I just saw a snippet about Eastern Orthodox churches on the history channel. It stated that the Eastern churches tended to be more liberal in there theology. That there is no hell. After watching this snippet, it reminded me to write something on my blog.
Side Note
Since I’ve been thinking about many different religions recently and different concepts and philosophical ideas, I just decided to bite the bullet and blog. I say ‘bite the bullet’ because writing on my personal blog is time consuming, at least mentally. Writing isn’t my favorite but I think it’s great and wise to do. I even tried to maintain a journal but that went no-where fast. So, I’ll be ~90% transparent on this website/blog. I’d be lying if I said I’m 100% transparent, nor is anyone 100% transparent online and if they are….they tend to be misunderstood too much and people easily lose the focus on being caring and nice. So, to avoid those issues and many more, I’m going to be ~90% transparent but you won’t notice any difference, even if you were a very close friend of mind, because I won’t lie about anything (at least not intentionally). I’ll just use this blog to share that ~90% of my life and keep that 10% for my future wife.
Back to topic, Is Christianity Man-Made Religion?:
When I decided to passionately pursue God, I looked at all the religions and Christianity made the most, out of them, logical sense to me. This was about 5 years ago. But, now I’m revisiting all religions and comparing them to Christianity again but thinking from even more concepts (atheistic).
Briefly read this. It basically states how Christianity’s message isn’t original (suppose-ably) and that there are at least 5 pre-Christ like figures. Krishna, dating back 3000BC. Horus 1200BC. Etc. Most rabbis and some preachers know that the Old Testament is extremely similar to Egyptian, Babylonian, and other non-jewish texts. When I say extremely similar, I think I read somewhere stating that Deuteronomy (5th book of the bible; in the Torah) is almost 80% similar to other texts within their culture.
Why is this a big deal to me? Well, simply because from an Atheist’ point of view, you could easily make a case for Man-Made Christianity. Easily, means Easily. Many well-known atheists don’t really take this shot because they tend to make a mockery of our faith. I’d say 80% of the atheists I’ve met, talked to, seen on T.V., watched on YouTube, read blogs of, etc, are all non trying to have a serious intellectual discussion. I can easily say, many Christians have been insensitive jerks, inconsiderate, and even mean on many occasions. So, they are equally to blame. But BOTH are guilty, not just the Jesus freaks.
Eastern Thought and Western Thought (in general)
Okay, with all that said. Eastern vs. Western thought is amazing. Westerns tend to try to make things black and white, where Eastern smears it all together. Easterns tend to be liberal. Westerns tend to be arrogant and branded as ‘know it all’s. For example: 2 thoughts, one event, one question. When does the bus get here? Westerns say ‘We expect it in 10 minutes’. Easterns say ‘When it gets here’. Is one right and one wrong? NO! Both are correct with different perspectives.
Many concepts in Scripture (OT and NT) are seen throughout Eastern religions but expressed differently. Does that make one correct and one not? ….I have no answer for this and the purpose of this post. To cause you to critically think.
If it’s all good and God is using different religions to reach different people. Why hell in Christianity? Why did Jesus die? Does that mean I can have my cake and eat it too? Why or why not?
THINK FRIENDS! That’s all….
If God is beyond our comprehension, or just even beyond our dimension, is there such a place where Truth and Error can blend? Can Good and Evil blend? Can opposites merge? I’m not saying Yin-Yang because they are fighting each other…..I’m saying Yin-Yang compliment each other in such a way, where it all smears and becomes gray….
What are your thoughts….please let me know ur current faith and then add your comment as well.
Over a month ago, I spent some extensive time watching videos on Masonry and the foundations of America. Most of them seem to have serious biases in their videos. Some try to tie Masonry into a secret Satanic cult that is trying to rule the world, which I’m not totally against, but these groups tend to twist everything into a conspiracy. Others try to say everything that ‘they say’ is fact, when thats almost impossible because your talking about a secret society.
A Christian Nation?
My Christian friends, try to say ‘It’s a Christian nation‘. To which, I’d ask “Is Democracy what God commanded?” And if they say yes, surely they haven’t read the bible. The bible states God wanted* a Theocracy as a government. This is where the people just simply obeyed God. Instead, the people of God decided they wanted to be like the other nations and asked the Prophet Samuel for a King. Which, in truth, is an act of their rejection of God.
Not only that, the New Testament Scripture states we (Christians) should submit to our governing authorities, except if that means denying our faith and/or encouraging wrongful acts (these are the only outliers to obeying that Scripture). [For Scriptural reference just read the Book of Acts, it's full of the Apostles disobeying the governing leaders for the pursuit of faith/truth].
A Masonic Nation?
Based on different movies and articles, I think we aren’t a Masonic nation but we do have a significant impact from the Masonic teachings and beliefs. Where you can blend all religions, where people of different religious beliefs can co-habit. Also, looking at the architecture of many of our (America) monuments you can see the significant impact Masonry has had on the US.
A Jewish Nation?
