Christianity and Entertainment

As Christians, what are we allowed to enjoy? It’s a complex question that many theologians have tried to answer… with little agreement. In my mind, this is not really an esoteric theological question, but a question of practical everyday living. The question of what entertainment is biblical encompasses movies, music, video games, books, and really anything that you do to unwind and relax.

Well, as someone who has had a background as a skeptic, I’m always suspicious when a brother in Christ tells me that I shouldn’t be looking at something. As a child of the Enlightenment, I try to acquire new information about our world and different ways of looking at things. Now, I still have a Christian worldview, but if we’re afraid of challenging ideas, then how can we say that Christianity is really true in the first place?

It’s with this in mind that I suggest that any piece of entertainment, if it has an ultimate moral message, is worth taking in. I don’t think it has to be explicitly Christian, as long as the message helps you better yourself as a person, even if it’s in a small way. Now ideally, all our entertainment would be Christian based, but I really don’t believe this is feasible anymore, if it ever was. Just look at the state of the Christian movie industry today, it’s terrible. I can count on one hand how many recent movies explicitly based on Jesus have been legitimately great films. Honestly, you have to go back to the 50’s to get good movies on faith like Ben-Hur and get away from Kirk Cameron.

Christian books of fiction are in a similar position. Remember works like Paradise Lost and Lord of the Rings? Yeah, well don’t hold your breath for more like that. Christian writers today seem to be content on writing about 90 minutes in Heaven or 23 minutes in Hell. I can’t wait for the novel on what Jesus’ favorite color is.

Or you could look at Christian video games. Really, just play any game made by Wisdom Tree, one of which puts you in control of Noah as you calm upset animals on the ark in what looks like a Doom clone. Seriously, stuff like this is why Christians get laughed at.

So, after examining all that, secular media doesn’t look so bad anymore, does it? Now, I still believe we need to be careful at what we look at, otherwise we’re just gazing upon pornography, but I think everyone has the capability to know when something goes too far. Something that crosses the line for me would be A Clockwork Orange. Women are raped by the main character in the movie, and at no point is there even a moral message at all. In fact, evil actually triumphs in the ending of that film, which is even more disconcerting. I actually love 2001: A Space Odyssey by the same director, but I couldn’t give the thumbs up for A Clockwork Orange to a Christian. 

An example of something secular that I could recommend would be Dragon Ball Z. It’s an anime that features a lot of martial arts fighting but has a story that reveres all of the great Christian virtues. The hero Goku, is a figure that is very reminiscent of Jesus in that he always saves the weak from the forces of evil. He loves his friends and family, and only fights when he must. Even some of the bad guys convert to being good after Goku’s kindness is shown to them. It’s a show that has been sadly misunderstood by parents who only focused on the fights and not the morals.

As Christians we must be open to entertainment that may not be perfect, but still has something to offer us.

Progress

I need to speak on something that has been frustrating me. There is a disease that is rotting Christianity from the inside out. Its name is conservatism. Let me be clear, while I am a political liberal, I do not identify with progressive Christianity. I don’t think these narrow labels do much good when talking about God. I’m focusing on conservative Christianity because of its massive hold in America today.  

Don’t get me wrong, progressive Christianity has its own skeletons in the closest, most notably being the undercurrent of thought that Jesus was just a man with some cool ideas about helping the poor. The truth is, Jesus is the Son of God. He wasn’t some pot smoking hipster from first century Palestine. There are numerous claims that Jesus made in the Gospels to being divine, so we really are forced to follow the logic of C.S. Lewis’ trilemma of liar, lunatic, or Lord. If he’s not God, then why call yourself a Christian over anything else?

So, progressive Christianity has its flaws. Yet, there’s never been a “Social Justice Majority,” there has been a “Moral Majority” however. The problem with conservative Christianity is that it doesn’t change at all, which is ironic. Fundamentalist theologians like Albert Mohler say that all of his views are historic church positions. But that’s just false. Presumably, Mohler being a Calvinist Protestant, would recognize that his positions on predestination and sola scriptura, for example, were completely absent from church thought until 1500 years after the death of Christ. The Catholic Church was the only institution around during early Christianity, men like Augustine were devout Catholics.

