what we're doing. Only God knows what all will happen to us. So once we realize that we don't know anything, and turn to God, we've done the best thing possible.

Why do I come up with all this stuff after I am done my philosophy class? Possible answer: My brain hasn't just gorged on information from about 4 different classes.

Later edit: So, I was sitting and listening to Lifehouse's song "Everything." I think it has echoes of Kierkegaard (hey, that sounded almost poetic!). "How can I stand here and not be moved by you?"

I've been realizing that I need to change some things for second semester. I need to quit being so selfish about what I do (even as I wish that other people weren't so selfish). I need to carve out "Jesus time" in my schedule. I need to use the library more often, where I won't get interrupted as much when I read (or get distracted!). I need to rely on God SO MUCH MORE than I am. Since I've been home on break, I think I've been thinking, "Oh yay finally Me-time." Not God-time. But time for me to chill out and sleep and do whatever.

I was thinking about what I would give up for Lent this year. Typically I don't give up anything (I usually think about it halfway through). Too bad I can't give up schoolwork. That'd be a good excuse though. Ha ha. But I was thinking maybe, just maybe, I'd give up music. Now, I couldn't isolate myself completely, because, well, there's chapel. I would probably give up non-worship, voluntary listening of music. Like listening to iTunes or Yahoo Launchcast (which I've been doing a lot of lately). I'd have to put something in my alarm clock to wake me up, so I'd probably use a worship CD or something. Any thoughts, folks?

"I've been running so fast
Away from love, away from our past
When I fall into you
You take what is old and make it new" (By the Tree)

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

kierkegaard and company

These quotes are from Sophie's World, a book I just finished reading last night. I quite liked it. Except for the part of Jen's copy where it had like pages 49-80 stuck somewhere again in the 400's and skipped what amounted to a whole chapter. I left her sticky note messages throughout hehehe.



“My concern is that you do not grow up to be one of those people who take the world for granted” (16)


“The only thing we require to be good philosophers is the faculty of wonder” (10)


“Women, he asserted, have exactly the same powers of reasoning as men, provided they get the same training and are exempt from childrearing and housekeeping.In Plato’s ideal state, rulers and warriors are not allowed family life or private property.The rearing of children is considered too important to be left to the individual and should be the responsibility of the state.(Plato was the first philosopher to advocate state-organized nursery schools and full-time education.)” (92) (I saw this and put this here because I thought of Jocelyn. It's an interesting thought nonetheless)


“Aristotle’s erroneous view of the sexes was doubly harmful because it was his—rather than Plato’s—view that held sway throughout the Middle Ages.The church thus inherited a view of women that is entirely without foundation in the Bible.”(117)


“The child perceives the world as it is, without putting more into things than he experiences.” (Hume, I think) (276)


“Hume said you can never draw conclusions from is sentences to ought sentences… ‘More and more people want to travel by air.Therefore more airports ought to be built.’” (279-280)


“Human knowledge is constantly expanding and progressing.”(364)


Kierkegaard—“Sunday Christianity” (378)


“To Kierkegaard, Christianity was both so overwhelming and so irrational that it had to be an either/or.It was not good being ‘rather’ or ‘to some extent’ religious.Because either Jesus rose on Easter Day—or he did not.And if he really did rise from the dead, if he really died for our sake—then this is so overwhelming that it must permeate our entire life.”(378)


“It means I believe because it is irrational.If Christianity had appealed to our reason, and not to the other sides of us, it would not be a question of faith.”(383)


“And although it can be ‘terrible to jump into the open arms of the living God,’ as Kierkegaard put it, it is the only path to redemption.”(384)

Monday, December 26, 2005

"they have to prove to everyone that theirs is better" (Superchick)

Well, I went back down to my high school again today (Dec. 22)--this time at lunchtime. I don't know what Erin W. says when she goes there, and how she manages to visit at lunchtime.

Anyway, today I would like to quote Jocelyn in my blog:

Teachers! Where are you? Children! where are you? Is no one taught compassion anymore? Are you all so blinded by your own pain? Does no one reach out in the schools!?