Look at the back of the dollar, on the right side you’ll see the eagle. Above the eagle you will see stars together. That shape. What is it? The star of David. The sign for Jews.
In addition to this, I had a substitute teacher who seriously knew like 20 languages. I’m not sure exactly how he got his conclusion but it was thought provoking. He dissected the word “America”. First, he split the word to “Amer” and “rica”. Somehow, Amer (translated like twice) means ‘Jerusalem’ and rica means ‘New’. Meaning America=New Jerusalem. Trippy huh? Well, the guy knew his stuff and I doubt I’ll ever see someone who literally knows 20+ languages (latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, German, French, English, Spanish, etc). He did some other twisting to get ‘New Jerusalem’ but it was nuts watching it.
Conclusion
You decide because it’s past. We can debate all we want, but neither you, nor I, was there. We can dig up artifacts but that only gives us bits and pieces of information. Where ‘fact’ is proven. Each case has their points and their aspects of the truth. I remain to say, “American was founded on a blended group of people, Christian, Jewish, Masonic, etc, who knew that the human is flawed. Therefore, created a system where no one person had absolute power.” Again, you decide. (Don’t forget to vote on Tuesday either)
If you have time: I encourage you to watch these called ‘Riddles in Stone 1 of 21‘ on YouTube, it’s a video series in a “History Channel” like fashion (letting you decide at the end).
*These terms are used loosely because they open up a can of worms. God is sovereign but describing His plan, purpose in the present is very difficult, without causing more questions. (E.g. ‘if God wanted something, why doesn’t He will it?’ etc etc. :D) So, please, just take it for what it is, and go on your own spiritual journey.
I’ve been very amused to the root history of America. Most Christians try to say we were founded by Christ and other Christians, I tend to hold the belief of a mix of beliefs/religions. Mix of protestant Christians, Jewish, Deists, Freemasons, and Atheists. Now, I can be completely wrong on this thesis but it seems to be the most balanced understanding of our Nation’s history. Christians try to lean toward the ‘christian’ foundations, Masons toward ‘freemasonry’ foundation, etc, every group seems to be tremendously biased in their findings, hinting at a collaboration of faiths/beliefs.
So, in this pursuit of to learning more about America/Masons/etc, I watched this amazing 21 part series and between 4:20-5:10 of this video it talks about the ‘Rosicrucian Order’ that is hinted at in the Library of Congress. Click Here, if the video doesn’t load
Picture of two vultures in the Library of Congress
This (below) is the picture/painting is on the ceiling of one of the walls in the Library of Congress. Those letters surrounding are in latin reciting scripture from the Psalms. Namely Psalm 17:8 “Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Your wings“.
In the picture it has two vultures in the image, which is a total misunderstanding of the Scripture. At face value, we might say ‘Yea, it looks like an accurate depiction of Psalm 17:8‘ but if we lived during the time when this Psalm was written, we’d understand this scripture totally differently. Psalm 17 was written by King David. Specifically some believe it was when King Saul was chasing David, in hope of killing him (David). In Scripture, 1 Sam. 23:25-26, “David was hurrying to get away from Saul“.
So, David was running away, for his life, from King Saul and he cried out to God ”Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Your wings“. What does ‘apple of the eye’ and ’shadow of Your wings’ mean? Of course, it’s a plea of some kind. A prayer for rescue and protection.
The Apple of the Eye
The ‘apple of the eye’ is the pupil in the eye. It’s known as an idiom for the soft-spot of the eye or the soft-spot of one’s being. Then Googling it, shows that the phrase ‘apple of the eye’ wasn’t first used till 885 A.D. by King Aelfred (the Great) of Wessex. So, this got me thinking, “What does the original Hebrew actually say; since ‘apple of the eye’ is the predominate phrase used in most of the translations of this passage?”
Now, looking at the actual hebrew, it causes more questions to arise. The deepest part=”me as the apple; 0380-strong’s dictionary #” and ”of the eye; 01323-strong’s dictionary #”=young daughter/women. Putting these two phrases together we get, “The deepest part of a young daughter/women”. Or could be “The deepest part of a village”. If it’s the deepest part of a women, that could connote one of two things (at least to my imagination): one, her heart, or two, her genitalia. If it’s the deepest part of a village, that could connote the capital or place that the village is surrounded by.
All three ideas have one common point that it conveys, that is, being centered around/purpose. Just like the Earth is centered around the Sun. If your married, your life is centered around your wife’s desires/heart. Our mandate after creation was to be ‘fruitful and multiply’. And the third idea is how all places work, the capital is the center of life for the area.
Shadow of Your Wings
Obviously by the painting, one might it’s simple to understand the meaning to ’shadow of Your wings’. Which would be assuming way too much.
The idea of shadow of Your wings comes from the original plans of God’s dwelling place with Moses. In Exodus Chapter 25, it lays out God’s idea for the Arc of the Testimony/Covenant. It states in Ex. 25:20 “The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the mercy seat.” Cherubim are simply angels and their wings are pointing to each other.