So, if it follows that progress was made by Martin Luther and his reformation, then how can it be said that doctrine doesn’t change? Protestant denial of historic Christian positions such as Purgatory, necessity of baptism for salvation, acceptance of deuterocanonical books of the Bible, the belief that Christ’s real presence is in the Eucharist, and apostolic succession is a pretty big shift. Now, as a Protestant, I actually disagree with the above stated positions as well, but if the church was wrong once, can’t it be wrong again?   

Now, this is an obvious point, but I feel the need to mention it anyway: The root of the word Protestant means to protest. Well, what do you suppose the Protestants were protesting about? Could it be the Christian church of the day? See, you can’t break away from 1500 years of tradition and then complain when someone else talks about reform. It’s hypocritical.

I believe that we as Christians need to take a hard look at the issues in our world today. We can’t just sweep them under the rug because they would require a rethinking of theology. That’s just cowardly. We need to stop saying the earth is 6000 years old and that humans lived with dinosaurs. We need to stop trying to change someone’s sexuality. We need to stop letting ourselves be used by political parties to go to war and kill another nation’s children. We need to stop judging that some people are just absolutely going to Hell and that there’s no hope for them. Finally, we need to stop being afraid to say that God loves everyone.

Can we please throw away these childish progressive and conservative labels and just try to follow Jesus? 

A Christian Again

So, I guess it’s time to call myself a Christian again. I certainly don’t feel any happier than when I wrote that atheistic post. In fact, I feel just as terrible. As is usual for the last five or six years, I don’t feel anything. I just feel a gnawing emptiness. All that’s left is hate and fear. Still, I’d take that over nothing, which is what I usually get. I just don’t care anymore. There used to be a time when I liked doing things, no more. I’m just a shell of my broken dreams.

  

Well, that certainly doesn’t sound very triumphant, huh? I could write that I’ve figured out all the things that don’t make sense in Christianity… but I’d be lying. I don’t understand. I just don’t understand why life is the way it is.

Yet, I do see hope in the Christian narrative. Jesus is a figure of absolute love. I think believing that there’s a God out there who loves everyone so much that he died for them, is something worth holding on to. There has to be something more than just suffering on this mudball of a planet.

Otherwise, I would walk a dark path that I've already been down before. I’d rather not do that, so I’ll believe in Jesus. That’s all I can think of to say. 

Top Five Worst Movies (part 2 of 2)

3. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

What a disaster. So, it’s been fifteen years since Return of the Jedi, and you hear the news: Star Wars is coming back. Wow, that’s amazing, you say. George Lucas must have taken years to finely tune an awesome script with wonderful new characters and situations, right? Damn, that didn’t happen, huh? Well, at least the computer effects look nice… oh, and the last fight with Darth Maul was kind of cool… Come on, let’s face facts here, if this didn’t have the Star Wars license on it, no one would watch this train wreck. But since it does, people who saw this movie when they were nine (and haven’t seen it since) say “it’s not that bad.”

Well, watch it again. This sucks. Some of my favorite films are from the original trilogy, so it’s not that I just hate Star Wars. In fact, the third prequel, Revenge of the Sith, I think is a great movie. I’m just being objective. Episode I is awful.

Where to even begin. Alright, let’s start with the plot. This corporation called the Trade Federation is taking over the planet Naboo. What, a business is taking over a planet? Somehow, I find that a little less menacing than the Empire, maybe that’s just me. Anyway, Two Jedis, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi try to negotiate with the Trade Federation but fail, escape to Naboo, and meet a fish man named Jar Jar Binks… Actually, I’m going to stop talking about the plot now… I thought of writing more, but who cares, do you? I don’t. I can’t take this movie seriously.

