This past Sunday I was in Books a Million in Pigeon Forge and noticed a book titled Christian Atheism. The title really interested me. So when I got home the next day I searched the internet wondering what this book could be about. It is such an interesting concept. Reading Wikipedia's article I was confused as to what it means: Christian Atheism- is a belief system in which the God of Christianity is rejected, but the moral teachings of Jesus are followed. I was confused in reading this and wondering why this book titled Christian Atheism was in the Christianity section of Books a Million.
So two days later I went to another Books a Million location and decided to take a gander what was inside the book. The author, Craig Groeschel, writes a letter to his readers. Knowing I don't have enough time to read the entire book in one sitting and not wanting to pay for the book, I decided just to read the letter to the readers. In the letter Groeschel states that he likes to strike up conversations on airplanes with the people sitting near him. One particular flight he struck up a conversation with a college girl who was a "baptist." However her lifestyle didn't always represent that she was a "baptist." Groeschel calls this girl a Christian Atheist, because she understands and somewhat follows Christ's teachings, but didn't live as if God were in existence.
Groeschel then called himself a Christian Atheist. Of course he isn't purposely a Christian Atheist, it's just he will put stuff before God, but will still keep the Christian look on the outside. After reading this I got to thinking how big of a Christian Atheist I am. Of course just like Groeschel, I'm not purposely practicing Christian Atheism. It's just that often times (I use often loosely, I should use always), I put something before spending time with God. I will watch TV, Volquest, go to sleep, go to a friend's house, read Harry Potter, eat an apple, or whatever else there could be. Of course I do all this, while still acting and doing morally right. Sure I will mess up on the morals part, but I'll immediately get back on the right path.
So what can I do to not be a Christian Atheist? I guess it will have to do what Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach strived to do in Practicing His Presence and what Paul instructed us to do in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 "pray without ceasing," and in Ephesians 6:18 "pray continually.
And I'll probably fail at all times in doing this.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
The wrong kind of elder brother
Prodigal
1. Recklessly extravagant
2. Having spent everything
Having just finished Timothy Keller's The Prodigal God, I can't help but realize no matter how hard I try, I always catch myself acting like the elder brother. Keller breaks down the most famous parables Christ told, The Prodigal Son. He breaks the parable into to different acts. Act 1 titled The Lost Younger Brother and Act 2 titled The Lost Elder Brother.
Keller goes on to explain the younger brother appears to be more lost than the elder brother because of his immoral lifestyle. However the elder brother is just as lost if not even more so. He hates the fact that his younger brother had wasted all of the inheritance and now his father is going to throw the biggest feast the town has ever seen, using his share of the inheritance.
The younger brother is not afraid to hide his sins, he wears them on his sleeves. He does not care what others think of him. The elder brother loves to do everything right and hates to be frowned upon. He often hides his sins so it looks as if he does not do wrong.
The elder brother is not truly a brother to his younger brother. Had he been, he would have gone out and looked for his younger brother. He would have done everything he could have to make sure his younger returned home. He would have been thrilled to see his younger brother return. He would have ran with his father to greet him.
Between these two, I would label myself the elder brother. I often look to do everything right and nothing wrong in the eyes of society. I often look down upon those who openly "sin." I do all of this while trying to hide the fact that I sin just as much as they do and possibly more. I hate that I do all of this. It really sucks. It's funny cause the more and more I think I am becoming less and less like the elder brother, I look at my life and realize that I am just as much like the elder brother as I had been before.
One thing I would really really really really like to think I'm different from the elder brother is that I would truly be an elder brother in the sense of having a younger sibling that I care for and would go to the ends of the world to find and bring back home.
1. Recklessly extravagant
2. Having spent everything
Having just finished Timothy Keller's The Prodigal God, I can't help but realize no matter how hard I try, I always catch myself acting like the elder brother. Keller breaks down the most famous parables Christ told, The Prodigal Son. He breaks the parable into to different acts. Act 1 titled The Lost Younger Brother and Act 2 titled The Lost Elder Brother.
Keller goes on to explain the younger brother appears to be more lost than the elder brother because of his immoral lifestyle. However the elder brother is just as lost if not even more so. He hates the fact that his younger brother had wasted all of the inheritance and now his father is going to throw the biggest feast the town has ever seen, using his share of the inheritance.
The younger brother is not afraid to hide his sins, he wears them on his sleeves. He does not care what others think of him. The elder brother loves to do everything right and hates to be frowned upon. He often hides his sins so it looks as if he does not do wrong.
The elder brother is not truly a brother to his younger brother. Had he been, he would have gone out and looked for his younger brother. He would have done everything he could have to make sure his younger returned home. He would have been thrilled to see his younger brother return. He would have ran with his father to greet him.
