In Proximity

I’ve never been tracted before. Monday was my first time. What is being tracted you may ask? Tracted is having someone give you a tract so that they can lead you to salvation. Let me paint the story for you.

I was working (at Bubba Gump Srhimp Company) and got this table of two women, a mother and a daughter. I greeted them and they looked like they didn’t want to talk to me at all. I tried to be friendly, but the more friendly I was, the more turned off they were. They decided to get waters and share one entree. I knew this was going to be a bad table because anybody that does that has cheap written all over them.

I stopped by later to play a little Forrest Gump trivia with them (which is a job requirement) and I almost got them to smile once, almost. Their food came out and I kept checking up on them and made sure everything was alright, but the mother and daughter were not talking to each other at all. The table was filled with all kinds of pregnant pauses.

I dropped the bill off for them and told them that I really appreciated their business. When I came back to pick up the check, I asked them if they needed change and they said no. Then the mother hands me this tiny booklet and says that I should read it sometime when I have a chance. I told her I would and thanked her. Then I checked my tip and noticed that they tipped five percent, only five.

So here’s my thinking. Let’s say I wasn’t a Christian. What would make me want to convert to your religion after handing me this tract? Not only were they rude to me, but it looked like they didn’t want to talk to me at all. It also looked like they had about zero percent happiness in their own lives. So why choose Christianity if it makes me a grumpy person like those two? Also, they tipped me almost nothing. What does that say to a non Christian? That all Christians are cheap? Based on their actions, I would be running away from Christianity rather than embracing it. I have to be honest, I almost felt that way today even being a Christian.

Not only that, but this tract was horrible. The cover of it had 16 smiley faces on it, with one giant one looking right at you. I think it’s ironic that smiley faces were all over it because when you open the tract, the first bullet point is, “You are a sinner and don’t deserve to go to heaven,” followed by, “The only way you can pay for your sins is by spending eternity in hell.” Boy gee, that puts a smile on anybody’s face, doesn’t it? Perhaps the cover should be filled with crying babies engulfed in flames. It would be more accurate, that’s all I’m saying.

So should I give these guys credit for stepping out on their faith and at least trying to spread the good news? The politically correct answer is yes, but I’m going to say no. Seriously, if you are going to represent Christianity so badly to other people, than maybe it’s better if you stay home. I know it’s harsh, but if I feel compelled to reject their message, I can’t imagine what a non Christian would feel.

Today we have a winner for the coolest and most nonfunctional item ever. I bring you, the bubblewrap calendar. The calendar maps out all 365 days of the year, each represented by a bubble. As another day passes, you press in the bubble to signify that the day has passed.

I have a couple of reservations about this product though. The first is, what would stop you from pressing in every bubble right when you got it? Imagine if some kid got a hold of your calendar. Also, what would the bubblewrap calendar ship in, more bubblewrap?

Happy Friday everyone! Did you know that on this day in 1955 Disneyland opened it’s gates for the first time? There’s nothing like a little Magic Kingdom to jump-start your Friday.

Today’s post will be more serious than most, but hang along for the ride, you may find you enjoy it. As of late, I’ve been reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins and discussing it with a friend as I go through the book. Today, I want to address one of the things that frustrate me about one the arguments.

The main argument that breaks down in this book about the disproof of God is that Christians rely too much on a lack of information or using super complex things to point to God. It is presented in this way. If I can’t explain A, than it must mean that it is because of God. Dawkins gets quite angry because this often allows most Christians to live in ignorance. While I may agree that the Christian world isn’t as conducive to academic thought than other worldviews, it also doesn’t mean that it is an automatic proof against God. Dawkins brings up the point many times that too often science is dubbed as the how things work and religion as the why things work. He brings up the question of why should religion be allowed to have the why if you can’t test and prove it with scientific fact.

I’ll break this more down some other day, but the point that I want to get to is that science still doesn’t explain why things were created the way they are. The Christian points to God, but the atheist says it must be something else. That something else is the anthropic principle. This states that although the conditions to have the creation of life are statistically huge, the statistic obviously happened once because we are here. In this idea, the idea of intelligent design is torn apart because it is stated that if the conditions for life are so improbable, than the fact that there could be an even more powerful creator is even more improbable.

The atheist says then that because the chances are so unlikely, God doesn’t exist. But here is the part that boggles my mind. The anthropic principle doesn’t state how everything came to be. All it states is that the statistics have worked out once. In essence, instead of saying that God created the universe, it is saying mere chance created the universe. In the anthropic principle, statistics and numbers have taken the place of a deity. I’d like to put forth the notion then that the anthropic principle doesn’t have anything new to say, but is just the same old arguments with a new “god.”

Let me know what you think. Hit me back in the comments.

Do you think America has become way too sensitive? I’m no closed minded right wing conservative nor am I a loose relativistic left wing supporter, but I do think that today we get offended at every single little thing. On one level, it’s a good thing so that things like sexism and racism can die, but on another level, it can be very tricky to speak in public because there are always a list of no nos that one can never say.