This movie is a giant pointless misadventure. You see the characters running away from an oversized goldfish in their little submarine, to the characters beseeching the king of the fish men for an audience. There’s also random racing scenes in weird little pod things.

Yeah, there’s a scene where they fight in space. Yeah, there’s eventually a lightsaber fight. But who cares? The narrative is supposed to show Anakin being the chosen one, but he’s just a snot nosed ten year old kid here. The whole battle for Naboo has zero significance for the rest of the prequels. It’s a side story. You could actually start watching from Episode II and not really miss anything.

Then you have the characters in this movie. This has been done before by another critic, but think of Han Solo, how would you describe him? There are dozens of words I would think of to describe the lovable rogue. Now, think of Qui-Gon Jinn’s personality. Drawing a blank? I thought so. Every character in Episode I is a flat, two dimensional cartoon. Anakin is a whiny kid. Qui-Gon is wise. Jar Jar Binks is… wait, I need a moment.

So, let’s discuss Jar Jar Binks. This character is basically an Ewok, only he’s not adorable. He’s everything that is wrong with this movie personified. I suppose Lucas thought that Jar Jar would be comic relief, but his constant presence on screen makes me want to attack my television set. He talks like some blackface caricature from the 1920’s, and serves no point in the movie. He’s tripping over objects, shouting stupid catchphrases, and generally making an ass out of himself. My favorite scene with Jar Jar has to be when he accidentally steps into shit. It just sums up this movie perfectly.

This movie didn’t have to be made. Lucas could have skipped this pointless playground romp and just went straight to Episode II when Anakin wasn’t wetting the bed. It’s been said before, but I’ll say it again: Lucas needs to stop destroying Star Wars. Just stop, leave it alone. Make a remake of Howard the Duck or something; it can’t be worse than this.   

2. Batman and Robin

Okay, maybe The Happening isn’t the stupidest movie on this list. Oh God, Batman, what have they done to you? When Tim Burton created Batman and Batman Returns, he not only made two great movies, he brought comic book movies back into style. Then Joel Schumacher started making Batman movies. His first attempt, Batman Forever, was nothing in comparison to the Tim Burton films, but it was actually okay. Maybe he just needed to work himself into it, you know? I’m sure the next one will be… no, no, no, kill it with fire!

Batman and Robin looks like a shiny plastic toy designed for a toddler with Attention Deficit Disorder. There are some decent special effects, yeah, but they’re all thrown together on screen. I feel like they’re suffocating me. There’s little rhyme or reason to what they show, all the lighting, for example, is blue and pink. Why? Why those colors? Why not brown and orange? It’s not like the movie could look more arbitrary than it already does.

The movie’s plot (and I use that word very loosely), is that Mr. Freeze has come to Gotham and he’s freezing the city. Yeah, Mr. Freeze is freezing stuff. Awesome. Honestly, Mr. Freeze has always been one of the worst villains in Batman, because he’s not realistic. Tim Burton wisely chose the Joker and Penguin because they are semi-believable. The worst part is that Mr. Freeze, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, is a parody of himself. Everything, and I mean everything, he says is a pun on ice. “You’re not sending me to the cooler.” “The Iceman cometh.” “It’s time to kick some ice.” I think you get the picture, at least I hope you do, because if I have to type another ice pun I will rip my right arm off and beat myself with it.  

They also wheel in Poison Ivy, and her entire character is basically a giant whore. I can only imagine that Schumacher was yelling at Uma Thurman between cuts, saying “Not slutty enough, Uma!” Her character eventually brings a rift between Batman and Robin. They each think that Poison Ivy loves him, and a ridiculous fight breaks out between the two, which ends with Robin being pushed into a vat of ice cream.

This movie is just stupid. The acting is non-existent, and even the special effects, while acceptable, don’t add anything to the experience. It just felt like the movie was made to sell toys and video games. Also, I hate when people defend this film by saying “Come on, it’s just made for kids man, it’s a cartoon.” What a crappy excuse. There are dozens of imaginative children’s movies I can think of that don’t talk down to kids. Look at the Neverending Story or The Lion King, that’s how it’s done. Even Batman: The Animated Series, which actually was a cartoon, shines in storytelling. So, Batman and Robin isn’t good for anyone. The MPAA should rate this B for bad.

