Pastor of Muppets

I've got another post topic, but I didn't really feel like going back and putting it into the other post, so this'll be a quick one.

I was listening to the radio the other night, when "Master of Puppets" by Metallica came on. If you know anything about my taste in music, metal is not on good terms with me and I usually despise it in all its forms. But I was struck by the fact that this particular song is actually an effective portrait of what sin does to a person. Now, I do not think that this interpretation was intended by the members of Metallica, but I gained a new appreciation of this song after viewing it in that light. It's a good reminder of what I've been saved from, regardless of the intentions of the song's authors.

"End of passion play, crumbling away,
I'm your source of self-destruction.
Veins that pump with fear, sucking darkest clear,
Leading on your death's construction.

Taste me, you will see,
More is all you need.
You're dedicated to
How I'm killing you.

Come crawling faster,
Obey your master.
Your life burns faster,
Obey your master,
Master.

Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings.
Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams.
Blinded by me, you can't see a thing.
Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream,
Master, master.
Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream,
Master, master.

Needlework the way, never you betray,
Life of death becoming clearer.
Pain monopoly, ritual misery,
Chop your breakfast on a mirror.

Taste me you will see,
More is all you need.
You're dedicated to
How I'm killing you.

Come crawling faster,
Obey your master.
Your life burns faster,
Obey your master,
Master.

Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings.
Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams.
Blinded by me, you can't see a thing.
Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream,
Master, master.
Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream,
Master, master.

Master, master,
Where's the dreams that I've been after?
Master, master,
You promised only lies.
Laughter, laughter,
All I hear and see is laughter.
Laughter, laughter,
Laughing at my cries.
Fix me.

Hell is worth all that, natural habitat,
Just a rhyme without a reason.
Never-ending maze, drift on numbered days,
Now your life is out of season.

I will occupy,
I will help you die,
I will run through you,
Now I rule you, too.


Come crawling faster,
Obey your master.
Your life burns faster,
Obey your master.
Master.

Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings.
Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams.
Blinded by me, you can't see a thing.
Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream,
Master, master.
Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream,
Master, master."

"We don't got the news..."

It occurred to me just now that I don't pay enough attention to the news. Being the quasi-intelligent, contemplative man that I am, I should probably be more informed about the world at large. The selection of new downloads on the Apple website does not really count as news, I've found.

I found something that could come in handy. After reading Cassidy's article in "This Week" at church, I decided it might be useful to have a copy of the Book of Common Prayer. So, I went and I found a PDF version of the 1662 edition of the BCP. To a history buff such as myself, this was a pretty cool find. It can be found here, simply click on the picture to the right to download. The psalms are divided up quite nicely into morning and evening prayer, so perhaps this will serve as a vehicle for a more prayerful existence. Everyone could stand to pray more, right?

I've resolved to start using my Moleskine again. It fell into deep disuse when my schedule all but disappeared after the first semester of the school year. But now with rehearsals and such for the musical, it may become necessary to impose order once again. Besides, if/when I start working(the future of Andrew as a working man is still very much in doubt, much to my chagrin), I'll need to coordinate shifts and such, so it will perhaps become more useful. Not to mention next semester. I am sure I'll be kept busy at university, a concept which makes me tired at the mere thought. 

My YouTube video on English Accents keeps getting more and more views. It was at 443 last time I checked. That's the most views I've ever gotten on anything, so that's cool, I guess. According to YouTube demographics, the viewership of that video is 68% female. It's gotta be the hat.

Bono is an Evil Bastard

Here's something amusing that I found:

I knew Bono held a lot of influence, but I didn't think he had *that* much power.

Grrr, technology.

Given the fact that I am once again a Mac user, I have attempted to use the Mac mail program. It's a nice little program, and it'd be great if I could use it. Only problem is that I use Yahoo for my primary email address, and Yahoo doesn't let its normal users have POP servers, that's only for paying clients. This is really annoying, especially since Gmail offers this exact same service to their users for FREE. Whyyyy? Why does Yahoo have to be so stupid? I had heard that Yahoo users in the UK had access to POP servers, so I actually went over there and created a UK account, but to no avail. I'm really tempted to switch my main email address to Gmail, but I don't know if it's worth it. But, I suppose that if there was ever a good time to do such a thing, it'd be now. Perhaps. We shall see... The Gmail online interface isn't really to my liking, whereas I've been accustomed to the Yahoo layout, but that's probably not terribly important. 

Ok, forget it, I'm switching. It'll make for better consolidation, I think.

On a side note, I like the new Weezer song/video. I wish they would've left the train wreck that is Chris Crocker out of it. It's kind of weird seeing all of those internet personalities in the same place, but it's an ingenious idea, nonetheless.

He's a one-man dynasty...

I just thought this picture was incredibly amusing. It's vintage Billary...

"21st century kid..."

Well, I'm all done with graduation and such, which is really, really nice. I'm starting to become more and more comfortable with the notion of going to university. That's not to say that I was in any way uncomfortable about it before, but it starts to sink in a bit more once one is officially done with the high school experience. 