It looks like this:
Arc of the Covenant
Now do you see why David said “Hide me in the shadow of Your wings”? The Arc of the Covenant is a symbol of God’s presence with the children of Israel. In Ex. 28:22 “There I [God] will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.” So, what David is saying “Hide me in the midst of Your presence”.
Psalm 17:8 would read “[God] keep me in the center of Your heart’s desire; Hide me in the midst of Your presence.” This might sound like I’m stretching it but symbolism can’t easily be broken down into a systematic answer, unless one knows each and every aspect that the symbol could express. And I’m nothing close to a theologian nor do I know the vast depths of each symbol.
In Conclusion, I hope this debunks the simple myths people make up surrounding this Scripture but I hope this also causes you to dig deeper into the symbolism found in Scripture.
Sometimes in my life, I feel God reaches down to embrace me. Not in some ’sexual’ or ‘perverted’ way. Instead the presence of Almighty God manifests for a moment in my life. Some people call it the ‘anointing of God’, others a ’spiritual high’, others ‘epiphany’ (hmm, epiphany means ‘manifest/show’), no matter what you call it, it’s a moment when something special happens.
I had one of these experiences over a week ago. Keep in mind, I haven’t been to ‘church’ in a while, haven’t read the bible in a while, nor prayed fervently. This isn’t something that I’ve ‘earned’ or deserved. It’s something that just happened. I would honestly say it surprised me because I wasn’t expecting it, again, it just happened.
So, just like every day, I stepped in my car to run some errands. I turned on my CD that I got from Promise Keepers and it turned on the fourth song “Our God Saves” by Paul Baloche. This ‘epiphany’ happened within the first minute of the five minute song. I encourage you to listen to it.
It wasn’t the words of the song that struck me. There is nothing in the song about ‘the faithfulness of God’. The first minute sings “In the name of the Father, In the name of the Son, etc”. It’s a prayer to lift of God. Within this prayer is where the ‘presence of God manifested’.
I was literally flooded with thoughts of the Faithfulness of God. He is faithful. God is faithful, He is always faithful and will complete what He said.
Knowing truth and experiencing truth aren’t very different as people say but when you experience a truth, the truth becomes deeper into your heart based on things that happen in your life. I’ve read scripture, the bible, from cover to cover and some of it is hard to believe or sometimes we forget what it says or even we might not even know what is in it. But regardless of ‘knowing’ or ‘experiencing’ truth, it’s truth, it’s firm, it’s a rock, the truth stays the same.
What I’m saying is let go of all the stress you have. Let it all GO because God is faithful. Whether you believe it or not, whether you can comprehend it or not (which, I think most of us would agree, it is hard to comprehend), God is faithful.
Scripture says in 2 Timothy 2:11-13 (NASB version)
11 It is a trustworthy statement:
For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; 12 If we endure, we will also reign with Him;
If we deny Him, He also will deny us; 13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
So, if we have no faith in this situation (the economy dropping down), God remains faithful. Like, He just doesn’t stop being faithful. God’s honesty is resilient, if you ‘fail’ God, He won’t fail you. This is unconditional truth.
I think this other statement applies and helps us better understand who God is.
Numbers 23:19 (NASB version)
19 “God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
In context, verse 21, it states “God is with ‘Israel’“, meaning strength and victory. Every time in the Bible when it says “God is with such and such“, it’s follows by victory and strength in that current situation.
God is with His people, He will NOT fail you, even if you fail Him. Let go of all your worries and trust in His faithfulness.
Now, before I wrap things up, I have one question for you.
What is God faithful about?
Seriously. If we’ve established ‘God is faithful‘. Faithful about what?
…
Simply put. God is faithful on what He says. Now, I could ask another question (which is what I normally do; example, I’d ask “How do we hear God?“) but instead of running down 10,000 rabbit holes, I’ll stay here. God is faithful on what He says. If God has said something to you, He meant it, He didn’t lie about it, and He will fulfill it.
I encourage you to use wisdom in ‘what did God say‘ and don’t become overtly excited about it and let Him do, what He promised to do. This is very difficult to walk out but I encourage you to try and trust. Use God as the model, His faithfulness is resilient, is yours? Do you keep your word? By imitating God, you learn more about Him, so try it. See what it feels like, see how it changes people’s view of you. Finally, watch the video behind that song, it’s a great song, I love it right now, it’s a very timely song for me.
Disclaimer: Please note, things surrounding this truth is gray. It’s difficult to clearly express this without having someone say ‘What about this?‘, ‘What about those dying in Africa?‘ etc. So, rest in the truth and wrestle with the questions surrounding it. Wrestling meaning: Ask yourself ‘If God is faithful, what about…‘ then ‘Well, did He say it?‘ then ‘Why or why not?‘.
Disclaimer: I just want to let everyone know, this is an essay I turned in for my Bible Hermeneutics class and yes, I’m in Bible College. BH stands for the methods to study the bible. I hope you read this and that it stretches your mind.