Between these two, I would label myself the elder brother. I often look to do everything right and nothing wrong in the eyes of society. I often look down upon those who openly "sin." I do all of this while trying to hide the fact that I sin just as much as they do and possibly more. I hate that I do all of this. It really sucks. It's funny cause the more and more I think I am becoming less and less like the elder brother, I look at my life and realize that I am just as much like the elder brother as I had been before.
One thing I would really really really really like to think I'm different from the elder brother is that I would truly be an elder brother in the sense of having a younger sibling that I care for and would go to the ends of the world to find and bring back home.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Short Lived
On May 14 a guy I graduated high school with died in a car wreck. From the day we graduated to early March I hardly communicated with him at all. Then one day in March we started talking to each other through Facebook. We had four years of catching up to do. We also had another mutual interest, fitness. We talked constantly through Facebook from then on about different fitness ideas, diets, workouts, etc. We even talked about doing this competition called Tough Mudders together down in Atlanta. It's funny because, I really did not want to do it, but since his death it's all I can think of doing to honor him.
There is more to this though. Chad leaves behind a wife, a son, and a daughter to be born later this summer. It sucks to hear about someone so young who leaves this earth. It sucks even more to hear who he has left behind. Why does God choose someone so young, with such responsibility? I heard my step-father say when we die, we have completed God's specific purpose for us. But what about those who do not know Him, what is they're purpose? Or do they even have a purpose?
Seeing someone so young die proves we are not guaranteed tomorrow.
There is more to this though. Chad leaves behind a wife, a son, and a daughter to be born later this summer. It sucks to hear about someone so young who leaves this earth. It sucks even more to hear who he has left behind. Why does God choose someone so young, with such responsibility? I heard my step-father say when we die, we have completed God's specific purpose for us. But what about those who do not know Him, what is they're purpose? Or do they even have a purpose?
Seeing someone so young die proves we are not guaranteed tomorrow.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Ampitheater
Last Wednesday I was walking on the Pedestrian Walkway and the Humanities Ampitheater was full of people, more so than normal. Of course, Easter was near and it was time for the two older gentlemen to come to campus and "evangelize." I use the term evangelize loosely. From where I was standing they seemed to be condemning everyone who was near. I'm not going to say if that's what they were actually doing because I was at the top of the ampitheater, but I did talk to several of my friends who had been listening and their thoughts on them were not pleasant. It is no wonder people are turned off of Christianity. I really feel sorry for the people who think that is what Christianity is. And I hope that is not their only face-to-face encounter with Christianity.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
After death.
Being around death for the past few days has got me thinking of life after death and how important eternal salvation is. I do not live my life with a sense of urgency as I should. I do not live it as Christ is coming today as I should. There are many things I do not do, that I most definitely should.
This past Sunday was the funeral for my "step"-grandmother, Mrs. Edith. I put step in " " because she treated me as if I were her grandchild. She loved me as much in the seven years I knew her as anyone else had done in that same amount of time. Her death was much expected, and I was surprised she had stayed alive this long. But as David, my "step"-dad said this morning, there was purpose to her life every bit these past few weeks as there was 10 years ago. There is no doubt in my mind that Mrs. Edith is in Heaven.
Which that brings me to the subject of this entry: Heaven and Hell, but probably more so Hell. Hollywood gives Hell the look of flaming, hot, burning, fires, etc. I'm not quite sure that is what Hell looks like or feels like. If I had to guess what Hell looked and felt like, it would look alot like the world today, just take the joy out of it. For example, ten days ago I was on Bourbon Street and while at the time it seemed like alot of fun, but looking back it was full of sin. Sin that now repulses me.
I don't think life changes too much for the individuals who live life like this. Observing these individuals, it seems they lived a life without Christ, or perhaps and hopefully it was just at that specific time. The only difference to the life they live now and Hell is hope.
As quoted from Darrell Jones, "i mean its a place completely devoid of the holy spirit, which by definition is supposed to be a comfort. so a place without hope or comfort. or bojangles, but it will have jonas brothers albums and homework. pretty much it will be kwinns basement. complete with twilight posters"
I would try to give my thoughts on Heaven, but I can't even possiblly imagine what it will look like. All I can say is it will be a freakin party. And I would assume it would be at least 10 times better than Rorex's Love on the Jersey Shore dance party, had the party been upstairs.
This past Sunday was the funeral for my "step"-grandmother, Mrs. Edith. I put step in " " because she treated me as if I were her grandchild. She loved me as much in the seven years I knew her as anyone else had done in that same amount of time. Her death was much expected, and I was surprised she had stayed alive this long. But as David, my "step"-dad said this morning, there was purpose to her life every bit these past few weeks as there was 10 years ago. There is no doubt in my mind that Mrs. Edith is in Heaven.
