Disclaimer...

I've been off for a while and my absence will go on a little longer as I don't have internet access right now...but I hope to be up and running within a week. Stay tuned for some great stuff coming up. Until Next Time,

The Armchair Theologian

The Armchair Theologian II: The Return!

Okay. Okay. I've been a bad boy for quite a while. I've pretty much had my cranium turned off for several months as I've gotten side-swiped by sinful distractions and plain sloth. I haven't had a conversation that pushed me for months. I've not had a theological project for a while and my cranial 'stun' has been evidenced in my blog. So, I've turned my prayers self-word and I sought to regain some mental function and joy. Actually, if I'm being honest with all the 2 people that read this blog, I've found myself having a 'dry spell'...or a "dark night of the soul"...or whatever one would choose to call it. Basically, I've been experiencing Mark 4:19 and I hope I'm coming out of it now. It's interesting what happens when one experiences a 'dry spell' where God seems nonexistent, life seems despairing, the Bible tastes like ash and worship is a lie. So, I'm going to talk to myself a little here in an effort to thrown my insanity down in print.

I've read plenty of 'dry spell' testimonies from many people, and I've seen people go through tons of 'dry times' as well. It often seems that at times where faith is being tested and questioned, people are the most receptive to exploring heresy. I will admit, this was definitely there for me. I won't get into specifics, due to 'time constraints' (HA!), but I will admit that when life gets tough, certain times of charismatic theology and 'deeper/mystical spirituality' seem to offer an siren song. The question always seems to arise: "What if there's something I'm missing?" "What if God is trying to lead me to...?" To make a long story short, the Bible is pretty simple. Sin seperates from God...and that's no mystery to the elect or the gnostics/mystics. Some simply take the truth at face value.

I guess what has produced change is simply God's grace too. One day, you wake up and realize you're a prodigal. God simply 'turns on' your mind to see where you are in relation to him and things must either change or choke. I also found myself looking into a theological problem and, when I started interacting with an argument, I found my consicence riddled with 'unrelated' stuff. I was trying to tackle Brian McClaren's goofy 'postmodern' (I hate that term...) dichotomy of scripture and truth, and I found myself thinking about somethine completely unrelated. (Brian McClaren needs to meet Cornelius Van Til...I'd like to see the emergent church wingnuts deal with some presuppositional epistemology and bibliology...though I know from vast experience that they'd misunderstand it and simply dismiss it...*sob*) Anyway, I've gotta take on something (besides myself), so I'm currently working on finding a theological project...among other things. Any ideas? I need something to work on. anyway, I need bed. Until Next Time,

The Armchair Theologian

A Few Comments on Australia's Finest!

Well, thanks to an 'evangelistic' atheist friend of a friend, I recently had the experience of watching John Safran vs. God. John Safran is an Australian 'guerilla film' producer, aka. Micheal Moore (whom he directly compares himself too), who made a short series about his own investigation of world religions. Talk about something that's not P.C. It was quite insightful at times as John is quite the closet intellectual, but I found myself laughing a lot as it was quite funny. I recommend it to spiritually immature viewers, but I'm thinking of getting a copy and using some of the clips on Buddhism and Hinduism in a class some time. John really debunks basically every world religious system, except for Evangelical Christianity. Our representative, the man who's supposed to be the 'poster protestant', was none other than Bob Larson. BOB FREAKING LARSON! I mean, that's as bad as Benny Hinn, those snake handlers from Colorado or the KKK (whom John also represents as 'Christians'...) I'd be offended if it wasn't so idiotic.

I have lots of observations, but only time for one. When John went to Salt Lake City, he decided to get back at the Mormons for knocking on his door at 8:00 in the morning so he got dressed up in a white shirt and black pants with a black badge that said 'athiest' and he went knocking on doors, trying to convert the Mormons to atheism. Now the concept is freaking hilairous and he got a TON of great footage of some extraordinarily pissed off Mormons, but John's 'tract' that he was giving out, as the manifesto of atheism, was Origin of the Species. So much for subtlety. Now, after millions of years, I have rock hard evidence (HA!) that atheism and evolution go hand in hand. I mean, why Origin? Why not something from Marx or Nietzche? Even Satre' would do. I'm going to show that clip to my theistic (I know, I know...theistic NOT atheistic) evolutionary friends who claim that evolution is more Christian than not. HA! Anyway, I've gotta jet. Until Next Time,

The Armchair Theologian

New Address for Everyone...

Well, seeing that I've had a plethora of work related "tech posts" and "vent posts" as of late, I've started up a different blog for that stuff. I'm going to keep this one for more theological and philosophical ponderances (with plenty of humor spliced in) and I'll use the other blog for blowing off steam and funny work stories. Feel free to check out Http://thearmchairgeek.blogspot.com and enjoy my more cynical and sarcastic side. This should prove interesting. Have a great night all,

The Armchair Theologian

Live 8 What?!

I've been watching Live 8 on TV at work today as it's not been super busy and I've been thoroughly confused. Several celebrities who make millions, if not dozens of millions, of dollars per year, (and some actual half successful artists who work for a living...like Randy Bachman) are having a telethon to get the regular joes of the world to donate money to cancel third world debt, fight hunger and save the world. Here's my idea. Why doesn't Mike Myers, or Usher, or George Lucas, or whoever, donate all their money from their next movie/album to fight world hunger/third world debt/corrupt governments/whatever the problem is. How about that folks? One album? One movie? C'Mon George! I'm sure the profits from Episode 3 could revitilize 3 or 4 nations in Africa. I mean, if I can afford to donate a third of my $1500/month income to whose who need it, why can't a millionaire donate half their income? Can't Denzell live off just $5 million per movie? Forget the NHL. I think movie stars need salary caps. Just a question about the absolutely corn-fed Iowa hypocrisy of the whole deal. In my books, every single celebrity who supports this valiant effort without donating a serious percentile of their income is more corrupt and wicked then every bad TV evangelist combined. The same artists who are asking for my money arrived at the concert in a Maybach. It's disgusting. Till Next Time,

The Armchair Theologian

P.S. - Donating money to Scientology doesn't count as supporting a worthy cause...so Cruise and Travolta can shut up about their 'good deeds'.