The main point of this essay is to describe presuppositions and assumptions that we bring to the task of hermeneutics.In a lot of ways, after Reformation, it brings this issue to the front of the debates.Since now, if you’re a Protestant, we view the Bible as our center and not counsels nor popes, we have a different problem now, and it’s one’s hermeneutical duties that are scrutinized.It’s the lens through which we read all of Scripture or any text for that matter.Personally, the best way to view presuppositions is to look at them as a blended-worldview.When I write ‘blended-worldview’ I’m talking about a lens, through which we understand everything, that we each possess, like the concept of a worldview but also takes into account the fact that no one has ‘just a Christian worldview’ or ‘just a humanistic worldview’ but instead each of us has a collection of different worldviews mixed together to make, what I called, ‘blended-worldview’.
Our hermeneutical task is to take off these ‘blended-worldviews’ and read the Scripture as best we can, without bringing our biases to the text. Although this is easier said than done, it’s still our responsibility to do this to the best of our knowledge and understanding at the time of our work and never forgetting to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.To encourage and aid in training ourselves to take off these ‘lens’ is a good guideline that Fee and Stuart suggest, “A text cannot mean what it never meant.” [1] This suggestion has every intension to give us boundaries in our task of hermeneutics. It isn’t a bad thing to restrict us in this way, just like it’s not wrong to box in a child when he is very young, but when he reaches maturity he/she is allowed to roam free, but not until that point.
Another concern or issue when it comes to the topic of assumptions that we bring to the text is the translation itself. Now with over 50 translations, in 35 languages available at the click of my mouse [2] and hundreds more, it’s absolutely necessary to pick a ‘good’ translation.I think both of our textbooks outline that there are 3 types of translations, or one of 3 categories that every translation would fall under.There is the ‘Word-for-word’, ‘blended’ and ‘thought for thought’ translation. Each category is based on a different view of the inspiration of the text, questions like ‘Is it the literal words that are inspired, or the thoughts behind the words?’ help one understand the translators philosophy behind their word choices throughout Scripture, which aids our hermeneutical task because we now have the ability to use different translations and make judgments accordingly.If you feel you need only one translation hear this warning from our text, “The trouble with using only one translation, be it ever so good, is that you are thereby committed to the exegetical choices of that translation as the Word of God.” [3] Also, if you like only ‘work-for-word’ translations, I hope this statement helps open your mind to other concepts about Scripture, ”A second problem with a literal translation is that it often makes the English ambiguous, where the Greek or Hebrew was quite clear to the original recipients.” [4] I also really enjoyed the interview with the NLT Translator because it gave me a different side to argument of scholarship.The man sounded passionate about his work about linguistics, words and all that stuff that would make me fall asleep, if I did it.He said something very convicting and struck me to the core “Our scholarship should serve the church.” [5] I never had a ‘high’ view of those in the scholarship fields, such as Greek and Hebrew experts, OT and NT experts, cultural anthropologist, etc, because I used to think “No one that smart, or educated, can know God.”How naive of me, but praise God that He renews our mind and molds it into the mind of Christ, day after day.
I have a very high view of Scriptural authority but speaking from the Scriptures we must have some guidelines to live within.We don’t want to preach a ‘different gospel’ [6] nor speak of a ‘different doctrine’ [7] neither lead people to a different Jesus [8].So their must be some guidelines.Although our Biblical Interpretation textbook [9] shares mainly the same guidelines, I really enjoyed how our other book conveyed the same concepts. First off, we should depend upon God for the interpretation and message He wants us to give to His people, through prayer and fasting.Second, we need to ‘exegete’ the scripture, finding out ‘what the text meant to its original recipients’ [10], this can be done with commentaries or bible dictionaries. Third, we should read the entire book in a few sittings, if not all at once, to get the ‘larger’ view of the text [11]. Those three guidelines should give anyone a great start in completing a hermeneutical task, in any book.
Aside from those, when looking at the Biblical text, we must understand it was written from a different mindset than our Greco-Roman understanding.We are very ‘step-by-step’ in our thinking, where the Hebrew’s thought in a ‘thought-by-thought’ concept.One way to understand this is that Hebrew’s rhymed thoughts not words, when it came to poetry.With all this said, I think a strong guideline would be to continually ask this one question, “What’s the point?” [12].