Also, thanks Joel Schumacher for all those classy ass and crotch shots of Batman and Robin. That’s good for kids. Jackass.

1. Project X

The previous four movies I reviewed were terrible, completely without any redeeming factors. Still, they were ostensibly about something. Wikipedia lists Project X as a comedy, but it isn’t one. I imagine they listed it as such because every movie has to be about something, right? Drama, action, sci-fi, fantasy, romance, documentary, and comedy. Those are the major ones. Well, it’s accurate to say that Project X has a few lines of dialogue that are supposed to funny, but just because a few jokes are in a film, doesn’t make it a comedy. I remember one of the Jews in Schindler’s List saying “How could it possibly be worse?” in response to his wife saying it could be worse. That plays to the sense of absurdism, which instills humor. So, is Schindler’s List a comedy then? No, and neither is this movie.

The truth is that Project X doesn’t fit into any genre. Is this because the film is so daring and original that conventional labels just can’t contain it? Instead of answering my own stupid question, I’ll hum the Ninja Turtles theme song.  Project X is the absence of everything. It offers nothing, story included.

Project X shows some white, over-privileged high school brats planning an “epic party.” Thomas Kub, our main character, throws the party at his house while his parents are away. He’s not popular at first, but becomes so due to the “epic party.” Soon enough, teenagers show up, and the party begins. That’s the entire plot, right there.

The whole movie just shows these punks doing irresponsible, childish shit.  They drink till they puke, get high, have sex with each other, and oh, they take some ecstasy. Awesome. They break stuff in Thomas’ house, and eventually the party gets so out of control that they riot in the streets and attack police officers. Then some guy with a flamethrower comes and burns the house down.

What is this movie trying to say? Does it have any point at all? No, this movie is a monument to hedonism, just living to live. It’s sad, because there’s actually one nice girl that Thomas has a friendship with, but instead of trying to grow in their relationship, he screws some random classmate because she’s apparently the hottest girl in high school.

After Thomas’ house is nothing but rubble, everyone at school now thinks he’s cool. Hooray, hooray! Except his college fund is gone, his parents hate him, and he’s actually facing jail time for his actions. But hey, it’s okay, right? The party was a hit! What an awesome night, dude! Forget the fact that this kid’s life is now fucked with a capital F, he had fun.

I would like to point out that the director of Project X is in his mid 30’s while the producer is in his early 40’s. Does this movie still sound cool? It’s the deranged and deviant fantasy of two grown men who wished they partied harder when they were still in high school. It’s pathetic. Grow up. Don’t inspire kids to do this kind of shit, and there are actually news stories of teenagers having “Project X parties” because they thought it looked so sweet in the film. Life isn’t a movie.

Fuck the people who made this movie. In any decent society, no studio would hire such miscreants. Sadly, kids are eating it up. By the way, to all the idiots saying this movie is just an homage to Animal House, please go jump off a bridge. Animal House had good characters, and was set up like a comedy. The true successors to Animal House are Old School and Superbad, not this crocodile shit.

Project X reminded me of Night, by Elie Wiesel, a memoir on the Holocaust. Let this quote sink in “Here there are no fathers, no brothers, no friends. Everyone lives and dies for himself alone.” That’s this movie in a nutshell. The brats at this party don’t care about Thomas, they just want to get drunk. They won’t be there when the dust settles. Thomas, even though he’s at a party, is alone. Perhaps Nietzsche was thinking of Project X when he wrote “God is dead.”  

Top Five Worst Movies (part 1 of 2)

Bad movies. Everyone’s seen at least one, right? You know the feeling, getting excited in the theater about the new movie you’re going to see. And then, you realize, this movie’s terrible! What a letdown. The money you pissed away on the ticket isn’t the worst part; it’s the understanding that eating other people’s shoes for the last two hours would have been more productive. You just wasted your time.

