Driving up to my house, I noticed it looked
Vulnerable.
Exposed for everyone to see
How we live behind closed doors.
I’ve got nothing to hide.
No, that’s not why I’m mad.
I just have a sense of paranoia and I like to have my shelter.
But HE
Has no concept of that.
All liquored up and smoking like a chimney,
He stumbles through the door, mumbling to himself about the bitter winter air.
Heaving and snorting, I hear his lungs breaking inside his swollen chest.
Am I supposed to love this — this monster, this creature, this pathetic excuse for a human being?
But how can I?
I fear that finding a smidgen of love in my heart for this poor man is pretty much impossible.
And what baffles me even more
Is that God loves him.
How can God love such a lost and troubled human?
Why can’t I?
I know I’m not perfect.
Not even close.
In fact, I’m probably a far cry away from mediocre.
But at least I try to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.
He doesn’t even…
It’s no use comparing.
I will always lose.
God loves him regardless.
Why can’t I?
Friday, December 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
BLOG 4: Evangelization via Jesus Products
Today, classmates Bre Tosti and Emilee Sutherland gave a presentation on “Merchandising Jesus Products,” a topic introduced by Diane M. Badzinski in Understanding Evangelical Media. In their presentation, they asked the question of whether or not Jesus products were effective in evangelizing and what we think of such Jesus products.
Honestly, I am not sure where exactly I stand on the issue of supporting this so-called “Jesus Junk.” I think that wearing t-shirts expressing your faith can sometimes be a good thing by opening up conversation with non-believers and seizing the opportunity to share the gospel with them. On the other hand, I feel that Jesus action figures (which I have seen being sold in stores such as Wal-Mart) and Jesus soap that “washes away your sins” are just blasphemous.
What I found really interesting from the text was how Badzinski explains that Evangelicals are simply just “imitating market trends as a means of making the gospel culturally relevant for those outside the tribe” (183). That is such a true statement, and furthermore, why aren’t Christians the leaders for market trends? If our goal is to share the gospel with as many people as possible, why are we settling for boring, “been there, done that” copycats of popular merchandise, that in reality, probably isn’t even reaching the secular world in an effective manner. I hate to admit it, but my reaction to some of the “Jesus Junk” out there is probably very similar to that of a nonbeliever — looking at it as some kind of sick joke.
Emilee and Bre opened their presentation with a very interesting Youtube video, showing two men: one, displaying his religion literally on his sleeve; the other, just plainly expressing his faith without all of the showy “holy paraphernalia”. I really liked how that video pointed out the extremes that some people go to just to express what they believe, when sometimes; subtlety can make a bigger statement.
Hearing about all this Jesus merchandise, I had to check it out myself. After seeing many t-shirts and other various products on www.misspoppy.com and www.zazzle.com, I was disturbed to realize that I found most of them incredibly corny (my personal favorite were the “Nunchucks” on Miss Poppy) and also somewhat blasphemous. It makes me sad to know that there are people out there who try to merchandise Jesus and sell him like they’re selling cooking utensils on QVC. What’s worse is that there are actually people out there buying the stuff.
I don’t think we need to manufacture a “Christian” everything. I think what makes Christianity so different and special from other religions is the fact that we don’t need all of those tangible things, such as holy water and rosaries, to prove we are religious. For me, Christianity is about a relationship, and like any relationship in my life, it is personal. Of course I share my faith with people, but sometimes I feel that the advertisement of what I believe can often take away from the intimacy of the relationship.
Honestly, I am not sure where exactly I stand on the issue of supporting this so-called “Jesus Junk.” I think that wearing t-shirts expressing your faith can sometimes be a good thing by opening up conversation with non-believers and seizing the opportunity to share the gospel with them. On the other hand, I feel that Jesus action figures (which I have seen being sold in stores such as Wal-Mart) and Jesus soap that “washes away your sins” are just blasphemous.
What I found really interesting from the text was how Badzinski explains that Evangelicals are simply just “imitating market trends as a means of making the gospel culturally relevant for those outside the tribe” (183). That is such a true statement, and furthermore, why aren’t Christians the leaders for market trends? If our goal is to share the gospel with as many people as possible, why are we settling for boring, “been there, done that” copycats of popular merchandise, that in reality, probably isn’t even reaching the secular world in an effective manner. I hate to admit it, but my reaction to some of the “Jesus Junk” out there is probably very similar to that of a nonbeliever — looking at it as some kind of sick joke.
