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things are better.
In the summer of 1854, in Chicago, 60 people were dying every day because officials didn't understand the connection between waste and disease.
Once again, the "good old days" don't exist.
they just might not listen.
Reginald Fessenden invented early sonar. He tried to pitch it to England during WWI but they weren't interested. The Americans basically ignored him too. Thousands of lives were lost to German U-Boats that could have been "seen" if someone had listened to Fessenden and his invention.
Change is really, really hard.
they might laugh.
You may have heard this one. The Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis was laughed at, made fun of, and generally derided as an idiot when he suggested that doctors should wash their hands between dealing with dissecting dead bodies and delivering babies.
He died in an insane asylum.
Keep changing. Keep suggesting new ideas. Don't let the laughter drive you crazy.
taco bell.
I was at an elementary talent show and they announced that someone was playing "Pachelbel's Canon". The 6th grade boys in front of me started going crazy with excitement. Really?
Then I hear them whispering "Taco Bell!" We're getting "Taco Bell".
They were really disappointed when the song started.
What does this mean? I'm not exactly sure.
But lots of people are disappointed and miss Pachelbel's Canon - because they were expecting Taco Bell.
I know that.
narrow roads.
I was talking with a friend and he said "It's easy not to sin, the hard part is showing grace to people who do."
Great line.
Which got me thinking.
The narrow road is often equated to Heaven. But it's not.
What many have done is equated the narrow road to doing "good things". Or better not doing the "bad things". We all make up lists up the actual "bad things" that matter. The rest really don't.
When the road is narrow enough or when the "bad things" are small enough, like my friend said, it's easy to do the good things.
And we see much of this in religion today. It's actually a wide road with some barriers on it to make it seem narrow - but it's still wide and leading to destruction - maybe the most - because people think there are the road of life, of freedom, of inspiration, and love.
But the other narrow road, the true narrow road, is the one that lives in grace and love.
To everyone.
I think one of the great things that "the Law" does is break down the barriers and reveal that we're actually on the wide road.
But, when it does, no need to panic.
Grace still wins. Love is still the story. For you and for everyone else. So get on the true narrow road. And actually I think that narrow road is actually a perspective. When we live there, we're able to walk on the wide road with everyone else and maybe even change the direction of the road.
And start living. Not many people are there.
the radio.
The "Father of Radio" Lee De Forest once wrote this:
What have you done with my child, the radio broadcast? You have debased this child, dressed him in rags of ragtime, tatters of jive and boogie-woogie.
Yes, change is, and always has been, really hard.
write on not off.
The story is not
about
A prostitute
A thug
A murderer
A racist
A bastard or bitch
Because the story is not over.
Instead of
writing off
we
write on.
we were wrong.
Some of my favorite articles begin with "we were wrong..."
One of my more recent favorites was about the moon, and where it came from.
We were wrong.
It wasn't a surface collision from a Mars-sized body and Earth it was more like a massive collision that nearly vaporized Earth some akin to "a sledgehammer and a watermelon".
Two things:
1. We are still wrong about all kinds of things. I am wrong and so are you.
Tread lightly.
2. That big beautiful orb in the sky at night came from great destruction.
Beauty finds a way.
(Bonus recent wrong: Giraffes are actually four different species.)
it's getting real.
The idea of humans going to live on Mars is getting real.
I don't mean real as in "that would be cool" I mean real as in actual human beings are coming up with actual plans that actually work to get humans to Mars.
8 years from now. 8 years. 8 years ago Obama was running for President. 8 years from now there is a very real possibility that a group of humans will be on a rocket to live on Mars.
That is one of the most amazing things I've heard lately.
If you want to read more, you should. If you think it's all crazy, that's alright. Lots of people do. At least one man doesn't. Elon Musk started multiple companies with multiple ideas and all with the intention of getting to Mars. He's looking a little less crazy all the time.
But this isn't just about Mars.
What are you doing today?
Don't feel guilty about not doing enough. That's just an excuse to not be inspired to dream big and an excuse to not start doing some work.
about that god-shaped hole.
Blaise Pascal is often attributed to talking about a "God-shaped hole". The actual quote is below:
What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace?
This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.
This came up in a book club not too long ago and there were some interesting thoughts thrown around.
If, in fact, there is some kind of vacuum (to use that metaphor) that can only be filled by God, we should remember a few things:
When the "vacuum" is filled it will be filled with
Paradox.
Mystery.
Space.
Metaphor.
Doubt.
And probably not feel very filled.
There are all kinds of things to fill that space with, that will feel much more filled but will probably be false.
So maybe we just let the vacuum be what it is supposed to be, our best chance to connect with God that is already there.
they're not coming back.
Hokey “young adult” ministries, clunky social media, static notions about gender, deeply skewed perceptions of sexuality, out-of-touch clergy with political axes to grind, and little to no evidence of religion as a meaningful presence in their daily lives do nothing to lure back those who have left.
If religions are still asking what they can do to bring the religiously unaffiliated back, the better question might be this: what can religion do without them? Because all evidence points to this conclusion: they are not coming back, and given what they’re being presented, why should they?
a simple rule.
You're not allowed to say "Put Christ first" unless you can explain what that actually means without using the words "Christ" or "first".
different than. part V.
Being content is different than being lazy is different than stopping.
You have to start in order to stop. In order to stop you have to celebrate what's been done.
different than. part IV.
Knowing God is different than knowing the Bible.
In fact, it's possible they adversely affect each other.
different than. part III.
Forgiving and redeeming is different than forgetting and embracing again.
One is mostly about what's happening in your heart and soul in how you view a human being now and the other is mostly about trying to return to a past that doesn't exist anymore.
different than. part II.
Not caring what they think is different than not worrying what they think.
Heart them, hear the critiques, hear the praises, and even, let them influence you.
But don't spend one second worrying about any of it and what it means to you.
different than. part I.
Right work is different than work right.
One may or may not happen, depending on circumstances beyond your control.
The other can happen today if you want it to.
the internet is killing you and instagram is giving your soul cancer.
Anyway, the point here is that the Internet is poison. It is a point I have made before and will continue to make again until you people FINALLY LISTEN TO ME. You won’t, though, because you’re too far gone. You need the poison like you need the air. “If I don’t have another reason to hate myself today,” your stupid brain tells itself so quietly that you can’t even hear the conversation, “I’ll just die.” And then you think, “Gee, let me look at Twitter,” and you’re sad for the rest of the day, but you don’t know why. It is because all the promise of the Internet turned out to be lies.
Alex Balk
If the churches came to understand that the greatest threat to faith today is not hedonism but distraction, perhaps they might begin to appeal anew to a frazzled digital generation. Christian leaders seem to think that they need more distraction to counter the distraction. Their services have degenerated into emotional spasms, their spaces drowned with light and noise and locked shut throughout the day, when their darkness and silence might actually draw those whose minds and souls have grown web-weary.
Andrew Sullivan
4 people
There are two people in a room.
One is sitting at a table. Very nice napkins. Tablecloth. Beautiful knives and forks made of silver and gold. And porcelain plates. Crystal wine glasses. Waiting.
One is sitting at a table. No napkins or silverware or china. Just food. Eating.
Which one are you?
Two more people enter the room.
One is selling some very nice silver, even better than what was already there. Gorgeous stuff. Looks incredible. Turns heads. Makes you smile.
One is selling food. Just food.
Which one are you?
To quote Childish Gambino: Yeah, you got some silverware - But really are you eating though?