America’s Idols

WARNING >>> This post might rub some people the wrong way! The content that is being discussed is extremely combustible. The wound this topic has caused to our culture is so deep, that some people will take this stuff personally. Those are the same people who will feel the need to defend their stance when they are done reading. If you enjoy your current way of life, and you are okay with the way things are going, then please, do not read this post. After reading, you may have the sudden urge to go outside and climb a mountain, paint a picture of your favorite beach break, build a boat, learn how to cultivate & grow your own food, or volunteer as a coach for a local football team. Potential side affects may include: nausea, headaches, extreme confusion, anger, sadness, conviction, a new way of thinking, an attitude change, and a more fulfilling life. If those are acceptable risks, then carry on…

Lately, I have been doing a lot of thinking about popular entertainment. Television. Film. Music. Video Games. Podcasts. User Generated Content (i.e.: YouTube) — All of the “essential” ways of life that we have become so accustomed to. The amount of time that Americans are spending on entertainment is increasing at a staggering rate.

“Total hours with video-based entertainment on all platforms is forecasted to expand nearly 35% to about 8 hours on average, as consumers use more screens in more places and video becomes ubiquitous on every screen at home and work and on-the-go. For context, this is close to the time spent sleeping nightly by an average American.” (PR Newswire, United Business Media)

Say Again? We spend as much time watching American Idol as we do resting our bodies? I’m disgusted. American Idol??? More like America’s Idols…

{**Quick Exercise >>> Grab a piece of scratch paper. Spend the next minute taking inventory of every form of media you watched or listened to this week purely for entertainment value [Does not include the news, newspaper, work related podcasts, any PBS show, that ‘Ancient China’ special on the history channel (unless it is the 4^th time you have seen it)]**}

What else could you have done with that time???

Entertainment. If broken down phonetically it is sounded Me-I-My-tainment, or something like that. Here are some definitions I pulled from various online dictionaries:

1)  “Any activity that provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time.”

2)  “An activity designed to give pleasure or relaxation to an audience or individual.”

3)  “An activity that is diverting and that holds the attention.”

Diverting and holding our attention from what? The leaky faucet? Not likely. The broken disposal? I wouldn’t bet on it; I’d get better odds to box a trifecta. The fact of the matter is this — we don’t want to face the truth. The truth about this Planet. The truth about America. The truth about ourselves. We do not want to face reality. Most people use entertainment as a way to numb themselves so they wont have to ask themselves any of those big questions. They don’t want to be convicted to start living a different way. People like to be comfortable. Entertainment takes the light off of me, and puts it onto reality TV.

Wait, I shouldn’t be so quick to judge. I do not want to pigeonhole the entire Human Race as cowardly and weak. No, there is another group of people as well. They use entertainment for something entirely different…

The second group honestly does not care about other people. They are only concerned with self-gratification. Some people use entertainment “as an activity to give pleasure” to themselves. This person thinks, ‘why would I waste my time volunteering at an orphanage when I can sit in the comfort of my home, and watch hours of YouTube’s best Bunsen burner bloopers?’

Netflix is another amazing innovation. It allows you at-home entertainment with the click of a button. We don’t even need to communicate with another human being to rent a movie anymore. Why? Because the 3 grunts I gave to the Blockbuster employee expended too much mental energy? No, it is because we honestly do not care about the person behind the Blockbuster counter.

I offer a dichotomy: People either (a) do not fully grasp how short and precious our life really is or (b) they do not care about anyone other than themselves.

Okay, so maybe you go through both at different times in your life, but those are the two reasons we entertain ourselves — everyone. It’s definition self-implies: ”Any activity that provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves” — It is for our fear, and for our arrogance — Medication to forget, or to pleasure — There is nothing else.

Of course, you have your occasional foreigner that watches American popular entertainment to become educated about our culture. In that case you have a grey area, and he/she may be deemed an outlier. Which brings up another point:

Can anyone see the affect we are having on other cultures? Does anyone care?

The entire world hates us for our greed and wastefulness, yet those same countries still mimic our pop culture. What does that say about us??? The devil has a stranglehold on our hearts, and we don’t even recognize it…

Have you ever thought about there are more exorcisms conducted in rural Kentucky, than in Los Angeles? I would venture to guess that the Devil is pretty confident. Confident that our modern entertainment will keep us blinded to God for our entire lives. He doesn’t even need to pay attention to us! Satan and the other disobedient angels can spend more of their time possessing tribes in the jungles of Africa, because America is on autopilot. At what moment in time did America’s heart go astray? Our hearts and minds are no longer on God. The first two commandments are to “Love God with all your heart”, and “love others as you love yourself”. These are the same commandments that Jesus said were the only ones needed to live a holy life.