Emilee and Bre opened their presentation with a very interesting Youtube video, showing two men: one, displaying his religion literally on his sleeve; the other, just plainly expressing his faith without all of the showy “holy paraphernalia”. I really liked how that video pointed out the extremes that some people go to just to express what they believe, when sometimes; subtlety can make a bigger statement.
Hearing about all this Jesus merchandise, I had to check it out myself. After seeing many t-shirts and other various products on www.misspoppy.com and www.zazzle.com, I was disturbed to realize that I found most of them incredibly corny (my personal favorite were the “Nunchucks” on Miss Poppy) and also somewhat blasphemous. It makes me sad to know that there are people out there who try to merchandise Jesus and sell him like they’re selling cooking utensils on QVC. What’s worse is that there are actually people out there buying the stuff.
I don’t think we need to manufacture a “Christian” everything. I think what makes Christianity so different and special from other religions is the fact that we don’t need all of those tangible things, such as holy water and rosaries, to prove we are religious. For me, Christianity is about a relationship, and like any relationship in my life, it is personal. Of course I share my faith with people, but sometimes I feel that the advertisement of what I believe can often take away from the intimacy of the relationship.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Savers: A Topic Worthy of Discussion
The old adage “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure” is never so true as when one walks into Savers, a second-hand store off Imperial Highway. The surplus of donated items that overwhelm racks and shelves are mini goldmines that, with an abundance of patience and time, can yield amazing treasures. Savers houses thousands of products, everything from cooking supplies and appliances, to clothing, to furniture and decorations. In short, it is a shopping mecca for those who, as the store is properly named, want to be “savers.”
In a way, Savers is like a museum, many items are frosted with grey dust and show the wear and tear of a previous life; the Tupperware, which looks so clean and new on the outside, only to be opened and release a stench of garlic and rot, the clothes that have a less than mediocre color palet after years of abuse in laundry machines, the furniture that shows cracks and scratches in leather, or small holes and stains in fabric. Aside from the items that seem a little rough around the edges, a true shopper at Savers learns to look past those things and sees them merely as hints of detail that add character to each unique artifact. Not only is Savers a popular place for large families looking to get great deals on back-to-school clothes for the kids, it also serves as a graveyard for every indie hipster to find neat retro clothes and accessories.
More than just a retail thrift store, Savers foundation is based on a good cause. According to the Savers website, their “recycling program prevented 262 million pounds of unsold merchandise from ending up in landfills last year by reselling domestically and internationally where the goods could benefit people in need.” Not only do consumers benefit from finding cool stuff, but our environment is saved from the clutter of material things. Mike Smith, a current employee at the Savers off Imperial, added that, “whatever doesn’t get sold in the store, after being marked down numerous times, gets donated to 3rd world countries.” According Kelly Kearsley, a reporter for the News Tribune Online, wrote an article two years ago entitled “Where the Used Shoe Fits” in which she talks about various thrift stores in the country and their ways of recycling. Savers is mentioned as shipping “bales of compressed clothes to…50 countries, including India, Pakistan and United Arab Emirates.” Places like Savers are definitely doing their part in the fight for a more environmentally friendly planet. What are you doing to help?
In a way, Savers is like a museum, many items are frosted with grey dust and show the wear and tear of a previous life; the Tupperware, which looks so clean and new on the outside, only to be opened and release a stench of garlic and rot, the clothes that have a less than mediocre color palet after years of abuse in laundry machines, the furniture that shows cracks and scratches in leather, or small holes and stains in fabric. Aside from the items that seem a little rough around the edges, a true shopper at Savers learns to look past those things and sees them merely as hints of detail that add character to each unique artifact. Not only is Savers a popular place for large families looking to get great deals on back-to-school clothes for the kids, it also serves as a graveyard for every indie hipster to find neat retro clothes and accessories.
More than just a retail thrift store, Savers foundation is based on a good cause. According to the Savers website, their “recycling program prevented 262 million pounds of unsold merchandise from ending up in landfills last year by reselling domestically and internationally where the goods could benefit people in need.” Not only do consumers benefit from finding cool stuff, but our environment is saved from the clutter of material things. Mike Smith, a current employee at the Savers off Imperial, added that, “whatever doesn’t get sold in the store, after being marked down numerous times, gets donated to 3rd world countries.” According Kelly Kearsley, a reporter for the News Tribune Online, wrote an article two years ago entitled “Where the Used Shoe Fits” in which she talks about various thrift stores in the country and their ways of recycling. Savers is mentioned as shipping “bales of compressed clothes to…50 countries, including India, Pakistan and United Arab Emirates.” Places like Savers are definitely doing their part in the fight for a more environmentally friendly planet. What are you doing to help?