Now, when approaching certain types of genres of writing, there are more specific guidelines. Other than the general guidelines I outlined above, Fee and Stuart say, when approaching the Biblical Letters, “Despite some uncertainty as to some of the precise details, one need to learn to ask what can be said for certain about a text and what is merely possible but not certain.” [13] So, things aren’t as ‘black and white’ as one would think, and we should be open to that and receive this.Another type of genre is the Old Testament narrative. Also, more than ’40 percent of the OT is narrative’ [14] so it’s very important to understand this type of biblical genre. Fee and Stuart say there are 3 levels of narratives such as the ‘meta-narrative’, ‘the story of God’s redeeming a people for his name’, and ‘all individual narratives’ [15].I like to think of it as a ‘space-view’, ‘bird’s eye-view’ and ‘the view from land’. It’s not like one is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ just different perceptions that overlap and intertwine. Some things to be careful of when reading narratives are the tendencies to ‘allegorize the text’ or ‘find “hidden meanings” and thinking that the stories are trying to directly teach us ‘moral lessons’ [16].The stories may or may not be trying to teach us moral lessons but this guideline is trying to stay away from assuming things in the text, so the best way to break down those assumptions is ‘taking a step back’, which I think this guideline is trying to do. Finally, the last genre that this section of reading had was the Gospels.I think if I understood Hebrew logic to a greater depth, I’d be able to give a better bases and guideline for the over-lapping effect of the gospel but either way, I’ll still try to do my best.One guideline to always keep in mind when reading the four gospels is that “none of the gospels supersedes the other, but each stands beside the others as equally valuable and equally authoritative.” [17] I like to think of all four gospels together make a beautiful painting but each one individually make up only one color of the entire piece of art.The author’s put it this way, “Nonetheless, the fact that God has provided four gospels in the canon means that they cannot be read totally in isolation from one another.” [18] Also, a good example of this is in the description of the Olives Discourse [19]. Plus, I think it’s safe to say that Matthew and Mark have strong commonalities, maybe even ‘one read the other?’ or as the author puts it they have a ’60 percent agreement in the words used, often in the exact word order’ [20].
Sources:
1. Gordon D. Fee, Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. Grand Rapids, MI. Zondervan. 2003 [Referred as ‘Fee’] pg. 30
2. http://www.biblegateway.com/
3. Fee pg.33
4. Fee pg. 43
5. Audio Interview with NLT Translator
6. Gal. 1:6
7. 1 Tim. 6:3
8. 2 Cor. 11:4
9. Klein, Bloomberg, Hubbard Jr., Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. Nashville, TN. Thomas Nelson. 2000
10. Fee pg. 58
11. Fee pg. 60
12. Fee pg. 27
13. Fee pg. 69
14. Fee pg. 89
15. Fee pg. 91
16. Fee pg. 92
17. Fee pg. 129
18. Fee pg. 135
19. Fee pg. 138
20. Fee pg. 137
Disclaimer: I’m not a historian, treasurer, nor a fully informed person on all of the money/economic situation. I’m simply stating my opinion on this mess that’s going on. Enjoy and please provide feedback, I’d love to hear your two cents and it might change mine.
Clash of World Views
Okay. Right now, we are in the middle of a massive debate and worldview clash. I see this throughout the media but even that runs deeper. I couldn’t really put my finger on this issue that is seeping into America and grabbing us tight, by the throats (or pocketbooks). Many people try to judge one political party or the other. I hear from the right, “It’s the democrats and screwing things up in the Senate/House”. Or from the left, “Those right-winged socialists, trying to steal our well earned money”. America is totally divided against itself. Why? Seriously. Why?
Well, the democrats have an idea of ‘redistribution’, which some say leads to socialism. And Republicans want to stand for the liberty in the market. Both are great ideas, I have no idea why we can’t compromise and find middle ground.
Corruption is running rampant and no one is doing anything about it. A few large corporations are controlling a majority of the wealth, i.e. Walmart, Exxon Mobile, Jp Morgan/Chase, etc. These corporations are allowed to outsource, so that they create more money for themselves. Instead of using that money to give people raises, it aids their pocketbooks. This is a horrible crime and it’s being allowed, every day. Most of our clothes are made in sweat shops (citation needed).
I’m not sure how legit this quote was in the ‘Zeitgeist:Addendum’ movie but it said, “In 1960, the gap between the upper and middle class was 30:1. In 1998, the gap is now 74:1.” I’ve heard worse. But that’s a major problem. The gap between the upper and middle class is doubling and more so.
If you have two hours, I’d suggest you watch this entire movie. I don’t agree with everything it states, like against Christianity/Religion in general (it shows their tremendous ignorance in any religion) and it was against money which would be extremely difficult to implement because too many people want power, control, and sovereignty. At least watch the first half (the first hour).
Zeitgeist : Addendum
The Bailout Plan/Bill, Will it work?
If you don’t have time to watch that 2 hour video, watch this 7 minute video on why the bailout won’t help and why we (America) are headed for the worst situation we’ve seen in tens of years.
Checks and Balances, How To Solve Our Economic Crisis?
We have laws against people who murder, steal, rape. They get a trial and if proven guilty, they get thrown in jail and are punished. Why not have the same thing for unethical and greedy companies? Why can’t we pass a law for outsourcing jobs? For CEO’s/Managers that know of a crash yet get compensated, they should get punished.
What these very rich people are doing should be illegal and they should get thrown in jail for it. They are criminals in suits. Yet they are allowed to run rampant in desire for a ‘free market’ and for ‘capitalism’. I’m asking for redistribution because of the filthy corruption. I can outsource all my SEO efforts out to India and not get into trouble for it. Yet I can charge normal prices. Ethically, this is wrong because I’m not bringing a higher quality to life to everyone involved. Instead, I could be honest and say ‘you can pay only 300$ for someone in India’ or ‘you can pay 2,000 for me’. It’s totally dishonest.