So what is it in society that has brought us to this point today? Is it a fear of being discriminating after having such a less than perfect history? Or is it just a sign of the times, where anything goes so we have to be sensitive to all needs. I’m not so sure what it is, but I do know I’d like to not be scared to say what’s really on my mind at times.

But to be honest with you though, the only reason I bring this up is because I want to share the best story with you ever. The following is an article from the Washington Post talking about the dangers of censorship. I would just like you to know that the last comment from the story made me laugh until I could laugh no longer.

The American Family Association obviously didn’t foresee the problems that might arise with its strict policy to always replace the word “gay” with “homosexual” on the Web site of its Christian news outlet, OneNewsNow. The group’s automated system for changing the forbidden word wound up publishing a story about a world-class sprinter named “Tyson Homosexual” who qualified this week for the Beijing Olympics.

Tyson Gay wins the men’s 100 meters final at June the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. (Reuters — Mike Blake)
The problem: Tyson’s real last name is Gay. Therefore, OneNewsNow’s reliable software changed the Associated Press story about Tyson Gay’s amazing Olympic qualifying trial to read this way:

Tyson Homosexual was a blur in blue, sprinting 100 meters faster than anyone ever has.

His time of 9.68 seconds at the U.S. Olympic trials Sunday doesn’t count as a world record, because it was run with the help of a too-strong tailwind. Here’s what does matter: Homosexual qualified for his first Summer Games team and served notice he’s certainly someone to watch in Beijing.

“It means a lot to me,” the 25-year-old Homosexual said. “I’m glad my body could do it, because now I know I have it in me.”

Hello everyone! You may have noticed that I did not post on Friday and there’s a great reason why. My power was out for part of the weekend, so in effect, I was not able to communicate with the outside world save my cell phone. Plus I worked a lot this weekend, so the times when I could have gone to a public place to do it were few, and so, Friday was a flop. Sorry I skipped Friday, however, I would be more impressed if you noticed.

So I’ve got a quick little thought for today. I’ve figured that this could either be something I’m noticing in my own head, or it could very well be the best theory ever. You will have to decide.

I’ve been thinking about where I sit in church. Today I helped another church lead worship and when I was done I sat on the left side. Then I noticed that I sit on the left side everywhere. Whether it be for serivce at my own church, a business meeting, District Council, what have you, no matter what Church it is and what the occasion is, I always end up on the left.

I don’t sit there for any reason or anything, most of the time the people my age are sitting on the left side of the church. So here is where my theory comes in. Do you think that young people ususally sit on the left side because in our minds we live in a right side dominated world. When you think about it, a large chunk of the population is right handed. In other cultures, the right hand is the more powerful hand, no matter what hand you normally use. Could it be that we do this naturally because we show respect to those who are older and allow them to be on the right?

Maybe I’ve taken too many crazy pills today, who knows. It’s just something that’s been milling around my head. So here’s back to regularly scheduled blogging. Hurrah!

If you haven’t commented on Monday’s post, then I don’t know what you are waiting for. I put myself out there (and so did Sean) so you probably should as well. It will take 3 seconds, go for it!

if you want to know one of the best ways to lost weight fast, than it is definitely getting yourself sick. I’ve been sick for the last week, and initially, my weight dropped dramatically. Now we are stabilizing at a consistent weight, so I think the fluxing is over for awhile. Speaking of, as of today, I am now at 191. That is ridiculous considering I started January at 210. That’s 19 pounds people, 19 pounds!

The part that drives me nuts is that I feel larger than I did before. I also feel like more people are calling me fat than before as well. It’s almost like my weight loss actually isn’t working and I’m just fooling myself. But numbers don’t lie to you… right?

But that does bring me to what I want to talk about today. Whenever somebody calls me fat everybody always has an interesting reaction. People always look at each other, knowing that it’s not the polite thing to say. I have to admit, when somebody does call me fat, it makes me taken aback a bit. But what I don’t understand is why? Why do people get so offended when somebody calls somebody who is fat, fat. It’s not an insult, it’s just calling somebody what they are.

It makes me think that it has to be some type of cultural thing. For example, back in the days of the Old Testament, you were higher on the hierarchy if you were fat because you had the resources to make yourself large. In today’s culture, we push this mentality that if you are fat, you are ugly. I think this is most of the reason why people recoil when they hear somebody call someone fat. In our minds fat is the same as ugly. But in reality is it? I know plenty of people who are overweight that aren’t ugly. Perhaps it’s just like hair color, different strokes for different folks.

The moral of the story is, perhaps I shouldn’t recoil so much in my mind when someone calls me fat. It is what it is. I don’t get made when people call me Asian. But it’s got me thinking into what other words we have infused with negative energy from our culture that don’t necessarily have a negative meaning on their own. Thoughts?