I'm not sure if this can happen, but it seems as though I have writer's block on only my second blog. I feel like I have so much to write until my figures reach for the keys.
C'mon, Tom, think. Think. What would Jesus do?
Hmm, oddly enough, that question just doesn't seem to work in this case.
Okay, here we go.
Top 5 Stupid Things I've Done Because I Was Convinced That Was What Good Christians Do:
5. After my attempts to do a speech in high school about how the inventor of the urinal deserved the Nobel Peace Prize were thwarted, I gave a speech about Billy Graham's recovery from a hospital visit.
4. I gave a speech about Creation versus Evolution, which was based solely on a 2-page pamphlet I got at a Christian bookstore.
3. Without understanding probablity or even basic logical fallacies, I made the claim in a paper that the probablility of Creation was almost certain since the probability of evolution was such a 1 in a billion chance (I got my real "1 in a ____" chance from that 2-page pamphlet)
2. Before track meets my senior year, I would ask guys on the team if they wanted to pray with me, although I knew that they would say no. But at least they knew what I was doing . . .
1. In my AP US Government class, we held a mock election. I represented the Pro-Life lobbyist. During the debate section of class, I ran a commercial that I had made in my Electronic Media class. The video was close to 30 seconds long, consisting of 2 pictures of aborted babies every second. The final screen said something like, "Vote Republican," or "Vote for _____ running for election" because they represented the Republicans. (Honorable mention goes out to my stubborn support of Alan Keyes in class)
While some of these are stupid to do in general, my main point is that they were stupid to do on the basis of the belief that good Christian boys and girls were supposed to do them.
Feel free to comment on my stupidity, offer you own stories of stupid things you did in high school for beliefs you held, or get offended that I called something you hold to stupid.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Hi Tom. I tried posting a comment on Timmy's website, to no avail. So, here goes. Hi. I too have a weblog. It's the new black. It started normally, but then turned interesting. I'm talking about something that I now want people's opinions and thoughts about. That's right... MILWAUKEE! Hot! So, if you've got a minute, check it out... mjonthemove.blogspot.com
peace,
m.j.
Gnorizo is actually my transliteration of the Koine Greek word (Biblical Greek) which means "I impart, I make known." However, even if it were the aorist tense (which may be the case in 2 Peter 1:15-18), then it would also be true. In order for you to receive what I have to impart, then I would have to have written the blog in the past-tense to your having read the blog in the present-tense. (Although, maybe "impart" takes place in the reception, not the delivery). In any case, the aorist would be "I imparted" or "I made known." If I am wrong about all of this, then I will simply concede and make my archives Gnorizo and rename the blog itself.
Thanks for taking the time to look it up, though.
Tom-
This is your cousin, Nicole Dulak-Barton...I glance at Tim's blog from time to time, and now glance at yours every few days or so too. Your "5 Stupid Things" list really made me laugh, and I can certainly relate to being in that time and place in life where I did a lot of things under the tyranny/immaturity of what I thought a "good Christian" should do. IE:
1) writing a scathing, 2+ paged, stir-causing, anonymous (although everyone eventually guessed it was me) editorial in my high school newpaper about the evils of drinking alcohol, making a lot of "you don't need EtOH to have a good time" kind of statements (and now I now that sometimes it does help...), after my boyfriend and friends came to a football game a bit tipsy (shame on them!) 2) doing many a speech and speaking engagement on abstinence (which is a great virtue, sure)- but I wonder now why I felt so comfortable and called to air the details, or lack of, of my dating life, etc. with anyone who'd listen... 3) and just generally taking a lot of strong, very earnest stances based on young and silly principles...(oh yes, wearing a dress to my prom that looked like victorian bridal garb, b/c I didn't want to look too risque- hah! like I could even have approached risque back then...)
However, my larger point is that your entry made me sort of sad and nostolgic for a time when I was more convinced or out-there or insulated or whatever. I'm a bit older than you, so I'm not sure if you feel like this yet? The extremity is all part of the process I think- don't be too hard on yourself, and don't throw the baby out with the bath water (I've certainly never acutally used that idiom before!) It's all part of you, and the pendulum keeps swinging through all stages of your life, although maybe less and less. Post-college and post-20's, I'm of course much more experienced, logical, liberal, gray in certain areas, my chruch is "emerging" rather than "right", I drink beer- all of that. But I cherish all of that "stupidity" because one, I have great stories to reflect on and laugh at, and because it all helps me appreciate where I am, and realize that although the thoughts and principles are more refined now, at least I always had some.
Gee, hard to believe I was overly-earnest in my high school days, huh? :)
PS. Perhaps "stubborn support of Alan Keyes" does qualify as "stupidity" and nothing else :)
PSS. I think asking your friends to pray, etc. was sweet
PSSS. Eric (my husband) and I had a really fun time at your wedding- I couldn't dance b/c I was, like, 8 1/2 months pregnant and didn't want to offend people, but we had fun just watching everyone get down...
please excuse the many typos in my comment- I'm holding my baby while typing...
Post a Comment