The Bumper Sticker that Doesn't Make Sense

This semester I decided to enroll in a philosophy class titled "Introduction to World Religion." Now, I can't quite say why I chose this class over others to fill my humanities requirement, but God did allow it to work in my class schedule and got me a slot despite how quickly the class was filling up. It would be an understatement to say that so far this class has made me do some deep thinking.

My professor is a quirky, good natured bald guy with a great sense of humor. I'll be honest, I really like this guy. He's really down to earth and does his best to present religion from an academic standpoint. However, there's really no way to teach religion without teaching your religion. So, every Friday night for the last couple of months, I've been attending a three-hour sermon preaching a very complex and confusing gospel. My professor was raised in an ultra-conservative Christian family and once even considered becoming a pastor. When he went off to college, he confessed, he discovered that he "liked other religions too" and his views shifted to a more liberal, "open-minded" opinion of God. Basically, he believes in God...but that there are many paths to him, not just Jesus Christ. He'd be the type to have a "Coexist" bumper sticker. He takes the bits and pieces of religions that agree with his own philosophy and creates for himself a sort of patchwork quilt of beliefs. He claims to pray to the Hebrew God, but also practices Buddhist meditation and has Hindu idols in his home.

I've found that these sorts of philisophical mushpot religions are actually becoming really popular in today's culture, especially within my generation. The idea of Buddhist zen is appealing to overwhelmed folks trapped in a world busy with work, school, hobbies, and the constant buzz of digital media. The Hindu Karma Sutra appeals to the sick human obsession with things that are (or rather, should be) X-rated. The Rastafarianism sacrament of ganja is appealing today because...well...people like to smoke weed. And of course, people like it when Jesus talks about love and acceptence. Why not take the best of all religions and make one super-religion? Rather than picking one belief system, they pick out the beliefs they like and omit the pieces they don't like (unpopular beliefs usually include those concerning sin, Hell, chasitity, and not eating bacon.) In an effort to choose all religions, they choose none.

Truth is, religions can't "coexist" because their core teachings contridict each other. Jesus taught "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father EXCEPT through me" while Islam teaches "There is no god but Allah and Mohammad is his prophet." To make things more complicated, atheism comes along and says that there are no gods at all. How can all of those teachings be true in the same plane of reality? As an incredibly brilliant old friend of mine once said regarding this kind of belief, "Two plus two can't equal four and five."

Yes, there are true elements in many religions. Those true elements don't automatically make the rest of the religion true, however. Buddhists teach kindness to others, but that doesn't mean we should start meditating and spending hours in front of a golden statue. I know that it sounds like I'm stating the obvious, but some people (even Christians!) actually fall into that line of thinking. Satan is sneaky. He's not going to feed people lies straight up; he's going to water them down, sweeten them up, and make them look appealing.

I'll be honest, there are a lot of topics that I've been struggling with lately (the class is partially to blame.) Despite my professor's beliefs, however, his class has absolutely confirmed one thing: the whole "coexist" thing is the stupidest concept ever. Besides, when that word is spelled out in religious symbols, the cross comes last. See?

Jesus doesn't belong at the end of that list. In many religions men sacrafice themselves for their gods. In Christianity, God sacraficed himself for men. In other religions, man earns Heaven. In Christianity, man can never earn Heaven, but gets to go anyway. Other religions give a long list of complicated to-do's, but Christianity takes anyone exactly the way they are regardless of what they've done in the past. The culture teaches that Christianity is an intolerent religion because we say that Jesus is only way. In reality, Christianity is the single most tolerent religion because Jesus takes in anybody and everybody. What could possibly be more tolerent than that?

Save the Humans

Of all humanity's problems, by far my least favorite is cruelty. Duh. It's the most blatant, hurtful, and universally evil. Let's face it, those who take pleasure in abusing their fellow humans are the scum of the Earth. The saddest thing is, so many people mistreat their peers everyday and get away with it. What's just as sad though, is that the number of people willing to stand up to bullies is virtually zero to none.
Bullies are portrayed in movies all the time. Nearly every movie villain is portrayed as some powerful person who, in their selfishness, take pleasure in the downfall of another person. However, I feel that movies tend to not give bullying justice. Real-life bullies aren't always puffed jocks like Biff from "Back to the Future" or glammed up snobs like the cast of "Mean Girls." Anyone can be a bully: fat girls, teachers, handsome boyfriends, your best friend...or you. Usually it's subtle; verbal abuse can be disguised as humor or teasing or just "stating a fact" and physical abuse can be disguised as accidental or blamed on the claim that the victim was "clumsy," "weak," or "dramatic." It doesn't matter what the excuse is. Anytime someone is hurt by your actions or by your words, you are the one to blame. I think the biggest step we can take to fight against bullying is to recognize the bullies within ourselves. Everyone has been a jerk to someone else at least once in his or her life...even if they don't feel like they have.