I’m sure on a small/micro scale it’s not possible to regulate businesses. I’m proposing on a large, macro scale. Corporations like Walmart, Leeman Brothers, etc, all should be regulated. There should be a government, private, and public agency to investigate these big corporations. Checks and balances, and within those, not one person doing the checks/balances. Some type of standard to spot corruption and prosecute it, then sentence them to jail, put it on their record, etc.
I typically never hear ‘inside jokes’ before anyone else but this is a first for me and I have the feeling a lot of people are scratching their heads ‘huh‘, ‘what‘, ‘I was at all the SEO conferences and I still don’t understand‘, etc. This post is aimed to include all the outsiders on this joke. In the spirit of an SEO community.
After hanging out with Martin Bowling at SEOmozBlackhat Expert Seminar 2008, I learned an ‘inside joke’. A joke so funny that it’s not, but it is. Napoleon dynamite style (why is it funny? Idk, it just is). Now, every time I think about “Martin Bowling loving Zima“, I smile. If you asked me why, I honestly couldn’t tell you. It’s just funny. Trying to explain a joke, especially this one, is like trying to explain why you shouldn’t eat sand… :p
Either way, I’m writing this post because Zima is becoming big, bigger than an ‘inside joke’, it’s evolving into a brand (which I’ll get into later).
His Zima Loving Beginnings
Martin Bowling started drinking alcohol when he was 16 21. His preferred beverage has been beer. I’m not sure which brand he prefers more but beer none-the-less. In my opinion, I’d categorize Martin as heavy-weight, it takes a lot to intoxicate him. Disclaimer: Martin Bowling is not an alcoholic, not even close, just a social drinker like 98% of the SEO community. Martin thought his life was complete, until he was introduced to, his long lost love, Zima by Andy Beal.
He went to Andy Beal’s Reputation Management Seminar. There, during the after hours, they were enjoying a few drinks. Andy said, “It’s on me, I’ll cover the tab.” So, Martin enjoys himself, not overly doing it, just a couple of brewskis. After a few beers, Andy is like, “Man, this guy is drinking up the bar. They are out of cranberry juice because they were making me so many cosmos.” Govisithawaii then told Andy Beal that he (andy) should start saying Martin Bowling loves zima (even though andy had no idea what zima was) and it caught on like wild fire
Martin Bowling and Zima blossom together
So that’s how this Meme Marketing was birthed. Then only a few days later, Martin went to SEOmoz’ Expert Training 2008. He was treated to a case of Zima by the Moz crew. During the session’s Martin shared the Zima love. In one of the after hours event, Rand Fishkin and Danny Sullivan were fighting over the last bottle. Danny won.
Then before you could blink twice, a blog was started about Martin Bowling loving Zima. Just a few days later, Google rolls out with Google Suggest as the default to the homepage. Martin then realizes this would be a reputation management nightmare. Noting how when you type in [martin bowling] in Google, it suggests [martin bowling zima]. At this point, the love between Zima and Martin Bowling began to blossom in such a way, it was uncontrollable. This Meme Marketing has branded Martin and become apart of him.
Dr. Pete had an idea, to create a SEO friendly URL shortening service and call it ‘zi.ma’. Martin asked for some help to buy the domain because it was going to cost 200$. With the help of a few people and Andy Beal, Martin acquired the domain. Surprisingly, this happened within one day. Then a few days later Matthew Inman decided to help out by creating some logos/graphics.
In short, the future of Zima and Martin Bowling is the Scary SEO contest and Zi.ma, a SEO friendly url shortening service. I hope you all enjoyed the history behind the beginnings and the early developments. If you got some thing interesting that you created that has Zima as a theme, tweet it to Martin Bowling, I’m sure he’ll love it.
With all that said, I’m trying to learn more about health and how to live an optimal life. The types of foods are important and I’m totally in the dark about those foods and vitamins. The reason why health sticks out to me isn’t because I hate fast food, I want to lose weight, nor did I come down with a disease. I’m 21 for crying out loud.
There are two reasons why I think health is critical to my life (and yours too):
I believe (I have no facts on this) that most, if not all, health related illnesses were caused by poor health/diet/nutrition choices.
I believe (I have no facts on this) nutrition can affect how a family acts and lives together, that healthy lifestyles promote a more positive and loving atmosphere.
I’m not sure how often I’ll update this series of health tips but I’ll try to do post a list of tips monthly. Let me be clear, health tips are alternative/natural medicine. I don’t agree with prescription drugs since the side effects are too broad and seem to be too dangerous. I just hate the idea of surgery. With all that said, I’m not against any of it. I’m just indifferent about it all. I think there is a better way but I’m too ignorant to know. So, that’s why I’m on this journey. To learn the better, healthier, and more natural way of life. Some of my suggestions might be totally inaccurate but I’d encourage you to comment and cite my errors, with a reputable website.
