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Harold Camping

Tue, 24 May 2011 15:39:30 +0100

Almost everyone has heard of the recent claims made by Harold Camping. He said that the world was going to end and 6:00 pm last Saturday(May 21, 2011). Saturday night came and guess what: Nothing happened. This guy looked crazy to begin with, now he looks even worse. He says that he was wrong and that there will not be 5 months of torment (like he originally predicted) and that the the world will end right after the rapture on October 21, 2011; the day right before the anniversary of the great disappointment.

The good news is that the radio station will take down it's bill boards and will stop lecturing the world that the end is near. It will be nice to get a break from the constant bombardment of these claims from the media. The guy does seem very believable and right in what he is saying, until you stop to think about it. He is human and is claiming that he knows for sure that the world is going to end on the dates he predicted. He is becoming a prophet.

He said that there would be earth quakes in New Zealand before the rapture took place. There were no earth quakes. He said it with no basis to support it. He claims to have this vast worked out time line that predicted the rapture. I never saw a time line. He also disagrees with the bible. “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Matthew 24:42-44 He claims to have the truth but the Bible says no one will. Harold seems to be a false prophet. I don't know how this all will turn out but, it will be interesting to watch how the next 5 months go.

Is science a religion?

Tue, 24 May 2011 15:10:38 +0100

Is science becoming a religion? It really seems like it is. Scientists are beginning to explain more and more with science. Recent claims made by well known Physicist Stephen Hawking are threating to Christianity. He claims that he believes that there is no God. He claims that in the end science wins over religion. Can science really explain everything?

From a Christian point of view, Stephen looks like a heretic. He is trying to eliminate anything that you could argue that there is a God. "His book -- as the title suggests -- is an attempt to answer 'the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything," he writes, quoting Douglas Adams' cult science fiction romp, "The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy,'"(CNN news). Yes, science has proved that a universe can be made from nothing, what it doesn't explain well is the existence of life.

A while back I was listening to a scientist talk about evolution. I don't remember exact details but he said something to the effect of, "If life on earth was to be eliminated, the possibility of it ever existing again are next to impossible." This would make sense. Life is extreamlly delicate. Science almost disproves itself when it comes to life. An evolutionist would never admit that but it's how it is.

There has to an intelligent God to create everything that we know. Yes, life could be an accident but it seems to impossible because of how intricate everything is. There has to be a God that knows what he is doing. Science seems like it is becoming a religion though because it makes sense. People are more comfortable believing in something that they understand, science can explain almost everything with math and logic. God isn't math or logic though, he is simply faith. He still stands as the best explanation for the existence of everything.

My Sister took the blame for me

Thu, 19 May 2011 15:21:15 +0100

When I was about 6 years old, I was a good kid. I did what I was told with minimal complaining. I tried to obey my parents and tried to do what I knew was right. I was a very curious kid though. This became a problem because I became very curious about some pretty dumb things.

It was a very normal day at first. I was bored and was looking for something to do. I was always with my sister and she was as bored as I was. As we were walking through the house we found a pair of scissors on the table. It was in the dining room where there were blinds over the window. These were the types of blinds that had the strings that would pull them up and down. The blinds were open and I had a very bad idea at that point. I decided it would be interesting to see what would happen if I cut one of the strings running down between the blinds. So I took the scissors and cut one of the strings. Only one string. Of course my sister was watching and knew what I had done. So we moved on and kept looking for something to do.

That night at dinner it seemed normal. I had forgotten about what I had done. We were eating and my dad just happened to notice the broken string. He got up and his expression quickly changed from happy to furious. He began yelling and asking who had cut the string. My sister pointed across the table and me and said,"Gabriel did it." I panicked and quickly accused her. The blame was thrown back and forth a couple of times before she stood up and said,"I did it!"(she was about 4 at the time) and was then punished. I still don't know why she said that but I was happy to let her take the punishment. I didn't want a spanking.

The interesting thing is that a few years later I told my mom and dad that I had actually been the one who cut the blinds. They were sort of upset and my sister was mad that she had ended up being punished for my mistake. There is an interesting thing that Jesus has done for us though that this story seems to reflect very well.

Adam and Eve ate the fruit that they were told not to eat. They caused a fall for the rest of humanity. Jesus was the only way we would be able to escape punishment. Jesus willingly took our punishment for us like my sister took my punishment for me. There was no blame thrown at us by Jesus though. He took it willingly and because he wanted to.

Procrastination

Tue, 17 May 2011 15:07:12 +0100

I have a huge issue with procrastination and I am really not afraid to admit it. I have been a procrastinator for about as long as I can remember. I would procrastinate on my little amount of homework in first and second grade. I realize that I have a problem with procrastinating and I know a couple other people who do. Why do we procrastinate though?

This is a question that I have recently been pondering. I have one answer that seems to almost fit: Laziness. It seems like a good way to explain procrastinating but, I doesn't seem to completely explain why people do it. Yes, you may be to lazy to lazy to do something now but, you still have to do it at one point in time. So that doesn't fit. If you are completely lazy, the work will never get done and that is not procrastinating.

I really don't know if there is anyway to explain why people procrastinate. If it's not laziness, then what is it? I don't know why I procrastinate, I just know that I do it. The interesting question is can I stop procrastinating? I have found that removing distractions is a really good way to keep yourself from procrastinating. If I need to do homework, I will turn off my laptop. If I need to type a paper, I will close my web browser to avoid going on Facebook.

Do I procrastinate in my spiritual life? I briefly wrote about this in my last blog post. I didn't cover much detail on it though. God is alway there with us. Yes he is omnipresent but, he choses to do anything that he knows will help you and protect you. He did not procrastinate or hesitate in his sacrifice for humans, so why should we procrastinate in doing something to glorify God? It is interesting to think about.

Introduction to Middle School

Thu, 12 May 2011 15:36:37 +0100

I think this is something that every teenager has had to face in there life time. That Giant jump from grade school to middle school. Depending on who you talk to, they are the some, not in my case though. When I was in grade school, I became very accustomed to being able to do very little to get straight A's. This wasn't the case in middle school.

I walked into school for my first day of middle school. I confident that I would do just fine. I did fine for the first week or so but, non of the teachers had assigned any homework yet. I got my first couple of assignments and was doing pretty good. I had a serious problem with procrastinating though, within the first month my grades dropped significantly.

My dad has always been one who believed very strongly in his children getting at least A's and B's. Many of my grades dropped down to C's and D's. My dad got my grades and became furious. I took my iPod as punishment and said that he wouldn't give it back until I got my grades up to at least straight B's.

I found that my spiritual life with God was as good as my study habits. I would put off my time with God because I was to busy with what I was already doing. I would put off that time until I had to go to sleep, and I didn't even spend much time then. I would say a prayer quickly thanking him for my family and to help me to have a good day, then I went right to sleep. I didn't want to spend time with God until I realized what I was doing. My study habits have gotten better and my dad is pleased with my grades and I now spend time with God that actually means something.

We shouldn't need to put off our time with God, it should be something important to us. He made us and we really should be thankful for all has has given us.