There are hundreds of bad movies, most movies in fact. Honestly, if the film isn’t bad, then it’s usually just generic. Very rarely will the moviegoer be presented with something original or challenging to his senses. Lest I falsely convey the untruth that this is a modern problem, and that movies today are just a reflection of a culture that has somehow fallen from grace, let me assure you, bad movies have always been with us.

Anyway, let me admit something upfront: there are worse movies on a technical level than the five I’ve chosen. You could look at something like Plan 9 from Outer Space, which is absolutely broken on every level. Still, that movie is so bad, that you actually derive humor from it. Other movies like Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Birdemic, and Battlefield Earth, are all prime candidates as well. Also, those movies I mentioned you knew were going to be bad, there was never a chance to be disappointed.

No, the five movies I’m going to list are unceremonious failures. There isn’t even anything to laugh at, they’re just bad. If I could, I would reach back from the depths of time and drop boulders on the directors of these movies… but I can’t. They exist, and they will always exist. Talk about a bummer.

5. The Happening

Well, while this is only number five, The Happening is definitely the stupidest movie on the list. This film is a motion picture lobotomy. I was deathly afraid of becoming a genuine idiot after I watched this nonsense. So, the premise is… that plants are attacking. Yeah, that’s actually the plot. They try (extraordinarily badly), to make it scientific. They say that somehow all the plants on Earth have triggered a self-defense mechanism and are producing a toxin that makes humans commit suicide… because I guess the plants know that humans are chopping down trees and are angry.

This is stupid. I’m sorry, I really tried to suspend my disbelief, but this is stupid. How do all the plants everywhere know how to band together and produce this poison? How are only humans targeted? Those plants are really selective, quite brilliant tacticians I’d say. No, I’m not a scientist, but this could never happen, end of story.

And then, we have the actual scenes of the movie. It should also be noted that Mark Wahlberg is the main character in this movie. I could go into a rant of how he’s the second worst actor in Hollywood right now (Shia Labeouf wins that prize), but I’ll save you the trouble. Just know, that if you like him, you don’t actually like him, you just don’t know any better.

There are two scenes that exemplify this movie’s stupidity. The first is where the main characters hear other people shooting themselves in the distance. Mark Wahlberg’s character knows that the plants are at work, and tells everyone to run away from the wind. Yes, they are literally running away from the wind. I don’t… I don’t even know what to say. Is this supposed to be funny? I don’t think so, the movie really tries to take itself seriously. It’s just stupid.

The worst scene, however, is the houseplant scene. Mark Wahlberg’s character sees a plant in the house he’s hiding in, and actually tries to have a dialogue with it. He’s talking to a plant. If you think this is a good scene, then you absolutely belong in a mental asylum.

So, in summation, this movie is stupid. Stay away from it, unless you too, are stupid. 

4. Super Mario Bros.

This is the only movie on the list that actually looks bad on a cinematographic level. As soon as the film reel plays, you know that you’re looking at garbage. You won’t find a bigger Mario fan than me. Super Mario Bros. 3 on the old NES is my favorite video game of all time. So, when I first saw this travesty in elementary school, I just didn’t get it. Yeah, it has Mario and Luigi in it, but what on God’s green Earth did it have to do with the Mushroom Kingdom? As was popular in the 90’s, the directors tried to make it “extreme.”

The setting was first Manhattan, and then some hellish dystopia called Dinohattan. Ha, ha, ha… Oh boy, you see what they did there? Nice pun guys. Dinohattan in particular was freakish to look at. It’s a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The movie just looks dark. One of the characters was turned into a fungus and he looks disgusting. He’s covered in slime, and you wonder if all the cast just took turns blowing their noses on him.

