The Homeless

I read an article from The Papyrus (Greenville College's student-run paper) yesterday. One of the articles was about the Shak-a-Thon. This event gives students a taste of a vagrant's life by fasting for 36 hours and sleeping outside for two full nights. Students built a community of cardboard box homes together on a field on campus. Students talked about how it was hard to think or function due to the cold conditions and lack of food for their brains. I just thought this was an interesting way to better understand the life of the homeless, even though it was only for two days. Sometimes I think about the homeless, maybe you even think about them sometimes. We feel sorry for them, sometimes we blame society, sometimes we blame them. So maybe we help them for a day or two. But when we go back to our daily routine they stay homeless and stay stuck on the streets. They have it rough everyday, every hour. When I go to bed tonight I'll be warm and comfortable. Some homeless guy is going to be freezing cold with no one around. That sucks.

Good Times in Biology 1010!

My biology teacher began shoving the THEORY of evolution down my throat last Wednesday. I found this a bit objectionable, all of the things she was claiming in a public classroom. Thus, a friend and I went to her office after the second class on evolution to talk to her about our objections (she wouldn't let us object in class, just in her solitary office). After our 20 minute talk, it was evident that my professor was not going to teach a fair class, so we left. Now I have two meetings with the vice-provost and assistant vice-provost next week. Can't wait to chat with them about the curriculum in Bio 1010. My major complaints are that differing theories are not being taught (only evolution), important terms are being misused (she won't differentiate between micro and macro evolution), and she is speaking in declarative sentences about a theory (she's essentially speaking as it is proven to be true). One of the reasons I am so excited about this is because of how I got here. I went to Westminster Christian Academy prior to Mizzou, and there I learned all about evolution, but also about Intelligent Design. I got an UNBIASED education on this subject, so now I am able to point out all the ways that my Mizzou education is BIASED. Also, I originally signed up for a different Bio section with a teacher who teaches evolution as the THEORY that it is. I didn't want this teacher I currently have. However, I'm now in this situation. I honestly believe God has put me in this situation to be a voice for truth and justice on one of many liberal universities. Whether or not the university makes any changes due to my actions, I will still stand as a light for truth in a class filled with darkness.

More on "Question"

I realize God wants us to enjoy his creation, but I'm just trying to figure out exactly how much enjoyment is too much in light of so many people in this world living without being able to enjoy creation.

Question

As long as there is such disparity in the world between affluent countries and bitterly poor countries, can it possibly be ok to live in affluence and not work to help the poor people? Living a morally upstanding life in America, but not working to help the poorest of the poor elsewhere: is this solidly alright, semi-ok, or simply wrong? Is it ok to have a nice house, flatscreen tv, and lexus so long as I give 10% to God, fellowship with others, and live a "moral" life while people starve to death and die from AIDS every day in Africa? Is that possibly ok in God's eyes? I seriously do not know. But I want to find out.

Great Guitar

Hey guys, if you like acoustic guitar, check out Andy McKee on YouTube. He's got some great stuff. Drifting and Rylynn are two of his best.

Life is a car

When I was a kid, I had this idealized, beautiful, exciting, fantastic idea of life. It was kind of like how one has an idea of what a city is like from things they've heard about said city, however, said person has never been there. But when this person actually goes to this city, it is not at all like the city in his mind. Thus, as a kid I thought of life as one way, and as I've grown, I've come to recognize it is quite another experience than what I dreamed up in my mind. So as a kid, everything that I had never experienced seemed exciting in different ways and expectations were formed in my mind. Yet, when I live out these experiences, they are clearly not the same as experienced in my mind. This "mind experience/expectation" is sort of a base standard, though, that I use to gauge my actual experiences. However, even if my real experience is actually better (according to some higher standard of which I can't describe), I will still be disappointed because I never lived out my dream experience. Real experiences can never satisfy expectations from dream experiences. Essentially at first glance, life is like a new car. Shiny on the outside, perfectly clean inside, new car smell, 0 miles, beautiful. It seems like it is going to be so great. Then I start driving this car and inevitably dirt gets on the exterior, the inside air gets stale, and the windshield wipers leave marks on the windshield. Within weeks this once new car seems more like a liability and I'm at a loss for how I ever thought this thing was going to be cool. Life is a shiny car in my mind, but when I get out and live out these assumedly "shiny" experiences, they inevitably are not going to live up to expectations. However, even though I realize that expectations have quite a negative effect on my attitude toward life, I keep making up more expectations. Is it even possible to not have expectations/pre-conceived notions of places/experiences/people?