On another note, I've got a new computer, which is rather exciting. It's a brand new MacBook Pro, which may be seen here:

It's a really useful piece of machinery, to say the least. I'm especially enjoying the 512 MB graphics card and OS X Leopard. Good stuff. I've got another new gadget, a Panasonic GS320 camcorder:

As of yet, I am unable to import video from the camera, since I haven't got the right cable, but I shall fix that sometime in the future. (Of course, Panasonic couldn't be bothered to include the right cable, that would be expecting far too much.) 

On another topic, it seems that I can't even turn around these days without seeing something about Indiana Jones. He's even on my Dr. Pepper... I haven't seen the new movie, but from what I've heard, it's rather strange. Perhaps I'll get around to seeing it sometime. On the other hand, I thought the new Narnia movie was pretty good. Of course, being a literary sort, there were things I didn't like, but overall, it was an entertaining film which got the basic aspects of the story, so I won't complain. Besides, Prince Caspian is a very difficult story to put onto film, so perfection cannot be expected. 

I'm sure I'll be posting some more videos once I get this camera business sorted, so keep an eye out for that.

Cheers!

"I'm walking on sunshine, and don't it feel... God?"

Well, I was watching television earlier this evening, when I happened to view a certain advertisement for a Christian program on a local network. The title of the program was "The Gospel Truth," I believe. At any rate, the advert featured a man telling me something to the effect of the following: "God loves you and wants you to be well. Believe in him, and he will bless you with good health!" Of course, that is a loose paraphrase, but you get the idea. I, of course, have some issues with this. First of all, Christianity is not a promise of good health and well-being. In fact, some Christians are among the most afflicted people on earth. If you really wish me to delve into the Bible for an example, I would undoubtedly surface with the testimony of Job, who, though a faithful follower of Yahweh, was beset upon all sides by a myriad of worldly ills. Certainly this man, a steadfast believer was loved by God. Following Christ is not a call to become a sort holy happy lemming, sauntering through life unhindered by the effects of the Curse. On the contrary, Christians are called to die. It is certainly not the most comfortable group that one could join. 

I also take issue with people like Pat Robertson of "The 700 Club." On this television program, Robertson and his colleagues will pray for members of their audience who have sent in prayer requests, and these requests will almost invariably include illness. Mr. Robertson will begin to pray for a diseased or injured individual and say something like this: "Lord, we ask you to just heal this man. *insert name here*, you will now feel the power of God inside you, the warmth of the Holy Spirit, healing you, taking away your injury..." Something like that, I think. Anyways, Robertson has the gall to declare that God is healing someone simply because he said that God would heal them. I find this incredibly presumptuous of him, to make things up like that. Unless Robertson is privy to God's healing roster, it's rather inappropriate of him to make that sort of statement. And it's not just Robertson, this is certainly not an unheard of thing. Many evangelical preachers, Joel Osteen, for example, like to use Christianity as sort of a self-help clinic. But the thing we must remember is that God's definition of happiness and what is good for our lives is very different from our own. Christianity isn't a quick 5-step solution for more money, a perfect marriage and a clean bill of health, though that's how some like to look at it. Yes, God loves us and wants what is best for us, but more often than not, that will involve a lot of pain, something which doesn't often fit into the Evanjellyfish way of doing things.

As I finish writing this, I wonder if my eagerness to point out the "pain and suffering" bits of Christianity is a bad thing. Perhaps. Ah, well.

An excerpt from "On The Incarnation"

"For this purpose, then, the incorporeal and incorruptible and immaterial Word of God entered our world. In one sense, indeed, He was not far from it before, for no part of creation had ever been without Him Who, while ever abiding in union with the Father, yet fills all things that are. But now He entered the world in a new way, stooping to our level in His love and Self-revealing to us. He saw the reasonable race, the race of men that, like Himself, expressed the Father's Mind, wasting out of existence, and death reigning over all in corruption. He saw that corruption held us all the closer, because it was the penalty for the Transgression; He saw, too, how unthinkable it would be for the law to be repealed before it was fulfilled. He saw how unseemly it was that the very things of which He Himself was the Artificer should be disappearing. He saw how the surpassing wickedness of men was mounting up against them; He saw also their universal liability to death. All this He saw and, pitying our race, moved with compassion for our limitation, unable to endure that death should have the mastery, rather than that His creatures should perish and the work of His Father for us men come to nought, He took to Himself a body, a human body even as our own. Nor did He will merely to become embodied or merely to appear; had that been so, He could have revealed His divine majesty in some other and better way. No, He took our body, and not only so, but He took it directly from a spotless, stainless virgin, without the agency of human father—a pure body, untainted by intercourse with man. He, the Mighty One, the Artificer of all, Himself prepared this body as a temple for Himself, and took it for His very own, as the instrument through which He was known and in which He dwelt. Thus, taking a body like our own, because all our bodies were liable to the corruption of death, He surrendered His body to death instead of all, and offered it to the Father."

 - Athanasius

Ah, the impetuousness of youth...

