The Dilemma of an E-society

Where would we be, or what would we do without the internet? Many people have their opinions, some PG and some not so PC. But it is a question that came to my mind in light of the Writer’s Guild of America’s (WGA) on going strike.

In brief summery the members of the WGA, yeah those guys that write the shows we know and love on TV, have gone on strike because they are not receiving any royalties from the DVD sales of the shows we’re addicted to, or any compensation for internet downloads of their hard work. Resulting in late night shows (Jay Leno, David Lettermen, etc), and many of the primetime line up will be going to reruns soon, if negotiations go poorly. Now whether or not you agree with the strike, the potential for a rerun of 1988’s five month strike raises many questions about what the internet has done to our working society.

Most of us read the news on the web, instead of buying a news paper. We send email instead of paper mail. We can download music, movies, TV shows, and even books online. Even though the internet allows tons of information to be at our finger tips it’s also cutting away some of jobs and revenue with in some industries. Almost adding to the lazy, selfish, give it to me now mentality that has swept our nation in the last twenty years.

Granted I have no idea what our world or society would be without the internet, but it’s something to consider do the benefits out weight the cultural changes that have occurred. Identity Theft, solitude, the number of teens/children that have gone to meet an internet friend and never come home, and many more threats come with this web-concoction.

At this point, I’m at an impass, and a quote from Spiderman comes to mind, “With great power comes great responsibility.” I love the internet, just like anyone else, but even though information is at our fingertips, we need to be careful in how we use it. The more we exploit the more trouble we can cause through our E-society.

Writing with Heart

I don't know about you, but from time to time my writing hits a wall. Not writer's block in a sense, but more of a misdirection. I get so focused on getting my word count up, and adding that little twist in each scene that I loose track of the heart I started with.

Follow this link to a blog I like to read through to read an encouraging word from Janet Rubin: http://noveljourney.blogspot.com/2007/11/sun.html

We'll talk more about the heart behind your writing later this week.

A Sad Day to Claim Christian

Recently on CNN.com I found an article about a Church that was ordered to pay $10.9 million for a funeral protest that took place in Maryland. As I read on I was saddened and practically ashamed to call myself Christian.

This church group apparently has picketed at the funerals, in several states, of many fallen military killed in Irag and Afghanistan, claiming “God is punishing the United States because of its tolerance for homosexuality”. I don’t know what homosexuality and the War on Terror have to do with one another, but that’s a topic for another day.

Now I try to talk/listen to God everyday through prayers and reading the Bible, and I don’t think I could ever make a statement like that. To say what God is doing based on our actions. I’m not trying to defend or offend on the second half of that statement, but more on the part that a Christian associated group is dragging the title of Christian through the mud.

To make statements like “God hates [homosexuals]”, is ridiculous. It is my belief that God hate no one person on this planet. He may hate certain choices we make and is saddened when we turn away from a relationship with Him, but to blatantly say God hates any one group of people is against what the Bible shows as the nature of God. The whole purpose of our being is to have a relationship with God, and in that, as in any relationship, there are many emotions, but at the core of any long term relationship is LOVE, not hate.

What saddens me the most is what non-believers are taking away from the media attention the church group is getting. They are not seeing the gospel. They are not seeing what believing in Jesus Christ is about. They are not seeing the purpose of a church body. All non-believers are seeing are extremist being insensitive to the grief of people who have lost loved ones, under the banner of church and Christianity.

It seems our own humanity is the greatest hindrance to the work God has given to each believer. “Go make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19) Over the course of history humanity has done many awful things, at times under the ‘banner’ of Christianity, as almost a justification to their actions. And I think the fact that we are just a fallible as non-believers is often the greatest hindrance to Christianity. Not that we can be perfect examples 24/7, but it is important to present ourselves and any concerns we see fit to protest about, in a manner that presents the truth of Christ. With humility. With a prayerful spirit. With an eternal perspective.

I am currently reading through Dave Miller’s Blue Like Jazz (Non-religious thoughts on Christian Spirituality), and one of the chapters speaks of Miller and his friends setting up a confessional booth at their liberal college. But instead of listening to the confessions of non-Christian students, Miller and his Christian friends confessed the hindrances, we as a general community of Christian’s, that have been placed as a road block to non-believers’ understanding of Christianity. This was a profound and relevant act, and it feels like something I want to put out there as well in light of the referenced article.

If you have been hurt by a person or persons that claimed Christianity, I’m sorry. I’m sorry that we fail to represent the truth peace and love of my savior, Jesus Christ. My failure is not due to disbelief or what I believe in, but to the mere fact that I am human. I am imperfect, but because of the LOVE of God and the perfection of Christ, this burden has been lifted. Forgiveness from the creator is there for anyone willing to shed their sinful nature and live a life where perfection is not expected only repentance, trust, and a willingness to live for more than yourself.