Friday, October 27, 2006

On the human experience

Bertrand Russell was one of the great freethinkers of the twentieth century. Known for his skepticism and devotion to Reason, Russell provides a meaningful view of life despite his agnosticism:

"But the beauty of Tragedy does but make visible a quality which, in more or less obvious shapes, is present always and everywhere in life. In the spectacle of Death, in the endurance of intolerable pain, and in the irrevocableness of a vanished past, there is a sacredness, an overpowering awe, a feeling of the vastness, the depth, the inexhaustible mystery of existence, in which, as by some strange marriage of pain, the sufferer is bound to the world by bonds of sorrow. In these moments of insight, we lose all eagerness of temporary desire, all struggling and striving for petty ends, all care for the little trivial things that, to a superficial view, make up the common life of day by day; we see, surrounding the narrow raft illumined by the flickering light of human comradeship, the dark ocean on whose rolling waves we toss for a brief hour; from the great night without, a chill blast breaks in upon our refuge; all the loneliness of humanity amid hostile forces is concentrated upon the individual soul, which must struggle alone, with what of courage it can command, against the whole weight of a universe that cares nothing for its hopes and fears. Victory, in this struggle with the powers of darkness, is the true baptism into the glorious company of heroes, the true initiation into the overmastering beauty of human existence. From that awful encounter of the soul with the outer world, enunciation, wisdom, and charity are born; and with their birth a new life begins. To take into the inmost shrine of the soul the irresistible forces whose puppets we seem to be--Death and change, the irrevocableness of the past, and the powerlessness of Man before the blind hurry of the universe from vanity to vanity--to feel these things and know them is to conquer them."

From "A Free Man's Worship" by Bertrand Russell

Friday, October 20, 2006

Atrocities

One thing that has caused me to pause and think is the large number of genocidal massacres supposedly ordered by God and carried out by the Israelites in the old testament. Many times the Hebrews were ordered to kill every man, woman, and child in a given population, sometimes simply because that group was living in the land promised to the Hebrews. Most Christians never think twice about the double standard this attributes to a supposedly harmonious collection of documents divinely written by God, in which Jesus himself tells us to love our enemy and offer to carry his burden.

Since I'm lazy, I won't take the time to reference all of these instances, but if you're bold enough, take the time to Google "bible atrocities" and read a few of the websites that condense a number of old testament passages, showing how bloodthirsty God's people were.

Then think about it. Some of the prophets decried the bloodshed and greed that Jerusalem was built upon, and Jesus speaks of the desolation that God later brings upon Israel with the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. Israel finally paid for its warmongering ways and the temple has never been restored.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Update

Hi everyone! I know it's been a long time and many of you are wondering what happened to Chris, especially since my bombshell a few months ago. Well, it's been a crazy few months since I disappeared from church and I'd like to let everyone know what's going on.

Sometimes a step away and a view in from the outside is required to gain a better understanding of the truth. Sometimes we need to leave the cave of traditional Christian dogma to let our spiritual eyes begin to develop in the light of reality. True, I regret my sudden proclamation and departure and wish that I didn't alienate myself from the people who care about me, but it gave me a greater insight into the character of Christianity.

Right now I don't claim to have many answers, but I can honestly say that the love of the church is a huge testament to some sort of Spiritual presence in the lives of Christians, and I think it's the spirit of Jesus. Now, I'm far from believing that the Bible is the "inerrant Word of God" as many conservative Christians claim, but I think it reveals many truths and does not necessarily need to be considered as a cohesive, perfect entity in order to please God (however you define him).

Anyway, I'm keeping this short because I have a lot of homework to finish tonight. I'll follow up in the next few weeks with some insights I've gained over the last few months. I really do appreciate all of the prayer and support and I wish you all peace as you continue with school and work.