Sunday, September 7, 2008
The H.I.V. Scare
Salutations! Seeing as I have never officially blogged before, nor gotten much exposure to the New York Times, I stumbled upon an article that I felt compelled to write about after discovering the staggering statistics.
While flipping through the ink filled pages of the New York Times, I came across article after article of probably some very interesting stories, yet after the first few paragraphs none were able to sustain my interest. Finally, when I had finished looking through the whole newspaper, defeat settled over me, realizing I had yet to find a topic that I could possibly comment on for this particular blog. I decided to take another look; maybe I missed some hidden gem. There it was, page A22 of the Editorials/Letters section at the bottom of the page, a topic that never ceases to interest me—“The Real Numbers on H.I.V.”
This topic may be a little taboo for a Convergent Journalism class, but it is something real and should be spoken about because maybe the awareness could possibly shed some light on a very disturbing issue. Although the article was relatively small, a measly peanut butter and jelly sandwich in comparison to say, a six- dollar burger at Carl’s Jr., it packed quite a bit of information that I found particularly alarming.
Using new technology to formulate more precise estimates, the article reported: “56,000 people around the country became newly infected [with H.I.V.] in 2006, well above the 40,000 cited in recent years.” The article continued to describe how the numbers are higher in African American and Hispanic populations as well as gay and bisexual men. Another aspect of the article that I found interesting was that “the C.D.C. [Center for Disease Control] spends some $750 million a year to prevent new infections.” What I want to know is where is all that money going? Is it really being used effectively? Is it reaching the populations that need it the most? Are people even educated about the severity of this epidemic or are they and they just simply don’t care?
Looking into this topic further, I visited www.cdc.gov/hiv for more information. In their daily news section they featured an article from http://www.news-observer.com talking about North Carolina’s sex education program and how they only teach abstinence. Well news flash! It’s not only North Carolina that teaches the abstinence only method, my public high school in California also follows that standard. Although I personally believe in remaining sexually pure until marriage, I think that young people who are sexually active should learn about alternate methods of staying protected other than just remaining abstinent.
A survey conducted showed that “60-70 percent of North Carolina high school seniors have had intercourse” and the article reported that in “the past five years, rates of STDs, including HIV/AIDS, have increased among state youths ages 15 to 19.” I don’t know when the No Child Left Behind Act is going to get the memo, but obviously the abstinence only method is not really working.
While flipping through the ink filled pages of the New York Times, I came across article after article of probably some very interesting stories, yet after the first few paragraphs none were able to sustain my interest. Finally, when I had finished looking through the whole newspaper, defeat settled over me, realizing I had yet to find a topic that I could possibly comment on for this particular blog. I decided to take another look; maybe I missed some hidden gem. There it was, page A22 of the Editorials/Letters section at the bottom of the page, a topic that never ceases to interest me—“The Real Numbers on H.I.V.”
This topic may be a little taboo for a Convergent Journalism class, but it is something real and should be spoken about because maybe the awareness could possibly shed some light on a very disturbing issue. Although the article was relatively small, a measly peanut butter and jelly sandwich in comparison to say, a six- dollar burger at Carl’s Jr., it packed quite a bit of information that I found particularly alarming.
Using new technology to formulate more precise estimates, the article reported: “56,000 people around the country became newly infected [with H.I.V.] in 2006, well above the 40,000 cited in recent years.” The article continued to describe how the numbers are higher in African American and Hispanic populations as well as gay and bisexual men. Another aspect of the article that I found interesting was that “the C.D.C. [Center for Disease Control] spends some $750 million a year to prevent new infections.” What I want to know is where is all that money going? Is it really being used effectively? Is it reaching the populations that need it the most? Are people even educated about the severity of this epidemic or are they and they just simply don’t care?
Looking into this topic further, I visited www.cdc.gov/hiv for more information. In their daily news section they featured an article from http://www.news-observer.com talking about North Carolina’s sex education program and how they only teach abstinence. Well news flash! It’s not only North Carolina that teaches the abstinence only method, my public high school in California also follows that standard. Although I personally believe in remaining sexually pure until marriage, I think that young people who are sexually active should learn about alternate methods of staying protected other than just remaining abstinent.
A survey conducted showed that “60-70 percent of North Carolina high school seniors have had intercourse” and the article reported that in “the past five years, rates of STDs, including HIV/AIDS, have increased among state youths ages 15 to 19.” I don’t know when the No Child Left Behind Act is going to get the memo, but obviously the abstinence only method is not really working.
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