The reason I'm writing this today is because I have been seeing it everywhere lately. At Brittany's highschool (the school I just recently graduated from,) girls are ripping each other apart like ravenous jungle beasts. My old church is in ruins currently not because of controversial preaching, but because of gossip and judging in the church body. Even the dojo, my home-away-from-home, continues to be filled with snide remarks and negative criticism to the point where students (many of whom are close friends to my sister and I) are dropping like flies. Girls are changing schools, families are leaving the church, and kids are begging their parents to sign them up for dance class instead of karate. Why? It had nothing to do with my principal's standards or the church's doctrine and certainly no one could ever hate karate. It's simple; people are savages at heart and they're allowed to run rampant.

Whether intentional or not, it's never okay to demean people. Even if you're in a posititon of authority over someone, you should still try to limit your negative remarks. Know that everyone, no matter how confident they appear, struggles with self-worth issues to some degree. I don't believe in the whole "sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me" schpeal. Words can hurt waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay worse than getting pelted with a rock. Be aware of the things you say to people. If your negative comments (jokes and "just kidding" count) outweigh your positive, you are definitely doing something wrong.

As a former bullying victim, I have compassion for those who have to deal with bullies. I think it's sick when kids get up the courage to try a new school or hobby and are met with mockery and exclusion. If you have someone in your life who is making you miserable, I have the utmost empathy for you. Some of the most wonderful people were hated and treated like crap. In John 15:8, Jesus says "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." Bullies may tell you that you're a nobody or a loser but know that the reason they're saying that is because you threaten them. You have something (looks, brains, confidence, a kind personality, a healthy home life, etc.) that they are jealous of. In a way, you should treat bullying like a compliment. If someone is singling you out as a bully victim, you probably give off some kind of vibe that the bully is afraid of and wants to squash. They want to drag you down because they think you are better than them.

Is it really that hard to encourage others instead of demean them? It seems like kindness should be the most basic core values, but it's something that's so rare. Remember the Golden Rule? Well, that's something Jesus coined first and nearly every single other religion adapted. Let's face it, it's the most basic life principle of all time and hardly anyone makes an effort to live by it. Let's be the few who actually do live by it. Let's start changing people's lives by simply changing the way we talk to people.

DO TO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD LIKE THEM TO DO TO YOU. Luke 6:31 (NLT)

The Many Woes of Texting

omg this kinda talking is soooooooo anoying right? can u feel ur brain cells dying??? lol :) rotflol ;) omg  :P <3

Unlike most members of my generation, I can survive more than a few minutes without my cell phone. There are even a select number of humans whom I enjoy regularly texting. Don't get me wrong, texting in essence is incredibly practical; instantly alert someone without having to place a call, organize group events in just a few clicks, etc. However, it's without saying that texting (especially in teens and young adults) has gotten way out of hand and created an array of problems and severe annoyances.

• Eye-Contact is 4 Noobz I imagine that in the years before texting, if you sat down in class next to someone you've never met, and you're both just sitting in silence, one of you would eventually start up a conversation and BOOM you've made a new friend. Texting allows awkward situations to become less awkward, so no need to branch out and meet people. Now, everyone's anti-social and phone-obsessed. LAME.
• Speling is 4 Noobz Lol I've noticed that the more frequent the texter, the more atrocious the spelling and vocabulary. Not only is texting casual and quick, but some phones even come with spell-check. There's a reason most people don't know when to use "your" and when to use "you're." They're used to typing "ur." I think the worst case of text misspelling was one friend of mine who consistently spelled the word "busy" as "bissy."
• Ima Gonna Stalk U It used to be that if you gave some your number, they would have to work up the courage to call you. Now, all they have to do is punch in some letters and they can talk to you about anything, anytime. There's no face-to-face contact, no vocal contact, not even contact with the other person's handwriting. There's nothing to fear. It's also hard to get new acquaintances to stop texting you, I've noticed. For example; last week, I met a new friend at church. We had the same friends, he seemed nice, so we became friends. Shortly afterwards, he asked for my number. Thinking there would be no harm in that, I gave it to him. Shortly afterwards, he started texting me hourly - more frequently than even my best friends. It got to the point where I basically had to flat-out tell him to stop, since he wouldn't take hints. Curse you, vile texting...cuuuuuuuurrrrse you.
• TROLLOLOLOL Just as texting makes it easy to be extra friendly, texting allows also makes it easier to be a jerk. While I've been fortunate enough to never experience this, texting and online instant messaging are the perfect tools for bullies. Anyone can have the courage to insult someone when they can do it completely anonymously and without having to look them in the eye. Think about how easy it would be to get someone's cell number, change your own number, and bombard that person with discouraging texts. You could pretend to be anyone and say anything.
• Omg Im @ Work LOL One of my biggest text-related pet peeves is when co-workers text on the job. It's so easy to slip into the back by the freezer and text away while others pick up the slack. A few of my co-workers abuse this to the umpteenth degree.
• LOL Mannerz R LAME Ever been in a regular conversation with someone, then all of a sudden they start texting someone else instead of talking to you? I can't think of anything ruder to do during a conversation...except maybe randomly stabbing the person you're talking to.
• Texting Out LOUD Probably the easiest way to lose my respect for someone is when they use texting lingo out loud in everyday conversation. Is it really that hard to say "Just Kidding" instead of "JK??"

As annoying as texting can be, however, it still triumphs over bluetooth. Nothing will EVER be as annoying people walking around town on bluetooth. I'd blog about that, but my fingers would probably bleed from the excessive typing.