There are also weird creatures that bear the classic goomba name, but actually look like monsters. They’re giants, but have these tiny heads with razor sharp teeth. Honestly, they look like they came out of someone’s acid trip. Then you have Yoshi, everyone’s favorite cute dinosaur. Here he just looks like a raptor from Jurassic Park. Finally, you have King Koopa… who just looks like Dennis Hopper.

The worst scene in this movie is where Mario motorboats the chest of some big black woman named Bertha. If you think that sounds vomit-inducing, then you’d be right. Mario, the adorable little Nintendo character that is beloved by children and adults alike, is diving into a woman’s tits. What were they thinking?

This entire movie is just a dark, subterranean nightmare. It feels wrong. Why didn’t they just model Mario after his games? Why not show Mario and Luigi having whimsical adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom? You know, riding Yoshi, collecting coins, and exploring new worlds? That would have been delightful. Instead, we basically got Mario in the hood.

Die Hard at the White House

So, I just saw Olympus Has Fallen... I liked it better when it was called Die Hard. IT'S THE SAME MOVIE! Please, for God's sake, have a little creativity Hollywood.

So, a bunch of terrorists come and hold people hostage in the White House, and only one man can save them. Take out the words "White House" and you probably thought I was talking about John McClane. Okay, forget the fact that the concept is Die Hard, there are three or four scenes that are not "inspired" by Die Hard, they are STOLEN from it.

The scene where the top of the building gets destroyed and a helicopter crashes: Die Hard. The scene where the hero talks to a villain but doesn't know he's actually a villain until he blows his cover: Die Hard. The scene where the hero is all bloodied and calls his wife one last time before the final battle: Die Hard.

I'm not making this stuff up, this movie is a creative vacuum. Of course, Die Hard also made sense... this movie doesn't do that. How did a freaking cargo plane get THAT close to the White House until the Air Force said anything? Why did the secret service just bum-rush a machine gun turret? Why did it take so long for the Army to be mobilized? At least in Die Hard, the building the terrorists took over wasn't the center of American government, so the hostage scenario was feasible.

Also, while I'm at it, let me complain about its nationalistic overtones. America good, North Korea bad... what a deep and intellectual argument. Why is the main villain so hellbent on screwing over America? What are his motives? Well, as the tootsie pop commercial told us long ago, the world may never know. By the way, I thought this move played too heavily on post 9/11 paranoia. The destruction of the Washington Monument was a cheap gut shot aimed at just shocking the audience.

So, is there anything about this move that doesn't suck? Well, it has some good action... things blow up and bad guys get shot... Oh, and Morgan Freeman's in there, that's pretty cool, right? I guess.

The bottom line is that if you have NEVER seen Die Hard... or Air Force One or Rambo... then have at it. Just pardon the rest of us who are over 20 years old and have seen more than ten movies in our lives.

Why I Left Christianity

Well, I’ve been thinking about this for a while now… but it’s only been today when it’s hit me: Christianity is not true. I’m not sure what triggered it today, but I have to be honest with myself. The fact is I never believed this stuff from the beginning.

I remember when I was “saved” it was May 22, 2012. What sparked my conversion was simple, it was crippling fear. I needed to believe in something. So, despite knowing better, I convinced myself that there was something inherently good about Christianity and Jesus in particular. It was God’s love, I told myself, that’s what mattered.

Yet I kept thinking, which is something religion has never liked. The truth is that Christianity just didn’t add up, not morally or intellectually. I will give examples, but in the interest of being concise, I will choose the most glaring issues.

First on the plate is evolution. Evolution is a scientific fact. I know a little bit about the subject, and I could never swallow creationist nonsense. Whether it’s regarding fossil evidence like the transitional Tiktaalik, or our genetic similarity to Chimpanzees, it’s clear that life evolved over millions of years. How does Christianity make sense of this? Well, it doesn’t. The author of Genesis was ignorant. If humans evolved from a common ancestor, then there is no Original Sin from eating of the Tree of Life.