With all that said, I’ve been reading DocRoberts Holistic Health Blog by Craig Roberts, Chiropractor, Grass Valley CA. He’s got great snippets of information. Simple and easy to digest posts, with citations!!! Here is a recap of what I learned and enjoyed reading, I hope these tips, scientific discoveries, and nuggets of wisdom help you in your health journey.
Summary: Breast-feed your children. TAKE FISH OIL! Increase your protein, if your depressed and meditate.
Disclaimer: This web site is not being used to make diagnoses, administer treatment, prescribe medications, or order tests. This web site is not a replacement for the relationship you have with your healthcare provider. Please speak to your healthcare provider before making any changes to your diet/lifestyle.
This was one of the quickest reads I’ve had in a while. I would consider myself a ‘below average reader’ (in regards to speed) and it literally took only 5 1/2 hours to complete this book from cover to cover. That’s two sittings. Here is my Summary of ”A Child Called It” by Dave Pelzer:
The story starts with closure
The book begins with gruesome details of Dave’s horrific events when he was 12. I think, the first chapter brought up a situation where he was placed on the oven, to be burned alive, by his mother. After the details of this painful situation, young Dave was admitted to the school nurse. When the nurse asked questions about his bruises and marks, young Dave was silent (later to find out, he was dishearten due to the years of beatings and demoralization). Before young Dave knew it, a few teachers, the nurse, and an officer accompany him in room at school. Young Dave thought he was in trouble and been a ‘bad boy’ but instead, the officer took him away and said “Your free now.”
I literally almost cried because I have a best friend who has gone through child abuse when he was younger. Not only that, I’ve been a youth leader at multiple churches and young kids opened up to me to reveal they’ve been beaten and abused or their friends have. This happens, this is real. So, I rejoiced with Dave to hear ‘Your free now‘, tears of joy.
Good mother transforms
After reading that ‘everything will be alright’ from the first chapter, that young Dave survives, the story twists the entire mood of the book and prepares you for the worst (the later chapters). It starts out talking about how the family started out loving and caring. There was an entire chapter of this love expressed. I was expecting Dave’s tooth to get knocked out or something but no, this was a good family. Then ‘the bitch‘ is unleashed. She starts to change into a monster, drink after drink, and focus her rage on 4 to 12 year old Dave. Keep in mind, Dave isn’t an only child, he’s one of 4 children, later in the book a 5th child is born, in the peak of the abuse but he is the only one receiving the child abuse. Yet Dave is ruthlessly beaten and tortured mentally and physically.
Forms of Child Abuse
Weaved throughout the entire book is young Dave’s deprivation of food. At one point Dave is starved for more than 10 days! He was placed on the oven to have his entire body burned only to come away with a semi-painful burn on his arm. Later as he got older his mother would play ‘games’ with him. Games like ‘you don’t eat until you finish your chores’ and when Dave did finish them, they weren’t completed fast enough, so he wouldn’t eat that night. Another time, after a brutal beating from his mother, Dave vomited and was forced to eat his own vomit.
After the birth of the youngest brother, Dave was demanded to eat his little brother’s feces, even after being starved for days on end, Dave resisted but his face was forced in the diaper. Young Dave persisted throughout the entire torment, that was his childhood, his will was strong as a rock. At points, in the story, David couldn’t finish his chores due to exhaustion. He stole food from other classmates in school, only to be reported to his mother, which produced more beatings.
Amidst all of the suffering Dave had two ‘breaths of air’. The first was when God answered one (and the only one; according to the book) of his prayers. Dave prayed that his mother would get sick, the next morning she was terribly ill, it lasted for a few days. The second, and final, breathe of air was when a social worker was inspecting the family for signs of child abuse. The social worker asked young Dave ‘if he’s been abused’ and he declined because he mother was standing over his shoulder but as soon as the social worker left, David was beating across the room for being a ‘bad boy’.
Dave also was commanded to drink ammonia. He had to clean the bathroom with a mix of bleach and ammonia, with the door closed, for hours on end. Only afterwards to cough up blood for more than an hour. On another occasion, Dave was forced to sit in ice cold water for 5+ hours, his brothers would laugh and pick on him for being a ‘bad boy’ yet Dave never did anything wrong to be punished this horribly. Finally, he was stabbed with a kitchen knife by his mother and then forced to do chores as he bled everywhere. He father enforced his mother’s command, which totally broke the trust Dave had in his father.
Father’s passivity and Dave’s Prayer
During the continuous abuse by Dave’s mother, Dave’s father did nothing to stop the abuse. He just stood there, afraid of his wife. He was a fireman in California and saved people from fires but when their was a ‘fire’ in his home, he didn’t know how to react. He couldn’t make a phone call. Although he promised young Dave that he was going to ‘rescue Dave from this torment’, instead Dave’s father decided to leave the house and not come back. His father had a drinking problem, like his mother, but it resolved in a paralyzing cowardice.