Which that brings me to the subject of this entry: Heaven and Hell, but probably more so Hell. Hollywood gives Hell the look of flaming, hot, burning, fires, etc. I'm not quite sure that is what Hell looks like or feels like. If I had to guess what Hell looked and felt like, it would look alot like the world today, just take the joy out of it. For example, ten days ago I was on Bourbon Street and while at the time it seemed like alot of fun, but looking back it was full of sin. Sin that now repulses me.
I don't think life changes too much for the individuals who live life like this. Observing these individuals, it seems they lived a life without Christ, or perhaps and hopefully it was just at that specific time. The only difference to the life they live now and Hell is hope.
As quoted from Darrell Jones, "i mean its a place completely devoid of the holy spirit, which by definition is supposed to be a comfort. so a place without hope or comfort. or bojangles, but it will have jonas brothers albums and homework. pretty much it will be kwinns basement. complete with twilight posters"
I would try to give my thoughts on Heaven, but I can't even possiblly imagine what it will look like. All I can say is it will be a freakin party. And I would assume it would be at least 10 times better than Rorex's Love on the Jersey Shore dance party, had the party been upstairs.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
A Living Will
If I were to die soon I would like this blog entry to hold in a court of law (even though it has not been notarized) as my living will of all my possessions of value.
Tan recliner: I would like for Ms. Marianne Borden to have this. We both have had wonderful and comfortable memories with it and I think she would take full advantage of it.
Car: I would like for Mr. Jon "Tuna" McGill to have my car. It doesn't break down, and his car does. However, if the back windshield still has Dale Earhardt written in cursive, then that part of the car shall go to Mr. Ryan Berner
Chick-fil-a Coupons: This one is tough, I would like to bless so many people with my 49 #1 combo coupons. It's hard to pick one person for these, since so many are deserving. But I would like for Ms. Marisa Ward to have them. She loves Chick-fil-a and she loves sweet tea.
Gymnastics rings: This one was easy. Mr. Darrell Jones would use these with great honor and passion in training for the up coming Crossfit Games
Computer: Who ever wants it can have it. It is 4 years out dated, but it gets the job done. The only requirement is you have to keep the same desktop picture that is currently on it.
Dale Earnhardt Posters: I can't think of anyone other than Mr. Nathan Brodale, complete with any other #3 gear that I might have.
Television: This one too was tough, there are alot of deserving people out there, but if I had to choose one person it would be Mr. and Mr. David Netherton. The original purchasers of this wonderful gift.
Playstation 2: Mr. Michael Dees would play NCAA Football 08 with great passion and competitiveness.
8th Grade Scrapbook: I would like for Ms. Marisa Ward to have this to remember me. This scrapbook is a reflection of my life from birth to age 14.
Posters: I have 4 posters in my room: Andres Galarraga, Justin Timberlake from the N'SYNC days, Muhammad Ali, and Snoop Dogg and 2Pac. I would like for Mr. Ryan Berner to own these. He truly appreciates all 5 of these individuals.
iPod with Music: I would like for Mr. Justin Steele to have my iPod. His iPod broke. Also he likes terrible music, so I would really like to enlighten him.
Any UT stuff: Mr. Josh Reese takes the candle on this.
Journal: Mr. Jake Luna, he's a deep thinker and an English major, so I'll let him take credit for those Pulitzer Prize writings
Tan recliner: I would like for Ms. Marianne Borden to have this. We both have had wonderful and comfortable memories with it and I think she would take full advantage of it.
Car: I would like for Mr. Jon "Tuna" McGill to have my car. It doesn't break down, and his car does. However, if the back windshield still has Dale Earhardt written in cursive, then that part of the car shall go to Mr. Ryan Berner
Chick-fil-a Coupons: This one is tough, I would like to bless so many people with my 49 #1 combo coupons. It's hard to pick one person for these, since so many are deserving. But I would like for Ms. Marisa Ward to have them. She loves Chick-fil-a and she loves sweet tea.
Gymnastics rings: This one was easy. Mr. Darrell Jones would use these with great honor and passion in training for the up coming Crossfit Games
Computer: Who ever wants it can have it. It is 4 years out dated, but it gets the job done. The only requirement is you have to keep the same desktop picture that is currently on it.
Dale Earnhardt Posters: I can't think of anyone other than Mr. Nathan Brodale, complete with any other #3 gear that I might have.
Television: This one too was tough, there are alot of deserving people out there, but if I had to choose one person it would be Mr. and Mr. David Netherton. The original purchasers of this wonderful gift.
Playstation 2: Mr. Michael Dees would play NCAA Football 08 with great passion and competitiveness.
8th Grade Scrapbook: I would like for Ms. Marisa Ward to have this to remember me. This scrapbook is a reflection of my life from birth to age 14.