Ok, so I was looking around on YouTube and found a series of videos put together by CSPAN in which college students were asked what issues would be important to them in the coming elections. So, I've selected a few that I'm going to comment on right quick. 

Look, kid, getting a job has nothing to do with the government. There were numerous videos about how jobs were scarce and college was expensive. Well, that's generally known as LIFE. Yeah, college is expensive, yeah, getting a job is hard sometimes, but that's what you do. It's got nothing to do with politics. If you're lucky, maybe Barack Obama will descend from the clouds in a golden chariot and help you find a job, eh? Is that what we're looking for?

Mmmkay, so, superfluous spending, huh? Started when the Bush administration took control, eh? You don't say...  Apparently, this kid hasn't met any hardcore Democrats. Shall we introduce him to our friends Barack and Hillary? If this man doesn't want to vote for anyone who will engage in superfluous spending, then he won't be voting at all in '08.

Ok, I love this one. "What's important to me about this election is healthcare, because as a college student, it's very hard to get birth control." WHAT?! Sorry, I just sprayed spit all over my computer screen because I was laughing so much. She doesn't say, "Oh, look at all the poor people who can't see a doctor, the government should help them..." No! She wants birth control! The government should pay for her birth control! Your tax dollars: helping college girls avoid unwanted pregnancies since 2008. Other issues she thinks are important: the state of her economy, what jobs will be available for her... uh... that's about it. Gay marriage, abortion and the war are all just opinion, apparently, so why worry about them? It's not like anyone has morals anymore, what a quaint idea...

Well, well, well. Health care is a natural right? Hm. Honestly, I'm not sure what I think about that. Another one of these videos equated freedom with healthcare. Just because we live in freedom doesn't mean that our every need will be catered to. Besides, I'd like to see the government provide healthcare for every single American. That's the premise, right? Universal healthcare? In 2007, Americans spend around 2.3 trillion dollars on healthcare. Sooo... what happens after we blow the national budget on that? We'll be really healthy, but we'll have to fire all of our government employees and raise taxes or something to fund it. Maybe if we start a nationwide fundraising program, we can work something out. Selling popcorn to the Mexicans across the border, perhaps? Setting up a $5 carwash up in Canada? Sounds like a winner. But seriously, universal healthcare just isn't feasible.

Now, of course, these are only a few dumb college kids, but there were a lot of other videos saying basically the same thing. I may seem overly harsh, but frankly, I greatly dislike the people that are in "my generation," because they just don't think. 

"People try to put us down, just because we get around..."

"That Old Time Religion..."

"Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones." - Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor and philosopher

I think the above quote pretty much sums up the entirety of the "salvation by nebulous goodwill" method of reasoning. Aurelius assumes that a truly just god cares nothing for piety or devotion and requires none from his worshippers. Virtue(which, I might add, was very different for the pagan than it is for the Christian) is enough to please the gods. Of course, this is coming from a man whose "gods" were themselves imperfect, flawed beings, who could perhaps be sated by mere acts of goodwill and nobility. Aurelius seems to think he has his ducks in a row, asserting that diety would conform to his idea of what a "just god" should be. If the "gods" dared to differ from dear Marcus's template, he might simply choose to disregard them, declaring them to be undesirable and more or less unworthy of worship. Upon death, Aurelius might have prepared to step into a great void, (if, as he speculates, there are no gods) leaving behind nothing except a presence in the memories of his loved ones. And when they fell, too, his legacy would disappear, leaving absolutely nothing behind. His life of pagan nobility would have been for naught. 

Even in the simple assurance of salvation that is proclaimed every Sunday at my church, we are miles ahead of Aurelius. We need not strive to win the Almighty's pleasure with our nobility or attempts at virtue, for all who have tried to do so have failed, save Christ. The pagan works all his life to build a deposit in the Bank of Universal Karma, hoping that in the end, it will be large enough to purchase his ticket into Paradise. For the unbeliever, there is no resounding trump as he enters the afterlife, no "well done, good and faithful servant." There is only fear and doubt. The Christian, however, runs towards death with the anticipation of meeting his Lord at last, knowing that his life has been in the service of his King, by the grace he has received through Christ.

Aurelius cannot even definitively say that his gods exist. Their existence is dependent upon him and what he thinks. He has placed his gods into molds and bid them conform to what he views as good and just. Otherwise, he threatens to simply ignore them out of existence, for the power and worth of Aurelius's gods was reliant upon his belief in them. Can he look at these beings and call them gods? Gods who have no authority over their own reality? My God exists whether I want him to or not. He is not controlled by the whims and beliefs of men, his creatures. He reigns whether the unbeliever wants him to or no, something which Aurelius's gods could never do. The modern secularist would very much like to say that the Church and her members have no real bearing on society, simply because they worship a supposedly imaginary and irrelevant god. But Christ has indeed already conquered the earth, and even now rules over it, something which pagans refuse to accept, and many Christians seem to forget. In light of this fact, the Christian lives a virtuous life, not to gain favour with a fickle diety, but because he has been given new life in Christ. Virtue is not the cause of salvation, but the effect, and that makes all the difference.