The whole point of the Fall of Man is to highlight that mankind chose to sin against God. Well, if we evolved over the eons, then at what point could we have rebelled? We couldn’t have, it’s a natural process. So, the crucifixion of Jesus would have been pointless.

Next on the list is prayer and proof of God. To be blunt, I’ve never heard God and I have never even felt him. I’ve prayed a lot, but when I’m done I always have the same sense of dread: that I was just talking to myself. Even on the day I was “saved” I remember feeling emotional, but I didn’t feel anything supernatural, I was just crying like a weak child.

While we’re on the topic of prayer, I have one simple question: Why won’t God heal amputees? It’s obviously a rhetorical question, since there is no cogent apologetic response. Whenever we hear of “miracles” it’s always some growth inside the body going into spontaneous remission (which science can account for), it’s never something as clearly supernatural as a missing limb growing back. In short, “miracles” don’t happen.

Finally, the last thing that I’ve been thinking of is the doctrine of Hell. It just doesn’t make sense. If the mainstream Christian denominations are correct, then everyone who doesn’t know Jesus is going to burn in a lake of fire for all eternity. I’ve heard mealy mouthed cowards like C.S. Lewis who have said Hell is “just” a place of separation from God for all eternity. If that’s supposed to be more comforting, then color me unimpressed. It’s still eternal suffering.

Of course, no Christian, no matter how fundamentalist, really believes in Hell. If this logic holds true, and everyone who doesn’t call Jesus savior goes to Hell, then that includes people who have never had the opportunity to hear the Gospel, like poor tribal Africans. Still, most fundamentalists are okay with that, since they are mostly white, and don’t know any poor tribal Africans.

However, I bet you that once some Bible thumper’s little kid dies from some accident or illness, they just know that God will make an exception. If a three year old dies, I can guarantee you that the kid didn’t know what “accepting Jesus” meant. There would be no exceptions if you truly believe in Original Sin. Sorry, but if your kid dies, and Christianity is true, he’s going to Hell. Needless to say, the concept of Hell is disgusting and evil.

Those are the major reasons. At least, those are the ones that first come to mind. I don’t make this decision lightly, but it’s the right thing to do. I can’t believe something that isn’t true.

It’s true that we as humans have made many terrible mistakes in our history. Still, I believe in the human spirit. I believe we are getting better. Look at how far we’ve come since the Dark Ages. No one can honestly say they wished they lived in 14th century Europe instead of now. The world isn’t perfect, but it’s getting better. It’s getting better because the hands of men have made it better.    

I’m not sure what I am now. An Atheist? Maybe. More accurately, I have moved beyond labels. I am still afraid, and it might be true that things might be harder for me without the artificial construct of religion. The consequences of leaving means that the Christian friends I have met will abandon me, but I can take it. I have to start moving on my own two feet.

God and Patriotism

For God and country? Or for God alone? Which is biblical? Well, I think the answer is pretty obvious asked up front… but our culture today, especially in the United States, has sold us a lie. The lie is that you can be “proud to be an American” and believe in Jesus Christ. The truth is you can’t.

While I am no longer an Atheist, I still respect George Carlin and his pithy sayings. One of them, recorded in It’s Bad for Ya, right before his death, was simply “Pride should be something you achieve or obtain on your own, not something that happens by accident of birth. Being Irish isn’t a skill… it’s a fucking genetic accident.” That’s really what it is in a nutshell. The ridiculous buffoonery of saying you’re proud to be born somewhere is staggering in its sinfulness.

The word “proud” is used as a positive attribute, what does God say on pride, however? Well, that’s easy, let’s open our Bibles. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” The context of this verse is rooted in Genesis. What caused humanity to lose fellowship with the Lord? It was pride. Humanity ate from the Tree of Knowledge because Adam and Eve thought they could stand equal with God. That’s pride. That’s sin. Maybe Adam and Eve would’ve made great Americans, huh?