Posters: I have 4 posters in my room: Andres Galarraga, Justin Timberlake from the N'SYNC days, Muhammad Ali, and Snoop Dogg and 2Pac. I would like for Mr. Ryan Berner to own these. He truly appreciates all 5 of these individuals.
iPod with Music: I would like for Mr. Justin Steele to have my iPod. His iPod broke. Also he likes terrible music, so I would really like to enlighten him.
Any UT stuff: Mr. Josh Reese takes the candle on this.
Journal: Mr. Jake Luna, he's a deep thinker and an English major, so I'll let him take credit for those Pulitzer Prize writings
Sunday, March 14, 2010
What I would give for one more day in Destin
After New Orleans, we decided to hit to one of the premium spring break spots, Destin. You know, that place with the beach white sand, where we were dancing. Destin was an interesting place. I was real excited about going. I had not been in the ocean in quite some time and was really looking forward to putting my toes in the water and my (gl)ass in the sand.
Was Destin as cracked up as I had always heard? I don't know, but I do know I really enjoyed what it had to offer.
1. Meet up with some peeps from Knox. They looked at us weird, like we were crazy for going to Destin after a Chick-fil-a Grand Opening
2. Go to Destin Chick-fil-a, receive standing ovation and meet possibly the nicest person on the face the earth. Her name escapes me at the moment, but it was her birthday and we sang her happy birthday.
3. Go to the beach. Live the beach. Dominate the beach. The beach offered everything I could imagine except for sun.
4. Body surfed like a champ with Brodale
5. Got in an "argument" with someone from Memphis about Jimmie Johnson, "argument" ended immediately when he said he liked Jeff Gordon and not Jimmie Johnson
6. Went to Chick-fil-a again. Not quite the same response as the first time, or so I was told
7. Sat in a parking lot waiting for Overboard to open
8. Decided not to attend the "fun" to be had at Overboard. Ate Taco Bell and washed sand off of legs in hotel sink.
9. Legs were stiff so I walked up to Overboard, saw Lexie and apologized for said "argument."
10. It's 12:30 am and we decide to hightail it back to the 'boro
11. Justin drives first shift. I think Tom Tom sucks, yet is very valuable or we would never had made it anywhere on this trip. We are driving through neighborhoods and what look like gravel/dirt roads.
12. My turn to drive. I drive until we are an hour outside of Birmingham. Then I stop at Best Western to sleep in the parking lot.
13. Nathan cleans the car as he drives through a thunderstorm and we are on the north side of Brimingham.
14. Justin finshes us off as make back to Jake's house.
15. Back in Cookeville Ryan and I watch American Idol. We are surprised Katie and Paige both did not get voted off. They are terrible
16. I drop Ryan off to meet his mom. I eat BBQ nachos then nap during the UT basketball game from 4-8:30. My nap was longer than all the other time I slept in the past 2 days combined.
Was Destin as cracked up as I had always heard? I don't know, but I do know I really enjoyed what it had to offer.
1. Meet up with some peeps from Knox. They looked at us weird, like we were crazy for going to Destin after a Chick-fil-a Grand Opening
2. Go to Destin Chick-fil-a, receive standing ovation and meet possibly the nicest person on the face the earth. Her name escapes me at the moment, but it was her birthday and we sang her happy birthday.
3. Go to the beach. Live the beach. Dominate the beach. The beach offered everything I could imagine except for sun.
4. Body surfed like a champ with Brodale
5. Got in an "argument" with someone from Memphis about Jimmie Johnson, "argument" ended immediately when he said he liked Jeff Gordon and not Jimmie Johnson
6. Went to Chick-fil-a again. Not quite the same response as the first time, or so I was told
7. Sat in a parking lot waiting for Overboard to open
8. Decided not to attend the "fun" to be had at Overboard. Ate Taco Bell and washed sand off of legs in hotel sink.
9. Legs were stiff so I walked up to Overboard, saw Lexie and apologized for said "argument."
10. It's 12:30 am and we decide to hightail it back to the 'boro
11. Justin drives first shift. I think Tom Tom sucks, yet is very valuable or we would never had made it anywhere on this trip. We are driving through neighborhoods and what look like gravel/dirt roads.
12. My turn to drive. I drive until we are an hour outside of Birmingham. Then I stop at Best Western to sleep in the parking lot.
13. Nathan cleans the car as he drives through a thunderstorm and we are on the north side of Brimingham.
14. Justin finshes us off as make back to Jake's house.
15. Back in Cookeville Ryan and I watch American Idol. We are surprised Katie and Paige both did not get voted off. They are terrible
16. I drop Ryan off to meet his mom. I eat BBQ nachos then nap during the UT basketball game from 4-8:30. My nap was longer than all the other time I slept in the past 2 days combined.
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