When I first went into the lunchroom, I happened to see a friend of mine, we'll call her C. She was sitting at a table ALL BY HERSELF. Now, keep in mind that our lunch tables are sorta two segments together, each holding 6 people. There was not a single soul at the table with her. I said hi to her, and sadly, by the time I had come back from visiting someone else, she had already gone (I saw her walking down the hallway to maybe the library). I understand maybe she wants to just be left alone, and she does like reading, but it's still good to have someone to sit with. It's like a good kind of ego boost.

I know I did this for most of my high school life, but can't ANYONE give up half an hour of their day to make someone else's? I mean, you can see these other people on the weekends or whatever, but these people probably don't have anyone they can really call a close friend.

Who cares what other people think? Apparently teens are sending mixed messages. Take this quote from my senior year yearbook. "It doesn't matter what people look like on the outside and it's not important to me." "I don't really care what people think about me." Hmm. I'm not going to say anything about these girls personally cuz I don't know them. But clearly, anywhere you go, you will make a snap judgement on someone typically based on their appearance, whether it's their clothes, their skin color, their weight. I think if you asked these same girls (or anyone really) if someone was sitting by themselves, if they would sit with them, they might be hesitant to.

december 19,20

Quote from my grandmother's sister (she left this as a message on her machine): "If it weren't for you, I might just run away." Awww :)

Gotta love how people try to explain what heaven will be like. "What will heaven look like?" ... Why don't they just say, "Well, no one really knows, but here's what we THINK.." What if it's not so much "Heaven is [insert ideal condition here]" but more like constant being with God? Cuz if we're living the lives the way we should be, sticking with God, and listening to him, that's the best way to live, and well Heaven would just be a continuation of that. Was it CS Lewis that said something about Hell being God basically saying to those that turned their backs on Him, "You can have your wish now.

I got my grades for first semester too! Here they are...
Fund. of Speech: A-
Bib. Lit: A
Contemporary Questions: A
Principles of Bio: A
Bio Lab: A
Gospel Choir: A (especially considering I didn't show up at all after Thanksgiving)
First Year Sem.: A

I was talking to my dad today, and was asking about any interesting things I said as a kid. I used to call my Mom-Mom, "Hey you", and when I went to DisneyWorld when I was 4, I called Pluto (Mickey's dog, in case you don't know) "Pu-du" (pronounced also like "poo-doo". Lovely. I think I want to watch old home videos while I'm home...

You are my purpose - You are the reason that I live
I want to be like You - Help me to love and to forgive
God let me not me distracted - Lord help me focus on You
Keep sin from ruling my life, Lord - Make me holy and pure
Father You pick me up - I feel like a child in Your arms
I don't deserve this love but, I hear Your voice Lord Jesus

just up to no good, really...

(was that a hint of a British-ism?)

I've been working on reading The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, by Douglas Adams. Here are some quotes I've compiled that I like. (The page numbers are cumulative for all the books, so there is no singular book that is 600 pages long. Unless of course you put it in size 64 font.)

Douglas Adams on…


Existence…

“In fact the only Oglaroonians who ever leave their tree are those who are hurled out of it for the heinous crime of wondering whether any of the other trees might be capable of supporting life at all, or indeed whether the other trees are anything other than illusions brought on by eating too many Oglanuts.” (p. 194)

Romance…

“Their songs are on the whole very simple and mostly follow the familiar theme of boy-being meets girl-being beneath a silvery moon, which then explodes for no adequately explored reason.” (p. 221)

Falling Apart…

“You go to pieces so fast people get hit by the shrapnel.” (p. 231)

Talking…

“His first theory was that if human beings didn’t keep exercising their lips, their mouths probably shriveled up. After a few months of observation he had come up with a second theory, which was this—‘If human beings don’t keep exercising their lips, their brains start working.’” (p. 252)

Intimidation…

“Number Two’s eyes narrowed and became what are known in the Shouting and Killing People trade as cold slits, the idea presumably being to give your opponent the impression that you have lost your glasses or are having difficulty keeping awake. Why this is frightening is an, as yet, unresolved problem.” (p. 267)

Flight of People…

“The Guide says that there is an art to flying, or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” (p. 322)