Dave’s prayer near the end of the book was the Lord’s prayer, ‘deliver us from evil’. Near the end of this 8 year abuse, Dave is totally broken and lost most, if not all, of his will power to live. His only hope was a prayer and a wish.
Conclusion and Critics
The story comes full circle when Dave Pelzer is now full grown and revisits the house that all the torment occurred. He brings his young child with him and naively says “I like it here Daddy.” His child affirms his love for his father and the story concludes.
There has only been two strong critiques about Dave Pelzer and his books. In the first, namely his brother, Stephen, is criticizing him and said, “David wasn’t at all ostracized from the family; he was very close to me and Richard. We were the Three Musketeers. David would make up lies, to receive some attention. But David had to be the center of attention. He was a hyper, over happy spoiled brat.” [2] This doesn’t surprise me because weaved throughout the book is Dave’s brother’s looked down on Dave as if he were ’scum of the earth’. There is also another critique but it seems more balanced than the WIkipedia article or New York Time’s article. [3]
In summary, this is a gut-wrenching story. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, there are going to be people jealous of your efforts and fame. The fact is Dave Pelzer was rescued by the school system and sent into foster care. The fact is that his teachers knew the details and stand by Dave’s story/books. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but it doesn’t mean they are correct. I stand by Dave because I’ve heard stories similar to Dave’s, he’s entitled to monetizing his horrific past, and he’s out making a difference in the lives of other youth. Below is how you can do your part.
Every 6 hours a child dies because of child abuse/neglect. That means, every time you have a meal, a child dies due to child abuse. 79% of the children killed are younger than 4. [1]
You don’t have to provide your name. If you think, feel, or see child abuse, REPORT IT. It’s better to be safe than sorry. A child’s life is at stake. You can save a life.
DISCLAIMER: If you detest spiritual talk, or any philosophical things. Please avoid this post.
I’m a very unique individual. I say this proudly, not loudly. (Volume doesn’t equal comprehension ;))
Anywho, I’d like to give my readers an insight to my mind, my philosophy. If this frightens you, please stop reading now and read another post. I don’t nor won’t post all the time on my philosophy but I don’t mind sharing it, nor am I ashamed.
Literally, when I started this post, I had no idea what ‘Kaizen’ is, nor did I have any plan on putting it in the title of my post. I just knew that I’m a person who seeks continuous self improvement.
Kaizen (pronounced ‘ky-zen’) is a Japanese philosophy that focuses on continuous improvement throughout all aspects of life. [1] This sums up fully, what I’m trying to convey. Life isn’t just physical, nor just mental, it’s spiritual, social, economical, and many other dynamics. I’m not saying ‘be rich‘ or ‘be perfect‘ or ‘be such and such‘. I’m saying be the best you can be, at whatever you do/are.
This is my way of life. This is how I live life everyday.
When I work, I do the best as I can. If I mess up, I improve upon it.
When I come to a certain belief, spiritually, then find better ideas later. I modify the old and polish the new.
When I see myself gaining weight, I lose it. If it creeps back…I let it but over time, I lose the weight again.
When I realize I pissed someone off because of a comment, I modify my way of reacting to people.
When I see an error in others, I try to fix it in myself.
I’m like warm clay in the Potter’s hands. Although I’ve said a bunch of ‘I’ statements, it’s not really me doing all the work. It’s really Jesus empowering me to do such tasks. (For more on my faith)
Scripture teaches me (Col. 2:10) that I’m complete in Christ but it also teaches me that I’m to be continually pursuing perfection (Matt. 5:48). To many non-believers of Christianity, it would be a good point for you to interject and say ‘CONTRADICTION!!!’. :p But seriously, it’s an oxymoron, a dichotomy that we must balance.
For me, I look at ‘you are complete‘ and pull acceptance, fullness, and the need to pursue perfection extinguished. So, I’m complete, as the verse states, I’m perfect as I am. I can just sit here and do nothing, and God is cool with that because I’m fully accepted by Him. Also, there is the other verse where it encourages me to do something unobtainable, ‘be perfect as your Father is perfect‘. To ‘be‘ something, is to exist as, something. For example: A rock is being a rock. A rock can’t be a flower because a rock’s nature is a rock, not a flower. Instead, the verse is encouraging me to strive and pursuing the qualities of my Father (perfection, goodness, kindness, gentleness, self-controlling, slow to anger, etc)
I bring Scripture up because I’m a Christian and many things that the 66 books teaches (in it’s context) is what guides my entire life. So, this principle of ‘your perfect but be like your Father’ is a daily mandate for me. It’s something I try to obtain. I try not to condemn myself because ‘I’m complete in Christ‘. I’m fairly conscientious, so being too negative on myself is an issue and it’s something I’m trying to improve =).
In Conclusion: I hope after reading this you smile =) and consider how I view my life. That you’d actually think about ‘are there areas in my life, that I think I can do better’. Smile and enjoy your Kaizen life.
but over time, I lose the weight again.