Nothing about placing yourself or your culture up on a pedestal is moral. It’s also stupid. Are you proud of your height? How about your eye color? Don’t forget about your nose hair. It’s the same thing about being proud to be an American. I can guarantee you that God doesn’t have a favorite country, and if he did, it sure as hell wouldn’t be America.

We were founded on the slavery of Blacks, and the genocide of Native Americans. Does that sound like something to be proud of? If anything, I’m ashamed. I’m ashamed of the unjust wars we’ve forced on other countries. I’m ashamed of how getting rich is treated as noble, but helping the poor is looked on as “giving a handout.” Fundamentally, I’m ashamed of how we’ve abandoned worshipping God in favor of idolizing ourselves. James 4:4 says, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”

To be fair, we’re not the worst nation on the planet. We’re just not the best. If you’re looking for glory, you won’t find it in men, you’ll find it in Jesus. Thomas Paine is actually one of my personal heroes, but he didn’t die on a cross for me, neither did any founding father. The only thing that can comfort our souls is the love of God. Galatians 3:26 tells us, “You are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ.” That’s something to be proud of.        

Positive Steps

So, things are going well for a change. I still hate being at Woodrow Wilson. I still miss home. However, things are starting to become more tolerable.

My first full week as a janitor began Monday. I’m four days in, and actually, I’m doing okay. I feel tired as hell, but I can physically do the work. I’ve been working hard, sweeping and mopping until my hands are red and my legs turn to jelly. I work close to eight hours a day, but I keep plugging along.

The guy I’m shadowing doesn’t exactly have an amazing sense of humor, but he’s an honest man. Today, for the first time, he said I was doing a good job. That made me feel really great. It’s been difficult to do this kind of labor being about 300 pounds and having two screws in my foot, but getting some recognition, however modest, is progress in my book.

Also good news is the development of getting to know a few fellow Christians up here. We even started a men’s group, which has done wonders for my mental well-being on this godforsaken mountain. I also switched rooms with one of the guys from the group, and we get along pretty well.

I believe God has plans for me. I want to become a witness for Jesus Christ, to be a “fisher of men.” The only way to do that is to move forward, even if it is slowly. I will make something of my life.

  

Cold

So, I feel like crap. Literally, my body feels terrible. I have a bad cold. My sinuses are congested, my head hurts, and I get a horrible shiver when I sneeze, which is often. It’s two in the morning and I can’t sleep.

I also started my training yesterday. Still having a cold, it was dreadful. I was constantly sniffling. So, what am I being trained for? Well, I’m going to be a janitor. Yep, I’m going to clean dirty toilets and other unpleasant things. At one point yesterday, I was just cleaning some sinks, and two fat cockroaches popped out of the faucet to say hello. It was disgusting. It was at that point that I realized that I would be in less than ideal circumstances.

I’m being trained in a place called Woodrow Wilson, which is basically a back to work program sponsored by the state. It’s in Fishersville, which to be more accurate, is in the middle of nowhere. I hate being cut off from my friends and family. I feel like I’m losing my mind up here.

 I just want to go back to school for writing. I want to get a decent job and save up. Being a janitor may not be glamorous, but if I can do it, then I can in some sense move forward in life. I really need this to work. I’m tired of constantly screwing up, and I just want for something to go right. If I can last three months for training, then I’ll get a certificate for employment, and have some references behind me. That would help.

If I could make around nine dollars an hour, and be treated respectfully by my employer, I’ll be a janitor. I just wish I could start now. It might be best for me to up here, however. For basic practicality, I get to learn basic cleaning skills. It sounds simple, but some things I never learned. It also could be beneficial being up here because of my weight. Perhaps shadowing another janitor five days a week in eight hour shifts will help me lose a lot of the weight I’ve put on in the last few years.

I’m not sure what God is calling me to do. The only positive development was that I met some fellow Christians yesterday. We decided to start a men’s group. For the first time, I didn’t feel so alone up here. So, that’s good news.

I just want to do the right thing. I don’t want to always run away when things get hard. I just don’t know what to do. I’m praying I feel better, both physically and emotionally. God help me.