Isn’t it funny that the Lord established this great country through reverent and God-fearing men? Strong, courageous men and women risked everything in faith, to have the opportunity for a fresh start with their God, and the Lord rewarded them. America is the strongest power the world has ever seen, and it gained its status in 400 years! God chose to build this country. Yet we have forsaken him, and we have chosen our Idols over Him. We are the Israel among the gentiles. He made us, and He can break us.

We need a change of heart.

Truth as I Know it…

Truth — it is a beautiful thing. Even though truth can cause pain and anguish, it will eventually lead to great peace. Peace that comes from knowing, with certainty, what is true. I have searched for truth in many things. Religion. Drugs. Alcohol. Sex. Money. Power. Sports. Music. All of these things led to more confusion and less understanding. The funniest part about it — all of these things mentioned contain a measure of truth. They are all part of the biggest truth, which is God. The Almighty. The One and Only. The Alpha & the Omega. The Grand PooBah. Yes, He is real, and He is constantly active in our lives.

{**sidenote** I am a big picture kind of guy. I need to understand the whole before I can begin to get a grasp on the details. Please be aware that much of my writings will demonstrate this. Regardless of my own personality, I realize that all people are different, and I will do my best to cater to everyone’s different learning styles.}

MY TRUTH: Everything we know was created by a God. One God. He made us so we can enjoy Him and His creation. That includes nature, animals, and other people (no matter how annoying that person is who just cut you off)! Simple enough? Wrong! It is difficult. Extremely difficult. Seemingly impossible. It is difficult because we live in a world that is rampant with distractions. We have become so blinded by our technologically advanced, entertainment driven culture, that we have lost sight of the great Creator of our Universe. Instead we choose to enjoy the Jersey Shore and Angry Birds <<< All topics we will dive into later, but I digress…

MY TRUTH: I was designed for: joy, love, glory, and for passionate worship.

THE SOURCE OF MY TRUTH: The Bible. I believe that the Bible is the ultimate source for the answers to all of life’s questions. If you disagree, that is fine (no judgement, remember?). Do not stop reading because you disagree! On the contrary, allow your disbelief in my beliefs to further solidify your beliefs! Still with me? Good…let’s continue…

{**sidenote** I have a wild imagination. It is a blessing and a curse. I will inevitably write about outrageous theories and ideas that my strange mind develops. Most of which are based on biblical and scientific facts and truths, but please, take my words with a grain of salt! If it is not quoted from the bible, then it is not a guaranteed truth. You have been given the incredible gift of free will — use it!}

Continuing once again…

MY TRUTH DIVULGED: God was there before our dimension of time was created. God’s characteristics: omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, eternal, just, sovereign, holy, faithful, and loving. God made man to experience glory with Himself. Instead of choosing glory we chose separation from God, and the division between God and Man is ever widening. Over time our sins have multiplied, and they have been passed down from generation to generation. The deadliest virus known to man — sin. Adam passed the virus onto his sons, Cain and Abel. When Cain killed Abel, Abel’s sin-tainted blood stained the Earth. Now the Earth is infected. Trees carry the virus. The animals eat the trees. Now the animals too, are infected.  Sin is everywhere, and everything we know is passing away.

The consequence of our sin — death, or in other words, the absence of God. Because God is holy by definition, We, in our own power, cannot bring ourselves back to life; no matter how advanced we become. Even at this unprecedented pinnacle of technology and medicine, we can merely prolong life, not save it. So, we are doomed. No one is healthy. We are all dying from the worst disease in the universe.

God knows that we cannot save ourselves, but He cannot stand to be separated from His creation. He wants us to be reconciled, so that we can spend eternity with Him. So what is the answer? What is the antidote to sin? Just give me the blue pill, and make this reality go away.

 

“For the wages of sin is death…”

 

Since God is just by nature, there has to be punishment for our disobedience. Those with sin are destined to be eternally separated from God. Where is the happy ending? There has to be a hero. Someone who rides in to save the day. Someone who, being without sin, can defeat the grasp that holds down mankind. God has made us propitiation.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. The Word was God.” – John 1:1

That Word was Jesus Christ. God in the flesh. He existed before time, and He will continue to be, once our universe is gone. He is the hero that has broken us from bondage. Jesus voluntarily chose to sacrifice himself, taking on every person’s sins as His own. Jesus, the only pure man in existence, and the incarnate form of God, was crucified on the cross for you and for me. Before Christ, we were bonded to disobedience, and now through Christ’s victory, we are free to abound in holiness and glory.

