and one fine morning…
Archive for December, 2007
ohio, california…whatever.
Dec 27th
“Iron sharpens iron, just as one man sharpens another.” Proverbs, 27:17
we made plans to be unbreakable
Dec 25th
I have never seen roads more deserted than I saw this morning. Imagine then, the confluence of the deserted roads of 4:00 Christmas morning, a whirling torrent of snowfall, one hour of sleep, and profligate optimism. From the milieu, from the ether, here are my thoughts and proto-weltanschauung: Necessarily, the universe must have either a) had a starting point/time or b) been in existence forever. Those two categories describe the entire set of possibilities. So I think now about a) and wonder what caused the beginning and b) how that is even reasonable/possible. Second, is our universe the whole of Existence? Cosmology would suggest not, especially in light of the physics of subatomic particles, who reside in potentially n-dimensional space, where 4 < n < 11? 12? Then there are issues of gravity and all the other stuff that really, when boiled down, all seems to suggest that there’s a hell of a lot more going on behind the “scenes” that we can’t see or perceive. Want to call it God? Ok. Then there are other ideas about multiple universes, mathematically asymptotic space, and the possibility that “God” is really just a set of rules that allows us, as the universe, to evolve until we can look back on ourselves and reflect on our existence. Other rulesets exist, but don’t necessarily allow for this sort of intro/retrospection which we call consciousness. So… Is God the impetus for existence? The justification for unbeginning/unending existence? The work behind the scenes, which we can’t see or perceive (yet)? Or maybe just the favorable ruleset for the way our world fits together, which allows for our Life? I don’t know. There are a lot of things that exist that don’t necessarily have to be out there like that. Theists get angry when I suggest that we’re just here by chance, and there’s not a lot of meaning to it all. But that chance, in and of itself, is beautiful and meaningful—when you win the lottery, just because you’re one-in-ten-million, doesn’t mean you haven’t won—and maybe that’s the beauty of Creation. That’s what I think about when I think about God. He’s not flying around throughout all the trees and animals and dirt and rocks, nor is he sitting on a cloud with a beard, or offering zealous martyrs 100 virgins. He, in my mind, is much more nebulous than that. And faith, therefore, to me, isn’t a feeling of confidence in the afterlife or immortality of my soul. Rather, it’s confidence in the persistence of the pattern in which we all exist.
your hand in mine
Dec 24th
There exists an absolute lowest temperature (0 K) but does there exist an absolute highest? Absolute Hot
Christmas v. Chanukah: Holidays are for Suckers
Dec 6th
“I am constantly hearing people complain about Christmas trees but no menorahs, mashed potatoes but no potato latkes, ‘I’m dreaming of a white Christmas’ but no ‘I have a little dreidel’. I can understand that after thousands of years of suffering they may be entitled to some bitching here and there but why is it that they insist on bashing Christmas? First of all, everyone should recognize that Christmas is nothing but a materialistic holiday driven by greed and stress with very little Christmas cheer. We no longer think of it as the day that Christ was born, but rather the day when we have to sit down with the in-laws we despise or worse yet, our own family. We have Secret Santa and White Elephant gift parties at work yet we’re not allowed to voice our opinion regarding religion, let alone our love for Christ. In reality, this blog isn’t about Jews dissing my lord and savior or the day of his birth, but much more importantly, it’s about the sanctity of holidays in general. I imagine myself in Israel around this time peering into shop windows, smelling donuts and other goods consumed during Chanukah. I imagine every window sill graced by small shining lights strategically placed as a reminder of that everlasting oil. But I wonder… Is everything as I imagine it to be? Is it possible that perhaps these Jews, the very ones who think they’re so much better than Christians, have also become consumer whores? Have they abandoned this month long celebration for promises of gifts or raises? How many people have conformed to Christmas just because it’s easier? And if it were so easy, then why don’t more people do it? The fact of the matter is that no holiday, regardless of what it is, holds any importance. Jews and Christians alike have succumb to the pitiful state of over- consuming consumer goods. And what for? I went to Catholic school with a Jewish boy who wasn’t supposed to tell anyone he was Jewish. What a world to live in, where one moment we’re proud of our religion because it gets us somewhere and the next, we’re shunning it and the rest who believe in it because it’s just easier. There is no pride, no personal satisfaction in knowing why we spin dreidels or bundle up to sing carols, no it seems that the only satisfaction we’re getting is when the holidays are long behind us and we can relax again.”