 

Well what is the catch? I probably have to go celibate and give up all my favorite guilty pleasures. No more beer, no more cursing, 5 Hail Mary’s per day, and a fake smile. Wrong. Those sound more like some weaksauce New Years resolutions. God asks for belief. All He wants is our faith (which everyone has), to be placed in Him. To truly believe in your heart that He is real, and that He loves us. Faith that He has forgiven us through His work on the cross, and faith that He has our back for all eternity.

 

Once you have put your faith into God, and His forgiveness through Jesus, you will begin to experience your true purpose. It is not always an instant change. Don’t get me wrong — there are always those stories of murderers and dope pushers that meet Christ and do a miraculous 180. God works in many ways, but for the most part, God changes us slowly, from the inside out. We all have years and years of programming and mental hardwiring towards sin that must be broken. Life with Christ in this World is not easy. If you decide that you want to believe these truths, then be prepared for hard times. YOU WILL experience the freedom that God intended for you since the beginning of time, but you will also suffer. Your body is full of the sin virus. Your mind needs to be renewed. It is painful at first, but every step back towards holiness is a victory! You will experience a divine peace as you come into the realization that God made you on purpose, and that He wants to share everything with you. The question now is…will you choose truth?

 

THE POINT: This is what I believe. All of what I write will be from this perspective. Call it biased, but anyone who knows Christ intimately can attest to His truth and the physical affects He has in our lives. I apologize ahead of time if people are offended. God loves us all, and I am called to love also. He just hates our sin, and our disbelief. My intent is not to judge, blame, or accuse. My flesh is wretched. Without Christ I have a front row seat to Hellfire infinity in Imax 3D. My intent is merely for everyone to know God, and to be free.

 

“A light on a hill cannot be hid. It’s too bright. It’s too big” – Slug, Atmosphere; musician

 

FOR ALL YOU VISUAL PEEPS OUT THERE — CHECK THIS VID!

The Purpose of this Blog

“All truths are easy to understand once they have been discovered; the point is to discover them.” – Galileo Galilei; Philosopher, Astronomer, and Mathematician.

From where do we come? Where are we going? Why are we here? These are the most pivotal questions that a person can ever ask themselves. Our answers to these questions will predispose us toward certain decisions for our entire lives. It goes deep. To our innermost being. The core of who we are. We must ask ourselves these questions, regardless of whether or not you can prove your beliefs through fact. You will never be able to prove all your beliefs through logic and fact, so it is essential to human life that each person must have faith to increase their understanding. Every person has faith, and it is each person’s responsibility to choose what they put their faith in.

“It is not difficult for me to have this faith, for it is incontrovertible that where there is a plan there is intelligence. An orderly, unfolding universe testifies to the truth of the most majestic statement ever uttered – ‘In the beginning, God.'” – Arthur Holly Compton; Nobel Laureate [Physics]

What do you believe? Are we here by accident? If so, what a miraculous and marvelous accident! If the universe exploded ten-trillion-trillion more times, perfection like this would never again be achieved. And If we are merely creatures evolved from the most primitive lifeform, then why do we have a conscience, and an internal moral imperative to be a “good” person?

Or instead, like Mr. Compton, maybe you believe that there is a God. If so, is He a jealous and prideful being, that enjoys toying with us and demonstrating his omnipotent power and reminding us of our weakness and fallibility? Or is He a God of love? And If He is a God of love, why would He ever love me? What is love? The questions are endless, and these are questions that we must ask.

The purpose of this blog is to ask questions. The purpose of this blog is to seek truth through science and faith. All are welcome here. None will be judged. Man does not have the right to judge, and ALL are seeking truth. We all have unique perspectives and experiences to share. Young and old, all are welcome here. Everyone has a hole in their heart that must be filled. If you are reading this, then feel free to ask questions. My desire is that you step into truth. That you come into the realization that you have a purpose. My desire is that you can discover what your purpose is, and to experience the freedom of doing exactly what you were created to do. My spirit yearns for all people to join in on this indescribable truth that is God. He is, and He always was. He created us so we can experience Him, and this reality cannot be described in human terms. No matter how complex our language has become since the confusion at Babel, we can never fully describe the miracle that is life.

I hope that anyone who chooses to read this blog can be enlightened. At any point you feel that the words in this blog are without substance, I urge you — stop reading. If these words do not inspire you to think, to change, to dream, to envision, to evolve, and to grow, then please I beg you, let me know and I will stop writing! I am not doing this to achieve personal glory. I do want to be commended for my writings. For it is God who has blessed me with the little knowledge and wisdom I have, and it is God who can take it away!

No! This blog is for everyone! This blog is for people who yearn for freedom. I pray that TOGETHER we can become free from oppression, and TOGETHER we can experience life the way it was intended to be. If this is your desire, then read on, and join in!

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…” – Prov 1:7a